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Rating:  -
Hoping to capitalize on their phenomenal hit series Space Ghost & Dino Boy (1966), Hanna-Barbera presented viewers with the similar yet cool-in-its-own-way series Birdman & The Galaxy Trio (1967) the following season. Armed with solar rays & shield and eagle sidekick Avenger, Sun god Ra-inspired Birdman battled earthbound villainy, typically at the request of contact Falcon 7 while elemental heroes Galaxy Trio comprised of Meteor Man, Vapor Man and Gravity Girl (not unlike the Terrific Trio from Batman Beyond Season One episode "Heroes"), engaged in intergalactic struggles on behalf of the Galactic Patrol. Though Birdman failed to live up to the success of Space Ghost, reruns on Cartoon Network/Boomerang and the hit spin-off show Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law helped to renew interest in the forgotten hero. Featuring superb design work by late great artist Alex Toth, music by Ted Nichols, a solid voice cast including Birdman himself Keith Andes, and exotic environments, Birdman & Galaxy Trio - The Complete Series ably provides tons of soaring retro fun and non-stop action '60s Hanna-Barbera style. This 2-disc (420 min.) set features all 20 episodes from the series in its original three-segment form (1 Galaxy Trio sandwiched between 2 Birdman segments); Full-Frame (1.33:1) video; English audio; Closed caption; plus the following Special Feature: "Birdman: The Forgotten Hero." Considering the lack of remastering and the age of the show, the picture and sound are fairly good, despite some noticeable debris. Unfortunately, like the Space Ghost & Dino Boy set, the two discs in this set are dual-sided, so there's next to no chance that you'll get a set free of scratches. Luckily, they are, for the most part, only surface scratches and in no way interfere with the playback so you'll want to thoroughly screen both discs (in a timely manner) before returning due to defect. While there is no segment selection screen for the episodes, there are chapters for the segments which you can skip through using your remote.
Rating:  -
I only wish Birdman and the Galaxy Trio had stayed around for longer. I would have liked to the the Galaxy Trio especially have a more expanded role and longer cartoons. But as it stands this collection of both Birdman/Galaxy Trio are more than ample to tied me over and give me something else to remind me of some really great cartoons back in the day...not that isnt like that now. Its just more than i identified with. I remember seeing both the Birdman and GT being aired on Cartoon Network awhile ago. If not for that i probably would've forgotten about them altogether.
Thankfully i didnt and i bought this nice collection and priced well also. Its not a bother with the packaging to me, i never had a problem getting the discs out. Being for when this cartoons were made the quality is pretty decent. It's not going to be spectacular these cartoons were done back in the late 60s. Even still they hold up well to the things available today. Cop this classic cartoon series and it will give you a good idea of what Hanna Barbera brought to the table in terms of cartoon presentation and just all around good times for TV viewers for any and all ages.
Rating: -
Alex Toth was one of the most influential comic book artists in the business. He started out working on JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA superheroes back in the 1940s, and never completely stayed away from that field.
In the 1960s, he was hired by Hanna-Barbera Studios - the animation kings of Saturday morning cartoons at the time - to work on cartoon television shows and create characters and strips. While there, he created BIRDMAN AND THE GALAXY TRIO, SPACE GHOST, SUPERFRIENDS, and THE HERCULOIDS.
In the 1960s, cartoons took huge budget cuts. Hanna-Barbera Studios struggled to find ways to meet the budget restrictions and still deliver exciting, fun-filled cartoons for the Saturday morning crowd. One of the ways they did this was to have similar scenes throughout a series. For example, a hero always went into action the same way, that way the establishing shot could be used over and over again.
There were also several "talking head" shots that allowed writers to establish plot and character through dialogue (which was still done quite cheaply compared to the animation) instead of action. Most kids at the time didn't really notice the changes, but if you compare the cartoons of this time period with the ones Max Fleischer and others did back in the 1930s, you'll see huge differences.
Birdman was a superhero who lived inside a cave and waited for calls to action from his contact, Falcon 7 (a one-eyed man that reminded me a lot of Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.). Birdman had wings that allowed him to fly. His powers were solar-based, which requires him to frequently flights where the sun several times during nearly every episode. He fired solar blasts and could create solar shields to protect himself.
He was accompanied on his missions by a large eagle he called Avenger. Later, he created his own sidekick (something that most Supriano strips had back in those days - young teammates were all the rage because Adam West had Burt Ward). Birdman's sidekick was a boy he rescued from a shipwreck. He called him Birdboy, which - although not terribly invented - got the point across. Birdboy had essentially the same powers, but his wings were metal not feathers.
Most of the missions that Birdman undertook involved threats from aliens and highly organized criminals with superweapons.
Usually in a half-hour show, there were three short cartoons. Two of them were Birdman episodes that book-ended a GALAXY TRIO episode.
The Galaxy Trio was a three-man team from an intergalactic law enforcement agency. Actually, the team consisted of two men and one woman. They were Vapor Man (who could turn his body into vapor), Meteor Man (who could change the size of any part of his body and become super-strong), and Gravity Girl (who could change the gravity in an area were on a person).
They usually targeted powerful criminals or criminal organizations on different planets of the space sector they patrolled.
All the Birdman and Galaxy Trio episodes are gathered here in this DVD. When I first heard that this was going to happen, I was excited. I grew up on these cartoons. I can remember wanting to be Birdman and Meteor Man. Sadly, the cartoons don't stand up to my memories and my nine year old son was not impressed. He can watch an anime for hours, but he was giving up quickly on Birdman.
He actually prefers the new HARVEY BIRDMAN, ATTORNEY AT LAW episodes that still air on Adult Swim. In his new reincarnation, Birdman has retired from the superhero business and become a lawyer. The episodes often feature other cartoon characters in suggestive plotlines that lampoons them as well as the naive nature of the series back when they first aired.
Although the cartoons won't occupy the middle grade kids, they're still good enough to hypnotize the younger ones. I mean, after all this is a hero who has wings and can shoot beams. Not only that, but Birdman has his distinctive cry several times in one episode: "Biiiiirrrrrddddddmmmmmaaaaannnnnnnn!"
Rating: -
I LOVE CONDUR. ONE OF THE MOSE ECH-CONSCIOUS SUPER HEROES EVER. BIRDMAN IS THE REASON WHY WE SHOULD ALL USE SOLAR POWER ENERGY. BIRDDDDD MANNNNN!!!! I'M 18 YRS OLD -BRANDON
Rating:  -
I hated this series, Birdman was nothing more then a recycled Space Ghost, as for the Galaxy Trio, they look like a reject 1960's rock band that smoked weed.
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