TV Shows I Want to See Get DVD and Blu-ray Releases

 Hey everyone, how's it going? It's Friday! Today I decided to talk about TV shows that I would love to see get DVD and/or Blu-ray releases. I have twenty-eight shows to talk about and I'm going in a semi-alphabetical order. I originally had twenty-nine shows, but as I was doing research for this list, I discovered that Extreme Ghostbusters is apparently getting a North American, Region 1, DVD release this year finally, so I struck it from the list. Also, this is not an exhaustive list of all the shows that don't have DVD or Blu-ray releases. This is just the shows that I want to see get DVD and Blu-ray releases the most. So, without further ado, let's get into it.

Animorphs (1998-2000)

Airing in Canada on YTV and Global from 15th 1998 to October 8th, 1999, and in the U.S. on Nickelodeon from September 4th, 1998 to April 23rd, 2000, Animorphs was a live action show based on the book series by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant. Developed for television by Deborah A. Forte and Bill Siegler at Scholastic Productions and Protocol Entertainment, that lasted for two seasons and took massive liberties during the adaptation process, due to the fact that it was airing on children's television networks in the late '90s, and had a budget that was smaller than the small budget that Power Rangers had. It's one of my favourite TV shows of all time, even though the adaptation isn't great, and it started the careers of Shawn Ashmore, Brooke Nevin, and Paulo Costanzo.

While the show is available digitally on iTunes, Vudu, and Amazon Video, as well as streaming on Tubi here in North America after having had a short run on Netflix, the show has languished on VHS in terms of physical media releases. The Invasion Series was a four volume VHS release by Columbia TriStar Home Video (now Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) in 1999 and only contains twelve of the first thirteen episodes of the series, having skipped episode 4, "On the Run", for some reason. I'd love it if this show got a DVD release because, whether you love it or hate it, it's still a piece of Animorphs history, as well as a piece of Nickelodeon and YTV history too.

Barney & The Backyard Gang (1988-1991)

Released as a direct-to-video series from 1988 to 1991, Barney & The Backyard Gang was the precursor to the popular PBS children's series, Barney & Friends. Created by Sheryl Leach, Richard C. Leach, and Kathy Parker, the first three episodes of the series starred Sandy Duncan as Michael and Amy's mom, lending some star power to the independent production as Sandy had had a starring role on The Hogan Family (1987-1991) and voiced Vixey in The Fox and the Hound (1981).

While the first six episodes had aired in syndication on the Disney Channel in November, 1990, the primary availability for it has been on VHS as the first three episodes remained in circulation until 1992, and the remaining five episodes were in circulation until 1998 or 1999, with the fourth episode, Waiting for Santa having the most re-releases. Much of the Barney franchise has remained on VHS, with only a handful of episodes from the late 2000s coming out on DVD throughout the 2010s, The Backyard Gang has all been forgotten by the franchise holders of Barney. Most likely because the original license for The Backyard Gang ended in 1997 and nobody has picked it back up again. It would be cool to have all eight episodes on DVD since all that's available are the VHS quality uploads on YouTube, as well as the original VHS releases.

Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990-1992)

Airing in the United States, in syndication, and in Canada on YTV, Captain Planet and the Planeteers aired from September 15th, 1990 to May 11th, 1996. Created by Ted Turner and Barbara Pyle, Captain Planet had a ton of celebrity actors voicing the characters, and was produced by Turner Entertainment and DIC Entertainment. I remember watching it on YTV during The Zone, around the time Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was starting and reruns of the 1966 Batman series were on.

Shout! Factory released the first season on DVD on April 19th, 2011 but no other seasons have been released on physical media since then. They're all available on iTunes, and on streaming on Amazon, but the DVD release is most likely out of print by now, and the rest of the series isn't available on DVD as of yet. I don't even know if Shout! Factory, now known as Shout! Studios, even still has the license for Captain Planet. It would be really cool to have this series complete on DVD though, even if it was just individual season sets instead of a complete series set.

Disney's House of Mouse (2001-2003)

Airing on ABC's Disney's One Saturday Morning, the Disney Channel, and Toon Disney in the U.S., and on Family Channel here in Canada, Disney's House of Mouse was a crazy show that packaged the old Mickey Mouse Works cartoons from 1999 and 2000, with the wraparound premise of Mickey and the gang running an old-fashioned night club where the Disney characters could spend an evening together, being entertained. Of course, Pete was trying to buy it so he could use it for his own profits rather than for the purpose of entertainment. I watched this show all the time on Family Channel. Particularly when I was sick and in the hospital when I was in high school. It was fun. Aside from the direct-to-video movies, Mickey's House of Villains and Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, the show never had any home video releases at all. And at this point, Disney has forgotten it entirely. It would be great to see DVD releases for the show though.

Disney's Jungle Cubs (1996-1998)

This is a weird one because Jungle Cubs was only on for two years, but I remember it very fondly being that I'm a fan of The Jungle Book. It was on ABC in the U.S., but here in Canada it was on BBS Master Control in Ontario and Saskatchewan along with Gargoyles, Timon and Pumbaa, Quack Pack, and Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series. 

While the show had a presence on VHS, with two volumes being released from 1996-1997, each volume containing three episodes, it's never had a DVD release in North America, even with the other shows that aired during that period having them. While Disney is fairly lazy when it comes to shows like this being put out on physical media, there doesn't seem to be a reason for Jungle Cubs to not be released on DVD at the very least.

Disney's Doug (1996-1999)

The Disney version of Doug aired on ABC as part of its Saturday morning lineup from September 7th, 1996 to June 26th, 1999, after a successful run on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 1994. As I mentioned in my blog post on some of the Nickelodeon shows I've never seen, the Disney version is the version of Doug that I remember watching, though it's possible that I watched the Nickelodeon version prior to that and I just don't remember doing so. 

While the Nickelodeon version of Doug has been completely released on DVD in both individual season sets and a Complete Series set, the Disney version has been confined to four VHS releases that came out in 1997. Which is unfortunate, because even though the Nickelodeon series is complete, the series as a whole feels incomplete without the Disney version on DVD.

