Over the years, especially recently, we've had an influx of outpouring towards nostalgia in ways that I don't really remember before. Nostalgia is always there, but with the age of DVD we have been lucky to have companies that have tried their best to target shows and movies that may have otherwise not gotten any proper releases. We have such shows I remember from my childhood like Cybersix, which I had been waiting for for years, getting a release a few years ago (I have yet to get it, but included it on the Wishlist to show that, yes, I will get to writing about it at some point). I honestly wasn't sure just five years ago if we would ever see a release of it, but luckily, it happened. Yet, there are still a handful of shows that I loved growing up that haven't been talked about getting a proper home video release. Unfortunately, I know that a lot of these (most?) quite possibly won't, for a variety of reasons. Whether they are too obscure or limited by where they were targeted (a few of these are Canadian, which doesn't fair all too well), it is still good to hope and discuss. I decided not to go for some of the more obvious choices. X-Men: The Animated Series and the 90's Spider-Man have not gotten a 'Complete Series' region 1 release, though they are available as a set overseas. But while those two are obvious, as a whole, there are a few that I must mention, but those will make more sense in a moment. With all of that out of the way, here are some shows I grew up watching that I wish were to get a home video release.
Incomplete Releases To kick the list off is the aforementioned obvious choices for obvious reasons. We have a handful of shows that have gotten a good chunk of their episodes released on DVD, but then fell off for whatever reasons. Whatever reasons most likely mean money, in some cases, but we can never be too sure. While Disney Afternoon shows are an very glaring example (Darkwing Duck, Ducktales, and more are missing the final volume collecting their final handful of episodes), there are two I am going to point to specifically.
Gargoyles: Season 3 One of the greatest animated series to come from the 90's, and all around one of the greatest ever, Gargoyles is, rightly, highly regarded for its story-telling, themes, characters, tone, and so much more. It was a show that treated its audience with maturity, knowing they would be able to follow their more complex arcs and themes. In December of 2004, the first season was released on DVD. This was followed by Volume 1 of season 2 in 2005. It took us until 2013 to receive the second half of season 2, and we have yet to hear about the possibility of the final season being released at all. This is a show that is worthy of not just being given that release, but shown to newer generations, or anyone who hasn't seen it before, as it is a series that would easily become some people's go-to for new favourite discoveries from the 90's.
The Tick: Season 3 From one of the greatest dramatic animated series of the 90's and all-time to one of the funniest animated series of the 90's and all-time. The Tick is essential in surreal, hilarious writing. The verbal jokes mixed beautifully with the absolute out-there moments of visual gags, and the character designs all-around were just as hilarious, surreal, and fantastic. It ranks high on one of the most quotable shows of all time, with quite a few lines that have entered everyday usage between myself and my friends (Spoon!). If you are ever having a rough day or week, make time to watch The Tick, you won't regret it. The Tick has gotten a complete series release, in the UK. Here, we have only gotten a release of the first two seasons, in 2006 and 2007, but never the final season. Even odder, both of the seasons have one episode missing due to 'licencing rights', though the UK set is complete. I hope to someday get the final release on this side of the ocean, or even a brand new complete set, as The Tick, just like Gargoyles, would be great to introduce to new individuals who may not have seen it yet.
Nostalgic Shows; The Unreleased List
6) Sharky & George Sharky & George ranks low on the list for the sole purpose that there isn't a whole lot I actually remember about it, as this was the show I watched at an earlier age than the others. I do remember bits and pieces, but I would love to have a chance to revisit it and watch the entire thing all over, especially since the premise, of two fish detectives in Seacago facing gangs and various villains, is too good not to have great moments or be worth watching. Even though I don't remember mass moments of the series, I have always remembered the opening title song. Seriously, go to Youtube and watch the intro, it'll be stuck in your head for days.
5) Recess Probably the one show that will be most familiar to a lot of people, Recess followed a group of friends in elementary school and their day to day lives, specifically in school. The series was around for 6 seasons, with over 120 episodes, so it is surprising to me that there has never really been any DVD release of it, especially since it has quite the following and many people I talk to remember it fondly. The series also lead to four films, one theatrical and three created from compiling various episodes, which is the only way to currently get any of them on home media. I feel, out of all the shows I have on this list, Recess is the closest to receive a release by quite a margin, but considering the show ended 14-years ago and we still have yet to hear anything, that may not be as possible as one would hope.
