| Reviews & Columns |
|
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Video Games Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews DVD Talk Radio Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
 DVD Talk Forum |
|
|
| Resources |
|
DVD Price Search Customer Service #'s RCE Info Links |
|
Columns
  
 
|
|
|
G.I. Joe - Season 2, Part 1
Rhino // Unrated // August 17, 2004
List Price: $49.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
G.I. Joe. I know the name still sends shivers down my spine as the greatest thing that ever happened to animation. If your childhood was spent anything like mine you woke up every morning to annoy the hell out of your neighbors by screaming the G.I. Joe theme song at the top of your lungs while enjoying a nice bowl of sugared cereal. This series left me with a great impression and made me jump at the opportunity to review the first part of the second season collection.
Season 2 Part 1 features the first fifteen episodes of the second season of G.I. Joe. Although initially opposed, Rhino has confirmed that they will be releasing the second part later this year to the delight of G.I. Joe aficionados everywhere.
The Movie
The breakdown of the episodes is as follows:
Disc 1
Arise Serpentor Parts 1-5
The "Arise Serpentor" storyline was a fun bit to get this season started off. Dr. Mindbender and the other Cobra higher ups think that Cobra Commander is inept and seek to replace him by gathering DNA from all the great conquerors of history including Alexander the Great, Montezuma, Napoleon, Vlad Tempe (Dracula) and many many others. GI Joe desperately tries to stop them but manages just about zero victories and Cobra racks up the DNA stockpile.
Mindbender eventually realizes that Sgt. Slaughter is the perfect soldier and seeks to capture his DNA to complete his project. This is probably my favorite Sgt. Slaughter moment, as he kicks all sorts of Cobra ass in this episode. Mindbender eventually gets all his DNA together, but Cobra Commander sabotages the project of course and it turns out to be a monster, hilarity ensues.
The Serpentor project is complete, with Serpentor immediately establishing dominance in Cobra by slapping Cobra Commander all over the place. Under Serpentor's lead, Cobra is actually effective and manages to take over the USA. Joe eventually pulls out the day and all is well. This series was a great run.
Disc 2
Last Hour to Doomsday – The Joes intercept Baroness' boat, and Lady Jaye assumes her identity in order to infiltrate Cobra's base. Destro is smitten with Baroness as Jaye flirts with him upon her sneaking into the base. The dastardly Cobra plot in this espisode is to destroy the eastern seaboard with a Tsunami machine. Lady Jaye and Duke are found out and captured. Joe ends up destroying the machine and saving the day. An OK episode, Destro's lovesick shtick was humorous.
Computer Complications – Cobra Commander wants access to Joe's computer systems so he enlists the help of the Dreadnoks. Zaranna goes undercover as a sergeant and gets Mainframe to fall in love with her, thereby gaining access to the top-secret computer system. After gaining access, Zaranna reprograms a set of GI Joe submarines to steal precious anti-matter. The Joes eventually recover and destroy a Cobra carrier. This episode provided some depth to the characters. Unfortunately, there was one error in the video in this episode.
Sink the Montana – Admiral Lattimer is due for retirement and does not take to kindly of being forced into it. He joins Cobra in order to save his ship, the Montana. The Montana has a pulse modulator installed, which makes it basically invulnerable, at least until the Joes think creatively. They manage to board the ship using the acient USS Constitution saving the day. Traitorous Admirals was a cool twist in the often cookie-cutter (but always entertaining) plot lines.
Let's Play Soldier – The Joes discover Cobra harvesting a special sap in southeast Asia that will control minds. Leatherneck and Gung Ho befriend some children who were fathered by American Gis and left behind. Unfortunately the duo is captured, but luckily the children set them free. Leatherneck and Gung Ho put an end to Dr. Mindbender's mind control scheme. This episode is another good example of some the social awareness demonstrated by the writers of GI Joe as they dealt with a touchy issue.
Once Upon a Joe – Cobra tries to steal The McGriffin Device, a mysterious device whose purpose is basically unknown. GI Joe puts an end to the theft, but the Cobra Firebat carrying the device crashes into an orphanage. Being the good Americans they are, Joe repairs the damage. While the construction work is going on, Shipwreck entertains the children of the orphanage with a ridiculous story. Zartan attempts to recover the device by impersonating Shipwreck. An orphan discovers this and frees the real Shipwreck who uses the McGriffin Device to make the creatures from his story come to life and save the day. This episode was an awesome little aside that displayed it was possible to have some interesting mix to the usual "Cobra plot develops, Cobra plot is foiled" trend.
