Jupiter Moon

Despite a cast that does their level best and a very brave and interesting concept, this series is an abysmal horror.

I borrowed the first DVD box set of 30 odd episodes and forced myself to wade through it. Why? I haven't the slightest notion. The effects are below bad and the canned music (what there is of it) cheap and overblown. The costumes are ugly and tawdry (with few exceptions) and the scripts are ho-hum.

The art design of the actual ship ILEA sometimes shows promise and originality, but more often just looks like the sets were built with the lowest value possible.

And yet... There is the cast of unknowns who are fighting to bring depth and humanity to their characters... I was sad to see that most of their careers ended with this horrible little series.

In 1990, British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) launched a soap opera for their Galaxy Channel, appropriately set 60 years in the future aboard an old spaceship orbiting the Jupiter moon Callisto -- and housing Columbus College, a university of space.

Episodes were shown three days a week, with a full compilation of those episodes broadcast on the following Sunday. 150 episodes were made in total, with 108 shown before the infamous 'merger' of BSB with Sky.

I found it very effective as a soap opera. The mixture of the usual teenage angst and adult drama with the challenges of living and working in space worked together quite well. The acting in some of the earlier episodes was a bit shaky, but got better as characters were removed/added and the younger cast members became more experienced. (hence the '9' rather than 10) The model work was excellent for the period and most of the filming was realistic. There shouldn't have been gravity in the ship's hub, otherwise it did have a authentic feel.

My favourite characters were Anna Chancellor as Mercedes Page and Richard Derrington as Professor Brelan. Many of the younger cast were very good as well.

I won't comment on costuming, as who will know what fashions will appear in 2050? The vertical stripes on the men's pants worked well enough though!!! One major point in Jupiter Moon's favour is that, except for using 'Ecus' as money instead of Euros and the clunky 'autosecs' used for personal communication, this series has aged really well. I think the location helps. The science holds up as well. You might even learn a few things from this show, though that certainly wasn't the purpose.

Those who like 'daytime dramas' will find this a unique experience and very enjoyable. If you are collecting the DVDs from Britain, which have stalled at episode 60, take note that the rights to Region 1 NTSC have been acquired and there may be a North American DVD release in the not too distant future.

Have watched the first 60 episodes on DVD of the previously unknown-to-me series (In US when original broadcast) and have been totally delighted with it.

The first episode were slow but then the pace became excellent. No transporters, good old fashion shuttles (modelled on the lunar lander), no aliens -- dealing with human issues of space exploration in a very mature realistic scenario. Very much in the style of early science fiction (not the later technology awe which dominates Hollywood SciFi). We wait for US Post to deliver the next episodes (ordered from Amazon.co.uk)

The low rating is based on the first eleven episodes only but I have no reason to think that the programme's later episodes will be any better. "Jupiter Moon" falls between two stools and was always going to be difficult for people who don't like both science fiction and soap opera. My mark is as high as it is because the science fiction elements are not bad and the producers have taken pains to be scientifically correct. The big problem is the tedious soap opera ,which would be bad enough but the focus on unusually immature teenagers makes it unendurable. You need only watch a few episodes of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to see how this sort of thing can be done well.

I can't help wondering if the name of this university ship is an in-joke for Londoners, the series had London writers and was made in London. For a Londoner ILEA is the acronym for the Inner London Education Authority which was responsible for London's schools. Update: I have just watched the extras on the first DVD and the show's creator, William Smethurst, confirmed that the space ship was indeed named after the Inner London Education Authority which was abolished at the time he was creating the show.

Imagine that you're running a satellite TV station that wants to produce its own soap opera that will be markedly different from any other. What do you do? That's right, set it in space!

'Jupiter Moon' is the sometimes remarkable, sometimes wonderfully tacky soap of the British Satellite Broadcasting network that was absorbed by Rupert Murdoch's Sky Television in the early-90s. One of the casualties of the takeover was 'Jupiter Moon', despite the fact that in Europe (especially Gibraltar!)it had eclipsed any other soap on TV.

So, any good? Well, the teenage love affairs amongst the students of Columbus College (a university on the space craft, ILEA, which orbits the moon of Calypso in Jupiter system, 2050AD) is pretty woeful but the big dramatic stuff about humankind's first mission into deep space, the politics of Jupiter system and the natural disasters that can (and do) strike our gang of space age pioneers raises it up considerably.

'Jupiter Moon's' greatest achievement is how it offers a completely credible vision of the future in spite of a tight budget. With assistance from British Aerospace, the science and the special effects were rigorously checked and directors ensured that the assembled cast played it all for real. As such, the driven Professor Brelan, earnest First Officer Lewis and frosty navigator, Mercedes Page all come to life and it's not long before you really care about what happens to them. Then, there's the full on, orchestral music score. EPIC! 'Jupiter Moon' is at last available on DVD (R2 only). Get through the first few episodes where the series is desperately trying to find its feet and you'll be onto a winner!