Review By: TFG1Mike & OptimusSolo

 We here at The GeekCast Radio Network are all about doing things slightly different then the norm. Having said that this is yet another one of those times. We are bringing you a Dual DVD review. Why? you might ask, well the answer is simple the awesome people over at ShoutFactory have sent Mike and Kevin M.A.S.K. The Complete Series on DVD. Huge thanks to @TomChenLA for hooking us up with the DVD sets!!!

So what you’ll be reading here is both Mike and Kevin’s thoughts on the DVD set enjoy!! And get your copy of M.A.S.K. The Complete Series on DVD from ShoutFactory or on Amazon………now to the reviews!!

TFG1Mike’s Perspective on MASK The Complete Series:

Awwww I FREAKIN’ Remember that!!! Take two of the greatest 80′s cartoon franchises mesh them together and you get M.A.S.K. This cartoon basically took Transforming vehicles, G.I. Joe type characters, and a Dick Tracy watch and put them into one series. The series revolves around Matt Trakker and his team of Mobile Armored Strike Kommand agents that fight the good fight against Miles Mayhem and his VENOM agents.

I remember watching this cartoon as a kid and loving it just as much as I loved Transformers. There are two reasons why I love this series #1 the theme song and #2 the assembling of the M.A.S.K.  team. Trakker is essentially a tech savvy King Arthur of the 80′s I mean he even has a Roundtable sort of……

August 9th 2011 marks the release date of M.A.S.K. The Complete Series from Shout Factory. This 12 DVD set comes in great packaging depicting the classic MASK imagery. This also marks the FIRST TIME EVER that MASK has been on Region 1 DVD. Before this all us United States residents had to import the various versions that were released in other countries. Shout Factory produced a DVD set with the first season (65 episodes) and it’s great to see these again. The 2nd season/racing season of MASK is owned by someone else and is not included on this Complete Series set. The racing season was only 10 episodes.

Shout Factory has done a great job with this DVD set as they do with all of the DVD sets they produce My only real gripe with the DVD set is there are only 2 special features:

• UnmaskingM.A.S.K.: retrospective interview with show writers on this hit animated series
• Saturday Morning Krusaders: entertaining look back with loyal fans

While it’s awesome to hear from the writers of the series the one thing I wanted was a voice cast special feature. The Saturday Morning Krusaders feature was kinda weird to me, because I didn’t know who any of those “fans” were. The featurette seemed as if these people were given a script and told to “ham it up” However do not let that be a write off of this DVD set. As I said I’m just glad to have a US release of it. If you are a child of the 80′s and loved cartoons you should definitely add M.A.S.K. The Complete Series to your DVD collections. And that’s the Bottom Line Because Miles Mayhem said so!

and now for………………………………………………………

OptimusSolo’s Perspective on MASK The Complete Series:

  Title: M.A.S.K.: Complete Series

  Release Date: August 9, 2011

  Genre: Animation

  DVD Release Trailer: Click Here

  PURCHASE: Click Here

  DVD: $69.99 + S&H | SEASONS: 1 Season (65 Episodes)

My Initial Thoughts:
I have to admit that I have been waiting for this series to be released on DVD FOREVER!! This is one of the last few major shows from my childhood to be released on DVD and I was so excited when Shout! announced they were producing this set. So, regardless of what I say or don’t say in the following paragraphs please remember that nothing could take away from how awesome it is to finally own every episode of this series on DVD. It will definitely sit proudly on my DVD shelf in its rightful place alongside; Transformers, G.I.Joe, He-Man, ThunderCats, Silverhawks, C.O.P.S., BraveStarr, Blackstar, Challenge of the Go-Bots and yes, even She-Ra Princess of Power!

Packaging:

Case Front & Back Cover:

The front cover of this DVD set is easily the most eye popping part of the whole set.  The artwork is vibrant and very well put together. Good and evil side by side and shots of not only the men in their masks but also their signature vehicles. I can’t say enough about the front of this set. The back on the other hand is definitely lacking in comparison. I do like the font used through the set which is most prominently seen on the back of the set. The description of the series on the back is very well written despite including two of the longest sentences I have read since the last time I graded a term paper   Really the only reason I say that the back pales in comparison to the front is because the graphics don’t pop off the page like they did on the front. Now, I realize the need for text and that takes away from the ability to include stunning pictures but I believe the bottom section with the three framed pictures definitely could have been utilized in a better way.  Heck, even just lining up three vibrant pictures of different masks would have been preferable over the screen shots chosen.

