"Andromeda" was developed from various notes left by the late Gene Roddenberry and turned into a series by Robert Hewitt Wolfe. It tells the story of Dylan Hunt, Captain of the starship Andromeda Ascendant, one of the most powerful ships in the Systems Commonwealth. After a battle near a black hole, the Andromeda Ascendant is frozen in time for over 300 years. When the ship is towed from the black hole by a salvage ship, Dylan awakens to find the Commonwealth has fallen and has been replaced by chaos. Dylan and his new crew are determined to rebuild the Commonwealth while avoiding the Nietzcheans and other enemies.
The Episodes
Forced Perspective
Dylan is on trial! Captured by commandos and taken to Mobius, he is interrogated for his involvement in the killing of the Mobius leader more than 300 years in the past. Subjected to torture and forced to face what really happened, Dylan must right a wrong done long ago.
The Sum of Its Parts
Dylan and the crew are alarmed when a humanoid robot boards the Andromeda without permission. As the robot learns what it means to be a living being, he begs to become part of Andromeda and escape an oppressive culture or organized machines - the Consensus of Parts.
Fear & Loathing in the Milky Way
Still searching for a "big score," Gerentex hijacks the Eureka Maru, taking Harper and Trance hostage. The lost diary of Hasturi is his goal - a find that will bring great fortune and power. But with a gruesome and vicious bounty hunter named Reaper on their trail, it's going to be a perilous ride!
The Devil Take the Hindmost
The Hajira, a primitive race descended from humans, are threatened by brutal slave traders who want to destroy their peaceful settlement, Serendipity. When Rev Bem gets a call from a Wayist friend in Seredipity, he and Dylan come to their aid and must face a moral dilemma.
Video
The video for this release is as good as 1.2 and 1.3. Colors are nice and bright, and the blacks are beautifully black. The CGI scenes involving the ship look superb, just as in the past releases. Because the show is presented in anamorphic widscreen (1.78:1) it feels more like a movie and less like a TV show. Each episode contains 6 chapters, including one right after the opening credits to allow for a quick skip.
Audio
While we have a great stereo surround track, I would have loved a Dolby Digital 5.1 track on this release. The 5.1 track for Farscape sounds so amazing; I just wish we could have had something comparable for Andromeda. The audio is very good; the dialog is clear and the sound effects are great. There aren't any subtitles, but the release is closed captioned.
ADV Films included a massive amount of extras on these two discs. There are things in this set that I feel should be a part of ALL good TV releases. The back of the DVD lists a commentary track for "Fear & loathing in the Milky Way", but this is not on the DVD.
Disc 1 Character Profile: Rev Bem 5 screens, (6:13)
A biography for Brent Stait can be found on 2 still screens while his character bio is on another 2. A single costume photo is also found in this section, along with an interview (6:13). I was hoping to see a Brent Stait without his make-up.
Alternate Takes (2:54)
2 alternate takes from "Forced Perspective", shown in anamorphic widescreen.
Image Gallery: Costumes 5 screens
5 drawings of the character costumes
All Systems University 101 - The Goverment of the Systems Commonwealth 4 screens
These 4 screens, divided into 4 categories, contain information on government of the Systems Commonwealth.
Glossary of the High Guard P-R 2 screens
A dictionary of terms used in the series: P-R.
TV Promos (1:05)
2 promos, one for each of the episodes on disc 1. "Forced Perspective" is 0:32 while "The Sum of Its Parts" is 0:33.
ADV Previews
Previews of 4 other ADV Films products: "Farscape Season 2" (1:01), "Excel Saga" (1:39), "The Devil Lady" (1:01) and "Super Atragon" (2:05).
DVD Credits
A list of people that worked on this incredible set.
Disc 2 Behind the Scenes: Alien Make-up (2:39)
Brent Stait gets his Magog make-up applied.
Alternate Takes (1:07)
A scene from "The Devil Take The Hindmost". This is supposed to be an anamorphic widescreen picture, but it appears to be improperly flagged and showed up as a stretched image on my TV.
Bloopers (2:08)
A very short, but entertaining look at the cast being goofy. Some of the goofs are from episodes not on this DVD set.
Timeline of the Commonwealth: Conflict & Renewal 1 Screen
A history lesson on the Commonwealth.
Prop & Set Concepts 12 Screens
4 full-sized drawings, and 8 close-ups of the computer screens.
Production Biography: Jay Firestone 2 screens
Information on Jay Firestoney (Executive Producer)
TV Promos (1:04)
2 promos, one for each of the episodes on disc 2, that last 0:32 each.
ADV Previews
Previews of 4 other ADV Films products: "Farscape" (1:01), "Zone of the Enders" (1:30), "Noir" (1:30) and "Gasaraki" (1:32).
Summary
Andromeda is now one of my most anticipated "TV on DVD" releases. Just look at the extras above and try to think of something that's missing. Now add in near-perfect video (anamorphic widescreen to boot), and a nice audio track, and you have yourself one fine DVD release. There's a reason we named Andromea 1.1 one of the top releases for 2002; it was a great release and ADV keeps continuing the quality of the first set. The next release, 1.5, will be the final season one set, then it's on to season 2!
