Review: Space 1999 – The Complete Series 2
Blu-ray: Space 1999 – The Complete Series 2 (1976)
I will give full disclosure at the start of this review and state that I have been a fan of Space 1999 since it first aired on UK television back in 1975. As a 10 year old boy I had already discovered Star Trek, Dr Who, UFO, Land of the Giants and many more, but it was the arrival of Space 1999 on our TV that grabbed my attention more than any other sci-fi series. It didn’t take long before my pocket money was being spent on an Eagle Transporter (green) and an Eagle Freighter (white), I even had a Space 1999 bagatelle!
Gerry Anderson was a huge part of my childhood with such classics as; Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and the aforementioned UFO, and the success of these shows meant that Space 1999 was the most expensive series produced for British television at the time.
For those who may be unfamiliar with the series, it originally ran from 1975-77 over 2 series and followed the adventures of the inhabitants of ‘Moonbase Alpha’; a research centre on the Moon which gets blasted out of Earth’s orbit and hurtled into the far reaches of space after the explosion of nuclear waste that was being stored on the far side of it. Each episode then showed their struggle to survive and see if there was any possibility of returning to Earth.
A series 2 highlight for me was the introduction of ‘Maya’ (Catherine Schell); a female alien who is a metamorph and can change her appearance (for a limited time) into just about any lifeform. Her tight fitting uniform, high boots and not knowing when/what she would transform into, kept a young boys imagination spinning for all sorts of reasons!
Also introduced (out of the blue and with no real explanation as to why he’d never been seen before) in series 2 is the character of Tony Verdeschi (Tony Anholt); the security chief, new hero to the show and Italian born lothario. I never really took to his character, not just because he got to snog Maya and I didn’t, but because he more often than not took away the ‘hero role’ from John Koenig (Martin Landau); Commander of Moonbase Alpha. John was always my favourite character in the show and his relationship with Doctor Helena Russell (played by his real life wife at the time Barbara Bain) made for some great storylines.
Special guest appearances over the 2 series from the likes of Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Joan Collins, etc made for the occasional game of ‘spot the star’ (especially when they were covered in all sorts of weird and wonderful make-up) but it was always the core group of characters on the Moonbase that you tuned in for.
The picture quality on this release from Network On Air is pin sharp with vibrant colours and clear sound; including new 5:1 soundtracks to accompany the original mono. Despite having seen the episodes many times, this was like watching them again for the very first time and I was spotting new stuff in each and every one of them.
As far as special features go, this set is so loaded with them that it is worth the price alone just to see these. Some of the features include:
- Music only tracks on all episodes
- Unexposed: Behind the Scenes of Series Two – A 25 minute documentary made by film students back in 1976 while the crew were filming the episode ‘The Mark of Archanon’. Lots of great stuff about the set design, special effects and interviews.
- Stock Footage Archive – A 45 minute look at alternate takes and unused shots.
- Cosmos: 1999 – Stop-motion fan film from 1979 made using action man figures and home built sets.
- Martin Landau: An in-depth interview – Martin talks about being in Ed Wood, Mission Impossible and of course Space 1999.
- Archive interviews with cast and crew
If you are a Space 1999 fan then this is an essential purchase, and if you’ve never seen it before then pick this set up as soon as you’ve seen series 1 (also available from Network On Air).
Space 1999 – The Complete Series 2 will be released on September 28th 2015.
Review by Dave (host of 60 Minutes With) from discs kindly supplied by Network On Air.
