Customer Reviews

Alien Nation - Ultimate Movie Collection

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Dark Horizon is on its own disc. The other four movies are on 2 flipper discs--one movie per side. All the movies have a Ken Johnson commentary track. The first four movies have "Making of" featurettes that are a bit dry, but have some great nuggets. The first four also have gag reels. All the movies have a wide of array of stills in a photo gallery.

The last movie's disc side includes a 25-minute reunion taped at Johnson's home in January 2007. Everyone's there except for Sean Six/Buck. It's amazing! I got a warm feeling just watching! It opens with candid meet and greets and sitting down to a meal. They gather in a circle next, and really start to talk. The actors talk about being cast, about make-up, about the movies, and about the reaction from various ethnic groups, among other things. There are some great behind-the-scenes shots from the original series that I've never seen anywhere else.

Dark Horizon is fine, but man, were they hitting on all four cylinders for the second movie--Body and Soul. It features an excellent story and script, a satisfying Matt and Cathy story, and a few twists and turns that you won't expect. Everything that made the series great is on display in the second movie--the comic timing, the chemistry between the actors, the jokes, the names, you name it, it's there--it's like a time machine back to the good old days of the show's weekly run. The last three are just as good--the atmosphere and feeling of the season is there in full force. I wasn't crazy about George's promotion at the end of the original series because it wrecked the detectives' dynamic, but found that they dealt with it very well in the movies for both characters.

Buck and Emily don't have much to do in the first two movies, but they come into their own in the last three. Cathy and Matt's romance evolves beautifully throughout. If you think of the five movies as 10 episodes of Alien Nation--it's like a whole half season.

Pocket put out 8 Alien Nation novels and novelizations back in the day, so we had those to get over the cliffhanger when the complete series set came out a couple of years ago. But that wasn't good enough, frankly. Thank goodness these are on dvd at last! Now we really have the complete series available on dvd.

I feel that this was another great foul-up on 20th Fox' part, right up on the level of the demise of Joss Whedon's "Firefly", especially Fox leaving A N fans hanging for five years for the resolution of the end-of season cliff-hanger. As "Firefly" has justified its' popularity with the release and massive success of "Serenity" (over a month in the Top Ten), Alien Nation proved itself through the production of FIVE (count 'em, 5) made-for-TV movies that followed.
1. "Dark Horizon"- 1994
2. "Body and Soul"-1995
3. "The Enemy Within"- 1996
4. "Millennium"-1996
5. "The Udara Legacy"-1997
With the industry wasting production resources on so much other second- & third-rate crapola as fills the store shelves these days, I'm glad SOMEONE in the front office at FOX has taken notice and put forth a little effort so all the "Alien Nation" fans haven't had to wait as long for the TV movies as we had for the series.
As with "Firefly", FOX is missing out on a sure thing by not putting both these great programs back into production, instead of wasting resources on so much of the second- & third-rate drivel they are so famous for!

When I bought the Alien Nation TV series, I watched all of it, and then wanted to see these movies. The first one directly finishes the last TV episode. If you buy one, you need to buy the other one as well.

I feel that this was another great foul-up on 20th Fox' part, right up on the level of the demise of Joss Whedon's "Firefly", especially Fox leaving A N fans hanging for five years for the resolution of the end-of season cliff-hanger. As "Firefly" has justified its' popularity with the release and massive success of "Serenity" (over a month in the Top Ten), Alien Nation proved itself through the production of FIVE (count 'em, 5) made-for-TV movies that followed.
1. "Dark Horizon"- 1994
2. "Body and Soul"-1995
3. "The Enemy Within"- 1996
4. "Millennium"-1996
5. "The Udara Legacy"-1997
With the industry wasting production resources on so much other second- & third-rate crapola as fills the store shelves these days, I hope SOMEONE in the front office at FOX will take notice and put forth a little effort so all the "Alien Nation" fans won't have to wait as long for the TV movies as we have for the series.
As with "Firefly", FOX is missing out on a sure thing by not putting both these great programs back into production, instead of wasting resources on so much of the second- & third-rate drivel they are so famous for!

Fantastic follow up to the series (wish it had been more than just one season).

This collection can also be referenced on Amazon as: "Alien Nation: The Ultimate Movie Collection [5 Films / 3 DVDs / Television Series]". (I don't know, I'm just trying to find out about this new release.)

Apparently, this is the release of the 5 made-for-TV movies, half of which I missed when they were first aired because Fox doesn't bother to advertise their own productions. (Wonder why Doctor Who failed on Fox?) Anyway, those 5 movies are as follows:

1. Dark Horizon aired 10/25/1994
2. Body and Soul aired 10/10/1995
3. Millennium aired 01/02/1996
4. The Enemy Within aired 11/12/1996
5. The Udara Legacy aired 07/29/1997

Alien Nation is one of the best science fiction shows to grace television. It's main theme is to teach us the folly of prejudice. And a wonderful job it does, too!

The best science fiction doesn't scream SCIENCE FICTION in your face. It tells us an interesting story to which we can relate and involves us with the characters and their situations. Alien Nation certainly accomplishes that. Even with the unusual traditions, physiological differences and bald, spotted heads - not to mention their excellent language - the Tenctonese people are very human in both their similarities and their infinite diversity.

The series was a delight to watch and many of us were crushed when it ended, especially with some cliffhangers. Then - SURPRISE! - about 5 years later, the first movie came out. Of course we didn't know it was the first of five, but we were all VERY happy that we would finally know what happens to Susan and Emily. Will Matt and Cathy will ever begin their relationship for real? The first movie "Dark Horizons" answers these questions and many more.

All of the five movies were well scripted, beautifully acted, interesting and believable stories (from the we-believe-in-this-universe point of view) and stayed true to the established characters and events. The production values were wonderful and we managed to get all the most important questions answered before it all ended.

This 5-movie DVD set is also great because EVERY movie has commentary, at least one featurette (like a "Making of" or a cast reunion reel), a gag reel AND still galleries. There are also a few other bonuses. Excellent bonus material fare!

If you love Alien Nation, this set is great! If you haven't seen it, please check into it, because the ride is worthwhile.

This was a nice way to give the fans some closure on a really underrated series. Each movie is good in its own right. This was a good way to wrap up what was a series cut too short. I won't try to rehash what other reviewers have said, other than I am real picky about my Sci-fi, and I really liked this show and these movies.

Alien Nation was an awesome movie and an even better television show. I couldn't believe it when they cancelled it for no apparent reason at all other than Fox never wants people watching the channel think too much. It's the only explanation I can come up with for why they continually cancel great shows like Alien Nation, Firefly, Brimstone, Vengence Unlimited, and on and on. This tv movie collection brought back the wonderfulness that was this show for me! Thanks!

Excellant!!!! ?Takes up where the series left off. You get to see the
progression of frienship and family lives. Very worth the money.