DVD Front & Back Cover:

As for the individual DVD case packaging this is once again a story of two sides. The front of these cases are very well done. On one case you have the hero, Matt Tracker in full costume with a nice sized logo appearing above while on the other you have the villain, Miles Mayhem in the same arrangement. A red background behind the ‘blue’ villain and a blue background behind the ‘red’ hero are also very nice choices. Once again though when you flip these cases over you are left wanting more.  The choice to use the backs of these cases to display all of the episode titles was a mistake in my opinion.  This was a great opportunity to feature a variety of masks, the vehicles, or even some of the other major characters.  [More on that later in the review though]

Disc Graphics:

By the time you open the cases to view the individual discs you realize the theme behind this entire set.  The first disc in the Volume 1-3 case features a similar graphic as on the front of the case with a blue background and Matt Tracker in full costume as well as the M.A.S.K. logo, the only difference is now you also have a picture of his vehicle on the disc. Likewise the first disc of Volume 4-6 features the same arrangement with Miles Mayhem and the color scheme switched again.  I am not going to lie, I was heavily disappointed when I flipped through the rest of the TWELVE discs to find the same design used on each and every disc in their respective cases.  What a lost opportunity to feature a different character on each disc like Shout! did with both their Transformers and G.I. Joe set!!  Also, using the same basic design on the cases and the discs gets a little boring, I was hoping the discs would pop a little more!

Background Graphics:

So, as we look at the background behind the discs one thing really stood out. Why in the heck do both cases feature the M.A.S.K. truck?? Isn’t one of the sets all about Matt Tracker and the other about Miles Mayhem. Seems very off that the decision was made to use the truck on both and not the Helicopter on the other.  Also, another unfortunate decision to use screen shots on the other half of the background instead of some other stunning visual.  This is perhaps the worst part of the packaging on this set.

Material:

Ok, absolutely LOVE the material they used to house the actual discs on this set and how they are arranged. Very easy to flip through all of the discs without having to worry about sleeves or some other flimsy concoction.  The discs also release very easily so you don’t feel like you are about to break the disc while trying to remove it from the case.  This for me is one of the highlights of the entire packaging portion for this set. Nice job Shout!

Inserts:

You may be asking yourself why there is no picture for this heading like there has been for the previous ones. Well, that is because there WAS NO INSERTS on this set!!!!!! Are you kidding me? This is BY FAR my biggest complaint on the entire set.  So many problems could have been solved with the use of an insert. Let me explain: Remember the episode titles that cluttered up the back of each DVD case? How about the screen shots that were poorly used on the back of the set, the back of the cases, and the background behind the discs? ALL OF THIS could have easily been put into an actual Episode Guide booklet that could have been inserted in the set.  That way not only could you have used all of these screen shots but you also could have put descriptions of each episode and I don’t know how about some trivia or something like that. Geeks LOVE trivia and other tidbits about their favorite series! On top of having a better place for all the screen shots and episode titles it would have freed up so much space on the packaging for stunning pictures of other masks, vehicles or characters!  Maybe I have just been spoiled by all of the other DVD sets I have purchased from Shout! and some of their competitors but I have definitely reached the point where I expect at least some type of insert in my DVD sets, ESPECIALLY a COMPLETE SERIES SET!

Organization:

There is nothing to complain about organization wise with this set. First, of all there really was no other way to organize this set seeing that it was only 1 season. They have divided it into two cases. The first case includes volumes one, two and three. Each volume is two discs and the fist disc of each volume (except volume 6) has 6 episodes while the second disc always has 5 episodes.  The second case includes volumes four, five and six. Each volume again has two discs with the first disc having 6 episodes and the second having, basically the same as the first case.  Each case also includes one of the two bonus features.  So, not that this took a rocket scientist but job well done on the organization of this set!

Episode Quality:

The episode quality on this set is impeccable. In the end, this is by far the most important part of the whole set and in this part Shout! delivered big time!  Finally, no more watching crappy quality feeds of M.A.S.K. on youtube or some other internet site! The picture is crisp and clear,  and the sound quality is superb. I don’t see how anyone would be able to complain about the superior quality that each and every episode consists of. Excellent!

