Look out, it's The Swamp Thing! by Gord Lacey (All reviews)
12/14/2007
When an attempt on Dr. Alec Holland's life leaves him consumed by the deadly chemicals and fire, the swamps of Louisiana transform him into a superhuman creature hell-bent on ridding the swamp - and the world - of the evil that men do.
Based on the legendary DC Comics character, the USA Network commissioned a total of 72 episodes of this cult favorite that aired between 1990-93. Starring Dick Durock (reprising his title role from the popular Swamp Thing feature films), Mark Lindsay Chapman, Carrell Myers and featuring Kari Wuher (Sliders), Swamp Thing: The Series follows the tortured creature that was once a man and his quest to regain the humanity that was taken from him, purging the swamp of evildoers along the way.
I've had extremely limited exposure to The Swamp Thing over the years. I remembered it was a comic, and knew a movie was based on the comic, but I didn't realize there was a series until I saw it on a list of titles Universal was looking to license. The set arrived the other day, and I was interested in taking a look at the series that I knew almost nothing about.
The set includes the first season, all 22 episodes, in the order they were meant to be seen:
Disc 1 (2:43:51)
The Emerald Heart (23:22)
Falco (23:24)
Treasure (23:24)
From Beyond the Grave (23:26)
Blood Wine (23:25)
Grotesquery (23:24)
New Acquaintance (23:26)
Disc 2 (2:20:34)
Natural Enemy (23:23)
Spirit of the Swamp (23:27)
Legend of the Swamp Maiden (23:27)
The Death of Dr. Arcane (23:25)
The Living Image (23:25)
The Shipment (23:27)
Disc 3 (1:57:07)
Birthmarks (23:25)
The Dark Side of the Mirror (23:26)
Silent Screams (23:25)
Walk a Mile in my Shoots (23:25)
The Watcher (23:26)
Disc 4 (1:33:44)
The Hunt (23:26)
Touch of Death (23:26)
Tremors of the Heart (23:27)
The Prometheus Parabola (23:25)
Video
I went back and forth between giving the video a 6 or a 7, and ultimately decided on a 7. There are a few problems with the video, such as the high-contrast in the opening of the series, and the debris on the print scattered throughout each episode. The dust and debris can be distracting, but it lessened as the season went on (I think the first episode is the worst). Each disc contains a "play all" option, and there's a chapter set after the opening of each episode.
These episodes are not in airdate order, but rather the order which makes the most sense to watch them in.
Audio
Okay, two thing to mention about this release; the Shout! Factory opening is very loud, and the show is a tad quiet. I noticed some dialog was bleeding into the rear speakers in the Dolby ProLogic II encoding, though I had to place my ear very close to the speaker in order to hear it. My main concern is that the audio is much quieter than I'm used to, so I had to remember to turn the audio down before switching to something else. There aren't any subtitles or captions for the episodes.
Len Wein (co-creator of The Swamp Thing) and Dick Durock (Swamp Thing) talk about the character, the series, and the costume.
Summary
This is one of the campiest shows I've ever seen. I know this is based on a comic book, but wow, the dialog is horrible, the acting is pretty brutal, and the show screams "LOW BUDGET!" While those are all huge knocks against the show, I found myself drawn to it, watching episode after episode. I think fans of the show watched it because it was campy, and that's why they'll buy this DVD set.
Hopefully season 1 sells well enough that we'll see more on the way in 2008.
