Space 1999 (1 Viewer)

[younger1968]

I bought the complete re-mastered series a few years ago. I like show and watch a few episode from time to time. There are some really well done episodes.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Yeah watched the Black Sun on the 100" screen in my HT, the music and atmosphere of this ep is really theatrical and holds up on the large screen with gorgwous image. Somehow Bergman was able to do some fancy math that not only protected the moon but caused the Eagle to "Phase" it makes my Brain hurt as a 47 year old you can only imagine as a 13 year old what I was doing. Maybe thats why when the "Friendlier" Season 2 came on I like that one too. Maya Stomping thru the Moonbase as a Monster C'mon loved it. Plus Tony Verdeschi was into Beer making made him really cool ! I also liked that the same characters "Opened" up in season 2, they smiled alot more, and seem to be less detached than they were in Season 1. I can't imagine Kano or Bergman in Season 2. Plus the time frame of many episodes from Helena's "Log' puts it 8 to 9 years after leaving earth orbit. Plenty of time for the seamstresses to whip up fancy new duds for our Crew.

 

[Nebiroth]

I always held that the Moon surviving and later the Eagle vanishing and then meeting up with the Moon "on the other side" was nothing to do with Bergman's forcefield and actually down to the "friend" that Koenig and Bergman speak with.

There's no suggestion that the Eagle actually enters the Black Sun, or that it is equipped with a shield either, although it does phase like Bergman and Koenig do (even though their surroundings don't)

It's a highly atmospheric episode, and the dialogue scene with Koenig/Bergman/the "friend" is terrific.

 

[Kevin EK]

I finally received the Blu-ray set from A&E this past day (Wednesday) and I started looking at the discs as soon as I got home from work. (After 9pm, and after walking the puppy).

I immediately noticed a jaw-dropping upgrade in picture from the DVD sets I enjoyed 10 years ago. This is literally a night and day difference in picture quality. Also noticed that the 5.1 sound is actually pretty effective.

For this review, I will be comparing the new Blus to the old SDs, switching my HDTV input between a PS3 for the Blus, and a Pioneer DVD/laserdisc player for the SD discs. I will also include the revised transfers of three episodes on the Bonus Disc in this comparison. I will also compare the transfers between the UK Blu-ray set and the US Blu-ray set, to confirm that they are the same. From all the Network and Granada logos I am seeing on the discs, I will be shocked if I find different bitrates, codecs or anything else.

I watched the opening teaser for "The Metamorph" on the fifth disc, and noted a definite upgrade in picture from what I had seen on the SD DVD, although not as dramatic as the Series One material. I didn't really have a problem with the 2.0 sound. But I haven't done a direct comparison yet.

Watched the "These Episodes" collective featurette for the new episodes covered, and found, particularly in the case of "Another Time, Another Place" that there were more interesting comments available. Johnny Byrne openly acknowledges the dream logic factor in understanding and in appreciating the Series One episodes. Byrne has nice and appreciative comments about director David Tomblin (who would go on to be an assistant director on some major Hollywood productions afterwards)

Also watched the interview with Sylvia Anderson. The early sections (which I think A&E initially intended to edit out of this Blu-ray, and then changed up and left in) have nothing to do with Space: 1999. They cover other productions like UFO and The Protectors. The Space: 1999 section is primarily devoted to Sylvia's disdain for Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. Sylvia describes Martin Landau in decidedly uncomplimentary terms. She also proudly recounts a moment where she declined to return a phone call from Bain years after the series was over, since Bain and Landau never called her during the second series. Her discussion here is along the same lines as her "Testament of Arkadia" commentary from the SD Bonus Disc.

Overall, this is a really, really nice package. It's truly a gift to US fans of this series - providing the best transfers anyone has seen of the episodes, along with just about every extra enjoyed by UK fans five years ago and previously held back from the US. If you love or even like this series, and you have a Blu-ray player, this should be a no-brainer purchase.

