Ralph McQuarrie Dies

Production designer and artist Ralph McQuarrie, who was responsible more than anyone for the look of STAR WARS, has died aged 82.

McQuarrie's designs for sets and characters infused the film series and gave it many of its influential design statements such as C-3PO, the stormtroopers uniforms and the like.

He won an Oscar for his work on the pensioners rejuvenated by alien swimming pool comedy COCOON and was also responsible for the ships and Cylons of the original BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

He will be most remembered by the SciFiFreak Site team, however, for designing the mothership that gave us an almost religious moment in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND.

Falling Skies comes to the Sci Fi Freak Site

This alien invasion show that comes with Steven Spielberg's name all over it (don't get too excited he is the executive producer, not the director) has finally arrived in the UK and can be found now at The Sci Fi Freak Site for reviews of each episode as they air on the FX satellite channel.  This harkens back to Mr Spielberg's earliest days when he made a film about alien invasions, but then turned to more genial alien visitations in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and ET THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL before taking on the ultimate alien invasion with War of the Worlds.