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Discussion about Space:1999.
Space: 1999 Bonus DVD Disc?
Space: 1999 Bonus DVD Disc
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| Author | Post | ||
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| cdmann 08 Jan 2003 11:18:37 |
As anyone heard when the bonus DVD disc that is available with the mega set will be available for those of us that purchased the DVD sets as they were issued? | ||
| Validus 08 Jan 2003 17:23:33 |
I actually have the "bonus" disc that came with the entire set. It simply has the last three episodes from Season One with a few added special features. The one I liked best was Sylvia Anderson's audio commentary on "Testament of Arkadia". She makes some interesting revelations. I was especially interested to find out that Martin Landau was not the first choice to play Commander Konig...it was actor Robert Culp (I Spy) who was initially hoped for. She also reveals that the main reason the show was cancelled after Season 2 was simply the cost ($300,000 per episode in 1975). There are other interviews but they reveal nothing really new. The most interesting thing about the Gerry Anderson interview for me was the fact that he is obviously very camera shy. | ||
| Eagle One 09 Jan 2003 02:29:15 |
I was a little disapointed in the bonus disc. I've heard their were an extra 12 minues of footage shot after the show was cancelled that wrapped up the seris. I'd hoped this would be included on the bonus disc. As mentioned above Gerry Anderson, is clearly stressed out being in front of the camera but does his best to "be at ease" Martin Landau seems right at home and seems to enjoy the interview. He seems always aware of the lighting. Barbra Bain acts more personable in the interview than she ever did in character. Made me wonder if she just portrayed Helena as she was told to. Seemed to me like there was alot potential for Bain with the character that went unrealized. Catherine Shell is just plain silly in the interview. I bet she was a lot of fun on the set and off.  |
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| Dave99 10 Jan 2003 19:47:18 |
Were these the interviews conducted during the making of "A Matter of Balance"? If so, they've already been released on the American DVDs. Also, is there any explanation of why these three episodes in particular were selected for the bonus disc? |
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| Martin 10 Jan 2003 20:05:45 |
The 3 episodes were selected for the bonus disc because the original releases had significant sound and colour flaws which are corrected on this disc. There are also commentaries for these episodes by Sylvia Anderson, Johnny Byrne, Christopher Penfold and A&E's consultant Scott Bosco. |
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| poopville 11 Jan 2003 18:33:19 |
well the thing I was most excited to see on the Bonus disc is the "Message from Moonbase Alpha" mini-feature that was shown at the big convention they had in '99. I heard this was supposed to be included on this Bonus Disc and I hope that is true because it sounds cool! | ||
| Validus 11 Jan 2003 20:38:53 |
It is.......it most certainly is..........  |
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| DDL 10 Apr 2005 23:01:01 |
Actually, I was pretty disappointed with the bonus disk. | ||
| Huntsman 11 Apr 2005 01:47:04 |
The entire DVD release for North America is a major disappointment. And that guy who helped out with the commentaries from the bonus disc from A&E should be ashamed of himself for being part of releasing an inferior product. There shouldn't have been a bonus disc with three episode remastered. It should've been done right the first time... | ||
| Space1999! 11 Apr 2005 15:01:03 |
As I'm fortunate enough to have some familiarity with the whole situation I can hopefully clarify the situation. I totally disagree that the fellow who helped out, i.e. Scott Bosco, should be ashamed of himself, if anything he has been flogging a dead horse from the very beginning. Scott worked diligently to try and convince those at A&E (as he was Consultant only for North America) and indirectly Carlton that all of Space: 1999 should be entirely and properly remastered from the "original" negatives and not merely the prints struck to make the laserdiscs in the early 90's. Howerver, those powers that be (PTB's) judged 1999 to be a marginal product that would not sell any better on dvd than it had on vhs or laserdisc. Those powers at A&E and Carlton were wrong though... from the info I've heard Space: 1999 was a surprise hit that ranked about 4th out of the entire portfolio in the US sales of A&E and beat other shows expected to do better such as Thunderbirds, UFO