4) Captain Star A British/Canadian series consisting of thirteen episodes, Captain Star followed a ship crew, led by the title character, to explore a planet at the edge of the universe, only to be forced to wait for further instructions from an absent Mission Control. Captain Star is an oddity of a show; surreal with its humour while also tackling various interesting themes such as ageism, the use of propaganda (though not directly), and various poking at commercialism. It has been describe as a 'children's show', though I believe it is a series that you benefit more from being a tad older watching it, and picking up on certain elements the show is hinting towards, especially the incredibly depressing implication of what is actually going on behind the scenes in terms of Mission Control and Captain Star. Though I highly doubt that the show will ever get a decent release on home video, all thirteen episodes can be found on Youtube. Though not the greatest quality, since it's obviously recorded off of TV, it is worth taking a look at to see if one would enjoy.
3) Student Bodies Following a group of friends in high school, Student Bodies was a live-action Canadian series that, with the main character being a cartoonist for the school paper, also used animation to showcase character's thoughts and daydreams. When it was released, it was called an imitation of Saved by the Bell, which I never thought was fair. I felt Student Bodies never slipped into early-90's melodrama the way Saved by the Bell and other sitcoms did. Though I may be biased because, full disclosure, I always loved Student Bodies and absolutely hated Saved by the Bell. This is another case of, being mostly successful in Canada, I feel as though it would be hard to ever see a proper DVD release, unless it were to be on-demand. Like Captain Star, you can find a vast majority of the series over on Youtube, and if you don't feel like diving into a series completely, I do completely recommend watching the intro, because it still has one of my favourite opening theme songs ever.
2) Stickin' Around "Will we ever get DVD aliens from—" "Don't say it, Bradley." "Uranus!?"
Following best friends Stacy and Bradley as they go through day to day life, dealing with various obstacles such as parents, school, bullies, and whatever else kids may experience, they usually fall into using their imaginations to come up with solutions (sometimes) to battle the problem of the day. Created in an animation style that made it seem like it was made by kids itself, Stickin' Around always stood out from other shows in its style. Not only were we treated to humour that was sometimes juvenile, most times witty, and almost always silly, we also got a good chunk of humour that was surreal and out there (the most obvious one, that people who saw the show would understand; Polly and Pepperoni the dog...). The series only ever had a handful of episodes released on VHS, with four releases that are hard to find, and I am incredibly lucky to have stumbled upon and bought one. It is worth re-visiting simply to see how it holds up in the animated landscape we have nowadays, where creators like to go for some more surreal material for children. Also, like Student Bodies and Sharky & George, Stickin' Around is a show that you absolutely have to watch the intro for, because of the absolutely catchy theme they created for it.
1) Pond Life Oh, Pond Life, the only series on this list besides Captain Star where I have yet to meet anyone who knows about it. Pond Life was a British animated series that aired later on in the evening, and follows Dolly Pond, a 30-something year old woman and her own day to day struggles in her 'dead-end' life she sees herself stuck in. Pond Life isn't actually a kid's show, aimed at adults, female viewers, specifically, I gravitated towards the series when I was twelve for its maturity and witty sense of humour. There was something I always loved about it, and would always make sure to watch, even though the entire series was only 21 episodes long. It had a simple, yet enticing art style, with only a few splashes of colour in its line drawings. It was incredibly well written, with a handful of down-to-Earth, realistic characters and situations that made it identifiable and easily understandable where Dolly's frustrations came from. It is a show I highly recommend it to anyone that is curious for a more adult viewing experience. Episodes have been put up on Youtube by creator Candy Guard herself, but I would still love to have a chance to have the series on my shelf, especially if it came with an interview with Ms. Guard talking about the behind the scenes process of creating and writing it. It is extremely relatable, and often hilarious in its very dry way, and I hope that, if anything happens in regards to this list, more people find it and enjoy it as much as I always did.
January 02, 2014 at 07:39 am /
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January 18, 2014 at 13:29 am /
Hi There,
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January 22, 2014 at 03:19 am /
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