Tripping The Rift – The Complete First Season

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: C     Episodes: C+

 

 

In another attempt to have a hit TV series with computer animation, Tripping The Rift is a somewhat graphic, somewhat humorous, and even entertaining series that has the look and feel of Science Fiction.  As compared to the hand-drawn Futurama, it is not as immediately witty or cutting edge, yet it is able to form its own identity and that can be half the battle won.  The show is better at just being funny and making general fun of things than coming up with pop culture references and be dark.

 

We get a mix of mostly alien characters with a few humans and we have seen some of this before, even in the CG world, though this is a little cruder than you might get in some more child-friendly feature films.  This 3-DVD set features the first 13 shows and they run under a half-hour each.  The show is really not bad and fans of animation and comedy will enjoy this enough to look into it, but beyond that, it may not demand repeat viewing for many.  Even as the animation starts to show its age, it still has the scripts and that will ultimately be the appeal of the series.  The text on the case suggests that this could become a cult item.  For reasons they may not even consider, they might be right.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image is not bad with its limited digital color, detail limits and decent digital composite work.  It is not spectacular, but it is something different and looks better here than it would on TV.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo actually has some pro Logic surrounds, though the case does not suggest that.  The combination is not bad.  Extras include character and artwork galleries, plus access to all 13 teleplays via a DVD-ROM option.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo