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Rating:  -
First of all, I could not believe this was actually available on DVD. Second, I could not believe I was buying it. But the fact is, when I finally got around to watching it all I did was giggle like a little kid. I remembered this show from years ago and watching it again brought back a lot of memories. The production value is totally cheesy (that's what happens when you have zero budget) and the acting isn't the greatest, but Isis is still a fun show to watch and I am glad that I bought it. The extras were just OK. Nothing much to write home (or a review) about, but interesting none-the-less. I liked seeing what everyone in the series was up to these days. My biggest regret was that Isis, herself, JoAnna Cameron, was not involved.
Overall, if you remember the show like I did from when you were a kid and you're feeling like you want to get in touch with the child you used to be, I'd say that you would enjoy watching this again. I guarantee that if you did, you'd end up giggling just as much as I did.
Rating: -
They don't make 'em like this anymore, and it's a shame that they don't. If someone decided to "re-imagine" ISIS today, it'd most likely be a dark, dreary, serialized mess (two words: BIONIC WOMAN), chock full of violence and lame attempts at being hip or ironic. Sure, ISIS had special "effects" that Ed Wood would've laughed at, and the show required not just a suspension, but an outright EXPULSION, of disbelief (for example, Isis's dimwitted male teacher pal could never figure out her obvious true identity, yet at one point we're supposed to believe that in his spare time he just so happens to be working for a secret government project in which he's invented a weather-controlling machine!) But this show was charming in its innocence, and star Joanna Cameron was very easy on the eyes. And it always had a positive message and a happy ending.
The extras are a mixed bag. The inclusions of an ISIS cartoon and production stills are to be applauded, but commentary from the show's producers is a waste of time (they don't remember a lot of specifics about the show, and their self-congratulatory remarks about creating a show that respected women are dealt a blow when they state that their main goal in selecting an actress to play the part of Isis was to find someone with "great legs.") My advice: skip the commentary and interviews involving the producers, but check out everything else.
The audio-visual quality of the episodes themselves isn't as sharp as that in the "Wonder Woman" DVD's, to make the closest comparison that comes to mind as far as genre and era of production. However, it's hardly unwatchable, and as others have mentioned, it's all brightly lit (mainly because the series was shot pretty much entirely in daylight to keep expenses as low as possible.)
So watch the adventures of ISIS and her friends and I'm sure you'll agree, they just don't make 'em like this anymore. Long live ISIS on DVD!
Rating:  -
Another one of my back in the day favorites!!!COMMERICIALS were the only thing that took me away from the tv set!
Rating:  -
was not cleaned up for DVD poor transfer, but fun to watch all the same.
Rating: -
Here's another series from the 70s that's been shelved for far too long. At 40 years of age I'm among those who watched Saturday morning TV during this time, and Isis was one of my favorites. Watching it 30 years later we understandably notice things we didn't back when we were 9 or 10, but it doesn't matter that much. The nostalgia factor here is way off the scales. With many of the storylines deriving from the Scooby Doo school of script writing this is 70s kitsch for sure, but as with Scooby Doo there's enough substance to render it still watchable today. Many viewers will howl with laughter at some of the situations these teeangers get themselves into, and we all know there has to be a willing suspension of disbelief when it comes to no one ever figuring out that Andrea Thomas and Isis are the same person. Even as a kid I laughed at how no one knew she was Isis, and how unbelievable some of the situations were. Hard to believe any school would allow an uncaged pet crow or a homemade uranium-powered forcefield into a classroom, even in the 70s. I didn't need to have morals instilled in me because I had a good family upbringing, but I did recognize the lessons that were being put across. These morals are still relevant today. The special effects are dated (the bear and gorilla suits would really make great Mystery Science Theater 3000 material!), as are the clothing and hair styles, and we also wonder when Miss Thomas and Mr. Mason actually taught classes since they spent a good deal of their school hours playing detective and helping their students out of trouble. Also, how is it that everyone, villains and all, immediately recognizes Isis when they see her? She appears and they invariably say something like, "Oh, wow, it's Isis!" Again, willing suspension of disbelief!
