"Kitty is excited!"
I know that sounds like an odd thing to say, but it's actually a quote from the very first episode of
Voltron: King Zarkon comments on this to the witch, Haggar, about her blue cat, and she responds that he is excited because their prisoners, the space explorers, are about to arrive on Planet Doom. The "kitty" comment is one of Zarkon's first lines ever...right after boasting that "Voltron is no match for me...any one of my robeast gladiators could easily defeat him." Events would prove him wrong, of course!
But I'm excited. Very excited!
Voltron: Defender of the Universe is coming to DVD at last, and the folks at Media Blasters really liked
my semi-review of the promo disc a couple of weeks ago. Yes, they even liked that I caught a typo error in one of the "main location" on-screen titles (more on that shortly). So they were nice enough to send me a set of check discs, featuring the final form of the 3 DVDs that were sent as masters to the production house for printing (or disc-stamping, or whatever it's properly called). They even tossed in a copy of the brightly colored insert booklet, with the original airdates, story synopses, and more. I've got a glimpse of that in the pics below, that I've scanned in for you. Their request was that I look it over for more typos or any other issues I felt needed to be brought to mind. In exchange, I get to show off more of it to all of you guys, with more screen captures, and anything else I want to tell you about it. After all, Media Blasters doesn't mind the publicity!
Well, I'm happy to make my official report about the quality of this set: WOW! I am pleased to say that I found no other typos, and that "Galaxy Garrison" was spelled correctly when that main location title flashed up on-screen in episodes after the first one. All throughout, the video was the best you've ever seen for
Voltron, and the audio was perfect. I mean that: perfect; not a word I use about DVD's very often. One of the extras did an effective job of showing you why, and the other extras were fun and fascinating as well. The extras aren't as extensive as those on BCI's
He-Man DVDs, but no matter: what's there is clearly important to understanding the history of how
Voltron came to be, and how much effort went into these DVDs. Let me sum this up: no
Voltron fan should miss this release! Now I just have to wait to get my official store-bought copy in the collectible tin, and I'll be set.
Let me also comment on two things: 1) Yes, the show holds up. It's as enjoyable as ever! 2) Yes, your own kids will enjoy it. My son, age 8, was so excited to see and watch these DVDs, and he had a great time getting into the show and the characters. "I'm Keith!" he would shout at some points. "I'm Voltron!," he would shout at other times. It was an eerie reflection of something that gets mentioned in one of the extras, let me tell you! Yes, everyone is in for a good time. Yes, my wife enjoyed it, too!
Another thing Media Blasters appreciated was that our readers were asking us to ask them (at Media Blasters) all the right questions. And
they were pretty free with the answers. Since then, our readers asked a few more questions about these
Voltron DVD releases, so let's look at them and the answers I came up with, based on info from Media Blasters and with looking at the first 3 discs:
- Q) Will there be any chance that future Voltron DVDs will have footage that was removed from the show because it was too violent?
- A) You get a glimpse of that sort of footage in the extras on the first DVD set, as the explore "The Birth Of Voltron," and explain its GoLion origins. There probably won't be any more than that on the proper Voltron releases.
- Q) Any chance in that once they finish releasing Voltron, that will go back and put out the show in it's original non-Voltron form: IE a dubbed or subtitled version of GoLion?
- A) Yes, it was already announced that both GoLion and Dairugger (the Japanese source of Vehicle Fore Voltron) will come to DVD from Media Blasters.
- Q)Will (the) Voltron releases have the original audio track, or a remixed 2.0 track, included with the 5.1? As appreciative as I am for the love and attention this franchise is receiving, I personally just dont enjoy my "classics" in anything but their original sounds in all their mono glory. 5.1 mixes especially tend to be a bit much when Im just trying to relax and get nolstalgic after a hard days of work.
- A) When you see the extra called "The Birth of Voltron," you will understand just HOW MUCH the 2.0 Stereo track **IS** the original audio version, and also understand why and how it was so easy for them to re-mix it into 5.1 Surround Sound (and they did a good job of it, too). Voltron was one of the first made-for-stereo television shows, 3 years after folks started being encouraged by MTV to listen to their TV in stereo, and the staff interviews discuss just how much effort went into making this cartoon in stereo, and there are even comments about how TV stores tuned into the show to help sell stereo TV sets! As for the 5.1 mix...try it. For at least the first 2 episodes. You'll probably like it. If not, you can always switch back.
- Q) I want to reconfirm that these sets will somehow "stack"/fit together when they're on a shelf. If so, would all Voltron releases somehow fit together, from the Lion to Vehicle tins?
- A) Since the tins for the sets beyond Lion Force Voltron have not been designed yet, it would be premature to guarantee you that they will all stack together for Vehicle Force ("and beyond"). But Media Blasters is aware of the issue. And if they weren't, they are now.
