The Solarnauts was the final attempt by Roberta Leigh and Arthur Provis at producing science fiction shows. After creating children's classics like The Adventures of Twizzle, Sara and Hoppity and Torchy The Battery Boy, Roberta parted company with AP Films producer Gerry Anderson but continued to work with Arthur Provis, and they went on make the very successful Space Patrol, which ran for 39 episodes.
After the unsuccessful pilot film Paul Starr in 1964 (soon to be AI enhanced) came the Solarnauts in 1967. It's clearly an attempt to make a British Star Trek, and it's also clear that it had a decent budget for this one. I read that many models were recycled from Space Patrol though.
Like Star Trek, it's set far in the future but actually has a wonderful 1960s vibe. It's a shame that it was cancelled before it ever got started but it's still a great example of British 60s sci-fi. The only problem I have with it is that, in my opinion, neither of the two main characters is remotely likeable! The boss is ridiculously unpleasant too.
The 2X upscaling from the original SD resolution to 2048 x1152 and the AI enhancement in Topaz Video has made a remarkable difference to the quality of the film, taking it from a rather blurry low-res print to a sharp and detailed result.
I have colourised and upscaled The Adventures of Twizzle, Sara and Hoppity and most of the episodes of Torchy The Battery Boy using Topaz Video AI so please see my other videos here. And if you like this kind of content please consider subscribing to the channel. It really helps me when you do that!
Thank you.
