Customer Reviews

Roughnecks - The Starship Troopers Chronicles - The Homefront Campaign [VHS]

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The First Interstellar War comes to a stirring climax in "The Homefront Campaign", the latest DVD release in the Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles series. During the close of the Klendathu campaign, the Arachnid Queen escapes and SICON forces follow her trail. They find her in deep space and after pitched battle destroy the Royal Transport. The world celebrates but Carl Jenkins, the Roughnecks psychic believes the Queen is alive on Earth. At Carl's urging the Roughnecks enter deepest darkest suburbia to prove the bug menace remains. Sadly Jenkins is correct, the Queen is on Earth and our home becomes the last battlefield. The war does not go well, and the Roughnecks are in the thick of it. The squad suffers a terrible loss and must find a way to stay together to continue the fight.
This DVD is a triumph and disappointment. The stories in this chapter are surprisingly adult and poignant, as the squad deals with death, self-doubt, and uncertainty. The CGI work done primarily by Foundation Imaging is some of the best of the series (watch for the fighter plane flyover of Hawaii) The disappointment is that the end of the story is uncertain. Sony originally scripted three final episodes to include the final conflict of the war, and because of budgetary constraints those episodes have not been produced. I hope the success of these DVDs will prompt Sony to give the show's fans the ending they deserve.

This disc contains episodes 32, 34, 35, 36 and 37 of Roughecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles. Perhaps now the rest of the world can appreciate the frustration of the fans that this series was never completed. Episode 33 was never made due to budget limitations and episode 31 was skipped over since only 5 episodes would fit on the disk (according to the commentaries anyway). The grand finale, episodes 38 - 40, were scripted but never animated. Perhaps now that the series is available on DVD the demand for more episodes will be overwhelming. Frankly, I was hoping they'd be able to squeeze episode 31 on this disc as well, since now there is an episode gap between the Klendathu Campaign and the Homefront Campaign. Still, if I was forced to choose between episode 31 and the last televised episode of the series, I would have made the same choice. So even though this disc isn't all an obsessive fanboy could hope for, it still offers up the best and brightest episodes of the entire Roughnecks series!

This campaign brings the Arachnid conflict to Earth's own back yard. Mutant Bug clones will try to infiltrate our civilian infrastructure. Loyalties will be divided between saving civilian lives and eradicating the Arachnid menace. Our heros will face a crushing personal loss to their own squad (one of the main characters will NOT live to see the end of this campaign). But if our heros aren't able to pull themselves together, the planet Earth may not have any hope for a future. This is the climax the entire series has be building toward. If you are interested in collecting this series at all, you MUST own this DVD!

I'm eagerly awaiting these episodes on DVD because, in my opinion, they were the best part of an impressive series. I was lucky enough to be motivated when BKN had a Starship Troopers Marathon that showed every episode, day by painstaking day, until, at last, "Homefront" ended up on my platter. In my opinion, the climax to these episodes was worth the wait, too. While following the Troopers through all the other systems was fun (Tophet and Klenda being the other highpoints), the battle for Earth really took the proverbial cake. Bugs and our home sweet globe, two forces that should (and finally did) confront one another, lead to some awesome scenery and, more importantly, a change in the way the cartoon has been going. Until now, we've touched base a bit with tragedy and some emotions along the way, but we've also been submerged in an ocean of gunfights that the Troopers always win. Well, without giving anything away, this series goes above and beyond, letting you know desperation and the cost of war. You get the violence, but you also get so much more.
Its a sure bet!...

Don't get me wrong. I love the animation and the CGI graphics. It's some of the best I've seen. But I waited a long time for this series to come to DVD, because it's almost never shown in chronological order on television.

I ordered this particular DVD because I was expecting/waiting for the excellent episode called "Trackers". This was the episode where the troopers followed the Queen bug to earth after a game of "hide and seek" in deep space.

In "Trackers" we learned a great deal about Higgins (the reporter) and we saw an excellent space battle that rivaled some of the greatest sci-fi movies in existence today.

So those of you who purchase this DVD should know that "Trackers" is MIA. I don't know about anyone else, but when I purchase a DVD, I at least want ALL of the episodes that were available on television.

