The start of a great show
by Gord Lacey (All reviews) |
2/03/2002 |
Roughnecks is one of those shows that I kept meaning to watch on TV but always seemed to miss it. Thanks to Columbia TriStar Home Video I can watch them whenever I want.
"The Pluto Campaign" contains episodes 1-5 from the series. We're introduced to the characters rather quickly, but get to know them as the episodes progress. I watched "The Hydora Campaign" before watching Pluto which was unfortunate for me. Everything made a lot more sense when I started with Pluto, the first episode arc in the show.
Video
The video transfer for this release is flawless. I didn't notice any of the texture problems that were present in "The Hydora Campaign". I didn't notice any compression artifacts and there were no dust specs. Although the transfer is perfect, the colors seem a little dark. I popped the DVD in my computer DVD player and noticed a lot of noise in the dark areas. However, I didn't notice this when watching the disc on my player hooked up to my TV. I enjoyed the disc, but found the quality a little lacking compared to the other releases. The picture is a little soft compared to Pixar animation, but that's due to the software used. Audio
There are 5 different audio tracks included on "The Hydora Campaign" and I listened to the English Dolby Digital 5.1 track for this review. Most dialog comes from the center speaker with the left and right speakers used when characters are speaking off screen. There are lots of explosions, gunfire and spaceships that use all the speakers and sound great. The rears aren't used a lot, but you'll hear some nice ambient sounds that help add to the audio mix. Also included on the disc are English Surround, French, Spanish and Portuguese tracks.
Although the audio is good, I found it was lacking bass. I wanted to feel the explosions, not just hear them. I know it's a TV show, but the audio was remastered for DVD release so I expected a little bit more. It sounds nice, but could have been a little better. Extras - How we rate extras
Trailers
"The Pluto Campaign" contains 5 trailers for Columbia TriStar movies. They are: "Godzilla 2000", "Karate Kid Part III", "Labyrinth", "3 Ninjas: Knuckle Up" and "The Dark Crystal". "Godzilla 2000" contains a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and widescreen video while the others are full frame and contain stereo audio.
Photo Gallery
The photo gallery holds 33 drawings from the show. Summary
I'm glad Columbia TriStar Home Video decided to release "Roughnecks" on DVD since I missed it when it was aired on TV. Since I watched this release after watching "The Hydora Campaign" I really missed the excellent commentary tracks included on the other release. |
