Grateful Dad #5.24: Blast From The Past
One of the things that brings me a lot of joy is re-watching the television shows that I used to enjoy as a child. I used to do that throughout the years but it became a habit during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. With nothing else to do and burdened with uncertainties, the best way to combat the stress and despair was to do the things that made us happy. That’s when I began watching Are You Afraid of the Dark? again, a show that I religiously watched every Friday night since it began airing in the Philippines around 1995.
Grateful Dad #5.24: Blast From The Past
I also rewatched movies like Death Becomes Her, The Sunchaser, Edward Scissorhands, Can’t Hardly Wait, and Hocus Pocus (actually, it was my first time seeing it). I grew up in the ‘90s so I consider it the best decade in terms of the many fun memories I have with my friends – weekend bike rides with them, endless stories that range from trivial things to our dreams and aspirations, and enjoying food that made our childhood all the more memorable. During my free time, I spend time on social media looking for items, television shows, movies, and even events that remind me of my beloved ‘90s.
Lately, I also discovered a cool and fun blog site called “Dinosaur Dracula” that featured stories that are aligned with my interest in all things ‘90s (Dinosaur Dracula is not limited to the ‘90s though, with posts covering stuff that goes all the way back to the ‘80s). This website further inspired me to dig deeper into my memory bank to try to recall even the obscure shows that I used to watch. This is on top of the other shows that I am currently re-watching like Ghostbusters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Anyway, I don’t know if anybody in the Philippines remembers a show called “Star Fleet” (originally “X Bomber” in Japan) which was shown around 1991 on GMA-7 every Sunday. It was a revolutionary show in which it used marionettes for the characters as well as all the intergalactic props. I found the spaceships to be cool, shot strategically so that they looked like they were indeed flying in outer space.
Set in the year 2999, Star Fleet is set around the story of good (human beings) versus evil (aliens), in which the latter is trying to colonize galaxies and gain control of the universe in a tyrannical fashion. Of course, the humans, through the Star Fleet defense system, are trying to defend the Milky Way against the oppressors and restore balance, at least within their galaxy.
X-Bomber
What I liked about this show is that it looked well executed. I mean, you can tell that all elements of that show are made of dolls and model structures but all elements were moving logically. It was a different kind of animation that got me hooked then and still got me hooked now.
The main characters: Shiro Hagen, Barry Hercules, and John Lee
All in all, Star Fleet has 24 episodes which I watch when I have free time, or at night before going to bed. Again, this exercise of going back through memory lane is part of my goal to relive or reminisce as many of the things that brought happiness to me as a child. I’ll continue to find these old shows, old snack items, and even old toys and share them here. I hope I can also introduce these to my children when they grow a little bigger and I wish that they, too, would find happiness in simple (even trivial) things.
*All images are screenshots from the YouTube channel marcelfive1.