Eek! The Cat (1992-1998)

Eek! The Cat aired on Fox Kids in the U.S. from 1992 to 1997 and on YTV and Global in Canada though Wikipedia only mentions YTV in its article on the show, I assure you, it aired on Global as well. This show has no home video releases, except for one VHS release. Of course, it got picked up by Disney when it bought out Fox Kids Worldwide in 2002, and was one of many shows that Disney didn't do a thing with after that. So yeah, Eek! never had any home video releases and I'd love it if someone, even Shout! Studios released the series on DVD. The show is only 75 episodes across five seasons, so I'd think it would be easy to release it on DVD. The problem is sales. I don't know how popular this show was when it was on Fox Kids though it ran for five years in the U.S. and six years in Canada, so it's possible that nobody would care enough for it to be worth the money to release the show on DVD.

Ghostwriter (1992-1995)

Next is Ghostwriter, which aired on PBS in the U.S., and TVOntario in Canada, during its TVO Kids programming block. I loved this show when I was a kid as I mainly watched it on TVO Kids, though I do remember also watching it on PBS as well from time to time. 

While the first season was released on DVD in 2010 by Shout! Factory, the rest of the series has never been released. Though Wikipedia does show that seasons 2 and 3 were supposed to be released, but there's no release dates attached to them. It would be awesome if Shout! Factory still had the license to release this series, but I don't know if they still do after fourteen years.

Masked Rider (1995-1997)

Aired on Fox Kids from 1995 to 1997, Masked Rider was an adaptation of Toei's Kamen Rider Black RX (1988-1989), which was the final Kamen Rider series to be produced until Kamen Rider Kuuga came out in 2000, as such, it's the oldest Tokusatsu series that Saban Entertainment adapted for Fox Kids in the wake of the huge success of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1993. In fact, it was an actual spin-off of MMPR originally, as Dex/Masked Rider was introduced in the three part premiere of season 3 of Mighty Morphin. Though by the time Masked Rider actually debuted on September 16th, 1995, any connection to Power Rangers was ignored, aside for in comic books.

Unlike the other Saban/Fox Kids Tokusatsu adaptations, Shout! Factory didn't get the license to release Masked Rider on DVD in the mid 2010s, and so other than 2 VHS releases in 1996, Masked Rider hasn't had any North American home video releases. While I don't like it as much as I like Power Rangers, I do have fond memories of watching Masked Rider on Fox Kids in 1996 and 1997 and I'd love to be able to get it on DVD someday. Especially because Power Rangers, VR Troopers, Beetleborgs, and Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad all have DVD releases, as does Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation.

Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog (1998-1999)

Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog was one of the few shows that Saban Entertainment produced for Fox Kids that wasn't based on a Japanese Tokusatsu series. It also only lasted for a single season of fifty episodes from September 12th, 1998 to May 7th, 1999. Wikipedia doesn't say whether it was received well or not, but apparently a second season, called Battle Thunder, was planned, but was canceled and its budget was distributed to Power Rangers Lost Galaxy and the English dub of Digimon.

Only one VHS release came out in North America in either 1998 or 1999 and no DVD releases have come out anywhere but in Germany. I only vaguely remember watching this show and it's not one I've revisited since I watched it on TV in the late '90s. It would be cool to have a DVD release of the series, since Sword and Sorcery Fantasy is hugely popular right now.

Ned's Newt (1997-1999)

Ned's Newt was one of the first shows to be produced for Teletoon when it premiered on October 18th, 1997, the day after Teletoon launched. It was also one of my favourite shows and I watched it all the time. It's about a boy named Ned who wanted a pet and got a Newt, who is basically a mix of the Genie from Aladdin (1992) and Hobbes from Bill Watterson's comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes. Ned's friends and family never see the Newt, named Newton, when he's in his anthropomorphic form as the Newt food that Newton eats to make him grow and start talking, Zippo, always wears off when anyone besides Ned is in the room. The series also aired on Fox Kids from 1998 to 1999.

Despite being one of the flagship shows for Teletoon, Ned's Newt has only ever had three VHS releases. Though it is streaming on Tubi oddly enough. I doubt the show will get any DVD releases, though individual season sets would be awesome, if not a complete series set.

Radio Active (1998-2001)

Radio Active was a sitcom that aired on YTV from 1998 to 2001, and was one of my favourite shows growing up. The show is about five students, Morgan, Kevin (season 1) or Blair (seasons 2-3), Ethan (season 1) or Roger (seasons 2-3), George, and Tanya who run a radio station called Radio Active at the fictional Upper Redwood High. I don't think it aired in the U.S. so this is a Canadian only thing this time around. It has no physical media releases at all, not even a VHS release. However, it is streaming on Tubi and in varying quality on several YouTube channels given the lack of physical releases. I doubt we'll ever get a DVD release of the series, but it would be cool if we did.

Radio Free Roscoe (2003-2005)

Radio Free Roscoe was my favourite teen show in the 2000s. It aired on Family Channel here in Canada and on The N in the U.S. and centered around four teens, Lily, Ray, Travis, and Robbie, who start their own underground radio station in order to fight the uniformity of the school radio station, Cougar Radio, at Henry Roscoe High School. The show had cast crossovers with Canadian teen drama, Degrassi: The Next Generation as several RFR cast members appeared on Degrassi and vice versa. Oddly enough, while the show aired only in two seasons, of 26 episodes each, on Family Channel, The N divided the show's 52 episodes into four seasons, of thirteen episodes each.

While RFR did get a DVD release in 2003 or 2004, it was simply eight episodes from season 1 released as a "Greatest Hits" compilation voted on by fans of the show. It includes the first two episodes of the show, along with the season 1 (Canadian)/season 2 (American) finale. Out of all the shows I've talked about in this post, RFR is the show I'd love to have complete on DVD. Even now, 20 years later, it's still one of my favourite shows of all time and I love revisiting it every so often. The first episode is available on YouTube on Family Channel's official YouTube channel in honour of the station's 35th Anniversary (I'm old) and the entire series is, again, available on YouTube, in varying quality on other channels. 

Schooled (2019-2020)

A spin-off of The Goldbergs (2013-2023), Schooled was set in the '90s and followed Lainey Lewis (AJ Michalka), Mr. Glascott (Tim Meadows), and Coach Mellor (Bryan Callen) and aired on ABC from January 9th, 2019 to May 13th, 2020. Unlike The Goldbergs, Schooled didn't air on a Canadian channel. It was originally meant to focus more on Glascott's Niece, Felicia, but, the concept was reworked to focus more on the adults, which was the show's downfall in my opinion, as much as I loved the show. It also doesn't have any physical media releases. Though both seasons are available on iTunes.

