Disney+ Series Brings 70s Space Disaster To Life
On July 11, 1979, a US space station known as Skylab crashed into the desert outside of Perth in Western Australia, and The Last Days of the Space Age tells the human story surrounding that event. The Miss Universe pageant was in town at the time, and the retro dramedy includes some of the hype connected with the pageant as well as delving into the power strike that was on the horizon from electrical workers in the region.
Building the world of a coastal community outside of Perth, the story is told by three families who are drawn into these events.
The Last Days Of The Space Age
The characters in The Last Days of the Space Age are confronted with economic challenges, the threat of social unrest, and the possibility that a strike will cause their power to be cut. The ominous atmosphere is illustrated by the Skylab crash, which was anticipated for months before it occurred, and was feared to be a much larger disaster than it turned out to be.
The debris from Skaylab raining down on the characters is used to build tension and as a parallel to the personal turmoil the characters experience.
A Crazy Story
The Miss Universe pageant that took place in Perth at the time of the Skylab crash is also a story point for The Last Days of the Space Age.
The contestant from the USSR shows up and stirs political differences in the little seaside town where the characters reside. Although the idea that the USSR would send a participant to the Miss Universe pageant is obviously fiction, the pageant is a stand-in for political tensions of the time.
Based On Several Real Events?
The power strike referred to in The Last Days of the Space Age is likely based on several real events, and is included in the storyline as a part of the economic and political conflict the characters are embroiled in.
The real strikes that took place in the region caused temporary power rationing, led to a nationwide solidarity campaign, and made common cause with the indigenous people in the area. The characters in the Last Days of the Space Age are drawn onto two sides of the labor dispute, articulating the sharp social disparities of the time.
A Robust Cast
The cast of The Last Days of the Space Age includes Radha Mitchell as Judy Bissett, Jesse Spencer as Tony Bissett, Linh-Dan Pham as Sandy Bui, Vico Thai as Lam, George Mason as Mick Bissett, Jacek Koman as Yvegny, Ines English as Svetlana Korkova.
Additonally, there’s Mackenzie Mazur as Tilly, Emily Grant as Mia, Thomas Weatherall as Bilya, Aidan Du CHiem as Johnno, Deborah Mailman as Eileen Wilberforce, Lola Bond as Poppy Gilberto, and Vince Colosimo as Rocco Gilberto.
This robust cast plays an ensemble of characters who participate in the tumultuous events of Western Australia in 1979.
Streaming The Last Days Of The Space Age
You might think that creating a cohesive narrative involving all those events as well as the personal lives of the main characters is a tall order, and you wouldn’t be wrong.
While the story of The Last Days of the Space Age is definitely a reflection of a nostalgia-based 1970s vintage setting, it can be a little hard to keep track of all the threads they collect along the way. Overall, the series feels a little bit like a 1990s dramedy with a sentimental view of the 1970s.
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