In 1975 a bold new television series premiered called Space:1999. There had never been a series like it and there hasn’t really been one since. Set in the then futuristic year of 1999, the show depicted the story of the men and women of Moonbase Alpha. In the premiere, the Moon is blasted out of Earth’s orbit and set on a course through the universe, each week encountering a new form of malevolent alien life or other such threat that must be overcome. It may sound rather far-fetched now, but to those of us growing up in the 1970s, Space:1999 was a pretty seminal science-fiction series. Other than the suspension of disbelieve required to take in the Moon traveling fast enough to encounter other inhabited solar systems, the show was fairly good at maintaining plausible scientific possibilities. Multi-layered stories and character interactions were hallmarks of the show and none of it ever took place on Earth, another striking difference to other TV sci-fi.
Starring the husband and wife team of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, season one presented a sometimes metaphysical look at science-fiction, which was very strange to American audiences at the time, but already acceptable to the British (shows like The Tomorrow People were already around at this point and Sapphire and Steel was only four years away). There are some forgettable episodes during the first year, but also any exceptional ones, namely “Breakaway,” “Dragon’s Domain,” “Black Sun,” and “Force of Life.” “Dragon’s Domain” was personally one of the scariest hours of television I had ever seen and it is still somewhat creepy for me to watch.
So, how well does a 35 year old television show hold up to the high definition critical eye of Blu-ray? Very, very well, actually. A&E had previously released the entire series on DVD a few years ago and the transfers were pretty amazing then. This time around it appears that things have been cleaned up even more and the picture quality is astounding. Considering the costuming and lighting gave the show and almost black and white look anyway, everything looks remarkable vibrant and crisp and the deep blacks are free or artifacting. This is especially important on darkly atmospheric episodes like “Black Sun” and “Dragon’s Domain.” For sound you have a choice of a sensational newly created Dolby 5.1 surround track or, for the purists, the original mono track.
The extras are plentiful in this set. For me the highlights are the music-only tracks for every episode (excepting “Breakaway” and “Dragon’s Domain,” which have audio commentary instead), the HD image galleries of the gum and cigarette cards (I wish I still had my trading card collection), the new featurettes with loads of interesting tidbits about the making of the series and the “Clapperboard” two-part feature on what Gerry Anderson was working on in 1975. Of particular note are the US premiere intro and outro by Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. And there is lots more to be discovered on the two Bonus Features discs included in this set. Please note that the two bonus dics are actually DVDs and not Blu-rays, but rest assured all the episode discs are.
Whether your a longtime fan of Gerry Anderson and Space:1999 or just discovering this show for the first time, this is a fantastic set that you will want to own right away. Plan to treat yourself for the holidays and pick this up sooner rather than later from A&E.