Spider-Man (1994-1998)

Spider-Man (also known as Spider-Man: The Animated Series) aired on Fox Kids and YTV from November 19th, 1994 to January 31st, 1998. I watched it on both channels, though I'm pretty sure I watched it on YTV the most. Even though I missed the first two seasons when they initially aired from 1994 to 1996, YTV did air both seasons in reruns fairly regularly, so it was easy for me to catch up on the show. Which was a huge help because of how serialized the show was in comparison to its DC counterpart, Batman: The Animated Series, which also aired on Fox Kids and YTV.

Disney did release five DVD compilation volumes from 2002 to 2005, containing certain story arcs from the show, but that's it for the North American DVD market. Season sets and a complete series set were released in the UK in 2009 and 2011 respectively. But, those sets were never released here in North America. The series is available on digital platforms such as iTunes, AND is streaming on Disney+ if you have access to that service. It's one of the few shows that is most wanted on DVD for that reason, due to the lack of North American DVD releases. Honestly, I love this show and I'd love it if they gave it season sets or a complete series set here in North America.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Airing in syndication from January 3rd, 1993 to June 2nd, 1999, DS9 was considered the black sheep of the franchise for many years, despite the show's superior writing and acting in comparison to its predecessors, Star Trek (1966-1969), and Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994). I didn't watch DS9 when it was originally on TV, besides the pilot episode, "Emissary". However, when I was a teenager, the show was airing in reruns on both CityTV and The New RO (originally CHRO, now known as CTV 2), the channels the show originally aired on here in Canada in the '90s.

DS9 did have DVD releases in the 2000s and 2010s, both season releases for all seven seasons, and complete series sets. However due to low sales of the TNG Blu-ray releases, Paramount has chosen not to release DS9, the lesser known Star Trek series, on the format due to the cost of remastering the series to the point where it would be deemed acceptable for Blu-ray release.

However, the season 5 episode, "Trials and Tribble-ations" was released on Blu-ray in 2009 on the season 2 Blu-ray set for TOS, where it was upscaled to 1080p. So it's not that the process is impossible, as we saw, it's not, but, CBS/Paramount is concerned because of the low sales of the TNG Blu-ray sets. Honestly, I think those low sales are because only the hardest of hardcore Star Trek fans bought the Blu-rays for TNG, because casual fans and general audiences saw no need, despite the remastered production the show underwent before being put on Blu-ray, because they already had the series on DVD. Unlike with TOS where the special effects were digitally redone from the ground up, so that it would match what Roddenberry and company would've done in the '60s had the technology existed at the time, and if they'd had the budget to do so, the remastering process for TNG was less intensive as they didn't change any visual shots. They simply upscaled the show's audio and visuals, and fixed visual continuity mistakes that were made in the late '80s and early '90s when the show was originally in production. And while the remastered version of TNG has aired on TV since 2013, and is on the Blu-ray releases, it did not replace the original standard definition version present on the DVDs during subsequent DVD releases that happened in the 2010s. Having DS9 on Blu-ray would be pretty cool if it ever happens.

Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Airing from January 16th, 1995 to May 23rd, 2001 on UPN in the United States, and on CFCF 12, CityTV, The New RO, and Space Channel/CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada, Star Trek: Voyager was the fourth live action Star Trek series and the first to air on Network Television since TOS was canceled in 1969. While I enjoy DS9, Voyager is my favourite Star Trek series besides TNG. The reruns on The New RO got me through high school and it was a comfort show for me as it not only helped me become closer with my sister, but also connected me to others who weren't and aren't Star Trek fans and I treasure those memories.

All seven seasons were released on DVD in the 2000s, and the show had a complete series box set in 2018 or 2019, but the show hasn't been released on Blu-ray yet either, due to the low sales of the TNG Blu-ray releases. However, to my mind, because Voyager has more digital elements to it due to the ships being mostly digital models, rather than physical models, though the show didn't go completely digital until halfway through season 3 in 1996, it would be easier to upscale the show to 1080p for Blu-ray release since they have the digital elements available to them.The cost would also be worth it since, despite its low ratings on UPN during its original run, Voyager has become more popular thanks to streaming and DVD releases. Especially since the show's 30th anniversary is coming up in 2025.

Star Wars: Droids (1985-1986)

Star Wars: Droids aired on ABC from September 7th, 1985 to June 7th, 1986 for a total of 13 episodes, with Anthony Daniels reprising his role as C-3PO and the original sound designer for the Original Trilogy, Ben Burtt, providing the "voice" of R2-D2. The show takes place about fifteen years before Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), with Threepio and Artoo entering the services of several people through a Droid service agency, as their masters take on petty warlords, bounty hunters (including Boba Fett), the Empire itself, and other criminal elements. The show was produced by Nelvana in co-operation with Lucasfilm. I remember watching Droids on Global, alongside the next show I'll be talking about in this post, in the early '90s. It also aired alongside other '80s and '90s cartoons such as Dennis the Menace, Beetlejuice, The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin, Inspector Gadget, The Care Bears Family, Astro Boy, and The Real Ghostbusters.

In 2005, to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary, Droids did get a single DVD release containing two movie compilations of two four episode story arcs, "The Pirates and the Prince" (Episodes 5-8), and "Treasure of the Hidden Planet" (Episodes 10-13), leaving out episodes 1-4, episode 9, and the TV special, The Great Heep. With the show having been on Disney+ since 2021, it'd be nice if Disney released the full series, including The Great Heep, on DVD.

Star Wars: Ewoks (1985-1986)

Star Wars: Ewoks was a companion series to Droids that aired on ABC from September 7th, 1985 to December 13th, 1986. It served as spin-off of the Ewoks TV movies that Lucasfilm had produced in 1984 and 1985. It also aired alongside Droids on Global TV here in Canada. Being that I wouldn't see any Star Wars movie until my dad got the Original Trilogy on VHS in 1995, Ewoks was the show I preferred since I had no connection to Threepio and Artoo, and the Ewoks resembled other bear related characters that were on TV at the time, particularly the Care Bears. I also owned one of the show's few VHS releases for a brief time in the mid '90s.

Like with Droids, Ewoks also got a single DVD release to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary in 2005. And like with the Droids DVD, this release had two movie compilations of two four episode arcs, "The Haunted Village" (season 1, episodes 1, 2, 3, and 9), and "Tales from the Endor Woods " (Season 1, episodes 4, 5, 7, and 13). Ewoks also went up on Disney+ in 2021 and with the show's 40th anniversary coming up next year, Disney should release both Droids and Ewoks on DVD.