The Million-Dollar Medic – Lifeline rescues a rich industrialist's family. This being the 80's, the family's daughter falls in love with him and showers Lifeline with gifts, most of which do not work. The malfunctioning gifts make the other Joes suspicious of her. Lifeline and she go to a cabin in the Rockies with Cobra in pursuit. Lifeline, the pacifist, has to fight them off until reinforcements arrive.
I always thought Lifeline was a character that needed more development. He always threw in little bit of dialogue saying that fighting was wrong, but never had the gall to really do anything about it.
Disc 3
Cobrathon – Sci Fi and Lifeline are captured on a recon mission. The Joes find out that Cobra intends on raising money for a computer virus with a telethon, which would feature the torture of the captured soldiers. Flint and company go to find the studio in which Cobra is filming while Duke tries to find the computer with the virus. The virus is stopped right before it was to be activated.
Episodes like this are especially relevant today on one hand, and especially laughable on the other. The torture of soldiers is something we have come to live with now. The laughable bit was the computer virus. We know now that teenagers in their mother's basement can write viruses, but again, it was the 80's.
The Rotten Egg – Leatherneck is mysteriously invited to a military academy graduation, which he attends proudly. He is surprised to find that the academy is a Cobra training ground run by a former marine, McCann. The recent graduates capture Leatherneck and attack a marine boot camp on Parris Island. Leatherneck escapes and unleashes high holy hell on McCann.
I love when different characters were explored in the series. Leatherneck is one of those guys that is always the bridesmaid, but never the bride and this episode was his time to shine.
Glamour Girls – Madame Vail has made a machine that will transfer youth and beauty from models to regular people. Unfortunately, one of the models she chooses is Lowlight's sister, Una. Lady Jaye and Cover Girl go undercover to infiltrate Madame Vail's operation. The Joes and Zartan end up teaming after Zarana is captured. Madame Vail's transformation goes terribly wrong after she is defeated and she is left without a face.
They really should let Lady Jaye do more than go undercover as women dressed in tight clothing.
Iceberg Goes South – The Joes are testing arctic equipment while Iceberg visits his girlfriend, but is subsequently captured by mutants created by Dr. Mindbender. The Joes find him and see that he too has been mutated into a giant whale. This episode has one of the weirdest endings in Joe history as the mutation process is reverse by feeding Iceberg meat.
I don't feel that stuff like this has any place in the GI Joe cartoon saga. I like Iceberg the character, just because he is comically one-dimensional and just complains about the heat wherever he is.
The Disc
Extras: The presentation of this disc is great. The discs come in a trifold case and a slip cover to go around that. The menus are nicely done with some original CG animation to introduce them.
The extras are pretty nice, especially for a fan of the show. There are interviews with Hank Garrett, who voiced Dialtone, and with Larry Houston, the producer and storyboard artist. Garrett's interview is sweetly nostalgic but not particularly engaging. Houston's is pretty informative and provides some introspective on why G.I. Joe was a breath of fresh air for animators sick of doing vanilla action scenes for network television cartoons. Houston likens G.I. Joe to the A-Team in its action sequences. Also featured is a secret message from "Sins of the Fathers," an uncensored and a censored version of a scene from "Into Your Tent I Will Silently Creep," animation mistakes, and those (in)famous Public Service Announcements that followed every episode of G.I. Joe. I was looking for the PSA's as I was watching the episodes and was delighted to have them all in one place for an extended trip down morality lane.
Audio: The audio is available in 5.1 surround sound, 2.0 stereo, and the original broadcast format. The sound was pretty good with all the grunts, lasers, and explosions sounding just as they should.
Video: The video is in 1:33:1 format of course. In all honesty, the show looks great for being so old. I did notice a couple of errors, especially with some bright colors. Other than that, the laser effects and animation are crisp and look fantastic.
Conclusion: Growing up, I loved this show. I was desperately hoping this disc would not ruin the love I have carried for the past ten or twelve years of my life. Thankfully the only thing this disc proved was how hokey some of the action was, but it was always in good fun and of course, was intended for children. The plots are still good, clean action jaunts. With the exception of some of the more science heavy plots (which seem ridiculous today), and some Cold War junk, this show could easily stand up with the stories of today's cartoons. If you are a G.I. Joe fan, you probably have already bought this, and rightly so. If you are a parent, I can definitely recommend this set for your children. The action is timeless and kids don't mind a few anachronistic plot points. For the rest of you, I say at least rent this disc to jog your memory of what a fantastic action series G.I. Joe was.
