Robotech: The Complete Original Series
(A&E Video DVD Box Set) + He-Man and
the Masters of the Universe: Season 2 (Mill Creek DVD) + Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 9
(Lionsgate DVD) + Thundercats: Season 1
– Part 1 (Warner DVD) + Jem and the
Holograms: Season Two (Shout! Factory DVD)
Robotech: The Complete Original Series (A&E Video DVD Box Set)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: B+ Episodes: B
Robotech is the series that introduced a
young impressionable generation to anime.
It is a series that was originally produced in Japan and then
later dubbed into English. There was
other Americanized Anime prior to Robotech,
but nothing made a connection with audiences like this 1985 series.
The Robotech series is actually three
different tales packaged into one. The
three ‘chapters’ are The Macros Saga, The Robotech Masters, and New
Generation. Originally, the series was
three separate series (oddly similar) entitled Dimensional Fortress: Macrocross, Super-Dimensional Cavalry: Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber: Mospeada.
The first
leg of the series (Macros Saga) chronicles the arrival of a space ship as it
enters earth’s solar system and crashes onto a small island. A group of researchers are dispatched to
analyze the wreck and see what can be learned from its technology. After ten years of research and development
scientists manage to create a series of jets that transform into robots
referred to as Robotech. Soon after that
they repair the wrecked ship; calling it the SDF-1. But change is on the horizon as a group of
aliens called the Zentraedi arrive on earth to steal away the technology;
destroying anything in their path. It is
the job of a group of untrained Robotech pilots and a newly assembled SDF-1
crew to save humanity. We are then
jutted out into space where an epic battle ensues, as the Zentraedi and the
Robotech crew fight until the bitter end.
There is love, hate, huge plot twists, and many surprises. The series is epic and definitely has a level
of depth unlike many other series of the era.
Robotech then moves onto the next two
chapters (The Robotech Masters and New Generation) where we pick up with the
series 15 years after the first segment ended.
The Zentraedi return to get the technology they so desperately crave and
again a crew of Robotech rookies must stop them. The second chapter doesn’t have the same
level of depth or creativity as the first season and overall the storyline is
lacking; but nevertheless enjoyable.
In the
third chapter (New Generation) the story picks up again with more detail as
Earth has been transformed into a horrible wasteland; having been beaten down
by a new alien invader. A crew has been
sent into space to find a new home land, but earth is at the mercy of the
aliens. A rag tag team of “know
nothings” gather to man a mission to save earth one last time. The story is somewhat unbelievable, but
better than the previous chapter and a good Robotech installment.
The
extras on this Robotech are
impressive and copious; including the following:
·
Carl
Macek’s Robotech (Documentary)
o
This
featurette is overflowing with everything Robotech
and is an excellent homage to the man who put the series all together, Carl
Macek. We as an audience are treated to
Music Videos and a ton of insight of how the series was originally constructed
and produced.
·
We
also get the original unaired pilot of the series
·
Deleted
Scenes
·
Promo
Spots
·
Art
Galleries
·
Original
Openings/Closings
·
Even
more as we are treated to over 10 hours of extras!!
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe:
Season 2 (Mill
Creek DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: B Episodes: B
By the
power of Grayskull!! He-Man is back!
Well…kind of…
Nothing
new to mention for this release from Mill Creek Entertainment, with the
exception that Mill Creek (who now holds the rights to the series) gives fans
the opportunity to own each season of the series in its entirety, without
having to own those annoying volumized sets previously released.
Now on
DVD is He-Man and the Masters of the
Universe: The Complete Second Season, full of the same mighty goodness and surprising
extras.
We follow
Prince Adam as he wields his power as the great He-Man to defeat the evils of
Skeletor and his army of super villains.
Along with Cringer, Man-At-Arms, Teela, Orko, and the Sorceress, He-Man
must face some of his hardest challenges in this epic Second Season.
The
series aired from 1983-1985 and was produced by the world renowned Filmation
Studios; creating some of the most memorable, heroic moments to ever hit the
animated airwaves. He-Man holds a
special place in this reviewer’s childhood as I am sure it does for man; as the
series expanded far beyond an animated series and had tie-ins from breakfast
cereals to action figures. He-Man is a brand that has not faded
away into obscurity either as even in recent years a resurgence of the
character has appeared on TV and in film.