Stargirl (2020-2022)

Originally produced for DC Comics's failed streaming app, DC Universe, Stargirl moved to The CW for the second and third seasons. I watched the first two seasons on Blu-ray and I loved it. As you can see from my reviews of both seasons, which I have on this blog in early 2023. So, why is this show on the list?

While seasons 1 and 2 are on both DVD and Blu-ray, for whatever reason, season 3 only got a DVD release. That's the only reason Stargirl is on this list. If you still haven't checked this show out, despite my glowing recommendations in both reviews, I highly recommend watching it. I still haven't seen season 3 yet, because I don't have it on physical media yet. But as soon as I can get it, I'll definitely be watching it.

Superman & Lois (2021-2024)

Airing on The CW, starting on February 23rd, 2021, Superman & Lois is one of the best comic book based TV shows ever made, and it's the last vestige of the once powerful Arrowverse continuity, having disconnected itself from that continuity by the end of the first season, despite the creators originally intending it to be a spin-off of Supergirl (2015-2021), coming off of the massive 2019-2020 crossover event, Crisis on Infinite Earths. While season 3 was a bit difficult for me to watch due to Lois having a cancer storyline, and both grandmothers of mine having died from cancer as the season was ending, this is one of the best comic book based shows ever produced, and is the best Superman show ever.

While the first two seasons have both DVD and Blu-ray releases, season 3 has neither. It's been almost a year since season 3 debuted, and we haven't even gotten announcements about whether or not the season is getting any physical media releases. Normally that would've been out by the end of 2023, but so far, we've had nothing. Even coming into 2024, we've had nothing. Even though the fourth and final season is coming out this fall.

The Goldbergs (2013-2023)

Airing on ABC from September 24th, 2013 to May 3rd, 2023, The Goldbergs basically kicked off the wave of '80s nostalgia shows, as it began three years before Stranger Things debuted on Netflix. Created by Adam F. Goldberg, and was a fictional biography of his childhood, the show never had strong ratings during its ten season run, but obviously it had good enough ratings to warrant a ten season run. Which surprised me, because as a fan of the show, I was expecting it to be canceled after only a season or two. It's one of my favourite shows of the 2010s.

The show is on DVD, so why is it on this list? Well, because only seasons 1-6 have been released on DVD. Despite all ten seasons being available on digital for purchase on iTunes, and is available on streaming on Hulu in the U.S., it's not streaming anywhere in Canada, and for whatever reason, seasons 7-10 haven't been released on DVD. For no apparent reason. It's never been mentioned at all. Which sucks because it's an awesome show and I love it.

The Orville (2017-2022)

Airing on Fox for its first two seasons and then moving over to Hulu and Disney+ for season 3, The Orville surprised me. While I'd watched Family Guy and American Dad in the 2000s, and saw Ted (2012), I wasn't a fan of Seth McFarlane. At all. So I didn't have high hopes for this show. And, while the pilot was a bit rough around the edges, the show blew me away and gained a cult following due to it following the classic Star Trek formula better than what the modern Star Trek shows and movies had been doing up to that point. As I mentioned, Fox canceled it after two seasons and Hulu and Disney+ picked it up for its third season. Despite its critical and audience success, it doesn't look like that the show is returning for a fourth season. It's not canceled or anything like that. It's just not coming back. Seth's a bit busy with Ted, the series on Peacock based on Seth's 2012 movie of the same name.

Even though seasons 1 and 2 got DVD releases, there hasn't been any word if season 3, The Orville: New Horizons, is getting a physical media release. Even Seth himself hasn't said whether or not season 3 will get a DVD release. Which sucks, because it was the best season and if it is the final season, then it needs to come out on DVD to complete the series on that format.

The Smurfs (1981-1989)

Airing on NBC from September 12th, 1981 to December 2nd, 1989, The Smurfs was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. I remember watching The Smurfs on Global TV, alongside the other shows that I mentioned in a previous section of this long post. While the show does have DVD releases, only one season and a handful of volumes containing random episodes from the first two seasons were released on DVD in North America. Those came out in 2009 and 2013 respectively. Hopefully we'll at least get individual season sets for all five seasons of the show.

The Wuzzles (1985)

 Airing on CBS from September 14th to December 7th, 1985, The Wuzzles reran on ABC from 1986 to 1987. I didn't watch this show when I was a kid because it didn't air in reruns here. I was aware of the franchise through the toys and books that Disney released. I owned a Butterbear figure and I owned several of the books. Naturally, I had no idea that they were based off of an animated TV show. There aren't any home video releases for the show at all. Not even on VHS. Which is interesting, given that every other animated Disney show at the time got at least one VHS release if not more. I doubt this show will ever get a DVD release, as it's not even on Disney+, but one never knows with this sort of thing.

Welcome to Pooh Corner (1983-1986)

Airing on the Disney Channel from April 18th, 1983 to May 30th, 1986, the costumes for Welcome to Pooh Corner were bult by Alchemy II, Inc. the company owned by Teddy Ruxpin creator, Ken Forsse, and involved Phil Barron and the late Will Ryan, who voiced Teddy and Grubby respectively in the Teddy Ruxpin franchise. The show also aired on Family Channel here in Canada from 1988, when the channel launched, until 1997. I watched it on Family Channel whenever I was either in the hospital or at my grandparents's place because we didn't have Family Channel at my house until the late '90s, after Welcome to Pooh Corner had left the channel.

Walt Disney Home Video released six VHS volumes of the show, containing four episodes per tape in the mid '80s during that time when the home video business was really coming into its own at Disney. I'd love for this show to get a DVD release, but, it's unlikely ever going to happen. I don't even know if it's even a remote possibility or not. It would be interesting though. Certain episodes, taken from their original broadcasts, have been uploaded to YouTube in parts, and are also on the Internet Archive.

Willow (2022-2023)

Streaming on Disney+ from November 30th, 2022 until January 11th, 2023, Willow was a sequel to the 1988 movie of the same name that Ron Howard had directed. The show was canceled in March, 2023 and then was removed entirely from Disney+ on May 26th, 2023. Which is why this show is on the list. It needs a DVD release, or at the very least a Blu-ray steelbook release like Disney has been doing with the Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe shows they've already put out like The Mandalorian and Loki. 

