À la Recherche this Japanese Pupet Thing from When I was a Kid

Among the seemingly random collection of memories of my early years which have stuck with me are brief fragments of a TV show. It was SF, performed with puppets, and very definitely Japanese in style (although I wouldn't have recognised that at the time). There was a big red robot which was formed when some spaceships combined. My most abiding memory was of some bearded guy being killed by a space bug — I think this carried an emotional impact, which would explain why it stayed with me. For years I tried to find out what the show was called. And then came the Internet. One quick question of a TV forum and I had my answer: Star Fleet (X-Bomber in the original — we'll stick with Star Fleet, if only to avoid me making bad X-Bob-omber jokes).

So one trip to LoveFilm (whom my over-consumption of American content makes me want to keep calling "Netflix") later, and I've got the DVD of the first six episodes to watch. And I have to say I'm impressed. The visuals hold up well, with their distinctive styling and cartoony special effects. The continuing story arc is something I've always preferred over purely-episodic TV shows. Sure, the writing is sometimes cheesy, and many of the usual manga tropes are present, but it still tells an interesting story. Oh, and the synth rock. You mustn't forget the synth rock. In all: brilliant. I can't wait for the other discs to show up. What can I say? Six-year-old me had excellent taste.

[Image from Tim Maughan's Review]