A chance to preview the new, enhanced Blu-ray versions of the cult TV show’s feature film editions for free.
At the end of the 1970s, ITC decided to flog the dead horse that was Space:1999 by bolting episodes together and releasing them as theatrical movies to cash in on the post-Star Wars sci-fi boom. It wasn’t exactly an unheard of concept in the 1970s and beyond – ITC had done likewise with The Saint in the 1960s and fake movies were also created from spliced-together episodes of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Tarzan, Battlestar Galactica and The Incredible Hulk amongst others. The two initial Space: 1999 movies – Destination Moonbase Alpha and Alien Attack – featured new musical scores, other minor tweaks and even new scenes, and proved successful enough to inspire another eleven ‘movies’ that were released to TV and home video.
Now, four of these movies – the two original releases plus Journey Through the Black Sun and Cosmic Princess as well as the Italian movie edit Spazio: 1999 that features an Ennio Morricone score – are being re-released. Sort of. In fact, the movies have all been recreated from the HD restorations of the original TV series, with ‘enhanced’ special effects, additional scenes and options of both the original 4:3 ratio presentation and new 16:9 editions, alongside both the movie and original TV soundtracks. Purists might be taken aback at the ‘improvements’ – remember the kerfuffle over Hammer’s upgraded version of The Devil Rides Out – but we should remember that these movie editions are already bastardised versions of the original show and so hardly untouchable.
The Blu-ray box set is released on January 31st 2022 but for those wanting a sneak preview, Network is showing Destination Moonbase Alpha for free via its on-demand service for a short time. Tune in to watch.networkonair.com from 7pm GMT on January 25th, head to the Super Space Premiere page and you have seven days to check the film out for yourself.
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