Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, the - Volume 1

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers was a show ahead of its time - it had *real* writers (Christopher Rowley and Bryan Daley to name just two of them) doing the stories and the stories they wrote were *not* fluff. The show was written and pitched without having the toy deal in place - unlike He-Man which was the toy first then a cartoon to support the toys. Then, it was lost to us fans in the states. The tapes became all but impossible to find here - but the fans didn't give up. We're quiet, but we're here and when we got word that this project was *finally* in the works we were skeptical - having heard that line before. This time, it's happening. Having seen the cleaned up video - all I can say is **wow.** It was sovibrant and crystal clear! I'm breathless with anticipation in seeing the rest of the series in surround sound digital audio and the cleaned up video. Galaxy Rangers is truly one fo the lost treasures in terms of 80's cartoons with its stories and strong characters. The thing that makes it stand out from so many other cartoons is that the female member of the team is *not* a token character - she more than pulls her weight when it comes to either hand to hand combat with the bad guys or using her considerable pyschic talents to pull the team's fat out of the fire. The cartoon has withstood the test of time with its quality animation and superbly written stories. I highly recommend this show for anyone looking for a quality cartoon to watch with their kids. It's written so that the whole family can watch this. As for Sir Robert's hope to do a direct-to-DVD movie.... Wow! I would be first in line to buy that! :)

(What does BETA stand for, and what is BETA?) BETA stands for Bureau of Extra Terrestrial Affairs. Moreover, BETA is like our United Nations here on earth; inclusively, its members are from different "other worldly" cultures as well. (What are the Galaxy Rangers?) They are a para-police or para-military law enforcement organization based upon the past lore and glory of the Texas Rangers. More importantly, they are the enforcers/peacekeepers of BETA. (Who are the Galaxy Rangers?) Their is a special segment of the Ranger Corps that utilizes a cranial device that enhances their individual and personal attributes. These Rangers are: Zachery Foxx, Shane Gooseman, Niko (the only woman on the team), Dr. Walter Hartford, Waldo Zeptic (an Andorian), and Zozo (a Kiwi). (How was this series produced?) INITIALLY, it was decided that this entire production would not be associated with a toy line; in fact, I only saw them on a child's lunch box being offered at a grocery wholesaler where I often shopped back in the late 80's. MOREOVER, unlike other animations of the 1980's, the artwork was rendered first. Then, the voice actors were flown to Japan to do the sound recordings. As a base of reference, they viewed the artwork first which guided their recordings. This technique was a vast improvement in the production of later animations. LASTLY, in 1983 to 1986 dollars, the entire production cost $65 million dollars or $1 million dollars per episode. (How well did I enjoy this series?) When they first aired in the autumn of 1986, I would wake up every weekday morning at 5 am in order to watch them at 5:30 am. To me the Rangers were very special; I've been a devotee ever since. (Is this purchase worth your money?) If you like the military, special forces, and "other worldly" cultures, along with a mixture of merriment ;then, you shall like/enjoy this production. Also, this production had one of the hottest sound tracks ever recorded, which some of the tracks have been included with this offer. Purchase both volumes, you won't be disappointed.

Wow, I had almost lost hope this series would be released, I did not live in the US for a while so I totally missed the previous (and crappy out of order) release of individual DVDs, but when I saw this on Amazon I had to get them... and I am not disappointed at al. This series is more interesting than its peers of the time, it is not up to modern standards but it is still very worth your time if you are ok with watching older animation. But this show was actually farmed out to Japan (one of the first I believe) so the animation is also better than the average show of the time and has anime touches to it. Beware they were trying to get a toy line going so that they would not cancel the show so they had to do some campy episodes and believe they are very campy, but when they have plot driving episodes they are awesome.. Hopefully someone will pick this up and make a new cartoon series with as much love and budget as the Justice League or the spectacular spiderman. The potential is definitely there and Firefly just further proved that space cowboys is a concept that is appealing and works, they just need to put more complexity to the characters already there to be more in line with modern cartoons (sorry, I do not count spongebob, johnny test or any of the current half drawn half scripted garbage they make kids watch these days). Do not skip this one, if you are short on cash rent it but I would strongly suggest you buy this it is a classic you will want both volumes in your collection.

One of my favorites, and the first Anime ever made. Galaxy Rangers is a complex "cartoon" that was made in the 1980's and is still relevant today. It's set on earth, but with a tone that sets it apart from other "alien" type dramas. Each storyline is written so that previous events actually play into the continuity of the series. In some respects some episodes are written as though there's a past episode that exists that you didn't get to see. The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers follows the "Police-Action" of a group of what can only be described as "Rough Riders" from the days of Teddy Roosevelt, whereby while they use guns that fire lasers, those lasers require ammunition, and while they ride horses, the horses are mechanical and can talk. It's basically a true Western at heart, without the similar plot, of someone's land being stolen, or someone's cattle being rustled. It's essentially the cartoon version of the Magnificent 7, only in this case only 4 are needed. Follow the series with "Doc Hartford" the computer genius, "Nico" the beautiful yet psychic empath, Ranger Fox, the loving dad and only semi-widowed person in the world, as his wife's mind is held inside one of the Queen of the Crown's psycho crystals. Lastly, we have the "Gooseman" who's ever changing forms, make for some real fancy sci-fi fantasy, as he adapts with his personal powers to almost any situation. It's quite an adventure ride as we encounter various alien species, bad guys, and good girls. Tons of Fun.

