I read this myself about a month ago, but for some reason neglected to share it with you here. That oversight is being rectified now...
DVD Talk, a website devoted to news and reviews of DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, has launched a new series of columns. The M.O.D. Squad concentrates on reviews of the growing number of manufacture-on-demand (M.O.D.) DVDs hitting the market, including those from Warner Archives, so naturally they turn their sights on The Herculoids: The Complete Original Series.
The review, written by Jamie S. Rich, is mostly fair, even though he gives the set a "Rent It" recommendation (which I see as a two-and-a-half to three stars out of five). The best line out of the review: "The Herculoids is... an artifact from a time when animation was maybe bigger on ideas than the execution allowed for." (And if you've read any of this blog, you know that's my reaction as well.)
One fan's news and views celebrating one of the most imaginative animated series ever produced for TV
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Episode reviews - what order?
So now that I know that the episodes on Warner Archive's Herculoids DVD are presented in production order, I'm giving some thought about how to present my episode reviews.
I'm considering re-ordering the reviews to match the DVD order (which would, for example, make the first episode I reviewed, "The Beaked People", the fifth episode.) This would mean going back and editing the posts to remove the broadcast dates from the reviews already published, and going forward with reviews in DVD order regardless of broadcast order.
I could continue with broadcast order, but I'm coming to think that the listing I've been using (found in the Wikipedia article is inaccurate. While that listing doesn't show which episodes were shown together in the same half-hour show, it's easy to see which ones were shown together: odd-numbered episodes were the first episode in the show (and do not have prologues), while even-numbered episodes were the second feature of each half-hour (and do include prologues). However, episode #33 is listed as "The Antidote" which I know has a prologue and therefore could not be the first episode of the half-hour; this calls the accuracy of the rest of the list into question.
And I have doubts about the reliability of the episode list at The Big Cartoon DataBase because they list "The Raiders (sic) Apes" as the second episode of the premiere show on Sept. 9, 1967 instead of "The Raiders" as Wikipedia lists it. Basically, the positions of "The Raiders" and The Raider Apes" were switched, as were the positions of "The Lost Dorgyte" and "Destroyer Ants" (within the same half-hour show), and "The Antidote" and "Attack from Space" (also within the same half-hour, although the BCDB might have the correct order, with "Attack from Space" (no prologue) being the first episode of the show).
The Wikipedia and BCDB listings do agree in most of the entries, though, which is better than I can say for some fan sites I've seen, some of which list "The Mutoids" as the first broadcast episode (both Wikipedia and BCDB list it as the first episode of the final half-hour show!).
This is important to me because I want to present accurate information; ultimately I'd like to see this blog become the "go-to" site for information and general Herculoids geekery :) (This is why I present the episode reviews with a straightforward synopsis of the episode, and save the opinions I have about the episode for the commentary section.)
...okay. I've decided. I'm using a combination of the Wikipedia and BCDB listings, resolving any conflicts as I can, until I can get my hands on an authoritative list of the broadcast order (complete with dates) of the original shows. So the next episode review will be "The Spider Man", posted whenever I can get it done.
(EDIT: And, as a compromise, I've added a list to the sidebar there on the right of the episodes as they appear on the Warner Archives DVD. When I finish a review for an episode, I'll add a live link to the title in the list.)
I'm considering re-ordering the reviews to match the DVD order (which would, for example, make the first episode I reviewed, "The Beaked People", the fifth episode.) This would mean going back and editing the posts to remove the broadcast dates from the reviews already published, and going forward with reviews in DVD order regardless of broadcast order.
I could continue with broadcast order, but I'm coming to think that the listing I've been using (found in the Wikipedia article is inaccurate. While that listing doesn't show which episodes were shown together in the same half-hour show, it's easy to see which ones were shown together: odd-numbered episodes were the first episode in the show (and do not have prologues), while even-numbered episodes were the second feature of each half-hour (and do include prologues). However, episode #33 is listed as "The Antidote" which I know has a prologue and therefore could not be the first episode of the half-hour; this calls the accuracy of the rest of the list into question.
