Customer Reviews

Jason of Star Command - The Complete Series

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"The time: the distant future. Man has reached the farther stars, but has also uncovered dark, mysterious galaxies. And, as Star Command heads into the unknown, danger lies in wait."

Originally broadcast in the wake of the "Star Wars" phenomenon as a 15-minute live action segment of CBS's "Tarzan and the Super 7" show during the 1978-1979 season, "Jason of Command" had proved to be so popular (and the most expensive Filmation series) it became a separate half-hour Saturday morning show a season later.

Set in the 22nd century, the "Space Academy" spinoff (utilizing the sets, costumes and props) featured Craig Littler as Jason, the Han Solo-esque space explorer vital to Star Command's defense against the Dragonship attacks of deliciously evil "Master of the Cosmos" Dragos played by Sid Haig. Star Command itself was actually a special ops division of the Space Academy.

The supporting cast includes Susan O'Hanlon ("All My Children") as computer expert Capt. Nicole Davidoff; James Doohan (TV's "Star Trek") as Season One Commander Canarvin; Charlie Dell as inventor Professor E.J. Parsafoot; Tamara Dobson ("Cleopatra Jones") as Season Two super-strong alien telepath Samantha (replacing Nicole); and John Russell ("Pale Rider") as Season Two blue-skinned Commander Stone (replacing Canarvin); plus outer space-ready pocket droid "Wiki" (W1K1), and Peepo the robot.

Though obviously inspired by Star Wars and Ray Harryhausen model animated epics, Jason of Star Command most closely resembled the sci-fi serials of the 1930s and 40s, with a single-storied overall first season told in 16 chapters. Unlike previous Filmation shows, the stories focused more on action (non-violent, of course) than education. Nonetheless, "Jason" still commands respect among those who fondly remember it as arguably Saturday morning's most ambitious live action series this side of Battlestar Galactica.

Jason of Star Command - The Complete Series is 3-disc set featuring all 28 episodes in Full Frame (1.33:1) Video. BCI Eclipse even tracked down Jason himself, Craig Littler and got him to do commentary for the set! Special Features include:

* The all-new half-hour documentary, "The Adventures of Jason of Star Command," featuring interviews with the producer, stars, and visual effects artists.
* Two commentary tracks for Season One episodes "Attack of the Dragonship" and "The Disappearing Man" hosted by Andy Mangels with executive producer Lou Scheimer, and actors Craig Littler and John Berwick.
* Special effects commentary track for Season Two episode "Beyond the Stars!" hosted by Andy Mangels with visual effects supervisor Chuck Comisky, stop motion animator Jim Aupperle, and live action creature effects artist John Carl Beuchler.
* Jason of Star Command special effects demo reel
* Extensive gallery of promotional photos
* Extensive gallery of behind the scenes photos
* Gallery of cast & crew renunion photos
* Art gallery style guide for proposed "Jason of Star Command" animated series
* Booklet with episode guide and trivia
* DVD-ROM scripts from the series
* Easter eggs
* More previews from Ink & Paint

Season One:
1. Attack of the Dragonship
2. Prisoner of Dragos
3. Escape from the Dragons
4. A Cry for Help
5. Wiki to the Rescue
6. Planet of the Lost
7. Marooned in Time
8. Attack of the Dragons
9. Peepo's Last Chance
10. The Disappearing Man
11. The Haunted Planet
12. Escape from Kesh
13. Return of the Creature
14. Peepo on Trial
15. The Trojan Horse
16. The Victory of Star Command

Season Two:
1. Mission to the Stars
2. Frozen in Space
3. Web of the Star Witch
4. Beyond the Stars!
5. Secret of the Ancients
6. The Power of the Star Disk
7. Through the Stargate
8. Face to Face
9. Phantom Force
10. Little Girl Lost
11. Mimi's Secret
12. Battle for Freedom

