Dragons: Riders Of Berk (2012/Fox/DreamWorks DVD)/Power Rangers: From Mighty Morphin To Lost Galaxy! (1993/Shout
Factory DVD Box Set w/Mighty Morphin
Power Rangers – Season One, Vol. 2)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B-/C+ Extras: C/B- Episodes: C+/B-
Now for
some new DVD releases of interest to TV fans of children’s adventure, fantasy
and action.
First we
have Dragons: Riders Of Berk (2012)
a TV spin-off of DreamWorks Animation’s hit CG animated How To Train Your Dragon and it is not a bad show for what it is, a
way to continue the film’s ideas in a watchable series. We get four episodes here and it is not bad
or badly done throughout, plus you don’t even have had to see the actual
feature to enjoy it. It is also done
intelligently, respecting its intended audience.
It likely
would work better in conjunction with the feature, but this is one of the only
TV shows I know of from the company, so that in itself is a plus. As shown on Cartoon Network, we’ll see if
this one takes off to be a hit.
Extras include
collectable trading cards inside the DVD case, plus featurettes on the new
stage show based on How To Train Your
Dragon and a sneak preview of Madly
Madagascar.
Coming on
its 20th Anniversary (yikes) is Power
Rangers: From Mighty Morphin To Lost Galaxy!, a new 40-DVD box set of all
the original episodes of the original hit TV show, plus its Zeo sequel
series. We specifically got to look at
the 3-DVD Mighty Morphin Power Rangers –
Season One, Vol. 2 set and I have to say I was never a fan of this show,
though we have several writers on this site who are and never totally
understood its appeal. That it has made
a comeback is even more surprising.
I can see
it as an Ultraman (reviewed
elsewhere on this site) for its time, but is so bad to me that it plays like Super Inframan (also reviewed elsewhere
on this site) minus the ironic comedy, even in its lesser U.S.
version. Either way, it is back and
maybe here to stay. That makes the set
the first seven seasons worth of the franchise plus extensive DVD bonus content
(from the press release) that includes Morphin
Time! – A look back at Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with members of the
cast, crew and creative team, A
Morphenomenal Cast – Casting director Katy Wallin and the show’s stars
recall what is took to become Power Rangers, The Fans Power Up – Mighty Morphin Power Rangers fans remember the
series, Lord Zedd’s Monster Heads, Alpha’s Magical Christmas, Rare Mighty
Morphin Power Rangers Fan Club Video, MMPR Karate Club: The White Ranger Kata, Power
Rangers Live: The World Tour, Tales of
The Giant Bonana – Paul Schrier and Jason narvy look back at the fun and
chemistry behind fan-favorite characters “Bulk” and “Skull”, Behind The Mask: Celebrating The Stunt Team
– Stunt coordinator Jeff Pruitt and stunt team members Bridgett Riley and Sophia
Crawford recall what it really took to be a Power Ranger, A Conversation with Attitude – An intimate look into Power Morphicon
– a fan-created convention exclusively honoring Power Rangers!, The Last Episode – hosted by Austin St.
John and Walter Emmanuel Jones and Power
Playback: Power Rangers’ Funniest Moments hosted by Johnny Young Bosch.
All that
at least has some curio value for non-fans, but will likely be must-haves for fans
which is why the box should sell very well and you can get it by going to the
link at the end of the page.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Dragon
is decent for a DVD of CG animation that is some of the better on TV today with
good color and definition throughout, though it makes me curious to see a
Blu-ray version. The 1.33 X 1 on all the
Rangers DVDs show their age, shot on
film (likely 35mm) but finished extensively on low-def analog video and
establishing Saban’s cheap look forever.
If we ever see these on Blu-ray, it will take more work and compromises
than what CBS has been doing in their impressive Star Trek: The Next Generation upgrades.
The lossy
Dolby Digital 5.1 on Dragon has some
nice surrounds and is not badly recorded throughout, while the lossy Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo on all the Rangers DVDs show their age and bit and can be a
little bright and harsh at times, but this is the way they were recorded and
presented to begin with, so that is the way they are.
You can
order the Power Rangers DVD box at
this link:
powerrangersondvd.com
- Nicholas Sheffo
