This is "Fantastic"

Well, truly it depends on one's point of view. Few people in the U.S. felt it necessary to tune in to The Fantastic Journey when it debuted in 1977, thus it was toast by the time the ninth episode aired. Yet the show caught the imagination of various foreign audiences, who were quite upset when it ceased production after ten installments. (The premise involved a small band of random folks being transported across the space-time continuum and encountering various worlds.) I never once saw the dang thing, being 10 when it aired. We probably, like the rest of the nation, had The Waltons on instead. But recently a devoted diver of The Underworld pointed me in the direction of this relatively obscure show because of its costuming and so I just had to share some of that with the rest of you.

In all honesty, I'd been curious about this show and wishing to see at least one episode ever since I saw a photo of Joan Collins in costume from it many years ago. She guest-starred in the 8th installment and so that's where I began.

She played a female trapped in a world in which men reigned superior until... a few of her cohorts change it up and take over. If you don't know, Collins always did her own makeup, which explains how her iconic look was already in place well before Dynasty.

She did remove a substantial amount of it for a nighttime scene (a conceit that would soon disappear as the always-glitzy 1980s dawned.) Her skimpy gown really made my eyes pop until I realized that there was a flesh-tone insert sewn across the midsection.

Blessedly free of such measures were her fellow male costars in the ep. Here we find hirsute Paul Mantee, for whom I always had a soft spot ever since Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964.)

Even better, he and all the other men not only had their chests exposed, but also were garbed in clingy green trousers, which make quite an "impression!"

In the 5th episode, we find John Saxon (with cohort Morgan Paull on the right.) In what seemed to be a regular occurrence on the show, the men were garbed in very snug pants, this time of a glittering metallic fabric.

Pay no attention to that pointy red thing he has his hand on... Ha ha!

 

Seen here with Saxon's pants are series regulars Jared Martin, Katie Saylor, Roddy McDowall and guest Lenore Stevens.

It was really Paull, this time out, who tended to reveal the most with his impossibly tight pants.

He and the rest of the guards were shimmied into these form-fitting get-ups. God love '70s sci-fi!

In the 9th episode, we find Dale Robinette in a skin-tight jumpsuit.

This was almost Robinette's year as an actor, for he'd been pegged to costar in a Starsky & Hutch spinoff set to feature Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas, but it failed to be picked up. Now here we have another Designer Double-Dip! Recognize his jumpsuit at all? Turns out it had been worn in a prior sci-fi TV-movie pilot 3 years prior. 

None other than the aforementioned John Saxon headlined Planet Earth (1974), which was not picked up as a series!

I'm pretty sure Carole Demas' costume is also recycled from some other project, but I haven't been able to pinpoint that one.

Jumping back to the beginning for a moment, I just had to show you the way Martin first appeared in the pilot...! The original cast (which then included Scott Thomas, Susan Howard and Leif Erickson until they were written out to create a more unique collection of characters) first came upon Martin in skimpy Native American garb!

I should think it took a lot to live down this askew fright wig and that flimsy diaper-like confection he's sporting.

Martin was a handsome guy (many may recall him as Dusty Farlow on Dallas, who nearly won Sue Ellen away from J.R. Ewing), but his lean, hairless physique is the antithesis of what I'm typically drawn to. It was jarring to see him costumed this way for the initial part of the pilot.

"Do you like gladiator movies?"  "Ever seen a grown man naked?"

Not that he was ever a huge favorite of mine, but when it comes to chests, I'm more partial to ones like that of Jonathan Goldsmith. In episode 6, he played one of several practitioners of ritual human sacrifice. 

The costumes of the gentlemen involved in this are, once again, rather revealing!

Goldsmith (sometimes billed early on as Jonathan Lippe) does his part for the cause...

Years later, he would gain attention as the spokesman for Dos Equis beer, billed as "The most interesting man in the world." His pants are certainly interesting in this assignment.

See what I mean...??

We're about to wrap this up, but first I head to episode 3. You'll notice that it was filmed at the same distinctive location as the episode of Logan's Run I recently turned my attention to!

This is the ep which introduced McDowall as a sort of quasi-villain turned comrade. He's shown as the leader of a huge group of gold-clad inhabitants (who are later revealed to all be robots!) Seen with him here is guest star John David Carson.

Carson, along with all the other robots, is garbed in a super-revealing jumpsuit! When you take into account that McDowall's character is supposed to have created all of these beings, it really puts a whole new slant on things...!

Interestingly, some of the androids came with muffin tops, too?

It was fun to spot one actor making his screen debut here as a lifelike robot.

The blond gentleman in-between McDowall and Martin would soon become part of the sprawling cast of Eight is Enough as Susan's boyfriend. Later, he'd land on General Hospital and other TV shows and soaps.

It's blue-eyed, lantern-jawed Brian Patrick Clarke.

Clarke is not the only notable guest to appear on the show. Various eps include anyone from Mel Ferrar to Mary Frann. The final episode (not aired on schedule) alone had Richard Jaeckel, Lew Ayres, Nicholas Hammond, Gerald McRaney and soon-to-be Angel Cheryl Ladd!

Back to Carson, though. He is continuously shown walking towards the camera with his junk flopping all over the place.

It's no wonder Roddy signed on...! He had to be in hog heaven during this series' production.

Anatomically-correct synthetic son/manservant. I mean... everyone should have one!

Some eps are light on the bulging beefcake, but this one was by far the most pronounced in that regard. Which brings us to...

The End!