I have to say that I usually do not watch cartoons whether they be celluloid or CG but I make an exception here. Not only is this an action packed series but it also has intelligently written scripts. The characters are believable and you do end up actually caring for them and hoping that they don't get skewered by bugs. I have watched every episode to date except the last Chronicle which has yet to be released, the Zephyr Campaign was just released last week so we're almost there. I recommend this entire series to anyone who loves SST or sci-fi for that matter and I know anyones children will love it too.

This is a GREAT dvd, however we are missing the story arc I have loosely named the Frozen (or Lost) Asteroid Campaign and it directly precedes the Klendathu Campaign. Without revealing content, the "Frozen Asteroid" arc introduces new bugs (Fireflies) and answers the questions: What was referred to in the Homefront Campaign as the destroyed Transport Bug, and why the Troopers felt the war was over.

The missing episodes are "Ice-Olation", "Mixed Signals", "Hot Ice", "The Inside Story", and "The Ice Men Goeth".

War is hell with no true victories and the Homefront Campaign drives this "home". Throughout this series we have lived with the members of the Roughnecks and have developed a kinship with them. Now our kinship will be translated into emotion and empathy. No more hot, cold, wet and inhospitable planets to fight on, we are home. We are safe, but we are not alone. The bugs have inexplicably arrived, adapted, and infested. The war now will be fought using the family car as a shield, the front door as a barricade and the radio as our window to the world. When it comes to "bug" infestation, on a grand scale, victory may mean that "we" are expendable. Action sequences take place in familiar surroundings; the streets of our cities. The Homefront Campaign is definitely the most visceral story arc in this series and will leave you with an unexpected sense of loss. To end at the beginning, THIS IS A GREAT DVD.

I have all six episodes in the DVD series. Great set of DVDs. Homefront is by far the best of the series, in my opinion. I just hope that the final 3 episodes originally scripted will be produced. The ending of Homefront leaves you hangin. Also the episode where Carl communicates with the Queen before returning to earth should be included either in Homefront or Klendathu. Also the Ice Bug Astroid needs to be produced. Overall, a great collection of DVDs.

It's unfortunate the DVDs were not released in the right order, but can't complain! This DVD 'ALMOST' rounds up the whole arc of the series but the cliffhanger leaves much to be desired. I hope they release the last 3 episodes for closure. Watch it in order if u can! Much better than the movie!

Foundation Imaging did a great job...just like Babylon 5!

Recently I was pleasantly surprised to see DVDs of the Hydora, Tesca, and Tophet campaigns in a local video retailer. The last DVD that I was aware of being released was Pluto Campaign. I have seen all but the last 3 episodes on tv when they were originally aired, so I'm greatly looking forward to seeing the completion of the series. I am a HUGE fan of the show and have been VERY VERY lucky to have attended 3 conventions that several of the voice actors and production staff attended. Next to Gargoyles, this series was by far one of the best 'cartoon shows' that I have ever seen. Great detail was given to the character development and story line. It had great writers and had some great plot twists. Rico rules, but Gossard is God!

I purchased the Tesca Campaign (DVD) on VHS a while back and really enjoyed it so I thought I'd give this one a try. While the series is great overall, I was underwhelmed with this installment.

I think one problem with the Homefront is that with the other ones you can sort of explain having smaller tactical squads and thus fewer people, but when you get to Earth you can't really explain why there's almost no population running around. You especially notice the lack of population in San Francisco. It's not a major point, but it detracts a little from the atmosphere. Also minor, the civilians who actually are shown seem more like those from a small Midwestern town than The City.

The same good stuff is still in here as the other campaign. The animation is top notch. The dialog is pretty good and you really get to like the characters. There's just something really cool about a squad of soldiers taking on hordes of monsters. There is your usual nobody runs out of ammo and enemy fire never hits the heros stuff, but who cares? It's quite an enjoyable set of episodes.

Minor Spoiler Below
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The plots don't feel quite as interesting as the Tesca Campaign (VHS) ones. I also found parts to be just unbelievable. I don't want to spoil things, but a common wheelchair power supply should not be able to be rigged as an improvised explosive device, but still the wheelchair functions properly with remaining power. Give me a break.

I was also just thoroughly disappointed in the ending. I won't give it away here, but I was left saying "What the heck was that?" as the credits rolled.
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