Before He Became A Lawyer
“Biiiiiirddddmmmaannn!” – anyone who has heard that line just one time from the original cartoon is sure to remember how it sounds. It’s the most distinctive sound of the series, just like how the Space Ghost cartoons opened with the name “Space Ghost” said in a long, howling manner. These old cartoons are still a treat to watch, although I enjoy the Birdman episodes more so than the Space Ghost episodes (no nagging “twins” and that stupid monkey, Blip, in Birdman). I think Birdman is also a more interesting character, but I don’t want to make this all about comparisons, despite both series’ and DVD releases being very similar.
Birdman is an interesting character to me because he isn’t full of ability all the time. In fact, he gets his ability, his power, from the sun. And when, for whatever reason, he is kept away from the sun for a period, his performance suffers greatly. This is usually when Avenger, his trusty sidekick who is a huge purple eagle, swoops in to help him out. Like a lot of cartoons at the time, and yes today too, you see a lot of the same stories and themes recycled, which makes it hard for me to watch more than a few Birdman episodes in one sitting without a break. I enjoy the show, but the reoccurring themes and predictable nature of each episode will wear you out.
The Galaxy Trio is actually a pretty cool bunch. They are Gravity Girl, Meteor Man and Vapor Man, and their adventures made up the middle cartoon in between the two Birdman cartoons, per each episode. I certainly enjoyed these episodes more so than Dino Boy’s on the Space Ghost set, but these are also quite short and predictable.
Presentation
In terms of video and sound quality, expect a good looking, but fairly raw, transfer. As a fan of old cartoons, I don’t find anything wrong with this, and I prefer each episode to be left as it was originally released, so it’s nice that little, if anything was done to these episodes as they found their way to the DVDs. The extra feature on the disc focuses on the great animator, Alex Toth, who was a huge reason Birdman, Space Ghost, and Johnny Quest among others, was even created. His artistic style and skill still amaze today. It’s too bad there aren’t more extra features that deal more specifically with the show, though.
For $20, you basically have the same scenario facing you as the Space Ghost & Dino Boy box set – you get all twenty episodes, an extra feature, totaling to about 420 minutes of content. Not a bad price for the content at all, but if you’re leery, give it a rent.