Search - Earth 2 - The Complete Series on DVD

William M.
Reviewed on 1/14/2012...

The action and theme reminded me of the Lost in Space series, back when I was innocent. Three beautiful women in this cast kept reeling me to another time.

Lee B. from HANOVER, PA
Reviewed on 3/13/2009...

I remember this series on tv and loved it!!

2 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

An Excellent, But Short-lived Sci-Fi TV Series

M. Hart | USA | 05/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Michael Duggan, Carol Flint, Mark Levin and Billy Ray created an interesting concept for a new sci-fi TV program. Airing in the fall of 1994, their show was entitled "Earth 2" and was set 200 years in the future. "Earth 2" painted a very dark future for mankind in which the Earth is no longer capable of supporting terrestrial life. Consequently, the surviving members of the human race have been living in orbiting space stations; but living in the sterile environments has created a sickness called the Syndrome. A wealthy woman named Devon Adair (Debrah Farentino) is convinced that the key to mankind's survival, including her Syndrome-infected son Ulysses 'Uly' Adair (Joey Zimmerman), is to once again live in a natural environment. Gathering 250 other Syndrome-infected families, she pursues the establishment of a colony on a planet named G889 orbiting a star 22 light-years away; but the current government has other plans for planet G889. Undeterred, Devon, her son and some of the other 250 families embark on a ship named "Eden Advance" for G889 to establish a community in advance of the main colonization; but the ship has been sabotaged. The ship arrives at G889, but the ship soon explodes. Stranded on G889, the ship's survivors attempt to settle and begin new lives on G889. The survivors include Devon, Uly, engineer John Danziger (Clancy Brown), his daughter True (J. Madison Wright), pilot Alonzo Solace (Antonio Sabato Jr.), Dr. Julia Heller (Jessica Steen), Earth-government representative Morgan Martin (John Gegenhuber), his wife Bess (Rebecca Gayheart) and Uly's cyborg teacher Yale (Sullivan Walker).



Unfortunately, lower than expected ratings for the series caused its cancellation after its first season; so only a total of 22 episodes were ever produced. These episodes include the following:



1. "First Contact (1)". The embarkation to G889, destruction of the ship and survivors reaching the planet's surface. G889 is inhabited by subterranean natives called Terrians.



2. "First Contact (2)". Uly is abducted by Terrians, but he is returned after they heal him from they Syndrome.



3. "The Man Who Fell to Earth (Two)". An astronaut who had previously crash-landed on G889, Gaal (Tim Curry), kills the commander (Richard Bradford). Solace has Terrian dreams.



4. "Life Lessons". Gaal tries to disrupt the survivors' encampment.



5. "Promises, Promises". Gaal abducts several Terrians; but the colonists free them. Gaal disappears underground and is never seen again.



6. "A Memory Play". The colonists discover a third escape pod with people infected by a woman that had been implanted by the government to sabotage the ship. Grendler saliva is the cure.



7. "Water". Devon & Dazinger search for water.



8. "The Church of Morgan". Morgan & Bess argue while Dr. Heller contemplates removing Uly's pineal gland; but Uly is becoming an evolutionary link with the Terrians.



9. "The Enemy Within". Dr. Heller injects some of Uly's DNA into herself, she goes nuts and is abandoned.



10. "Redemption". Dr. Heller rejoins the colonists thanks to Solace.



11. "Moon Cross". A woman, Mary (Kelli Williams), is found living among the Terrians, who want Uly to be their link with colonists.



12. "Better Living Through Morganite (1)". As Yale regains his memory, Morgan finds glowing rocks.



13. "Better Living Through Morganite (2)". Mary saves Yale from Terrian punishment after he's been captured (along with Morgan and Bess) and finds out he's not a criminal.



14. "Grendlers in the Myst". The colonists believe they have located a killer, but he's only the son of the real killer that's now only a hologram.



15. "The Greatest Love Story Never Told". Danzinger comes across a colony of reformed criminals



16. "Brave New Pacifica". Two scavenging Grendlers come across a box containing human blood.



17. "After the Thaw". Dazinger is possessed by a an evil Terrian's spirit.



18. "The Boy Who Would be Terrian King". A future version of Uly travels back in time to have Devon hide some his blood.



