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Released by: Warner Archive
Released on: 3/8/2011
Director: Various
Cast: Chris Alan, Janet Waldo
Year: 1966/1967
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The Series:
In their continuing quest to bring to DVD every obscure series ever released by Hanna-Barbera, Warner Archive unleashes this four disc set containing all twenty episodes of the single season series The Space Kidettes alongside the thirteen episodes that make up the entire run of Young Samson (a series that was originally broadcast under the title Samson And Goliath). Though they were originally broadcast as separate shows, Hanna-Barbera would later pair them up (because weird space kids go well with Biblically inspired action!) and broadcast them together and it's in that format that they appear in this DVD set. Why? Because the master elements from the original versions were destroyed when the two series were edited into one show - so this is all we're ever going to get.
At any rate, The Space Kidettes revolves around four kids - Countdown, Scooter, Snoopy, and Jenny - who live in a space station with their dog, Pup Star. What do they do with their time? Well they don't go to school or seem to have any parental guidance of any kind, instead they have a treasure map that they try to use to locate some lost space treasure. Unfortunately for the kids, as is often the case when treasure maps are involved, there's a rascally pirate named Captain Skyhook out to get his hands on that map and the treasure he hopes it will lead him to.
Each and every episode of The Space Kidettes finds Captain Skyhook coming up with a crazy scheme to get the map from the kids, often with the help of his right hand man Static, only to have the kids ruin his plans. The episodes are edited down from the original half hour show running time and crammed into ten minute episodes on this format so they go by pretty quickly even if they are predictable and formulaic. The Space Kidettes themselves aren't very interesting, in fact, they're a little bit irritating, but Captain Skyhook is a pretty fun villain and he and Static both frequently go over the top even by cartoon bad guy standards. If this series doesn't rank up there with the best that Hanna-Barbera has to offer, it's still a fun diversion with some interesting design and amusing concepts.
Young Samson, which is the second half of the show, has a fair bit more going on than The Space Kidettes. The series revolves around a teenager named Samson who roams the countryside on a scooter with his dog Goliath as his only companion. He has a tendency to find trouble wherever he goes and when he does, he clinks his wristbands together and turns into a muscle-bound superhero able to trounce bad guys of all kinds. Throughout the show Samson takes on aliens, monsters, evil doctors, more monsters, more aliens and even a few evil robots, but none of them are a match for him once he makes his transformation. Samson also has the ability to transform Goliath into a giant lion who inexplicably has the unique ability to shoot laser beams out of his eyes. Oh, and he can fly too. Really, this incarnation of Samson and Goliath has got it going on.
Packed with action and colorful characters, the storylines here might not be much to write home about but at least it all moves at a good pace. The character design is colorful and interesting and Samson and Goliath are likeable characters that are much easier to cheer for than the irritating Space Kidettes. There's no real character development of any kind and the series is basically a string of set ups that let the characters get to the action set pieces with little regard for plot or structure, but it's got enough monsters and mayhem to work.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The series was shown on television in the sixties so a fullframe aspect ratio makes sense for this presentation. As far as the video quality goes, these transfers were taken from existing materials and so they don't look as razor sharp or crystal clear as you might want. Generally speaking, however, the transfers are pretty decent. Colors are nicely defined and print damage, dirt and debris are kept to a minimum.
The no frills Dolby Digital Mono sound mix is in English with no alternate language dubs, subtitles or closed captions provided. The audio is clean and clear and you won't have any problems understanding the dialogue. The levels fluctuate a bit here and there and there are a few spots where the effects are a bit loud, but these are minor complaints. Generally the audio sounds just fine.
Aside from a static menu screen, this set is completely barebones.
The Final Word:
This may be second tier Hanna-Barbera material but it's still a fun series that fans of classic animation will enjoy. Warner Archive's DVD set looks and sounds pretty decent and even if it doesn't have any extra features, revisiting this show proves to be an entertaining and nostalgic trip.
