Synopsis
The premise should be familiar to anyone interested in the third season: Jerry O’Connell and friends continue sliding from one universe to another, encountering a different alternate earth in each episode, always trying to find the way back home. The range of possibilities is naturally pretty wide, so our heroes wind up in a deadly war game show (granted not the most original idea), in a world devastated by electric tornadoes, and so on. It’s all done with engaging humour and energy, though …he FX have aged noticeably (the opening scene of the first episode, where a plane goes down, boasts process work worthy of the original Star Trek). And the presence of John Rhys-Davies is, of course, always welcome.
Audio
This is a pretty solid example of audio for a TV DVD. In other words, there’s no 5.1, but the 2.0 is quite acceptable (and it is surround, not the mono indicated on the case). The sound is clear, crisp and undistorted, and there is a decent amount of surrround effects to liven things up. The sound effects are, it must be said, rather on the cheesy side.
Video
The picture isn’t the worst I’ve seen when it comes to TV transfers, but it isn’t the best either. It is a bit on the soft side, but the grain is minor. The colours, contrasts and flesh tones are all fine. In other words, it looks probably exactly as you remember it when the show first aired.
Special Features
Here’s where things get skimpy: a gag reel is the only extra connected to the series. The other bonuses are promotional: episodes of Earth 2 and Cleopatra 2525. The menu’s main screen is animated and scored, while some of the secondary screens are scored.
Closing Thoughts
Fans will no doubt be happy to have the third season is such compact form (the discs are piled in on each other), but will be disappointed by what is essentially an absence of special features.
Special Features List
- Gag Reel
- Bonus Episodes of Cleopatra 2525 and Earth 2
