Defenders Of The Earth - The Complete Series, Vol. 1
Marvel Productions gave an invigorating update to a trio of venerable comic strip heroes in the '80s animated seriesDefenders of the Earth; though the teaming of Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, and The Phantom did not prove as popular with young viewers as they did some fifty years before (the show lasted just one season, and the Marvel tie-in comic only ran for four issues), the concept clearly had a following, as evidenced by this impressive five-disc set. The series' premise, which takes place in the year 2015, pits space adventurer Flash Gordon against his longtime foe Ming the Merciless, who is again bent on dominating the Earth; to thwart Ming's plans, Flash teams with jungle king The Phantom and spellcaster Mandrake the Magician (whose henchman, Lothar, has been here promoted to fulltime hero status), as well as their respective offspring, to protect the planet. Though to most kid viewers-–both in 1986 and today–-these classic King Features Syndicate characters don't carry the same level of freight as in their parents' (or grandparents') day, the partnership does makes for some exciting adventures, and the superheroes-and-super-offspring angle plays a lot better than it sounds. TheDefendersset contains the first 33 episodes of the series and provides a wealth of supplemental material and background information that should please longtime fans of the show; featurettes include interviews with the voice talent and series producers, an image gallery of sketches and model sheets, and character profiles, and the producers and several voice actors are reunited to provide commentary for the pilot episode, "Escape from Mongo." But perhaps the most intriguing extra is the original presentation pilot, which offers very different characters and animation than in "Escape from Mongo." DVD-ROM owners can also view complete episodic scripts and storyboards in PDF format.-- Paul Gaita