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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A wealth of Hollywood talent brings to life six thought-provoking short stories by legendary authors of science fiction in this criminally underrated anthology series. Produced by the same team who brought Masters of Horror to television, Masters of Science Fiction takes a decidedly literate route with its stories--though production values are top-notch, it's the material, and the message behind them, that drives the episodes. The moral complexities of war are examined in Robert Sheckley's "Warbird" (one of two episodes on the set making their debut on this DVD) and "The Awakening," by Howard Fast, while Robert Heinlein's "Jerry Was a Man" and Harlan Ellison's "The Discarded" challenge the definition of humanity. Elsewhere, Walter Mosley explores justice in a draconian future ("Little Brother"), while Nebula winner John Kessel's "A Clean Escape" delivers a Twilight Zone-style sting with its story of a psychiatrist (Judy Davis) attempting to uncover a truth hidden in the mind of her patient (Sam Waterson). The cast in the latter episode is indicative of the level of talent in front of and behind the camera for Masters of Science Fiction; among the other players are Terry O'Quinn (Lost), James Cromwell, Brian Dennehy, John Hurt, Anne Heche, Malcolm McDowell and Sean Astin, while directors include Mark Rydell, Harold Becker, Michael Tolkin and Jonathan Frakes, and scripts are penned by Ellison, Mosley, and Hugo winner Sam Egan. The emphasis on strong and evocative stories and performances over special effects does much to draw parallels between Masters and such classic genre anthologies as the aforementioned Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits; it's unfortunate that the program wasn't given more of a chance to develop an audience during its brief network run. Equally disappointing are the lack of any supplemental features in the two-disc set. --Paul Gaita
Product Description
From the very beginning, we have struggled to understand time, matter and the infinite universe; who we are, where we are headed, and if we are alone. Great minds — and some of the genre’s most legendary writers and directors — have now imagined the most wonderful and terrifying answers to these questions. Join host Professor Stephen Hawking for these six expeditions into the outer realms of scientific imagination, starring such award-winning actors as Sam Waterston, Judy Davis, Anne Heche, Malcolm McDowell, Clifton Collins Jr., Terry O’Quinn, Elisabeth Röhm, John Hurt, Sean Astin, James Denton, Brian Dennehy, James Cromwell and more.This collection features all six episodes of the acclaimed series, including the two ‘lost’ episodes — Little Brother and Watchbird — never broadcast during its original network run.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
110 of 123 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I personally abandoned the major networks some time ago, I suspect around when just about every show they put on seemed to be sex obsessed. I have since only gone back to catch new episodes of "Heroes". So, it's no surprise that the short-lived "Masters of Science Fiction" series came and went on ABC without my ever even knowing about it. I was aware of the more popular "Masters of Horror" series from Showtime, even though I don't even have Showtime, but then I'm a bit more into the horror genre and love horror anthologies. One thing that puts me off of Sci-Fi anthologies a bit is that they tend to always be about aliens, bleak futures, and robots. Rarely anything else.
"Masters of Science Fiction", in all of its six episodes, doesn't deviate from that, and it also is high on making political and social statements. That's pretty common in sci-fi, but it does get a bit old, especially in a world where the political statements on television are getting as monotonous as the sex. Still, over all, this very "Outer Limits" TV series is about as good as can be expected. Some episodes are better than others. Oddly, the two episodes I found to be the most enjoyable are the two that never aired on American television, "Little Brother" and "Watchbird". Here is a breakdown of the 6, 44-minute episodes you get in this complete series, 2-disc DVD set (with zero extras):
"A Clean Escape" (Story Author: John Kessel, Director: Mark Rydell): A dying doctor's patient cannot remember the past 25 years of his life; 25 years in which the world has been changed greatly as a result of his actions. This one is a little slow and a bit too "in your face" with its political statement.
