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Space 1999, Set 1Rating:
Release Date: 30 January, 2001 Retail Price: $39.95 OUR Price: $35.96 You SAVE: $3.99! Cast: Complete Cast (7 total) |
Space 1999, Set 1 Reviews
Fond Childhood Memories
After Star Trek was off the air and before Star Wars their was very limited SciFi on T.V. This all changed when producer Jerry Anderson (THUNDERBIRDS) created facinating tale of life on the moon. This series is one of intelligent scripts, innovative sets, original special-effects, and detailed sets.
The moon is sent spinning out of orbit in the year 1999, and hundreds of citizens from the Moonbase Alpha lunar base are thrown into perilous danger. Join Oscar winner Martin Landau and Emmy winner Barbara Bain on their journey through space, encountering strange beings and mysterious phenomena along the way.
BRILLIANT SF SERIES.
What a tragedy that this series has been so missunderstood by critics and brutalised upon its premiere all those years ago. What a blessing that so many of us first saw it through the non-judgemental eyes of childhood and can see past the stupidity of critics.
The supposedly wooden acting, lifeless or sterile atmosphere, etc, are actually essential to what makes the series SO GOOD. The whole thing feels utterly real, a cold, isolated and distant-feeling future environment in which to be trapped, with cautious, thoughtful, emotionally-controlled but intelligent heroes who treat every thing they encounter with the tredidation and curiosity of real scientists and space explorers.
Martin Landau is simply brilliant as Commander John Koenig, a man whose dogged and passionate dedication to the space program has him appointed to Moonbase Alpha by a self serving politician (whom he despises!) to get a troubled space probe project underway. But Koening's greatest consideration is the well being of the people he's responsible for and devotes himself to investing a series of mysterious deaths. When the Moon is hurled into deep space, he always consistently refuses to be sold on any option for his people unless he has absolute proof it is right. Joining him is the fatherly mentor of Professor Bergman, whom Koening confides in, and Helena Russell, his love interest, who is utterly real in her work as the base doctor, long before Dayna Scully.
This feels like real SF, cool headed and serious in the face of the total unknown. There's a major question which draws the most ruthless critical attacks, however: why does the Moon get blown from its orbit and manage to travel across the Universe to encounter endless alien planets?
Again, the fact that this flies in the face of science is actually the point. Several episodes suggest this apparently impossible journey has been planned and orchestrated in some way by some cosmic intelligence, and it is the Alphan's hinted destiny to colonise the cosmos and spread man's lineage to the stars. The series in this way has a central absurdity which its cool and realistic scientists are attemting to understand and rationalise.
Breakaway sets the Moon on its way into space.
Earthbound rids Alpha of the corrupt politician.
Black Sun, should be watched next as it shows how a trip through a Black Hole, and out a white Hole, it seems, (apparently aided by an enigmatic intelligence!) sends the Moon a million light years accross the cosmos. Much character development occurs here, too!
Episodes that also demand attention include Dragon's Domain, which fill us in further as to why Koenig is so passionate about the space program and show us some back story to the series situation. And it has a cool monster!
Another Time, Another Place is genuinely disturbing SF.
Force of Life, End of Eternity and The Troubled Spirit all feature sinister atmosphere and tense, edgey plots.
Wargames and The Last Enemy boast stunning space FX and action and deal with the theme of war and peace.
Finally, Collision Course and Testament of Arkadia confront the Alphans with their destiny and hint at the intelligent purpose behind their seemingly inexplicable space journey.
The series is really a cold, hard, intelligent and thoughtful work of high concept Science Fiction which has realistic scientists becoming the crew of a latter day Noah's Ark, their destiny in the hands of God, and attempt to understand and cope with it in a realistic scientific and rationally-minded manner. It should be noted that the proposed final ever episode, written by Johnny Byrne but never produced, despite Gerry Anderson saying it was the best thing he'd ever read, was called Children of the Gods and featured the Alphans meeting their distant descendants in the far future, in a colony on a planet where they are remembered as Gods.
Despite the massive missunderstandings of critics (one book even named it as the worst SF Series of all time!)Space: 1999 is really an example of TV SF at its brilliant best, in many ways far superior to anything else there's ever been on the small screen.
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