Transformers Season One (DVD)

Ahh the memories… For most of us who grew up in the 80’s, cartoons and toys were our lives. Now 15 or so years later, we are desperate to relive our childhoods, and companies like Rhino are cashing in big time. Not that I really mind; as long as they keep dishing out the nostalgia, I’ll keep dishing out the money.

This was one of the most highly anticipated DVD releases of the year for me. Was the Transformers my favourite 80’s cartoon? No, far from it. It wasn’t then, and it still isn’t now, but even though there are a number of other 80’s cartoons I’d rather own box sets for, I’ll gladly take what I can get for the time being. After all, the more successful this release is, the more likely it is that we will see other cartoon DVD box sets in the near future.

It makes sense that the Transformers is the first 80’s animated series to be given this kind of treatment — it is easily one of the most popular toy lines and cartoons from the 80’s, and it has managed to stay alive over the years better than most due to its popularity overseas in Japan and Europe, and due to numerous reincarnations in recent years such as Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Robots in Disguise, and the new Transformers Armada.

The first season of Transfomers is where it all started, and it contains some real classic moments. The 3 part pilot episode, “More Than Meets The Eye”, is one of the best and it explains how the Autobots and Decepticons crash landed on Earth and lay dormant for millions of years before a volcanic eruption reactivated the onboard computer that began to repair them. It shows how and why they gained the ability to transform into Earth vehicles, and it sets up the epic battle that would span over more than 100 episodes (including a feature length movie).

Another memorable first season episode is called “Fire In The Sky”, where the Decepticons uncover the remains of Skyfire, a former scientist from Cybertron frozen in ice. Although he was friends with Starscream in the past, when the Decepticons reactivate him, his moral inclinations ally him with the Autobots instead.

Also introduced during Season 1 are the Dinobots, and later the Insecticons. A common thread throughout the season is the creation and testing of the “space bridge” that connects Cybertron to Earth.

Transformers Season One contains 16 episodes in total (divided over 3 discs), and the majority of the episodes revolve around the Decepticons trying to steal a power source on Earth, and the Autobots trying to protect it. I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t get a little repetitive.As you might expect, the cheese factor is pretty high with this cartoon, and the writing wasn’t all that exciting, but sometimes simplicity is the preferable approach. Newer shows like Beast Machines wove overly complicated storylines that became difficult to follow, and in the end they just couldn’t compare to the original series.

Watching the show many years later is an interesting experience in itself. You notice things that you didn’t notice when you were a kid, and a lot of pressing questions are conjured up. For instance, why does Optimus Prime talk like John Wayne in the first few episodes? And why did Optimus Prime’s chest look like the front of a big rig truck even on Cybertron, before he had ever been to Earth? And when Megatron transformers into a gun, why does he shrink to a fraction of his normal size?

Anyways, if you are the kind of person who is interested in this boxed set, you probably are already familiar with the Transformers mythology, and what you really want to know is whether or not it is worth buying. All of the episodes contained in the first season have previously been released on home video at some point, many of them more than once, and The Ultimate Doom 3-part episode was previously released on DVD by Rhino as well. However, all of the episodes have been “digitally restored” in this boxed set, and there’s no question that this is the best that any of the episodes have ever looked before (and probably the best they ever will… for now anyways). There are still dust and speckles in some areas unfortunately, and it’s clear that there was very little care taken to preserve the original masters of the show over the years. Couldn’t the producers of the show see what a gold mine these episodes would become 15 years later? I guess not.

It is important to note that these are the episodes in their original form, not that “Generation 2″ crap that they released years later where the episodes had annoying computer generated transition effects between every single cut. One cool bonus is that they actually have the original Transformers bumpers in the episodes that would be used before and after commercial breaks.

The audio on these DVDs is something I am not entirely happy with. They claim it is Dolby 5.1 audio, but really I think all they did is add some extra sound effects here and there. The sound effects are things like explosions and jets flying overhead, and they are a little overdone. You’ll be watching the episode and then all of a sudden someone will shoot a laser and it will just explode across your speakers… it really stands out. It might have sounded okay if they enhanced all of the sound effects like this, but instead they just sprinkled a few extra sounds randomly throughout the episodes. It seems like laziness on the part of Rhino.

To Rhino’s credit, they did include an entire 4th disc of special features with this set, but the special features were kind of disappointing. For instance, the behind the scenes section on the remastering process is nothing more than a bunch of screens of text describing the technical details. There is also a section of animation outtakes and goofs. If you ask me, there were enough screw ups in the cartoon itself, we didn’t need a whole extra section on this! After watching a few minutes of the various outtakes, it gets kind of boring… I don’t understand why a lot of the stuff was cut, considering tons of similar goofs made it into the show anyways.

