What If… stars Kevin Sorbo as the man who gets a glimpse of what his life would have become had he made different choices. Yes, we have seen this before in many different movies, but I think the actors this time around bring a unique perspective. Surviving the experience with these kind of glucose levels may be a bit of a challenge, of course.
Originally a PBS series episode, Pioneers of Television: Science Fiction is a documentary which explores how Star Trek, Lost in Space, and The Twilight Zone changed the way the future was viewed, while delivering modern morality plays able to explore topics normally untouchable on the small screen.
For western animation this time around there is really only one choice: ReBoot: The Definitive Mainframe Edition. I have been waiting entirely too long for this direct descendant of the original TRON to become available. This was the first fully computer generated TV animation in western countries, telling the stories of the Guardians and their battle with the Viruses they defended Mainframe from. Besides having animation of a quality that had not been seen before in a TV series, it had a unique story line filled to overflowing with concepts previously only available in a collage level computer course, but told in a way to make them understandable even to children. Out of this weeks choice, this one is the Must Have selection for me. NOTE: while the Shout Factory web site page talks about the complete series in a single box on 9 DVDs, the Amazon page lists Season 1 and 2 on 4 DVDs, and I don’t know if they are releasing two versions or had to scale back the scope of the release.
There is one new and one repackaged Anime entry this week. Shin Koihime Muso: Complete Collection involves a girl with a disease that will turn her into a cat if an antidote is not found, and a guy trying to forge a peace between the kingdoms.
Samurai Champloo – The Complete Series also becomes available this week. This re-release (the original was in 2009) is the story of friendship through combat skills, as a waitress, a Ronin, and a Samurai wander Edo-era Japan looking for a warrior who smells like sunflowers. This program completely changed the way everyone viewed Samurai movies or TV, with a hip-hop music line, a unique animation style, and some amazing fight sequences.