"The Awakening" (Story Author: Howard Fast, Director: Michael Petroni): A strange visitor to Earth brings forth an ultimatum that could cause the leaders of the world to reach an understanding with or completely destroy each other. This second episode is probably even more in your face with the political statement, but it's more exciting than Clean Escape (which probably could have worked better as a 22 minute program). Starting the series with its two most blatantly political episodes was probably not the best idea.
"Jerry Was a Man" (Story Author: Robert A. Heinlein, Director: Michael Tolkin): A more lighthearted episode, this futuristic story presents a bored rich couple who take in some unusual "pets". One of them is a man-made humanoid that was marked for destruction. The rich woman who now controls his fate soon becomes determined to defend his rights as a "human being". This episode was pretty fun, but could have been better if "Jerry" had been more likable. He was rather annoying with his constant requests for candy and cigarettes.
"The Discarded" (Story Author: Harlan Ellison, Director: Jonathan Frakes): An odd collection of diseased freaks exiled from Earth travels through space in search of a new home and is suddenly presented with an offer to return. Yet another I would rather have seen in 22 minutes than 44. This one really drags and I didn't find it that entertaining. Perhaps it's just too much of a downer throughout. Boasts a fine cast though. John Hurt and Brian Dennehy are in this one.
"Little Brother" (Story Author: Walter Mosley, Director: Darnell Martin): A man trying to escape the confines of the lower levels of urban development finds himself on trial for a murder that was clearly not his fault. However, the judge, jury, and executioner of this future world are not human and lack the willingness to weigh the facts fairly. One of the better episodes, in my opinion.
"Watchbird" (Story Author: Robert Sheckley, Director: Harold Becker): A young inventor creates the weapons system of tomorrow in a fleet of mechanical birds designed to take out a killer before he strikes. Things get out of hand though, when the government wants to put the birds, designed for war combat, over the streets of the U.S. to protect the citizens. I found this to be, hands down, the best episode of the series. It's the only one that didn't feel it was dragging at any point. A genuinely good episode.
When all is said and done, "Masters of Science Fiction" really is about the same as any other sci-fi anthology show. Perhaps a smidge better, because there were more episodes about the future of mankind than about aliens. If you like that sort of thing, you'll like this. Of course, it's an anthology, so even at just six episodes it is hit and miss. Still, it's probably better than anything else that's been on ABC for a long time.
"Masters of Science Fiction", in all of its six episodes, doesn't deviate from that, and it also is high on making political and social statements. That's pretty common in sci-fi, but it does get a bit old, especially in a world where the political statements on television are getting as monotonous as the sex. Still, over all, this very "Outer Limits" TV series is about as good as can be expected. Some episodes are better than others. Oddly, the two episodes I found to be the most enjoyable are the two that never aired on American television, "Little Brother" and "Watchbird". Here is a breakdown of the 6, 44-minute episodes you get in this complete series, 2-disc DVD set (with zero extras):
"A Clean Escape" (Story Author: John Kessel, Director: Mark Rydell): A dying doctor's patient cannot remember the past 25 years of his life; 25 years in which the world has been changed greatly as a result of his actions. This one is a little slow and a bit too "in your face" with its political statement.
"The Awakening" (Story Author: Howard Fast, Director: Michael Petroni): A strange visitor to Earth brings forth an ultimatum that could cause the leaders of the world to reach an understanding with or completely destroy each other. This second episode is probably even more in your face with the political statement, but it's more exciting than Clean Escape (which probably could have worked better as a 22 minute program). Starting the series with its two most blatantly political episodes was probably not the best idea.
"Jerry Was a Man" (Story Author: Robert A. Heinlein, Director: Michael Tolkin): A more lighthearted episode, this futuristic story presents a bored rich couple who take in some unusual "pets". One of them is a man-made humanoid that was marked for destruction. The rich woman who now controls his fate soon becomes determined to defend his rights as a "human being". This episode was pretty fun, but could have been better if "Jerry" had been more likable. He was rather annoying with his constant requests for candy and cigarettes.