Zoobilee Zoo (1986-1987)

Airing in syndication from September 15th, 1986 until March 27th, 1987, Zoobilee Zoo's theme song was written by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, the creators of Power Rangers. The show has a total of 65 episodes and I loved it when I was a kid, watching it in reruns and on VHS, even dressing up as Van Go Lion for Halloween when I was four or five years old. I'm pretty sure I watched it on PBS as it was on several different channels, even in reruns, and I remember watching several episodes on VHS that my parents rented for me from Rogers Video. It was also on The Learning Channel (TLC) in the mid '90s and I watched it on that too.

As mentioned, Zoobilee Zoo had several VHS releases and I remember renting one or two of them a couple of times. I don't remember which episodes, but I remember sitting in my siblings's and my playroom in the common area outside our bedrooms on the second floor of our old, refurbished log farmhouse that we lived in from 1993 to 1996. Hallmark Properties currently owns the show, but I have no idea whether the show will ever get released to DVD.

And that my friends is it for this list and this blog post. It's a long one, but it's something I've been thinking about lately, especially with shows like The Goldbergs being incomplete on physical media, despite being a traditional network show, is weird to me. 

That's it for me for this week. I'll be back next week with lots more blog posts and reviews. So until then have a great night and a wonderful weekend and I will talk to you all later. Take care.

Batman: Strange Apparitions (1977) Comic Book Review

 Hey everyone, how's it going? I'm doing pretty well for a Wednesday. I'm back with a comic book review for this week. This time I'll be discussing the 1977-1978 Batman storyline, Strange Apparitions, which ran in Detective Comics #469 to #479 and was written by Steve Englehart and Len Wein, with art by Marshall Rogers, Walt Simonson, Terry Austin, Al Milgrom, and Dick Giordano. So let's get into it.

This is probably the most famous Batman storyline that was published in the '70s. It's also the most popular one from this era. I know it's one that I've known about since the late '90s when I first got the 1988/1989 trade paperback compilation, The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told for my 11th birthday. The way Englehart and Wein wrote this story is incredible. Especially connected to the artwork of Simonson, Rogers, Austin, Milgrom, and Giordano.

While Batman deals with Dr. Phosphorus, Hugo Strange, the Penguin, the Joker, and Clayface III, he's also having to deal with crime boss, Rupert Thorne, who has control of the city council, and is attempting to oust Batman from the city. He also meets wealthy socialite, Silver St. Cloud, who quickly deduces that Bruce Wayne and Batman are one and the same and shakes things up for both Bruce Wayne and Batman in a very different way than Vicki Vale or Julie Madison had previously (Bruce even mentions Julie in his thoughts while he's with Silver in "The Deadshot Ricochet" from Detective Comics #474).

Silver St. Cloud is one of my favourites when it comes to Batman's love interests. Besides Catwoman, she's also the most interesting. I think it's because she isn't just a photographer or a bored rich girl. She actually does something with her money, similar to what Bruce Wayne does with the Wayne Foundation, and is incredibly intelligent. I mean she sees Batman one time and immediately figures out that he's Bruce Wayne. The only other person who has ever done that was Ra's al Ghul, and that was before Ra's had even met Batman in person. I was also just impressed with the way she handled things during Batman's fight with Deadshot in Detective Comics #474 and the security guard tried to apprehend him due to Thorne's cease and desist order. Instead of turning him over to the authorities, Silver orders the guard to back off. Which is cool. After this storyline, Silver won't appear in the comics again until Batman #600, where she appears in a flashback, in 2000. She'd also return in Englehart's 2005 miniseries, Batman: Dark Detective and Kevin Smith's 2009 miniseries, Batman: Widening Gyre, which takes place when Tim Drake is Robin, Jason Todd is no longer dead, and Grant Morrison was nearing the end of his run on the Batman titles.

I was extremely surprised to see that Chief O'Hara appears in Detective Comics #470, in his first "onscreen" appearance in the comics. Having never read this issue before, I had no idea that O'Hara appeared, being that I know him from the 1966 TV series, the 1966 movie, and the late 2010s Batman '66 direct to video animated movies. So that was a wonderful surprise.

The villains in this storyline are interesting, as you have a mix classic villains such as the Penguin, the Joker, and Hugo Strange, and new adversaries such as Dr. Phosphorus, Rupert Thorne, and Clayface III. I'm the most familiar with Rupert Thorne from his appearances in Batman: The Animated Series and its comic book tie-in, The Batman Adventures. He's fascinating here though because he's the president of the city council and has as much power as Lex Luthor would once he was recreated post-Crisis on Infinite Earths in the mid to late '80s. Yet, he's a crime boss. Apparently in Steve Englehart's draft of the script for the project that became Tim Burton's 1989 movie, Batman, Rupert Thorne was supposed to be the crime boss instead of Carl Grissom, who was created by Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren for the movie, once it was decided not to use Thorne.

While Phosphorus began as a Batman villain, he's appeared all over the DC Universe, including in Starman, Legion of Super-Heroes, and Titans (2000-2003). I actually know him as one of the bad guys that Stephanie Brown has to face as Batgirl in Batgirl #'s 6 and 7 from 2009. He also appeared in Batman and Robin #22 in 2011.

Hugo Strange is another villain I know more from The Batman Adventures than the main comics. Though I did read his appearance in Batman #1 (1940), which was reprinted in The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. 

Clayface III is interesting because I actually know him more from the comics of the '90s as he appeared in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #'s 26 and 27, during Knightquest: The Crusade, which was the second storyline in the Knightfall saga, and Jean Paul Valley is Batman during that two issue story. 

The Penguin and the Joker are the most interesting though. The Penguin is there for one issue and that's pretty much it. Technically two issues since he's used as a plot device to get Floyd Lawton, a.k.a. Deadshot, out of prison at the beginning of Detective Comics #474. But, it seems to be your typical Penguin story. The Penguin is one of the few villain characters who hasn't changed all that much since he was created in 1941 though he's not completely the same as he was 83 years ago. 

The Joker on the other hand is a completely different story. The Joker is portrayed as he was originally in his earliest appearances in the first four or five issues of Batman from the '40s, with him using the Joker Gas and announcing his victims over TV broadcasts as he had over radio broadcasts in first two appearances in Batman #1 (1940). Which is interesting since the story ends the way many of Batman's fights with the Joker have ended, with the Joker seemingly dying, only to return in a future issue. There's also a bit of hints of the modern Joker from the New 52 and Rebirth, where he doesn't want Batman's secret identity exposed by the likes of Hugo Strange or Rupert Thorne, as it would spoil his fun. While the more modern versions of the Joker just doesn't care who Batman is under the cowl, this version just doesn't want it exposed. Which is very interesting.

