By Todd Garbarini
Space: 1999 was one of my favorite shows as a
child. Even before Star Wars changed my life, I eagerly watched Martin Landau and
Barbara Bain and their adventures in outer space in this series created by
Gerry Anderson. Unlike its predecessor Star Trek, the show ran for just two
seasons. From 1975 to 1977, I was treated
to a view of the future that was both exciting and ominous. I say was because the difference between
seeing this show as a child and seeing it now as an adult is night and
day. At the time, I really was convinced
that the show took place in outer space. Viewing the episodes today, the special effects don’t look quite so
convincing, to put it charitably.
As
a child, I never realized the show was a British production. In the series opener, the moon has become a
garbage heap for earth’s nuclear waste. An accident occurs, causing a cataclysmic eruption that occurs on
September 13, 1999. The force is so
enormous that it knocks the moon out of its orbit, and the result is that many
earthlings are sent spiraling into outer space. Most of the episodes are predicated on the fantastic, not the
realistic. If you are a fan of this
series, this Blu-ray purchase of the complete first season is a
no-brainer. Although the series was
released in the U.S. on standard DVD nearly ten years ago, this new Blu-ray set
puts that DVD set to shame, as the Blu-ray collection is mastered from the
original camera negatives and looks as though the show was just made
today. The 7-disc set is from A & E.
Visually,
the show is obviously inspired by Douglas Trumbull’s work on Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and has a Logan’s Run (1976) look to it. Most of the show is relegated to the
soundstages, and it cannot compare to today’s action shows for sheer
excitement. Still, it is a great time
capsule of the type of show that passed for entertainment just over thirty-five
years ago. Some of the music is a bit
silly, and the episodes do run at a snail’s pace, but for true fans of the show
you absolutely cannot go wrong with this set.
It
would stand to reason that since season one has been released, there should be
a release of season two sometime soon. I
am looking forward to this set, as I recall seeing the show’s only two-part
episode “The Bringers of Wonder†in 1977 and my younger sister and I were quite
frightened of the gooey creatures from this story.
Oh,
nostalgia!
Click here to order from Amazon