or The Persuaders. Scott knew that many Year One episodes were unacceptable and pushed for a remastering of the entire season and the PTB's finally relented to allow a bonus disc with better copies of "only" three episodes of Scott's chosing. Personally I am grateful that Dragon's Domain and TOA received a much better treatment in the Bonus Disc... is it perfect? Of course not. They were not cleaned up for dirt or film damage but they are better than the original release. It may take a while but I have no doubt that after Granada remasters Year One and releases a PAL Region 2 set in Europe they will be looking for an enthusiastic and responsible distributor in North America to release it here... it may not happen until 2007 but I think it will happen eventually. Thus, I prefer to see the positives. Space: 1999 was one of the first sci-fi tv shows released on dvd and the release was far better than anything we had been given before. I would rate the overall picture quality of the first release as a "B" for Year One which is not too bad. For example, many of the Trek releases including The Next Generation look inferior in part due to the fact that they kept the show on video tape and not film in the first two seasons and thus the quality can never look that much better whereas Space: 1999 on high quality film stock has the potential to be great. Given the dismal sales performance of the show on the other releases it is not a surprise that few in the industry had high hopes for the dvd's but we were all pleasantly surprised so now Space: 1999 finally gets the long overdue attention it so richly deserves and we the fans will finally get the release that we deserve. I say thanks to Scott for his diligent and determined work and hope that all the bonus material he has been able to gather over the years will see the light of day if Granada sees fit to hire him as its Consultant for the UK release.... good luck Scott! |
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| Huntsman 11 Apr 2005 21:33:01 |
Like with ALL things, it's just a shame to A&E didn't find out until AFTER the sales. True, I didn't know the whole story with what Scott Bosco did, but even if they weren't cleaned up to perfection, it could've been better. When Thunderbird DVDs are BETTER than the Space:1999 ones, something is not right. One of the reasons I never purchased all the sets were I thought Year 1 releases sucked, and Year 2 prints were crystal clear compared to you-know-what... | ||
| Space1999! 12 Apr 2005 14:15:47 |
You hit the nail on the head Huntsman... the PTB's in both countries tried to guess which shows would have the best legs in terms of sales and ultimately spent the most money to nicely restore those shows and actual results reveal that it often wasn't money well spent. The final irony is that Space: 1999 may end having the last laugh. The last I heard is that it is being properly restored in HIGH-DEFINITION from the original negatives which may or may not be in the best shape... the end result is not only that 1999 may be one of the first tv shows to be released on this format but also the full restoration will ensure that the original prints of 1999 are not lost forever which would have been an even greater crime. For those not interested in having to buy a new format (i.e. high-def player/compatible tv) I would expect that it will be also released on the current regular dvd format (MPEG-2). You can still argue that they should have done it right the first time but remember by the time the new release comes out in North America about 7 years will have passed and the industry re-releases new "special edition" versions of movies and shows all the time for those deemed worthy and to have Space: 1999 deemed worthy of such attention and expense is a credit to all those who bought the initial product! |
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| moonbasealpha_s1 12 Apr 2005 20:00:25 |
I guess I was just happy that the show was released on DVD at all. I didn't worry about pink versus orange sleeves, too dark background (though, in Y1 shadows were definitely part of the background), etc. As long as the quality was reasonable and I could hear it, it was fine for me.  |
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| Huntsman 14 Apr 2005 16:12:31 |
I understand what you're saying. However, I find that picture and sound quality are non-existent for the Year 1 releases. And I don't mind "vanilla" releases... | ||
| moonbasealpha_s1 14 Apr 2005 16:19:17 |
Eh...It is fan fiction put on film. Not the best JB work, to be sure. It is a pretty good end to the Y2 series though, admittedly...not a good end to Space:1999 Y1 at all. |
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