G.I. Joe the animated series was released launched in 1985, just two years after a pilot premiered and proved to be successful enough. It's kind of interesting how the franchise reinvented itself because unlike several other 80's cartoons, this one started out as an action figure/doll line first, dating back to the 1960's. Sure enough, the toys piled on after the show took off, but this was really just a reinvention of a classic that had been around for 20+ years.

In Season 1 Part 1 we get four discs of material that includes the original 1983 five episode pilot. That particular stretch includes the episodes "The Cobra Strikes", "Slaves of the Cobra Master", "The Worms of Death", "Duel in the Devil's Cauldron", and "A Stake in the Serpent's Heart". The plot features a story about Cobra developing a weapon known as the M.A.S.S. Device, which basically allows them to transport anything to anywhere in the world they want. Nobody is safe whether it's an invasion force that happens to show up on your front door or your defense force that happens to disappear into thin air.

The story is pretty straightforward, but there's some nice depth as we get to learn the ins and outs of the world. Basically G.I. Joe is a military force that works for the American government and Cobra is, well, the bad guy. Several personalities are hit right off the bat from Duke, Scarlett, and Snake Eyes to Destro, Cobra Commander, and Baroness. As each of these characters are introduced on the fly the plot unfolds as G.I. Joe must work to recover ingredients to make their own M.A.S.S. Device. It quickly turns into a face against the clock with Cobra making some bumbling mistakes that cost them dearly, in typical idiotic bad guy fashion. Yes, this is the kind of show where the bad guys will throw everything they have at their enemies only to be thwarted every time by less soldiers, less ammunition, and weaker weapons. It's kind of sad really, but hey, this is a kid's cartoon so what more do you want? G.I. Joe has to win! Go America!

Continuing the sense of continuity that the show began with, the next leg of G.I. Joe's journey is entitled "Revenge of the Cobra". This one contains the episodes "In the Cobra's Pit", "The Vines of Evil", "The Palace of Doom", "Battle on the Roof of the World", and "Amusement Park of Terror". In this story Cobra comes up with another device to rule the world with. Instead of teleporting around the world this time, they've made something known as the Weather Dominator which should be fairly self-explanatory. Like the story about the M.A.S.S. Device, this one allows the characters to shine through and gives you a chance to get to know them.

More continuity comes on the third disc with "The Pyramid of Darkness", which is another five part storyline. The episodes are "The Further Adventures of G.I. Joe", "Rendezvous in the City of the Dead", "Three Cubes to Darkness", "Chaos in the Sea of Lost Souls", and "Knotting Cobra's Coils". This one was arguably the cheesiest of what this release has presented so far, with Cobra running around the world putting down giant cubes, destroy Joe's space station, and trying to create a pyramid. It's downright hokey at times, but there's still some entertainment value to eek out of it even if it is more comical than anything else.

After the three five-episode arcs that feature a great deal of continuity the show slips into an episode of the week pattern for the fourth disc. The seven episodes included here features some outstanding plots such as a biker gang that terrorizes a restaurant, G.I. Joe in a Cobra funhouse, and even a doctor who controls animals and insects. Each of these episodes is resolved by the time the end credits roll and quite honestly they just pale in comparison to the first three arcs (yes, even the pyramid one is better than some of these). Still, G.I. Joe's introductory part of the first season is a lot of fun. If you were ever a fan of the cartoon then you owe it to yourself to pick up this little piece of nostalgia. Then again, you may want to opt for the larger and much cooler complete collection if you happen to have the funds available.

G.I. Joe is presented on DVD with its original 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio. As you'd expect this show displays its age with each episode. There's a fair amount of wear on the source material, there's some grain in the transfer, and all around some of the colors aren't quite as vibrant as they once were. It's clear that Shout! didn't pull out all the stops with regards to this release, but with that being said the picture quality isn't necessarily as bad as it could have been. There are points where the picture doesn't look quite as old and the image is quite stable at times. Just don't expect a high definition transfer and you won't be disappointed.

Likewise the audio in G.I. Joe is aged just as you'd expect it would be. The 2.0 stereo presentation offers clean dialogue, nice sounding effects, and music that is every bit as grating on the ears now as it was back in the day. The show's presence on the soundstage is somewhat muted and relatively flat, but that's to be expected with a show that's over 20 years old.

Included on this release of G.I. Joe's first season is a decent smattering of extra features that will undoubtedly keep many fans happy. Featured here are seven original PSAs, which are as ridiculous as they ever were. If you don't recall them, basically they are little bits of animation where some kid is doing something stupid and a Joe is standing by to help them and offer them some life advice. Remember, don't pet stray dogs, don't swim during a thunderstorm, and don't rush through making a treehouse. Now that you know, knowing is half the battle!

Also included are some 1980's toy commercials, a video presentation from the 60's for a toy fare for the original Joe, and a printable script for the "Jungle trap" episode. There's also a little booklet with some episode information and a sheet of temporary tattoos (the G.I. Joe logo, Cobra logo, and Snake Eyes arm tattoo). Aside from these relatively light inclusions there is also a three part "Looking Back" feature with Ron Friedman spread across the first three discs. This one is mildly interesting since Friedman has some unique perspectives regarding the production and quality of the show, but even though some of his opinions on the quality may be a little skewed it's entertaining enough to watch.

G.I. Joe was a fun cartoon from the 80's that I still remember fondly. It used to be in my regular rotation and to this day I still have a box in my attic with tons of action figures, vehicles, and gear. I'd go as far to say that I am the target audience of this DVD release, after all I was 6 when the show originally aired. Does the nostalgia factor hold up? Heck yes! I had a blast going back and watching these episodes. Sure some of them are better than others, and yes it's often cheesy, but that's part of what makes it such a good time. The second part of the first season can't come out soon enough!

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