Space: 1999 (30th Anniversary Edition Megaset)
by Kevin Connor, Val Guest, Bob Brooks (III), Robert Lynn (II)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Barbara Bain, Barry Morse, Catherine Schell, Martin Landau, Nick TateDirector: Bob Brooks (III), Kevin Connor, Robert Lynn (II), Val Guest
Brand: A&E
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 2496 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-07-31
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: A&E Home Video
Product features:
- The year is 44 B.C. Julius Caesar has been assassinated and civil war threatens to destroy the Republic. In the void left by Caesar's demise, egos clash and numerous players jockey for position. The brutally ambitious Mark Antony attempts to solidify his power, aligning himself with Atia, but coming to blows with her cunning son Octavian, who has been anointed in Caesar's will as his only
Movie Reviews of Space: 1999 (30th Anniversary Edition Megaset)
Movie Review: "Ground Control To Major John..."
Summary: 5 Stars
Moonbase Alpha, 1999: Commander John Koenig (Martin Landau) is a man with a problem: as the newly appointed commander of the Moon's only colony, it is his responsibility to prepare the first manned mission to the newly discovered 'Meta' - a nearby planet which is suspected of hosting life following the Alphan's reception of a mysterious signal which originates there - and he not only has to contend with an almost impossible launch window and politicking on Earth, but also a mysterious virus which is wiping out many of the flight crew. However, these turn out to be the least of Koenig's worries when a cataclysmic event on the Moon's dark side tears the planet itself out of orbit and sends it sailing away into deep space. Now Koenig finds himself captain of a city-state-in-space, and space, as Koenig is to soon discover, can be a very hostile place indeed...
"Space 1999" was Thunderbirds 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition Megaset and Captain Scarlet - The Complete Series alumnus Gerry Anderson's second foray into television fantasy using live actors rather than marionettes (the first was The Complete UFO Megaset) and, for my money, there has not been a television series like it before or since. At the time of it's broadcast in 1975, it was the most expensive science fiction series ever made and the budget is quite clearly all onscreen in terms of the production design (which had quite clearly been massively influenced by Kubrick's 2001 - A Space Odyssey (Two-Disc Special Edition)) and the lavish - for the time - special effects.
But what sets "Space 1999" aside from its compatriots is it's deeply bleak, abstract and bizarrely spooky tone. No series before or since has quite so eerily evoked the bleak loneliness of being lost in deep space and I can honestly say that this series contains numerous episodes, images, sounds and musical leitmotifs which have haunted me since I first experienced them as a child. More than a few of the episodes (especially those of season one) are abstract in both terms of plot and execution and are accented heavily towards the metaphysical and the mythological. Quite simply, you just wouldn't be allowed to get away with the kind of experimentation that you see in episodes such as "The Black Sun", "Troubled Spirit" or "Dragon's Domain" in a big budget mainstream science fiction series these days.
If one is of a mind, one can pick all kinds of holes in "Space 1999"; for a start, the science is quite patently complete bunkum: an event capable of tearing the moon out of orbit (and if you really want to get technical, an event capable of tearing the moon out of orbit originating on the dark side of the moon) would not push the Moon away from the Earth but towards it, kill everyone on the lunar surface, and probably lay waste to the earth in the process; it also would take thousands of years for a lost moon to reach deep space, let alone make contact with alien life (if "Drake's equation" is to be believed). But put these to one side, because one should not watch "Space 1999" for a realistic depiction of space exploration; one should watch it because of it's deeply strange evocative tone and trippy textures. Suffice it to say, if you want to know where films like Duncan Jones' Moon, writers like Grant Morrison, and bands like "Boards Of Canada" drew their inspiration, then spend some time with the Alphans and all will become clear when you experience first-hand just how strangely psychedelic and bleakly abstract seventies UK television fantasy could be.
Summary of Space: 1999 (30th Anniversary Edition Megaset)
All 48 episodes of this acclaimed space adventure are contained in this complete collection, digitally remastered from the original 35mm film, plus bonus footage, featured extras, and much more! With its progressive plotlines, an outstanding cast, and astonishing special effects from Oscar® winner Brian Johnson (Alien, The Empire Strikes Back), SPACE: 1999 has secured its place as one of the most thought-provoking series of the 21st century?and beyond.When it was first broadcast in 1975, there had never been a more lavishly produced science fiction TV series than Space: 1999, a British production whose budget for the first of its two seasons ran an astounding £3.25 million. What keeps us fans enthralled after all these years has only partly to due with the first-rate production values, the plausibly constructed spaceship models, and expert special effects. The tone of the show is one of scientific dispassion, setting it apart from its TV sci-fi predecessors such as Star Trek, whose mood was more convivial. Our heroes here are in dire circumstances that require cool heads as a survival trait. Those circumstances: the 311 crew members of Moonbase Alpha experience a cataclysm that causes the moon to break away from Earth's orbit and travel endlessly through space, turning our heroes into unintentional explorers. No TV series has created a more palpable feel of hard science fiction than this.
Of course the show is not without its detractors; it has been soundly lambasted for its many scientific errors. No less august a figure than Isaac Asimov criticized the show for its premise in the opening episode, "Breakaway," which had nuclear explosions on the "dark side of the moon" somehow propelling it out of Earth's orbit and flying through space without regard to any physical laws. In "Earthbound," aliens traveling to Earth state it will take them 75 years to reach their destination, making one wonder why it didn't take the moon that long to encounter the aliens. While these are serious complaints, fans tend to remember the scientific seriousness of the series and the sense of awe created by the many strange creatures and phenomena that the crew members encounter on their journey through the galaxy.
The Space: 1999 30th Anniversary Mega Set collects all 48 episodes broadcast over the show's two seasons, contained on 17 DVDs that include vintage interviews, production stills, TV promotional spots, and interactive menus, and some material that was not seen in the original U.S. broadcasts has been restored. The episodes do not use the 2005 high-def remasters, so this is essentially the same as the 2002 Mega Set, but at a fraction of the shelf space (the Thinpak packaging is nicely compact) and a fraction of the price. --Jim Gay
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