Dexter’s Laboratory and Manifest Complete Series DVD Reviews
2 Warner Bros. series get complete series DVD releases for the first time ever.
Before he went on to create the brilliant “Star Wars: Clone Wars” and “Primal” animated series, Genndy Tartakovsky brought forth the beloved sci-fi comedy Cartoon Network series “Dexter’s Laboratory” back in 1995. The show revolves around the adventures of the titular scientist boy genius and his big sister Dee Dee. The animated series (which lasted 6 seasons) contained storylines involving scientific experiments/inventions gone awry, time travel, Dexter’s pet Monkey (who secretly has powers) who has his own adventures with sidekick Agent Honeydew, Dee Dee causing chaos with Dexter’s creations, Dexter’s rival (Mandark Astronomanov), clones, The Justice Friends (superheroes Major Glory Valhallen and Krunk that live in an apartment together) that Dexter is a fan of, Dee Dee teaching Dexter things, Dexter learning about women, shrinking and growing inventions, Dee Dee’s imaginary friend, pop culture references and parodies, robots, games, Dexter’s parents, Dexter being annoyed by Dee Dee (frequently), lab complications, viruses (human and computer), desserts, Action Hank, travels, special crossovers with other shows, A TV movie (“Ego Trip”) featuring time travel and robots, Quackor, off world adventures, school, Mandark’s family, Dexter’s relatives, aliens, and more. Note: 2 episodes are not included- “Barbequor” (due to legal reasons) and the never aired “Rude Removal.”
For the first 4 seasons and the “Ego Trip” movie, “Dexter’s Laboratory” was a fun, vibrant, and highly amusing animated series that thrived on the interactions between siblings Dexter and Dee Dee. Sure, it adhered to a certain formula, but viewers were invested in the characters and their shenanigans with hilarious episodes like the convention centric “Star Check Unconventional,” the fan favorite “Ice Cream Scream,” “The Koos Is Loose” (featuring Dee Dee’s imaginary friend voiced by Dom DeLuise) and the eventful “Last But Not Beast.” The combination of Genndy Tartakovsy’s creative ideas and the first rate voice acting from Christine Cavanaugh (Dexter) and Allison Moore and Kat Cressida (Dee Dee) elevated the series as a whole.
Unfortunately, the last 2 seasons saw a huge dip in quality. Genndy Tartakovsky left the series and Chris Savino took over. Christine Cavanaugh left the role of Dexter early on in the run and was replaced by Candi Milo, and the distinct animation style changed dramatically. Simply put, the series was not the same and felt like little more than a cash grab resurrection.
With all of that said, the influence and pop culture relevance of the early seasons of “Dexter’s Laboratory” cannot be overstated. There’s a reason the series has stood the test of time nearly 30 years later after all.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.33:1. How does it look? The more recent episodes are of better quality, but honestly, it’s just a treat to have the complete series set at last.
Audio Track: Dolby Digital 2.0. How does it sound? The Stereo track does the job.
No extras.
In the 2018 sci-fi drama series “Manifest,” the 4 season story revolved around the passengers of Flight 828 which traveled from Jamaica to New York. Upon arrival, the 20 passengers learn that 5 years have passed and that they have a lot of life changes to adjust to. Among the central characters are a police officer (Michaela), Ben (Michaela’s brother), a Doctor (Saanvi), Jared (Michaela’s ex-lover), Grace (Ben’s wife), Olive (Ben and Grace’s daughter), Zeke (a hiker) and Cal (Ben and Grace’s son) to name a few. The weirdness doesn’t end there though as the passengers develop abilities (including visions known as Callings), murders occur, passengers are experimented on, the NSA and UDS up to shady practices, strange lightning, The Major, the mystery of Flight 828, a serial killer, and a world ending event.
Before network television programming became a dated relic of the past, series like “Lost” and “Heroes” went against the trends of sitcoms and procedurals by offering up mysterious sci-fi storytelling that hooked viewers. NBC’s “Manifest” owes a great deal to both of those series (and often feels like a pale imitation of them), but the show managed to develop a cult fanbase that even saved the series by convincing Netflix to pick the show up for a fourth and final season.
“Manifest” does deserve credit for being a rather bonkers series that goes off into all sorts of directions (for better or worse). The Jeff Rake created series plays like a ridiculous sci-fi soap opera that continually tries to one up itself with family drama (including baby drama), plot twists galore, drugs, memory losses, biblical references, lava, anti-passengers group known as Xers, a religious cult known as the Church of the Returned, and so much more. Strangeness aside, it’s a trashy show through and through and it’s no wonder that it became a popular “hate watch” series. The unsubtle series is filled with clumsy mythology and mysteries, bad acting, heavy handed themes, and absurd character arcs. It’s certainly not my cup of tea, but others may derive enjoyment from it.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: Widescreen. Grade: B+
Audio Track: Dolby Digital 5.1. Grade: B+
No extras have been included.
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