8

An answer to this question reminded me of the children's science fiction show Luna, shown on ITV in 1983 - 1984 (and also apparently broadcast in New Zealand). Although I've only ever seen the show on blurry VHS tapes (I'm not old enough to have seen it on original broadcast) I was quite captivated by it when I was young.

One of its most distinctive features was the futuristic language, Technotalk, that the characters spoke. It was a little like Orwell's Newspeak in some ways ("good" was "ok", "bad" was "non-ok', and "very good" was "ultra-ok"), and was characterised by the formation of new words from standard English words (such as a "child" being a "diminibeing", and a "school" is an "eduviron"). It was quite intriguing to untangle the meaning of some of the sentences. A small glossary is available here.

The episode titles were also rendered into Technotalk. They seem to be jokes or puns, or parodies of well-known sayings. I've done my best to translate them, but there are a few that defeat me. I'd appreciate any help on the ones I can't get, together with comments on whether you think my translations are correct.

Ultra-gratitudes for your tocks!

Season 1

  1. Habiviron, Sweet Habiviron = Home, Sweet Home

  2. The Clunkman Cometh = (no idea)

  3. All The World's A Teletalk Linkup = All the world’s a stage

  4. Happy Batch Day Dear Luna = Happy Birthday Dear Luna

  5. Environmental Ambience Stable, Wish You Were Here = Weather’s nice, wish you were here

  6. When Did You Last See Your Pater Batch Mix Donor = When did you last see your father?

Season 2

  1. You Can't Judge a Videotalker by its Blurb = You can’t judge a book by its cover

  2. Go Forth and Quadruplicate = Go forth and multiply

  3. The Happiest Earth Revolves of Your Span = The happiest days of your life

  4. It Isn't How You Vict or Slunk But How You Co-participate = (no idea)

  5. A Bureaubureau In The Hand Is Worth A Pension = (no idea)

  6. You're Only As Multi-Tocked As You Perceive = You’re only as old as you feel

2
  • I witnessed its broadcast in New Zealand.
    – Jasen
    Commented Oct 23, 2021 at 20:13
  • 2
    'One of its most distinctive features was the futuristic language, Technotalk, that the characters spoke. It was a little like Orwell's Newspeak in some ways' Superficially perhaps, but Technotalk describes things more precisely and analytically than standard English, whereas a key purpose of Newspeak is to prevent things from being described precisely or analytically.
    – user134664
    Commented Oct 23, 2021 at 21:32

1 Answer 1

7

Community wiki answer, feel free to improve.

Season 1

  1. Habiviron, Sweet Habiviron = Home, Sweet Home

  2. The Clunkman Cometh = The Iceman Cometh

  3. All The World's A Teletalk Linkup = All the world’s a stage

  4. Happy Batch Day Dear Luna = Happy Birthday Dear Luna

  5. Environmental Ambience Stable, Wish You Were Here = Weather’s nice, wish you were here

  6. When Did You Last See Your Pater Batch Mix Donor = When did you last see your father?

Season 2

  1. You Can't Judge a Videotalker by its Blurb = You can’t judge a book by its cover

  2. Go Forth and Quadruplicate = Go forth and multiply

  3. The Happiest Earth Revolves of Your Span = The happiest days of your life

  4. It Isn't How You Vict or Slunk But How You Co-participate = It's not the winning or losing that counts, it's the taking part

  5. A Bureaubureau In The Hand Is Worth A Pension = A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

  6. You're Only As Multi-Tocked As You Perceive = You’re only as old as you feel

6
  • Arghh, I should have got the "It matters not who won or lost..." one. Still not sure about s02e05 though, somehow it doesn't sound quite right. Commented Oct 23, 2021 at 11:48
  • Yeah, that one seems a lot more tortured than the others, but the "... in the hand is worth ..." is pretty surely a reference to that phrase. Maybe there's another reference mixed in, but maybe they just couldn't come up with anything better that week.
    – IMSoP
    Commented Oct 23, 2021 at 12:12
  • 1
    2.4. is probably "It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game" which I believe the the proper expression.
    – NJohnny
    Commented Oct 24, 2021 at 8:38
  • "When the great scorer comes to write against your name, He marks not that you have won or lost, but how you played the game." Grantland Rice. Commented Oct 24, 2021 at 13:56
  • @IMSoP I was wondering if s02e05 may be something of a mangled 'A something is worth its weight in gold'. 'worth its weight in gold' might match 'pension' better. I'm just not sure about the 'in the hand bit.
    – mwarren
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 16:38

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.