Peripherals:

The main menu for M.A.S.K. as pictured above is excellent.  I love the design, the font selection, and the graphics in general.  The graphics also change as the menu is viewed. Also, one of the best theme songs in cartoon history plays on a loop while you remain on the menu screen. Nothing else I would rather here as I select which episode to view!

On the first disc you are treated to a commercial for the Transformers set, one for the G.I. Joe set, and one for the Beast Wars set. A nice touch, however I am glad they only do this on the first disc and not all twelve.  I also was very pleased that they included all of the different bumpers used to represent when the show would go to and come back from commercial. Many DVD sets forget about these bumpers and fans like myself love hearing these retro goodies. I will say though that on the first disc of the set I found it a bit odd that a set of bumpers plays before the episode even begins. The ending PSA is included in every episode as well as the full credits sequence which again seems like common sense but I have seen left off of other sets.

Bonus Features:

The bonus features are always what I am most interested in on a set like this. I always hope for a large variety of bonus features and most of the time I am disappointed. This is no exception to that.  The first bonus feature is great. You get to hear from two of the many writers of M.A.S.K. and get a little inside look at what writing on this series was like. What makes this feature great are the scenes that give us glances at both scripts and the series bible. However, if both of these things were available for these shots…then why weren’t they included as features all to themselves? I especially would have loved to peruse the series bible in its entirety.  The only other thing that could have been better on this bonus feature is if they had been able to get one or two more writers to help contribute. However, I realize its been a couple decades and that this is most likely easier said and wished for than actually done.

The second bonus feature is your typical ‘fans’ commentary on the series. This type of bonus feature ALWAYS pisses me off somehow.  I wish these companies would hold contests of some sort to find ‘the biggest fans’ or just to make it seem more balanced and fair because it always comes across as just a group of people that are probably friends of the producer or some other insider.  To the casual fan, almost every single one of these people are unknown which is fine but damnit when do I get a chance to talk about my favorite cartoon series, do I have to move to L.A. and become friends with someone at Shout!??  I will say that a few of these guys do a great job of talking about the series, add some good comedy and do seem to know what they are talking about. However, there are also a few that make it seem like they have never even seen the series before or that it had been two decades since they watched it and came to the recording session doing NO homework to catch up on the basics, like oh I don’t know, the main characters names! I did like that they touched on a variety of topics including character, theme songs, episode plots etc. The bonus features were also very well spliced together and come across as very fluid.

The reason I was disappointed in the bonus features basically boils down to the fact that there were only two of them. No retro toy commercials?  No scripts? No Series Bible? Nothing from the main producers/directors of the show? The most notable omission and something that can sell a DVD set to me single handedly, NOTHING with the VOICE ACTORS!! I love hearing from the voice actors! I know the voice actors from this series are probably not as readily available as other shows have been in the past but I would have loved to hear from at least a couple of them.

Errors:

This has no effect on my review whatsoever but just felt like I needed to point out the ONLY error I have seen thus far in the set, when Tom Clarks hand disappears!! (haha)

The Verdict:
Overall this is a great set. Like I said in the introduction, I have been waiting on this set for what seems like forever and am so glad that it is finally available. I am also very glad that Shout! is the company that has brought it to all of us. Like, always they have produced a set that is far superior to the sets that most of their competitors put out. I know I was hard on them for the packaging, the lack of any type of insert, and the lack of more bonus features, but that is most likely more due to the fact that I have been spoiled by so many of their other sets that delivered in all of those areas. However, when it is all said and done I am very happy to have this set proudly displayed amongst the rest of my DVD collection. Great Job Shout!!

OVERALL SCORES:

• Packaging: 3.0 out of 5.0
• Organization: 5.0 out of 5.0
• Episode Quality: 5.0 out of 5.0
• Peripherals: 4.5 out of 5.0
• Bonus Features: 3.5 out of 5.0
• Overall Score: 4.2 out of 5.0

Well there ya have it folks the first ever Dual DVD Review on The GeekCast Radio Network. Huge thanks again to Tom Chen, Brian Ward, and the rest of the awesome people at Shout Factory for giving us the review copies. Plus putting together a great DVD set. Illusion Is the Ultimate Weapon!!!!!!!!

