Merrick here...
In the midst of Comic-Con madness last week, we learned that SPACE: 1999 will soon be available on Blu-Ray for the first time.
Gauging from past posts on this series, there are quite a few folks out there who still don't know what this show is. But if you do remember it from back in the day, chances are you'll meet this release with great interest - and might even be astonished that it would appear on the format at all.
In short, SPACE: 1999 is a science fiction adventure drama from Gerry Anderson, who also brought us shows like THUNDERBIRDS
and UFO
. It's about a base on the moon...more like a self-sustaining, fully functional city...called "Moonbase Alpha." Calamity ensues, the moon is blasted out of Earth orbit, and Alpha and its occupants are sent on a cosmic pinball ride which throws a new adventure at them every week.
as television will ever get. The second season, retooled by incoming producer Fred Freiberger, lacked the tonal and conceptual distinctiveness that made the first season so special; the series did not return for a third year. The dramatic shift in approach between the two seasons should've been (and probably was) predictable - Freiberger had previously wrangled the third (weakest, and final) season of the original STAR TREK series.
For the moment, the news here is that...amazingly and improbably enough...SPACE: 1999 is on its way to Blu-Ray. We'll definitely follow up this piece with more details in the coming months, but for now Season 1 is already up for pre-order HERE
. For all of its imperfections and inconsistencies, 'tis a strangely affecting show - featuring moments and ideas that are just plain cool even by today's standards. It impacted me quite profoundly as a child (it ran between 1975-1977), heavily influencing my interest in astronomy, the space program, and science fiction in general. I never really got into G.I. Joes, but I played with my Eagle Transport every day.
It carried me and it's fragile little occupants to worlds farther than Joe could ever visit - and I miss that toy to this day.
The big question here is: how does the series hold up when looking back on it from a modern vantage point? Are all the warm, fuzzy memories some of carry for it predominantly fueled by the excitement many of us experienced collecting SPACE: 1999 trading cards, or eating sandwiches out of of our shiny John Koenig lunch boxes? Certainly nostalgia plays a significant role in our affection here - there's no denying or escaping that. But I watched both seasons again a few years back, all the way through. You know what? The series still has something to say - most particularly its first season. When it hit the air, we'd never seen a show like this before, and it's probably a very safe bet that we'll never see anything remotely like it again.
They'll be far more discussion about SPACE: 1999 as the Blu-Ray release approaches later this year. Until then, consider taking a look at it - whether you pick up the Blu-Rays, borrow them from Netflix, or...whatever. This said, if you've any interest whatsoever, I'd reccomend holding out for the Blu-Rays - they aren;'t too far away now (if past patterns are any indication, Netflix should have the BRs available as well as standard DVDs). 1999's production design is pretty thick, it's photography rather interesting, and I imagine it'll look pretty grand in HD.
More to come...
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It carried me and it's fragile little occupants to worlds farther than Joe could ever visit - and I miss that toy to this day.
The big question here is: how does the series hold up when looking back on it from a modern vantage point? Are all the warm, fuzzy memories some of carry for it predominantly fueled by the excitement many of us experienced collecting SPACE: 1999 trading cards, or eating sandwiches out of of our shiny John Koenig lunch boxes? Certainly nostalgia plays a significant role in our affection here - there's no denying or escaping that. But I watched both seasons again a few years back, all the way through. You know what? The series still has something to say - most particularly its first season. When it hit the air, we'd never seen a show like this before, and it's probably a very safe bet that we'll never see anything remotely like it again.
They'll be far more discussion about SPACE: 1999 as the Blu-Ray release approaches later this year. Until then, consider taking a look at it - whether you pick up the Blu-Rays, borrow them from Netflix, or...whatever. This said, if you've any interest whatsoever, I'd reccomend holding out for the Blu-Rays - they aren;'t too far away now (if past patterns are any indication, Netflix should have the BRs available as well as standard DVDs). 1999's production design is pretty thick, it's photography rather interesting, and I imagine it'll look pretty grand in HD.
More to come...
--- Follow Merrick on Twitter! ---