Season 2 Part 1 features the first fifteen episodes of the second season of G.I. Joe. Although initially opposed, Rhino has confirmed that they will be releasing the second part later this year to the delight of G.I. Joe aficionados everywhere.
The Movie
The breakdown of the episodes is as follows:
Disc 1
Arise Serpentor Parts 1-5
The "Arise Serpentor" storyline was a fun bit to get this season started off. Dr. Mindbender and the other Cobra higher ups think that Cobra Commander is inept and seek to replace him by gathering DNA from all the great conquerors of history including Alexander the Great, Montezuma, Napoleon, Vlad Tempe (Dracula) and many many others. GI Joe desperately tries to stop them but manages just about zero victories and Cobra racks up the DNA stockpile.
Mindbender eventually realizes that Sgt. Slaughter is the perfect soldier and seeks to capture his DNA to complete his project. This is probably my favorite Sgt. Slaughter moment, as he kicks all sorts of Cobra ass in this episode. Mindbender eventually gets all his DNA together, but Cobra Commander sabotages the project of course and it turns out to be a monster, hilarity ensues.
The Serpentor project is complete, with Serpentor immediately establishing dominance in Cobra by slapping Cobra Commander all over the place. Under Serpentor's lead, Cobra is actually effective and manages to take over the USA. Joe eventually pulls out the day and all is well. This series was a great run.
Disc 2
Last Hour to Doomsday – The Joes intercept Baroness' boat, and Lady Jaye assumes her identity in order to infiltrate Cobra's base. Destro is smitten with Baroness as Jaye flirts with him upon her sneaking into the base. The dastardly Cobra plot in this espisode is to destroy the eastern seaboard with a Tsunami machine. Lady Jaye and Duke are found out and captured. Joe ends up destroying the machine and saving the day. An OK episode, Destro's lovesick shtick was humorous.
Computer Complications – Cobra Commander wants access to Joe's computer systems so he enlists the help of the Dreadnoks. Zaranna goes undercover as a sergeant and gets Mainframe to fall in love with her, thereby gaining access to the top-secret computer system. After gaining access, Zaranna reprograms a set of GI Joe submarines to steal precious anti-matter. The Joes eventually recover and destroy a Cobra carrier. This episode provided some depth to the characters. Unfortunately, there was one error in the video in this episode.
Sink the Montana – Admiral Lattimer is due for retirement and does not take to kindly of being forced into it. He joins Cobra in order to save his ship, the Montana. The Montana has a pulse modulator installed, which makes it basically invulnerable, at least until the Joes think creatively. They manage to board the ship using the acient USS Constitution saving the day. Traitorous Admirals was a cool twist in the often cookie-cutter (but always entertaining) plot lines.
Let's Play Soldier – The Joes discover Cobra harvesting a special sap in southeast Asia that will control minds. Leatherneck and Gung Ho befriend some children who were fathered by American Gis and left behind. Unfortunately the duo is captured, but luckily the children set them free. Leatherneck and Gung Ho put an end to Dr. Mindbender's mind control scheme. This episode is another good example of some the social awareness demonstrated by the writers of GI Joe as they dealt with a touchy issue.
Once Upon a Joe – Cobra tries to steal The McGriffin Device, a mysterious device whose purpose is basically unknown. GI Joe puts an end to the theft, but the Cobra Firebat carrying the device crashes into an orphanage. Being the good Americans they are, Joe repairs the damage. While the construction work is going on, Shipwreck entertains the children of the orphanage with a ridiculous story. Zartan attempts to recover the device by impersonating Shipwreck. An orphan discovers this and frees the real Shipwreck who uses the McGriffin Device to make the creatures from his story come to life and save the day. This episode was an awesome little aside that displayed it was possible to have some interesting mix to the usual "Cobra plot develops, Cobra plot is foiled" trend.
The Million-Dollar Medic – Lifeline rescues a rich industrialist's family. This being the 80's, the family's daughter falls in love with him and showers Lifeline with gifts, most of which do not work. The malfunctioning gifts make the other Joes suspicious of her. Lifeline and she go to a cabin in the Rockies with Cobra in pursuit. Lifeline, the pacifist, has to fight them off until reinforcements arrive.