And I have doubts about the reliability of the episode list at The Big Cartoon DataBase because they list "The Raiders (sic) Apes" as the second episode of the premiere show on Sept. 9, 1967 instead of "The Raiders" as Wikipedia lists it. Basically, the positions of "The Raiders" and The Raider Apes" were switched, as were the positions of "The Lost Dorgyte" and "Destroyer Ants" (within the same half-hour show), and "The Antidote" and "Attack from Space" (also within the same half-hour, although the BCDB might have the correct order, with "Attack from Space" (no prologue) being the first episode of the show).
The Wikipedia and BCDB listings do agree in most of the entries, though, which is better than I can say for some fan sites I've seen, some of which list "The Mutoids" as the first broadcast episode (both Wikipedia and BCDB list it as the first episode of the final half-hour show!).
This is important to me because I want to present accurate information; ultimately I'd like to see this blog become the "go-to" site for information and general Herculoids geekery :) (This is why I present the episode reviews with a straightforward synopsis of the episode, and save the opinions I have about the episode for the commentary section.)
...okay. I've decided. I'm using a combination of the Wikipedia and BCDB listings, resolving any conflicts as I can, until I can get my hands on an authoritative list of the broadcast order (complete with dates) of the original shows. So the next episode review will be "The Spider Man", posted whenever I can get it done.
(EDIT: And, as a compromise, I've added a list to the sidebar there on the right of the episodes as they appear on the Warner Archives DVD. When I finish a review for an episode, I'll add a live link to the title in the list.)
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
New blog header pic
I finally got around to putting an actual picture in the blog title - a collage of scenes from various episodes.
One of these days, though, I'm doing some original art for the header.
One of these days, though, I'm doing some original art for the header.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Undertones?? What undertones?
Earlier this week, the website IGN posted its review of Warner Archive's The Herculoids: The Complete Original Series DVD. For the most part it's a pretty even-handed, fair review; its bottom line (like mine) was that this is a must-have for fans of the series, calling it "campy, nostalgic fun." (One factual error: the review states that the episodes are presented in the original broadcast order; I tweeted @WarnerArchive asking if that was true, and got back the answer that they're actually in original production order.)
But there is a statement in the review I have to take vehement exception to: opining that the series "has slowly evolved over the years into something much funnier than it was back in 1967 when it first hit the airwaves", the (uncredited) reviewer writes, "There's a thin layer of hilarious homoerotic undertones reminiscent of today's Ambiguously Gay Duo."
WTF?????
I'd love to know what constitutes a "homoerotic undertone" for this guy (yeah, I'm assuming it's a guy), because the only element I can find at all in the series that might be considered such is that the two male leads (Zandor and Dorno) both walk around in some pretty skimpy clothing.
But that wouldn't have anything to do with them living on what is sometimes nicknamed "the jungle planet", would it? Where the weather is presumably hot all the time? And heavier clothing would be cumbersome and impractical? I mean, look at Tara: she's wearing as few clothes as the CBS censors probably allowed, given the time period (late 1960s) and the fact this was considered "children's programming". Why, then, aren't there "heteroerotic undertones"?
Finding these supposed "homoerotic undertones" vis-a-vis Zandor and Dorno, actually, is perverted given the fact that these two are father and son! I've not seen anything in the way Zandor treats Dorno that is in any way outside the bounds of how you'd expect a dad to interact with his son. (Not that a lot of screen time was devoted to character development anyway; the most unusual aspect of the relationship between Dorno and his parents is that he addresses them by their names instead of as "Father" and "Mother", or even as "Mom" and "Dad". But that may be because there was an ultimately short-lived and limited vogue at the time for some "enlightened" parents to encourage their children to refer to them by first names. And maybe the writers of The Herculoids simply thought it made the characters sound just a bit more "alien" this way.)
Okay, maybe I'm just so straight that a homoerotic undertone has to walk up and bitch-slap me before I'll recognize it. But to me, supposition of these "undertones' says more about the reviewer than it does about the show.