Having read Detective Comics #474 in The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told since I was 11, it was actually nice to have context for everything that was happening around that issue. Both before and after it. Especially because the ghost of Hugo Strange appeared in front of Rupert Thorne in the issue, and I had no idea when Thorne had had Strange killed. I also didn't know when Bruce had met Silver, or why Robin was even in Gotham, helping Batman fight the Penguin. So it was nice to finally have that context, and to actually read Englehart's complete run on Detective Comics for the first time in its entirety.

Alot of the time, switching between artists in the middle of a story arc can be a bit jarring. But switching from Walt Simonson and Al Milgrom to Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin, and then Dick Giordano replacing Austin after Detective Comics #477, didn't have much of an impact. At least, not on me. The artwork in this storyline is awesome and all of the pencilers and inkers did an incredible job on this story.

This was the era that Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and the other people who created Batman: The Animated Series were inspired by when they created that show. In fact the episode "The Laughing Fish" was partially adapted from Detective Comics #475, which was also called "The Laughing Fish", with elements from "Sign of the Joker!" from Detective Comics #476 and "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" from Batman #251 (1973) being combined for the episode. And I think that's why the '70s is the most well known era of Batman's publication history. The stories are timeless and were adapted into many episodes of the 1992 TV show. These guys were kids when this storyline was running in Detective Comics so this is their Batman, even while the 1966 TV show was airing in reruns and Batman and Robin were appearing in Super Friends from Hanna-Barbera and Filmation's The New Adventures of Batman during this same time. And because they were inspired by their Batman, they ended up creating a definitive version of Batman for a whole generation of kids who were watching Fox Kids from 1992 until 1995, or Global and YTV in the case of Canadian kids. 

Strange Apparitions was originally collected in trade paperback form in 1999. While select issues were included in books such as The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told and other similar volumes, this was the first time that the story was collected in its entirety. It's also the only collected edition to collect a complete story from the '70s, with its own title, similar to Knightfall or Year One or something like that. Normally '70s stories would be collected randomly in volumes like the aforementioned The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. I actually found this trade for $10 at a convention that I went to two weeks ago. It was the only thing I bought at that con. So I'm glad I was finally able to read it.

The storyline was partially collected in 2011, except issues 469 and 470, in the hardcover collected edition, Legends of the Dark Knight: Marshall Rogers. It goes without saying that it collects all of the Batman comics that Marshall Rogers did the artwork for, including Steve Englehart's 2005 miniseries, Dark Detective. 

Then in 2020 the entire storyline was collected in its entirety in Tales of the Batman: Steve Englehart. This was a trade paperback that collected every Batman comic that Steve Englehart wrote from the '70s through to the 2000s with Dark Detective. This trade is probably the easiest way you could get your hands on this storyline, since Strange Apparitions hasn't been collected on its own since the original trade came out in 1999, and that original trade has been out of print for many years. If you haven't already own the original trade since 1999 of course. And if you don't own either trades, you might get lucky and find the 1999 trade for a decent price at a comic book sale or convention the way I did two weeks ago. 

Overall this was a great read. If you're a Batman fan and have never read '70s Batman comics, this storyline is a great entry point into the era. Especially if you're a fan of Batman: The Animated Series. '70s Batman comics are some of my favourite Batman comics besides the ones I grew up reading in the '90s. I highly recommend reading Strange Apparitions.

Alright my friends that's going to be it for me for today. I'll be back soon with more reviews and other posts. So until then have a great evening and I will talk to you all later. Take care.

Nostalgia

 Hey everyone, how were your weekends? Mine was pretty good for the first weekend of March. So today I'm just gonna talk about nostalgia and something I've noticed in the last couple of years where nostalgia for the 2000s has started to become a thing. So let's get into it.

Almost a year ago I did a post called "Nostalgia For the 2000s?" where I talked about my nostalgia for the 2000s. Particularly for the period from 2000 to 2005, which is when I was in middle school and high school. But, after writing that post, it really began to hit me that so many movies, TV shows, comic books, novels, and video games are hitting their 20th anniversaries this decade. For example, Avril Lavigne's debut album, Let Go, celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022. Both Smallville and Star Trek: Enterprise celebrated their 20th anniversaries in 2021.

But something that really made me realize just how much 2000s nostalgia has started to happen is the fact that iCarly returned to TV screens, on Paramount+ in 2021, and last year, in 2023, the Zoey 101 reunion/sequel movie, Zoey 102, came out on Paramount+. The original iCarly ran from 2007 until 2012 on Nickelodeon, and Zoey 101 ran from 2005 until 2008. Now, I missed iCarly for the most part because I was in college when it started, but, because my sister watched it, I saw bits and pieces of episodes, though not enough to realize that Tim Russ, who played Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager from 1995 to 2001, played their principal, and Mindy Sterling played their teacher. And not enough to know that Gibby was played by Noah Munck, who I know as Naked Rob on The Goldbergs from season 2 until the end of the show in season 10. 

I mean most of the 2010s was about '80s and '90s nostalgia, mostly '80s. And while we've had a real push for '90s based nostalgia thanks to Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, That '90s Show, Goosebumps (both movies and the recent Disney+ series), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, and now X-Men '97, there's also been a huge push for 2000s nostalgia too with Halo on Paramount+, Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix, Zoey 102, iCarly, and Spider-Man: No Way Home with the return of Tobey Maguire as the Sam Raimi version of Spider-Man, along with Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborne/the Green Goblin, Thomas Haden Church as the Sandman (from Spider-Man 3), and J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson.

Like I said, songs that I listened to on the radio when I was in high school are all turning 20 at some point this decade, as are the albums they appeared on. Albums that I've had since high school, like Escape by Enrique Iglesias, either have turned 20 already or are going to turn 20 in the next year or so. And like next year, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Batman Begins and Tim Burton's Charlie & the Chocolate Factory are all turning 20 next year. 

The reason there's newfound nostalgia for the 2000s is because the people who grew up in the 2000s are now adults. And those of us who were teenagers and in our early 20s in the 2000s are now in our late 30s and only a few years away from turning 40, so we remember that decade too. It's just incredible to me that it's been long enough since the 2000s that nostalgia for it has started.