Jason of Star Command is the reason I used to jump excitedly out of bed on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons with the anticipation that the Jason of Star Command live-action 15-minute segment of Tarzan and the Super 7 would be the crescendo of my weekly Saturday morning ritual. Building upon the first season of Filmation's highly successful live-action series Space Academy, it was revamped to appeal to kids who were still dazzled by seeing Star Wars, and the similarities to which are glaringly obvious. Craig Littler stars as Jason, the heroic soldier of fortune who is nothing less than Han Solo-lite right down to his 70's-looking vest and carries a pocket-sized droid on his belt named W1K1 (sounds like Buck Roger's Twiki) and Susan O'Hanlon who plays Captain Nicole Davidoff who bares more than a passing resemblance to Ralph McQuarrie's conceptual art designs for Princess Leia. Charlie Dell from Murphy Brown played the goofy Professor E.J. Parsafoot and Sid Haig (whom I vividly remember from Roger Corman's Galaxy of Terror and had guest starred with Batman's Julie Newmar on Buck Rogers) plays the evil space pirate Dragos with his over-the-top diabolical laughter and menacing helmet with laser-shooting eye crystal. James Doohan beamed over from the Enterprise to take command of the special secret-section of Space Academy (a space-station built upon a derelict asteroid) as Commander Canarvin but would be replaced in the second season by the hard-nosed blue-skinned Commander Stone played by John Russell when Doohan had to leave the show to go make Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Tamara Dobson would replace Nicole as the mysterious telepathic alien gypsy Samantha.

Jason bolstered the most ambitious special effects ever created for children's programming under the supervision of Chuck Comisky who would go on to work for Roger Corman studios and work with James Cameron to do the special effects for Battle Beyond the Stars. With impressive model spaceships like Jason's Starfire with illuminated ion engines and a detacheable escape pod called the "mini-cat" and Drago's Dragonship, a monstrous design that resembled an enormous beast with menacing arms, shoulders and head and its arsenal of unmanned fighter drones called Red Dragon Interceptors, Comisky and his team of visual effects gurus (some of whom had worked on Star Wars) were responsible for bringing the epic space battles of Star Wars and stop-motion aliens of Ray Harryhausen to the small screen and their impressive effects arguably still hold up to this day. After 30 years these shows have been preserved on DVD and look just as good as they did the first time I saw them and watching these shows again really take me back to the innocence and excitement I felt as a 6-year-old boy, they are exactly the same as I had remembered them. Sure it was cheese but it was damn good cheese.

The episodes were serialized in the style of the traditional 1930's movie serials like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. The first season had 16 episodes that were aired as part of a 15-minute segment of Filmation's 90-minute Tarzan and the Super 7 Saturday morning all-star show that included Tarzan Lord of the Jungle, The New Adventures of Batman, The Freedom Force, Superstretch and Microwoman, Manta and Moray and Web Woman. Unfortunately, due to lawsuits from Marvel and DC Comics, Superstretch and Microwoman, Manta and Moray and Web Woman have been withdrawn from commercial syndication and will likely not be made publicly available because of the numerous similarities to popular trademarked comic-book characters. However, Jason proved to be such a popular segment of the show that he required his own half-hour show for the second season consisting of an additional 14-episodes.

Danger hides in the stars... A sinister villain named Dragos threatens the cosmos... One hero will rise to stop him...

JASON OF STAR COMMAND!

Brentwood Video has been releaseing these old filmation shows(Space Acadamy, Ark II, and the Groove Ghoulies) and saving a part of all of us 70's children's history. These shows were great then and they look good now. These are classics from a time when Saturday mornings were an event looked foward to all week. Keep them coming Brentwood, PLEASE!

