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Summary: Amongst the Very Best Science Fiction Television Series
Review: Space: 1999 was a television series produced in England in the early/mid 70's. It features Martin Landau as the commander of Moon Base Alpha, and Barbara Bain as the base's chief medical officer It features superb acting, compeling stories, astoundingly good Star Wars style special effects and a powerful musical score. This is the best amongst the Science Fiction on film that most fans of the genre have never heard of. Anyone who likes the Star Trek series will find much to like in Space: 1999, though the show has somewhat of a feel and theme like 2001 - a Space Odessy. Some episodes were of course better than others, but even the worst are still quite enjoyable. The best episodes: Dragon's Domain, War Games, Another Time/Another Place, and so forth are amongst the best television ever made. Previously, Space: 1999 has only been made available on a few video tape releases and only a few thousand laser discs were ever made. Today, the laser discs routinely sell for up to several hundred dollars each. Space: 1999 failed to become a smashing success in the United States in the 70's in large part because the big three national networks refused to set aside a time slot for it. However, the show has remained extremely popular in Europe. The primary critisim leveled at the show was so-called "wooden acting" but this reputation is entirely undeserved. Rather the acting is simple understated for the most part, and is really far less wooden than the acting found in the newer Star Trek series. In short, DON'T miss this opportunity to have copies of this long forgotten gem of a series. If nothing else, the special effects alone will absolutely dazzle the viewer.
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Summary: First Six Episodes Begin the DVDs of the Series
Review: As released by New Video Group and A & E Home Video, this boxed set of 2 DVDs contains the first six episodes of Space: 1999's first season, three on each disc. Episodes are "Breakaway" (series opener), "Matter of Life and Death", "Black Sun", "Ring Around the Moon", "Earthbound" (with special guest star Christopher Lee), and "Another Time, Another Place". A must-have for any classic SF television collector.
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Summary: Possibly the worst written Anderson series
Review: The four Gerry/Sylvia Anderson series with which I am familiar ("Thunderbirds", "Captain Scarlet", "UFO", and "Space 1999") all have much in common. At their best, they have high-spirited adventure, good character situations, campy humor, and gee-wiz sets, costumes, and gadgetry. At their worst, they have jaw dropping logical flaws, stock footage overused to the point of obvious inconsistency, and excruciatingly painful sci-babble. "Space 1999" has some of the coolest sets and gadgetry, and it's hard not to fall in love with them. Despite critics to the contrary, I feel the acting is overall quite competent. However, the episodes tend to be so unflinchingly immersed in trademark Anderson sci-babble that at times I find them almost impossible to sit through. This is a classic and unforgivable example of a show trying to be more cerebral and failing miserably because it substitutes sheer, almost random BS for science and logic. By all means rent these discs, but don't bother to buy them.
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Summary: WOW!
Review: Where has this show been all my life? I just discovered it on DVD and I'm very excited about it! Great cast, excellent scripts, and striking FX! I will can't wait to see the other episodes of this series.
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Summary: Best TV Sci Fi of the '70s Finally Released on DVD
Review: "Space:1999" is simply one of the best science fiction television series of the last 30 years. There are a number of reasons as to why the show still holds up so well even after all these years. Some of the best actors around were recruited for the show: Martin Landau (Golden Globe winner) as 'Cmdr Koenig' and Barbara Bain as 'Dr. Russell' (3 time Emmy Award winner), both from "Mission:Impossible"; Barry Morse (5 time Canadian Best Actor Award recipient) from "The Fugitive"; and numerous notable guest stars including Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Joan Collins, Leigh Lawson, and Roy Dotrice. Special effects were by Brian Johnson ("2001:A Space Odyssey"), music by Barry Gray ("Thunderbirds"), and costumes by famed designer Rudi Gernreich. Episode directors include such notables as Ray Austin, Lee H. Katzin, Charles Crichton, Bob Kellett, David Tomblin, and more. While the series did have a heavy reliance on effects (as most sci fi shows do), there were also interesting and thoughtful storylines approaching subjects that hadn't been tackled in TV sci fi before. The show took a different approach from other popular sci fi series by stranding and taking this group of 300 people from Moonbase Alpha and sending them out into the solar system against their will. They were forced to survive using the limited resources at their disposal and little reliance on outside help. As well, they didn't know where their journey would take them. All of these are factors that set the show far apart from "Star Trek" (which some reviewers continue to use as the measure for reviewing and analyzing "Space:1999"). I recommend "Space:1999" without reservation.