"The Discarded" (Story Author: Harlan Ellison, Director: Jonathan Frakes): An odd collection of diseased freaks exiled from Earth travels through space in search of a new home and is suddenly presented with an offer to return. Yet another I would rather have seen in 22 minutes than 44. This one really drags and I didn't find it that entertaining. Perhaps it's just too much of a downer throughout. Boasts a fine cast though. John Hurt and Brian Dennehy are in this one.
"Little Brother" (Story Author: Walter Mosley, Director: Darnell Martin): A man trying to escape the confines of the lower levels of urban development finds himself on trial for a murder that was clearly not his fault. However, the judge, jury, and executioner of this future world are not human and lack the willingness to weigh the facts fairly. One of the better episodes, in my opinion.
"Watchbird" (Story Author: Robert Sheckley, Director: Harold Becker): A young inventor creates the weapons system of tomorrow in a fleet of mechanical birds designed to take out a killer before he strikes. Things get out of hand though, when the government wants to put the birds, designed for war combat, over the streets of the U.S. to protect the citizens. I found this to be, hands down, the best episode of the series. It's the only one that didn't feel it was dragging at any point. A genuinely good episode.
When all is said and done, "Masters of Science Fiction" really is about the same as any other sci-fi anthology show. Perhaps a smidge better, because there were more episodes about the future of mankind than about aliens. If you like that sort of thing, you'll like this. Of course, it's an anthology, so even at just six episodes it is hit and miss. Still, it's probably better than anything else that's been on ABC for a long time.
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By Sanpete
Format:DVD|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Masters of Science Fiction was a series produced for ABC that sought to capture some of the magic of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Of the six one-hour episodes made (under 45 minutes without the ads), all included here, only four were shown. The series was arguably not given a chance, as it was aired on Saturday nights in August, not a great time slot.
Some of the concepts are interesting and promising, and there are some top-notch actors, but I still didn't enjoy these much. On the whole the writing is superficial, the logic weak, and the atmospherics that might make up for that are only so-so. I only enjoyed one of the six episodes enough to say I liked it.
The first episode has a nice basic idea to work with, revealed bit by bit in a way that makes much description of the plot too much of a spoiler. Judy Davis plays a psychotherapist who has a patient (Sam Waterston) with a condition she is very anxious to cure, for reasons that are only made clear later. Sadly, some of it doesn't quite add up or is only tenuously credible, and the exposition is clumsy. I thought Waterston seemed oddly hammy and fake, though maybe he thought that suited the character. Davis has a compelling screen presence.
The second episode takes place in the very near future. Alien creatures appear on earth and (without giving too much away) do stuff that it seems they should have done long before. The way this happens is fairly arbitrary. I liked Terry O'Quinn in this episode, in a measured performance that brought some subtlety of character at least.
Both the first two episodes, and most of the others too, fail to be very subtle about the rather simplistic principles we're supposed to draw from them.
The episode I enjoyed is the third one, "Jerry Was a Man," based on a short story by Robert Heinlein. Part of the enjoyment was sheer comic relief from the first two episodes, both rather Serious and a bit preachy. This is the only one of the six that's primarily comedic, though serious ideas are dealt with. Jerry is a genetically engineered android who was originally designed to sweep minefields (in about the least efficient way possible), but who has been working as a janitor lately and is about to be turned into puppy chow. A very wealthy woman (Anne Heche) takes a fancy to him and undertakes to save him, eventually by trying to prove he's a human. The intriguing tag line that is spoken by Stephen Hawking at the end is, "What makes us human may one day be defined not by the gifts we possess but by the virtues we lack." Malcolm McDowell is particularly good as the genetic engineer.
Series host Stephen Hawking, by the way, has very little to do in this series. He says a line at the beginning and end of each piece. The lines generally don't quite work like Rod Serling's comments for The Twilight Zone. I doubt very much that Hawking wrote them.