- Q) Will Go-Lion/Dairugar XV be released after all the American series are first completed (Lion Force, Vehicle, and Fleet of Doom) or can we expect the Japanese releases to come sometime during/before the completion of those American shows? Are the Japanese sources still being planned for next year at all?
- A) Quoting Media Blasters exactly here: "GoLion and Dairugger will be completely uncut....(but) the scheduling of the GoLion and Dairugger releases and how they'll be released have not been determined. However, it is most likely that they will be released AFTER the Voltron volumes have been released."
- Q) Did the preview disc have the commercial bumpers on it?
- A) Yes, indeed the commercial bumpers are on every episode, in all the right places. The fact that they would be included was already stated in our TVShowsOnDVD news post before last. And, as the producer of the DVDs, Sean Molyneaux, stated, the episodes flow better with these included.
- Q) Did the preview disc have "And now, some scenes from the next Voltron" toward the end of the show (just before the end credits)?
- A) Absolutely YES, they most certainly were there. Great stuff, too!
So we hope that answers everybody's questions. One more piece of good news for you, though: Over at the Home Theater Forum website, one of the members there - Demis G - reported that Amazon has lowered their price on
Voltron: Defender of the Universe - Collection 1: Blue Lion!! It was previously selling for $27.99 after Amazon's discount, but if you
check the pre-order listing it has now been reduced to $24.99! Sweet, and if you've pre-ordered it already then you ought to get the lower price. If you want to check on that, you can call Amazon's toll free customer service number at 1-800-201-7575 and make sure. The cost for
pre-ordering Collection 2: Yellow Lion from Amazon remains unchanged; it's still $27.99 at the moment. But that's still a nice price, too! Or you can
get DVDEmpire's pre-sale price of $25.25 if you prefer.
Enough talk. Who wants to see more pictures? We've got 'em, and a couple of these are special "the pictures change if you hover the mouse over them." We'll explain as we go, okay?
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Scans Of The Insert Booklet That Comes With The DVDs. Since The Front Of
It Is The Same Art As the Box, I've Chosen To Focus This Picture On The
Interior Pages. THIS DOES NOT REPRESENT THE ENTIRE BOOKLET.
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The Disc 1 Main Menu Screen. The Voltron Theme Song Plays In The Background. If You Wait Until The End Of The Song, The Lion's Eyes Glow And The Mouth Roars Open! Point Your Mouse At This Picture, Then Away & Back Again To Simulate Screen Changes.
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The Disc 2 Main Menu Screen
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The Disc 3 Main Menu Screen
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The Disc 1 Setup Menu S
creen
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The Disc 1 Scene Selection Menu Screen
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Keith Runs For His Black Lion!
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The Lions Race For The Skies To Form Voltron For The First Time
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The Princess Joins The Fight For The First Time, Manning A Gun On The Castle Walls
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THAT'S ONE UGLY ROBEAST!
Want To See It Even Uglier? Hover Your Mouse Pointer Over This Picture And See How Ugly This Scene Would Be Without Media Blasters' Careful Video Restoration Job! It's Sharper, Brighter, Framed Correctly...The Restoration Even Makes Monsters Look Beautiful!
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Voltron Stands Triumphant Over All Foes
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There Are 15 Episodes On The First DVD Set. Prince Lotor Arrives In Episode 14
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The Disc 3 Extras Menu Screen
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A Shot From "The Voltron Trilogy." The Series Was Originally Conceived As A "Trilogy" Of Rotating Stories About 3 Robots. Only 2 Of Those Stories Were Ever Told. The Original Pilot ("Take 1" and "Take 2") Gives You A Glimpse At The Show's Original Intended Format.
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"Staff Interviews: The Birth Of Voltron" Features Talks With The People Who Made The Classic Cartoon Series Happen, And How. It's An Interesting And Amazing Story...So Many Things Could Have Gone Wrong! Did You Know That Dairugger (Vehicle Force Voltron's Source) Was The Original Focus, And GoLion Was A Complete Accident?
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"The Making Of The DVDs" Takes You From The Offices At WEP (Pictured) To The Folks At Media Blasters Who Made This Release Happen, And Happen So Well. You'll Enjoy It!
An additional special feature (besides trailers of other Animeworks DVDs) is a
Voltron parody skit from the Cartoon Network/[adult swim] show
Robot Chicken. I chose not to picture it here because it can be found on the
Robot Chicken DVDs, and it also can easily be found on YouTube.com (usually marked in error as a
Power Rangers skit). Those of you who have somehow missed seeing it, just wait. It's hilarious and you'll love it, but I don't want to spoil it here. "Voltron Force - Represent!"
My thanks to the folks at Media Blasters for providing me, TVShowsOnDVD and our readers with this advance look at what is surely to become their signature product. They've done a commendable job on the DVDs. Well done!
Voltron: Defender of the Universe - Collection 1: Blue Lion forms blazing sword on
September 26th.
