Space 1999: The Bringers of Wonder parts 1 and 2 Blu-ray

Memory can be a funny thing sometimes, you see something, smell some sort of perfume or hear and song and it can trigger all sorts or memories or impressions of the past.

As a child I was a big fan of science fiction and really nothing has changed but shows that I watched in the mid to late 70s seem to hold a special place in my heart as do movies from around the same time, I have very distinct memories of watching Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, Logan's Run, The Man from Atlantis, Planet of the Apes as well as reruns of Lost in Space and Star Trek but I don't have a lot of childhood memories of Space 1999.

I've found rewatching other shows from the 70s on DVD I had very clear memories of at least some of the episodes but when it came to rewatching Space 1999 the only story I really remembered was The Bringers of Wonder.

I had an Aunt and Uncle who used to manage a farm and we would sometimes go and stay at the farm, they had a TV with two rotary dials for channel selection, I guess one was for UHF and the other for VHF channels and their TV had an oversized bright orange on/off switch, I very distinctly remember watching The Bringers of Wonder on that TV, I'm not sure why that left such a distinct impression but it did with those weird aliens and that bright orange on/off switch.

As far as I can recall Space 1999 was never repeated here after it's original broadcast and perhaps that's why it never made the impression on me that some other shows did when I was younger, not long after I got married ( over 20 years ago ) I bought an ex-rental VHS tape of Destination Moonbase Alpha which was the two parts of The Bringers of Wonder edited together with a slightly changed beginning and released theatrically in some territories to cash in on the success of Star Wars, I bought the tape because it was a science fiction show I used to watch but I never felt any sort of strong connection to it, until I started watching it anyway and then the memories of the TV with the big orange button and those really weird aliens came flooding back.

Many years later both seasons of the show were released on DVD so I bought and watched both, the first season of the show was the one in enjoyed more but again it was only the second season story The Bringers of Wonder I really remembered.

A few years ago now ( at least it seems like a few years ago ) season 1 of Space 1999 was released on Blu-ray and the quality of those restored episodes was most impressive, the detail in the sets and models was amazing, it was till very much a show that reflected the time in which it was made but the quality of the show was just stunning.

Fans of Space 1999 have been waiting for the release of season to of the show on Blu-ray for some time now, earlier this year,just after my divorce, a preview disc was released containing the restored versions of The Bringers of Wonder parts 1 and 2 as well as an unrestored version of Destination Moonbase Alpha which was going to be exclusive to the preview disc and I have to admit my main reason for buying the disc was because I wanted a copy of Destination Moonbase Alpha even if it was an unrestored 35mm print.

Destination Moonbase Alpha was fun, it terms of picture quality it's a bit of a mess in places, watchable to be sure but even though it was in unrestored HD it felt like I was watching a well used VHS tape at times.

The restored version of The Bringers of Wonder parts 1 and 2 were just stunning in terms of picture quality, the level of detail that can be seen in those episodes is just amazing at times, especially the detail in some of the model work, the audio is a little less impressive, perhaps for the full release of season two will include a multi-channel surround mix like the season 1 Blu-ray release featured.

Several 70's science fiction show have had recent Blu-ray releases but in my opinion Space 1999 easily outshines them all in terms or restoration and overall quality and based on this preview disc I'm eagerly awaiting the release of season 2 of Space 1999 on Blu-ray.

It's funny I still can't stop thinking about that orange button.

Been a bit quiet lately.......

Yep I've been a bit quiet lately, more divorce related dramas going on but that's all coming to a conclusion soonish I hope.

I've been reading some comics but nothing all that special really.

The other thing I've been doing is finishing some TV boxsets I had started watching, I have this horrible habit of starting something and then getting distracted by something new and part way through that getting something else and starting that and then before you know it I have a whole bunch of partially watched TV seasons.

Here's what I've cleared from my "to watch" pile over the last few weeks:

Battlestar Galactica ( 1978 )
Galactica 1980
Supernatural season 7
Chuck season 4
Chuck Season 5
24: Live Another Day
Dollhouse Season 2

Of course I'd seen both series of Battlestar Galactica before but this was the recent Blu-ray release and I was dying to see the show in High Definition and I think it was a worthwhile upgrade, Galactica 1980 looked better than I had ever seen it before, it's such a shame that despite how good it looked it's such a terrible show.

