Customer Reviews

Space 1999, Set 6

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

 

 

I'll admit it. I am a Year One snob, and proud of it.

For years I have proclaimed the first season of my all-time favorite sci-fi program, "Space:1999", as the best, most original, and creative sci-fi show out there. Even today, new programs pale by comparison to this metaphysical, moody show that questioned mankind's place in the Universe. Then someone asks about Koenig's pink/orange jacket and the disco-funk soundtrack, and I am forced to be quiet.

Year Two was the bane of a :1999-er's existance, so far as I was concerned. How could any self-respecting Alphan-wannabe think Tony was cooler than Paul, or Yasko more pleasant than Sandra or Tanya? And Maya, compared to Bergman? Just another Spock-copy in a skirt. My favorite supporting characters gone, in favor of this lot? Heresy! Why, they oughtta be lined up against a wall in Command Center and blasted with stun guns!

But, when Set 5 & 6 came out on DVD, I simply could not resist buying them. It had been years since the episodes first aired, and I could only remember a smattering of the stories. If nothing else, I thought they'd be good for a laugh.

After screening the episodes in these sets, I have to admit it... they aren't half-bad. Some were actually pretty good. Nowheres near the quality and brilliance of Year One, but... likable. I'd be lying if I said that I did not feel like a college professor admitting that he enjoys watching "The Jerry Springer Show", but there was just something fun about watching these episodes, episodes I had railled against for decades.

Set 6 contains the infamous "Rules of Luton" and "Catacombs of the Moon". Both episodes have been derided by critics and fans alike.

In my case, I always remembered Luton, the three weird aliens, and the three evil trees a bit more kindly. As a kid, I would go out into the woods near our house and pretend that the flora was trying to stop me from reaching Eagle One. The episode was pretty imaginative, at least from a kid's perspective. For years, it was a great joke in our family that whenever we'd see three pine trees standing together, we'd cry, "Look out! We're on the Planet Luton!"

Maybe that was the best way to take Year Two; it was a sci-fi/action show slightly aimed at kids, whereas Year One was meant for grown-ups who liked the depth of films like "2001".

Seeing it now, as an adult, "Rules of Luton" was, as critics have pointed out, kind of lame. However, for the first time I caught the significance of the conversation between Maya and Koenig as they talk about Psychon, Koenig's wife, and the war on Earth. It was a great moment, and I'm glad I was able to take it in.

"Catacombs of the Moon" is a bit different. I do recall the underground caves from several Year Two episodes, but this particular one is (as with many Year Two concepts), very poorly executed. This is unfortunate, because there are, again, brief moments of interest. The visions of the affected crewman were very well designed, while his prattling about faith, the heat storm effect, and whether or not it was affecting his mind, were not. Maya is an incidental character in this one, and you can tell she was just "dropped in" as needed. Carter is nowhere to be found.

Then there's "AB Chrysalis". I remember the bouncing glass orbs, the liftoff from the underground hangar, and the guy in the green coffin full of poison gas, but the rest was all new to me. Interesting, if not great.

Every episode has incredible concepts that fairly leap off the screen, but execution that only rarely does. I have to admit now that Year Two was full of great promise (it's no Year One, but had promise nevertheless). Unfortunately, it was promise only partly fulfilled.

Unless you are a die-hard Year Two fan, I think Year One fans can at least enjoy the nostalgic rush of the second season. C'mon. 'Fess up. If you ever saw three pine trees standing together, it made you think twice about picking flowers, didn't it?

And yes, Year One snob that I am, I will be buying Set 7 and 8. I guess I'll just have to try and live with it.

Just don't ask me about that stupid pink/orange jacket!

This is a MUST HAVE for all Space 1999 Fans and Collectors. As well as Set 5, get ready to enjoy more exciting episodes of this famous clasic series. Its great to watch them over again to see the improvements as well catching significant details that may have been missed the first time around through broadcast television. All the episodes are such fun and pure enjoyment. Kudos! to all who contributed in putting such a wonderful series on DVD.

I had 10 years old when I first saw the show. I t was my first love. I received as a gift the entire sets from 1 to 6. After reviewed, I rediscored my first love, I am not desapointed at all of the show. I always love the set up the design and the furnitures of the Alpha base etc. Dreamt to live in the base when I was 10 years, Now at 35 I still do :^) Unfortunally in 2002 we are far of it.

