Customer Reviews

Ocean Girl - Season One - 2-DVD Set ( Ocean Odyssey ) ( Ocean Girl - Season 1 ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Australia ]

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Ocean Girl captivated my imagination for years. I taped the original broadcasts from the Disney Channel, bought the novelization, and the soundtrack CD (only available in Australia). Like many other young fans, I wanted to *be* Neri. This family-friendly sci-fi series lasted for four seasons and was later made into an animated series, but the first season will always be the most magical for me.

Neri is the mysterious Ocean Girl. Orphaned for many years, she lives alone on a deserted island in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of northern Queensland, Australia. She is able to communicate telepathically with Jali, a humpback whale. When Jason and Brett, sons of a prominent marine biologist, come to live at ORCA, an underwater research colony located near Neri's island, they discover Neri (and Jali) and develop a deep friendship. Just as Jason and Brett are curious about Neri's life on the island, she is equally curious to learn about their world.

The series was filmed on location in Port Douglas, Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Daintree Rainforest, and the nature photography is stunning: sharp, vibrant colors bring Neri's island to life, with close-ups on unusual insects and plants. The video transfer looks fabulous - clean and crisp. The episodes are spread across two discs, with animated menus and short clips from each episode. The season one soundtrack is a beautiful mix of ambient sounds (waves, birdsong) and New Age that holds up well as a standalone listening experience.

The first season DVD set contains all 13 episodes. Although this is an Australian release, it is Region 0, so it should play on your computer (for some reason, I have absolutely no problems playing it on my budget TV and DVD player). There are no extras other than an introduction from the two main stars, Marzena Godecki (Neri) and David Hoflin (Jason), and a commentary on the first and last episodes (I have not listened to it yet--I don't want it to spoil the magic).

I just got my DVD of the first season of Ocean Girl today. I wasn't sure I would be able to watch it without some high-tech finangling, but it plays on my Phillips DVD/VCR player and my Phillips portable DVD player. I haven't tried it in the computer yet. I am very happy with it. Watched the whole first disc today. I plan to get the other seasons soon.
I highly recommend this to anyone who likes whales, the ocean, or is looking for a good kids show. I would say the ages most likely to be interested would be about 8 or 9 and up. There are scenes that might be scary for little children, but it always turns out okay in the end. My 3 year old watched some of it with me and wasn't afraid.
Probably best enjoyed by people who remember the show. I had totally forgotten about some of the crazy hair styles the girls sport on the ORCA station.
Good fun show!

All I ever got to see of the original broadcast run was one episode of season three, I was happy to see that season one was out on DVD even if it was PAL format. The Philips DVP 5140 (sold here at Amazon) is a cheap way to see PAL DVD's if you don't want to use your computer (or don't have one). For some reason an XBOX (the original, I don't know about the 360) when set up for DVD viewing is also a good machine for playback. If you can't get it here season 1, and 2, are both on eBay- possibly at a comparable price (maybe even the same dealer(s)).

You won't get many extras on the discs except for the two commentaries by Marzena and David and some trailers (Disc one has a trailer for season 2- it's been out for about a month now, disc 2 has the season 1 trailer). There is an opening video intro by Marzena Godecki (Neri) and David Hoflin (Jason Bates)that shows them as they are now. If you have trouble with Australian accents or just don't hear well- you're out of luck- no closed captioning or subtitles.

The image quality is generally very good (I think episode 1 may be a bit scratchy) and the sound quality is good (if your ears are normal). I found the stories to be entertaining and the writing to mostly be pretty good (the book version isn't exactly like the TV version). I don't know what the show budget was but the sets look OK. I did notice that several underwater scenes supposedly deep beneath the surface were in fact just below it (you could see the underside of the water surface near the top of the screen) no doubt because many of those shots were filmed in some aquarium. I was most impressed with Marzena Godecki's acting above the other cast members, the girl had a lot of work to do and did it well.

Season 1 is a little better than 2, I think, but I'll get 'em all as they come out- I like the show.