SPACE 1999 YEAR 2 BLURAY - ON THE WAY?

[jno]

Growing up in the VHS generation which I'm sure many have here - plot, story and action are usually way ahead of picture quality for me

In my experience, people who are interested in old telly overwhelmingly want the best picture quality possible. Talking about the "VHS generation" is a bit irrelevant really, in those days you either got it on VHS or you just didn't see it at all.

That's true, but if you learn to like/love something one way i.e. SD it is really a matter of opinion on whether it becomes 'better' with a crisper more detailed picture. Talk about an episode with a fellow fan and do we discuss a part of the story or intricate technical methods of how it was encoded? A poor story isn't saved by great picture quality I think. I'll watch Space 1999 to see what happens to the characters, not analyse the crispness of the characters appearance (Catherine Schell perhaps the exception).

Example albeit off topic: I loved the Contender releases of The Professionals and the Network BluRay releases were undoubtedly an improvement in 'picture' quality. Did I enjoy an episode MORE because of this quality? No. The Contender releases were perfectly acceptable in terms of allowing me to enjoy it. Like I say, it's a matter of opinion - some people love HD which is understandable but for others it isn't the be all and end all for enjoying something.

Don't get me wrong I love an HD picture - but for something like Sky News vs Sky News HD, am I looking at the picture detail or interested in the story? For the some of the time (as you disappear to make a cuppa tea in the middle of it) you'll only be listening to it anyway.

[groovy69]

With some of the comments made in this thread, is it at all surprising how long other ITC series are taking to get the blu-ray treatment?

[fatcat]

When I watched The Saint in b/w on 405 lines he was going to exotic far away places, in colour 625 lines he was hanging around Borehamwood.

That's what its all about for me - a bit of magic, escapism ...an illusion.

Part of the charm of The Professionals was it's grubby look which it had from it's first transmission, therefore that is how I remember it.
BUT I do appreciate that in order to keep these shows alive and appealing to further generations they must adhere to modern standards.
What I do hate on modern versions is showing up the anachronisms of an earlier age -such as seeing the edge of the set or boom mikes in shot for example, these probably didn't show up on an old television and can break the magic spell on a newer TV .So I do hope that in the UK they can spend some time removing these little foibles..as they do in the USA.

[GarethR]

I'll watch Space 1999 to see what happens to the characters, not analyse the crispness of the characters appearance

I've seen it so many times I know what happens to the characters. For me, an HD release gives me an actual reason to watch it again.

some people love HD which is understandable but for others it isn't the be all and end all for enjoying something

It's hardly a matter of it being the be-all and end-all. It's about taking advantage of the technology to allow old series shot on film to look as good as they possibly can as part of the overall experience. Indeed, HD allows those old series to look better than they ever did when they were originally broadcast.

Of course, story and character blah blah blah, but if the new DVD release of Space:1999 series 2 was sourced from a VHS of the 1990s episodic releases (which used the painfully grotty 16mm reductions ITC had had hanging around for years and which were also used for broadcast in the 80s), would you really think "It doesn't matter, the story's the most important thing"?

[jno]

Obviously I would be disappointed if I paid for something that is sold as being an improvement in quality and it wasn't. Do I enjoy the production as technophobe as much as a technophile ? Yes. It is a matter of opinion and I can understand where you are coming from - I love watching BluRay as much as anyone else, but to enjoy the show more, I don't NEED it. If folks enjoy a show more because it has a better a picture, that is fine too. I just can't imagine that happening with a show like "The Adventurer" - it got slated everyhwere (even though I like it). If I apply the principle that "a decent show gets better with the BluRay treatment" does that also mean a bad show like 'The Adventurer' gets even worse if it is given the BluRay treatment? I would argue it certainly wouldn't make it any better in the case of Gene Barry.

[Ross]

Film and television are visual media, so better picture (and sound) mean that the end result will be better from an audio visual point of view.

Obviously, if you took a reel of film and deliberately scratched it, faded it and added dirt it wouldn't affect the actual story one iota. Nor would panning and scanning a Scope image. But it would detract from the audience's visual experience experience, which could affect how they react to the story.

[stearn]

Surely it is the original vision of the production staff that is the point though. Just because an image can be improved dramatically, doesn't mean it is automatically better. I can understand why some want the improved quality as they can get something more from the programme/film like reading the original newspaper articles that make up the fake paper, seeing stuff company names on the side of helicopters, or working out what bits were cannibalised from elsewhere to make models, but that was the original intention of the programme. The finished article would have been made for the medium it was to be transmitted, so that is part and parcel of the production. Pan and Scan or deliberately grubbing up an film are detractions from the original.

As I have said before, I prefer an older release of The Prisoner as the joins between set and painted backdrop are not so noticeable as in the digitally restored DVD (and presumably the BD, which I have,but haven't watched yet) and, for me at least, an element of reality is lost. I knew they were painted backdrops, but having it brought to your attention all the time is jarring.

[Ross]

Space:1999 and The Prisoner were made by filmmakers. They saw these scenes as freshly printed 35mm projected film. Blu-Ray is the closest we can get to that.

[Brian F]

Also as The Prisoner was first transmitted in the UK in B&W, I do not think the VHS/DVD/Blu Ray should not be in colour to keep it as originally transmitted.

[brigham]

I often watch Thunderbirds on 405-line B&W, but that's personal to me. I wouldn't want it mastered and sold like that, unless as an option.