Mysterious Cities Of Gold (1982/VCI DVD Set)/Sesame Street Old School, Volume Three: 1979 - 1984
(Warner DVD Set)
Picture:
C/C+ Sound: C/C+ Extras: C+/B- Episodes: C+/B
Now for
the return and continuation of two children’s TV hits that also appeal to adult
collector’s…
After a
successful release a few years ago that went out of print, the 1982
Mysterious Cities Of Gold (1982) which was a moderate hit
in its time and has become a cult animated series since. If you are unfamiliar with the show, here is
our coverage of that previous DVD set release with extended episode guide:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8468/Mysterious+Cities+Of+Gold+%E2%80
Needless
to say that is from one of the big fans of the show, which I am not, but I do
understand and see the appeal of the series and it is one of the early post-Speed Racer Japanese import animated
successes (as well as an early Saban hit) so it has a special place in the
heart of Animé fans. It does not have
the extras of the previous set, but that set had no extras on the discs and
this one does including featurettes, stills, development footage and interviews
about the show, plus the DVD case has a nicely illustrated color booklet with
episode guide and character descriptions so fans will want this set too.
We also
have Sesame Street Old School, Volume Three: 1979 - 1984 from Warner Bros. following
up the previous two volumes including Volume
Two which we covered at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6580/Sesame+Street+Old+School+%E2%80
This is
also a solid set and shows the series moving taking advantage of portable
analog NTSC video cameras and doing location shows like the gang going to a
marathon, Big Bird going to summer camp and Maria going to Puerto
Rico. This was a big deal
for a show that already was about taking children to places they had never been
before and further cemented the classic status of the show. I was no longer watching the series, but
actually heard about these event shows in the last years before cable,
satellite and home video expanded the market, so they were serious events
indeed.
There are
still reuses of classic animated and live-action shorts throughout the episodes
here, plus the return of skits updated, but we still have enough moments that
you would not see today on the show that it justifies this set. However, I wonder how many more sets they can
do before it is the modern show that is totally child safe? Still, the early shows are worth revisiting
and parents can decide if they are appropriate for their children.
Extras
include a bonus booklet with more text on the show, never-before-seen
behind-the-scenes footage, the “Goodbye –
Mr. Hooper” clip, a new interview with Carroll Spinney (who voices Big Bird
and Oscar The Grouch among others), Sonia Manzano’s audio commentary on the
Puerto Rico episode and an on-screen version of the Oscar The Grouch storybook How To Be A Grouch.
The 1.33
X 1 on Gold is a little softer than
I remembered from the original set, but not by very much and since these shows
were made on film along with these new extras often being anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1, I hope this means VCI will have a Blu-ray version coming out
sometime in the near future. The same
frame on Sesame is colorful and a
little better, but the video can show its age and the limits of low-def video
of the time. Still, it looks good.
The lossy
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on both shows are pretty much what we’d expect from
shows of the time with good, but not great sonics, but Gold is a little weaker
and more limited, possibly down a generation.
- Nicholas Sheffo