So what makes this so much fun? First off, JoAnna Cameron is just so lovely to look at. She has gorgeous legs and just oozes sex appeal without even trying. Even as a kid I enjoyed looking at her every Saturday morning. She made Andrea Thomas the hottest teacher ever, and Isis was really more sexy than Wonder Woman in my opinion. They just don't have great-looking women like this in movies or on TV today. Joanna Pang was attractive too in a different sort of way. JoAnna Cameron also comes across as very sincere in her role, and you can almost believe she is playing herself. In a few of the episodes she appears to really be having great fun playing Isis, such as in the scene where she uses a pile of old tires to capture the villains. One of my favorite scenes in the entire series is in the Bigfoot episode when she walks up to the group of boys in the woods and tosses her hair back and says "Hello, fellas!" Pretty sexy for Saturday morning TV, but not smutty or demeaning in the least.
There's some really neat photography and locations here too. In the Dreams of Flight episode you get to see some real murals that are somewhere in Los Angeles (one of the interviews on the DVD tells where they actually are). There's lots of nice nature photography on display, such as a great (but brief) shot of a family of owls. The locations all appear to be out in the country, with lots of panoramic views of tree covered land and blue sky.
Another fun aspect is some of the gadgetry that shows up. There's the Circle Guard, a super-strong forcefield powered by uranium. There's a projector that looks like a ray gun out of an old sci-fi flick that projects images of fake UFOs onto the clouds. There's a singing Indian magician who has pellets he can toss on the ground to create explosions of light and smoke, and in Andrea's laboratory/classroom there's a gold leaf electroscope and a Van de Graaff generator among many other things. Then there's Operation WeatherMaker, a device that can create storms. Any of these gadgets could give the folks at GLUBCO or Amazing Concepts Inc. a run for their money, and as a person who builds Tesla coils, electrostatic machines, rockets, and other scientific curiosities as a hobby, they increased my enjoyment of this show both as a kid and now as an adult.
There's also a lot of familar guest stars, mostly character actors. In the Sound of Silence episode there's Leigh McCloskey who went on to star in the cult favorite "The Bermuda Depths." "Lights of Mystery Mountain" features Kelly Thordsen in one of his final roles, and "Spots of the Leopard" has Paul Jenkins, who made many later appearances including a few episodes of "The Rockford Files." Mike "Bobby Brady" Lookinland also turns up in "To Find a Friend." One reviewer stated that the show is "full of people who never worked again" but that is certainly not the case. In addition to the many guest stars that graced the episodes, both Joanna Pang and Brian Cutler have had successful careers (her as a dancer and him as a teacher of acting). JoAnna Cameron went on to do the brief Spiderman TV series and, later, a documentary on the Blue Angels.
Picture quality is good but probably not great. Please remember this was a low budget 70s show, and was probably shot on cheaper film. I watched it on both my laptop and my 27-inch Sony Bravia, and it looks pretty good for its age. It's very bright and even washed out in some spots, but this is partly due to its having been shot in the summer and entirely in the daytime on hot sunny days. The extras are all good, especially the interviews with the cast and producers, but as others have pointed out JoAnna Cameron is not among those interviewed. There are places on the net where you can read about how and why this unfortunate fact came to be. There's lots of pictures of the cast and trailers for other Filmation shows, and even scripts which you can read on your computer. Finally, it's not that expensive considering the nice packaging and all the extras that are included.
For any fan of the show or of JoAnna Cameron, buying this DVD should be a no-brainer. It's great to have some of her work available, as it's still impossible to find her two films "B.S. I Love You" and "It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy" (where, I kid you not, she plays a female sexual predator!) either on VHS or DVD. Her Blue Angels documentary is out there to buy on VHS I think, but Isis is her real legacy. This well-produced DVD set is a fantastic tribute to the show, even if she is not present in the interviews. Seeing her in the Isis costume again is in itself worth the price of the DVD. Legs, legs, legs!!
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