What happens when a classic '60s Hanna-Barbera
superhero gets his own late-night talk show? Now you can find
out as Space Ghost humiliates celebrities before they realise
what they've let themselves in for...
The
third volume of Space Ghost Coast to Coast (which actually
consists of episodes from Season 4 - although not all of them)
doesn't really make much of an effort. If you own either volume
One
or Two
then you've probably seen enough and won't be able to stomach
this latest offering. It's not that it's not funny, it's just
that it's not original any more - you can only laugh at the
same joke so many times.
This
is a shame, because the first few episodes looked extremely
promising. A few additional gags were woven in - including
new segments Ask the Big Banana and Space Time Quiz
Fun 9000 - sadly the writers obviously got bored of coming
up with new ideas and instead fell back on the old gags of
the on-screen bickering between Space Ghost, Moltar and Zorak.
The
majority of the stars interviewed will be unfamiliar to British
viewers. However, there are enough familiar faces (Mark Hamill,
Bill Mumy, Peter Fonda, Buzz Aldrin, Goldie Hawn, Erik Estrada,
Charlton Heston, Bob Goldthwait and Michael McKean) to keep
you interested.
And,
as I've mentioned in previous reviews, if the writers had
written less Space Ghost script and instead concentrated
on weaving in more footage from the guests, everything may
have been a lot more entertaining.
There
are a few episodes where the script rises above dull. These
include: Anniversary (which celebrates the show's 37th
anniversary episode. There is a funny collection of classic
clips of Space Ghost being beaten up by villains - which is
supposed to show Space Ghost's finest moments); Pilot
(a flashback episode that looks at the pilot show which was
originally to be hosted by Birdman); Zorak (which has a Here
is Your Life feature on Zorak's life. This episode also
has original clips from the '60s cartoon series); Switcheroo
II (Probably the funniest episode - and certainly one
sci-fi fans will appreciate. Space Ghost's guests are from
Sci-Fi Con '97, a convention Space Ghost wasn't invited to.
As Space Ghost sees himself as the sci-fi star of the galaxy
he really doesn't want to interview Bill Mumy and Mark Hamill);
Pavement (in which Space Ghost writes his own episode
with some terrible dialogue); and Untitled (Space Ghost
and Moltar argue over which guest should be on first. As Moltar
is a huge fan of Erik Estrada and Space Ghost doesn't much
care for him).
But,
again, in the majority of these episodes the guests are really
under used. It would have been great if Space Ghost had had
more fun with Mark Hamill - who really didn't look like he
wanted to be there - or any of the other guests who had real
potential to carry the show. A huge opportunity to poke fun
at Buzz Aldrin was wasted!
Extras
on this collection include additional scenes, an alternate
ending for Zorak (which pays homage to It's a Wonderful
Life); Bob Odenkirk and Dave Cross original interview
(which shows how truly dull the interviewer is - it's a wonder
they get any usable material if the questions are that bad
normally); and, my personal favourite: World Premier Toon
in (a 17 minute episode where Space Ghost interviews a
handful of directors from the world of cartoon animation).
This alone is better than any of the other episodes in this
collection.
This
series has it's moments, but they are so few and far between
that only die-hard fans should consider picking this up. At
the end of the day this collection offers nothing new.
Darren
Rea
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