Rating: Not Rated
Starring:
Dick Durock as Swamp Thing
Mark Lindsay Chapman as Dr. Anton Arcane
Carrell Myers as Tressa Kipp
Scott Garrison as Will Kipp
Kevin Quigley as Graham
Special Features:
Exclusive Interviews with “Swamp Thing” co-creator Len Wein and actor Dick Durock
Other Info:
Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Spanish Subtitles
Running Time: 540 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD cover:
“Includes the First 22 Episodes as They Were Meant to Be Seen! When an attempt on Dr. Alec Holland’s life leaves him consumed by deadly chemicals and fire, the swamps of Louisiana transform him into a superhuman creature hell bent on ridding the swamp and the world of the evil that men do, beginning with his arch nemesis, Dr. Anton Arcane, the mad scientist responsible for Holland’s monstrous new incarnation as ‘Swamp Thing.’ Based on the legendary DC Comics character and starring Dick Durock, reprising his title role from the popular ‘Swamp Thing’ feature films, Mark Lindsay Chapman, Carrell Myers and featuring Kari Wuhrer from ‘Sliders,’ ‘Swamp Thing: The Series’ follows the tortured creature that was once a man and his quest to regain his humanity, purging the swamp of evildoers along the way. Beware the wrath of ‘Swamp Thing’!”
“Swamp Thing: The Series” is not rated.
Mini-Review:
I remember watching “Swamp Thing” many years ago when it hit theaters and the small screen. Being a comics fan, I thought it was cool to see any comic book character get the Hollywood treatment. So when I heard that this series was hitting DVD, I was eager to see it again. Let’s just say the years haven’t been kind to old Swampy. The show is cheesy on absolutely every level. The locations look horribly like backlot sets. The dialog is hokey. The acting is incredibly wooden. The stories are lame. The costumes and hairdos are quite dated. Some of the dialog is poorly dubbed. The fight scenes aren’t all that great. And the main draw of the show, Swamp Thing himself, is frequently absent for a large part of the show. About the only redeeming thing on the show is the Swamp Thing costume which looks pretty good. Otherwise, the series is quite painful to watch. Even guest stars like Roscoe Lee Brown and Tyne Daly don’t help things.
I’d only recommend “Swamp Thing” to die-hard fans of the series. Even general comic fans will probably get quickly bored with this series. Everyone else should just avoid it.
On the bright side, there are a couple of good bonus features included on the DVD. There’s an interview with “Swamp Thing” co-creator Len Wein and actor Dick Durock. Wein has interesting stories of creating the comic for DC as well as his original thoughts and feelings behind the character. Durock has some fun stories about breaking into the stunt business and tales from the set of the “Swamp Thing” movies and TV shows. These featurettes are a lot more entertaining than the show itself.
