Starcom: Us Space Force - Complete Series

I was fortunate enough to have been around when a lot of classic cartoons were being shown on TV ("Pirates of Dark Water", "Wing Commander Academy", "King Arthur and the Knights of Justice", "Mighty Max", "Gargoyles", "Goof Troop", Exosquad, Centurion, etc.). However, I somehow managed to miss this one on its original airing. I'm glad I ran into this years later looking for a DVD copy of "Wing Commander Academy".Animation:In terms of visual details and animating smoothness, this is a real contender to the to Japanese anime of the day. It's very American looking, BUT the ships and settings are so detailed. The facial expressions are top notch and they are constantly changing expressions. Even when they do a split second dodge of an explosion, there's facial expressions changing depending on the mood. And the dogfights are really fun to watch. No reused clips whatsover. Ships and settings are extrememly detailed. The warp animation, explosions, and blast shots are a thrill to watch. Seriously, to think all this was hand drawn is simply astounding.Story and Themes:If there was one thing lacking, it's a cohesive over-arching storyline that binds the episodes. Each episode is just a standalone tale of StarCom. That said, each story is individually intriguing and does cover some really valuable and heartfelt messages and themes. And with a colorful cast of Characters, they really deliver.Characters:Compared to a lot of classic scifi cartoons, this show did lack in grandeur in terms of feeling like a grand war with a wide plethora of main and minor characters (especially compared with other classic sci-fi animation "Exosquad", "Robotech", "Wing Commander Academy", etc.. In almost all episodes, the adventures tightly center around the main 3 protagonists with occasional recurring minor characters and some one-shot supporting characters. But even if this "war" seemed small in scale because of the lack of a "wider feel" in the cast, the characters, both major and minor, were phenomenal. Each was distinct, believable, fun, and relatable. I loved that the characters weren't perfect, but that each had their flaws and that those flaws were challenged. They definitely helped deliver the stories strongly.Packaging:Ultimately, the packaging is very nil. But then again, that's expected of a Mill Creek DVD and which is why I don't hold that against them. They manage to keep their product costs down in part by foregoing "extra material" and that's fine by me as I'm more interested in the shows themselves, anyways. It's just one disc in a single DVD case...again, no special features at all. They didn't really remaster and sharpen the visuals...but it still holds up well with no dirt or blurs. In addition, the audio is at an intrinsic good volume.All in all, if you are an animation fan, or if you are a scifi nerd, this is an absoulute must. From the inriguing tales to the actual visuals, it is amaing.

I have had two grainy episodes of Stacom that I transfered onto DVD for years... Until now!Having the entire run of this amazing show is fantastic! The transfer is great and you can't beat tne price. Also of note, this is not your run of the mill saturday morning kids show meant to sell toys and cereal (never had the cereal but the toy WERE amazing) it was very advanced. With the help of Young Astronauts Council (associated with NASA), DIC made a show that actually conveyed a real glimpse into mans future exploring space (back when peple cared about such things). Sure there was Emperor Dark and his Shadow dregs but c'mon, this was a kids show but overall the battles felt more of a background to the exploration and space drama.The animation, like so much of the 1980's was fantastic and a real treat to watch. The action is fast paced but smooth unlike the strobe light like style of today. I feel the Asian cel house churning out the art was trying to rekindle a real Macross feel to what was on screen (see if you can find the scene with bridge of the SDF-1 in it). The stories of each episode were well written with fleshed out characters and not just "warm bodies" on the screen.Overall this show is great for all ages. As a grown up this brings me back to a golden age of animation and Saturday morning story telling but is also a real homerun with the young ones in my family.It's $6! You really can't afford NOT having this in your collection.

As adverticed.

A solid entry into my childhood cartoon nostalgia collection. I rate it 4 stars because there is not much content other than the show itself. (Not a bad thing in an of itself, but I would have liked interviews with cast or creators.)

Absolutely Brilliant! My son had some of the videos when he was a child. He is now 35 and I've just bought the dvd it for his birthday. He was thrilled to bits. I was completely stuck for what to get him one Christmas when he was little and saw one of the starcom ships in a sale. Absolutely brilliant. We went on to collect more of the ships and figures (which we still have somewhere in the loft). It was an absolute crime that these toys were not more popular. I can only assume that people did not know about them. My son collected toys from "Masters of the Universe" and other similar series. The quality of them were rubbish in comparison. I am sure if the Starcom had been marketed properly, these would have flown off the shelves. What a shame! I am sure if they were marketed today, they would do well even in this age of technology they would do really well if they were made to the same quality. The dvd really bring back memories of happy times.

Starcom, the complete series includes great animation for a TV Cartoon from 1987, running 4 hours and 46 minutes spanning 13, very entertaining and interesting episodes. Lots of space action and a unique story line each episode. One of the more memorable episodes includes a villain female guest appearing on the station, and secretly installing a mind camera into a space hero, as she watches him navigate the ship and thwarts Starcom's efforts at every turn. Only after careful observation do his friends realize someone's been bugged and is secretly revealing their tactics to the enemy. Great character designs and good animation with plenty of outer space action and planets visited in this entertaining space cartoon series.

I had "Trojan Crowbar" and "Nantucket Sleighride" on VHS when I was a kid, and I wore the tape out to the point where you could barely distinguish the colors, but I loved it. Now I have the DVD collection, and it's worth every penny and then some. Great animation, great sound, great stories, this show was well-made, and the toys, of course, were a lot of fun. Magna-lock for the win!