Customer Reviews

Exosquad: Season 1

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sixteen years is a long time. Children born during Exosquad's broadcast on USA network are now old enough to drive, quit school, and get married (parent signature required in most states). But I digress, to those of us who have waited patiently for all these long years; Universal Studios Home Entertainment's announcement that Exosquad is coming to DVD is prime proof of the phrase "better late than never".

Exosquad - Season 1 is the first of two seasons from the animated USA Network series that debuted in 1993 and will be followed by three more 2-disc sets totaling 52 episodes.

The show, for those who don't know, is considered by many to be the closest domestic attempt at Japanese anime to date. ExoSquad's creative staff weaved an ongoing tale centering on a single combat unit (the ExoSquad) and their exploits in a cosmic war raging between human beings and our own rebellious genetic creations, Neo-Sapiens. The setting spans the rocky planets of our solar system (Venus, Earth, Mars) with occasional visits to the asteroid-laden rings of gas-giant Saturn.

Like most anime entries, the 52-episode saga does not consist of 52 individual episodes but rather 52 parts of a single tale. Episodes typically end very abruptly and pick up in the next episode exactly where the previous one left off. Additionally the show doesn't candy-coat concepts such as death or betrayal. Like real wars, there are casualties and the team you happen to be rooting for doesn't always come out on top. Finally the use of mecha (in this case they are called E-Frames or ExoFrames) takes another chapter from the typically considered Japanese area of expertise.

Previously released across several VHS tapes, this set collects the first 13 episodes together in one package for the first time. Episodes will be presented in full frame video, with English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo audio and English subtitles.

Here are the episodes contained:

1 Pirate Scourge
2 Seeds of Deception
3 Hidden Terrors
4 Blitzkrieg
5 Resist!
6 Target: Earth
7 A Traitor Among Us
8 Scorched Venus
9 Sabotage
10 Abandoned
11 The Brood
12 Betrayal
13 Defying Olympus

True this happened while Babylon 5 was still going on, BUT the reason i wrote that as part of the title is that this show is dramatically brilliant for an animated series in the morning. For me this beat X-men on Saturdays. It beats X-men for it had a beginning middle and end, a strong structure for story telling...aside from that tid bit in the final episode...fans you know what I am talking about. The animation may not be as crisp as 90s Batman, but you have to give them the props for the detail they were puting in the character's design and the design of the ships while bringing to life serious scenes and action sequences. If you haven't seen this show and are a fan of animated series in action, adventure, and down to earth characters and sci-fi political drama...you will be pleased for what it was doing at its time. Such a show should not be forgotten. If you are a fan of comedy then this is not for you. To those fans of X-men, GI Joe, to the battlestar Galactica and yes my fav B5...do check this out. Don't believe me or still not sure, read other reviews to prove our suggestions' sincerity.

My online friends and I have been praying for a DVD release of this show for quite some time. My old VHS tapes started loosing sound, watching on the computer YouTube episodes doesn't really satisfy completely, but it was the way. Thank you for this release. March is a drag, and April is taking too long to come.

I've been an Exo Squad fan since it's original airing, so I have to give this a 5. The DVD's are what you'd expect: all the Season 1 episodes on 2 discs.

There are no special features, no commentary tracks, no featurettes, and no foreign languages. Just episodes. As an Exo Squad fan, I would have loved features like this, though I was not expecting them given the relative obscurity of the show.

The discs also come in a white case instead of a normal black case. Apparently the producers thought this was some kind of kid's show!

I loved this cartoon when I was younger.

It still holds up, it has a great story.

Anyways, I contacted Universal (who owns Exosquad) and they indicated that they had no intentions of releasing Season 2. This is really bad news. I am assuming that they do not see any potential profit in this franchise. So I suggest all of us Exosquad fans contact them and say we want Season 2 on DVD

[...]

Can't believe it is finally here, been waiting for what seems like forever. Great story and characters, and is not a childish cartoon. I have had the 1st season on VHS and Laserdisc, and the 2nd season recorded from TV, I hope people continue to buy this to ensure the 2nd season is put out. Thank you finally for making available on DVD.

Now here's an hard to watch show back when it first came out, and it was out before the USA run, (I first saw it in syndication)

This is one has a running storyline that works quite well and is hardly childish, if you liked the much later Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles this has just as tight in the writing and something that that one never could make it to... an ending.

When this show first aired in the early '90's i was in 8th/9th grade and this was hands down the greatest cartoon series I had/have ever seen. When I found out this was FINALLY coming out on DVD, I pre-ordered my copy. The entire show is one giant arc like Babylon 5 and instead of Cylons like on BSG, we have genetically engineered NeoSapiens rebelling against humanity.

The complex dynamic characters, social themes, & long arcs are what made this show truly great and addictive. Unfortunately, the show fell victim to market conditions and was lost into obscurity, but not before a fantastic finale, and edge of your seat cliff hanger!

It seems that my generation (late 20's) has a thing for nostalgia (i.e. - Transformers & GI Joe live action movies). Exosquad was clearly targeted at this nostalgic generation at the time (teenagers & young adults, not children), so if sales are good, Exosquad could be next up to bat for a live action series or mini-series!

Enough ranting, can't say enough how highly I recommend Exosquad :)

I bought my copy!

Exosquad is an above average series that - despite it's toy roots - stepped out onto the stage and made it's own mark. You would legitimately never know toys were involved in the first place with the deep storyline and complex characters. It dealt with ethical issues like war, slavery, racial hatred and the value of life and death and managed not to be infantile or pandering at any moment.

If you want a real animation experience - if you want a story that will make you think about stuff other than how many pocket monsters have been collected or if the cast have graduated from ninja school... then give this a try! You won't regret it!

Just finished college when this series aired. The animation imho wasn't that great, but damn the story and concept were first rate. Never much of a weekly series kind of TV watcher, but I'd actually make a point of seeing this show every week. Never felt this was suppose to be a kid's show, dealt with some very complex social issues. Remember how disappointed I was when the 3rd season never came. Great science fiction. This is the type of show the Cartoon network should be showing prime time Saturday night rather then that pathetic Clone Wars. Speaking of selling toys, Exosquad had some of the most accurately detailed beautiful toys ever made by the the Playmates company. I bought all of them and still blown away everytime I look at them. I'm surprised Exosquad hasn't been developed for the big screen. With the advent of believable CGI, live actors and animation of the E-Frames would be amazing. Get this set and watch, you won't be sorry.

We've all been waiting for this moment for far too long. Other reviews have already explained the brilliance of this show and how unappreciated it was (and still is).

There are no commentaries or special features, which is sort of a drag, but hopefully sales of season 1 will be strong enough that they'll put a bit more effort into the season 2 discs.

It's great to finally own this DVD and here's hoping the rest of the show will be out in not too long.