DVD Review: Space Ghost & Dino Boy - The Complete Series

Oh, the memories. Sitting in front of the television on the Saturday mornings of my youth, a big bowl of sugary cereal in hand. This is something that must seem alien to today's kids. Honestly, what happened to the concept of the Saturday morning cartoon? Sure, there are a couple, but by and large you have to tune into the Cartoon Network to catch them, and even then they have some live action stuff on occasion. It used to be that you could turn on the television, and whatever channel you tuned into, it would be all cartoons all the time. Anyway, Space Ghost was one of the characters that I had an attachment to, and now Warner Brothers has delivered the complete Hanna Barbera series that ran from 1966-1968.

As I watch this series, something came immediately to mind, I think I have fonder memories of the character than I do for the series. The reason for that, I do not remember any of these stories, nor do I remember the accompanying show, Dino Boy in the Lost Valley. This is probably because I was more of a kid in the 1980's, and saw more of that run, with the likes of The Herculoids in tow, I wasn't alive during this run. Still, this is a fantastic collection of old chool toons from the early days of Saturday morning animated excursions. What is even better is watching the show the way it was originally presented, with each episode being comprised of two Space Ghost shorts with an episode of Dino Boy in between. Both shows were created by top animator Alex Toth.

I have to begin with Space Ghost. Each short delivers plenty of action as Space Ghost patrols the galaxy with his sidekicks, the brother/sister team of Jan and Jace, along with their pet space monkey Blip (I could have sworn it was Gleek, perhaps he was renamed for the 1980's series). Wherever they went, they were met with trouble, including recurring villains like the praying mantis Zorak, and the cat-like creature Brak, as well as an assortment of one-offs. The show had its share of humor, but it was predominately space faring science fiction themed action.

The titular character was designed with a sparse superhero costume. Primarily white with a black cowl and red arm bands and belt. His powers were delivered courtesy of the so-called power bands on his wrists, equipped with three buttons apiece, different combinations resulting in a variety of attacks, freeze beams, stun beams, fire beams, and all sorts of other uses. In addition to that, he has a force field, and an invisi-belt that gives out hero the power of invisibility. Additionally, Jan, Jace, and Blip have jet packs and their own invisi-belts. They cruise around in the Phantom Cruiser and are based on the Ghost Planet.

Squeezed in between each episode of Space Ghost was Dino Boy, a character that I had no prior knowledge of. There is also a strong reason why they never tried to revive this character. While the episodes are kind of fun, I found the characters to be much less interesting than their companions in each half hour. The series is kicked off by a young boy, Todd (aka Dino Boy), parachuting from a crashing plane and landing in this hidden valley of anachronism. It is populated with dinosaurs, cavemen, and all manner of other creatures (and most of them are not very nice). Shortly after landing, Todd is attacked by a saber tooth tiger, only to be saved by a caveman named Ugh, and his pet dinosaur Bronty.

Each episode features the trio facing off with creatures such as Treemen, Worm Men, Snow Beasts, and others. Typically, wither Dino Boy or Ugh will get into a tight squeeze necessitating the other to rescue them. Sure, fun, but not nearly as much fun as Space Ghost. So, the middle chapter was dropped in the brief second season, which ended with a two episode, six part serial "The Council of Doom."

In the six part finale, Space Ghost is faced with the combined might of his most nefarious villains: Metallus, Spider-Woman, Creature King, Brak, Zorak, and Moltar. Together, the six plan the demise of their foe, lining up to take their shot at weakening Space Ghost. This serial also features the appearance of other Hanna Barbera heroes. In the second episode, Mighty Mightor comes to Space Ghost's aid. Episode four features an appearance by the Herculoids. The final episode brings in Shazzan to aid our hero. Ultimately, our intrepid hero and his sidekicks were able to put a stop to the plans of the evil Council of Doom.

Audio/Video. Both are quite good. The video is presented in 1.33:1 full frame, and looks really nice. It looks old, but I would be willing to bet it has not looked this good since it's initial release over forty years ago. The audio is a perfectly serviceable mono track. It is fantastic to see studios treat these older shows with the respect they deserve.

Extras. There is a single extra on this two disk set, the feature length (96 minutes) documentary on creator Alex Toth: Simplicity: The Life and Art of Alex Toth. The creator is described as an artist's artist, someone looking to do the most with as few lines as possible. He is also described as a great friend and collaborator, as well as one of the most difficult guys they've ever had to deal with. It features interviews with contemporaries, those he influenced, as well as his children.

Bottomline. This is a great slice of old school toons, featuring an iconic character (with that great signature voice provided by Gary Owens) and plenty of action. Sure, Dino Boy isn't as good, but watching each episode is a blast. This is an esy recommendation for Space Ghost fans, or those who like the classic Saturday morning cartoons. With all the sets that are coming out, you could probably program yourself a Saturday morning that nearly replicates the days of old. Also, I am sure most of you are aware of Space Ghost's career change, in the late 1990's Space Ghost returned to television as a talk show host, quite funny, but a radical departure from the superhero roots of the character.

Recommended.