Next week is the 1-year-mark for
our story that Universal Studios Home Entertainment was planning a mid-2008 DVD release for the beginning episodes of Earth: Final Conflict. That schedule
didn't pan out, and fans have been waiting ever since. The show, which comes from
Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry, ran for 5 seasons. The first two seasons are owned by Universal, while the last three seasons are owned by Tribune Entertainment. Tribune had licensed those rights for Seasons 3, 4 and 5 to A.D. Vision ("ADV"), and those came out on DVD back in 2003.
Now we have solid word from Universal that
Earth: Final Conflict - Season 1 will finally make it to market on DVD this
May 5th. It will consist of a 5-disc set that runs 855 minutes long and presents the episodes in full frame video, with English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo audio. English subtitles will also be on board. The cost looks like it will be $59.98 SRP, and the set includes a nice list of bonus material:
- Disc 1:
- Season One Introduction with Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry
- Audio Commentary - Decision with Technical Advisor Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry, Executive Producer David Kirschner, and Executive Producer/Writer Paul Gertz
- Audio Commentary - Truth with Technical Advisor Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry, and Stars Von Flores, Kevin Kilner and Lisa Howard
- Disc 2:
- Audio Commentary - Float Like a Butterfly with Technical Advisor Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry, and Stars Von Flores, Kevin Kilner and Lisa Howard
- Disc 3:
- Audio Commentary - Sandoval's Run with Technical Advisor Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry and Star Von Flores
- Disc 4:
- Earth Final Conflict Genesis: A Retrospective
- Disc 5:
- The Roddenberry Philosophy
- Audio Commentary - The Joining with Technical Advisor Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry, Executive Producer David Kirschner and Executive Producer/Writer Paul Gertz
- Audio Commentary - Infection with Technical Advisor Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry and Executive Producer/Writer Paul Gertz
So this is great news for fans who bought the previous releases, and have waited patiently for the early portion of the series to make it to DVD! If you don't already have those, however, it could actually be too late for fans who were holding off to buy everything at once. The Tribune/ADV partnership
is over, and those releases were discontinued. We don't know who (if anyone) currently owns the USA home video license to Seasons 3-5, but the only current way to get ADV's versions are via inflated costs on the used DVD circuit. Hopefully, though, Universal's long-awaited release of the first season set will encourage Tribune to strike another deal with someone and get their three seasons back on the market. Stay tuned for updates and package art for
Earth: Final Conflict - Season 1, as soon as it's available!
