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DVD Reviews: Dark Angel Season 2 Boxed Sets 1 & 2


The Final Say!

Review Score
7/10
Reviewed by Andrew B
Review Date: 10 July 2003
Distributed by:
20th Century Fox
Running Time: 670 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

"It's finally here... Planet of the Apes - The complete TV Series!"

After two popular movies with Charlton Heston, 20th century Fox decided to turn the series into a television series that not only had a budget that matched the movies but had one of the most interesting storylines to have ever graced the small screen. Planet of the Apes stars Ron Harper and Peter Naughton as two time struck astronauts from the 1980's called Virdon and Burke. After travelling through a space anomaly near the star system andromeda, the astronauts were transported into the distant future that forced them to crash on Earth.

Unfortunately for the pair, another astronaut died during the impact and when the other two woke up, they soon found themselves in a bizarre world that was ruled by Apes. Before leaving the shuttle, Virdon retrieved a computer disc from the wreckage and vowed to find a way back home. Trouble seems to follow the time lost duo as they are chased by the insidious Captain Urko, a militant ape who works for the ape scientist Doctor Zaius, played by Booth Colman. Zaius wants the two astronauts dead because they might reveal the secret that humans once controlled the apes of Earth and he doesn't want peace between the apes and humans. Fortunately for Virdon and Burke they are joined by chimpanzee Galen (Roddy McDowall) who believes that both humans and apes can work as once to better each race. Together, they search for a way back home while being hunted by Captain Urko and his zealous ape soldiers. 

The DVD collection contains four DVD's that include 14 episodes from the original television series that include animated menus and some great DVD slicks with information inside each case. Unfortunately, Planet of the Apes was cancelled after 3 months after its airing on TV but developed a cult following world wide. Fortunately this DVD collection captures the entire season of this misunderstood television series.

The video quality of Planet of the Apes appears to have been cleaned up for DVD and considering that the picture quality is almost 30 years old, it holds up extremely well on today's sophisticated DVD players and televisions. There is some artefacting and graininess during the entire series but it can be forgiven for the age of this modern day classic. The DVD is presented in its original format of 1.33:1 with a ratio of 4:3 for normal television viewing.

The sound quality of Planet of the Apes features Dolby digital 2.0 and although nothing special, it still makes you feel like you are at the cinemas, proving you have the correct speaker setup for your entertainment system. Another problem with the audio on the DVD's is that sometimes the voices of the actors are out of sync but fortunately this happens very rarely throughout the entire season of Planet of the Apes.

In conclusion, Planet of the Apes is a brilliant television series that has been finally transferred to DVD and features some of the most original story telling to have ever graced the small screen. With brilliant picture quality and sound (considering it is almost 30 years old), this would be the perfect addition to any fan of science fiction collection. The unfortunate aspect of this DVD collection is that it contains hardly any extras whatsoever, so those who are after a bevy extras might be better to look elsewhere. The extras that are featured on the DVD's include trailers and an unaired episode called "The Liberator". Highly Recommended

- Andrew B

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