Iron Man The Complete 1994 Animated Series

Iron Man 1994

Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (has some great sound effects)

Video: Full Screen (1.33:1) (the video is grainy and dusty in some places but overall the DVD does the cartoon more justice then youtube quality)

Voice Cast By Season:

Season 1:

Robert Hayes- Iron Man

James Avery- War Machine

Casey Defranco- Julia Carptener/Spiderwoman

Ed Gilbert- The Mandarin

Jim Cummings- M.O.D.O.C.K.

Tony Steedman- Justin Hammer

Neil Ross- Fin Fang Foom

Season 2:

Robert Hayes- Iron Man

Dorian Harewood- War Machine

Jennifer Hale- Julia Carpenter/Spiderwoman

Robert Ito- The Mandarin

Jim Cummings- M.O.D.O.C.K.

Neil Ross- Fin Fang Foom

Efrem Zimbalist Jr.- Justin Hammer

Let us step back in time to 1994. Marvel Animation was really taking off. With X-Men The Animated Series that launched in 1992 and now in 1994 we have Spider-Man The Animated Series and of course Iron Man The Animated Series. I liked all three of these cartoons however in this review I’ll be focusing on Iron Man.

Over the past two days I’ve been watching the DVD set that Disney finally released. They released it in conjunction with Iron Man 2 hitting theaters 5/7/2010. I wanted to pick this DVD set up immediately as it was released. I waited a few weeks and now have it in my clutches! After watching the series again I have a clear stance on this cartoon. That stance being that Season 2 is better than Season 1. The 1st Season of the series has a generic rock type anthem for a theme. The intro shows images from the 1st season and it gets you into the cartoon. Then we open to the cartoon itself, most of the Season 1 stories start with Tony Stark in the Iron Man armor fighting someone, or out of the armor playing the business man type. One of the biggest things that turns me off about these first 13 episodes of the series is the horrid 3D CGI image after he gets all of the armor on except the helmet. Just the transition between the regular cell animated to a CGI shot is god awful in my opinion. Thankfully they stopped doing that after a while.

You’ll notice at the top of this review that I listed the majority of the voice cast by season. I did it this way because there are different voice actors in each season of Iron Man. There are some from season 1 that I prefer and there are some from Season 2 that I prefer. I barely noticed the change  from Casey Defranco to Jennifer Hale as Julia Carpenter/Spider-Woman. While Ms. Defranco did a excellent job I prefer Jennifer Hale’s version. The biggest change in the voice cast in my opinion was War Machine. In season 1 he was voiced by James Avery, yes that’s right Uncle Phil and the Shredder voiced War Machine. Then in season 2 they switched to Dorian Harewood who has also voiced Tombstone in the Spider-Man 1994 cartoon, Jax from Mortal Kombat Defenders of the Realm, and many others. I remember first seeing him on screen in Viper as Julian Wilkes in 1998-1999. I actually prefer Harewood’s Rhodey to Avery’s. Two other voice changes I want to bring up in Season 1 Ed Gilbert voiced The Mandarin I like this one the best and in Season 2 Robert Ito took the reins of The Mandarin. The other voice actor change I wanna bring up is the character of Justin Hammer in Season 1 he was voiced by Tony Steedman and in Season 2 voiced by Efrem Zimbalist Jr. While I love Zimbalist as Alfred in the DCAU I hardly noticed the change here. Both versions of Hammer sound too similar to me. One of my favorite Villain voices in this comes from Jim Cummings as M.O.D.O.C.K. it was very entertaining.

OK with the voice cast taken care of now let me talk to you about the actually stories in Season 1. These are very good I especially liked The Origin Of The Mandarin episode and the two parter The Origin of Iron Man. These episodes are very revealing as far as retelling the origins of both the hero and the villain. Season 1 ends on The Wedding Of Iron Man as he and Julia tie the knot… maybe?

There is no real finale between Seasons 1 and 2 however they do keep within the continuity of season 1. Season 2 however was wayyyy different animation and different production crew I believe. The biggest change besides the random voice actor changes is the way the show feels. It opens with a prologue type of story kinda like what Justice League did. After that it goes to an all new theme and opening title card. I like this theme infinitely better than Season 1. It has kinda a Black Sabbath “Iron Man” feel. With the main chorus being ….. I am….. I am… Iron Man. I love this theme so much it’s a ringtone on my cell phone. As I said there is a huge difference in the animation style. There’s also a difference in the War Machine armor. I actually prefer the Season 1 designs of the War Machine armor. The Season 2 suit just looks off to me in the coloring. Just look below on the top is a Season 1 model and on the bottom a season 2 model.