More great episodes of season two. More offbeat, more weird than any other sci-fi show. This set has a short behind the scenes featurette and more stills. The first episode is the infamouse Rules of Luton. Koenig and Maya pick a flower and are sentanced to fight three aliens to the death for their crimes against botany. Then there is The Mark of Archanon about an alien father and son un-earthed (or is it un-mooned)from a cave. Brian the Brain is about a psychotic robot that kidnaps Helena and Koenig. New Adam,New Eve is about as good as a Star Trek episode. The A B chrysalis is about an alien planet sending out destructive shock waves that threaten Moonbase Alpha. Slow motion photography is used when the alien spheres float around giving a really creepy feeling to the episode. What is so interesting about this episode is the way the aliens learn to communicate with humans. They start off using mathematics. Many scientists have sugested that math is a universal language that we could use to communicate with alien life forms. This idea was also used successfuly in Carl Sagens' Contact. The aliens living in chlorine gas is also really original and makes the episode very realistic, not all life forms in the universe would breathe our air. This is another episode that is a bridge back to year one, the special effects and production values are flawless and the script is original, thought-provoking and well done. Catacombs of the Moon is about Helena trying to give somebody a heart transplant while Moonbase Alpha seems to be on the verge of a catastrophe. To make matters worse, right when Helena perfects the artificial heart the patient is kidnaped! There are some really creepy dream scenes of a burning four poster bed hovering over the barren lunar surface, images once seen will never be forgotten. I have already watched many of these episodes several times over and can hardly wait for the rest of season two, espicialy The Beta Cloud.
Lets bring back Space 1999,join the revival campaign ,write to Carlton and A and E!
Long Live Moonbase Alpha!

This set shows more of the erratic writing that dominated the second season. We also begin to see that they were filming episodes back to back to cut corners. That is why they would have an episode that would feature Koenig and Maya and we would just see a glimpse of Tony and Helena back on the base and then the next episode would feature Tony and Helena and Koenig was off on an Eagle somewhere and we would just see him for a minute or two and Alan was only in every other episode. The great shots of the ships from the first season have been cut way down by this time. Of course the worse thing about the second season was the writing. Following is my breakdown for the episodes.

The rules of Luton- A silly episode that borrows from Star Trek's Arena. The monsters are terrible and the action is minimal, but Koenig and Maya share some of their past with each other and I always liked it when they filmed on location.
The mark of Archanon- A decent story about a aliens who tried to be peaceful but they could suffer from a sickness that made them have to kill. The aliens look quite bad, but Alan gives a good showing as he takes to the younger alien like a big brother.
Brian the brain- This episode is just downright horrible. A computer that likes to say woo-hoo a lot. This episode has very few redeeming values and it is probably one of the three worst of the series.
New Adam, New Eve- This is definitely the best episode of the set. An alien claims to be the creator and he wisks Koenig, Maya, Helena and Tony away to a new eden. Of course, he is not who he says he is. This episode is similiar to Star Trek's Who mourns for adonis, but I really like this one. The story is interesting and it moves along very well.
The a b chrysalis- This one seems a bit underdeveloped to me, not bad at all, but it could have been better. It seems like we spend the first 35 minutes wondering around and following the bouncing balls and then we get into a little bit of plot when there is just 15 minutes left.
Catacombs of the moon- If this episode had been done in the first season then it would have emphazied Osgood's premonitions and it would have been one of those gothic horrors that were done so well in that season. However, this is the second season so the story just seems a bit strange and off kilter and we are left to just think that Osgood is a psycho. I did like the catacombs and the part where Tony is trying to console Osgood is probably the best piece of acting that he had done at this point in the series.
Not as many good episodes as the fifth set, but not as many bad ones either.

Space 1999 was a combination of exceptionally great and particularly awful sci-fi. This compilation falls into the latter category:

1) "The Mark of Archanon" has what is still the poorest death scene ever acted. "I'm dying.... argghhhh... no wait, I'm not dead yet, here take my kid.... ok now I'm dying..."

2) A space-disco theme song wasn't enough so "Brian the Brain" starred a robot with a strobe-light for a head. Even in the far-flung reaches of space, computers still crack bad jokes.

3) In "The Rules of Luton" we learn World War III happened (and racism ended) back in 1987; and don't get me started on the killer trees. Not to mention "Luton" was a ...of the Star Trek episode where Kirk battles the green lizard. Was anyone else waiting for Koenig to build a cannon out of a tree stump?

4) In "New Adam New Eve" we learn that even God can fall for the old 'hide the branches and leaves over a pit" trick.

5) "A.B. Chrysalis" stars a bunch of chlorine breathing aliens who would've destroyed Moonbase Alpha, except that Tony is such a hunk! Too bad all that chlorine gas didn't blow that long hair out of the way. And what happens when you run out of goofy looking rubber creature outfits? Easy. Create an "evil" Martin Landau.

6) "Catacombs of the Moon", errr... what was the point of that whole 'nothing can shake the power of faith' thing anyway? Did faith have anything to do with how they got into or out of their predicament? Dig the artificial heart - - a lightbulb with wires!