A classic hero that isn’t going anywhere.
Extras
include:
- 10 Complete Episode Scripts
- 50 Detailed Profiles of
Various Characters, Creatures, and Artifacts
- Documentary: The Stories
Behind He-man
- Documentary: The Magic of Filmation
- Documentary: Animating He-Man
- Episode Commentaries: On 6
Episodes
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
Season 9 (Lionsgate
DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: B-
Well
nearly two years after the last DVD release of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Season
8), fans get another installment in the form of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Season 9. Almost at the end here as 8 of the final 16 TMNT episodes are released; Season 10 is the last season.
Nothing
epic happens in Season 9 and it is
more than apparent that the end was near for our green shelled heroes. Most people don’t even realize that TMNT was still airing up until 1997;
the 80’s generation having somewhat outgrown their childhood heroes by that
point. Also with only 8 episodes airing,
it is not hard to imagine these episodes slipping through the cracks. Season
9 continued to usher in the changes of Season
8, dropping many of the familiar villains in favor of darker new ones. The series attempts to be dark, but is
concurrently goofy in turn portraying an unbalanced, odd feel.
By no
means are the episodes horrible, but nothing ground breaking either. It is nice to see the series finished off on
DVD and fans can rejoice knowing that they nearly have the entire collection on
their shelves.
The eight
(8) episodes this season are:
- The Unknown Ninja
- Dregg of the Earth
- The Wrath of Medusa
- The New Mutation
- The Showdown
- Split-Second
- Carter, The Enforcer
- Doomquest
Though
the set comes with a nice cardboard, lenticular slip cover no extras are
included in this time; but perhaps we will get one last clump on the final
season set.
Thundercats: Season 1 – Part 1 (Warner DVD)
Picture:
B Sound: B- Extras: B Episodes: B
Thundercats was one of my favorite animated
series as a child. I had ever coloring book, action figure, and pajama that I
could get my hands on…to put it simply, nothing was better.
Viewing Season One, Part One of this set
re-released by Warner Bros I am reminded of many good times and good
memories. What I am also now seeing is
how hokey the series was in the first place.
Now it is not quite on the level of He-Man
in terms of silliness, but it is up there.
I was a kid, what did I know?
The fact
remains the series is fun and action packed as Lion-O and his allies try to
defeat evil on the Planet of Third Earth.
The series follows the Thundercats as they crash land on Third Earth
after a violent encounter with Plun-Darr who were attempting to steal the ‘Eye
of Thundera;’ a mystical weapon housed in a sword Lion-O carries. Once on Third Earth the Thundercats attempt
to establish home base, but soon come to find a new enemy in the form of
Mumm-ra. Mumm-ra is an ancient mummy
wizard who joins forces with the Plun-Darr mutants in attempt to possess the
‘Eye of Thundera.’
As Season One unfolds we see the
Thundercats, lead by Lion-O, right off the mutants and Mumm-ra as they
establish themselves on the planet.
There are some larger story arches and elements of continuity, though
most episodes are simple and self contained.
The target audience again being young children to sell toys to.
I find
the series insanely nostalgic, well animated, and fun after all these years.
Extras
include:
- Feel the Magic, Hear the
Roar! Thundercats Fans Speak Out!: Will Wheaton and Other loyal Fans Give
their Memories and Supports to Animation Classic
- A very fun and interesting
extra that gives great insight to the series and its huge fan base.
Bravo.
Jem and the Holograms: Season Two (Shout! Factory DVD)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C- Episodes: B-
With
series like He-Man, TMNT, Thundercats, and GI Joe overtaking
the airwaves in the 1980’s and early 90’s; the market for fun, heroic female
influences was severely lacking. For
some reason Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Bright, and Care Bears was simply cutting it; enter
Jem and the Holograms.
In 1985 Jem and the Holograms hit television
and both boys and girls alike were hooked.
The series focuses on music studio owner Jerrica Benton, who (as her
alter ego Jem) along with her band The Holograms sets off on a series of
adventures. The series was created as a
joint venture by the same people who created the GI Joe and Transformers craze
(mainly Sunbow Productions, Hasbro, and Marvel). This with the obvious intention to pull
children in and then subsequently sell them (their parents) a boat load of
related merchandise.
