Space 1999 Set 4:V7 & 8

 

 

Create your own review

As you can see from the other reviews here these stories are great. In the third edition they even include some rare behind the scnes looks at the production in the stills section.

The production value is high and Martin Landau and Barabara Bain (then husband and wife) have a unique chemistry together.

The models and ships are quite small, but very detailed. Techinically (except for sound in space) the show is accurate to real science.

If you bought the first two..you've got to have this one!

This DVD completes the 24 episodes which made up the first season of "Space 1999", the much-underrated sci-fi classic which was produced in England and which aired on American television in the mid-seventies. If you're already a fan of "Space 1999" you don't need to be "sold" on this show, but if you're a sci-fi fan who's never seen this series, but who has grown tired of the bland fare that's being offered on most sci-fi shows these days, then you'll find "Space 1999" to be a delightfully different and creative show. This DVD set contains three rather mediocre episodes, two superior episodes, and one episode which ranks as one of the best (and most memorable) episodes shown on any sci-fi series. The two superior episodes are "The Troubled Spirit", a truly frightening story in which one of Moonbase Alpha's scientists conducts an experiment that goes horribly wrong. In effect, the scientist creates a ghastly-looking "ghost" of himself which goes around murdering other crewmen. Eventually the scientist must track down his own "ghost" and destroy it. Like many of "Space 1999's" episodes, "The Troubled Spirit" draws as much from the horror genre as sci-fi, and the episode uses vivid lighting and colors to create a creepy, moody feel that's not unlike the "X-Files". In the "Infernal Machine" a huge spaceship lands near Moonbase Alpha. When Commander Koenig and Dr. Helena Russell go out to investigate, they find that the ship is actually a powerful, psychotic computer which is desperate for human companionship - and is willing to destroy Moonbase Alpha unless it's demands are met. The interior set of the spaceship is impressively done (as is typical on "Space 1999" - a fortune was spent on large, elaborate sets), and the computer is both sinister and sympathetic at the same time - not unlike the "HAL 9000" computer on "2001: A Space Odyssey". The best episode, however, is "Dragon's Domain", and for many people my age it caused some serious nightmares when we saw this episode as kids. One of Commander Koenig's best friends - a former astronaut on deep-space missions - is behaving strangely. He keeps having nightmares of a disastrous deep-space mission he led years earlier. He was the mission's only survivor, and no one except Koenig believed his story of what happened. To wit: he claimed that his ship found a "space graveyard" of seemingly empty alien spaceships. When he docked with one of these ships and boarded it, his entire crew was eaten alive by a horrific space monster which was immune to fire from his laser pistol. He barely escaped with his life. Now he's convinced that Moonbase Alpha is coming close to the graveyard of dead alien ships, and when the "graveyard" does in fact appear, he steals an Eagle spacecraft and returns to his ship, determined to kill the "monster" which has been giving him nightmares since his crew was lost. The actor who portrays the stricken astronaut does a superb job, and although the monster costume may look fake today, it was enough to scare the wits out of many younger sci-fi fans and make this episode one of the most memorable in sci-fi history. All in all, this fourth DVD set is not the best (I believe the first and third DVD sets contain more "superior" episodes), but for any fan of classic sci-fi this is still one DVD set that you don't need to be without. As with the other "Space 1999" DVD sets, these episodes (and especially "Dragon's Domain") will bring back many fond childhood memories of a series that remains unique - a cross between Star Trek, The X-Files, and The Twilight Zone.

Disk 1: vol 4

: THE TROUBLED SPIRIT

: SPACE BRAIN

: THE INFERNAL MACHINE

 Disk 2: vol 4

: MISSION OF THE DARIANS

: DRAGON'S DOMAIN

: TESTAMENT OF ARKADI

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 43 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

4.0 out of 5 stars Good compilation of "Space:1999"
This set of three episodes from the show's first season captures that season's ernest side with mixed results. Read more

Published on Mar 11 2003 by Rottenberg's rotten book review

4.0 out of 5 stars Top of the line
This is my favorite set of the entire series. Volume seven is good, but volume eight has some of the best episodes of the series. Read more

Published on Feb 8 2003 by Mark McKinney

4.0 out of 5 stars Illustrates how the series continued to improve
Although the series' skeletal crew of writers never completely kicked their annoying deus ex machina habit, as the season progressed they were eventually at least able to tell an... Read more

Published on Oct 17 2002 by sunspot42x

4.0 out of 5 stars Ahhh, the good old days... Vintage Sci Fi ...
Wasn't this a fun show to watch, especially as a kid? I remember being fascinated by the Eagles and always wishing I could fly one to school! Read more

Published on Aug 17 2002 by Chris Letempt

5.0 out of 5 stars Space 1999 - Great SciFi series
I remember this series as a child. Two major stars from the "Mission Impossible" tv series went after Star Trek--"Holy Shatner! Read more

Published on Aug 12 2002 by Cathy Brice

3.0 out of 5 stars The best DVD set of the first season
For someone who has never seen Space: 1999, I'd recommend this set because the episodes aren't too bad, in fact, they are kind of fun to watch, and the production quality seems to... Read more

Published on July 27 2002

2.0 out of 5 stars The weakest DVD set of the first season
I would not recommend this DVD set of Space: 1999, because it has some of the silliest episodes of the first season. Read more

Published on July 27 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars "You Must Not Touch My Brain!"
Set 4 of the Space:1999 rounds out the final 6 episodes from the first season. There are some memorable stories, such as Space Brain and fan favorite Dragon's Domain. Read more

Published on July 24 2002 by Huntsmæñus

5.0 out of 5 stars Main Mission - Do You Copy!
Okay, you bought set 1, 2, and 3 - you've got to have number 4!

The eagles alone are worth watching and in this set you can see Joan Collins in a not so pretty light. Read more

Published on Jun 12 2002 by Lorenzo M. in the Hollywood CA...

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of Space 1999!
That one-eyed monster scared me to death!

Granted it's funny to watch now, but even today the special effects hold up well. Read more

Published on May 4 2002 by Derek G

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 43 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!