Gregatron's G1 DVD Box Set Review!!!!
Gregatron
Well, it's here at last! But does it measure up? Let's find out....
PACKAGING:
The set comes in a lovely fold-out, silver-foil box, with "The
Original Transformers" engraved on the front. Niiiice. The back gives
a list of the 16 season 1 episodes contained in the set, as well as
some of the special features. Opening the package reveals Rhino-drawn
versions of Megatron pointing from his throne (from "More than Meets
the Eye Part 1"), Rumble standing above him on a catwalk,(also from
MTMTE Pt. 1), and, on the opposite side, Optimus Prime pointing (from
MTMTE Part 2). Opening the box further reveals Wheeljack on the left
side (fighting the previous shot of Rumble, from MTMTE Pt. 1) and Disc
4 of the set on the right. Unfolding the left side one more time
reveals...
CASE EXTRAS:
A nice slipcase-type folder holds an ad for Transformers toys, two
animation-type cels, and an episode/disc guide. The same cels come
with every box set, are Rhino-drawn (Rhino-artist drawings based on
actual episode screenshots) and depict:
Cel # 1: Skywarp and Starscream carrying Energon cubes (From
"Transport to Oblivion")
Cel # 2: Close-up of an angry Rumble (From "Divide and Conquer", I
believe. I haven't seen EVERY episode in the set, yet.)
The episode guide gives synopses of the 16 episodes, chapter
titles/numbers, and special feature listings. The booklet is full of
Rhino-drawn pics of G1 characters as well as screenshots from the
episodes themselves.
MENUS:
The menus are very G1-themed. We start with a shot of space, then pan
down to a Rhino-drawn Ark (with only three thrusters instead of the
correct five; the series ofter made this error, too.) wedged in the
volcano (looks more like a grass-covered hill). We go inside a
Rhino-drawn Autobot HQ and hear the classic TF theme song. Images from
the episodes play on the monitor screens on the left wall and hanging
from the ceiling.
PICTURE:
THE GOOD:
The original commercial bumpers now appearat the end of each act. It
appears that the episodes' opening title sequences were created with
the 1" Broadcast Master (see below), and thus look the same as always.
The picture quality for the episodes themselves, though, is quite
striking. The colors and sharpness are nearly as vibrant and crisp as
Rhino's restoration of TFTM. There are still many imperfections,
scratches, etc. in the picture, but overall it's a real delight. I
noticed that MTMTE Pt. 1-3 seemed to have more picture damage that
subsequent episodes. All I can say is...WOW. Good stuff. Way better
than my old, washed-out, fuzzy bootleg videos. I've yet to see every
episode, but I'm sure they'll look just as nice. I LOVE the lush,
vibrant colors. This is the way that the actual animation cels
probably looked as they were painted. This is probably the way these
episodes were meant to be seen.
THE BAD: Well, there are some minor (and not so minor) differences
between these DVD episodes and the versions we're all used to. For
example, in "Fire in the Sky", Skyfire's Decepticon symbol is now red
in some shots, whereas in the old broadcasts, it was always the
correct purple. According to the "Restoration" featurette on Disc 4,
the explaination would be that the masters used to make the DVD were
"less complete" than the final braodcast versions, so to speak.
Rhino had two versions to work from:
1. 1" Broadcast Masters (what we've seen on TV and video for years and
years. "Final" versions of episodes used for broadcast and video
releases. Muted colors and detail, due to transfer process.)
2. 35 MM Masters (These are the original master reels, with some
earlier versions of footage that was either finished/altered later for
the 1" broadcast masters. Very lush colors and details.)
Rhino used the 35 MM masters for the DVD set. They fixed SOME of the
discrepancies between the two (Adding "speaking" flashing lights on
characters like Shockwave, etc.), but others could not be fixed. Thus,
the DVD set has some new "bloopers" and differences compared to
previous video releases. However, for the most part, we can see the
differences that the "corrected" 1" broadcast footage shows in the
comparison footage on Disc 4's "Restoration" feature.
What would you rather have? The slightly more "correct", washed-out
video/tv versions of the episodes, or the new, vibrant transfers? It's
a trade-off. Fidelity vs. historical accuracy.
SOUND:
Well, the sound has also been altered. For the 5.1 surround track, the
original soundtracks have been cleaned up quite a bit, and are now
very clear. However, Rhino has taken it upon themselves to add "new"
and "enhanced" sound effects on top of the originals. I found this
*QUITE* annoying, hearing obvious "stock" sounds layed over the
originals for explosions, laser blasts, etc. Ever the commercial
bumpers have been given this treatment! On the bright side, it appears
the 2.0 stereo track contains the ORIGINAL sound mix, thank goodness.
I'll have to check it out more thoroughly to be sure. Once again, in
terms of the 5.1, it's Fidelity vs. Historical Accuracy.
EXTRAS:
The fourth disc contains a variety of extras. The first is a series of
lengthy featurettes describing (in text form) the restoration process,
and then side-by-side, split-screen, and other comparisons between the
new 35 MM transfers and the old 1" broadcast masters, showing some of
the differences between them, which is nice. These clips are sometimes
overlaid with G1 music, which sounds *very* clear. Either Rhino
somehow got access to the orignal music cues, or they filteres out all
the sound effects/dialogue from some episodes. Still, it's great
Johnny Douglas music!!!!
There are also season 3 title sequence (from FFOD) and commercial
bumpers, the Japanese Victory title sequence, bumpers, and a scene
clip. Nice, but kind of pointless.
There are various alternate takes of scenes/commercial bumpers, with
the slates included, as well as a Rhino-annotated list of bloopers,
anomolies, and differences between the 1" broadcast master and the 35
MM transfer. As above, these clips are often overlaid with G1 music,
which sounds *very* clear.
