Based on an original idea by German filmmakers Graf and Graefin von Hardenberg, ‘Star Maidens’ was made by British company Portman Productions (owned by producer James Gatward) for Scottish and Global Television Enterprises Ltd. With an international cast of well-known stars, including Judy Geeson as Supreme Councillor Fulvia and Gareth Thomas in a pre-‘Blake’s 7’ role as Shem, and a British team of seasoned science fiction and telefantasy writers (Eric Paice, John Lucarrotti and Ian Stewart), it should have been great television – but sadly, it somehow just wasn’t…

The premise of ‘Star Maidens’ was of gender role reversal: the civilisation of the planet Medusa is ruled by the female members of its society; while these beautiful women enjoy a life of luxury and power, the men are resigned to carry out menial tasks and domestic chores. However, a burning comet sends Medusa hurtling off through the depths of space (á la ‘Space:1999’), and when, many years later, Medusa eventually comes to settle outside Earth’s solar system, two men - Adam and Shem - steal a spaceship belonging to Adam’s mistress, Supreme Councillor Flavia, and set off for this utopian world where males are considered equal to females. Subsequent episodes continued the plight of Adam and Shem, as well as that of two Earth scientists, Liz Becker and Rudi Schmidt, and continued to hammer home the issue of sexual equality – again, and again, and again…

Transmitted in 1976, ’Star Maidens’ suffered from continual production problems: its budget was small, the modelwork was tacky (‘Space:1999’’s former production designer, Ken Trew, was forced to reuse many of his old models, as well as use items such as table-tennis balls, air-fresheners and egg-boxes - giving the show a cringe-inducing, ‘Blue Peter’ feel to its special effects), and location filming even took place on a Barratt Homes showroom estate for one episode. Scheduling problems didn’t help either, as the show was shown in irregular timeslots, failing to secure a regular audience. A second season was planned to be filmed in Canada - probably with less focus on the role reversal themes, and more on the appearance of the Medusans’ enemies - but things proved to be too expensive, and the show was quietly cancelled.

A shame really, as, despite its flaws, ‘Star Maidens’ is still quite entertaining, and remains a ‘forgotten’ entry in the hallowed halls of science fiction…

Star Maidens - Season 1

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