But there is a statement in the review I have to take vehement exception to: opining that the series "has slowly evolved over the years into something much funnier than it was back in 1967 when it first hit the airwaves", the (uncredited) reviewer writes, "There's a thin layer of hilarious homoerotic undertones reminiscent of today's Ambiguously Gay Duo."
WTF?????
I'd love to know what constitutes a "homoerotic undertone" for this guy (yeah, I'm assuming it's a guy), because the only element I can find at all in the series that might be considered such is that the two male leads (Zandor and Dorno) both walk around in some pretty skimpy clothing.
But that wouldn't have anything to do with them living on what is sometimes nicknamed "the jungle planet", would it? Where the weather is presumably hot all the time? And heavier clothing would be cumbersome and impractical? I mean, look at Tara: she's wearing as few clothes as the CBS censors probably allowed, given the time period (late 1960s) and the fact this was considered "children's programming". Why, then, aren't there "heteroerotic undertones"?
Finding these supposed "homoerotic undertones" vis-a-vis Zandor and Dorno, actually, is perverted given the fact that these two are father and son! I've not seen anything in the way Zandor treats Dorno that is in any way outside the bounds of how you'd expect a dad to interact with his son. (Not that a lot of screen time was devoted to character development anyway; the most unusual aspect of the relationship between Dorno and his parents is that he addresses them by their names instead of as "Father" and "Mother", or even as "Mom" and "Dad". But that may be because there was an ultimately short-lived and limited vogue at the time for some "enlightened" parents to encourage their children to refer to them by first names. And maybe the writers of The Herculoids simply thought it made the characters sound just a bit more "alien" this way.)
Okay, maybe I'm just so straight that a homoerotic undertone has to walk up and bitch-slap me before I'll recognize it. But to me, supposition of these "undertones' says more about the reviewer than it does about the show.
Monday, June 20, 2011
DVD Review: "The Herculoids: The Complete Original Series"
UPDATED: See note at end of post
Let me say up front: I have been waiting for this release ever since the DVD format became public. I was a huge fan of The Herculoids when I was a child, watching these strange but lovable creatures and their battles with the nefarious forces - some from off-planet, some native to the planet - who sought to destroy, enslave, or exploit the planet Amzot and its inhabitants.
And as I saw Warner Home Video release series after series of Hanna-Barbera cartoons like The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Wacky Races, The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Josie and the Pussycats, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (as well as the other two series that, together with The Herculoids makes up my own "holy trinity" of H-B action cartoons, Jonny Quest and Space Ghost and Dino Boy), my heart held hope that some day Zok, Tara, Tundro, Gloop and their friends would join their brethren on my DVD shelf. That day has come at last with the release of The Herculoids: The Complete Original Animated Series on the Warner Archive label.
Okay, let me get this out of the way: I'm disappointed that WB Home Video (WBHV) didn't see fit to give The Herculoids the same "deluxe" treatment that Jonny Quest and Space Ghost got, nicely remastered with a good (if not extensive) selection of bonus materials. (Even the one bonus feature The Herculoids gets is recycled from an earlier WBHV release; more about that later.) I'd have liked to see galleries of concept art, storyboards, model sheets, etc.; I even fantasized about a bonus CD of soundtrack music.
But given the economic realities of the times, and the declining sales of DVDs lately, I can't fault WBHV for not going all-out for this set. The Herculoids debuted in 1967: 44 years ago! Most of its original fans are *ahem* as old as me, and the series is not well-known even by knowledgeable fans of Hanna-Barbera. So WBHV (probably correctly) saw at best a niche market for a release of the original series; were it not for manufacture-on-demand (MOD) technology, we probably wouldn't be able to enjoy even this release. So, while I'm disappointed that the kind of "deluxe" release I'd hoped for will more than likely never see the light of day, I am grateful that at least we have the original cartoons in a collectible form.
As stated on the product page at the Warner Archives site, these episodes have not been "remastered or restored specifically" for DVD, so there's a little dust and other flaws in the transfer. But honestly, there are so many instances of dirt on the production cels themselves that it's hard to tell which is which; in any event, what there may be is not so noticeable as to be distracting unless you're a demanding videophile, so I'll rate picture quality as "good, not quite great", although this is the best these cartoons have looked in years! (These cartoons will actually look better on smaller screens.)