Unfortunately, Hollywood has discovered it too as they've been putting out 2000s nostalgia based TV shows and movies as well, as I've mentioned earlier in this post. Some of it has worked, alot of it hasn't. How I Met Your Father is one of the things that hasn't worked. One of the reasons that How I Met Your Mother worked so well, especially in the first three seasons (2005-2008), is that we had a total of 9 seasons and 208 episodes to get to know those characters. It also wasn't entirely focused on the relationship between two characters. You watched Marshall and Lily grow as a couple, and as individuals, you watched Ted drive everyone insane with his desire to find "the One", you watched Robin grow in her career as a reporter, and you watched Barney...well you watched Barney be Barney for way too long, and it sucked, but, my point is you spent nine years watching these characters grow and change, because each season was 20 to 24 episodes.

The first season of How I Met Your Father had half that number of episodes as it only had ten episodes for the season, and most of it was focused too much on the relationships, and not enough on the characters themselves. As much as I love Hilary Duff (another 2000s icon), the writing just wasn't there to develop her character, Sophie. Same goes with the rest of the show's cast. They were great in the roles, the writing and character development just wasn't there. Even though season 2 had 20 episodes, which left the show with two and a half seasons worth of story in only two seasons, rather than actual two and a half seasons.

So one thing I wanted to talk about with this post is the fact that I will be re-dedicating this blog to nostalgia for the '80s, '90s, and 2000s. Josh's Geek Cave has always been about nostalgia, but it's also focused on the new stuff as I've had access to it. Because I no longer have access to Disney+ and Netflix, nor do I have access to newer shows on other streaming platforms, I have whatever I have on iTunes and in my vast physical media collection, and the majority of those shows and movies are ones that I grew up with or ones that came out when I was a kid that I didn't know about at that time, like Matinee and Blast From the Past. But, it goes for comics, books, music, and video games too. I have more of those that are from before 2010 than I do ones that are from after 2010. I'll still review things from the 2010s and 2020s as I do have a decently sized collection of comics, books, movies, TV shows, music, and video games from those decades too, but, Josh's Geek Cave will always primarily be about the past. Not just reviews, but other posts, like this one, where I just talk about a topic like the history of Power Rangers on DVD or the history of Star Trek: The Next Generation on DVD and Blu-ray or the Star Wars Legends novels overview I'm doing.

Josh's Geek Cave is here to remind you that the books, movies, TV shows, comics, music, and video games of the past can be just as entertaining as the stuff coming out today. Maybe even more so. And that, at the very least, they're worth taking a look at from a historical or cultural or societal perspective. Seeing the history of a franchise like Star Trek or Star Wars. Reading the stories that started the careers of characters such as Superman and Batman. Listening to the music that was popular back in the day. Seeing where video games started in the '80s and seeing their evolution over time. 

Alright my friends, that's it for me for today. I'll be back soon with more posts. I'm going to try and get part 2 of the Bantam era of Star Wars books up this week, where I'll be covering the books that came out in 1995, 1996, and 1997. Until then have a great night and I will talk to you all later. Take care. 

Star Wars Legends Novels Overview Part 2: The Bantam Era Part 1: Star Wars Returns! (1991-1994)

 Hey everyone, I'm back with the next part in my Star Wars Legends novels overview series. This time I'm going to be tackling the most important era in the history of Star Wars publishing, the Bantam era, which began in 1991 and ended in 1999 with the novels remaining in print in some form to this day. This is the era that occurred during my childhood and these are the books that turned me into a Star Wars fan, as I mentioned in the last segment of this series. I've also decided to break the Bantam era up into three parts just because there are so many books to cover and alot of background history to talk about as well. This will be part 1, which will cover the return of Star Wars in 1991 with the publication of Heir to the Empire, and the first eight novels that Bantam published between 1991 and 1994. And I'll be talking about the four Young Reader series that came out during this period, because two of them were published by Bantam, and the other two are important for the publication of novels that came out between 1999 and 2014. So let's dive in.

In 1987 Star Wars was dead. The movies had ended in 1983, the final book in the Lando Calrissian Adventures was published in 1983, the Marvel Comics comic book series ended with issue #107 in 1986 and the comics based on the Droids and Ewoks cartoons ended in 1987, with the cartoons themselves ending in 1986. Star Wars was done. But in October of 1987, West End Games published a tabletop roleplaying game, similar to Dungeons and Dragons, as well as supplementary material, The Star Wars Sourcebook, which provided additional details on characters, ships, places, and items, that just couldn't be in the movies themselves, and hadn't been published in any of the novels that Del Rey published between 1976 and 1983. Being that DnD was so popular in the '80s, Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game was massively popular and sold extremely well. 

Two years later, in 1989, the Star Wars comic book license shifted from Marvel to Dark Horse Comics, a relatively new comic book publisher, still in the shadow of the big two, DC and Marvel, that was founded by Mike Richardson in 1986, and the company began to work on a six issue mini-series called Star Wars: Dark Empire. This was actually a project they'd inherited from Marvel, as creators Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy had been hired by Lucasfilm to work on it before Marvel lost the license. However, at the same time Lucasfilm hired Science Fiction author, Timothy Zahn to write a trilogy of novels set after Return of the Jedi.

 The first book in that trilogy, Heir to the Empire, was published on May 1st, 1991 and it quickly became a bestseller, topping the New York Times Bestseller in Fiction list a month later. The book introduces us to many characters who would become instrumental in future installments in the franchise. The two big ones are Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was the main antagonist of the final two seasons of Star Wars Rebels and the main antagonist in Star Wars: Ahsoka, and Mara Jade, who quickly became one of the most popular characters in the franchise, becoming Luke's wife in the 1999 comic book miniseries, Star Wars: Union, and was the only Expanded Universe character to appear on the list of favourite characters published by Star Wars Insider in issue #38 (June/July 1998). 

Other characters introduced here such as Captain Gilad Pellaeon and Talon Karrde would continue to appear in the novels and some of the comics throughout the '90s, but would get phased out by the time Legacy of the Force, with Karrde only showing up one more time before Disney took over the franchise from George Lucas, in the first book of the Fate of the Jedi series, Outcast. Of all of the Star Wars novels to come out during this era, Heir to the Empire feels the most like the books that Del Rey had published in the late '70s and early '80s, with alot of things being retconned by future novels. However, it is the first piece of Star Wars media to contain the name, Coruscant as the capitol world of the Old Republic, the Empire, and the New Republic. It also introduced us to a new race, the Noghri, whose race would appear in Rebels. AND, it was the first appearance of Rogue Squadron, commanded by Wedge Antilles, the only non-main character, who was also a pilot in Red Squadron/Rogue Group to survive all three movies. 

