Alright, to start with I have read all the reviews to date and decided I had to write my own. The lack of special features is the only valid complaint with the DVD set. As many others have already said it really would have been nice to have some input from the cast/crew. And the packaging is not the greatest out there. As with any series but scifi in particular, you have to take the good with the bad. If you are looking for comedy buy a comedy and if you are looking for Shakespearean dialogue look elsewhere. However if you consider yourself a TRUE scifi fan, then Earth 2 is a must. There are those that say the stories have been done and the aliens are not original. I can say the same for ANY scifi series out there. Earth 2 takes these so called "old" themes and puts an original spin on them. That is what make it a great and original series. You also need to take into account that it was aired on a network which accounts for the limited budget, its untimely demise, and the cliffhanger ending that will never be resolved. Having said all that if you are not a diehard scifi fan you will probably not like Earth 2, particular if you are unable to take the good with the bad.The bottom line is that this is a solid scifi series that without doubt does the genre justice.
Almost...
Earth 2 was one of those `almost' programmes, making it beyond the pilot but failing to get renewed at the end of the first season. Its admirers, unable, in the end, to affect "a Star Trek" and win its reprieve, have been waiting and hoping for the series to make its DVD debut for some time.
The premise is solid: in 2192 overcrowding and pollution is manifesting itself in congenital illness among Earth's children. Against government policy, a private expedition - the vanguard of an intended colonisation - sets out for an Earth-like planet 22 light years away, in hopes of securing a future for their children. After their ship crash-lands of the wrong side of the planet, the rag-tag survivors set out overland, discovering on the way that their new home has more than a few surprises in store for them.
From this cracking and well-realised beginning, Earth 2 settles down to a series of encounters, crises and obstacles. There is a story through-line, but many of the episodes stand on their own, and indeed, some of them played out of sequence (strangely reproduced on the DVD) when the series first aired. The cast is as solid as the premise - a strong through sometimes overbearing female lead (Debrah Farentino) is nicely balanced by a gruff, down-to-earth male lead (Clancy Brown). Other key characters include the expedition's doctor, who has a guilty secret to hide; the ship's pilot, who expected to drop the colonists off without ever setting foot on the planet himself; the self-serving government agent, who doesn't take well to a life without luxuries; and his wife, who's in every way a better person than him, but loves him anyway.
With a great look, an involving premise, and intriguing, three-dimensional characters, there's much to admire about this series, though it has its weaknesses too. The obligatory "cute-but-irritating-children" are unfortunately present and correct and landing everyone in trouble, and early on there's even an attempt at introducing the obligatory "cute-but-irritating-animal-companion" - though fortunately it's exposed as a pest and barely heard from again. Three-episode guest star Tim Curry plays a duplicitous castaway who runs close to pantomime villainy at times (although that disingenuous, dangerous grin of his is always a welcome sight to those of us who've followed his career since Rocky Horror days). Some of the science is distinctly dodgy (naturally-occurring electro-magnetic vacuum tubes that provide instant transport over thousands of miles - oh, really?), but some is pretty damn neat (`gear' communicators, burrowing bullets). There's a strong thread of mysticism running through the series, particularly in the expedition's experience of the `primitive' native races. It brings another element to the plot and presents the characters with some interesting dilemmas, but much of the time it feels a little half-baked and simplistic - the gospel according to Greenpeace with a touch of peyote shamanism thrown in. There are standout episodes that boast fine acting and challenging, thought-provoking storylines (Survival of the fittest), and others that feel like retreads of ideas that are already pretty familiar (After the thaw). As a personal high-point, seeing Clancy Brown play the good guy is always a delight.
For fans the important thing, of course, is finally having all the episodes available on DVD - which is just as well, as the extras are nothing to get excited about. The bloopers are amusing enough, but "bonus" episodes of Cleopatra 2525 and Sliders are a waste of space, and the deleted scenes are probably a "watch once only" feature. Unfortunately missing are some juicy commentaries, and - most regretted of all - any word from the producers and writers on what was planned for the series. Cancellation saw Earth 2 end for good on a cliff-hanger; the DVD was probably the only chance we had to find out what was supposed to have happened next. Still, perhaps not knowing is part of the attraction - there's nothing like having to use your own imagination!
It only went so far...