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Summary: BRILLIANT SF SERIES.
Review: What a tragedy that this series has been so missunderstood by critics and brutalised upon its premiere all those years ago. What a blessing that so many of us first saw it through the non-judgemental eyes of childhood and can see past the stupidity of critics.
The supposedly wooden acting, lifeless or sterile atmosphere, etc, are actually essential to what makes the series SO GOOD. The whole thing feels utterly real, a cold, isolated and distant-feeling future environment in which to be trapped, with cautious, thoughtful, emotionally-controlled but intelligent heroes who treat every thing they encounter with the tredidation and curiosity of real scientists and space explorers.
Martin Landau is simply brilliant as Commander John Koenig, a man whose dogged and passionate dedication to the space program has him appointed to Moonbase Alpha by a self serving politician (whom he despises!) to get a troubled space probe project underway. But Koening's greatest consideration is the well being of the people he's responsible for and devotes himself to investing a series of mysterious deaths. When the Moon is hurled into deep space, he always consistently refuses to be sold on any option for his people unless he has absolute proof it is right. Joining him is the fatherly mentor of Professor Bergman, whom Koening confides in, and Helena Russell, his love interest, who is utterly real in her work as the base doctor, long before Dayna Scully.
This feels like real SF, cool headed and serious in the face of the total unknown. There's a major question which draws the most ruthless critical attacks, however: why does the Moon get blown from its orbit and manage to travel across the Universe to encounter endless alien planets?
Again, the fact that this flies in the face of science is actually the point. Several episodes suggest this apparently impossible journey has been planned and orchestrated in some way by some cosmic intelligence, and it is the Alphan's hinted destiny to colonise the cosmos and spread man's lineage to the stars. The series in this way has a central absurdity which its cool and realistic scientists are attemting to understand and rationalise.
Breakaway sets the Moon on its way into space.
Earthbound rids Alpha of the corrupt politician.
Black Sun, should be watched next as it shows how a trip through a Black Hole, and out a white Hole, it seems, (apparently aided by an enigmatic intelligence!) sends the Moon a million light years accross the cosmos. Much character development occurs here, too!
Episodes that also demand attention include Dragon's Domain, which fill us in further as to why Koenig is so passionate about the space program and show us some back story to the series situation. And it has a cool monster!
Another Time, Another Place is genuinely disturbing SF.
Force of Life, End of Eternity and The Troubled Spirit all feature sinister atmosphere and tense, edgey plots.
Wargames and The Last Enemy boast stunning space FX and action and deal with the theme of war and peace.
Finally, Collision Course and Testament of Arkadia confront the Alphans with their destiny and hint at the intelligent purpose behind their seemingly inexplicable space journey.
The series is really a cold, hard, intelligent and thoughtful work of high concept Science Fiction which has realistic scientists becoming the crew of a latter day Noah's Ark, their destiny in the hands of God, and attempt to understand and cope with it in a realistic scientific and rationally-minded manner. It should be noted that the proposed final ever episode, written by Johnny Byrne but never produced, despite Gerry Anderson saying it was the best thing he'd ever read, was called Children of the Gods and featured the Alphans meeting their distant descendants in the far future, in a colony on a planet where they are remembered as Gods.
Despite the massive missunderstandings of critics (one book even named it as the worst SF Series of all time!)Space: 1999 is really an example of TV SF at its brilliant best, in many ways far superior to anything else there's ever been on the small screen.
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Summary: Fond Childhood Memories
Review: After Star Trek was off the air and before Star Wars their was very limited SciFi on T.V. This all changed when producer Jerry Anderson (THUNDERBIRDS) created facinating tale of life on the moon. This series is one of intelligent scripts, innovative sets, original special-effects, and detailed sets.
The moon is sent spinning out of orbit in the year 1999, and hundreds of citizens from the Moonbase Alpha lunar base are thrown into perilous danger. Join Oscar winner Martin Landau and Emmy winner Barbara Bain on their journey through space, encountering strange beings and mysterious phenomena along the way.
