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Summary: Finally, Space: 1999 as it was meant to be seen!
Review: As a fan of 1970s era Sci Fi (Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Logan's Run and Space: 1999), I have been really looking forward to finally seeing this show on DVD. After putting these two disks in my ever hungry DVD player, here are my impressions: The show has never looked better! Over the years, viewers have been subjected to sub-standard copies, hacked up to make room for more commercials and then thrown into syndication. A&E has done a fantastic job transfering the show from the original elements to ensure a near reference quality edition of the show. (Once in a while, there are the odd speck of dust.) I am also impressed that A&E went to the effort to release the show in the proper order. In addition, a selection of production stills are provided as an extra. This is very welcomed as it includes rare behind the scenes material that I believe have never been released before. There are also animated menus that capture the flavor of the show. All this attention to detail really shows that A&E cares about the quality of this release and the viewing satisfaction of the fans. (Are you listening Paramount Home Video?) I look forward to future releases in this series and hope to collect them all.
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Summary: More of a sentimental favorite
Review: As I stated in my review of the first box set ( which actually contained comments on this box set...oops ), I am a big devotee of this show, and have particularly fond memories of it from my childhood.Onto specifics: This box set contains one of the best gothic horror/SF shows ever filmed - "Force Of Life". Ian McShane ( later to star in the charming British mystery series "Lovejoy" ) plays a worker in one of Moonbase Alpha's Nuclear power plants, who becomes host to a mysterious glowing 'life form' that craves heat to survive. There is genuine warmth ( no pun intended ) in the scenes with his wife, and we feel a touch of pathos when he is eventually taken over completely by the life force. There is abundant creepiness, stylish direction, good performances, and best of all... no falsely happy ending, or complete resolution to the mystery of the energy force's visit. Oh, there's a bit of conjecture by the professor as to the origin and motives of the being, but no concrete and unshakable explanation of the events - to paraphrase a certain pop-diva, " Life is a mystery.." Although the show was often critcized for it's open-ended and metaphysical stories, I've always found it a refreshing contrast to other shows which seem to feel that, 98% percent of the time, everything has to be explained away in great detail. Space 1999 often left events open to the viewer's own interpretation. Was it partly due to sloppy storytelling? On occasion yes. But still, I admire the series for what it tried to accomplish back in those dry days for SF between Star Trek and Star Wars.
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Summary: Six More First Season Episodes
Review: As released by New Video Group and A & E Home Video, this boxed set of 2 DVDs is expected to contain the second six episodes of Space: 1999's first season, three on each disc. Likely episodes are "Missing Link" (with special guest star Peter Cushing), "Guardian of Piri" (guest starring Catherine Schell), "Force of Life" (with Ian McShane of TV's Lovejoy as guest star), "Alpha Child", "The Last Sunset", and "Voyager's Return". A must-have for any classic SF television collector.
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Summary: Moon Base Alpha has come home!!
Review: Ask me how excited I was when I found out that Space 1999 was coming out on DVD!!! Ecstatic..thats what I felt. I remember as a kid in the late 70's sitting down on Sundays crosslegged and mesmerized by Catherine Schell and her transformations. Also the very beautiful and always classy Barbara Bain kept me occupied. I just purchased the boxed DVD sets and I cant get enough, the sharpness and clarity of the episodes are great the sound amazing and just watching it brings on a flood of good memories. They are supposedly bringing out the other episodes, this summer we should see boxes 3 and 4 so keep your fingers crossed and in the meantime enjoy Dr. Russell (Barbara Bain) and Commander Koenig (Martin Landau)as they search for a way home.
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Summary: 20 YEARS AHEAD OF ITS TIME!
Review: Before the X-files-before Alien-before Star Trek The Next Generation, there was Space 1999! Martin Laundau and Barbara Bain are the greatest!Gothic horror,sci-fi,and edge of your seat suspense, space had it all! More than 20 years later I cant forget the horrrrrific conclusion to The End of Eternity,the terror of Dragons Domain,the mind-bending, gut-wrenching finale of War Games or the gruesome secret of The Mission Of The Darians! Commander Koenig is no Captain Kirk! You do not mess with him. Space 1999 is superior to any thing that the powers that-be call "science fiction". No more sci-fi network for me ,just more episodes please.I cant wait to see the psychopath in the Lambda Factor again .As the Dorcons say in season 2- RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!
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Summary: Space 1999 I Liked Year 2 Even Better
Review: Breakaway was pure awesome. At the time it beat the socks off any other sci fi out there... It did not have the Saturday Night Fever invades hyperspace look of Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century that was on network TV about that time. I feel Breakaway and, Voyagers Return are the real stand outs in this initial DVD series... Voyager was like so totally cool. This episode grabbed you and, kept you interested. Ernest Queller was a trully deep if a bit twisted man. I found myself alternately loving and, hating Earnest Qwueller and, his technology. I sort of agreed with both point and, counterpoint of his conflict. As for Breakaway that stupid commissioner of the International Lunar Finance Commision Simmons I think was his name = (Their Dr. Smith) was a scream. Simmons was such a timid weird whiney sick puppy. Finally the special effects and the computer's dry nature were fascinating. The only really bad thing about Year 1 was Barry Gray's morbid to dead lifeless musical score's. I loved Space: 1999 Year 2, Some of the episodes made you think and, had bite others were just lost in space funny but the music score from Derek Wadsworth they had life of course I liked Disco. Music scores were so much better in Spacve: 1999 Year 2 there is no comparing. I wonder why they never made the Space 1999 Year 2 Soundtrack widely available in the USA. I was and, still am aching for an easy way to buy the Space: 1999 Year 2 Soundtrack in the USA. Here's hoping Amazon gets more Space: 1999 episodes and, both Year 1 & 2 soundtracks because, I would gladly buy many copies of all of it. I am a committed Space: 1999 PFreak!
