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Space Ghost Coast to Coast - Volume Three

Warner Bros. // Unrated // April 12, 2005
List Price: $29.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]

Review by Robert Spuhler | posted April 12, 2005 | E-mail the Author
Before there was an Aqua Teen Hunger Force, before there was an Adult Swim – before there was a big demand for "adult cartoons" in general – there was Space Ghost Coast to Coast. One of the few "original" shows on Cartoon Network, the program used old cartoon clips from B-hero Space Ghost as clip art, sticking the animation in a new setting and turning a super-hero into a semi-super talk show host.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast vol. 3 is collected of episodes aired in 1997. It was a strange year in many ways for the folks from Williams Street (the show's creators); there were 24 new episodes that year, the most by far of any single year of the show. Since that time, in fact, there have been less than 40 new shows. It's a production schedule that Williams Street at that point was uncomfortable with, but it produces some excellent work – even if some of the shows lack the signature strangeness that makes Coast to Coast unique.

The quick rundown: Space Ghost used to fight crime. Now, he hosts a late-night talk show, with bandleader/imprisoned arch-enemy Zorak and producer/imprisoned arch-enemy Moltar. During the first episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast the focus was on the human guests, but somewhere around volume two of the DVD series, the episodes became about the adventures of Ghost, Zorak, Moltar, and other animated special guests.

The 24 episodes in Space Ghost Coast to Coast vol. 3. are:

Rehearsal - One of the "preview shows," with the cast working out the kinks.
Gallagher - Bob Odenkirk and David Cross peer pressure Space Ghost into falling down, and Bob gets addicted to getting blasted.
Edelweiss – Zorak dies. Kinda.
Anniversary - It's the 37th Show Anniversary Show! Huzzah, and such.
Zoltran - Robin Leach is a badass villain. And he plays one on the show.*
Pilot – "Birdman Coast to Coast" wasn't very good.
Speck - Space Ghost is irie. That's Irish, right?
Zorak – This is Zorak's life. "Actually, nobody moves much in a Hanna-Barbara cartoon."
Switcharoo – It's a Sci-fi geek-in.
Mayonnaise – Jon Stewart almost suffocates. Space Ghost sings an Irish song.
Brilliant Number One - I have no idea. I think it's foreign.*
Boobookitty – Space Ghost and Zorak become roommates. Then SG's kitty explodes.
Needledrop – Ice T and Ernie C put up with Space Ghost's whiteness. Then Fred Willard shows up.
Sphinx - Mike Judge beats the Beavis and Butthead thing into the ground. And there's a slippery slide.
Pavement - The band Pavement is like the Beatles, only different.*
Untitled - Erik Estrada, pre-Sealab 2021. Moltar has a man-crush.
Hipster - Chad Ghostal takes over for his good twin, and his show is swingin'.
Piledriver - A fan favorite, featuring Macho Man Randy Savage as Space Ghost's father.
Suckup - Gravy. Mmmm.
Dam - Zorak and Moltar are COPPIN' AN ATTITUDE! Loudly and often.
Boatshow - A musical featuring Steve Allan. There's some great Brak in here. It's presented in 5.1 on the disc, too.*
Telethon - Save Space Ghost!
Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfate - Zorak sells ointment. A lot.
Joshua - How Space Ghost can help sell your product. And haiku contest winners appear very, very briefly.*

*=Commentary track

This collection offers up some of the funniest moments in the show's history. Personal highlights include Brak's "man on the street" song in Boatshow, every time Zorak yells "I'm coppin' an attitude!" on Dam, Brak stuck in gravy on Suckup and everything about Pilot and Piledriver.

Volume three of the DVD collection may be the best one possible for novice fans, as well. There is a lot of Williams Street lunacy here, silliness for the point of being silly, but the episodes are still quasi-linear. Amidst all the madness, they still make sense, which is something that can't be said for some episodes as the series progressed (Fire Ant, a later episode, features Space Ghost crawling for ten minutes).

The DVD

Video:

The full-screen transfer of Space Ghost Coast to Coast vol. 3 does everything it needs to, especially considering the budget and less-than-stellar animation of the original. The colors are fine, if not eye-popping, and there seem to be few digital flaws.

Audio:

With the exception of "Boatshow," the discs are in perfectly acceptable 2.0 sound. "Boatshow" is presented in 5.1 surround sound that, while a nice gesture, does not present too major an improvement. The surrounds remain underutilized, though the subwoofer mix ends up quite active.

Extras:

The 24 episodes on volume three are almost as many as on the first two volumes combined, which might explain the thinner-than-normal extras section. There are five commentaries on the set, which each end up a mess of barely-identifiable voices saying little of interest, with the exception of Joshua.

Deleted scenes from Switcheroo, an alternate ending to Zorak, and more interview footage with Jon Stewart are on the first disc. The alternate ending is interesting, though the choice made for the actual episode is much funnier.

World Premiere Toon In, an episode in which the Council of Doom judges interviews with prospective directors of new cartoons, is the best of the extras on disc two. The winner ended up being the director of the incredibly popular Powerpuff Girls. Also supplied is uncut interview footage with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross.

Final Thoughts:

Space Ghost Coast to Coast is currently not scheduled to come back to Cartoon Network or Adult Swim. But the show's signature brand of bizarre humor lives on through this DVD collection. It's a must-have for SG fans, but also a good starter set to introduce the show to those that have never seen it.

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Highly Recommended

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