Set
1 Episodes: Absolute Power & Camelot
Set
2 Episodes: Bloodlust & Out Of Time
Set
3 Episodes: Paradise Found & The Beast Within
Stars:
Peter McCauley, Rachel Blakely, William Devry, and William Snow
Writers:
Jim Henshaw and Peter Moham
Based
On The Story By: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Director:
Richard Franklin
Executive
Producers: John Landis, Leslie Belzberg, Jeffrey M. Hayes, Greg Coote, Robin
Spry, Bruce Moccia, and Paul Painter
Feature
length: 44 minutes per episode/ 95 minutes per volume
Extras:
Trailers
Languages:
English Stereo Sound
Subtitles:
N/A
Packaging:
Two-Disc Jewel Cases
Sound:
Stereo Sound
Home
Video Distributor: Speedy Video (In Malaysia Only)
MPAA
Rating: N/A
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Acclaimed
genre filmmaker John Landis (An American Werewolf In London) adapted the classic
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story that has been produced for the big and small
screens several times with another TV miniseries
version airing on A&E next month, and produced this syndicated fantasy action and adventure series, which
was shot on location in Australia and is in fact an Australian and Canadian
television co-production. Not available on DVD or even VHS in America, I
requested these three volumes to screen and review them. The pilot is also
available on VCD, but was not available at the time of this review so here is a
brief synopsis of what one can expect from the three I saw. Volume one features
“Absolute Power” where one of our explorers experiences an alternate reality
after receiving a jolt of energy from a strange orb left over from explorers
from no other than Atlantis. “Camelot” has the heiress mistaken for the
“Lady of the Lake” by the descendents of King Arthur’s court who have been
stranded in the lost world since looking for the Holy Grail.
Volume two features “Bloodlust” where one of our explorers is turned
into a vampire like being and “Out Of Time” has half of our explorers on a
quest to assist time traveling druids while the other encounter ape like
proto-humans. Disc three features “Paradise Found” where our explorers
discover a society of immortals with a terrible secret and “The Beast
Within” has two of our explorers trapped by hungry dinosaurs while the others
encounter a Shaman who suffers from the evils he has absorbed from others and
must die in order for a new one to be born and have balance restored.
Obviously
this is more or less popcorn television programming with some interesting and
somewhat campy stories that are in their own right entertaining. The dinosaur
effects are not bad for a syndicated series though they are nowhere near the
state of the art effects ILM created for the “Jurassic Park” films, but then
again I don’t think any other CGI dinosaurs are though some do come close here
and there. The quality of these Video-CDs is pretty good considering the
limitations of MPEG-1 compression. There are compression artifacts, but since
the series is very bright and colorful they tend to disappear and can easily be
ignored. The CD quality English Stereo Soundtrack is pretty good and clear, but
as is the case with some VCD imports, there are no captions for the hearing
impaired, but there are also no foreign subtitles that obscure the image either.
The episodes are presented in the (1.33:1) aspect ratio of their original
broadcast. The discs are packaged in a standard size CD jewel case equipped for
two-disc storage. Trailers for “Shiri,” “Reindeer Games,” “Battlefield
Earth: The Theatrical Cut,” “Final Destination,” “Stir Of Echoes,” and
“Komodo” precede the episodes on the first disc of each set.
Please
note that these Video-CDs are PAL formatted so be sure your DVD or VCD player is
able to playback PAL VCD titles. Not all DVD players are backwardly compatible
with VCD so please check your unit’s documentation first before buying. Most,
but not all VCD titles can also be played on a computer with only a CD-ROM drive
and a media browser.
“Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World: The TV Series” is available on VCD now and can be ordered at www.eurekamovies.com.
Those interested in more media reviews related to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and “The Lost World” can read my review of the restored silent version, which aired last summer on Turner Classic Movies, the A&E miniseries, and the upcoming USA Crime Friday “Sherlock Holmes” Movie “Case Of Evil.”
©
Copyright 2002 by Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.