The Carpenters...Space Encounters
The Carpenters...Space Encounters | |
---|---|
Genre | Musical |
Written by | Bill Larkin Tom Sawyer Stephen Spears Joe Neustein |
Directed by | Bob Henry |
Starring | Richard Carpenter Karen Carpenter John Davidson Suzanne Somers Charlie Callas |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 1 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Jerry Weintraub |
Producer | Bob Henry |
Editor | Jim Frazier |
Camera setup | Multi-camera setup |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Production companies | Downey-Bronx, ABC |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | May 17, 1978 (1978-05-17) |
The Carpenters...Space Encounters is a television special featuring the American pop duo The Carpenters. It was first shown on ABC on May 17, 1978.
Synopsis
Space Encounters begins with Richard and Karen Carpenter performing "Sweet, Sweet Smile" in their recording studio, assisted by Charlie Callas. As they are performing, we see that they are being observed by the occupants of an alien spaceship (John Davidson and Suzanne Somers) who are on their way to Earth to meet The Carpenters. After Richard and Karen finish the song, the lights in the studio begin to flicker uncontrollably and musical instruments begin to move and play by themselves. At that moment, John teleports down to the studio and tells Richard and Karen how the people from his planet lack the ability to make music and he requests their help. Richard and Karen tell John about their earlier days in music and John uses his hi-tech pocket video screen to show The Carpenters performing "Fun Fun Fun" and "Dancing in the Street". After watching them, John tells them he wants to try singing himself and teleports to a more romantic setting to perform "Just the Way You Are".
The Carpenters continue to reminisce about their earlier recordings and they perform "Goofus" in an old garage, similar to the one in which they recorded their first record.
Richard, on piano, then performs the Space Encounters Medley, which includes the themes to Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Wars, on stage with a full orchestra, complete with laser and starlight effects.
Back in the recording studio, Karen and John continue to reminisce about her early days in music and she performs "Little Girl Blue". Afterwards, everybody teleports up to the spaceship's own nightclub, "The Galaxy Room", where Richard plays "Piano Picker", and Karen and Suzanne perform "Man Smart, Woman Smarter". Karen and John then perform "The Old-Fashioned Way" and then the whole cast (complete with dancers) perform a disco-medley including "The Hustle", "Boogie Nights" and "I Could Have Danced All Night".
The Carpenters then perform "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" and the show ends with an instrumental version of "We've Only Just Begun".
Guest stars
- John Davidson
- Suzanne Somers
- Charlie Callas
Carpenters songs performed on Space Encounters
- "Sweet, Sweet Smile" – Passage (1977)
- "Fun Fun Fun" – Now & Then (1973)
- "Dancing in the Street" – As Time Goes By (2001)
- "Goofus" – A Kind of Hush (1976)
- Space Encounters Medley – As Time Goes By (2001)
- "Little Girl Blue" – Lovelines (1989)
- "Piano Picker" – A Song for You (1972)
- "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" – Passage (1977)
- "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" – Passage (1977)
External links
- The Carpenters...Space Encounters at IMDb
- v
- t
- e
- Karen Carpenter
- Richard Carpenter
- Offering (Ticket to Ride) (1969)
- Close to You (1970)
- Carpenters (1971)
- A Song for You (1972)
- Now & Then (1973)
- Horizon (1975)
- A Kind of Hush (1976)
- Passage (1977)
- Christmas Portrait (1978)
- Made in America (1981)
- Voice of the Heart (1983)
- An Old-Fashioned Christmas (1984)
- Lovelines (1989)
- As Time Goes By (2001)
- Live in Japan (1975)
- Live at the Palladium (1976)
- The Singles: 1969–1973 (1973)
- The Singles: 1974–1978 (1978)
- The Very Best of the Carpenters (1982)
- Yesterday Once More (1984)
- Only Yesterday (1990)
- From the Top (1991)
- Interpretations: A 25th Anniversary Celebration (1995)
- Love Songs (1997)
- Reflections (1998)
- The Singles: 1969–1981 (2000)
- The Essential Collection: 1965–1997 (2002)
- Carpenters Perform Carpenter (2003)
- Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition (2004)
- The Ultimate Collection (2006)
- 40/40 (2009)
- Carpenters with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2018)
- Time (1987)
- Karen Carpenter (1996)
- Pianist, Arranger, Composer, Conductor (1998)
- "Looking for Love"
- "Ticket to Ride"
- "(They Long to Be) Close to You"
- "We've Only Just Begun"
- "Merry Christmas, Darling"
- "For All We Know"
- "Rainy Days and Mondays"
- "Superstar"
- "Bless the Beasts and Children"
- "Hurting Each Other"
- "It's Going to Take Some Time"
- "Goodbye to Love"
- "Sing"
- "Yesterday Once More"
- "Top of the World"
- "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)"
- "I Won't Last a Day Without You"
- "Please Mr. Postman"
- "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town"
- "Only Yesterday"
- "Solitaire"
- "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)"
- "I Need to Be in Love"
- "Goofus"
- "All You Get from Love Is a Love Song"
- "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft"
- "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)"
- "Sweet, Sweet Smile"
- "I Believe You"
- "Touch Me When We're Dancing"
- "(Want You) Back in My Life Again"
- "Those Good Old Dreams"
- "Beechwood 4-5789"
- "Make Believe It's Your First Time"
- "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore"
- "Little Altar Boy"
- "Honolulu City Lights"
- "Something in Your Eyes"
- "If I Had You"
- "Ave Maria"
- "The Rainbow Connection"
- "Let Me Be the One"
- "A Song for You"
- "This Masquerade"
- "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"
- "Can't Smile Without You"
- "I Just Fall in Love Again"
- "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again"
- "Where Do I Go from Here"
and specials
- Make Your Own Kind of Music (1971)
- Live at the BBC (1971)
- Very First TV Special (1976)
- Space Encounters (1978)
- A Christmas Portrait (1978)
- Music, Music, Music (1980)
- Gold: Greatest Hits (1991 VHS / 2002 DVD)
- Interpretations (1995 VHS / 2003 DVD)
- Close to You: Remembering The Carpenters (1998)
- Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story (2007)
- Discography
- Songs
- John Bettis
- Tony Peluso
- If I Were a Carpenter
- Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story
- The Karen Carpenter Story
- Classic Carpenters
- Category