Put the kids to bed and dig into this week’s pile of animated home video releases. On offer are Duckman: Season Three and Four, Frisky Dingo: Season 2 and Tripping the Rift: The Complete Third Season. Grownups and kids alike will also enjoy the second season of the new Cartoon Network series Transformers Animated, which debuts today as well.
Duckman: Season Three and Four is as seven-disc set featuring 48 episodes that aired on the USA Network between 1996 and 1997. Created by Everett Peck, the series stars Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) as the voice of the title quacker. The cast is rounded out by Nancy Travis as Duckman’s braying sister-in-law, Beatrice, Dweezil Zappa as Duckman’s dim son, Ajax, E. J. Daily and the late Dana Hill as his conjoined sons, Charles and Mambo, and Gregg Berger as Cornfed Pig, Duckman’s brilliant sidekick. The Paramount Home Entertainment release lists for $49.99.
Frisky Dingo: Season 2 is single-disc release with 12 episodes of the popular Adult Swim series from Matt Thompson and Adam Reed, the twisted minds behind the Adult Swim favorite Sealab 2021. Frisky Dingo plunges viewers into the world of the villainous Killface, whose mission of destroying mankind is derailed by the boring details of media buys, personnel staffing and marketing. His arch nemesis is Awesome X, the alter ego of billionaire Xander Crews, who is more concerned with the sales of his action figure line than foiling Killface’s plans and saving the world. The Warner Home Video release carries a suggested retail price of $19.97.
Tripping the Rift: The Complete Third Season comes as two discs housing 13 episodes of the raunchy animated space opera that aired on SCI FI Channel. Created by Chris Moeller and Chuck Austen, the series was produced by Cin’Groupe of Montreal. The show enjoyed a two-season run on SCI FI Channel in the U.S., and can now be seen on Canada’s TELETOON. Viewers in the states can catch up with the season three DVD, which is available through Anchor Bay for the suggested retail price of $29.97.
Transformers Animated: Season Two is a two-disc set with 13 episodes of the show co-produced by Cartoon Network Studios and Hasbro. The series introduces new characters while bringing back such fan favorites as Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Prowl, Bulkhead, Ratchet and Megatron. Set in Detroit, Michigan in the near future, the show finds the alien robots in disguise thrust into a world populated by humans and automatons. The Autobots learn to adjust to their new home as they work with the human population to battle the evil Decepticons and save planet Earth from destruction. Retailing for $26.99, the season two set from Paramount also offers commentary, three animated shorts and a photo gallery.
