DVD: Dungeons and Dragons Ultimate Collection
 

5 DVD boxed set with official D&D animated supplement

http://www.tvpast.org/forum/images/cache/2006/09/22.jpg

Disc 1-4 are new transfers of the animated series direct from Disney
Disc 5 is special features (and oh my god how special!)

ncluded in this collectible package is the official "Dungeons & Dragons" Hard-Cover Game Supplement. Created exclusively for this release by Wizards of the Coast, the Animated Series Handbook is 32 pages of official character profiles with full stats, magic items and a brand new adventure. The adventure is a prelude to the episode "The Dragon's Graveyard" and is designed to bridge the gap between the game and the animated television series. The characters and world within the animated series are now playable with the traditional RPG game.

Also included is an Episode Guide Booklet with show's synopsis, writers, and original air dates.

Disc 5 includes the following extensive bonus features:
• The all-new half hour documentary, "Entering the Realm of Dungeons & Dragons" featuring interviews with the show's production team, writers, animators and network executives
• Two commentary tracks for episodes "Night of No Tomorrow" and "The Dragon's Graveyard" with producer Bob Richardson, story editor and voice director Hank Saroyan, writers Mark Evanier and Michael Reaves and CBS executives Ted Field II and Judy Price, and animator Michael Swanigan. Hosted by Special Features producer Andy Mangels
• Radio show style presentation of unaired episode "Requiem" featuring popular animation voice talent, plus original cast member Katie Leigh
• Full length animated storyboard with interactive episode comparison for Episode #16 "The Girl Who Dreamed of Tomorrow"
• "Choose Your Own Adventure" DVD Game
• 50 Detailed Characters, Creatures and Artifacts, Profiles with Bios, Images and Clips
• Short live-action fan film by Sean Kennedy
• "Uni's Fun Facts" Trivia
• Extensive Gallery of original model sheets and memorabilia
• Alternate and rare footage
• Easter Eggs
• DVD-ROM extras, including scripts for multiple episodes (with the un-produced series finale script), complete storyboards and the original series bible
• More INK & PAINT trailers

Best Buy is advertising this for $29.99 on Tuesday, that is hands down the best deal to get it immediately. www.deepdiscountdvd.com has it for $29.95 shipped but it wont arrive till probably the 3rd week of December.

Some Best Buys have put it out early for $40 and the reviews coming in are this is the definitive set and blows the Region 2 version out of the water.

okay i know this is old hat by now, but still here is a bit more info about the BCI set...

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The people at BCI Eclipse (and Andy Mangels in particular) have established themselves as masters at releasing cartoons on DVD with great care, no small feat given Filmation's reputation and the time-compressed PAL masters that Hallmark left behind before destroying everything else (or so the story goes). With Dungeons & Dragons, though, things were much more hopeful, just so long as the artificial commercial breaks, mystifying edits, and the awful new theme that Saban created for recent re-airings were absent.

Naturally, Murphy's Law had to kick in, in the form of The Walt Disney Company.

Nine episodes (every episode from "City At The Edge Of Midnight" until the finale, with the exception of "The Traitor", "The Last Illusion", and "The Dungeon At The Heart Of Dawn"-one third of the show's 27 episodes, for those counting at home) have had three pieces of music-one "oasis" theme and two fast-paced, dramatic battle themes-replaced. All three were penned and conducted by Rob Walsh. To the experienced fan of the cartoons of Marvel and Sunbow, this replacement comes as a surprise, since Walsh's music was never removed from Rhino's Sunbow releases, where it is extremely prevalent, to the point of even totally supplanting that of Johnny Douglas.

What makes this especially aggravating is that the UK DVDs were untouched, "The Dungeon At The Heart Of Dawn" (a Walsh-heavy episode) is untouched, and Disney has created new music that is really bad, a maddening choice considering that the majority of the missing cues have been replaced by the familiar music of Johnny Douglas (and other than in "The Dragon's Graveyard", where Walsh's music is vital, the change is not immediately recognizable). We don't deserve this unexplained set of changes, and BCI *really* doesn't, because they have done an awesome job assembling features for this set.

First and foremost of these extras is a radio play rendition of Michael Reaves' unproduced (and nigh legendary) series finale, "Requiem". While Katie Leigh (voice of Sheila, the thief) is the only original cast member present, the voices assembled (especially for Hank and Dungeon Master) are close matches. Second are two commentaries (moderated excellently by Andy Mangels) and a very nice documentary. Third is the alternate/rare footage, but there are only two of the episode previews, and the best of the series openings (for the second season) looks like an ancient PAL transfer (sped up and zoomed in). Fourth is a plethora of scripts, storyboards, and other documents from the series' production. Also present is a fan-made production and extensive (and I mean *extensive*) character and object biographies (with appropriate clips from the series).

If not for Disney's imposed meddling with the soundtrack, this set would qualify as the best '80s cartoon released to date. It has a great deal of special features, excellent packaging, and even manages to (finally!) bridge the gap between the actual D&D game to the series. While I would have liked to have seen all of the "Today on Dungeons & Dragons..." previews (or at least known that this was an issue, so I could have contributed the two or three extras I have on barely-acceptable VHS tapes) and the season 2 opening at its proper speed and resolution, these seem like minor concerns when compared to the unnecessary music replacement on this set. Shame on Disney for downgrading an excellent purchase to three-quarters of what it should be.
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so there you have it
music score is apparently crappo for some of the episodes

on the other hand, we have the new disc 5 with all those extras

hey anyone on this board got this (BCI) set?

I knew it was smart to keep my UK discs and pass on the USA ones. :)

I do have the BCI set on loan from a friend.

I've even got my own Fox Kids set somewhere (I think).

So I'm able to compare, if you want.