Rating: 
Summary: Great Special Effects, Poor Character Development & Science
Review: "Space 1999", a 1970's sci-fi television series that lasted for two seasons, was the brainchild of Gerry & Sylvia Anderson, previously known for their TV productions of "UFO" and "The Thunderbirds". The primary plot of "Space 1999" was that Earth's moon is blasted into an unknown trajectory into deep space by an accidental supermassive explosion. The explosion resulted from a build-up radiation within stockpiles of radioactive waste that had been ferried to the moon during several preceding years. A manned lunar base, called Moonbase Alpha, was also constructed where scientists, technicians and other personnel monitored the two radioactive waste disposal areas. The 311 people assigned to Alpha survive the explosion. Their commander, John Keonig (Martin Landau) decides shortly thereafter that attempting a return to Earth would be more dangerous than remaining on Alpha, so Alpha's crew never sees home again. During its two seasons, the moon travels past many inhabited worlds and Alpha's crew studies each one closely as a possible place to build new homes and lives.There are several basic physical problems with the basis of the plot. First, it is far more likely that an explosion that could hurl the moon out of Earth orbit would instead destroy the moon and a rain of dangerous meteors would cause considerable damage on Earth. A ring of debris would also encircle the Earth similar to the rings of Saturn. Second, since there was an explosion, there would have been a massive crater and debris, but any views of the moon from space on "Space 1999" never show a massive crater resulting from the radioactive waste explosion. Early news reports from Earth make no mention of debris raining down on the Earth from the explosion. Third, it is highly unlikely that a single explosion would have sufficient force to propel the moon at speeds necessary to traverse interstellar distances in a few months. Earth's nearest interstellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri, is more than 4 light years away. A craft would need to travel 24 times the speed of light to reach Alpha Centauri within 2 months. Ships in "Star Trek" routinely travel much faster than the speed of light, but they do so in a much more believable manner than the scenario created in "Space 1999". Fourth, if the moon is traveling faster than light, how could the Eagle spacecraft, which presumably only travel slower than light, be able to visit other planets before the moon zips past them? If they left the moon, they would never be able to return. The only answer is that the moon also mysteriously decelerates to mere sub-light speeds whenever it approaches habitable planets. This gives Alpha's crew the opportunity to visit, before the moon subsequently accelerates back to its previous faster-than-light velocity in time to reach other habitable worlds for future episodes. No natural force exists that could do this. Fifth, the population of Alpha when it leaves Earth orbit is only 311 people. In the first season alone, at least 1 or 2 people die in each episode. With only one known birth during the first season, at least 10% of Alpha's total population would be dead. At the beginning of the second season, Helena Russell (Barbara Bain) says that over 1100 days have elapsed since the moon left Earth, but Alpha's crew is not 30-40% smaller; nor are there any children. Sixth, since Alpha's crew is completely cut off from friends & family on Earth, morale should be a major concern. Unfortunately, few of the 48 episodes ever focused on character development or the reality of crew's complete isolation. Instead, everyone appears to be relatively happy and many of the regular characters are only seen at their desks in Alpha's control room, Main Mission. Few love affairs are ever shown and little, if any, recreational activities. The atmosphere on Alpha is mostly sterile, boring and psychologically unrealistic. The Anderson's devoted a lot of time to developing the characters of Ed Straker and Col. Foster on "UFO", but little is ever known about the personal lives of John Keonig, Helena Russell or any other "Space 1999" character. Seventh, "Space 1999" never depicts the dangers of ferrying radioactive waste to the moon for burial. It would be disastrous if any rocket containing waste crashed during or shortly after takeoff. Also, costs would be enormous and environmentalists would be protesting. I enjoyed "Space 1999" as a child, but I don't enjoy it as much now. I believe the Andersons would have done far better to keep their original idea: to create a second season of the much more believable series "UFO" instead of abandoning its plot to create "Space 1999". "Space 1999" had a massive budget and its sets and special effects were far better than any previous Anderson production. However, lack of character development and unbelievable science prevented the series from achieving the same audience and popularity that shows such as "Star Trek" and "Babylon 5" still have. Picture and sound quality on the "Space 1999" DVD's is very good. Some longer scenes that were not originally aired in the U.S. don't always maintain the same high picture & sound quality. If you are thinking of purchasing several individual 2-DVD sets of "Space 1999", you would be better off buying the entire Megaset of all 16 DVD's because it will probably be cheaper. Otherwise, just rent them as I have been doing.
Rating: 
Summary: MUST HAVE
Review: A must have.THE complete series in one set.
Rating:
Summary: What the ... ?
Review: After buying the first 6 sets individually, I only hope that the special features announce for this MEGA Set will be available on the last DVD sets (number 8). And where is the "Message From Moonbase Alpha" episode ? ... Beside the fact that those Sets are very expansive this is a MUST for any Space 1999 Fan. I have been a huge fan when I was a kid and looking at those fantastic Eagle spaceship again was a great source of fun and pleasure. If you have already started buying the first DVD sets individualy like me, you are probably feeling frustrated by the fact that we didn't see that MEGA DVD Set comming. I DO !!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent set.
Review: As a child I loved this series, it was state of the art then, and I still love it now. It does lack character depth and it is not very scientifically correct. However the overall theme of the series is very good. The sterile atmosphere, lack of colors (almost everything is in black and white on moonbase Alpha) and sense of continuos danger and fragility makes it unique in it's own way. I like season 1 better. Season two is more on the comedy cheesy side than the more serious and straightforward season 1. I like Maya, she is a pretty and warm character, but to my opinion does not fit well with the original serious mood of the show and so does Tony. I miss Victor the scientist from season 1 and the soundtrack is also much more dramatic in season 1 as well. The command center in season 2 is too small and busy in design, I still like the original one better and the complete lack of windows makes it lose that three dimensionality it had in season 1. The dvd megaset is well put togheter and well presented. The picture quality is very good overall with some episodes better than others. The sound quality however is poor with only mono sound and no broad frequency response (in other words don't bother with a subwoofer). Overall: EXCELLENT
Rating: 
Summary: I honestly don't own any Space 1999 DVD's
Review: As the title states... I don't own any of the recently released DVD's of this fine show. However my comments are from what I recall from Memory of its original broadcast dates.
Being only 12 during its first season my opinion may be somewhat jaded but that doesn't deter the very fact that this show had some excellent episodes that weren't surpassed until the fall of 1987 when Star Trek TNG came out.
I wish I could remember specifically which episodes of this series were because SOME were (story wise) just so rich in its content and overall production. Sadly though - the series did suffer with the introduction of the shapeshifter. It was a idea that was ahead of its time BUT the way they decided to show the shapeshifting process was laughable at best.
I also question on why (from technical reviews) on why they didn't put the needed $$ to do it right the first time and release (remix) the sound in 5.1 surround sound? Most certainly the technology exists to do this quite easily so why the delay?
I hesitate to buy these DVD's for that simple reason. There is no excuse for this poor decision. Now IF it couldn't be done then that would understandable but we all know that it can.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 for show 1 for for disks
Review: Buyer beware, if you already bought the disks by set, this is just repackaging. All the extras listed are on vol.s 7 & 8, the special extra-extras disks promised will only be available through another site. Buy a region free player and get the French (Cosmos 1999)(which has Message from Moonbase Alpha, in english) or the U.K. sets instead (which can be ordered through the Amazon links below). A and E doing a total rip-off.
Rating:
Summary: Space 1999: Surrealistic, Intelligent SciFi.
Review: Extraordinarily high quality TV sci-fi show designed to please intelligent viewers out there. The mix of "Hard Science" with brilliant scripting brings a much needed, refreshing change from the overplayed, mundane Star Trek world and other works. Sheer and true brilliance at works here. Some of the visuals come out as being as strong as the ones present in 2001 by Kubrick, that is saying a lot. Each episode feels like a full blown movie. Space 1999 is an overwhelmingly trippy and smart sci fi experience. It also brings elements of true horror, you'll be shocked and awed many times. Prepare for a psychedelic journey through the inky void and blackness of space, which can be scary and downright frightening at times. I wouldn't recommend this show for younger audiences at any rate. I do recommend viewing the show with lights dimmed out for maximum immersion factor. No watered down space opera drama offered here, this is true hardcore sci-fi. Characters are blatantly confrontational, don't fake smiles and emotions are kept realistically raw. This is expected considering the odds they must battle with. It is however a very bold move by the original producers of the show. In this regard, it comes out as being honestly genuine, stories are quite imaginative as well. This was done in the 70s, and as such several of the true science fact may seem dated by now, others remained shockingly fresh. Those minor miss ups are irrelevant overall, perhaps a small annoyance to the overwhelmingly critical viewers. At any rate, the show comes out as being incredibly fresh and energetic from all angles. The video quality of the episodes is superb on DVD as well. Season 1 and Season 2 are very different beasts altogether. Understand that by Season 2 a new American producer was brought in (Freddy Friedburger, who worked on Star Trek). Suffice to say, he changed many things around, making the show similar to what Star Trek was. This was not needed, except for the ratings at the time. The show remained good in Season 2 nonetheless (Season 1 has a lot of episodes at any rate, no worries). Have a look at a site called space1999.net for more details if you're interested. Basically several second role key actors were booted out at the end of Season 1, when they refused a salary decrease. Season 2 is shot in a Star Trek fashion, much less cerebral than Season 1, much more predictable and filled with the standard oneliners. Still enjoyable, but the true magic of the show really lies in the first Season. This is a must get for all 70s fans. If you enjoyed Logan's Run, Westworld or 2001, you'll love this. Fantastic show, with content and intelligence. A pure mind trip at times and very surrealistic. Highly recommended, a rare gem. Sadly we don't get this level of quality from television shows anymore. Martin Landau.
Rating:
Summary: Space 1999: Surrealistic, Intelligent SciFi.
