When it was first broadcast in 1975, there had never been a more lavishly produced science fiction TV series than Space: 1999, a British production whose budget for the first of its two seasons ran an astounding £3.25 million. What keeps us fans enthralled after all these years has only partly to due with the first-rate production values, the plausibly constructed spaceship models, and expert special effects. The tone of the show is one of scientific dispassion, setting it apart from its TV sci-fi predecessors such as Star Trek, whose mood was more convivial. Our heroes here are in dire circumstances that require cool heads as a survival trait. Those circumstances: the 311 crew members of Moonbase Alpha experience a cataclysm that causes the moon to break away from Earth's orbit and travel endlessly through space, turning our heroes into unintentional explorers. No TV series has created a more palpable feel of hard science fiction than this.

Of course the show is not without its detractors; it has been soundly lambasted for its many scientific errors. No less august a figure than Isaac Asimov criticized the show for its premise in the opening episode, "Breakaway," which had nuclear explosions on the "dark side of the moon" somehow propelling it out of Earth's orbit and flying through space without regard to any physical laws. In "Earthbound," aliens traveling to Earth state it will take them 75 years to reach their destination, making one wonder why it didn't take the moon that long to encounter the aliens. While these are serious complaints, fans tend to remember the scientific seriousness of the series and the sense of awe created by the many strange creatures and phenomena that the crew members encounter on their journey through the galaxy.

the science is a joke and the second season was not very but the first season was great fun

i enjoyed this show when it aired in the 70's and looked foward to seeing it again. now in all fairness the first season was very good,with only 1 or 2 bad shows. the cast was top notch and the writeing was good for the most part.
the second season got off to a bad start as the anderson's(who created the show together split and left the show without producers)gave way to fred frieberger(knowen in the the show killer in the busniss)took over the job. mr. frieberger helmed the last and least season of star trek and many others. he would come in revamp a show(or wrecked one) and that's what he did here. prof. burgman,paul,and a few others just vanish with no reason given. also the main mission is now for some reason underground and to try to cash in on the alien in the crew(think spock) is added. this alien is able to change into any person or animal she wants to,but little use is really made of it.
in the end if they had left the show alone it might have lasted longer,but that said the complete series(even the second season) can be great fun if you lrt it be. not as good as "star trek"(then nothing will ever be as good as "trek")space 1999 is a great collection and if you love sci-fi then you will want to add this one to your collection

Guilty Pleasure

OK, I loved Space 1999 as a kid. I still like it. There, its out there. Phew. My family barely tolerates it. Even my sci-fi fan kids don't particularly like it. That just goes to show that this is not for everyone. It is nowhere near the quality of any generation of Star Trek. That much is certain. The science is wonky at best. However, for all those who question the science, please note one factor, they are internally tight. That is, a scientific flaw in one episode is the same in another. That gives it less of the feel of making up the rules as they go along.

Lighten up, have fun. This isn't a boxed set of Nova!

the first season was great , but the second one killed the show

i give this set a 4 only because the second season of this fun show from my childhood, was not very good.the science was off but the show was fun and much more intense than most sci-fi shows. martin landau and barbara bain are the leads in this story about the moon being blasted out of orbit of the earth and sent like a spaceship into outer space. some great f/x and some good stories the first season. then someone tried to fix what wasn't broken and they re-tooled the show for the 2nd season and blew it. they cut cast members changed the sets and never offered and reason or told what happened to the people who left. plus to cash in on the spock/alien angle they added an alien woman who can change into any living thing she wants to. all in all though this is fun to watch the disc look great