Easily the one of the weirdest (if not the weirdest) concepts to ever grace the small screen, Space Ghost Coast to Coast is a bizarre talk show hosted by a minor 60’s cartoon hero Space Ghost. Repeated animation clips are used to have Space Ghost “interview” such luminaries of the mid 90’s (the show ran on Cartoon Network from 1993-1996) such as Slash, Hulk Hogan, Bobcat Golthwait, Michael Stipe from REM (promoting Monster), and The Jerky Boys.
The basic premise has Space Ghost asking inane questions to hi… guests only to have them respond in equally confusing ways. The guests are interviewed before hand in the studio and clips of their discussions are spliced into the conversation with Space Ghost. Intertwined into this is Space Ghost’s ongoing conflict with the leader of the band – Zorak an man sized evil preying mantis and his producer Moltar – some evil dude with a bucket on his head. These two are constantly insulting Space Ghost. He is occasionally aware of this and responds by threatening to blast them with his space wristbands. This very unusual combination provided some rare moments of hilarity but all too often felt myself wondering “was there something more to that comment that I am missing?” This is definitely a show that would have it’s devoted fans, similar to shows like Mystery Science Theater 3000 (of which I was a big fan), but would have a hard time appealing to the audience at large.
Video
A solid 4:3 presentation and transfer but not without its flaws. There is noticeable artifacting and at times fading of color. This may not be so unexpected however, as all of the Space Ghost animation was about 25 years old when the show was aired. However, overall the colors are fairly bright and the skin tones (of the humans in the show) were fairly well done. The black level was well set.
Audio
Nothing spectacular here. As the emphasis is on dialogue, most of the sound comes through the centre speaker. The interviews come through clear (so the audio can’t be blamed for hearing something and then having the viewer think, “What did he just say?” There is music from Zoltag and the band but the sound is somewhat subdued and there is little separation of sound and there is little if any use of the surround speakers.
Special Features
The main extras come in the form of audio commentaries on 5 episodes featuring voice actors, producers and writers. For the most part, these commentaries aren’t very good. It’s very clear that these people enjoyed working together on the show and they have a good time with these chats. But, unlike similar commentaries like on the Simpsons or Family Guy boxed sets, they don’t tell us very much about the making of or real history.
Final Thoughts
If you were a fan when it was aired in the mid 90’s, definitely pick it up. However, if you’ve never seen the show before, rent before buying. While it has it’s quirky charms, it’s not for everyone.
Special Features List
- Commentaries on 5 episodes
Screenshots
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10/05/2011 @ 1:09 pm
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