There is an original script from the episode Transport To Oblivion on Disc 4. This is nice to have, but it’s not really something you can just sit and read on your TV screen. The only special feature that is at all worthwhile is the BotCon: Above and Beyond segment that features footage from last year’s BotCon, and the interview with BotCon’s organizer, Glen Hallit. It’s always amusing to hear from people who live and breathe Transformers.. it makes me feel like less of a loser. Some of the extra Japanese clips are kinda fun too, but I wish there were more of them.

I should also mention that the packaging for this box set is quite nice with its metallic silver cover, although the artwork on the inside seems like a second rate reproduction of the original characters. The set comes with a special collectible animation cel, but I’m not too sure how collectible these are since as far as I can tell, everyone gets the same cel.

Despite some of the complaints, I’m really happy to have this Season 1 set in my DVD collection. The video and sound are hit and miss, and the special features may not be all that “special”, but the bottom line is this piece of my childhood will now be preserved on a digital format for many years to come. Hats off to Rhino for taking a chance on releasing an entire season of the Transformers on DVD, even if it was kind of a half-assed attempt. Hopefully the success of this set will allow them to be more thorough with future releases, such as the Transformers Season 2 set, which should hit stores before the end of 2002. Now if we can only convince them to release a G.I. Joe boxed set too. — Sean

Sonic Youth
with The Nihilist Spasm Band
Thurs. Aug. 15, 2001 @ Kool Haus, Toronto

Well it’s not every day that you get a chance to see a legendary band like Sonic Youth, and I was pretty pumped up for this show. I am ashamed to admit that this was only my first time seeing Sonic Youth perform live, mainly because I haven’t been keeping up with all of their latest albums. This year, with the release of Murray Street, my interest in Sonic Youth was piqued once again and I decided that I had better catch them live sometime soon before they get old and retire. Not that I could actually imagine a day when Sonic Youth will not be writing and performing music in some shape or form. Their career thus far has been nothing if not prolific. They’ve been together since 1981, and Murray Street marks their 16th full length release if I’m not mistaken. Damn that is a lot of material to try and cover in a live performance.

The opening band was a noise band from London, Ontario called The Nihilist Spasm Band, and I gotta say, nothing could have prepared me for their performance. First of all, the band is comprised of 6 or 7 guys who look to be quite old, and they took the stage wearing matching red t-shirts with a symbol of a musical note crossed out on them. It seemed odd that the members of a noise band would be balding or have grey hair and big beards, and it seemed even stranger when the vocalist informed the audience that they had been doing this for 35 years. Now that’s dedication.

They used quite an interesting assortment of instruments to construct their layers of noise. There was the standard stuff like guitar, bass and drums, and then there was some weird stuff like a kazoo, a thumb piano, a waterpipe, and a cooking pot, believe it or not. The singer would start off each song with a short poetry piece that was just hilarious. The first song was called “What About Me” and in a loud, booming voice he shouted something like “You think the economy is bad? What about me? You think the CN tower is the largest free standing structure? What about me?”. Other songs included “Meat Eater” and “My Way”, during which he declared “Do things my way, the only way! I care about what you think, it’s just that it’s wrong!” Then he proceeded to make strange low pitched moans and wails with his voice as his bandmates slowly built up a racket around him.

Their set was made up of 5 songs in all… or maybe it was 6. Either way, it was just about right. Not surprisingly, the crowd totally ate it up. At any other concert they would have been booed off the stage, but opening for Sonic Youth they were worshipped as gods.

Speaking of gods, Sonic Youth walked on stage soon afterwards to an overwhelming roar from the packed “Haus”, and it became clear that they too were adored by the crowd. It also became clear that the crowd was quite fond of the new album, which is a good thing, because they played every single song from it! Of course, Murray Street only has 7 tracks on it, so I suppose that’s not quite as big deal as it sounds.

They also had Jim O’Rourke with them on stage, providing the essential third layer of guitar noise. I am guessing that he is now an official member of the band and not just an occasional collaborator.

Their stage set up included a screen onstage behind the band that projected live black and white camera images of the crowd, and at times some abstract-looking still images. They also had a lot of bright lights and a strobe light that was used effectively during certain songs.

The most fun part of watching Sonic Youth play was just seeing how tight they were together. Even though their songs often have parts where they improvise and jam out, they still seem to instinctively know where the song is going. I guess that’s what you get when you play music together for over 20 years.

Aside from the wealth of new material, the selection of songs included a couple of tunes from the Daydream Nation album, including Eric’s Trip (which is where the Halifax band took their name from), and a couple songs from the Evol album, including the delicate Shadow Of A Doubt with a satisfyingly chaotic climax.