I always thought Lifeline was a character that needed more development. He always threw in little bit of dialogue saying that fighting was wrong, but never had the gall to really do anything about it.
Disc 3
Cobrathon – Sci Fi and Lifeline are captured on a recon mission. The Joes find out that Cobra intends on raising money for a computer virus with a telethon, which would feature the torture of the captured soldiers. Flint and company go to find the studio in which Cobra is filming while Duke tries to find the computer with the virus. The virus is stopped right before it was to be activated.
Episodes like this are especially relevant today on one hand, and especially laughable on the other. The torture of soldiers is something we have come to live with now. The laughable bit was the computer virus. We know now that teenagers in their mother's basement can write viruses, but again, it was the 80's.
The Rotten Egg – Leatherneck is mysteriously invited to a military academy graduation, which he attends proudly. He is surprised to find that the academy is a Cobra training ground run by a former marine, McCann. The recent graduates capture Leatherneck and attack a marine boot camp on Parris Island. Leatherneck escapes and unleashes high holy hell on McCann.
I love when different characters were explored in the series. Leatherneck is one of those guys that is always the bridesmaid, but never the bride and this episode was his time to shine.
Glamour Girls – Madame Vail has made a machine that will transfer youth and beauty from models to regular people. Unfortunately, one of the models she chooses is Lowlight's sister, Una. Lady Jaye and Cover Girl go undercover to infiltrate Madame Vail's operation. The Joes and Zartan end up teaming after Zarana is captured. Madame Vail's transformation goes terribly wrong after she is defeated and she is left without a face.
They really should let Lady Jaye do more than go undercover as women dressed in tight clothing.
Iceberg Goes South – The Joes are testing arctic equipment while Iceberg visits his girlfriend, but is subsequently captured by mutants created by Dr. Mindbender. The Joes find him and see that he too has been mutated into a giant whale. This episode has one of the weirdest endings in Joe history as the mutation process is reverse by feeding Iceberg meat.
I don't feel that stuff like this has any place in the GI Joe cartoon saga. I like Iceberg the character, just because he is comically one-dimensional and just complains about the heat wherever he is.
The Disc
Extras: The presentation of this disc is great. The discs come in a trifold case and a slip cover to go around that. The menus are nicely done with some original CG animation to introduce them.
The extras are pretty nice, especially for a fan of the show. There are interviews with Hank Garrett, who voiced Dialtone, and with Larry Houston, the producer and storyboard artist. Garrett's interview is sweetly nostalgic but not particularly engaging. Houston's is pretty informative and provides some introspective on why G.I. Joe was a breath of fresh air for animators sick of doing vanilla action scenes for network television cartoons. Houston likens G.I. Joe to the A-Team in its action sequences. Also featured is a secret message from "Sins of the Fathers," an uncensored and a censored version of a scene from "Into Your Tent I Will Silently Creep," animation mistakes, and those (in)famous Public Service Announcements that followed every episode of G.I. Joe. I was looking for the PSA's as I was watching the episodes and was delighted to have them all in one place for an extended trip down morality lane.
Audio: The audio is available in 5.1 surround sound, 2.0 stereo, and the original broadcast format. The sound was pretty good with all the grunts, lasers, and explosions sounding just as they should.
Video: The video is in 1:33:1 format of course. In all honesty, the show looks great for being so old. I did notice a couple of errors, especially with some bright colors. Other than that, the laser effects and animation are crisp and look fantastic.
Conclusion: Growing up, I loved this show. I was desperately hoping this disc would not ruin the love I have carried for the past ten or twelve years of my life. Thankfully the only thing this disc proved was how hokey some of the action was, but it was always in good fun and of course, was intended for children. The plots are still good, clean action jaunts. With the exception of some of the more science heavy plots (which seem ridiculous today), and some Cold War junk, this show could easily stand up with the stories of today's cartoons. If you are a G.I. Joe fan, you probably have already bought this, and rightly so. If you are a parent, I can definitely recommend this set for your children. The action is timeless and kids don't mind a few anachronistic plot points. For the rest of you, I say at least rent this disc to jog your memory of what a fantastic action series G.I. Joe was.
|
| Popular Reviews |
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Release List | Reviews | Shop | Newsletter | Forum | DVD Giveaways | Blu-Ray | Advertise |
|
Copyright 2024 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices 
| |||||||