Watching this cartoon back has actually made me want to seek out some Iron Man comics. Although I have no idea where to start after all Shell head does have 40+ years of comic history. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this series again. Even though I take a few issues with it I can over look most of them for the sheer nostalgia factor of 90’s Marvel Animation. Even though there are no Special features on any of the Disney released Marvel cartoons I really enjoy the packaging. There are slip covers that are embossed and have very neat designs on them.

We Need Your Help

We here are Geek Cast Radio Network need your help. Coming up on May 28^th 2010 our voicemail and calling service costs are coming due. We are trying to raise $65.00. Normally I would just pay it but times are tough at the moment and I can’t make the payment. The Network will be 1 year old on June 1^st it would be great if any of our fans or listeners could help us out with this. You can go to www.geekcastradio.com on the right hand side of the page there is a donate section that will direct you to a paypal page. You can donate in any denomination any help is welcome. If you the fans and the listeners want us to still have the awesome interviews and to interact with us please help us with this. Thanks for reading this.

MWIRE Upcoming Episodes DC Spotlight Volume 2 Superman Films

Coming up on MWIRE Movie Week In Review we’ll be returning to The DC Spotlight. This time Volume 2: Superman Films. I knew when Steve and I finalized the concept for Movie Week In Review I wanted to dedicate a portion of the episodes to The Batman and Superman Films. Batman has had his run from Episode 25-30. Now starting at Episode 51 and going through Episode 56 Superman will get coverage. We will be talking about Superman I-IV, Supergirl, and UGH Superman Returns. Just as the Bat coverage was one film per episode this will follow that same format. Two years ago I got the Ultimate Collector’s 14 Disc Set of the Superman Films. This thing is amazing.  We will be covering the franchise in theatrical release date format so it will be as follows:

Episode 51: The DC Spotlight Volume 2: Superman Airdate: 6/26/2010

Episode 52: The DC Spotlight Volume 2: Superman II Airdate: 7/3/2010

Episode 53: The DC Spotlight Volume 2: Superman III Airdate: 7/10/2010

Celebrating MWIRE’s 1 year anniversary Mike & Steve talk about the computer scandal of Superman III.

Episode 54: The DC Spotlight Volume 2: Supergirl Airdate: 7/17/2010

Episode 55: The DC Spotlight Volume 2: Superman IV Airdate: 7/24/2010

Episode 56: The DC Spotlight Volume 2: Superman Returns Airdate: 7/31/2010

Superman: The Movie-

Hosts: TFG1Mike and Steve/Megatron

Guest Host: Steve Saylor (tentative)

There are really only two scenes in this that I remember watching as a kid. The scene in the pool with the Kruptonite and the helicopter scene. I’m not even sure at what age I first saw this. Obviously I was born after it was initially released.

Superman II: Lester Vs Donner-

Hosts: TFG1Mike and Steve/Megatron

Guest Host: Steve Saylor (tentative)

I honestly don’t ever remember watching this as a kid. I did watch both the Original Lester Cut and the Donner Cut back to back when I got the 14 Disc set and wow there’s barely any difference. At least to me. I’m sure I’m going to have to retract that statement when I go back and watch them for the episode of the podcast. However when I watched them after getting the DVD set I was like ok why the fuck am I watching the exact same film twice?

Superman III: The Office Space Orginal Idea-

Hosts: TFG1Mike and Steve/Megatron

Guest Host: David Denis or Mike Dodd (tentative)

The one thing I always remembered about the Superman Films was the fact that in one of them he fought himself. When I went back and watched this I’m glad I was secure in the knowledge that I was right. While I understand you can’t always make Lex Luthor the villain of the movie they really had to go the way they did with this one? Well I won’t say too much more as I want to save my thoughts for the eventual podcast episode.

Supergirl-

Hosts: TFG1Mike and Steve/Megatron

Guest Host: ___________ (tentative)

I’ve not seen this in a very long time. However I have very fond memories of it. I know people are going to read that statement and be like what are you smoking Mike? For some strange reason as a kid I thought that this was a big improvement over Superman III, and Helen Slater was hot!!

