The Carpenters…Space Encounters (1978)
For anyone born after 1977-1978 (that includes myself), it’s really hard to appreciate the sea change that STAR WARS represented in the culture. Sure, Marvel movies were big and suddenly cinematic universes were popping up and dying on the vine faster than you could organize a Vanity Fair photoshoot.
Unrelated photo.
And there was an uptick in superhero mentions, skits, shows, etc. but it wasn’t like every network seized on every opportunity to hitch their wagon to IRON MAN’s star. STAR WARS was a phenomenon that blew away its closest analog, JAWS, in terms of money and cultural impact. Mostly because it’s not that easy to make merchandise out of a half eaten ginger kid on a raft. It was beloved by all (well, most; for example, Carl Sagan had fair quibbles about its whitewashing and Pauline Kael seemed to find the whole thing “too darn loud”) and thus everything was suddenly getting connected to it. Look over the networks’ programming for that year span, and you’ll see so many different specials that just want to wet their beaks in some of that sweet sweet blue milk.
Donny and Marie had a special with Redd Foxx, Kris Kristofferson, Paul Lynde, and a few of the actors themselves. There’s that Meco disco album. The obviously infamous Holiday Special. A slew of Corman rip-offs and some bad genre TV that forcibly inserted space shenanigans in there to get a piece of the action.
But there was also a special for The Carptners that very half-assedly tied in to the space opera extravaganza. The special was tied to The Carpenters’ 1977 album Passage, which was meant to be a sort of breaking away from the siblings’ dentist office muzak softness into a new world. It was not. I first learned about this via YouTuber Todd In The Shadows’ episode where he covered the album and the TV special. There is a link to sci-fi world and aliens, with the track “Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft”, which forms the quasi backbone of this 1978 TV special. Basically, Karen and Richard Carpenter are tasked with communicating with some approaching aliens using their non-threatening but way too wordy space operatic pop song. That’s like 1/4 of the special - with the rest being unrelated skits and bits and performances of their other songs from Passage (including a rather infamous bit that I never knew that it was to what The Simpsons were referring).
It is insanity. Check out Todd In The Shadows’ channel and please consider supporting his Patreon if you are able. Then watch this ~50 minute slice of ‘70s bizarro cheese that has really no idea what the hell is going on…but knows that kids. love. STAR WARS.