As it turns out, the main highlights in my mind were actually performances of a couple new songs: Rain On Tin with Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo’s interwoven guitar parts, as well as Karen Revisited and its extended noise jam finale.

My only complaint as the show drew to a close was that they hadn’t played any songs from Dirty or Goo (although they were the band’s most commercially successful albums, they are also my favourites). I was beginning to wonder if it had anything to do with the theft of their gear that happened on tour a couple years ago. It has been said that some of that equipment was irreplacable, and that many of their songs could never be reproduced using other instruments instead. But then, as if on cue, the band ended their encore with one of my all-time favourite Sonic Youth songs, Drunken Butterfly, with Kim Gordon dancing around on stage and singing. They also did a second encore featuring an early song from the Confusion Is Sex album called Making The Nature Scene. I guess that makes at least one satisfied customer on the night. — Sean

V/A - (Coles) Notes From Underground
(Underground Operations)

Underground Operations is an independent punk rock collective. Underground Operations seems to be making conservatives a little bit nervous. Underground Operations is seriously considering not going to church this Sunday.

These are the types of silly little mock-propaganda statements that are scattered throughout the Underground Operations website and the liner notes for this cd. This fledgling record label, based in Ajax, Ontario, is quite clearly concerned with political struggle and social debate, if not from a literal standpoint, then at least from an aesthetic perspective.

They have put together a compilation that contains music from 4 different bands (2 songs from each), and looking at the cover artwork and song titles you’d think these guys are all trying to single-handedly save humanity from every evil that has been witnessed throughout the history of the world. Whether or not they actually are inspiring independent thought and political change remains to be seen, but at the very least they’ve managed to package the concept of revolution with promotional skills that would make The (International) Noise Conspiracy proud.

As you might expect, this disc contains two tracks from Toronto’s (now defunct) political punk rock legends, Marilyn’s Vitamins. “The Executions of May 16th 1998″ is a song that previously appeared on their hard-to-find Meanwhile During The Class War EP, and “One For The Road (A Boy And His Chemical Dependency)” is, as I understand it, a previously unreleased song. Both songs are exactly what you would expect from Marilyn’s Vitamins: raw, snotty punk rock. I have to admit, it’s cool to hear Colin Vitamin’s angry mile-a-minute vocal delivery again. As much as I’m not a huge fan of pissed-off political punk rock, Marilyn’s Vitamins were a pretty special band, and these two songs alone will make the compilation worth owning for many people.

Marilyn’s Vitamins fans will also be interested to hear two songs from another band on this disc called Bombs Over Providence. Featuring ex-members of Marilyn’s Vitamins, this band maintains the socio-political focus that the Vitamins were known for, but has adopted a more emotional and complex sound. In hearing their two tracks I am instantly reminded of bands like Boysetsfire, d.b.s. and Braid. This is definitely the highlight of the compilation.

Closet Monster are the third band on the cd, and they have definitely improved a lot since some earlier recordings I had heard from them. They still have a faint pop-punk sound, but it is often hidden behind overpowering group-chanting and anthemic choruses. Sum 41 meets the Dropkick Murphys perhaps?

The other band is called Protest The Hero, from Whitby, Ontario, and to be honest they are my least favourite of the bunch. They seem to be more rooted in the “hardcore” genre than the other three bands. There’s just a little more screaming and an unabashed thrash/metal influence here, not to the point where it’s intolerable, but their songs just didn’t stand out to me.

This cd is pretty good. This cd probably will not spend an excessive amount of time in my personal cd player. This cd did not blow my mind, but can be expected to put smiles on the faces of more than a few punk rock kids.

Since listening to this cd I have noticed that I am starting to partake in many rebellious acts that I wouldn’t otherwise do. I am seriously considering drinking milk straight out of the carton. I am seriously considering wearing non-matching socks. I am seriously considering sleeping in tomorrow morning. — Sean

Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (Gamecube)
Developed by: Silicon Knights
Published by: Nintendo

After what seems like an “eternity” of development time, St.Catharines’ own Silicon Knights have finally released their masterpiece for the Gamecube, Eternal Darkness. This thing has been in the works for so long that I think it was originally supposed to be a Nintendo 64 game. Needless to say, if the game was anything short of spectacular there would be a lot of disappointed game players out there. Fortunately, Eternal Darkness is one of the first truly earth-shattering games to come out for the Gamecube so far.

