This DVD project is pretty clearly a celebration of director Richard Donner. The actors and crew members praise him constantly, and of course he gets the director’s commentary to discuss his vision and experiences not just on this film but on Superman II – which was being filmed simultaneously with the first film – as well. He and Creative Consultant Tom Mankiewicz recount some of the conflicts with producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind that resulted in Donner’s firing from the second movie, but they also make it clear that they enjoyed working together and working on the film. (more…)

can’t exactly say I was counting the seconds until my Star Trek: The Next Generation first season DVD box set came in the mail. After all, the first season wasn’t one of my favorites. Getting it was more an excuse to get rid of all those decaying VHS tapes I recorded the show on back in the early 90s. The real fun begins when I get my third season set – with its classic episodes like Yesterday’s Enterprise and The Best Of Both Worlds – but I have to wait a few more months for that. (more…)

Funny, I thought this would probably be the first Doctor Who story released to DVD, what with being a Tom Baker-era show and featuring Louise Jameson as Xena…erm, sorry, Leela. As it turns out, the 1976 four-parter The Robots Of Death was BBC Video’s second choice for a UK DVD release.

With so many oddities of the period to contend with – video-to-film and film-to-video transitions, aging videotape masters, and the occasional dodgy video effect (chromakey-colored eye masks were used to give the robots that creepy “static eyes” effect) – The Robots Of Death probably posed quite a challenge from a restoration standpoint, but the effort is well worth it. (more…)

If I wax a little too enthusiastic in the course of this review, you’ll have to forgive me. I’ve just spent the past few hours being eight years old again.

It was around that age that I first stumbled upon the Sandy Frank Productions animated series Battle Of The Planets, a vastly re-edited, re-written and re-dubbed series based upon the classic 1974 Japanese animè series Kagakuninjatai Gatchaman. (more…)