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Earth Final Conflict - No Refuge

Earth Final Conflict - No Refuge

List Price: $39.98
Your Price: $35.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: where is season one?
Review: I was glad when I heard EFC was finally coming out on DVD, so I could get the incredible first season. But for some reason they started with season three...

Still, season three is very good, in fact, only seasons one and three are worth watching. Robert Leeshock's (Liam Kincaid) acting is kind of strange, like he always keeps staring into the distance when talking to people, but its all good. Rene Palmer (Jayne Heitmeyer) is stunning, and Augur (Richard Chevolleau) is a fascinating character to say the least. The show creates this very believable version of near future. It explores the possibility of first contact very elegantly. The technology in the show is cool as much as it is practical. Globals, teleporters, and the CVI (cyber viral implant that enchances one's brain usage) are some examples. I can go on, but I won't.

I stopped watching the second season after the first few episodes, maybe it improved later on, I don't know. Then I resumed with season three and was pleasantly surpised. As for the last two seasons, you can forget about those.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: If you liked the show.. get the DVD.
Review: My advise is, watch the show on VHS or on TV first and if you find you love it then buy the DVD. The widscreen format gives a more epic feel to the show and gives added dimension. The interviews with the actors are great. If you missed Season 1 and 2 I would recommend that you view them first. Since this is a DVD set of Season 3 and NOT SEASON 1, any discussion of Season 1 here is not very relavent. The fan base is very divided on this show. Some thought Season 3 was the best and others didn't. It all comes down to personal preference. Season 3 is generaly thought of as an attempt to return to a more Season 1 direction after the divergent and poorly recieved Season 2. Liam Kincade seemed to lose his alien side and even lost his Shaqarava which I thought was yet another mistake the show made. Robert Leeshock is younger and perhaps not as experienced as some would have liked. But his saving grace is he is infinitly likable and very believable. As others have stated the acting is good and what little "action" there is wasn't too distracting. I thought the sword fight in "Thicker than Blood" was quiet good. Lots of great episodes and guest characters. More focus on Zo'or and the relationship with Da'an (won't give anything away here). If you liked Season 1 and 2 then theres no reason not to get 3. The price is very affordable. Hopefully at some point Universal will...release Seasons 1 & 2 on DVD soon. It is diffucult to appreciate the show fully without the backstory.

I would also like to add that the comment made about "Canadian-based Sci Fi" by another reviewer is not only misinformed but laughable. Tribune is a US based company and the decisions reguarding the firing of actors and directional changes came directly from them.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: EFC - Scintillating show
Review: NO SPOILERS

EFC is a wonderful series - all of the years not just the first season.
It was after all, created by the father of modern sci-fi TV sagas - Gene Roddenberry.
The costumes and acting are excellent with lots of characters that you love, hate, love to hate and just plain loathe.
The character of Da'an, played by the highly acclaimed Ms. Leni Parker, is truly alien and is both a delight and an enigma.
This series is one that proudly takes its place in the archives of timeless sci-fi. It is worthy of your hard earned dollars.
A most enjoyable series with more plots than the local cemetary and a host of unforgettable villians and heros.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: EFC - Scintillating show
Review: NO SPOILERS

EFC is a wonderful series - all of the years not just the first season.
It was after all, created by the father of modern sci-fi TV sagas - Gene Roddenberry.
The costumes and acting are excellent with lots of characters that you love, hate, love to hate and just plain loathe.
The character of Da'an, played by the highly acclaimed Ms. Leni Parker, is truly alien and is both a delight and an enigma.
This series is one that proudly takes its place in the archives of timeless sci-fi. It is worthy of your hard earned dollars.
A most enjoyable series with more plots than the local cemetary and a host of unforgettable villians and heros.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: ONLY SEASONS 1 & 4 ARE WORTH WATCHING
Review: Season 1 was brilliant introduction. Season 4 provided the conclusion. All the other seasons were "lost" and directionless...boring. Buy 1 & 4 and avoid the rest.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A good start
Review: The first season of Earth: Final Conflict is finally being released on DVD, and I think the show deserved it.
This first season was really a good start for the series : deep characters, interesting plots... However, something went wrong from season 2 and the quality of the show considerably decreased, especially with one main character being killed each season.
But despite this, the beginning was full of promises and this season makes the show an intelligent science-fiction series. I recommand it to everyone interesting in good sci-fi series. Just don't expect too much of the following seasons.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Flawed but interesting
Review: The four seasons of Earth: Final Conflict (with the exception of the execrable so-called fifth season) were flawed but intriguing, with a mesmerizingly likable alien race and a sometimes peculiar cast of hackers, freedom fighters, corporate bigwigs and cold FBI agents. The third season is, if not the best, then certainly the best-balanced.

