Mego Mystery Vehicle Identity – The Ark II Roamer

 

 

It is The Roamer from the 1976 live-action dune-buggy-like vehicle from Ark II, Filmation’s’ great 15-episode Science Fiction adventure series that ran for years despite limited episodes and holds up very well despite it then-limited budget.  November 2006 saw the entire show arrive on DVD from BCI Eclipse as part of their rollout of the majority of Filmation series that have not reverted back to licensee companies.  They invented Ark II themselves like so many a great show.

 

The vehicle was later recycled without wheels as The Seeker from Space Academy, though Avia Toys did the Mego-like toys for that series.  To learn more about Space Academy at the following link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4874/Space+Academy+–+The+Complete

 

 

It is unclear what size the toys would have been or if they would be base don the live action hit series and/or the aborted animated show that the new DVD boxes’ extras shows was in the planning stage at one time.  For sure, it could have been a great toy line, especially if there had been a playset based on the full Ark II interior, a great line of action figures had been made and The Bell Rocket Belt (the jet pack was first seen in the 1964 James Bond film Thunderball for a general audience) would be a collector’s favorite then and now.

 

Ironically, that first page picture is the best shot I have of the Roamer since the TV show prints on the DVD are standard definition digital backup copies and frames like the one on the next page are copied form that material.  Though we never got the box to review formally, the DVD set has some great extras, the show holds up well and the picture quality is average, but looks better than the picture on the next page.

 

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http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/essay/5186/Mego+Mystery+Vehicle+Identity+(Page