Sci-Fi Box Set (Ark II/Space Academy/Jason Of Star Command/BCI Eclipse/Filmation TV DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B Episodes: B
BCI
Eclipse has brought together three box sets of three of the best live action TV
series the Filmation Company ever made.
We have looked at them previously, though in the case of Ark II, it was indirect coverage as
this link will show:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5184/The+Mego+Mystery+Vehicle
It will
show and tell you much about the show, but before we conclude on how great Ark II is, here is our full coverage of
the other sets:
Space Academy
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4874/Space+Academy+–+The+Complete
Jason Of Star Command
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5419/Jason+Of+Star+Command
I am not
as big a fan of Jason, which was a
sequel to Command, but it is a fan
favorite and Sig Haig’s presence as the villain has only enhanced its cult
status. While those shows were set in
outer space, Ark II took place on a
post-apocalyptic earth and involved a team of scientists that included a
talking chimpanzee named Adam, plus smart humans Ruth, Jonah and Samuel. In the title vehicle, built with all the
knowledge and resources to go around and renew the planet piece by piece, they
still have adventures in survival, moral lessons and implementation that make
this one of the mist interesting live-action children’s TV shows of any kind
ever made and way ahead of its time.
Episodes
include:
1)
The Flies
2)
The Rule
3)
The Tank
4)
The Slaves
5)
The Balloon
6)
The Mind Group
7)
The Lottery
8)
The Drought
9)
The Wild Boy
10) The Robot
11) Omega
12) Robin Hood
13) The Cryogenic Man
14) Don Quixote
15) Orkus
The
situations concern people trying to replace facts and fairness with
exploitation, science with magic and stop the natural course of the future by
ruining the lives of others as the catastrophe of the environmental holocaust
that has occurred has more than its share of bullies, back stabbers, users and
worse. Yet, it is an intelligent show
(even versus most nighttime and cable TV we get now) in fully dealing with the
issues presented in a remarkably clear and clever way.
The
acting is not bad, the idea of the title vehicle as “good ship” is one of the
most interesting in Science Fiction in general and the chemistry between cast
members is a plus. The show was a peak
of commercial quality TV for that market and during its original DVD release,
seems to have been ignored/censored for politics reasons. Some of the technology and outfits may seem
dated, but others are not and the scientific and social ideas behind the show
are more potent than ever before, proving the show to be over three decades
ahead of its time.
All three
shows were big hits in their time and to have them together in one DVD set is
great and makes a must-own gift set for anyone serious about TV on DVD or the
genre’s the shows cover. Ark II (which originated on 16mm film,
only to have those materials destroyed and replaced by the lesser digital
backup copies here) has the same picture and sound performance as Command, then adds its own extras
including the well-done Launch Of Ark II
documentary, DVD-ROM accessible scripts for all 15 episodes that you can print
out, audio commentary tracks on two of the shows and extensive stills
sections.
- Nicholas Sheffo