Review: Extraordinarily high quality TV sci-fi show designed to please intelligent viewers out there. The mix of "Hard Science" with brilliant scripting brings a much needed, refreshing change from the overplayed, mundane Star Trek world and other works. Sheer and true brilliance at works here. Some of the visuals come out as being as strong as the ones present in 2001 by Kubrick, that is saying a lot. Each episode feels like a full blown movie. Space 1999 is an overwhelmingly trippy and smart sci fi experience. It also brings elements of true horror, you'll be shocked and awed many times. Prepare for a psychedelic journey through the inky void and blackness of space, which can be scary and downright frightening at times. I wouldn't recommend this show for younger audiences at any rate. I do recommend viewing the show with lights dimmed out for maximum immersion factor. No watered down space opera drama offered here, this is true hardcore sci-fi. Characters are blatantly confrontational, don't fake smiles and emotions are kept realistically raw. This is expected considering the odds they must battle with. It is however a very bold move by the original producers of the show. In this regard, it comes out as being honestly genuine, stories are quite imaginative as well. This was done in the 70s, and as such several of the true science fact may seem dated by now, others remained shockingly fresh. Those minor miss ups are irrelevant overall, perhaps a small annoyance to the overwhelmingly critical viewers. At any rate, the show comes out as being incredibly fresh and energetic from all angles. The video quality of the episodes is superb on DVD as well. Season 1 and Season 2 are very different beasts altogether. Understand that by Season 2 a new American producer was brought in (Freddy Friedburger, who worked on Star Trek). Suffice to say, he changed many things around, making the show similar to what Star Trek was. This was not needed, except for the ratings at the time. The show remained good in Season 2 nonetheless (Season 1 has a lot of episodes at any rate, no worries). Have a look at a site called space1999.net for more details if you're interested. Basically several second role key actors were booted out at the end of Season 1, when they refused a salary decrease. Season 2 is shot in a Star Trek fashion, much less cerebral than Season 1, much more predictable and filled with the standard oneliners. Still enjoyable, but the true magic of the show really lies in the first Season. This is a must get for all 70s fans. If you enjoyed Logan's Run, Westworld or 2001, you'll love this. Fantastic show, with content and intelligence. A pure mind trip at times and very surrealistic. Highly recommended, a rare gem. Sadly we don't get this level of quality from television shows anymore. Martin Landau.
Rating:
Summary: Forget the science and enjoy it!
Review: First of all, the moon is not traveling at light speed or anywhere near it. This misconception is probably due to the fact that the episodes were either put in the wrong order on the DVD sets or shown out of order during their TV run, the latter not being uncommon. In the second episode they are already light years from earth with no explanation but by the 3rd or 4th episode, they are sent through a black hole and it is explained that they are now light years from earth. Obviously these episodes are shown in the wrong order. This happens a few times in the 2nd season when the dates that Helena gives at the beginning of each episode do not fall into sequence with the preceeding or following episodes. But why all the nitpicking, can't we, even as adults, suspend some belief, and enjoy something we enjoyed when we were younger. So what if the science is not perfect, it's close enough to ignore and enjoy. As for there not being any character development, this is an hour show and we have all the character that we need. Ok, so there could be some more developemnt, but we know Allen's character and certainly John Koenig's. With the little that we are given, we can draw from that and know what kind of people they are. As for romance and character interaction, there were 2 or 3 episodes with romances, ill-fated though they were. How do we know there were no children, we may not have been shown everything. Children wouldn't be running around in the control room. The premise isn't perfect, half the shows in the second season aren't that great, but it's fun, sometimes funny. So enjoy this great set. I bought them separately and have enjoyed them all. One final note on the extras included in the box set. There is a fan produced final episode and lots of other extras on an extra disk that was never available with the individual sets. I emailed A&E and complained about the unfairness of that to the people who bought the individual sets and they informed me that this extra disk will be made available separately during the early part of 2003. So, another thing to enjoy. Have fun and keep suspended.
Rating:
Summary: Gerry Anderson's Ultimate Classic
Review: For many sci-fi fans Space 1999 was the ultimate treat during the '70s.Combining stunning visuals,color,glam and the most unbelievable storylines this show established a worldwide cult following like non other.At it's time it was also considered as being the most expensive tv series produced,eclipsing the original Star Trek series by far.Americans Martin Landau and Barbara Bain(both from Mission Impossible)led the otherwise British cast that featured guest stars,including Barry Morse in the first season, and Catherine Schell who became a regular and main attraction of the second season.One of the technical marvels were the insect like Eagle spacecrafts,that the Alphans used in almost every episode.The intricate details on these machines and their surroundings illustrated the time and effort spent in prodution,courtesy of Brian Johnson.
All 48(remastered) episodes feature elaborate storylines where the Alphans encounter a variety of complex and eventually hostile alien lifeforms,as they journey through space looking for the planet that would welcome and support them.It's also interesting to note that most of the episodes are completely uncut thus providing us with additional footage that was probably not seen during the original broadcast.This entire set comes loaded with extras like promotional trailers,cast and crew interviews,trick photography etc. that would make any Gerry Anderson fan happy .A sci-fi classic for sure !
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