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Archive television is one of the major successes of the DVD format. Not only do we get great extras on series such as Doctor Who or Robin of Sherwood, but series that haven't been seen for years are being dusted down and given a release. As such, it's hard to be surprised when an obscure series is announced. However, I was stunned when I heard that Jupiter Moon was being released. Not only had it not been seen in years, it was only ever seen by a few thousand viewers in the first place. Jupiter Moon was BSB's soap opera, shown three times a week on its Galaxy channel. 150 episodes were produced, but only 108 were ever shown on Galaxy before it was folded in Sky One - the remainder aired on the Sci-Fi channel in 1996. I haven't seen those episodes, but I did watch many of the Galaxy episodes the first time around. The series is being released in two disc volumes, each consisting of ten episodes (although the first one features eleven in order to provide a better cliff-hanger). With 150 episodes produced it's going to be a rather expensive collection, but to be honest, my main concern is the speed the series is being released at. The soap opera nature means that it's best watched one or two episodes at a time, but with volumes only being released every three months or so, anyone watching more than one episode a week is quickly going to run out of episodes to watch. And yet, watching at a faster pace will mean you risk forgetting what's happened by the time you pick up the next volume. Oh well, enough of that, onto the discs themselves... Set in the middle of the 21st century, it takes place aboard the Ilea, a university orbiting one of Jupiter's moons. We open on New Year's Eve, 2049, and the regular cast are introduced over the first few episodes. Soap fans will spot future EastEnders star Lucy Benjamin in an early role as Fiona McBride, while others who went onto better things include Anna Chancellor and Jason Durr. The characters are a mix of students, post-graduates, lecturers, other university staff and the ship's crew. Coupled with the futuristic setting, the series has plenty of opportunity to mix traditional soap opera elements with science fiction ones. As someone whose cable TV was installed on the same day that Galaxy launched, I watched the series from the start. However, beyond basic details such as some of the characters' names, Chantal de Grecy's green dress and the fact that Herlinde Gothard (Nikki Brooks) was bloody gorgeous, I couldn't really remember it. Effectively coming to the series fresh, I was very impressed by this first volume. For a British sci-fi series of its age, the effects are pretty good, and the plot and characters definitely keep you wanting to watch more. Even more surprising that the series being released in the first place is the fact that Oracle have gone to the trouble of producing some decent extras, which are worth watching. Collecting Jupiter Moon is going to be an expensive trip, but on the basis of this volume, it's one that's well worth embarking upon. BACK TO THE TOP |
EPISODES
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