Once Upon a Time... Space

Once Upon a Time… Space
Created by Albert Barillé
Developed by Procidis
Voices of Roger Carel
Annie Balestra
Vincent Ropion
Alain Dorval
Composer(s) Michel Legrand
Country of origin France/Japan
No. of episodes 26
Production
Running time 26 minutes
Release
Original network FR3, Fuji TV (Japan)
Picture format SECAM (576i)
Original release 1982
Chronology
Preceded by Once Upon a Time… Man (1978)
Followed by Once Upon a Time… Life (1987)
External links
Production website

Il était une fois… l'Espace (English: Once Upon a Time… Space) is a French/Japanese animated science fiction TV series from 1982, directed by Albert Barillé.

The series was animated in Japan by the animation studio Eiken, and is thus considered to be anime as it also aired on Japanese TV, albeit not until 1984, under the title Ginga Patrol PJ (銀河パトロールPJ, Galaxy Patrol PJ). In contrast to the show's success in the West, the series' Japanese broadcast was consigned to an early-morning time slot and attracted little attention.[1]

Synopsis

Once Upon a Time... Space differs from the rest of the Once Upon a Time titles in the sense that the series revolve on a dramatic content rather than an educational premise. The series still has a handful of educational information (such as an episode discussing the rings of the planet Saturn).

The series succeeds Once Upon a Time... Man. It reprises almost all of the characters from the previous series and adapts them into a science-fiction context.

The story is about the confrontation between several galactic powers. Among them there is the Omega Confederation (of which Earth is a member), the military republic of Cassiopeia (led by General The Pest) and a powerful supercomputer which controls an army of robots. A group of super powerful creatures called the Humanoids later appear in the series.

The series follows the adventures of space police members Pierrot and Mercedes (aka Psi). Pierrot is the son of Colonel Pierre and President Pierrette. The series has a more feminist message than its predecessor as the supreme leader of the good guys is a female President and Psi is a co-protagonist. The original series instead focused on male protagonists.

The scenarios of several episodes adapt elements of Greek mythology, other mythologies, and European legends. Among them are the Apple of Discord, Atlantis, David and Goliath, the Olympian Gods, and Prometheus. Other episodes deal with the existence of God, the relationship of man with modernity and machines, the limits of technology, comparisons between armed peace under the rule of a dictator and the difficulty of maintaining order in a democracy, etc. Higher spiritual beings encountered at the beginning and the end of the series. Some planets visited by the characters are replicas of the Earth at a specific era in its history, thus allowing some didactic interludes over the nature of these eras.

The series contains little to no violence, the heroes mostly use non-lethal stun weapons in combat. The exception is the use of disintegrating laser beams against wild animals.

The Earth does not play a central role in this series. The capital of the Confederation is on the planet Omega, far from Earth. The Confederation is composed of multiple allied powers: Aldebaran, Auriga, Cassiopeia, Hydra, Scorpio, and Vega. The Confederation has a democratically elected government and a female President.

Psi's origins are unknown but some fans theorize that she is of Mediterranean, South American or Indian descent.

Cast

Spacecraft

The French illustrator Philippe Bouchet (better known as Manchu) worked on some of the spacecraft and set designs.

Omega Confederation:

Cassiopeia:

Earth:

Episodes

  1. The Planet Omega
  2. The Saurians
  3. The Green Planet
  4. Towards Andromeda
  5. The Cro-Magnons
  6. The Revolt of the Robots
  7. The Planet Mytho
  8. The Long Voyage
  9. In Cassiopea
  10. A Planet Blown to Pieces
  11. Shipwrecked in Space
  12. The Giants
  13. The Incas
  14. In the Land of the Dinosaurs
  15. The Rings of Saturn
  16. The Unstoppable Menace
  17. Earth
  18. Atlantis
  19. The Strange Return to Omega
  20. The Revenge of the Robots
  21. The Humanoids
  22. An Hostile World
  23. City in Flight
  24. The Great Computer
  25. The Battle of the Titans
  26. The Infinity of Space

Characters

The series features the following characters.

Broadcast information

Country Television broadcasts
France France FR3 **
Finland Finland MTV3
Australia Australia SBS
Canada Canada CBC Television, Télévision de Radio-Canada **
Italy Italy RAI **
Greece Greece ERT
Spain Spain Televisión Española (TVE) **
Netherlands Netherlands Katholieke Radio Omroep (KRO) **
Switzerland Switzerland SSR (French)
Belgium Belgium RTBF, BRT
Argentina Argentina Crustel S.A. */**
Japan Japan Eiken Co. Ltd., aired on Fuji TV */**
Norway Norway NRK, Norsk Rikskringkasting
Germany West Germany WDR, SWF
Austria Austria ORF
Sweden Sweden SVT
Portugal Portugal RTP
Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland RTÉ
Iceland Iceland Sjónvarpið
United Kingdom United Kingdom Channel 4
Israel Israel Logi
Poland Poland Telewizja Polska (TVP), TV Puls
South Africa South Africa SABC
Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan Television (TTV)
Hungary Hungary Minimax
Czech Republic Czech ČT1

* Production company
** Contributing co-producer

See also

References

  1. "Once Upon A Time: Space," The Anime Encyclopedia: Revised and Expanded Edition by Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2006. p. 465.

External links

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