The sound is the original mono from the original broadcasts; back in the day stereo soundtracks weren't produced even for prime time shows. These episodes sound as good as they can be expected to sound given the age of the materials involved, so once again, I'm rating "good, not great".
As for the content: as I mentioned before, I was a huge Herculoids fan when I was a child, and even today I carry a great fondness for the concept and the characters. Looking at these cartoons as an adult (moreover, as an adult who was inspired by shows like this, Space Ghost, et al to become an illustrator/cartoonist who dabbles in action/adventure comics), I see an imaginative and spectacular concept that didn't reach its full potential due to tight production schedules, minuscule budgets, and the decision that each half-hour program would consist of two 10-to-11 minute episodes instead of one full-length episode. The short running times reduce many of the stories to "shorthand" versions of plots that become somewhat repetitive and formulaic, because almost no time could be devoted to character interactions or explorations of the potentially fascinating creatures and cultures featured in some episodes (such as "The Raider Apes", the Parrot Men from "The Beaked People", or the Reptons from "Ruler of the Reptons").
But having said that, there's still a lot of fun to be had from watching the Herculoids in action; whether it's Tundro shooting energy rocks from his forehead horn, Zok firing "laser" beams from his eyes, or Gloop and/or Gleep assuming their many and varied forms!
I have a couple of quibbles with the presentation, however: I'd have liked to see the shows presented in their original broadcast order [SEE UPDATE BELOW], and some reassurance that the episodes are complete and unedited, especially as regards the prologues to the second cartoon in the half-hour program. (In their original broadcasts, the first cartoon would start after the first commercial break following the opening credits. At the conclusion of the first cartoon, a brief prologue teased the next adventure. These prologues were often edited out of the episodes during their rebroadcasts on the Cartoon Network and Boomerang cable channels.) "Time Creatures" on Disc 1, in particular, seems to start very abruptly as Dorno confronts invaders from Amzot's future, and I wonder if this episode is missing a prologue. It's hard to tell without knowing whether it's the first or the second episode in the show. (Although according to both the Wikipedia article and the Big Cartoon Database entry, "Time Creatures" is the first episode of the show, so maybe the abrupt start is a bit of experimentation on the part of the writers and animators.)
There's no mention of it on the case, but there is one bonus feature, recycled from an earlier WBHV release, "Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s Volume 1": a short (4 1/2 minute) mini-doc entitled "The Herculoids" First family of Quasar". It's mostly talking heads, animation historians like Jerry Beck and animation professionals like Paul Dini and Mark Evanier talking about the appeal of the Herculoids to young (mostly male) viewers (one interviewee refers to the concept as "dinosaurs in space" which really isn't far off the mark), the contributions of designer Alex Toth on Saturday morning animation, and the influences on and of The Herculoids. The highlights of the feature are the (all-too-brief) glimpses we get of concept art, model sheets, and storyboards. (My own wishlist for bonus features would have been to have a gallery of this production art on the DVD.)
(Odd that the feature is entitled "First Family of Quasar", though, since the name "Quasar" wasn't used for the Herculoids' home planet until the 1980s "Space Stars" revival of the characters; the few times their planet wasn't referred to as "Zandor's planet" or other such nickname, it was known as "Amzot", which I think is a much cooler name anyway.)
Bottom line: this is a "must-have" for fans of the show; it might be an acquired taste for those unfamiliar with the show from its original run or its Cartoon Network/Boomerang repeats. And I salute Warner Archive for finally making The Herculoids available on DVD!
UPDATE, June 30 2011: According to a tweet I received from @WarnerArchive, the episodes are presented in original production order, e.g. the order in which they were made.