Reviewing this game is a little difficult for me, because I take my time going through games like this… at the moment I have only put in about three hours on it. Have I experienced enough of the game to pass judgement on it? I think so. Truth be told, within the first few minutes of playing Eternal Darkness I was already won over by the game’s tremendous attention to detail, gorgeous graphics and dark, immersive atmosphere.

The first thing you see when you load up the game (aside from that cute, loveable Nintendo logo) is a quote from Edgar Allen Poe, which immediately got me to thinking, even if this game isn’t dark and scary at least it will be laughably pretentious… clearly a win/win situation.

One thing I will say is that the story is quite involved… so involved that after the three measly hours of gameplay, I still haven’t really scratched the surface of what is going on in it. The story starts as a young woman named Alexandra Roivas gets a phone call informing her of her grandfather’s mysterious (and somewhat gory) death. She begins to explore his mansion for clues and it becomes apparent that he has been caught up in some sort of black magic that may well have been the cause of his demise. There is a book called the Tome Of Eternal Darkness that Alex unwittingly stumbles across, and as she pieces together different chapters, she learns about various family members and relations from the past who were also tangled up in the same web of evil that cost her grandfather his life.

As the game plays out, you control Alex Roivas in the present time, and whenever she reads a chapter from the Tome Of Eternal Darkness, you also take control of each of the characters in the past and live out their story temporarily. Some of the other characters include a Roman soldier named Pious Augustus from 26 B.C., and a Cambodian girl named Ellia from 1150 A.D. Direct gameplay is in the style of Resident Evil, however the movement is a lot smoother and the controls are not as stiff and wooden as Resident Evil. Also, during combat you can target specific areas of the body, which allows you to lop off limbs or slice enemies cleanly in half. Awesome! As with Resident Evil, your movement becomes slower and more laborious as your health meter dwindles.

In between the various chapters, and throughout the game, there are some pretty lengthy cinematic cut scenes. Normally I am not a big fan of cinematics, but the voice acting is so well done and the graphics are so visually stunning that I really have no complaints whatsoever. I could probably sit and watch a whole movie of them.

The game’s spooky atmosphere successfully compliments the story. If you want horror and suspense, then this game is for you. The guys at Silicon Knights are clearly fans of Edgar Allen Poe and HP Lovecraft in terms of content, and I think they’ve probably also taken notes from some of the more respected horror movie directors in terms of execution. The sound effects and music are creepy, and there are points in the game that will make you jump, or at least send a chill down your spine.

Part of the game’s absorbing atmosphere comes from one of its most unique elements… the so-called “Sanity Meter”. As the various characters come into contact with evil creatures, they lose sanity. When they run out of sanity, strange things start to happen… things that actually mess with your own head as a game player. I have to admit, I didn’t see how this could work, but it’s actually quite effective. You’ll have to experience it yourself really, but believe me when I say it just may have you rubbing your eyes and staring at the screen in confusion and disbelief from time to time. It’s a good thing that you can gain back sanity by delivering “finishing blows” to creatures, otherwise there would be a whole lotta insanity going on. (I don’t really see how impaling an undead monster with your trusty long sword once it has fallen limp would help bring you back to reality, but I guess I’ll just go with it.)

Your sword isn’t the only weapon you have in your arsenal. Throughout the game, you can learn to use various magic spells, which may help in combat or may help solve puzzles as well. The magic system in Eternal Darkness is another unique and creative aspect of the game. Basically you mix and combine various symbols and runes to create a spell. You can find scrolls that provide blueprints for a specific combination that will achieve a certain desired effect. The system may appear somewhat complex at first, but apparently it’s also very flexible, to the point where you can experiment with symbols on your own and even create spells that the developers of the game hadn’t necessarily intended. I haven’t progressed far enough to try this out myself, but I can believe that such possibilities exist in a game that is this detailed.

And really, it comes down to the little details that set this game apart from anything else I’ve ever played before. During a flashback scene to Pious Augustus’ time, for example, the Roman soldiers are initially speaking in Latin with English subtitles. Either the guys at Silicon Knights are perfectionists, or someone there is a really big ancient history nerd. Either way, you have to give them credit, because this game is an impressive achievement.

Although big releases for the Gamecube seem to be coming out rather slowly at the moment, Eternal Darkness finally makes me feel vindicated as a Gamecube owner. It shows that the system is capable of some amazing things, and it will keep you occupied at least until some of the other big games hit the shelves. But don’t be fooled, this is not just a game to kill time with, this is the real thing. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem is a landmark game, and if you don’t believe me you’ll just have to read all the other great reviews it has been getting everywhere else. — Sean

Castlevania (NES)

They don’t make games like they used to anymore, and if you haven’t heard of Castlevania before, I don’t think I can be your friend anymore.