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Summary: "Return To Base!"
Review: For me, life sure has been grand now that SPACE:1999 is being released on DVD. After all these years, the show is just as entertaining now as when I would eagerly await each episode back in the '70s on the UHF station in St. Louis. What set it apart from other efforts was the attention to detail, the thought provoking storylines, and the idea of everyone helping each other to survive. It also had a very good design the likes of Silent Running and Kubrick's 2001. I find it funny that people criticised the show's logic in episodes like set #1's "The Black Sun." Gee whiz, I'm still trying to figure out the last half hour of 2001! Isaac Asimov was also too critical of this series--I've read some of Asimov's work and he is just as guilty on some things...guys, why do you think they call this science FICTION? Another interesting thing was back when this show first aired, one of the major tabloids had an article saying SPACE:1999 was voted the most violent show on television (oh, my) and was all in a fit over one episode that showed a NAKED COUPLE IN BED... they were referring to this set's episode "Force Of Life" and what I saw was a couple wearing ROBES in bed! And to think The Brady Bunch was daring for even having a man and a woman in the SAME bed! This is all summed up best as Divine said in the film Hairspray: "The times they are a'changin', somethin's blowin' in the wind...hand me my diet pills would ya, hon?" This set contains one of the most visually striking episodes, "The Guardian Of Piri" and to this day friends still mention that episode for its exceptional set design. "Force Of Life" has a set for the generator area that will have you eyeing all over the screen for it's vastness and details. Even the aliens are in a way beautiful and frightening at once, not like the "new crease in the big forehead" aliens Star Trek kept recycling in any of its given spinoffs. What is so satisfying about each episode of SPACE:1999 as well is that they leave you with something to ponder as the last scene ends in a freeze-frame and smacks you with the end theme. Kick back, relax, and enjoy SPACE:1999 all over again. Those who haven't seen it will even be pleasantly surprised, I'm certain of it! Now, if only Streisand sang "Alpha Can You Hear Me" in Yentl...!!
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Summary: More Information
Review: Further on my review of Space: 1999 DVDs, this boxed set's episodes are confirmed as the ones expected. Commander Koenig is abducted to the purple planet Zenno to be the subject of study by an alien anthropologist in "Missing Link", a planet where machines do all of the work beguiles all Alphans but Koenig into settling on the planet's surface in "Guardian of Piri", an Alphan technician becomes an heat-and-energy-consuming monster when an alien force invades his body in "Force of Life", Alpha's first infant mysteriously grows to the size of a five-year-old in a matter of seconds in "Alpha Child", alien cylinders bearing air transform the barren Moon into a sunny Eden in "The Last Sunset", and an Earth space probe powered by a primitive and destructive nuclear engine threatens the Moonbase in "Voyager's Return". All 48 episodes of Space: 1999 will be released in the next 18 months, and this is to be the second of eight box sets.
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Summary: Great fun with human puppets!!
Review: Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, responsible for Thunderbirds, turned their attention of using the same principals of their puppet-shows, but use live actors instead of the puppets, and the result was UFO. Okay the series has some flaws, but die-hard fans loved it. Their next entry was Space 1999. Again, maybe not high brow, and some special effects were low brow..lol, but it was still great fun. This is the second set of episodes of the Earthlings trapped on the moon now travelling through space due to an accident. With the Oscar winning Martin Landau and this then wife, Barbara Bain, heading the cast they were well acted and rather nifty tales. This set has Missing Link, where Landau is captured on planet Zenno, where humans appear to the be missing link; The Guardian of Piri, another planet where the Alphans try to land, but run into the Guardian, and once you gaze into its lights you are lost. Force of Life, (starring the wonderful Ian McShane) as a technician that is invaded by a heat-seeking life form; Alpha Child - the first child is born on Alpha Moonbase, but soon the joy turns to fear as the child shows strange powers; The Last Sunset - Suddenly the Moon has atmosphere...but how did this happen?; Voyager's Return. A space probe launched from Earth to acquire information comes back to moonbase with terrible repercussions. So pop a bunch of popcorn and have a fun evening!
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Summary: How cool is this?
Review: I bought Box set 1 and 2, and although there aren't many extras on the DVD's, the episode were really great! For 1975 it really had pretty good effects and interesting plots. The actors are good, and come on, it's so cool to see a futuristic space show with analog clocks, bell bottom pants, and pre-mousse hair styles!!! What a fun ride.
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