posted 08-20-2005 10:32 PM               

Darkside: Apollo 18 mission insignia

This mission patch signifies the final mission of the Apollo program of lunar landings. It shows the crescent Moon and Earth lined up with the brilliant Sun on a star-field backdrop. The three large stars near the names signify the three crew members of Apollo 18. The nine medium-sized stars represent the previous Apollo missions to the Moon (Apollos 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17). The two smaller white stars, near the Earth, signify the two Earth-orbit missions of Apollo (Apollos 7 and 9), while the single small gold star honors the crew of Apollo 1 (Grissom, White, and Chaffee), lost in the launch pad fire of January 27, 1967.

Above is the patch designed by Michelle Evans and rendered by Robert Kline for the August 2005 production of Darkside.

posted 08-21-2005 12:41 PM               

Here are a few reviews:

"In director Sharyn Case's staging, Darkside is a perfectly crafted mixture of sci fi, suspense, humor, and drama, as much an examination of the "inner space"--what goes on inside the mind, and heart, of an astronaut--as of the process of space exploration." Backstage West - Eric Marchese

"This compact play, humorous as it explores the frontiers of mind and space, is a highlight of the local season. The current Space Shuttle missions' revival, whose issues mirror Apollo's, makes it a must-see. "
Star Progress - Anne-Margaret Bellavione

Ken Jones' 1987 play Darkside is one of the rare theatrical forays into the final frontier. At its best moments, this Rude Guerrilla production shows that theater's greatest asset - the power to prod the imagination and convey dramatic emotion through words rather than visual stimuli - can work even when it comes to space travel. The play vividly captures the intense tension and loneliness of two men trapped on the surface of the moon while their fellow astronaut, helplessly orbiting around them, desperately waits for a successful lunar launch that will unite them with his module so they can successfully return to Earth.
OC Weekly - Joel Beers

posted 08-21-2005 09:08 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Richard:
I seem to recall that Michener basically wrote the same plot for Space many years ago. So, is this really a new idea?

---

I read "Space" over a decade ago and found it a bit of a slog. I didn't hate it, it was just a typical Michener epic that tried to tell too many stories at once and couldn't really do any of them justice.

posted 09-16-2011 11:09 PM               

As for the Michener book, I never read it but I remember seeing the TV series years ago (not on video now, darn it), and if I recall correctly, Apollo 18 crashed from a flare as noted earlier. I thought it was neatly done then, probably poorly done now if I saw it again.

posted 06-06-2013 06:29 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by p51:
I'd also love to see the script for this...

---

posted 03-23-2014 11:00 AM               

Did a little exploring to find out more. It was written in 1987, and has many productions around the world. It was picked as one of the best plays of the 1980's.

I just ordered a copy of the script from Samuel French Play Publishing. You got me interested.

posted 09-11-2023 10:36 PM               

I produced a limited edition of the Apollo 18 patch for sale during the play to support the production. The design was already misappropriated once for the 2011 movie "Apollo 18" but I let that one go since it wasn't a direct ripoff. However, I was recently contacted by a friend where he pointed out that a company is selling sticker and magnet sets of Apollo patches, that also include my direct design for Apollo 18 (as well as other people's designs for Apollo 19 and Apoll 20), on top of the real Apollo mission emblems.

There are a total of four products that I've found that have stolen my design and are currently selling on Amazon. I contacted Amazon to explain that my copyrighted design is being used for their profit without my permission. I filed a copyright infringement report, and yet Amazon has done nothing. Also, the emails I sent to the sellers to cease using my design have also been ignored.

I wanted to let this community know about the rip off, if for no other reason than that this is diluting real space patches by passing off fictional patches as being from real missions, in addition to the fact of having my design appropriated for profit by others.

Here is the page on my website showing my Apollo 18 patch design.

And if you go to Amazon and plug in any of these four product codes you'll see the products I'm referring to: B07CZ3ZXQY, B07BHH6YXG, B07RRK4J25, B07XFC4CNP.