> so sexist and misogynistic

It doesn't really seem that sexist for a 60s show. There's definitely a ton of male gaze, much like the miniskirts in TOS. OTOH the men are also in tight fitting clothing as well, and just like TOS it has the women in positions of power and authority which was progressive for the 60s.

While the show is campy as hell (in a fun way) many of the plotlines are extremely heavy and dark, like the episode where Striker has to choose between his duty and saving his son's life. Or the episode where his marriage falls apart because he's working too much.

From the perspective of Striker the show honestly shows the destruction of a man. He's left with nothing in life but his job, which also tortures him.

> And I find it cool there was never an in-universe explanation for the purple wigs.

I saw an interview with the costume designer (a woman FWIW) and she liked the idea of the purple wigs both as both a sign that fashion is more flexible in the 1980s and also that the wigs maybe play some practical purpose on the moon. The moon women are in some scenes on earth and they're not wearing wigs.

The silver miniskirt/leotard moon suits the women wear with removable leggings were supposed to be incredibly sexy of course, but also the designer was playing around with the idea of "modular" clothing that could be "reconfigured" for different contexts.

The fishnet shirts the submariners wear is likewise supposed to imply something both practical and highly modern. Of course, talking about male gaze the women in the submarine wear an undershirt under the fishnets whereas the men don't!

I loved, loved, loved this show when I was a kid (I saw it as a syndicated show in the US around 1971, I am guessing). Yes, the soundtrack was the hook: I came for the (at the time) great theme song, but I stayed for the mystery of the UFOs, the spaceships and moon base, and Michael Billington (who, for some reason, I liked better than the star, maybe because he was younger and actually went out into the field).

Edit: Interestingly, Ed Bishop and Michael Billington both died within five days of each other in 2005, despite Billington being quite a bit younger.

This is US centric, because it's what I'm familiar with.

I'd think really hard about how the characters are coded. I haven't seen this particular show. Short skirt and ditzy is a cash grab to sell beer. Short skirts and extremely competent? that's a whole different thing. There are a million problems with the dukes of hazard. Daisy Duke is not one of them. Extremely competent character. Echoed by Marisa Tomei in my Cousin Vinny. the us has a whole other suite of issues around race, that I'm going to avoid. Wonder Woman falls into the same category I think.

The lesson, repeatedly, don't judge a book by its cover. at the time, it's funny, but it's gently poking fun at the audience for their sexism.

maybe it's some dumb campy show. maybe there's something more subtle that's being pushed, that's only really possible to push in science fiction. this isn't us, this is some far-away future.

Gloria Steinem continued to wear mini skirts. a playboy bunny is a ditzy girl with no value beyond delivering drinks, which is gross. Legally blonde fits into the category as well, you can't just look at the surface, you have to look at the whole person.

I can't speak to this particular show. but maybe try to put yourself into the mindset of that time, and see if they're showing you something about that worldview.