Galaxy Rangers 1: Tortuna [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

This is one of my favorite TV shows ever. I hope that we will see the entire series released after these discs. I highly recommend these two new DVD releases to both fans and newcomers.

To newcomers, this is not some campy old show. It stands up quite well with shows today. The voice acting is solid and features the guy from "Law & Order" in one of the lead roles. Unlike a lot of shows at the time, and even now, the heroes do not face the same old villain every week. But there is continuity so sometimes villains will return or even team-up. There are plenty of returning supporting characters that you will get to know over the course of the series, too. This is science fiction on the frontier (or "Sci-fi Western", if you will). Even though it's a very American show, the animation is Japanese as well as using some nice computer graphics mixed in. Again, I highly recommend it. If you're still not convinced, I recommend getting Supertroopers first. It will sell you on the other one so you're better off going for both to get free shipping!

As for fans of the show, I doubt you need any coaxing from me to order these discs. Here's one, though: it looks like the episodes on these two new DVD's (Supertroopers and Tortuna) are all different episodes than what's been released on disc before (ie, the single laserdisc release or the UK DVD). I've read that the following episodes will be on the new releases:

Tortuna: "Tortuna," "One Million Emotions," "Scarecrow," and "Heart of Tarkon."

Supertroopers: "Supertroopers," "Galaxy Stranger," "Shoot Out," and "Battle of the Bandits."

The laserdisc: "Tower of Combat," "Changeling," "Lord of the Sands," "Trouble at Texton," and "Rogue Arm."

And the UK DVD (region 0): "Phoenix" and "New Frontier."

I was just 13 when "Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers" first hit the airwaves, but it made a tremendous impression on me in a way few action/adventures cartoons of that or any era have. The stories were engaging, the characters well-drawn (in both senses of the word) and fleshed-out, the world Robert Mandell, Owen Lock, Christopher Rowley and the rest of the talented writing staff created was utterly compelling.

Blending elements from "Star Wars" space opera and classic Westerns such as "The Magnificent Seven" and "Fist Full of Dollars", "Galaxy Rangers" stood head and shoulders above other animated space westerns like the largely forgettable "Brave Starr" and "Sabre Rider" and I'm pleased to say it definitely stands the test of time for me, being just as entertaining now as when I first saw it in 1986.

This remastered release is what the fans have been waiting for. With digitally restored episodes and newly remastered 5.1 sound, the show have never looked or sounded better. It's a real treat for longtime fans, and will no doubt garner new fans as well! If you enjoyed "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Gargoyles" in the 1990s, then don't miss some of the very best of the 1980s with"Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers."

I'm very happy to report that I wasn't. This is the first of two DVD's currently out. The Galaxy Rangers was a space western cartoon that ran in the late 80's or early 90's, and I used to rush home from school to watch it.

Watching them again from the perspective of adulthood, I can see flaws: the animation is jerky and the characters are sometimes badly done; the dialouge is poor. But the backgrounds and the general quality of the drawing is terrific, and the plots are more sophisticated than you might expect for a kid's show.

The quality of the DVD itself is very good too; you can tell that some care went into this, which is nice to see. Too many companies put out quick and dirty DVD's just to get a few bucks off the fans; this was put together with a bit of pride in the DVD, which is nice.

Hopefully more will be released; I'd love to get the whole series on DVD.

Long, Boring Side Note: I do have to wonder if Joss Whedon ever watched this series. Obviously "Firefly" is better done (It's quite possibly the best series ever made, so that's no slur on this cartoon) but some bits and pieces remind me of this... in a very small and general way. Of course, that could be just because they're both space westerns and there are bound to be genre similarities. But it would be nice to think that my TV-making hero watched the same stuff as me when he was a kid.