Challenge of the Gobots DVD: Miniseries (1984)

[ctophil]

Hey everybody,

Just bought this Gobots DVD miniseries. Man, it took forever for this mostly unknown TV series to hit DVD. Can't wait for the rest of the episodes to get the DVD treatment. I remember as a kid, the Gobots would come on TV at around the same time as The Transformers. I even owned a few toys as well! Gobots were not as good as The Transformers. However, the series had its own charm.

Grab your own copy at Amazon.com if you remember the Gobots:

http://www.amazon.co...keywords=gobots

[Areala]

That original "Challenge of the Go-Bots" mini-series RULES. I watched the hell out of that growing up.

"Nick...AJ...why?"

"Too bad you won't be around long enough to find out!"

*huggles*

Areala

[Schloss Ritter]

GoBots seemed so cheesy next to Transformers at the time, yet I liked both shows and even had a couple GoBots toys. Nowadays I know the acting was cheesy on both shows, heh.

[CossackBueh]

Well it's Hanna Barbara so the cheesiness was baked into the bread.

[RetroDefense]

Well it's Hanna Barbara so the cheesiness was baked into the bread.

Wouldn't have it any other way. I grew up watching 60s-era Hanna Barbara re-runs - so bad, they're good.

ctophil, I'm curious - how's the quality of the Go-Bots set? Not necessarily the cartoons, but the actual DVDs and packaging? I've been interested in these print-on-demand Hanna-Barbara collections for a while now, but haven't taken the plunge.

[ctophil]

Wouldn't have it any other way. I grew up watching 60s-era Hanna Barbara re-runs - so bad, they're good.

ctophil, I'm curious - how's the quality of the Go-Bots set? Not necessarily the cartoons, but the actual DVDs and packaging? I've been interested in these print-on-demand Hanna-Barbara collections for a while now, but haven't taken the plunge.

The Box and DVD are professionally done. You couldn't do the same with a printer at home. The only way you can tell it's a DVD-R is by looking underneath the disc itself. Look at the snapshots of my copy below and judge for yourself. It even has Hanna Barbara and Warner Bros. Classic Collection Copyright info. on the box and DVD. The menu system while playing the DVD is also nicely done as well.

[RetroDefense]

Thanks for the pix! I'm glad to see they include color artwork on the actual discs. I wasn't really expecting them to go with label-less DVDs, but thought they might cut corners in this regard. And if playback and everything is okay, I think it's time I start picking up some of these POD sets. Herculoids, Valley of the Dinosaurs, the Mighty Mightor, Young Samson - loved watching those re-runs as a kid.

Again, thanks for going to all the trouble - appreciated!

Edited January 15, 2014 by RetroDefense

[RetroDefense]

Not to hijack the thread further, but I thought I'd follow up now that I've picked up a couple of these Hanna-Barbera print-on-demand DVD sets.

I've purchased two thus far - Inch High Private Eye and Thundarr: The Barbarian. I agree with ctophil - the packaging is well done and retail quality, although the design work is no frills and sometimes a little drab. Pretty much what you'd get with a low-budget DVD set (along the lines of a Mill Creek release).

Unfortunately, these POD sets are pricey for low-budget releases. A negative side-effect of print-on-demand, I suppose. Still, if you're patient, you'll sometimes find these available via Amazon for significant discounts every once in a while, which is how I got mine.

I was a little disappointed with the Thundarr set, though. The main disc menu is incredibly generic, with no Thundarr theme applied whatsoever - not even a background image. There's also no episode list insert included, although lists are printed on the discs themselves in lieu of artwork. Inch High Private Eye, on the other hand, has no episode listings but does have themed menus and some disc art (nothing as nice as the Go-bot disc above, though).

Overall, they certainly could have been better (don't expect the niceties of WB's retail Hanna-Barbera releases), but if this is truly the only way WB can justify releasing these series physically, I'll gladly accept the compromise. Hoping to pick up Captain Caveman and Herculoids in the near future!

[ctophil]

Cool, thanks RetroDefense for the reviews of your DVD purchases. Man, I remember Inch High Private Eye and Thundarr. They don't make TV cartoons like they used to. These days, they either remake the older stuff or make stupid shows I can't watch for more than 5 minutes. Even some of the remakes are boring (i.e. Transformers Prime). It think the only good cartoons that they remade are Thundercats and the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

But I digress, I agree that it can be kinda expensive for low budget DVD prints. But hey, how else are you going to watch them on DVD besides downloading them yourself. But the downloads are usually bad quality and/or not complete. So I'm glad that there is a chance for us to own a copy of these classic cartoons.

[twiztor]

I think the only good cartoons that they remade are Thundercats and the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

the 2002 remake of He-Man was as good if not better than the 80s series.

[ctophil]

the 2002 remake of He-Man was as good if not better than the 80s series.

Oh yeah, I saw 5-6 episodes of the remade He-Man. I forgot about that one. I agree, it is good with better animation and coloring. The storyline is good too. I also saw the remake of Voltron. Eh, it's a good example of bad rehashes of 80s cartoons. The Voltron pilots are more like teenage bebops, and the entire series is less serious in my opinion. Voltron supposed to be epic and dramatic, not silly most of the time.