Superman IV: The Quest For Peace-

Hosts: TFG1Mike and Steve/Megatron

Guest Host: _________ (tentative)

Now I’m really gonna freak you out reader. There was one of those movie novelization books that sometimes come out to coincide with movie releases. I’m not talking a comic book, but a real book. The freaky part you ask? Well I could have sworn again that I had the book for this film and I always read it while listening to Madonna’s The Immaculate Collection CD. Have I blown your mind yet? Yes thanks to KnightWing of the Earth-2.net forums for finding it.

Superman: Returns-

Hosts: TFG1Mike and Steve/Megatron

Guest Host: _________ (tentative)

Oh fuck people always say Superman III or IV are the worst films in the franchise, but damn this one was horrid. Yes I know I’m tipping my hand a little but just…. DAMN!! Why the fuck must you not make your own Superman Film Bryan Singer? Take Donner’s Dick outta your mouth and do an original story you fucktard.

So there ya have it come join us on MWIRE as we delve into the last son of krypton’s movies!! BIG THANKS TO MICHAEL WILSON FOR EDITING THE TITLE SCREEN SUPERMAN IMAGES!! ALSO TO STEVE/MEGATRON FOR THE SUPERGIRL IMAGE!

]]> http://tfg1podcast.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/mwire-upcoming-episodes-dc-spotlight-volume-2-superman-films/feed/ 0 TFG1Mike Superman Ultimate Collectors Set #4 Superman Ultimate Collectors Set Superman Ultimate Collectors Set #3 S1 Title S2 Title S3 Title super S4 Title SIV Book Madonna- The Immaculate Collection S Returns #1 Superman Ultimate Collectors Set #2 http://tfg1podcast.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/this-week-in-geek-game-codes-contest/ http://tfg1podcast.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/this-week-in-geek-game-codes-contest/#comments Fri, 14 May 2010 16:02:28 +0000 tfg1podcast http://tfg1podcast.wordpress.com/?p=367 ]]> THIS WEEK IN GEEK GAME CODE CONTEST!!

I’ve had the great joy in getting to know the TWIG Crew and becoming one of them. I run their twitter feed and promote stuff that we here at This Week In Geek have going on. You can interact with them on twitter http://www.twitter.com/thisweekingeek and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/This-week-in-Geek-show/32438415881?ref=ts

TWIG is running a contest through June to win game codes to either Mega Man 10 or Final Fight Double Impact. It’s simple to enter all you have to do is  write a review for TWiG on iTunes then email the link to feedback@thisweekingeek.net

if they win, they get a code for either Final Fight: Double Impact or Mega Man 10

So Lower Your Shields and Surrender your Listenership!!

TRANSFORMERS

25^TH ANNIVERSARY

THE MAXTRIX OF LEADERSHIP EDITION COLLECTORS DVD SET:

Growing up in the 80’s was awesome! I don’t think I’d want to grow up in any other decade. When I was a kid I was into a ton of cartoons. Then again what kid isn’t? I was all about Looney Tunes, Scooby Doo (and Scrappy too), Mighty Mouse, Voltron, Thundercats (and to a lesser extent Silverhawks), He-Man, She-Ra, G.I. Joe somewhat, but the cartoon that had me at hello (YES I USED A JERRY MAGUIRE REFERENCE GET OVER IT!) was Transformers! I have no idea why I was so attached to G1 or Generation 1 as it’s also called. But I was four years old and outside of Red Sox Baseball, Bruins hockey, and Celtics basketball Transformers was everything to me. Hell I even remember “playing” Transformers at recess in school. The characters were so freakin cool. I think my two favorite autobots from Seasons one and two were Optimus Prime and Bumblebee as for the Decepticons I liked Soundwave and Astrotrain the most. Skywarp’s teleport ability was awesome. I know a lot of my Transformers fangirl friends hate me for hating Starscream, but that was just one character I never ever liked! He was always scheming and fucking up Megatron’s plans. Thank god Galvatron came along and blew his ass up. Or disintegrated his ass whichever you prefer……. However I digress on the Starscream hate.