19. "Survival of the Fittest". Several colonists start to act strange after consuming a Grendler when they are stranded.



20. "All About Eve". Dying from a mysterious disease, the colonists find a crashed ship from 100 years ago whose computer may explain the cure.



21. "Natural Born Grendlers". Solace gets depressed about being marooned while Devon & Bess trade for supplies with a friendly Grendler.



22. "Flower Child". Dazinger & Bess have strange symptoms after being sprayed with a native plant's pollen.



Overall, I rate "Earth 2-The Complete Series" with 5 out of 5 stars. It's a shame that this show was not given sufficient opportunity to continue past its first and only season."

G889 on DVD at last!

BHM | 05/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Long-awaited by fans to come to home video, Earth 2 chronicles the first months of survival for a small party of human colonizers stranded on what seems to be an ideal terraform world. Emerging from a mildly dystopian, bureaucratic, and ecologically disastrous future in which much of humanity has moved onto space stations, this planet - G889, or "Earth 2" - is a veritable Shangri-La. Sabotaged by a manipulative orbiting government, however, the crew is faced with a paranoid landscape in which they cannot trust each other at first, or the initial appearance of G889. Some of these colonists intended to make landfall on the planet, others didn't, and none of them anticipated the trials they would face from the planet, from each other, and from a distant but subtly menacing Earth. They must form a cooperative band to not only survive, but acclimate to this strange planet while trekking to the site of their planned advance colony before a large colony ship arrives.



After a decade in which the only available copies of these 21 episodes were those recorded from the original (and occasional syndication) broadcasts, and after recent petitioning by a dedicated core of fans, Earth 2 finally comes to DVD. Though not inherently creative (many of the show's aliens, incidents and general plot themes could be found throughout science fiction literature and films), Earth 2 did weave together disparate fiction conventions in unique and often charming ways to produce a literal wagon train in the stars. Underlying themes of environmentalism, indigenous rights, female empowerment, and repentance, though, added a substance to what might have otherwise been a bland, repetitive imitation of other science fiction. Although occasionally hokey and even melodramatic (i.e., time-lapse cloud footage and poor music video-quality "dreamscape" scenes do degrade the show at times), this short-run series remained entertaining, consistent, and resonant to real-world issues; it continues to be on the eve of its return to television via this 3-disc DVD set. The set is likely scant on extra features, as the series was filmed before making-of specials for television shows had become the ubiquitous smorgasbord DVD consumers have come to expect on current series' releases. However, the episodes alone are worth the purchase.



Fans of more recent television series, such as "Firefly" (though Earth 2 admittedly lacks the verbal wit and relative sophistication of Joss Wedon's sci-fi series), may enjoy giving these discs a spin. Readers of Niven's "Ringworld" series or Robinson's "Mars" series may also be interested in giving Earth 2 a try."

Corrected episode order for viewing

Felicia G. Pickering | 01/02/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was thrilled to see that an old favorite show that was killed too soon had finally come out on DVD. I really think it holds up very well 10 years later. Excellent acting via all the cast, and the beautiful N.M. outdoor settings certainly help. Though I am happy this is out, it is indeed unfortunate that there are not more extras on the DVD and that the episodes are listed in broadcast order (which is not really the correct viewing order). A poster on the boards of the internet movie database website provided the list below as the correct order to view the episodes, which I agree with:



The definitive order in which events occur in the series:

(numbers indicate the days since the crash according to Devon's journal)



Pilot (First Contact)

The Man Who Fell To Earth (Two)

Life Lessons

Promises, Promises

Natural Born Grendlers

A Memory Play

Water

The Church of Morgan (38)

The Enemy Within (49)

Redemption (51)

Moon Cross (61)

Better Living Through Morganite Part 1 (66)

Better Living Through Morganite Part 2 (68)

Grendlers In the Myst (72)

The Greatest Love Story Never Told

Brave New Pacifica

The Boy Who Would be Terrian King (104)

After the Thaw (109)

Survival of the Fittest (116)

Flower Child (130)

All About EVE



Other people here have lamented the fact that the series ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Please note that the episode called "The Boy Who Would be Terrian King" gives glimpses of what life will be like for some of the characters 16 years after the time of the series."