Andromeda DVD Box Set A.2

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Andromeda DVD Box Set A.2

Pub: Kult-TV: KLT13102. 230 minute twin DVDs. Price: £19.99 - prices vary look around for the best deal.

Stars: Kevin Sorbo, Lisa Ryder, Keith Hamilton Cobb, Brent Stait, Laura Bertram, Gordon Michael Woolvett and Lexa Doig.

Check out website: www.contender.com , www.kult-tv.co.uk and www.andromedatv.com

This box set contains 2 DVD disks which breaks down into 5 episodes plus assorted extras from the TV series 'Andromeda'. It goes without saying the majority of these extras will be on the DVD with the least episodes.

I have some rather mixed feelings about this series, even watching these early episodes again. A lot of it stems from using contemporary references in a future setting. It's made worse by aliens who quote the same terrestrial references.

Did social history suddenly stop after the 21st century? Likewise the gravitas of any situation still has everyone talking reasonably to each other and past arguments instantly forgotten. For a future where things are supposed to have fallen apart after the fall of the Commonwealth, the balance doesn't feel right. Every new SF series season one is a shakedown finding what works or not. 'Andromeda' is not an exception to this rule.

Case in point is on the first DVD, 'A.03', and the episode 'Angel Dark, Demon Bright' (episode 1.06 for those keeping count). Trance Gemini (the purple alien with the tail) is getting a practice lesson in flying the Andromeda Ascendant starship through the slipstream (hyperspace by any other name except it looks like a genuine spaghetti junction) and appearing in the past on the eve of a war between the Commonwealth Systems fleet and the Nietzschean fleet. Captain Dylan Hunt decides that upon repairs that they should leave rather than risk changing the future.

With a couple exceptions but finally mutually agreed, they attempt to go only to discover that the past has to be fulfilled by their presence after all. This episode hits the right kinds of dilemmas with what to do when caught time travelling into the past but outside of the irritating Harper, everyone else seems to take it in their stride. Everyone is still too rationale and, well, there's no sense of real emotional turmoil. They say and philosophise a lot and no doubt forget about it by the next episode.

This episode is accompanied with a deleted scene that really should have been left in and lead actor Sorbo saying how impressed he was by the special effects. Where deleted scenes are concerned and especially when they had to be taken out for time restrictions on TV but I'd have thought it would have made more sense to put them back in as a director's cut or something then it would have been truly uncut.

Comparisons of differences between the televised and DVD versions are practically non-existent to this reviewer's eyes. Why can't they show out-takes where they break into giggles or something not working? Alternative versions of scenes tend to be so minuscule and none shown appear to be scenes that were cut for lack of time,

Next, we have 'The Ties That Blind' (episode 1.07) where we have a family reunion between Beka Valentine and her con-artiste brother, Rafe, who has become a supporter of 'The Way', a Buddhist-like religion also supported by Rev Bem. It won't spoil any surprises to note that it's a conspiracy plot that is just going through the moves.

This is also the start of the episodes where the character most likely to do some good and sort out some of the glitches, in this case Harper, is also absent surfing on a distant planet. [What's the point of having a giant battleship when a small ship can get anywhere it wants to in the galaxy?] This develops in later episodes suggesting that there's a problem giving all the actors something to do in each story even when they're all on the Andromeda at the same time.

There is still too much even-temperedness about everything. Even when Rommy discovers something odd about the travel logs from Rafe's ship, Hunt just lets her get on with it when any normal person would probably ask for more details. No extras with this episode.

Final episode on this DVD is 'The Banks Of The Lethe' (episode 1.08). It comes with above half a dozen out-takes - really minor changes on the original scenes - and a Kevin Sorbo commentary saying this was one of his favourite Season One episodes because it gave his actress wife, Sam, a chance to guest-star. The Andromeda is back at the black hole where it spent 300 years in suspension helping an alien race get readings as part of a co-operative deal in getting them to sign up to the Commonwealth Charter.

In the past, Hunt's fiancee, Sara, has gotten a ship together to see if they can locate the Andromeda while there is a war developing around her. The link between the two times is largely achieved because of the event horizon of the black hole.

The alien race have a nascent but imperfect teleportation device that Harper manages to get working 50% of the time. Hunt is transferred into the past but the attempt to bring Sara forward is doomed to failure, especially as both ships are targets for attacks in their respective time. Hunt puts duty before love and returns to the Andromeda.