The season reopens with Lili Marquette taken captive by Ronald Sandoval, and sent to a mystery destination for reasons she doesn't know. On Earth, the Resistance is being roundly trounced; Liam and Augur are saved by a mystery woman -- who then turns out to be somehow connected with both the Taelons and the Resistance. One member of the Resistance will be lost, and a new, hard-edged Taelon arrives on the scene.

Like all four seasons (that count) of EFC, the third season started off on wobbly footing and steadied as time went on. Some amazingly memorable episodes are here, coupled with some of the most intriguing scripts that allowed us new insights into the Taelons. Several characters are better fleshed-out here; "Thicker Than Blood" in particular is amazing, in which an enraged Liam (Robert Leeshock) and anguished Augur (Richard Chevolleau) are thrown through the fire, and Liam has to face that he's Sandoval's son. There's even a Taelon-baby cult, and a pair of new recurring Taelon faces: The hard-as-nails T'than, sworn enemy of Zo'or, and the snotty healer Mit'gai.

Da'an (Leni Parker) and Liam go through some tough times after Da'an does something Liam never thought he would, yet helps his protector with the bioengineered Skrill Queen. But the one who really shines is Anita La Selva as Zo'or. Here we see that Zo'or is not the spoiled child emperor he sometimes seems like -- he's young, frustrated by the limitations the Commonality puts on him, frightened of the uncertain future, and his fear makes him ruthless because he doesn't know any other way to make things happen. In this season, he hits Taelon puberty, gets into a bar brawl (in a human body), hides in a basement with a pair of human teens, and has a heart-to-heart with Liam when they're stranded in the wilderness.

Some of the episodes are a bit on the silly side (the rubber skrill-puppet, for example), but when the third season is good, it's very good. Certainly it's worth getting and appreciating.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Gene Roddenberry does it again
Review: This is Season 3 for those of you that don't know. The last two seasons (4 and 5) are available as well. However seasons 1 and 2 have yet to be released.

MY REVIEW:

I've finished the entire season, and wow. Brilliant sci-fi, simply brilliant. The music/soundtrack of the show is awesome. It's just so good. Plus the shows are all in beautiful animorphic widescreen, making them better than ever. Widescreen always adds a movie-like element to shows, which is quite intoxicating to be sure. The special effects are marvelous. This show is just great fun.

Personally I think the best seasons were Seasons 2, 3 and 4, what I like to call "The Liam Years". Liam is a great character, and an improvement on season one's Boone. Season 1 was of lower production quality as well. More money was put into later seasons. Plus these are the years with Zo'or, a spectacularly entertaining villain. He's the guy you love to hate. Sandoval is funny to watch because he clearly has trouble with english. Plus he's shorter than Liam making scenes with them together particularly amusing, especially when Sandoval is trying to exert his authority over him. I remember loving this show when it was on, and it was the character of Liam that drew me in. He's always looking around for spies in every one of his scenes, especially outdoor ones, which is hilarious. The character of Renee was introduced in the first episode of this set (Season 3). She's not who I would have cast for the part, she's just not quite right, but at least she's bearable (unlike the entire cast of Stargate SG1...ugh). Season 4 was another great season, however Season 5 was NOT. The wonderful characters you grew to love over the years, including Liam, Zo'or, and Da'an are gone. Renee is left to carry the show on her own, and well, it didn't take. In fact it was terrible. I will go so far to say that Season 5 was terrible. Just stick with Seasons 2 (when it comes out), 3 and 4, and pretend 5 never happened. (Season 1 was o.k., but Zo'or and Liam aren't in it yet, and they're great.)

As mentioned by another reviewer, there is no Closed-Captioning/Subtitles. A useful tool for trying to decifer unclear dialogue. Why would this be left out?

Also, there are no advanced menu screens on these discs, just the episodes basically. That is, no Scene Selection screens, no Sound Option screens, no nothing, just choose an episode and play it. But the chapters are placed nicely, including just after the opening theme (which is always convenient). However unlike most shows, the opening theme portion of EFC is done so well I want to watch it each time.

And I would have liked to see COMMENTARIES recorded for some shows, but no dice. At least there are some extras on the last disc though.

Another interesting thing to note is that a "Dolby Surround WHERE AVAILABLE" logo pops on the screen at the beginning of every episode just as it did on TV. This is clearly a mistake, something that wasn't removed. This, along with the above leads me to believe these sets were RUSHED into production. Rushed or not though, the picture and sound are top notch and that's what matters.

Great show. A well-earned 5 stars.


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