This 2d side-scoller has everything including monsters called Humpers (don’t ask). The premise is simple, you are Vampire Hunter Simon Belmont and you must go mess up the evil Dracula with your trusty whip, before he can kill again. The graphics at the time were pretty impressive; I’m talking all 8-bits of it. You not only get to mess up Dracula but also whole slew of bad asses like Frankenstein and Medusa.

What can I say? Do I really need to tell you peeps how good it is? I mean if it was crap, why is Konami still making games off of the original franchise? Be warned though, its very HARD, I’m not talking about my masculinity either. It took me 14 years to beat that SOB Dracula but it was worth it seeing that bitch on ice. I’ll make you a deal. If you go play it then I’ll be your friend. — Chian

M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs
Written and directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin

Who does this M. Night Shyamalan guy think he is? He directs a couple relatively successful movies and now he thinks he is famous enough to preface all his movie titles with his own name? That takes balls. But you know, in all fairness he has made a bit of a name for himself with his previous two films, and he has shown a knack for manipulating an audience in ways that very few writer/directors can. Although The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable were good movies in their own ways (some would argue they were even GREAT movies), I was still waiting for M. Night Shyamalan to put out a movie that would completely knock me off my feet.

Now, notice that I said that I “was” waiting, in the past tense, because as far as I’m concerned the wait is over. Signs has easily become the most memorable movie I have seen this year, and it provides indisputable evidence of Shyamalan’s raw talent as a filmmaker. Writer/director/producers always bring such pure visions to their creations, and Signs is no exception. Aside from a few moments of self-indulgence (mostly some drawn out speeches) this movie is virtually perfect. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie this engrossing and this genuinely frightening. And the fact that it stars Mel Gibson is surprisingly not a bad thing.

As you may have heard, the movie deals with the famous unsolved mystery of crop circles, a strange phenomena that have been seen in virtually every country in the world, dating back hundreds of years. Some claim they are just an elaborate hoax, while others are convinced that they must have been left by alien visitors. In Signs, Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) is a former reverend who has lost his faith, and he experiences the crop circles first hand on his farm where he lives with his son (Rory Culkin), daughter (Abigail Breslin), and brother (Joaquin Phoenix). Shyamalan only uses the mysterious crop circles as a starting point however, for something much more threatening and horrific. I will avoid saying more about the plot, because it is a movie that is more enjoyable if you know very little about it beforehand.

Rest assured, this is not a science fiction movie, it is rather a true suspense-thriller. Signs is full of great moments that will make you jump involuntarily, bring goosebumps to your skin, or make you clutch at your seat ever so tightly. People were actually screaming out loud in the theatre when I saw it. It is also a clever ebb and flow of tense moments and comic relief, which recalls Spielberg’s E.T. in many ways. Adding to the E.T. sensibility is the endearing performances by the two children, played by Abigail Breslin and Rory Culkin (that’s right — Macaulay’s brother… it’s all in the genes baby). As with The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, Shyamalan uses the children to add to the suspense and realism… I’m not sure exactly what it is, but perhaps the involvement of innocent children just brings out the protective parental instincts in all of us (okay… some of us).

M. Night Shyamalan has a firm grasp of what it takes to knot your stomach for a full 90 minutes. He has a rare ability to slowly unravel a mystery, and keep the audience captivated, waiting on the edge of their seat to see what will happen next. He also knows how to scare the crap out of you. The Blair Witch Project school of filmmaking is alive and well in this movie; Shyamalan understands that things are a lot scarier when they are left at least partly to the imagination. He avoids direct shots, and instead uses all kinds of ingenious reflections, blurry images, and quick pans to present you with just enough visual stimulation to let your mind (and your pulse) run wild.

Once again, the film closes with an ending that brings all the pieces of the puzzle together in the most fulfilling way. It leaves you with the unmistakable realization that you’ve just been manipulated by a director who is a master of his craft.

Would it be presumptious of me to say that M. Night Shyamalan could very well become the next Alfred Hitchcock? He certainly seems to be striving to achieve such a distinction. The opening credits and the score by James Newton Howard immediately bring a Hitchcock feel to the film, not to mention the fact that Shyamalan also enjoys making cameos in his own movies. This time around he has an even larger acting role than usual. More than anything though, the slow, steady pace and the gut wrenching suspense make Signs something that Hitchcock himself would have been proud of.

If you go see one movie this summer, go see Signs.Trust me, this is one movie that you just have to experience in a theatre environment (hopefully without ignorant kids making noise all around you). It’s scary, exhilarating, and unforgettable… and when you’re done you can’t wait to do it all over again. I guess that makes it a real rollercoaster ride of emotions. — Sean