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Rating: - Tremendous Fun
A show that's fun AND educational? Did they really ever make those? Talk about a voyage into ancient history! This show comes from a time when creative people actually put a show on the air to entertain you, not just to advertise a neverending stream of must-have-it junk made in Taiwan. I don't even think it had a lunch box to keep the memories alive after it went off the air, but boy, did it ever sear itself into the brains of anyone who ever watched it! The biggest reason is probably the unusual chemistry between the lead actors, a sparkling balance of genuine affection and excellent comic timing, rare in a competitive field where the ancient adage is to never work with dogs or kids. The snappy pacing and use of recognizable historical events didn't hurt either, as you could always follow the storyline and nothing ever got so highfallutin' that you lost interest in the outcome. Another surprise is that for being filmed mostly on the Universal Backlot by a company not primarily known for their high production values, it's obvious that they spent a lot of money on this series. Okay okay, sure they have some questionable stock footage and foam rocks thrown in from time to time, but like I said, it was UNIVERSAL. In the 80s. This was as close to the gold standard as they got, and it's pretty darn close.

The picture quality is exceedingly sharp, as is the sound, and the addition of the teasers that started the show, as well as the voiceovers that ended it - both removed during syndication and not heard since the original broadcasts - are unexpected surprises. Still, I only gave it four stars because they could have slipped in a few extras. Meeno Peluce is still around, as is Bellisario, Parriott and many others involved with the show. Why no commentary? I would have really loved to hear Meeno's reminiscences about his days on the show and adventures on the old Universal Backlot. And with all the Voyagers sites on the web, they could have added tons of trivia, interviews, pictures of props, filming locations, webpages, anything. That they didn't says quite a lot about the whiplash speed with which they put this set together. Still, it's so so SO much better that not having it at all. Now everyone can see how much fun this show was.

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