Of course you know nothing I said really matters because a true Space 1999 fan is going to buy this set anyway. Just be sure to pop in one of the other sets when company comes over - - unless you're going for laughs.

For me this was one of the better season two sets. Maya changing into "other creatures" gets a little formulaic but this set seemed to do a better job fitting it all together. But, after saying this, I'm a still a fan of all the episodes of Space 1999. Is it "science-based" fiction? No, but it's great fun. And for me, you can keep your computers, I like the presence of manmade effects and characters.

Ironically, the first season gets the respect and this is regarded as silly nonsense. But good SF is all about the script and check out the writers. Three episodes by Terrance Feely (The Prisoner, UFO, The Avengers, Thriller) three episodes by Johnny Bryne (Dr.Who) Three episodes by Donald James (UFO, The Champions, etc)two episodes by Tony Barwick (UFO, Captain Scarlet, oft regarded as Gerry Anderson's finest writer)and contributions from Terrance Dicks (Dr.Who) and Pip and Jane Baker (Dr.Who). There's even a bona fide SF author named Thom Keyes who contributes an episode. Not bad! The series seems to be remembered soley for the three episodes written by Producer Fred Freiberger under the pen name Charles Woodpecker or something equally silly! Mind you, Rules of Luton is an adequate rip off of the classic SF tale The Arena, which had been done before Star Trek (on The Outer Limits) and would be done again (on Blakes 7, for a start!). So, despite Freidberger;s bad habit of doing his own script editing and adding cheesy joke scenes, and despite his even worse habit of penning the occasional episode (Space Warp is the worst!)the series is actually very good! Barwick excells with AB Chrysalis, a suspenseful and thoughtful story, Feely is brilliant with New Adam, New Eve, and even more fun with Bringers of Wonder, while James delivers a classic with Journey to Where and gems like Seed of Destruction, The Immunity Syndrome (with its brilliant tale of a dealy but misunderstood alien intelligence) and Devil's Planet, all coming out of left feild as well.
What it lacks in atmosphere, it makes up for with good plots and good scripting. A vastly underrated series. Scrape off the cheese and enjoy!

Year 2 of Space:1999 continues in Set 6, and if you were hoping for an improvement from Set 5, don't hold your breath! Though cheese and ham are served just as much as the previous collection, it's still a lot of mindless fun. There are a few moments here and there that remind of fans of Year 1, some insightful lines and illusions. But don't kid yourself. Year 2 has tons of Sci-Fi cliches and steals from a show that Space:1999 tried to challenge, Star Trek.
"The Rules of Luton", of course, is a Star Trek episode in disguise with some dated looking aliens, was one of my favorites as a kid. Of course, now, it's totally ridiculous.
"The Mark of the Archanon" is not too bad. The costumes from the guests leave very little for the imagination and some bad audio dubbing. Though, Nick Tate has a bigger role in this one.
"Brian the Brain", ugh! never thought a stupid robot could be filled with so much ham! His voice is a crossover between Woody Allen and a bad Jerry Lewis impersonation. Some good effects can't really salvage this one.
"New Adam, New Eve" is good for the main characters, but Magus is so far from an impression of God it's unintentionally funny. and the mutants, ugh, why are Space:1999 monsters so terrible?
"AB Chrysallis" is tolerable and pedestrian at times. But those bouncing balls and decent effects keep your mind off other plot holes. And the chlorine atomsphere for the aliens is a nice touch.
"Catacombs on the Moon" leaves more questions than answers. Like, how can there be catacombs on the moon without water? But, that's the least of Alpha's worries. The second class characters get a bunch more lines than the regulars, and Maya has 2 obligatory "shape-shifting" scenes.
Casual sci-fi and other viewers may not be able to tolerate Space:1999, but for an hour or two of mindless escapism, this may hust hit the spot.

Space 1999 was a diverse series that had it all and then some. It was fun like Doctor Who, as abstract as the Prisoner, as explorational as Star Trek, as light as Lost In Space, as philosophical as 2001, as dark and claustophobic as the most entertaining horror movies and disaster films, as funny as Plan 9, and it even featured pre-Star Wars space battles that were truly a blast. On it's own merit it was also quite a unique series. It was never locked down into just one pattern so it never got sterile. There are episodes for every mood and mindset. One can enjoy the serious episodes or the just plain fun escapism. The setting of 1999 only adds to the fun and the out of control moon idea was certainly original. Many episodes allow the viewer to come to one's own conclusions and there's little clear continuity after the first episode which also allows creativity on the part of the veiwer. It's a very expansive and wonderous universe that's explored in different ways. The diversity of styles and ideas are it's greatest strength. It's always a wild ride.