The Catacombs The Merchandise Guide
DVD: Germany
Compiled by Martin Willey


DVDs (E.M.S.)

Germany December 2004+
€34 per volume

Released in 4 box sets, each containing 4 discs/12 episodes. The DVDs are region 2 PAL. Soundtracks are German (mono) and English (mono). There are subtitles in German and English.

Packaging

The packaging is unusual: instead of a card box, there is an outer clear plastic sleeve (with the Landau/Bain photos and a red banner showing the episode numbers), and an inner card sleeve (showing the silver logo and launching rescue Eagle; the top is cut along the slope of the Eagle). The top of the individual box cases is seen over the Eagle.

The shrink wrap also has two round stickers: a year 2 triangle badge ("Coming Next: Box 2 17.02.05") and a planet ("Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Catherine Schell").

The individual discs are each in slim versions of standard Amaray cases (the total width is the same as a digipack). The top of the cover has a red banner ("The cult sci-fi series from the 70s"), over a picture of the Black Sun over Alpha, and below is a logo with character photo (which changes on each disc). Nick Tate has equal billing with Landau and Bain; Barry Morse's name is in smaller type with Zienia Merton.

disc

Inside is a single page "Boardcard" (178 x 118mm) which lists chapters on one side, and release dates for the rest of the set on the other.

boardcard: release dates boardcard: chapters

Box set 4 has a 16 page booklet with biographies of the characters and nice photos.

Disc contents

Episodes are the same prints as the Carlton releases (with English captions, and uncut). Because all episodes had been cut (the packaging notes the original German version running times, generally 8-10 minutes shorter), and 18 episodes have never been shown in Germany, the original voice cast recorded new German dialogue tracks. On disc 4, there is a short film showing the dubbing sessions.

The order is mostly production order (the same as Carlton), but there are some changes in Year 2 where the order seems to reflect the days since leaving Earth orbit (this is not consistent).

The disc opens with CGI Eagles and planets zooming towards screen. The main menu shows the logo, an Eagle and the Moon. On selecting each episode, the submenu shows an Eagle flying across, lowering its pod, to reveal a screen where a clip from the episode plays. Options from this submenu include scene selection (a submenu showing the Main Mission Big Screen with clips, much like other releases), extras (static screen with small Eagles), and soundtrack (static screen showing a distorted Eagle end-on). Top level menus also link to a page with trailers of other (non-science fiction) DVD releases.

top menu episode menu

Extras are under the individual episode menus. The original German opening and closing titles are included for each non-DVD episode (each total 50 seconds). They include the Rückkehr Der Toten titles with the infamous Meco Star Wars disco track. They also all have a text page describing the principal cuts in the original German version. Principal and guest cast have text-only biographies (Landau's is a comprehensive 22 pages) by Nicolas Hainzl. The photo galleries are self-advancing, against a non-descript background, mixing merchandise and episode shots from both seasons. There are also other text features, and selected other features from the Carlton releases. Three of the six August 1976 cast and crew interviews are included.

There are also DVD trailers, created for the German DVD release which are otherwise much like the original ITC trailers with German dialogue (the year 2 one has the One Moment Of Humanity dance music as the soundtrack). There are interviews with two of the German dubbing actors, and footage of the dubbing studio as the new German DVD soundtracks are created. There is also an original interview with Catherine Schell from 1993.

Extras menu Extra: dubbing studio Extra: original titles Extra: original titles
Set Release Date Episodes Extras

Set 1

2 December 2004

Disc 1
Breakaway
Matter Of Life And Death
Black Sun

Breakaway: original German broadcast
Breakaway: SFX storyboard
Breakaway: photo gallery

Disc 2
Ring Around The Moon
Earthbound
Another Time, Another Place

Ring Around The Moon: Year 1 DVD trailer (2 min 40sec)
Ring Around The Moon: German novelisations (14 text pages)

Disc 3
Missing Link
Guardian Of Piri
Force Of Life

Missing Link: photo gallery

Disc 4
Alpha Child
The Last Sunset
Voyager's Return

Alpha Child: photo gallery
Dubbing studio film (8min 10sec)


Set 2

17 February 2005

Disc 5
Collision Course
Death's Other Dominion
The Full Circle

Text essay- making of Space 1999 by Ralf E Hopf (20 pages)

Disc 6
End Of Eternity
War Games
The Last Enemy

Alien Attack film (text, 3 pages)
Trailers (1min 30secs, 1 min, 30 secs)
Lyons Maid advert (25 secs)

Disc 7
The Troubled Spirit
Space Brain
The Infernal Machine

German Panini sticker album slideshow (2min 40sec)

Disc 8
Mission Of The Darians
Dragon's Domain
The Testament Of Arkadia

Interview with Ursula Heyer (voice for Joan Collins) (audio, 7min)
BBC Horizon footage (2min 30sec)
Merchandising slideshow (1min 25secs)


Set 3

14 April 2005

Disc 9
The Metamorph
The Exiles
One Moment Of Humanity

Interview with Katrin Schaake (voice for Maya) (9min 30secs)
Season 2 DVD trailer (1min 20secs)
Interview with Volker Brandt (Tony Anholt) (10min 50secs)

Disc 10
Journey To Where
All That Glisters
The Taybor

Photo gallery
6 trailers (1 US in full, 5 UK endings only)

Disc 11
The Mark Of Archanon
The Rules Of Luton
New Adam, New Eve

Photo galleries (each episode)

Disc 12
Brian The Brain
The A B Chrysalis
Catacombs Of The Moon

2 Photo galleries
Bray behind the scenes/ Brian Johnson commentary (6min 30sec)


Set 4
Includes booklet

2 June 2005

Disc 1
Seed Of Destruction
The Beta Cloud
A Matter Of Balance

3 Photo galleries (30 shots)
1976 interviews with Martin Landau (5min 30) and Catherine Schell (3min 10)

Disc 2
Space Warp
The Bringers Of Wonder part 1
The Bringers Of Wonder part 2

1976 Brian Johnson interview (6min 15)
Destination Moonbase Alpha trailer (2min)
Panini Year 2 album (26 pages)
Photo gallery (12 shots)

Disc 3
Dorzak
The Lambda Factor
Devil's Planet

1993 Interview with Catherine Schell (12min 53)
CatherineSchellFanClub.de info
Photo galleries (24 shots in 3 galleries)

Disc 4
The Seance Spectre
The Immunity Syndrome
The Dorcons

1976 Gerry Anderson interview (5 mins)
Die lange Finsternis by Ralf E Hopf (fan fiction, PDF)
Message From Moonbase Alpha article (text, images only)

"Super Box" Set

10 November 2005

Reissue of all 16 discs

Identical to individual releases

Packaging Disc 1 Disc 2 Disc 3 Disc 4 Scene selection Soundcheck Extra: trailer Extra: photo gallery Extra: dubbing studio Back cover of disc 1

Ursula Heyer
Ursula Heyer, voice of Kara

Katrin Schaake
Katrin Schaake, voice of Maya

DVD trailer
DVD trailer (year 2)

Volker Brandt
Volker Brandt, voice of Tony Verdeschi

Catherine Schell
Catherine Schell (set 4, disc 3)

The booklet with Set 4
Booklet cover Booklet interior


Copyright Martin Willey
packaging and screen images copyright EMS