- Series premiere: Sept. 9, 1967 on CBS
- DVD release: June 14, 2011
- Created by: Alex Toth
- Stories by: Ken Spears, Joe Ruby, David Scott
- Voices: Mike Road (Zandor, Zok, Igoo, Tundro); Virginia Gregg (Tara); Ted Eccles (Dorno); Don Messick (Gloop, Gleep)
Let me say up front: I have been waiting for this release ever since the DVD format became public. I was a huge fan of The Herculoids when I was a child, watching these strange but lovable creatures and their battles with the nefarious forces - some from off-planet, some native to the planet - who sought to destroy, enslave, or exploit the planet Amzot and its inhabitants.
And as I saw Warner Home Video release series after series of Hanna-Barbera cartoons like The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Wacky Races, The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Josie and the Pussycats, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (as well as the other two series that, together with The Herculoids makes up my own "holy trinity" of H-B action cartoons, Jonny Quest and Space Ghost and Dino Boy), my heart held hope that some day Zok, Tara, Tundro, Gloop and their friends would join their brethren on my DVD shelf. That day has come at last with the release of The Herculoids: The Complete Original Animated Series on the Warner Archive label.
Okay, let me get this out of the way: I'm disappointed that WB Home Video (WBHV) didn't see fit to give The Herculoids the same "deluxe" treatment that Jonny Quest and Space Ghost got, nicely remastered with a good (if not extensive) selection of bonus materials. (Even the one bonus feature The Herculoids gets is recycled from an earlier WBHV release; more about that later.) I'd have liked to see galleries of concept art, storyboards, model sheets, etc.; I even fantasized about a bonus CD of soundtrack music.
But given the economic realities of the times, and the declining sales of DVDs lately, I can't fault WBHV for not going all-out for this set. The Herculoids debuted in 1967: 44 years ago! Most of its original fans are *ahem* as old as me, and the series is not well-known even by knowledgeable fans of Hanna-Barbera. So WBHV (probably correctly) saw at best a niche market for a release of the original series; were it not for manufacture-on-demand (MOD) technology, we probably wouldn't be able to enjoy even this release. So, while I'm disappointed that the kind of "deluxe" release I'd hoped for will more than likely never see the light of day, I am grateful that at least we have the original cartoons in a collectible form.
As stated on the product page at the Warner Archives site, these episodes have not been "remastered or restored specifically" for DVD, so there's a little dust and other flaws in the transfer. But honestly, there are so many instances of dirt on the production cels themselves that it's hard to tell which is which; in any event, what there may be is not so noticeable as to be distracting unless you're a demanding videophile, so I'll rate picture quality as "good, not quite great", although this is the best these cartoons have looked in years! (These cartoons will actually look better on smaller screens.)
The sound is the original mono from the original broadcasts; back in the day stereo soundtracks weren't produced even for prime time shows. These episodes sound as good as they can be expected to sound given the age of the materials involved, so once again, I'm rating "good, not great".
As for the content: as I mentioned before, I was a huge Herculoids fan when I was a child, and even today I carry a great fondness for the concept and the characters. Looking at these cartoons as an adult (moreover, as an adult who was inspired by shows like this, Space Ghost, et al to become an illustrator/cartoonist who dabbles in action/adventure comics), I see an imaginative and spectacular concept that didn't reach its full potential due to tight production schedules, minuscule budgets, and the decision that each half-hour program would consist of two 10-to-11 minute episodes instead of one full-length episode. The short running times reduce many of the stories to "shorthand" versions of plots that become somewhat repetitive and formulaic, because almost no time could be devoted to character interactions or explorations of the potentially fascinating creatures and cultures featured in some episodes (such as "The Raider Apes", the Parrot Men from "The Beaked People", or the Reptons from "Ruler of the Reptons").
But having said that, there's still a lot of fun to be had from watching the Herculoids in action; whether it's Tundro shooting energy rocks from his forehead horn, Zok firing "laser" beams from his eyes, or Gloop and/or Gleep assuming their many and varied forms!
