Product Details

• Actors: Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Nick Tate, Zienia Merton, Catherine Schell
• Writers: Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• DVD Release Date: February 26, 2002
• Run Time: 312 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005UW77
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,329 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Space 1999, Set 5" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Fans of Space: 1999 (and there are many of them) are lavish in their praise for British producer Gerry Anderson's mid-'70s sci-fi series. They rhapsodize about provocative, seriously scientific story lines, expensive production values, the presence of star (and future Oscar® winner) Martin Landau, and more. But there are others who look at the series' glacial pace, loopy costumes and makeup, cheesy sets, primitive special effects, stilted dialogue, and self-serious tone and wonder what planet those rabid fans are from.

This two-disc set includes the first six episodes of the show's second season. Episode 25, "Metamorph," introduces Maya (Catherine Schell), a shape-changer and scientific wiz who, after witnessing her nutty dad's dastardly deeds, defects to join our Moonbase Alpha heroes. "Journey to Where" (Episode 29) finds Koenig (Landau) and Helena (costar Barbara Bain) returning to Earth--specifically, and bizarrely, 14th-century Scotland--while "One Moment of Humanity" (Episode 27) sees the evil Zamara (Billie Whitelaw) and her android cronies trying to learn the violent ways of humans. Intriguing ideas, occasionally rather lame execution. In other words, there's plenty here to justify the points of view of the show's adherents and its detractors.

DVD bonus features include production stills, TV promotional spots, and interactive menus. All episodes have been digitally remastered, and some material that was not seen in the original U.S. broadcasts has been restored. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 02/26/2002 Run time: 312 minutes Rating: Nr

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good escapist TV, March 9, 2004

By 

Mike (Frisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Space 1999, Set 5 (DVD)

I've always thought that the start of both seasons of Space 1999 weren't as much fun as the episodes that came after them. Set 5 has some good episodes and some good moments, but sets 6,7, and 8 are much more fun. As the start of season two, this set has both it's share of draw-backs and it's fun moments.

I wont waste space reviewing every episode, but I will say that The Metamorph is one of my faves! Catherine Schell is introduced as Maya in this one. New theme music, cast members, costumes, and sets are introduced as well. Dr Bergman is gone, and the main control center has now been moved underground. Maya helps to fill the void left by Bergman, and after episodes like War Games the new location of the control center makes good sense. Smart move Koenig.

Space 1999 sets 2,3,4,6,7,8 are my favorites, but 1 and 5 are important to the show and to finish your collection. There are some good epsodes in both so check them out. While you are at it, try the Space 1999 novel The Forsaken by John Muir. It sheds more light on just what happened between the program's two seasons and is an excellent read.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loads of Fun!, February 27, 2002

By 

"dtbarnde" (Rochester.NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Space 1999, Set 5 (DVD)

This is a MUST HAVE for all Space 1999 fans and collectors. Despite all the critism you hear about the series, especially Season 2. Take a look for yourself and enjoy the episodes of this famous and classic series once again. If you happen to be watching for the first time get ready to be swept away with all the excitement and enthusiasm like a scifi series is intended for. A chance to be transported imaginatively into the episode itself and experience the intensity of the plot as it unfolds to the climax. I recommend this Set, as well as all the others to complete the incredible journey for which you will begin with the very first time you pick it up. Pure entertainment!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's Good, But Not as Good as Season One..., February 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Space 1999, Set 5 (DVD)

"Space: 1999" was a British-made sci-fi series which aired on American television in the mid-1970's. At that time it was the most expensive show ever produced on British television, and the money showed in the large, elaborate sets of Moonbase Alpha and the special effects. The plot is deceptively simple: in 1999 the United Nations has constructed a huge base, called Alpha, on the Moon. Although primarily a scientific and research center, the base is also used to monitor the vast amounts of nuclear waste which are stored on the moon's surface (in Space 1999's timeline, nuclear power is the Earth's main energy source). In September 1999 a freak accident causes the nuclear waste to explode, thereby blasting the moon out of Earth's orbit and hurling it - and the personnel of Alpha - across the galaxy. Space 1999's first season turned this show into a cult classic, and some diehard sci-fi buffs rightly consider the first season's episodes to be among the most unique and creative in sci-fi history. The vivid lighting and colors created a moody, creepy atmosphere not unlike the "X-Files", the musical score was both haunting and memorable, and the episodes themselves were often surprisingly mature, unique, and drew as much from the horror and fantasy genres as sci-fi. What truly made the first season of the show different was that not every episode had a happy ending, not every problem was neatly solved, and the crew of Alpha often appeared genuinely scared and bewildered by their encounters with all sorts of aliens and strange phenomena. Commander Koenig, the base's leader, was no heroic Captain Kirk, but a very human leader doing his best to help his people survive in an often hostile, or at least uncaring, universe. Unfortunately, for the second season the show's producers decided to "Americanize" the series, and the result was a definite drop-off in the show's quality in the second season. Cost-cutting led to cheaper special effects and sets, and too often the monster costumes looked like something out of a Grade-B horror film. The musical score was jazzed-up and sped-up, and thus sounded more like something out of a seventies disco than the first-season's original score. Several major characters from the first season simply vanished, with no explanations ever given for their sudden disappearance. Paul Morrow, Koenig's second-in-command and David Kano, the computer expert, were gone. But the biggest loss was that of Barry Morse, who played Dr. Victor Bergman, the base's chief scientist and father figure, and whose brilliance saved Alpha several times in the first season. In the second season these characters were replaced by Tony Verdischi, the hot-tempered Italian Security Chief, and the lovely Catherine Schell as Maya, an alien shape-shifter who joins the crew of Alpha. Although a fine actress, Schell is given little to do except flirt with the male characters and keep changing into lots of monsters (and with the cheaper special effects, her monster costumes are beyond fake). But the greatest difference between the first and second seasons can be seen in the plots. Whereas the first season's episodes were mature, adult-oriented, often creepy and eerie, and even made you think occasionally, in the second season Space 1999 quickly degenerated into just another juvenile, "shoot-'em up" sci-fi series. Character development and the "atmosphere" of the series were sacrificed for lots of gunplay with laser pistols and spaceships, and Commander Koenig was transformed from a brooding, almost grim leader into a macho, almost cartoonish tough guy who could outfight or outfox almost any alien imaginable (the producers were obviously thinking of Captain Kirk). I'm sure there will be a good deal of discussion about the merits of season one versus season two, and it's pretty obvious which side I'm on :). However, even the second season did have its' moments (the episode on this DVD set which introduces Maya is quite good), and it's still nice to see the second season being released after all these years. But, for this fan at least, it's still a shame that the producers didn't stick with the format of season one - in effect they created two completely different series instead of just one. Recommended, but I'd try looking at the season one DVD's as well, just so you can make your own comparison.