As soon as I ordered "Space Academy", I was hoping they'd release this great spin-off series, which has return appearances of the robot Peepo, and plenty of new characters.
Originally part of "Tarzan and the Super Seven", this live action Filmation series has a serialized storyline, and the excellent 1970s Filmation soundtrack music from their heyday. (You will have heard some of it in the Star Trek cartoons and the Freedom Force component of "Space Sentinels", if you bought those DVDs, and you should).
I've waited since I saw Jason as a young kid in 1980, for this release.
Space Academy's Seeker ships are reused, as well as the newer Starfires.
Star Trek fans can enjoy Jimmy Doohan as the Season one Commander of Star Command (replaced by a blue skinned alien commander in Season 2, where mini robot Wiki learns English).
Both seasons are included in the package, and will hold your attention right through.

I was thrilled when I heard that Jason of Star Command, and other Filmation live-action and animated shows were being released. Admittedly, most of these programs were probably cheesy then, and certainly haven't aged well. That said, I was going on 8 when Jason debuted, and I probably also watched the 1980 repeats when I was nearly 10. Jason may not have been Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, or even Buck Rogers, but it was a fun part of those sorely missed Saturday morning tv lineups. I won't weigh you down with the synopsis of every episode, the characters, etc. I'll focus more on the quality, and what you're getting for your money. It's been a month or so since I've watched the set, but I recall the video quality being pretty decent. There were at least two commentaries, as well as new interviews with Lou Scheimer, Jason Littler, and Sid Haig. Also some effects reels, and still photos. It's nice when a distributor puts so much into the special features for a little show like Jason, or Space Academy. Hell, you don't always get that sort of thing with other successful, mainstream releases. So far, I've only purchased JoSC, Space Academy, and Star Trek: The Animated Series. I highly recommend all of them. I will definately be picking up the Flash Gordon animated series, Ark II, Isis, Isis and Freedom Force, and Blackstar.

I tip my hat to BCI Eclipse for releasing another high quality DVD representation of a classic Filmation show. The crystal clear image of Jason of Star Command in this release will treat you to the superb model work and special effects sequences of a truly gifted technical crew. Every spaceship model design in Jason is iconic, from Dragos Dragonship, to his warrior drone ships, to Jason's Starfire. The warrior drone ships were expertly constructed. Detail lays on top of detail, and engine exhaust marks are clearly visible around the engines. The model crew even went to the trouble of placing orange decals around the engines. Dragos Dragonship is a magnificient model. Looking like a dragon with two arms, it lays on top of a rock slab as it cruises through space. We're treated to dozens of new shots of the Space Academy model. The visual effects crew excells here as it uses light effects to dramatize the Academy going through an Ion storm. Jason of Star Command had the best visual effects crew in the business working on the show at that time, many of them Star Wars veterans. Spaceship engines flare against the camera lense as they pass by, ships race towards planets in instance after instance of superb depth of field. Ships roll, bank, spin, etc. Stop motion animators bring creatures to life with none of the Ray Harryhausen jerkiness. Buy this DVD for no other reason than to see late 1970s state of the art model construction and motion control photography. It still looks exquisite today.

WOW memories flood back when this one was aired in Australia in the late 70's, This series make me into the sci-fi addict I am happily am today, Poor effects, sloppy acting and hunky actors. What more can you want?.
A top series in my book

This was a great SiFi series from the 70's. I would definitely recommend it to SiFi lovers.

JASON OF STAR COMMAND IS ONE THE CLASSIC 70'S SATURDAY MORNING SHOW THAT YOU MUST HAVE IN YOUR DVD COLLECTION!!!!!

This show was made for kids. Those of us who watched it when it first aired have grown into adulthood - sadly, the show has not. It's still for kids. I bought it because I'm a nostalgia nut, and I thought it might be something me and my daughter could enjoy together. I'm glad so many of my favorite childhood shows are coming out on DVD right now, because my daughter who is almost 3 is at the age where she would enjoy watching programs like this, Space Acadamy, Lost in Space, etc... and I get to relive some memories while passing on some to my child. It is really awesome. Sure there are moments watching these that you just kind of have to laugh at the silliness of it all, but She's eating it up. The first season is way better than the second.