The script for "Transport to Oblivion" is included, although it's
already on the net, so most of us have seen it. Still, it's nice.
After the last page of the script comes an...
EASTER EGG!!!!
This short reel contains various shots of "alien" and scribbled text
from computer screens seen in the episodes, with superimposed text
telling us to "ask Dr. Rhino" for translations. Cute. The reel ends
with a clip from "Countdown to Extinction", with Rhino-text asking us
what the secret code for opening the front portal to Dr. Archeville's
lab is. Nice for triva buffs. Do YOU know?
The short documentatry concerning BOTCON 2001 is nice, but lacks
substance. Mostly it's shots and interviews involving "nerds"
explaining why and how they love Transformers. The interview with Glen
Halett is more interesting, and gives insight into BOTCON's history
and inner workings.
Overall, I feel this is a worthy release of the first (and some might
say greatest) season of G1. We won't get better! Yes, there *are*
problems, but I think the fact that we now HAVE these episodes on DVD
with great image and sound outweighs that. The variations/changes from
previous versions of the episodes will doubtless cause much
conversation/arguing. I HOPE Rhino will learn from their "mistakes" on
this release when they get to season 2...and 3... Bring 'em on!!!!!
- Gregatron
Gregatron
few more observations....
1. The 2.0 soundtrack.....has the same, Rhino-added "new" sounds as
the 5.1!!!!!! ARRRRRRGGHHHH!!!!! The original mix is gone. How
annoying. I'm gonna write to them and request they don't "enhance" the
sound effects for the next box sets. George Lucas tweaking Star Wars
is one thing, but having Rhino, a company that had NOTHING to do with
making the series, adding "new" sound effects is blashpemy.
2. For some scenes, the 1" broadcast master WAS used to replace
errors/differences in the 35 MM version. Thus, we get some "correct"
scenes, but the picture quality is much lower. My gripe would be thus:
if they fixed SOME of the differences by splicing in the 1" version,
why not ALL OF THEM????? Now we have new bloopers, such as an entirely
red Trailbreaker at the beginning of "Fire on the Mountain", when they
could have used the corrected 1" master to fix the goof!!!!!
AAARRRRGGHH!
3. Maybe I missed it, but it seems Skywarp's infamous parting line to
Starscream about being a crystal nurse is not in the DVD version of
"Fire on the Mountain". Huh.
More observations are forthcoming...
- Gregatron
Gregatron
1. Here's how the sound mixes break down. "Rhino-mix" refers to the
"new" 5.1 surround mix, with the goofy, Rhino-added sound effects.
"Original mix" (which can be heard for most episodes on the 2.0 stereo
track) refers to the way the episodes originally sounded, before Rhino
got involved.
DISC 1:
More than Meets the Eye Part 1:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Original mix
More than Meets the Eye Part 2:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Original Mix
More than Meets the Eye Part 3:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Original mix
Transport to Oblivion:
5.1: Rhino-mix (In the opening titles, at least. The rest seems
unchanged.)
2.0: Rhino-mix (In the opening titles, at least. The rest seems
unchanged.)
Roll for it:
5.1: Rhino-mix (In the opening titles, at least. The rest seems
unchanged.)
2.0: Rhino-mix (In the opening titles, at least. The rest seems
unchanged.)
DISC 2:
Divide and Conquer:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Rhino-mix
Fire in the Sky:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Rhino-mix
S.O.S. Dinobots:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Rhino-mix
Fire on the Mountain:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Rhino-mix
War of the Dinobots:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Rhino-mix
DISC 3:
The Utlimate Doom Part 1:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Original mix
The Utlimate Doom Part 2:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Original mix
The Utlimate Doom Part 3:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Original mix
Countdown to Extinction:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Original mix
A Plague of Insecticons:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Original mix
Heavy Metal War:
5.1: Rhino-mix
2.0: Original mix
2. Countdown to Extinction seems to be based entirely on the 1"
broadcast master, as the picture quaility is lower and there are no
differences from previous broadcasts/video versions.
3. Heavy Metal War has been totally f***ed up!!!! For some scenes,
instead of replacing "blooper" 35 MM footage with 1" broadcast
footage, they spliced in shots from earlier/later in the episode!!!
For example:
When Megatron arrives at Autobot HQ to challenge Prime, here's how the
original version goes:
ORIGINAL VERSION:
MEGATRON (dodging blasts): "I have come to talk, not fight Optimus
Prime!"
Then there's one long shot of Megatron slowly floating down to land on
ground as Prime says: "Very well. Speak, Megatron!"
RHINO VERSION:
MEGATRON (dodging blasts): "I have come to talk, not fight Optimus
Prime!"
Now there are new, spliced in shots to take up most of the shot of
Megatron floating down and landing. They are:
1. "Flopped" shot of Cliffjumper lowering his arms and smiling after
he freezes Megatron a few moments earlier.
2. Shot of Megatron landing in the "arena" to battle Prime from LATER
in the episode!
We then cut to the end of the old shot, with Megatron standing on the
ground, as Prime says:
PRIME: "Very well. Speak, Megatron!"
Ugh!
- Gregatron
ma...@attcanada.ca
> 3. Maybe I missed it, but it seems Skywarp's infamous parting line to
> Starscream about being a crystal nurse is not in the DVD version of
> "Fire on the Mountain". Huh.
I just watched the episode, and the line is *definitely* on the DVD.
"Have fun playing crystal nurse, Screamer! Bye!" ;-)
All in all, I'm thrilled to have all of season 1 on DVD that any problems
from the restoration process can be overlooked.
Gregatron
Yeah, I missed it the first time 'cuz I was so distracted by Skywarp
now being colored like Thundercracker in that shot...huh.
- Gregatron