Once Upon a Time... Space explained

Native Name:
Nolink:1
Runtime:26 minutes
Creator:Albert Barillé
Developer:Procidis
Composer:Michel Legrand
Language:French
Network:FR3
Num Episodes:26

Once Upon a Time... Space (fr|Il était une fois… l'Espace|link=no) is a science fiction animated television series created and directed by Albert Barillé. It is the second series in the Once Upon a Time... franchise.[1] It reprises almost all of the characters from its predecessor, Once Upon a Time... Man, and adapts them into a science fiction futuristic context.

The series was produced by French studio Procidis in co-production with French: [[France 3|France Régions]]|i=no (FR3, France), French: [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|Société Radio-Canada]]|i=no (Canada), Italian: [[RAI|Radiotelevisione italiana]]|i=no (RAI, Italy), Dutch; Flemish: [[KRO|Katholieke Radio Omroep]]|i=no (KRO, Netherlands), Spanish; Castilian: [[Televisión Española]]|i=no (TVE, Spain), Crustel (Argentina), and Eiken (Japan) who was the one who made the animation. The series premiered in France on FR3, between 2 October 1982 and 2 April 1983, and it was subsequently broadcast on the channels of the rest of the broadcasters that participated in the production dubbed into their own language.

The show was animated in Japan by the animation studio Eiken, and is thus considered an anime as it also aired in Japan on Fuji Television, albeit not until 1984, under the title . 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. Though it did gain a cult following in Japan in the following years. The Japanese dub for the anime is considered to be a lost media due to it never having a home release and only re-aired on AT-X during the summer of 2006.[2]

Synopsis

Unlike the rest of the Once Upon a Time... titles, Once Upon a Time... Space revolves around a fictional premise rather than an edutainment theme. The series still has a handful of educational information (such as an episode discussing the rings of the planet Saturn) but nowhere as prevalent as its predecessor Once Upon a Time... Man nor its successor Once Upon a Time... Life.

The series succeeds Once Upon a Time... Man. It reprises almost all of the characters from the past 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 show 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 egalitarian message than its predecessor as the supreme leader of the protagonists is a female President and Psi is a co-protagonist. The previous 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, higher spiritual beings encountered at the beginning and the end of the series etc. 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 consists of multiple allied powers: Aldebaran, Auriga, Cassiopeia, Hydra, Scorpio, and Vega. The Confederation has a democratically elected government and a President.

Cast

Spacecraft

The French illustrator Philippe Bouchet (better known as Manchu) worked on some of the spacecraft and set designs.[3] [4] [5]

Omega Confederation:

Cassiopeia:

Earth:

Characters

The series features the following characters.

Broadcast information

Country Television broadcasts
FranceFR3 **, Télé-Québec
FinlandMTV3
AustraliaSBS
CanadaCBC Television, Télévision de Radio-Canada **
ItalyRAI **
GreeceERT
SpainTelevisión Española (TVE) **
NetherlandsKindernet, Katholieke Radio Omroep (KRO) **
SwitzerlandSSR (French)
BelgiumRTBF, BRT
ArgentinaCrustel S.A. */**
JapanEiken Co. Ltd., aired on Fuji Television */**
NorwayTV2
West GermanyWDR, SWF
AustriaORF
SwedenSVT
PortugalRTP
Republic of Ireland
IcelandSjónvarpið
United KingdomChannel 4
United States of AmericaThe History Channel
IsraelLogi
PolandTelewizja Polska (TVP), TV Puls
South AfricaSABC
TaiwanTaiwan Television (TTV)
HungaryMinimax
CzechČT1
DenmarkDR1

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Once Upon a Time... Space. www.comicbookbin.com.
  2. "Once Upon A Time: Space," The Anime Encyclopedia: Revised and Expanded Edition by Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2006. p. 465.
  3. Web site: Once Upon a Time... Space . 2023-06-22 . www.comicbookbin.com.
  4. Web site: Unknown . 2014 . 3rdART: Philippe Bouchet "Manchu" (1956) . 2023-06-22 . 3rdART.
  5. Web site: 2014-08-26 . Once Upon a Time… Space . 2023-06-22 . AN SIONNACH FIONN . en.