Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles "The Tesca Campaign" is the second volume in the series, but the fourth episode arc containing episodes 16-20. It's a shame that Columbia TriStar didn't release this show in order. Although it's animated, the show builds upon previous episodes to develop the characters and further the story line. I was lucky because I picked this DVD up after volumes 3 and 4 came out so I was able to watch it in the order the series was aired. People that haven't seen the show before will become lost with this volume because so much happened in episodes 6-15.
Video
I found the first episode rather dark but I blame the rendering and lighting rather than the transfer. The first episode was set during dawn with long shadows and poor lighting. Even taking this into account the picture is a little too dark and details in shadows suffer. As with the previous volumes, there are a few rendering problems. Objects that appear in the distance shimmer due to the increased resolution of the DVD format, and probably due to some settings used in Lightwave, the 3D program used to animate the series. A bit of video noise is present in the in the picture.
Audio
In a baffling move, this disc doesn't contain a Dolby Digital 5.1 track like the previous "Pluto" disc (as well as the next 2 volumes released), but instead contains a bland Dolby Surround track. The rear speakers are hardly used and panning in the front speakers weren't used nearly enough. The entire audio mix seemed "trapped" in the front speaker. It's very unfortunate because this is a release that screams for a great Dolby Digital 5.1 mix with awesome surround effects and cool panning. Technically the audio is fine; the voices come through clear, the music is fine and there's no hissing sounds or distortion. French, Spanish and Portuguese tracks are included with the English track. There are English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Thai subtitles as well.
Filmmakers' Commentary
I just can't say enough about the commentary tracks included on the "Roughnecks" DVD releases. We have a great commentary track with Audu Paden (Producer), Jeff Kline (Co-Executive Producer), Alan Caldwell (Episode Director) and others. The track is full of excellent information about the series, the problems and the history. It's never dull and is a great way to spend an hour and a half. Fans of the series will love it.
Filmmakers' Photos
6 photos taken during the commentary recording.
Trailers
A trailer for "The Pluto Campaign" (1:03) and another for "3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain" (1:04) are included.
Photo Gallery
The photo gallery holds 80 drawings from the episodes and show.
Summary
As mentioned before, it's a shame this volume was released out of order. The disc is weak on extras, but at least it contains the excellent commentary track. I really liked this story arc and I'm looking forward to the next DVDs which I'll be reviewing shortly.