Episode 4 concerns a group of people rejected from Earth because of various unpleasant mutations and sent to wander the solar system in search of a home. They're approached by a representative from Earth with a deal to take them back. The drama is fairly thin and the results are highly predictable. John Hurt and Brian Dennehy are fine, and the make-up artists had a great time with the mutations, including a fairly well done second, smaller head on John Hurt. There are a couple surprisingly if still only mildly brutal touches in that episode.
The fifth episode is similar in several ways to Robocop, but with small eagle-like flying "Watchbirds" as the peacekeeping machines, and a kind of wireless human-machine interface instead of flesh and machine joined directly. The machines start off well and then problems come up as they're tied up in politics. It lacks Robcop's high-powered action and is only briefly and mildly violent. It also lacks the clever, polished script. The acting is fairly good. This one is the second best of the group for me.
The final episode has elements of 1984, done in a pale Terry Gilliam (Brazil) style. An underground worker escapes, is accused of murder, and fights with his mind against a partly human machine that constitutes his judge, defense counsel, and jury. The things that cause trouble for the machine are so elementary as to lack much credibility or interest, and the ending is sheer Hollywood.
The production values for the series are on the high side of what would be expected for a TV series. With all of the episodes, there are some interesting or enjoyable points. I can see why some people enjoyed them. But viewers inclined to be picky or critical about their science fiction should probably look elsewhere.
Some of the concepts are interesting and promising, and there are some top-notch actors, but I still didn't enjoy these much. On the whole the writing is superficial, the logic weak, and the atmospherics that might make up for that are only so-so. I only enjoyed one of the six episodes enough to say I liked it.
The first episode has a nice basic idea to work with, revealed bit by bit in a way that makes much description of the plot too much of a spoiler. Judy Davis plays a psychotherapist who has a patient (Sam Waterston) with a condition she is very anxious to cure, for reasons that are only made clear later. Sadly, some of it doesn't quite add up or is only tenuously credible, and the exposition is clumsy. I thought Waterston seemed oddly hammy and fake, though maybe he thought that suited the character. Davis has a compelling screen presence.
The second episode takes place in the very near future. Alien creatures appear on earth and (without giving too much away) do stuff that it seems they should have done long before. The way this happens is fairly arbitrary. I liked Terry O'Quinn in this episode, in a measured performance that brought some subtlety of character at least.
Both the first two episodes, and most of the others too, fail to be very subtle about the rather simplistic principles we're supposed to draw from them.
The episode I enjoyed is the third one, "Jerry Was a Man," based on a short story by Robert Heinlein. Part of the enjoyment was sheer comic relief from the first two episodes, both rather Serious and a bit preachy. This is the only one of the six that's primarily comedic, though serious ideas are dealt with. Jerry is a genetically engineered android who was originally designed to sweep minefields (in about the least efficient way possible), but who has been working as a janitor lately and is about to be turned into puppy chow. A very wealthy woman (Anne Heche) takes a fancy to him and undertakes to save him, eventually by trying to prove he's a human. The intriguing tag line that is spoken by Stephen Hawking at the end is, "What makes us human may one day be defined not by the gifts we possess but by the virtues we lack." Malcolm McDowell is particularly good as the genetic engineer.
Series host Stephen Hawking, by the way, has very little to do in this series. He says a line at the beginning and end of each piece. The lines generally don't quite work like Rod Serling's comments for The Twilight Zone. I doubt very much that Hawking wrote them.
Episode 4 concerns a group of people rejected from Earth because of various unpleasant mutations and sent to wander the solar system in search of a home. They're approached by a representative from Earth with a deal to take them back. The drama is fairly thin and the results are highly predictable. John Hurt and Brian Dennehy are fine, and the make-up artists had a great time with the mutations, including a fairly well done second, smaller head on John Hurt. There are a couple surprisingly if still only mildly brutal touches in that episode.