This is an oddly emotional episode for Sorbo and indicates that he can be at least stretched a little when the part demands it. Everyone else has parts to play although the absence of Trance Gemini, other than reference, is careless. With her around, perhaps the odds against the teleporting device not functioning properly could have been halved.

You'd have thought she'd have been there in purpose complaining about the torture to the poor water-melons! In many respects, the results of this story aren't difficult to predict, hence my giving part of the ending away above. Whether Sara might succeed at a future (sic) date is hard to say but having her on board would certainly change the dynamics of the group.

The A.04 DVD has only two episodes but a lot more extras. Probably the biggest annoyance was the sudden announcement of a program called 'PCUserFriendly' wanting to be installed so you can watch the episodes in their preferred 800 * 600 format with greater than 256 colours through their software with an Internet link.

Pul-ease, if you hadn't watched the last DVD without it all right, why would you need this software?? If you don't want it, select the 'Cancel' button so it isn't installed. The episodes still run fine under WXP's standard media player.

The first episode is 1.09: 'A Rose In The Ashes'. Sorbo's accompanying interview says he's not that impressed with this episode because they cut back on his fight scene. He still likes it because the episode doesn't carry too much extra baggage and anyone can watch without having to know much about the series.

Not that usual as this plot is really out of the TV handbook where the hero, not to mention his faithful android, Rommy, of the show is captured and placed in prison. In this case, it's a prison planet where the stronger inmates hog it over the lesser convicts. Despite the warden android control, the standard of the weapons these and technology some of these inmates have makes you wonder where they've hidden their foundry.

With the rest of the Andromeda crew looking for them, it is Trance Gemini who proves herself to be the deux ex machina of the group being able to pin-point which prison planet is because she thought it was pretty(!!!). Rev Bem's absence again indicates the scriptwriters or producers really don't know how to exploit the whole crew in an emergency.

Hunt incites a revolution on the prison planet although the justification doesn't make much sense considering he's really dealing with a hardened criminal class who should know better. Not one of Andromeda's best episodes and doesn't bear too much analysis.

The second episode, 1.10: 'All Great Neptune's Ocean' is the one where we have the first planet, the water-breathing Castalians signing up to the Commonwealth Charter. The accompanying Sorbo interview acknowledges this briefly and also says all the crew had something to do. Bit puzzled by that cos there was no sign of Trance Gemini again this time, even at the formal meal.

Tyr is angry at how an off-shoot of his tribe were slaughtered by the Castalians and is framed for the assassination of their prime minister. Very much a standard plot with evidence being points left, right and centre. I'm also now beginning to wonder why the Andromeda doesn't have a decent elevator service or even in zero-gee effect to make it less strenuous. Oh, and there's another two out-takes that are just variations on scenes.

The Extras: The trailers - one for each of the five episodes on the two DVDs. The Gallery is a selection of pre-production sketches and final sets of the 'Eureka Maru'. I hope some consideration is given with future DVDs so that they can be enlarged for fine detail. Seeing designs with pencil words that can't be read is a pain. I can see copyright production would prohibit allowing a hardcopy but surely an enlargement would be useful.

The two actress interviews with Lexa 'Rommy' Doig and Lisa 'Beka Valentine' Ryder followed similar pattern questions. They defined their roles in the series, how wonderful Kevin Sorbo was and who was likely to win in a fight between Hunt and Tyr. All right, so Sorbo is probably a nice chap but identical remarks? Of more interest was the interview with Tom Tennisco, the head special effects man who gave demonstrations of placing the effects behind the live action plus showing the phases of development of the Andromeda flying through an asteroid belt.

This built up from skeletal to full skin. All right, so I'm a sucker for seeing how things like this is done but I don't think anyone wouldn't be interested in seeing it played out.
Looking at my comments above, it really does look like I have a downer against 'Andromeda'. At this time, and bear in mind I'm only half a dozen more episodes down the line on terrestrial TV in this season, none of the episodes have suggested any great thinking behind them.

The odd moments it does are mired far more by the moments that aren't and clichéd plots. If you want intellectual SF, then you really ought to look elsewhere.

However, it probably fulfils the more moderate SF viewer who likes a bit of space opera and the viewing figures are probably a reflection of this. Watchable but no great shakes at this time.

GF Willmetts

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