I, Frankenstein

I had high hopes for this movie, I quite enjoyed the Underworld movies, well the first three Underworld movies anyway Underworld: Awakening was pretty disappointing.

I, Frankenstein was created by a lot of the people behind the Underworld movies but sadly it's a mess, it does feature some rather pretty special effects but that's about it.

One to avoid I think.

Metropolis ( Giorgio Moroder )

Today I received in the mail the so-called ultimate edition of Metropolis on Blu-ray, I love Metropolis and I already owned the restored version on Blu-ray but this new edition also included the version of the movie that was created by Giorgio Moroder in the 1980s.

I can remember renting the movie on VHS around 20 years ago and liking it but I never felt the need to see it again, I think in the United States the Giorgio Moroder may have been released as a stand alone disc and I always thought I might pick it up one day if I saw it on sale.

Masters of Cinema announced a new steelbook that also included their previous release as well as the Moroder edition and that sold it for me, everything I wanted in one very pretty case.

I watched the Moroder version this afternoon and it was fun, the 80s synth music and soft rock works for the rather abridged version of the film and while the audio was impressive I was disappointed to see that no real restoration work had been done on Giorgio Moroder's version of Metropolis and I suspect that a lot of the visuals could have been restored or failing that a better looking version of Moroder's film constructed using footage from the previously restored version of the original movie released by Masters of Cinema ( and Kino in the United States ).

This version of the movie is far from definitive but as far as what amounts to an 80 minute music video goes it's kinda fun, I seriously doubt I'll be watching it again any time soon but I can see myself watching it again one day.

Alcatraz

Some time ago I saw the Alcatraz Blu-ray boxset on sale, I guess you can't really call two discs a boxset but it contains all 13 episodes of the cancelled TV series, I was originally never going to bother watching the episodes as I knew the series ended without any kind of resolution but the discs were just so cheap I couldn't pass them up.

I watched the first 2 or 3 episodes and rather enjoyed them but got distracted by something else and that was the pattern I would follow, months later I would watch a few more episodes and enjoy them but then get distracted by something else, nearly 2 years later I've finally finished all 13 episodes.

Overall I enjoyed the show, of course it ended just when it was getting interesting but I thought it was fun, as the show just suddenly ends it makes for a disappointing viewing experience as there is no resolution to the story being told.

I liked Alcatraz but I can't say I'd recommend it unless you can find it really cheap and like me are curious about the show, with all the crap that seems to survive and even thrive on TV today it's a shame this show didn't at least run for a season or two.

Battlestar Galactica - The Original Series

I'm not talking about the new fangled reimagining of Battlestar Galactica from a few years ago where Starbuck was a woman, Commander Cain was a lesbian and the ending was almost as bad as the finale to Lost.

I'm talking about the original show from the70's, the show I loved as a child ever since I first saw the cut down version of the pilot at the cinema and I love it still despite the fact it's a show that's very much of it's time with over the top and somewhat camp acting and honestly at times some very weak writing.

For the better part of the last week I've been rewatching the show on Blu-ray and it's been a lot of fun, the show looks and sounds better in High Definition, it's a shame no real restoration work was done on the episodes but overall it's an improvement on the DVD release from several years ago.

I know some people don't like this show or think it hasn't aged well for me this is the concentrated essence of my childhood, a much simpler and less cynical time and the show reflects that.

Rewatching the original version of Battlestar Galactica, is a little like catching up with old friends you haven't seen in years, sure they might not have aged well but it's still nice to see them now and again.

Grudge Match

So one day I'm browsing Blu-rays killing some time and I see a movie called Grudge Match, now I'd never heard of the movie but a boxing movie starring Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone is going to get my attention, this is after all the actors who played Rocky Balboa Jake LaMotta in the ring together.

Well I watched the movie and I have to say I was disappointed, it covered some of the same territory as the final Rocky movie but frankly I found the movie to be pretty dull and an overall disappointment.

Reading about the movie online afterwards I discovered the movie was supposed to be a comedy which was a shock to me, it certainly wasn't funny.

Ultimately Grudge Match was a waste of a decent idea that was played for laughs and couldn't even manage that, definitely one to avoid.