Each
episode mainly revolves around Jerrica Benton protecting her secret identity
after she transforms into her alter ego Jem.
Jerrica creates Jem by using a specialized hologram projection device
known as Synergy; a device (concealed in her earrings) bequeathed to her by her
now deceased father. Synergy was intended
to be the ultimate special effects stage device, but has instead been utilized
by Jerrica (Jem) to go undercover and make her and her bands dreams come true.
The
Holograms consist of Jem, Kimber Benton (Jerrica’s younger sister), Shana
Elmsford, and Aja Leith. All of the
girls are aware of Jem’s secret and conspire with her to keep it hidden. The rival bands of the group are The Misfits
and The Stingers, who are often the center of conflict for The Holograms.
The
series does not rely too heavily on continuity or deep character development;
mainly focusing on standalone episodes that are fun, adventurous, and mildly
entertaining. Not much changed between
the First and Second Seasons of the series; as one member leaves, new member Raya
comes on board. It is becoming
increasingly hard to keep Jem’s true identity a secret as suspicions surmount
from all those around; especially the rival bands.
The show
is fun, though a tad repetitive after a while as I ask myself “do I care if her
identity is unveiled?” Though the girls
go on some strange and wacky adventures, it is not as if Jem is Superman, Bruce
Wayne, or even James Bond; her secret identity is of little consequence to
humanity. So again, the series is
enjoyable and nostalgic as the 1980’s are beaming in this girly, colorful,
bedazzled series.
The
twenty-five (25) episodes in Season Two include:
- The Talent Search, Part 1
- The Talent Search, Part 2
- Scandal
- One Jem Too Many
- The Bands Break Up
- The Fan
- Father’s Day
- The Treasure Hunt
- Aztec Enchantment
- Music is Magic
- The Jazz Player
- Danse Time
- Alone Again
- Roxy Rumbles
- KJEM
- Trick or Techrat
- The Presidential Dilemma
- Rock ‘N’ Roll Express
- Mardi Gras
- The Middle of Nowhere
- Renaissance Woman
- Journey Through Time
- Out of the Past
- Hollywood Jem, Part 1: For Your Consideration
- Hollywood Jem, Part 2: And the Winner
Is…
There is
only one extra to speak of in this set, which is a Video Jukebox; highlighting
musical performances by The Holograms.
It is nothing special, but if you like this odd, 1980’s, glam music it is
right up your alley.
Technical Features
The video
on all five (5) of these series is a 1.33 X 1 Full Frame that is nicely
presented with varying levels of grain.
I would not say one series is much better than any other in terms of
colorful crispness, clarity, or level of grain/debris; as all are adequate, but
all have their downfalls. Little
restoration (if any) has been done to these 1980’s/90’s series and it
shows. The colors are probably the
standout video feature of each, whereas the crispness, clarity, and amount of
grain are the impeding elements. Outside
of the lack of restoration these series were never cared for much to begin
with; film cels being auctioned off on the likes of eBay and original
production copies of the episodes being lost to time, being transferred to DVD
via old VHS/analog copies. The sound is
a different story for all series reviewed above. Jem has
been amazingly restored to a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound (originally a
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) and it sounds well rounded and clear. Granted with Jem we still don’t get the panning/blasting effects of a cinematic
experience, but it is much improved and the dialogue and music truly come to
life. With Robotech: The Complete Series we also get a Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround track that is more explosive and incorporates splendid panning effects
when the action picks up; however, when the action stops so do the surrounds,
dialogue all front and center. On He-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the sound is about the same as the
video (if not a tad better) being rendered in a simple Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
for all episodes. The sound in these
series is not very dynamic, coming all from the front but it does project clean
and clear without much distortion or softness.
Thundercats is the only
series in this review that is in its original Dolby Digital Mono. I found it to be of the same level of clarity
as He-Man and TMNT, with the sound coming from the front with little distortion
to mention.
In the
end, all of these series are outstanding in their own way; and audiences should
rejoice that we even get the opportunity to view these series with ease all of
these years later.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