And yes, A&E misspelled "Testament of Arkadia" on the 5th disc. It doesn't change the contents, which include a lovely transfer of that episode.

 

[Nelson Au]

Glad you got the review set Kevin! I didn't realize you also have the Network version from the UK.

Look forward to your review, and how the new A&E Blu ray stacks up with the Network version.

 

[younger1968]

I am a fan of Space 1999. I watch about an episode a week and last night i watched the time warp episode. It was a good episode. Since, hollywood is running out of ideas then i am wondering if they are going to look at movie called Space 1999.

 

[Kevin EK]

Just noting that my review of the Blu-ray set has now been updated, as I have received the UK Network Blu-ray edition and have been able to evaluate it in comparison to the A&E set.

Both sets are almost completely identical, down to the menus, and even the logos. All the A&E group did is encode the Blu discs for Region A and add their own logo to appear before the Network logo.

I noticed a very slight variance in the way the picture appears, even with identical bitrates, which I believe has to do with the A&E release being Region A encoded while the Network release has no Region coding. At some points, the Network release looks a little lighter (the level of brown on the Eagle passenger seats at the beginning of "Breakaway), and at others the Network release looks a little darker (the depth of color on the back of Koenig's command chair at the very end of "Earthbound"). In other places, the color levels are pretty much identical, and the amount of detail is identical. (the texture and colors of the nuclear waste canisters going into storage at the beginning of "Breakaway", the Kaldorian wardrobe colors inside the craft in "Earthbound", the colors inside the Medical Centre when Kano is plugged into the computer for "Guardian of Piri." In some places, I thought the A&E release looked a tiny bit grainier, but this is really getting into nitpicking. These are obviously the same transfers, simply ported over for the US market along with nearly all the extras on the A&E set.

Looking at the SD discs, I'm happier watching the US copies on my PS3 than watching the PAL copies on a region-free player. The picture quality is the same, and the real joy there is getting to see everything both from 2005 and now without having to jump through hoops to do so.

Now, the UK set does have an additional 2 1/2 minute Horizon segment on Brian Johnson's VFX on the 6th disc on the set, as well as a 30 second Lyons Maid ice lolly commercial on the 7th disc, and several PDFs on the 7th disc of scripts and manuals. And the UK set has a little booklet that carries over most of the booklet content from the 2005 set, including the Gerry Anderson introduction, the Michael Richardson reprint article "Back to the Future" (detailing the production history of Series One), and the Jonathan Wood article on the restoration process. The ITC Episode Guide from the 2005 edition is not included here. The UK set also has a guide on the inside covers of the Blu-ray set, detailing what can be found on each disc. The UK discs themselves are only labelled with a logo and their number in the set. The US discs have the episodes listed on them, albeit with "Testament of Arkadia" getting misspelled. And the UK set has a much nicer cover. If these differences are deal-breakers, I think we may be starting to miss the forest for the trees...

In my opinion, US fans will be very, very happy with the A&E set, and I'm glad it's now available.

 

[younger1968]

I have complete series of Space 1999 on dvd and watch it from time to time. I decided the other night to watch a few episodes and enjoyed them I always like the Eagle and/or moon buggy!!

 

[kingfish]

i was surprised that the studio didn't do a special effects update via what they did for the original star trek series. it would have been nice if the wires were removed from the eagles in some scenes.

 

[Darby67]

After reading through this thread, I am seriously considering buying the 30th Anniversary Megaset on DVD as a blind buy. Thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts on the series and its home video releases.

 

[Regulus]

You won't regret it!

 

[BobO'Link]

After reading through this thread, I am seriously considering buying the 30th Anniversary Megaset on DVD as a blind buy. Thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts on the series and its home video releases.

You *may* want to hold off a bit. TVShowsonDVD.com recently announced A&E (via new distributor LionsGate) will be releasing new versions of S1 & S2 for apparently *less* than the current prices on the Megaset. There's a link in the article to the pre-order pages for Amazon. No word yet if these will be the Network/UK remastered versions or not or what bonus material will be included.

