GI Joe – Real American Hero: Season 1.3 (Animation/Shout! Factory DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: B Episodes: B
GI Joe returns to DVD with Season 1.3 (or Season 1; Volume
3). The series did not change much
throughout Season One and continued
to embody the same kick-butt mentality throughout. We once again get to partake in 22 action
packed episodes as Season One
finishes its run on DVD with the GI Joe
team defending the earth from the atrocities of the evil Cobra.
GI Joe is the code name of the highly
trained, special tasks force that has been compiled to beat down any scheme,
plan or ruthless venture of team Cobra.
The end of Season One contains
many of fans favorite (and mine too) episodes as “There’s No Place Like
Springfield” and “Cold Slither” finally make their new premiere on DVD.
I have
now sat and watched all of Season One
and it has taken its toll on me. Whereas
I have the fondest of memories of the series; like many other of my childhood
favorites, it becomes hard to take after a while. There are copious amounts of campy, do-gooder
humor in every episode; as well as the fact that the GI Joe team is
indestructible. I realize that the good
guys always win, but GI Joe seems to effortlessly destroy Cobra each time and
after 65 episodes it seems all too repetitive.
I love reliving the past and I am a sucker for nostalgia; but I think GI Joe will be sitting and gathering
dust on my shelf for quite a while before I revisit it. I am not saying that the series is no worth
owning, as any classic animation fan should own this, but in the end it is a
great catalog item to sit in your DVD library and just be content you have it
there.
For a
look back at GI Joe – Season 1.1 please
refer to the link listed below:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8797/Transformers:+The+Complete
The
technical features are identical to the
previous 2 volume releases as G.I. Joe looks good, but is by no
means at its best. Shout! Factory went above and beyond once again to
ensure that the inconsistencies appearing in previous releases did not occur
again. The color is fixed up a bit and
the image discrepancies previously noted are taken care of. The video and
sound (whereas not perfect) are astoundingly better than they were on the older
sets. The video is presented in a clean and clear 1.33 X 1 full screen as
it was originally aired. The image again has solid colors and better
blacks, but dirt and debris still bring down the picture’s quality and fans
will notice it. The sound once again is a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Mix
that gets the job done, but nothing is fancy as viewers should just be happy
that it can all be heard clearly without any additional noise to mess things
up.
Bonus
features include Men and Women of Action:
Creating the GI Joe Animated Series Featurette; “Knowing is Half the Battle” PSAs; Archival
Hasbro Toy Commercials. I am a sucker
for these making of featurettes as well as the old toy commercials; both of
which are presented very nicely as the give viewers a heaping helping of GI Joe
past.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
