M.A.S.K - The Complete Series

Combining elements from other popular '80s animated classics G.I. Joe and Transformers, heroic Matt Trakker's Mobile Armored Strike Kommand (M.A.S.K.) worked overtime, fighting crime against villainous Miles Mayhem's Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem (V.E.N.O.M.) for two first-run syndicated seasons from 1985-1986, with a total count of 75 episodes. Fans of the original 65-episode series (Season 1) where M.A.S.K. and V.E.N.O.M. engaged in G.I. Joe-esque warfare were baffled by the show's retooled format change to a short-lived 10-episode "racing series" (Season 2). Due to the varying formats (hence Shout! Factory's "Complete Series" title), the 10 episodes that comprise the second season "racing series" of M.A.S.K. are not included in this set.

M.A.S.K. - The "Complete" Series is a 12-DVD collection which contains all 65 episodes from Season One in Full Frame (1.33:1) video, and English Stereo audio. Thanks to the folks at Shout! Factory, fans not only get the best (and biggest) season of M.A.S.K. released in an official quality DVD set, but also the following Special Features:

* "Unmasking M.A.S.K." - Retrospective interview with show writers on this hit animated series

* "Saturday Morning Krusaders" - Entertaining look back with loyal fans

* Exclusive iron-on decal (only with sets purchased online from Shout! Factory Store while supplies last)

Episodes include: 1. The Deathstone, 2. The Star Chariot, 3. The Book of Power, 4. Highway to Terror, 5. Video VENOM, 6. Dinosaur Boy, 7. The Ultimate Weapon, 8. The Roteks, 9. The Oz Effect, 10. Death from the Sky, 11. The Magma Mole, 12. Solaria Park, 13. The Creeping Terror, 14. Assault on Liberty, 15. The Sceptre of Rajim, 16. The Golden Goddess, 17. Mystery of the Rings, 18. Bad Vibrations, 19. Ghost Bomb, 20. Cold Fever, 21. Mardi Gras Mystery, 22. The Secret of Life, 23. Vanishing Point, 24. Counter-Clockwise Caper, 25. The Plant Show, 26. Secret of the Andes, 27. Panda Power, 28. Blackout, 29. A Matter of Gravity, 30. The Lost Riches of Rio, 31. Deadly Blue Slime, 32. The Currency Conspiracy, 33. Caesar's Sword, 34. Peril in Paris, 35. In Dutch, 36. The Lippizaner Mystery, 37. The Sacred Rock, 38. Curse of Solomon's Gorge, 39. Green Nightmare, 40. Eyes of the Skull, 41. Stop Motion, 42. The Artemis Enigma, 43. The Chinese Scorpion, 44. Riddle of the Raven Master, 45. The Spectre of Captain Kidd, 46. The Secret of the Stones, 47. The Lost Fleet, 48. Quest of the Canyon, 49. Follow the Rainbow, 50. The Everglades Oddity, 51. Dragonfire, 52. The Royal Cape Caper, 53. Patchwork Puzzle, 54. Fog on Boulder Hill, 55. Plunder of Glowworm Grotto, 56. Stone Trees, 57. Incident in Istanbul, 58. The Creeping Desert, 59. The Scarlet Empress, 60. Venice Menace, 61. Treasure of the Nazca Plain, 62. Disappearing Act, 63. Gate of Darkness, 64. The Manakara Giant, 65. Raiders of the Orient Express.

M.A.S.K. was a cartoon that I loved as a child, and I am extremely pleased to finally see the series get a proper release on DVD in the United States. Although it isn't perfect, this 12 disc set is far superior to the imported "bootleg" versions of the series available over the years. The packaging of this set is near flawless; two amaray cases (with six DVDs each) housed in a beautiful full color slip case. The actual video and audio presentation of the series, however, is less than what I had hoped for. If you are a videophile, like I am, be aware that there are many lines, scratches, pops, and color inconsistencies present in the video transfer. For a cartoon produced in the 80s, this is quite a common problem; however, I wish that Shout Factory had spent more time digitally remastering the series from the original print. Like previously stated, however, it's still a far better print than any I have previously seen. All in all, I am pleased with this release and think others will be pleased with it as well.

Watching these old toon's really takes me back! I remember running home after school to watch these. Man! there is nothing like these shows any more. Some of the stuff they came up with as far as the cars were just the coolest! My fav was Rhino. These cartoons are a rare mix of good story telling + good artwork that is just gone today. The stuff that they come out with now is just garbage and poorly produced retreads that is just sad. My only gripe is there are no captions or subtitles on any of the shout! factory dvds, G.I. Joe & Tranformers at least. Being almost deaf I really need them to follow the stories. Even without the captions, they are worth the money just to get caught up in them one more time. It's really cool that shout! factory is bringing these old shows back, I just hope they can get "Centurions" some time soon!

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