By the time 1986 rolled around Transformers was getting extremely more popular by the minute. Especially when there was a major motion picture made from the cartoon. Technically it was an animated movie, but still Transformers on the big screen back then had to be awesome! I found the movie on DVD about a year after its release. Yes I cried my eyes out when Optimus Prime died!! I’m not scared to admit that at all. When I first saw the movie on VHS I was like ok cool there’s Optimus, Cliffjumper, Jazz, and the others. However when we cut to earth and see Daniel and Hot Rod I was like huh? What? Backing up slightly I gotta say the ship battle before going to earth was horrifying poor Ironhide!!! Taking the kill shot aside from Megatron to Prime and watching him fall back, the Death Scene where Optimus is lying on the table is very very sad.

I think after the movie I was so devastated about Prime’s death that I really wanted nothing else to do with Transformers then. By that time it was 1987 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were the craze, but I’ll stay on topic here. I have two very distinct memories of Transformers back in the 80’s as far as the cartoon goes. I remember seeing Powermaster Optimus Prime on TV with a kid and either rerun episodes of G1 or something new I can’t remember. The second memory is the fact that my Aunt Debbie forbade me to watch it at their house. I can’t remember her saying it was too violent or it had cursing in it. I’m not sure which it was.

Then there were the toys. Oh I sooo wanted my friend Jonathan’s Soundwave!!!! I had the Insecticons and Blaster I think. I might have also had a Warpath, but I can’t remember. I honestly don’t remember having Optimus Prime as a kid. However I started back collecting the 80’s Transformers in 2008.

Now years after G1 was over and I’d been out of the Transformers fandom for a number of years. Along with my toy collecting I tracked down the now out of print Rhino DVD Sets. These were the end all be all acquisition of any Transformers Generation 1 fan. Because they are out of print the set of 5 DVD boxsets can range from $325-$900. After shipping I paid $330.00 I believe. At the time it was a awesome investment in getting my childhood cartoon back.

Then the awesome news from the great people at Shout! Factory came down the pipeline that Hasbro had tapped them to rerelease the G1 cartoon in an all new style. I believe the cartoons are remastered and there are volume sets like the Rhino sets. However as you say wayyyy up there the picture of the Matrix box. Shout! Factory put together The 25^th Anniversary Maxtrix of Leadership Collector’s Edition DVD set. This has become my end all be all acquisition now. When Shout! Factory first announced the details of their deal with Hasbro I was super excited. One reason being that when Sony/BMG released the 20^th Anniversary DVD Edition of Transformers The Movie there was an ad on that DVD set announcing that the G1 cartoon would be returning to DVD. However when Sony/Wonder went under those plans were scrapped. As I said before Hasbro and Sout! Factory announced their deal and we were going to get an Official Complete Series DVD set.

I’d been putting off buying the Complete Series Matrix Set because of other financial obligations. However today May 4^th 2010 I finally have it. As of this writing I’ve not watched any of the special features or the cartoons themselves. I will make a separate blog post for that. However it is finally mine!!!!!

I so can’t wait to explore this DVD set. I think this is the one set I’ve been most psyched about in a long time as far as Complete Series go.

I will either update this post or create a new one with the set in hand.

I’ve been podcasting for almost 2 years. Steve and I created The Geek Cast Radio Network of podcasts last June. We have had feedback here and there, and have had awesome collaborations with This Week In Geek www.thisweekingeek.net Chicken Pop Pod www.chickenpoppod.com The Lunch Table Podcast Rebooted http://thelunchroom.net/ The 80’s Cartoon Podcast http://80scartoonpodcast.com/ TF Radio and Radio Free Cybertron www.tfradio.net I’ve had the pleasure of working with Derrick Ferguson of Better In The Dark on MWIRE and Geek Cast Radio. You can find Better In The Dark at www.earth-2.net and http://www.bitdsite.com/

Sooooooooooooooooooooo……….

Last week I got an email from Krista Kangas of Considered Careers asking if she could reair the ToonCast/All Things Transformers interview of Tara Strong on her radio show. She explained that she likes to inform people about getting into different professions. I said as long as you plug the website and the podcasts that the interview was on sure. You can find it at www.kristakangas.com or at her school’s radio station website which is http://www4.wccnet.edu/studentactivities/radio/

Then to top that off after our Maurice LaMarche interview was released the people over at http://leagueofcomicgeeks.com/news/10/2-new-batman-arkham-asylum-2-voice-actors-leaked gave us a shout out and transcribed part of what Mr. LaMarche said about his role in Batman Arkham Asylum 2 on the interview Kevin Thompson and I did with him.