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Summary: review of set-1
Review: I hadn't seen an episode in years, so I wanted to give the DVD a try. "1999" has a mixed history - production values were high, but nobody goes around quoting Commander Koenig or Dr. Bergman the way we do Kirk or Spock. There are few really memorable episodes, and the series couldn't even remain consistent in tone between two seasons - going from slow-cerebral the first season to fast-flashy the second. And for a show that tried to look and sound serious (season-1 anyway), the gaps in common sense (let alone science) seemed striking. (The premise has our moon blown out of orbit when tons of stored nuclear waste spontaneously explode (powerful enough to break the moon out of terran orbit but w/o blowing it to bits?) In "Breakaway" we meet Commander Koenig (Landau) - a no-nonsense character sent to Moonbase Alpha relieve its feckless and luckless acting commander. A mysterious and fatal plague has broken out among astronauts preparing to leave the moon for a deep-space mission to the planet of Meta: an apparently earth-like planet which seems to be emitting radio signals. Koenig and Dr. Bergman (Barry Morse) link the plague to the toxic waste dumps, but tests repeatedly show that the waste is safely sealed and safe...or is it? In "Life and Death", the moon - already clear of our solar system - nears an uninhabited world that appears perfect for colonization. Because the moon will only be in position relative to the planet for a short time, the Alphans have a narrow opportunity to decide whether to leave the moon for it. Complications ensue when a reconnaissance eagle returns with an unexpected passenger - Dr. Russell's husband Lee. But Lee Russell was reported lost, feared dead years (and billions of miles) ago. Is it Lee Russell? And when he urges the Alphans against colonizing the seeming paradise before them, should they listen? In "Black Sun", the Alphans find their moon on a collision course with a dark star (I guess they meant a "black hole", but had that word been coined?). (Those who haven't seen "1999" in years may remember an Eagle being crushed by gravity - this is that episode.) Dr. Bergman comes up some ideas that may save the moon but chances are slim. With no real chance of survival, Koenig puts 6 Alphans on an escape Eagle (Alpha seems to have an endless supply of Eagles, but can only muster one for escape?). An alien probe has seized Alpha and must be convinced of its obsolescence in "Ring Around the Moon" - a lame ep. far too reminiscent of many episodes of "Trek". A group of benign yet mysterious aliens in suspended animation land on the moon. Waking up, they reveal their destination is Earth. One of the Alphans has the chance to join them - the humans accidentally killed an alien trying to wake it, but the aliens (led by Christopher Lee playing against type as a nice guy) hold no grudges. Who will accompany them? And will they reach Earth? Disk 2 closes with "Another Time, Another Place" - in which the Alphans pass through a parallel universe, and confront...themselves. In a dramatic display of just how unlucky our heroes our, they can't even measure up to their doppelgangers (the doppelganger Alphans settle a planet whose orbit their moon entered; the unlucky Alphans of our universe find their moon on a collision course with the other, but they can't escape to the new planet because contact w/their doubles is fatal to everybody. The "other" Alphans are free to remain on their lovely new home, while the best our Alphans can expect is to end up where they started - cosmic refugees). This set shows why the show was so frustrating (at least in year-1): nothing happens. You watch knowing that no matter what's learned or done for the first 50 minutes, nothing critical will happen until the last five We spend most of "Breakaway" waiting for the big boom - everything else seems superfluous. We sit through all of "Sun" and "Life and Death" waiting for the end - will the moon somehow avoid the black hole? Is it really Lee Russell? And what will happen when the Alphans land on the new world? Also, cool production values aside, it didn't really look that great (at least at this stage) - the interiors of Alpha look sterile and uninteresting; the main control room is a big empty space lined with computers and some desks; the Eagles were the star of the show - but even they amount to over glorified, space-going buses. Then there are the characters - they're so stiff, you wonder if they're supposed to be ghosts. You may find yourself going back trying to pick out dialog from the hushed, emotionless voices. Only in "Sun", with the prospect of death, do any of the characters come alive (especially Dr. Bergman, who pumps the Alphans with futile plans to keep their spirits up until the end, and engages in some truly heartwarming dialog w/Koenig at the close - it's almost enough to make you want to take a hop in a Black Sun yourself) hinting at the chemistry that could have made this more of a compelling show. Because the characters aren't sympathetic, it's hard for the show to capitalize on its biggest asset - that these guys are marooned in space and have no control over their lives. I'd recommend this DVD for devoted fans of the show. Lighter fans may want to pass on this and get one of the flashier season-2 DVD's.
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