ReviewsToons

G.I. Joe Season 1.1 Review

 

Reviewed By: Steve “Megatron” Phillips

Title: Shout! Factory DVD Boxsets

First up I would like to thank Dayna from Shout! Factory who so generously provided these DVD’s for review. The DVD’s to be covered are as follows: Transformers – More Than Meets the Eye, G.I. Joe The M.A.S.S. Device, and G.I. Joe Season 1.1

Now, the 1st two DVD’s listed are already included within the 1st Season Boxsets and Complete Series Boxsets. So I am not going in depth into those two as I will be doing TFG1 and G.I. Joe Season 1 Boxset reviews. This review will not only be in written form but in podcast form as well. Although the images included may not be the best quality, it is only due to my crappy Kodak camera not the boxsets themselves. The DVD covers are superbly done. I love the attention to detail in the characters which are presented in the front as well as the small screen shots on the back of the discs.

 

 

DVDs

 

This first shot is of what was sent to us at GeekCastRadio.com prior to my opening them. The awesomeness of G.I. Joe Season 1.1 and the other two are Promo Prizes for our listeners provided by the great folks at Shout! Factory.

 

 

G1 MTMTE DVD In Case

To start I will be starting with the Transformers Box Design. The Transformers disc contains very nice imaging. It shows very detailed art with Optimus Prime, Megatron and Starscream on the cover. The box is beautifully designed as is the image on the disc.

The Menu upon starting shows a grid with the faction symbols in a 3D environment and then turns into the Transformers logo which is also in a 3D environment. Very cool intro to the menu nonetheless. And then when the words appear to watch it will say “Play All” or “Episodes”. All while this is going on there is the original theme music in the background with various Autobot and Decepticon transformers running, shooting and transforming around the screen. Upon selecting the episodes it says “Autobots, Transform and Roll”. Another nice touch for all of us TF fans.

This Disc Includes the Following Episodes:More Than Meets the Eye, Parts 1-3 which is the 1st three episodes of Season One as well as the BONUS episodes Transport to Oblivion and Roll For It. All of which are included on the Season One Boxset and the Matrix of Leadership Complete Series Boxset.

The image quality is much better than what I have seen either by TV, VHS tapes or YouTube. The imaging still seems a little grainy especially when viewed on a 42” HD Plasma TV. But still it is what it appeared like to start out with so it’s fine in my opinion. The original errors are still in place from the original productions. I can tell Shout! Factory has done quite a bit though in the restorations. The colors seem to be still bright but overly so.

The audio quality in itself is pretty crisp. It sounds like it could have been a modern show in how well the audio is placed. The original audio errors of the character voices are still in place but that is due to the voices being placed wrong. But the other errors such as the Rhino added sounds and some other various audio clips have been restored to the original broadcast and are pretty clear sounding.

The long and short of it is, in the last 25 years it couldn’t have been done much better.

NOTE: This item will be a giveaway provided by Shout! Factory in a future contest.

All Joe

Joe S1.1Back of JoesS1.1 Back

 

The G.I. Joe Season 1.1 is a special 4 Disc DVD set. In this set includes 22 episodes. The first fifteen are the three 5-Part Mini-Series of The M.A.S.S. Device, The Revenge of Cobra and The Pyramid of Darkness finishing it off with the last seven episodes. Also present with this season comes the booklet with show titles, writers, original broadcast date and a small episode synopsis. Other includes are 3  G.I. Joe related tattoos, one being the symbols of Cobra, G.I. Joe and the Arashikage ninja clan worn by Snake-Eyes and Stormshadow.

The box presents Cobra Commander and the main Joes on the cover. It has a cool split showcase of their respective factions. On the back it shows a red background with some show details and special features as well as a few shots from the show. On the interior sleeves it showcases similar image shots with some small descriptions.

Having not been able to watch G.I. Joe other than by this DVD or from cable TV years ago, it was a great watch.

The menu interface displays a computer screen in 3D with the buttons blinking. In the center of the screen it shows clips from the show. Also of note is that the background music is some found within the show itself. The menu displays Play All, Episodes, and Bonus Features as your options.

The image quality is similar to that of the Transformers in that it is the highest quality it can be for the age of the cartoon. It even still is a pretty decent toon. The colors are crisp, bright and colorful as well. I like that that it is also true to it’s original.

The audio quality like the Transformers Discs is just as good sounding. The original music and voicing is great. It was heard crystal clear as well.

More details on these such items will be done in the CobraCast Show which will be the reviews of each and every G.I. Joe episode. And a note this will only go up to the end of this series and not the future ones such as G.I. Joe Extreme. Unless in the future I decide to. G.I. Joe Resolute was partially covered in  GCR Episode 01 but may have a larger role in the series later on.

Bonus Features Include:

“Knowing is Half the Battle” PSAs

“Looking Back” with writer Ron Friedman

Archival Hasbro toy commercials

G.I. JOE’s original 1963 Toy Fair presentation

Printable script for “Jungle Trap”

 

 

GIJOE MASSGIJOE MASS INSIDEGIJOE MASS BACK

Although this DVD is also included in the main Season 1.1 set, the box art is awesome on this one. I love the look of Cobra Commander and the attention to detail in this DVD short.

The rest of the details are pretty much the same.

NOTE: This item will be a giveaway provided by Shout! Factory in a future contest.

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Steve "Megatron"

Co-Creator @GeekCastRadio | Creator @AlteredGeek | Voice Actor | Podcaster, Husband | Father | Web/Graphic Design | A/V Editor | Geek of Games, Tech, Film, TV.

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