Earth2 came out in 1994 and I caught a few of the first episodes. They were interesting, but being a fan of hard sci-fi and humor, they just didn't do as much for me as they could of. Well, when it came out on DVD I decided to watch it, from start to finish. Maybe I would enjoy it more now that time had passed? And I did enjoy some parts - the characters are all well developed (or still developing), some of the science - like the gear, Zero, the equipment - were well thought out and the aliens were interesting. And many of the female actors were hot.
But much of the science was fantasy. I'm just not into soft sci-fi in a TV series. Also, there was little, to no, humor and stories were not very strong. Two ghost stories in the same season? How many times did the Hummer and other groundcraft break down? How many people were in the crew total? New people seemed to pop up every few episodes! There was even time travel on the dreamscape!
Also, while the DVDs have the episodes in order in which they were aired, episode 20 should be viewed before episode 05 and episode 21 should be viewed after 17. Otherwise they don't make any sense. The extras are mixed - the blooper reel and deleted scenes were interesting, but why have a Slider bonus episode and a Cleopatra 2525 bonus episode? Surely they had more they could have placed on the DVD about behind-the-scenes or interviews?
The first and only spin-off of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski's short-lived sci-fi series Crusade had its roots in the B5 television movie A Call to Arms, in which Earth was battling a Drakh invasion at the end of the Shadow Wars. When Crusade begins, the Drakh have released a deadly virus that threatens to wipe out all 10 billion humans living on Earth unless a cure can be found in five years. To take on this monumental task, Captain Matthew Gideon (Gary Cole) is assigned command of the state-of-the-art Destroyer-class ship Excalibur. His crew includes telepath John Matheson (Daniel Dae Kim); pompous but brilliant archaeologist-linguist Max Eilerson (David Allen Brooks); Dureena, a member of the Thieves' Guild and the last surviving member... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Tony Dow DVD Release Date: Released the 07 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I have read a lot of negetive reviews about the shorter version of the episode "Threads" being on this set rather than the longer more boring version. I just picked up the set and have only watched the episode "Threads" (I watched the season when it aired). I thought the shorter version was better and quicker to get to the point, there was a lot of padding in the longer version. Although I don't agree with MGM's Decision to not to put the broadcast version on the DVD, I'm glad they didn't. I don't think I will trade in my set to get the longer version. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Dean Anderson DVD Release Date: Released the 04 October 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Despite voluminous protest and nitpicking criticism from loyal fans of the original 1978-80 TV series, the 2003 version of Battlestar Galactica turned out surprisingly well for viewers with a tolerance for change. Originally broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel in December 2003 and conceived by Star Trek: The Next Generation alumnus Ronald D. Moore as the pilot episode for a "reimagined" TV series, this four-hour "miniseries" reprises the basic premise of the original show while giving a major overhaul (including some changes in gender) to several characters and plot elements. Gone are the flowing robes, disco-era hairstyles, and mock-Egyptian fighter helmets, and thankfully there's not a fluffy "daggit" in sight... at least, not yet. Also missing are the "chrome toaster" Cylons,... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Michael Rymer DVD Release Date: Released the 28 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Battlestar Galactica's Edward James Olmos wasn't kidding when he said "the series is even better than the miniseries." As developed by sci-fi TV veteran Ronald D. Moore, the "reimagined" BG is exactly what it claims to be: a drama for grown-ups in a science-fiction setting. The mature intelligence of the series is its greatest asset, from the tenuous respect between Galactica's militarily principled commander Adama (Olmos) and politically astute President Roslin (Mary McDonnell) to the barely suppressed passion between ace Viper pilot "Apollo" (a.k.a. Adama's son Lee, played by Jamie Bamber) and the brashly insubordinate Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff), whose multifaceted character is just one of many first-season highlights. Picking up where the miniseries ended (it's included... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 20 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The 4400, which began as a five-week miniseries on the USA Network, is built around a deceptively simple, dramatically rich premise. What if all the people, who had ever been abducted by aliens, were suddenly returned to Earth? What would happen? Although they look exactly as they did when they left, they have no knowledge of where they were or why they were taken. Now some even have special powers, like clairvoyance. As with ABC's Lost, which centers on the survivors of a plane crash, The 4400 features a large cast of characters and a host of mysteries to be solved. If the special effects, which are kept to a minimum, can be a little cheesy at times, the concept--and the skillful execution of the concept--easily makes up for it.
