Customer Reviews

Space 1999, Set 8

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This set shows why we love and prefer space 1999 season 2 to season 1. These are the best episodes equal with Star Trek the Next Generation and The X-files.
The Immunity Syndrome, The Lambda Factor and Dorzak stand heads and dandruff above year 1.
The Lambda Factor features ghosts, esp and "murder most foul". Martin Landau gives a performance that is very unnerving as he is confronted with a dark and terrifying secrete from his past,while a dangerouse psychopath takes over Alpha. The whole episode is creepy and unsettling.
The Seance Spectre features a Psychological exploration into matters of blind faith over reason. Maya turns into a tree in this episode! This alone makes this set worth buying, plus you get to see what she looks like as a little girl.
My personal favorate is Dorzak. Another Psychon arrives on Alpha while being transported to a penal colony.The conflict that arises is breathtaking in its scope and its execution. Dorzak is the most remarkable villian to EVER visit Alpha with the exception of Balor from season 1. Even at the end of this episode there is some doubt concerning Dorzak's actions on the alien world and wether he really is a villian.
The Immunity Syndrome is a visit to themes from season 1, the quest for a home. A planet that seems earthlike turns out to be hostile, very hostile. Great sets, acting and philosophy make this another great episode. The shot of the alien corpse side by side with its holographic image is a remarkable feat of visual film making style.
The Borg-I mean Dorcons, is another episode that puts Maya in the terrible position of being a burden to Alpha. Her presence threatens everyone on Alpha. The powerful Dorcons demand Maya or else!Resistance is futile! This episode is also note worthy because the Dorcon leader is played by Doctor Who!
The interviews are a blast from the past, and the special effects short is cool. The only thing missing is episode 49 Message From Alpha. Write A and E about this.
Long Live Moonbase Alpha!

Upon careful inspection of the back of the box you'll notice that the box has an error - lists the episodes numbers contained as those for set #6. Too bad they ruined an otherwise flawless set with a typo at the tail end :( Maybe A&E will offer replacement covers???

Irish poet Johnny Byrne writes the best science fiction. His stories for Space 1999 are the most enigmatic and influential. Who could have come up with the famouse phrase "Resistance is Futile" but Byrne. Star Trek the Next Generation would later base many of their ideas on Space 1999. Many consider The Next Generation to be the best science fiction tv show of all time , but it has to follow Space 1999. In set 8 we have the best of the entire series. The Lambda Factor, ghosts are haunting Alpha and ESP becomes a powerful weapon. Dorzak is about a Psychon visiting Alpha who might be a dangerouse psychotic. The Dorcons is another Maya episode. Dorcons arrive demanding Maya. Commander Koenig surrenders rather than let Alpha be destroyed. This would later happen in The Next Generation, and The Borg are based on the Dorcons. The rare vintage interviews with the cast and crew are classic and there are several tv spots.

Actually, this is more closer to three stars. With these final episodes, the second season (as well as the series overall) of Space 1999 concluded. It is a shame that the season didn't end on an exciting note, such as a cliffhanger, or a head-scratching, awe inspired episode such as the first season's Testament of Arkadia. No, what we get are dodgy storylines and some lackluster acting from a fine cast. These episodes are still worth watching just because they ARE Space 1999 and there are still some elements of greatness-you just have to sift through a lot of filler and bad TV moments to get there. The Lamda Factor is the heaviest of the episodes on this disc and one of the strongest of the second season. It shows what happens when you couple psychic ability with a bitter, jealous, young lady--the episode climax is about as intense as anything from the first season. The Seance Spectre is a puzzling follow-up. Where psychic powers were accidental in Lambda, here four people just up and decide to have a seance about trying to find a new planet-it's very dull and very anticlimatic. Dorzak is an average episode that is supposed to keep you guessing. It features one of the shows greatest strengths: very hypnotic and eye-catching set designs-at least as far as being inside alien spaceships go (see The Infernal Machine, Mission of the Darians, The Last Enemy). Devil's Planet seems to be straight out of the mind of Star Trek's Gene Roddenberry. A whole planet controled by women who have enslaved men. The women wear these quasi-dominatrix outfits with whacky helmets. File this under so bad, it's almost good. Almost. The Immunity Syndrome tries to be somewhat thoughtful. If you hunt down some of the Space: 1999 sites, you might be lucky enough to find an interview down with the writer, Johnny Byrne. He has lots of insightful comments for the episodes he penned. Apparently, The Immunity Syndrome was supposed to be a parellel to the virus/anti-body struggle. You can just guess who the virus is.... With the flashing light alien, in this episode, the shamelessness of the bad special effects and the dried up budget are both beginning to show. If this, indeed was such a high-budgeted series, where did all the money go?? Watch this episode (and many others) and try to follow the lost money. The final episode, The Dorcons, is the age-old fable about how power corrupts. It is completely unremarkable, but still watchable. Oh yeah, the inside of this ship is darker and more claustrophobic, which interestingly acts as a lens for our antogonist to go mad. These are the final episodes. The DVD set has included some interesting on set interviews and some commercials; the extras are definitely better that the DVD sets 1-4. Watch them and be grateful for the first season, but also grateful that the series lasted another year.