Other than that... it's a very good program. If you enjoy the program I'd also recommend the UFO Megaset as it's a prequel of sorts for Space 1999.

 

[Regulus]

You *may* want to hold off a bit. TVShowsonDVD.com recently announced A&E (via new distributor LionsGate) will be releasing new versions of S1 & S2 for apparently *less* than the current prices on the Megaset. There's a link in the article to the pre-order pages for Amazon. No word yet if these will be the Network/UK remastered versions or not or what bonus material will be included.

Other than that... it's a very good program. If you enjoy the program I'd also recommend the UFO Megaset as it's a prequel of sorts for Space 1999.

If you have kids (or are a kid in heart) get the Gerry Anderson "Supermarionation" Series. Thunderbirds has the honor of being the first Science-Fiction Show I ever watched back in 1965. The Box Set of this series was also the first DVD set of a TV show I bought back in 2002.

 

[Jack P]

Of course one thing to consider is the availability of the bonus "Message From Moonbase Alpha" feature. I can't remember if that was avaiable only in the first complete series boxed set or if it was part of the Megaset but I do know I can't feel comfortable owning the whole series without having that perfect coda to the series.

 

[BobO'Link]

If you have kids (or are a kid in heart) get the Gerry Anderson "Supermarionation" Series. Thunderbirds has the honor of being the first Science-Fiction Show I ever watched back in 1965. The Box Set of this series was also the first DVD set of a TV show I bought back in 2002.

I've never cared for marionette shows, didn't like that type of animation as a kid, and still do not care for it. It's why I've never seen any of the "Supermarionation" series the Anderson's produced.

 

[BobO'Link]

Of course one thing to consider is the availability of the bonus "Message From Moonbase Alpha" feature. I can't remember if that was avaiable only in the first complete series boxed set or if it was part of the Megaset but I do know I can't feel comfortable owning the whole series without having that perfect coda to the series.

That bonus feature is included in the 30th Anniversary Megaset and is in a regular slim-case. The disks are identical to the original "fat-pack" version just in slim cases.

I'm hoping the new version from Lionsgate uses the Network remasters done a few years back. If so, I'll be seriously considering a double-dip.

 

[SilverWook]

I've never cared for marionette shows, didn't like that type of animation as a kid, and still do not care for it. It's why I've never seen any of the "Supermarionation" series the Anderson's produced.

I find it fascinating the aversion some people have to marionettes. Ventriloquist dummies are far more terrifying.

Seriously though, Thunderbirds is a great series. If you could rent one of the two Thunderbirds movies that were made, (not to be confused with the remake with live actors) that would be a safe way to sample what is a significant chunk of Gerry Anderson's work.

 

[Jack P]

I have zero interest in those marionette shows too. The very idea of them reminds me of that godawful "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" episode with Vincent Price.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

That bonus feature is included in the 30th Anniversary Megaset and is in a regular slim-case. The disks are identical to the original "fat-pack" version just in slim cases.

I'm hoping the new version from Lionsgate uses the Network remasters done a few years back. If so, I'll be seriously considering a double-dip.

You wouldn't be interested in a very lightly-used Region 2/PAL Network set of Year One, would you? If so, PM me.

 

[BobO'Link]

I find it fascinating the aversion some people have to marionettes. Ventriloquist dummies are far more terrifying.

Seriously though, Thunderbirds is a great series. If you could rent one of the two Thunderbirds movies that were made, (not to be confused with the remake with live actors) that would be a safe way to sample what is a significant chunk of Gerry Anderson's work.

For me it's more aversion in the "intense dislike" sense (and that's a bit strong as it's more dislike with no "intense" part) but not in the "terrifying" one. Nothing scary about them, I just do not like the art form. Big Lots has had at least one of the marionette based films for $3 and no matter the pedigree that's more than I'm willing to pay for a marionette show.

Ventriloquist dummies are cool and I enjoy a good ventrilouqist (of which there are precious few).