I have a couple of quibbles with the presentation, however: I'd have liked to see the shows presented in their original broadcast order [SEE UPDATE BELOW], and some reassurance that the episodes are complete and unedited, especially as regards the prologues to the second cartoon in the half-hour program. (In their original broadcasts, the first cartoon would start after the first commercial break following the opening credits. At the conclusion of the first cartoon, a brief prologue teased the next adventure. These prologues were often edited out of the episodes during their rebroadcasts on the Cartoon Network and Boomerang cable channels.) "Time Creatures" on Disc 1, in particular, seems to start very abruptly as Dorno confronts invaders from Amzot's future, and I wonder if this episode is missing a prologue. It's hard to tell without knowing whether it's the first or the second episode in the show. (Although according to both the Wikipedia article and the Big Cartoon Database entry, "Time Creatures" is the first episode of the show, so maybe the abrupt start is a bit of experimentation on the part of the writers and animators.)
There's no mention of it on the case, but there is one bonus feature, recycled from an earlier WBHV release, "Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s Volume 1": a short (4 1/2 minute) mini-doc entitled "The Herculoids" First family of Quasar". It's mostly talking heads, animation historians like Jerry Beck and animation professionals like Paul Dini and Mark Evanier talking about the appeal of the Herculoids to young (mostly male) viewers (one interviewee refers to the concept as "dinosaurs in space" which really isn't far off the mark), the contributions of designer Alex Toth on Saturday morning animation, and the influences on and of The Herculoids. The highlights of the feature are the (all-too-brief) glimpses we get of concept art, model sheets, and storyboards. (My own wishlist for bonus features would have been to have a gallery of this production art on the DVD.)
(Odd that the feature is entitled "First Family of Quasar", though, since the name "Quasar" wasn't used for the Herculoids' home planet until the 1980s "Space Stars" revival of the characters; the few times their planet wasn't referred to as "Zandor's planet" or other such nickname, it was known as "Amzot", which I think is a much cooler name anyway.)
Bottom line: this is a "must-have" for fans of the show; it might be an acquired taste for those unfamiliar with the show from its original run or its Cartoon Network/Boomerang repeats. And I salute Warner Archive for finally making The Herculoids available on DVD!
UPDATE, June 30 2011: According to a tweet I received from @WarnerArchive, the episodes are presented in original production order, e.g. the order in which they were made.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Preview video clip for Herculoids DVD!
The website TV Shows on DVD has been great at alerting me about news of the release of The Herculoids - The Complete Original Animated Series from Warner Archives. And now, they've posted a video clip from the set!
The order page for the DVD states that "This film has been manufactured from the best-quality video master currently available and has not been remastered or restored specifically for this DVD and Digital Download release" (emphasis mine), but still, if the preview clip is any indication of the quality of the rest of the set, it'll still look GREAT! And I am even happier than before that I already have my pre-order in for it. I am stoked! Once I receive the Herculoids set, my three favorite Hanna-Barbera cartoons shows (also including Space Ghost and Jonny Quest) will be in my collection on DVD, fulfilling a long-time desire.
BTW, those of you who are fans of the show might just recognize the clip as an excerpt from the episode "Mekkor", which I'll be reviewing episode after next (next up is "The Spider Man" - and no, no Marvel characters appear in that story!).
UPDATE: Found another preview clip! This one's from "The Pod Creatures".
UPATE 2: Found a third clip on YouTube; once again, from "Mekkor". This one, though, needs a spoiler warning because it gives away the climax of the cartoon.
The order page for the DVD states that "This film has been manufactured from the best-quality video master currently available and has not been remastered or restored specifically for this DVD and Digital Download release" (emphasis mine), but still, if the preview clip is any indication of the quality of the rest of the set, it'll still look GREAT! And I am even happier than before that I already have my pre-order in for it. I am stoked! Once I receive the Herculoids set, my three favorite Hanna-Barbera cartoons shows (also including Space Ghost and Jonny Quest) will be in my collection on DVD, fulfilling a long-time desire.
BTW, those of you who are fans of the show might just recognize the clip as an excerpt from the episode "Mekkor", which I'll be reviewing episode after next (next up is "The Spider Man" - and no, no Marvel characters appear in that story!).
UPDATE: Found another preview clip! This one's from "The Pod Creatures".
UPATE 2: Found a third clip on YouTube; once again, from "Mekkor". This one, though, needs a spoiler warning because it gives away the climax of the cartoon.
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