If you're gonna quibble over which season is best, then Shatner's right - GET A LIFE!

I also saw this great series as a kid - in the 70s, before Star Wars, all we had was this, reruns of Trek, the Avengers & the Prisoner. Notice how most sci-fi needs at least 1 Brit (or at least a European) to give it some class - just a side thought...

As a kid, I liked the 2nd season - as an adult I like them both. The 1st season is a little darker in tone but I don't agree it was more 'adult' - just darker and less action-packed. As an adult, I see that it was more existential in tone, usually pitting Koenig against his crew. As a kid, this was a bit disturbing seeing how easily his crew turned against him, but as an adult, this does make the 1st season seem more realistic. However, the show's plotlines owe a lot to Star Trek. I can pick any episode from either season and find elements already worked in Trek.

However, the Trek-remakes owe a lot to this show. Trek TNG, DS9, and Voyager were basically a collective Space 1999 redo - the commander/doctor dynamic, the lost castaway feel, etc.

I still love the set design, the Eagles, and the space backgrounds. Because of the 2001:Space Odyssey underpinnings, the show still visually holds up. I like Koenig's (note the prevalence of J & K in scifi leader names) beseiged attitude and the mix of old & young characters in the cast.

Great show

This is the last set in the "Space: 1999" DVD release from A&E. The set is up to the standards of the previous ones, and offers a few extras fans will be pleased to see (although sadly, the fan-produced "Message From Moonbase Alpha" is not one of them).

There is more with Brian Johnson, special effects master, and also some brief vintage interviews with the cast and crew as they discuss the new season of "Space: 1999". Funny to see Martin Landau in full Commander Koenig regalia (including that stupid pink/orange jacket!), discussing the series while enjoying a smoke! Barbara Bain puffs away on a cigarette during her interview as well! Catherine Schell's humor shines through in her interview. Most telling for fans is the interview with Fred Freiberger, and why so many changes were made to the series.

In this set is the interesting "Devil's Planet", probably one of the only (if not THE only), episode in Year Two to end on a moody note instead of the usual happy/fun note typical of the Year Two epilogues. Despite the silly dominatrix prison warders, this is a pretty good episode with some interesting dialogue.

"Seance Spectre" is nicely staged, and lighting expert Frank Watts again saves the day. However, the whole "seance" bit makes no sense, and is given no explaination. This sort of thing is all too typical of Year Two, but at least there's some cool action going on, and discussion about the strain the crew suffers from being trapped on the Moon was a long time in coming.

"Lambda Factor" is another good attempt by the Year Two creative staff to bring a more serious edge into the stories. I recall this scary, dark outing for the Alphans quite well from my younger days!

"Dorzak" is both silly and interesting, giving all players an equal chance to shine; Tony, Maya, Helena, and Carter.

Although I much prefer Year One, Year Two will always have a soft spot in my kid-at-heart's heart of hearts. It's so 70's, and there's lots of action, color, and humor!

Producer Freiberger made a lot of mistakes, but I think we all have to face it; if Year Two isn't great sci-fi or even great television, it's at least a great sci-fi action show for the kid in all of us.

Befor the Borg there was the Dorcons. The last 6 episodes of Space 1999 are the best. This show is so trend-setting, from Star Wars to The Next Generation most current science fiction has something from Space 1999. The Lambda Factor is about a jealouse girl who develops ESP and tries to take over while she makes a monkey out of Maya.Dorzak is about an evil Psychon being transported to a penal colony while Maya demands to see him. The Immunity Syndrome is about the exploration of a planet that might support life, but an alien presence has other ideas.I always remember the creepy sets for the underground room. The Dorcons is another Maya episode. Aliens demand Maya or they will destroy Alpha. How ironic that the first and last episode of Space 1999 are about Maya.There are interviews on this set and a couple of commercials.

I never saw the program when it was on tv so it was a gamble picking up this set, but once I did I was hooked. My friends and I love this show now. This is fantastic stuff for it's time since so many programs from the 70's don't hold up as well and even when things are less than stellar in this show it still entertains greatly since it's a weird mix of good elements and ultra cheesy stuff! I don't want to compare this to Trek, but this show delivers major entertainment value and I'd rather watch Space 1999. What's wrong with being terribly entertained?

Please read my past reviews on Space 1999 and you'll find that the first season was much better than the second - however this volume of six episodes contain the IMMUNITY SYNDROME and THE DORCONS. These are the two stories that stand out entirely as being good for this season.

Technically they tried to spruce up the sets and provide a laser fight on every quarter of the hour. The Eagles and the devices are cool but the overall feel for the series in the sound season is a little dry.

The bonus features on this DVD are cool. There are interviews with Special Effects director Brian Johnson and all the cast members. As well as some commercials, promo reels and more.

Now that I have all 8 volumes, I am happy that I bought them and I think you will too.

The last set in the Space 1999 collection. This 2-DVD set contains the last 6 episodes of the ground-breaking 70's-era sci-fi series. If you are a Space 1999 fan (like I am) this is a must-have to complete your collection. The special effects aren't up to today's standards, but 30 years ago they were mind-boggling -- especially for a 10 year old! The bonus features (interviews with the actors, etc.) are a nice finishing touch...