Dungeons & Dragons - The Complete Animated Series [DVD]

And I was right. All four volumes containing all 27 episodes are housed in an elegant case made to look like a large tome (a spellbook, perhaps?). The boxset will look great on any DVD shelf but of course its value goes deeper than good looks. I feared that much of the show's magic would have diminished over the years especially when I watched it as an adult but I was wrong. Every episode was as thrilling and satisfying as I remembered as a child.

The extras included are nothing special but there's one or two worth clicking your DVD remote control at. There is an interesting interview with writer Micheal Reeves whose insights into the show's characters provide for a better appreciation of the show. There's also a featurette that looks at the opening sequence made for the second season which is now no longer used (watch it to find out why!). In addition, there are fan commentaries on many of the episodes.

If I had to make a negative comment, it's the fact that there was never a concluding episode made. The show ends abruptly and we never see our heroes fulfil their mission of getting back home. This is rather unfortunate given that the collection's tagline is "Only heroes will make it home". Despite this, Dungeons and Dragons is fantasy viewing at its best. Get your copy now and get spellbound all over again.

I was gutted when they originally axed the show, but always hoped and prayed for a revival. Afterall, it WAS the best show on tv, in my opinion. They just had to! But, alas, it never happened. My poor dad used to rent the series out for me from our local video shop, (Which closed down when I was eight), and ever since I have been left wandering aimlessly round the flea markets or trawling car boot sales endeavouring to find a rare VHS cassette of the show - with no luck!

I almost gave my boyfriend the shock of his life when I noticed it on Amazon back in May last year as I literally squealed with excitement! (He made me wait for the box set, which almost killed me - ALMOST! But I am so glad I did!)

So if you are as enchanted, (And as obsessed), as I am with this wonderful series - invest! It is worth EVERY penny! Just get the house to yourself for a couple of days, get the popcorn, and sit down and enjoy!

And as for the comments regarding whether it is the whole series or not - well, it is. Some people I think are getting confused when they say they remember the group getting home, but in truth, they never did. (Well, not at the end.) The series ended with them still looking for their way back, I'm afraid, and their is no 'final' or concluding happy ending. I suppose I like it better that way, as their adventures continue...

I'll leave you with an extract from a web site by Mark Evanier, who developed the ideas for the cartoon and wrote the pilot episode, 'Night of No Tomorrow'

http://povonline.com/cols/COL145.htm

"That leaves us with the urban legend I wish to dispel. Here is the truth of the matter - in bold type, no less:

There was NO "final episode" of Dungeons & Dragons.

Now, let me get more specific. There was a final episode, in the sense that they stopped making them. There was even an episode wherein the kids thought they'd gotten home, but actually didn't. There was no "final episode" in the sense of doing one wherein the kids finally vanquished Venger and returned home from the magical dimension, thereby ending the series.

I'd love to have done one, and I even had some ideas about what it might have encompassed. But the way network TV animation deals work, when you do your last episode, you almost never know it's your last episode, and that was the case here.

About once a week on the Internet, someone asks where they can get a copy of this episode. I usually drop them a little E-note telling them it was never made. Half the time, they write back and give me an argument: They saw it, they know it existed, I'm wrong. One even wrote, 'You only started the show. You're not an authority on how it ended.' "