I bet you wondering why I’m writing all this right? Well when feedback or plugs for our stuff shows up other places it makes me very happy that we as a podcasting network are getting out there in the world. We also would like to thank any and all the people that have left us iTunes feedback, that really helps.

It also surprises me of the friendships and co hosts that we have gotten on our podcasts. Geeks like Michael Wilson www.michaelandchrissy.com Lupis Convoy from the TFW2005 podcast The Goddamn Protoman a TF Fandom legend! And so many more.

We have 11 podcasts that we produce on our own from movies, TV, cartoons, to general geeky discussions. There is something for everyone. So spread the word tell your friends and…………………………………….

UNLEASH THE GEEK IN YOU!!!!!!! www.geekcastradio.com

ToyCast

Episode 50

Contest

To celebrate 50 episodes of ToyCast we are having a contest. GeneralTekno will be giving away a Recon Ravage  to a randomly drawn person. You may ask what do you have to do to enter this contest? Well it’s simple send in a voicemail either doing a toy review of your own or just congratulating us on 50 episodes. Any and all that send in mp3s or call in to the voicemail line will be entered to win. The deadline for this is March 29, 2010.

To enter email a mp3 to tfg1podcast@gmail.com or call the Voicemail Line: 502-526-5821

Below are images of Recon Ravage in and out of package the images were taken by GeneralTekno…. The prize is MOSC. Enter NOW!!!!!!!

Another reason why I’m putting this out there is because on the 20th Anniversary DVD the Autobot Matrix pop up trivia states these assumptions to be fact.

I’ve solved the mystery of what defeated cons were reformed as whom:

in this image from left to right ya got Kickback, Thundercracker, and Shrapnel

In this 1 all of the five are shown

Thundercracker = Scourge

Shrapnel & Kickback = The Sweeps

Bombshell & Skywarp = Cyclonus & His Armada

So the mystery is solved. It took me 2 hours to get the screencaps of this when I did it. Resaon being is that hadta get the right frames in.

Behind The Smokey Glass:

An Album Review of Lifehouse’s “Smoke & Mirrors”

Ten years ago I was lost in my music listening. The 80’s were gone and the 90’s were filled with Boy Bands and stuff I really didn’t want to hear. One afternoon in Hanover Massachusetts I had the local Mix Radio station on. I heard a song called Hanging By A Moment, now this was the first time I’d heard this song. It was great in my opinion keep in mind I was a kid that grew up in the 80’s. Growing up with bands like Hall & Oates, Duran Duran, Wang Chung, and more. I found out later that it was by a band called Lifehouse off their debut album No Name Face. This song was so catchy and sounded awesome. I immediately tracked the new album down and bought the CD.

Ten years later Lifehouse is still going strong with their 5^th studio album “Smoke & Mirrors”. This new album proves to bring the studio sounds of the band and the energy from their live shows together. With this new adventure for the band I think they hit one outta the park. From the first track All In which really does a good job of being the lead off track. To the seductive hard edge of Nerve Damage. They pull you into this new album very well. Let’s not forget the first single off this album Halfway Gone which is a very radio friendly pop rock tune. This is much in the vain of Lifehouse’s past singles. The best two examples I can give you is Hanging By a Moment from No Name Face and Disarray  from their 2007 album Who We Are. Then they slow it down just a little for the song It Is What It Is which is a favorite of mine. You can really tell the maturity of the band between this album and their first one ten years ago.

If you buy The Deluxe Edition through iTunes you get the experience of iTunes LP with Liner notes track by track commentaries by the band and more. I actually like the album so much I bought it twice. The iTunes download and the actual 2 Disc CD set. People can say what they want about Lifehouse but I believe that they are a very good band for the sound that they have. Smoke & Mirrors is a awesome listen. I can listen to the entire thing from the first track to the last.

To close this review I’m gonna quote another review:

“In stepping back to look at the career trajectory of the band, Smoke & Mirrors certainly proves that Lifehouse is no longer simply hanging by a moment after five albums.” -Reg Seeton