The fifth episode is similar in several ways to Robocop, but with small eagle-like flying "Watchbirds" as the peacekeeping machines, and a kind of wireless human-machine interface instead of flesh and machine joined directly. The machines start off well and then problems come up as they're tied up in politics. It lacks Robcop's high-powered action and is only briefly and mildly violent. It also lacks the clever, polished script. The acting is fairly good. This one is the second best of the group for me.
The final episode has elements of 1984, done in a pale Terry Gilliam (Brazil) style. An underground worker escapes, is accused of murder, and fights with his mind against a partly human machine that constitutes his judge, defense counsel, and jury. The things that cause trouble for the machine are so elementary as to lack much credibility or interest, and the ending is sheer Hollywood.
The production values for the series are on the high side of what would be expected for a TV series. With all of the episodes, there are some interesting or enjoyable points. I can see why some people enjoyed them. But viewers inclined to be picky or critical about their science fiction should probably look elsewhere.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Masters of Science Fiction: The Complete Series
This was surprisingly a pretty good short-lived series that came out last summer (summer of '2007) on ABC...and amazingly good talent such as Sam Waterson, Brian Dennehy, John Hurt, Terry O'Quinn, Anne Heche, Malcolm McDowell and Sean Astin. Just a bit frustrating that ABC like many networks just don't give science fiction much of a chance to really succeed and build an audience, of course it's not going to do well during summer evenings, because that when most of your potential audience is out of the house and not watching TV. Anyway, to science-fiction fans, this is a must-see. But I also encourage casual fans who love good acting and writing to check this out.
This was surprisingly a pretty good short-lived series that came out last summer (summer of '2007) on ABC...and amazingly good talent such as Sam Waterson, Brian Dennehy, John Hurt, Terry O'Quinn, Anne Heche, Malcolm McDowell and Sean Astin. Just a bit frustrating that ABC like many networks just don't give science fiction much of a chance to really succeed and build an audience, of course it's not going to do well during summer evenings, because that when most of your potential audience is out of the house and not watching TV. Anyway, to science-fiction fans, this is a must-see. But I also encourage casual fans who love good acting and writing to check this out.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK
The good actors were so many, the plots were good, but the overall entertainment was only OK due perhaps to the directing of the show. Read more
Published 2 days ago by frenchie1625
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masters of Science Fiction Review
Some how I missed this program when it was on the ABC network. But it turns out to quite a treat for those like myself who enjoy good science fiction programs. Read more
Published 17 days ago by TAB
3.0 out of 5 stars
worth buying
Not bad was glad i purchased it would recommed to scifi fans for the price if under 15 which i didnot pay notsure how muvh I paid
Published 28 days ago by Michael Andersen
3.0 out of 5 stars
Borderline okay.
I'm not totally sure what to say about this series. The episodes were nicely filmed with some good visual effects but, the story lines were a little hard to swallow and the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Salvi
4.0 out of 5 stars
A mixed bag, but well worth watching.
Some great stories, acting and cinematography here. Also some less than great. Overall a valuable collection, it includes the two episodes that were not broadcast. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Larry S James
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masters of Science Fiction
Purchased as a gift. Arrived on time packaged well. No issues. I have not spoken to the person I bought this for, so I cannot commit on the quality of the DVD. Would recommend.
Published 1 month ago by Ginnerwinner
3.0 out of 5 stars
Masters of SF
Was disappointed with the lack of Hawking's involvement. Stories were mediocre. A TWILIGHT ZONE wannabe. Only for the completist collector, imho.
Published 1 month ago by DavidLillard
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some Concepts do not Translate Well to Television
It was with great anticipation that I watched this series, which I completely missed on television. Unfortunately, while the series does indeed have stories based on stories by... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Lonnie E. Holder
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well written Short lived TV Series
This is a mix of one story programs That I first saw on Netfiexs.New and wonderful Sci-fi stories that hold up under limited budgets. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Paul Mosley
5.0 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed this old series
And just had to have it in my collection, what can I tell?
The concepts and ideas behind the stories are what attract me most. Read more
The concepts and ideas behind the stories are what attract me most. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Paulo H
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