Rating: Summary: Coulda been better Review: The transfer of these shows is a disappointment. Guess that after the launch, A&E figured they could put in their second string to transfer this batch. The audio, while free from clicks and pops, is rather limited in bandwidth and muffled. Music wows on the intros when episode returns from commercial break. The video on "Death's Other Dominion" suffers badly from streaking which I assume came from the PAL to NTSC conversion, though the other episodes don't have it. "Full Circle" is dark and fuzzy (looks like it was noise reduced to hell and the contrast was jacked up to make it look sharp.) The other episodes look ok and aren't a distraction. Still. there's a layer of fuzz over everything. These are some of the best episodes, too bad they didn't receive the care they deserved.
Rating: Summary: First 6 Episodes of the Second Half of First Season Review: This DVD release will include episodes 13-18 of the series: "Collision Course" (with guest star Margaret Leighton as the veiled, eons old alien Queen Arra); the famous immortals on ice planet episode "Death's Other Dominion", with its almost Shakespearian dialog and guest star Brian Blessed as a scientist obsessed with bestowing eternal life to the peoples of the universe; "The Full Circle", the episode remembered by many as the one with the jungle planet's mist that transmutes an Alphan landing party into cavemen; "End of Eternity", with guest star Peter Bowles as an immortal psychopath garbed in black and unwittingly released from his asteroid prison by the Alphans; "War Games", the special effects extravaganza of a devastating attack upon Moonbase Alpha by Mark IX Hawks seemingly launched from a purple planet; and "The Last Enemy", in which the hobo Moon becomes strategicially important to both sides in an interplanetary war. Most of the episodes in this collection are even more gripping and memorable than those in Sets 1 and 2.
Rating: Summary: First 6 Episodes of the Second Half of First Season Review: This DVD release will include episodes 13-18 of the series: "Collision Course" (with guest star Margaret Leighton as the veiled, eons old alien Queen Arra); the famous immortals on ice planet episode "Death's Other Dominion", with its almost Shakespearian dialog and guest star Brian Blessed as a scientist obsessed with bestowing eternal life to the peoples of the universe; "The Full Circle", the episode remembered by many as the one with the jungle planet's mist that transmutes an Alphan landing party into cavemen; "End of Eternity", with guest star Peter Bowles as an immortal psychopath garbed in black and unwittingly released from his asteroid prison by the Alphans; "War Games", the special effects extravaganza of a devastating attack upon Moonbase Alpha by Mark IX Hawks seemingly launched from a purple planet; and "The Last Enemy", in which the hobo Moon becomes strategicially important to both sides in an interplanetary war. Most of the episodes in this collection are even more gripping and memorable than those in Sets 1 and 2.
Rating: Summary: Some of the best episodes of "Space: 1999" on one DVD! Review: This much-anticipated dvd release features several of the most popular episodes of the first season of "Space:1999" (a British-made series which aired from 1975-76 on American television) - one of the best (and most underrated) sci-fi series ever made. Among the episodes - "War Games", which is filled with great battle scenes, the near-destruction of Moonbase Alpha by a hostile alien planet, and which has a surprise ending; "The Last Enemy", which has a strange "battle of the sexes" theme unlike anything else that's been shown in sci-fi. As the episode begins the Moon is approaching a two-planet solar system. The two planets have been at war for centuries, but since their orbits are on opposite sides of their sun they can't get a clear shot at each other. The blue, female-dominated planet (filled with Xena types in tight black outfits) sends a huge warship to the Moon. It lands near Alpha and begins shooting at the enemy red planet, which is controlled by men (the Captain Kirk planet). Well, the male-dominated planet returns fire and Moonbase Alpha is caught in the middle. Commander Koenig must find a way to end this war of the sexes before Moonbase Alpha is destroyed in the crossfire. In "Death's Other Dominion" the Alphans discover a frozen planet that's occupied by the survivors of a deep-space Earth mission that vanished years earlier. The leader of the survivors is friendly at first, but he turns out to be a mad scientist (are there any other kind in science fiction?) who is bent on making humans immortal, no matter what the cost. And in "Collision Course" the Moon is on a collision course with a huge pink planet that will almost surely destroy the Moon when they collide. The Alphans come up with a plan to avoid the collision by using nuclear weapons to blast the planet out of their path. But Commander Koenig is kidnapped by the alien planet's Queen, who informs him that he must allow the collision to take place. Koenig then turns against his own people and halts the explosion...making the collision a certainty. If you're a fan of sci-fi and you're tired of the usual bland sci-fi fare that's produced these days, then you'll find these episodes to be delightfully different and creative. If you're already a fan of "Space: 1999" then this is probably the DVD set you've been waiting for!
Rating: Summary: Space: 1999, Set 3 DVD Review: This review is going to assume that you are already a fan of the series and are pretty much familiar with the premise. I'm going to comment more on the DVD production quality of this latest set, which has been recently released in conjuction with Set 4. After being pleasantly surprised with Set 1, I was anticipating more of the same with this set 3, specifically the sharp, clear images of the episodes. Unfortunately, this latest set seems to have a slight layer of opaqueness to it. Mind you, the image is not blurry but it's not as crystal clear as the episodes mastered on set 1. Also, there is dust and particles on the images, which is common to 35 mm prints but that makes me wonder: are these the best prints that they could acquire for transfer or the only ones? The special features section which showed some behind the scenes stills in set 1 have been replaced by straight screen captures from the episodes in set 3 (with more dust and particles). These aren't all too exciting and the image quality leaves a lot to be desired (poor resolution). Some are even inverted (notice the by-the-neck zipper or some other aspect of the Moonbase Alpha clothing is on the wrong side). Did nobody do a last minute check to see that the stills were inverted? Overall, the set delivered my desire to see more episodes of Space: 1999, but from a DVD production aspect, it had an overall generally sloppy feel to it, especially compared to set 1. So if you're looking to see more episodes of this show, go for set 3 (and set 4, which suffer from the same things I describe above). It's just that you may find the viewing to be of lacklustre quality after getting used to seeing what the DVD format is capable of.
Rating: Summary: Coolest show ever! Review: Well, you'll either love it or hate it. But I loved it the very first day the pilot aired. I was still completely in awe of the moon landings that had just ended 2 or 3 years before, and woulda done ANYTHING to go to the moon... so when a tv show about a moonbase showed up... well... WOOHOO!! The science is, well, almost non-existant.. but for some reason in this case I can forgive that. The show is the ultimate adventure and when you combine that with the hypnotic music.. wow! I just watched Deaths Other Dominion and was reminded of the incredible acting in this episode. VERY dramatic! If you like science fiction and can get past a little bit (well, a LOT) of bad science and just enjoy the adventure, this is definitely for you. Better than all Star Trek shows, except for a few episodes from TOS. I've waited 25 years for these DVD's and they were definitely worth it!
Rating: Summary: Pure Enjoyment! Space 1999 Review: With every episode of Space 1999 you become swept away with the storyline and plot. Now that it has arrived on DVD! it is even better than I remember, especially with the added footage and color enhancement. It's like watching it for the first time all over again. I recommend this DVD along with all the other sets to fully appreciate the incredible imagination and creativity of Space 1999. A marvel of its time!
Rating: Summary: Pure Enjoyment! Space 1999 Review: With every episode of Space 1999 you become swept away with the storyline and plot. Now that it has arrived on DVD! it is even better than I remember, especially with the added footage and color enhancement. It's like watching it for the first time all over again. I recommend this DVD along with all the other sets to fully appreciate the incredible imagination and creativity of Space 1999. A marvel of its time!
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