When I was a child, I loves this Cartoon. It is excellent to have a new opportunity to have a part of my remembers as a boy through this. But is a pity that the DVD collection does not have the Spanish version.

This is the second in the series, if you can call it that; most episodes stand alone, and the intro to each show gives you most of the info you need to start out. It's four episodes, mostly dealing with the character of Shane Gooseman; thus the DVD title "Supertroopers". (You won't know what I'm talking about there unless you've watched it. That's ok.) The DVD quality is very good. They kindly set it so that you can skip the little intro at the beginning if you want to, just by pressing the "next scene" button on your DVD. I like that; it's a small thing but a courtesty that means a lot to me, as I've seen some DVD sets of more recent and popular shows that were less user-friendly and made you fast-forward instead. Very inconsiderate of them. *sniff* Again, as in my review for the other DVD, the basics: it's a space western cartoon from the late 80's early 90's timeframe. The animation is poor in the execution of movement; jerky and stilted. The dialog is not great. But the plots and general art quality are very, very well done; surprisingly sophisticated. And there are some jokes I get now that I missed then. Anyone ever seen "Blazing Saddles"? Walk this way.... All in all, I'm glad I got it and I hope they put out the rest of the episodes on DVD. I was afraid that when I watched it again as an adult I'd be disapointed, but instead I'm catching little things I missed and enjoying it in a different way. Long, Boring Side Note: As an adolescent watching the show, I became a little confused by Shane's name. The traditional spanish name "Guzeman" is the closest regular last name in pronounciation, so I wondered if he was actually supposed to be "Shane Guzeman" and everyone was just ribbing him, as military and law enforcement people do to their teammates when you have a last name that lends itself to that. After all, a significant portion of Spanish people are blonde, if not green-eyed; and gentic engineering could explain an appearance differing significantly from the given name. But the DVD case spells it as it sounds: Gooseman, so presumeably that's what it was always intended to be. Mystery solved...

There's putting a cult classic on DVD, and there's doing it RIGHT. Kosh totally did it right. This is what got me started on Space Western. Without it, I would never have spared Firefly a second glance. Like Firefly, it didn't get a long run, the suits didn't know what to do with it, the ratings were good but in the wrong demographics, the time slots were dreadful (I got up at 4AM to see it as a kid!), and the series was aired out of order, scrambling the mytharc. Despite all this, it still had more under the hood than anything the competition was offering and a frighteningly well-developed universe for the fan brigade to run with. Yeah...Mandell and Whedon could seriously compare notes. Kosh made sure the series was in the right order (mostly - a couple eps still feel a bit out of place), had commentary from Robert Mandell (who focuses mostly on the production hell), Henry Mandell (man of 1000 voices for the series...some of it to circumvent SAG rules because Henry is Robert's kid brother), and Christopher Rowley (writer/story editor/deadpan snarker). Supplementary material like character guides, ship designs, and original artwork is a godsend for the still-productive fanfic and fan art crews. The original pilot...chilling. Most of it was recycled for "Phoenix," but *shudder* Mandell was merciful to Zach in the final draft. As a final dessert to the awesome banquet - Kosh put the SOUNDTRACK in. The soundtrack is high-energy 80's rock, bordering between New Wave and early progressive metal, and definitely adds to the charm and atmosphere. In conclusion, if there is *any* creation of the 80's that deserves a second chance in the form of a movie or new series, this is the one that I would see with my last ten bucks, opening night, at a midnight showing, even if I had work the next day.

Excellent product and it arrived in excellent condition! Let's start with the most important disclaimer: If you can't stand 80's cartoons, or cartoons in general, this is obviously not the product for you. That said, cartoon enthusiasts who may never have heard of this 1986 show might enjoy it and people who were lucky enough to grow up with it may be delighted to discover their nostalgia is fully justified. I came across the show thanks to Hulu, which offers the entire thing free to view. Starting there, I knew I liked what I saw. The only problem with the Hulu version is that the sound quality is poor, with background music and effects overpowering the vocal tracks and no subtitles to help clarify. These DVDs have a much higher quality audio. Checking it out on Hulu first to see if you'll want it is probably a good way to decide whether or not to make this purchase! It can be surprisingly dark for a children's show at times but also quirky, with a snarky self-aware sense of humor. There are a few bad episodes in there but they're in the minority and largely occur in the middle of the show's run. What makes up for that is that the show has consistent continuity, and seeing the characters-- even the wide gallery of rogues and secondary characters-- grow and change and meet each other is pretty neat! A final warning: the themesong is devilishly catchy and might stick in your head. If you hate belting out feel-good 80's rock, beware!