The sequel novel, Dark Force Rising, was published on May 1st, 1992, a full year after the release of Heir to the Empire, which came out in paperback that same month. The sequel continued the story starting in the previous book and it gave slight glimpses into the history of the Star Wars Universe, with the character of Jorus C'baoth, the person whose DNA was used to create the clone, Joruus C'baoth, being a Jedi Knight during the time of the Clone Wars, and who was subsequently killed during the Outbound Flight project, which launched just prior to the start of the Clone Wars, as well as Thrawn's role in its destruction. Details which would be expanded, by Timothy Zahn himself in the 2006 novel, Outbound Flight.

The final book in what is now known as the Thrawn Trilogy, The Last Command, was published on April 1st, 1993. This book wrapped up the story that Zahn started in Heir to the Empire, but it also kicked off an entire publishing slate that spans decades and publishers and continues to this day. It also introduced us to Han and Leia's twins, Jacen and Jaina, who are born in this book. Jacen and Jaina would become the main characters of the Expanded Universe beginning with The New Jedi Order in 1999. 

While I don't like the Thrawn Trilogy quite as much as other people do, I do recognize its importance in the continuation of the Star Wars franchise. It was this trilogy that convinced George Lucas that there were enough people interested in the franchise to make it worthwhile to make the Prequel Trilogy, which he would announce in 1994. 

Of course, by 1993, Star Trek had had its own solid publishing program with novels since the show began in 1966, and had only been solidified by the addition of the movies and Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, so it makes sense that Star Wars would have its own publishing program for fans who had no idea whether we'd get any more movies set in that universe. 

 A month after Dark Force Rising was published, a Young Reader novel by Paul and Hollace Davids, called The Glove of Darth Vader, was published by Bantam's younger readers publishing arm, Bantam Skylark, began a six book series, set a year after the events of Return of the Jedi. This series, known as the Jedi Prince is notoriously bad and was not received well by fans. The books were basically retconned out of continuity, because, despite it showing Luke searching for information concerning the Jedi Knights, the events have no bearing on the rest of the Expanded Universe, and the one major event in the book, the wedding of Han and Leia, was overshadowed by the same event shown at the end of the 1994 novel, The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton, which I'll be talking about shortly.

On November 1st, 1993, the first standalone Star Wars novel to be published since Splinter of the Mind's Eye came out in 1978, came out. It was The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyers and begins the day after the end of Return of the Jedi. This was the first book to be set before Heir to the Empire. The book deals with Leia coming to terms that her biological father, Darth Vader, was responsible for the destruction of Alderaan and the deaths of Bail Organa and his wife, who Leia had known as her parents her whole life. She also deals with Luke being her twin brother. At the same time the beleaguered Rebel Alliance have to save the distant Imperial world of Bakura from the Ssi-ruuk, an alien race from the Unknown Regions, beyond the Outer Rim Territories, as the Imperial fleet had been smashed at Endor, with both Palpatine and Vader being killed.

  On March 1st, 1994, Jedi Search by Kevin J. Anderson was published. This was the first book in the Jedi Academy Trilogy, which chronicled Luke's efforts to restore the Jedi Order by establishing a training center in the former Rebel base on Yavin IV. We meet more characters who would be part of the story in the 2000s and early 2010s, including Kyp Durron and the Jedi Bard, Tionne. This is also the first book to tie directly into Dark Empire, which had just wrapped up two years earlier, as the New Republic is recovering from Palpatine's clones's reign of terror, including rebuilding Coruscant, which had been badly damaged during the brief battle against the resurgent Empire. Han and Leia's third child, Anakin Solo, who wouldn't be born until Dark Empire II (1994-1995), was first mentioned by name in this book (Leia had been pregnant with him in Dark Empire). We are also introduced to Kessel and the Maw Installation where the Death Stars and World Devastators were developed, as well as its military commander, Admiral Daala, who would continue to be a thorn in Han, Luke, and Leia's sides until the Fate of the Jedi series, which was published from 2009 to 2011.

The second book in Anderson's trilogy, Dark Apprentice, was published on July 1st, 1994, only a few months after Jedi Search. This was the first novel to be connected to a comic book series, as Kevin J. Anderson's Tales of the Jedi series was being published by Dark Horse around this time. Despite Lucasfilm's embargo on Star Wars stories taking place during the untapped era of the Prequel Trilogy and the Clone Wars, Tales of the Jedi takes place thousands of years before any of the movies that George had started planning though wouldn't begin writing for another four months at this point. It's also the first book where Wedge Antilles has a significant role to play beyond just being Luke's wingman and friend to the main trio of Leia, Han, and Luke. 

The third novel in Anderson's trilogy, Champions of the Force, was published on September 1st, 1994, and the final book to be published before George Lucas announced that he was making the Prequel Trilogy, and before he began writing The Phantom Menace. The book sees Jacen and Jaina, as toddlers, using the Force to help Luke and his first class of Jedi Apprentices, defeat the spirit of the ancient Sith Lord, Exar Kun, which had been trapped in the temples of Yavin IV by the ancient Jedi Knights thousands of years earlier (as shown in the Tales of the Jedi comics). At the same time, the Imperial Ambassador, Furgan, attempted to kidnap baby Anakin from the fortress world, Anoth, where the Solo kids had been kept safe up to that point. 

I have to admit that the Jedi Academy Trilogy is one of the Bantam Star Wars novel series that made me a Star Wars fan. There's so much lore introduced in these three books, especially for people who either don't read comics or just never got their hands on the Tales of the Jedi series, such as myself. It's because of the universe building in these three books that I realized just how big Star Wars was beyond just the movies and the two cartoons that we'd gotten in the mid-'80s. I haven't read it in a really long time, so once I'm done Lord of the Rings, I'm going to be reading the Jedi Academy Trilogy, even if I don't review them on the blog right away.

The second standalone hardcover novel was published on April 1st, 1994 and it was The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton. This book introduced the Dathomir Nightsisters, an evil sect of the Force wielding Witches of Dathomir, who, again, play a pretty major role in modern day Star Wars media. It featured Han and Leia's actual wedding at the ending, basically excising what the Davids's did in the Jedi Prince series from the continuity. It also introduces my favourite villain duo of all time: Warlord Zsinj and General Melvar. I've waxed poetic about these two characters so much in my reviews of the X-Wing series, particularly Aaron Allston's trilogy, Wraith Squadron, Iron Fist, and Solo Command that I don't need to say anymore here, but this is the book that introduced these characters, and promptly killed them off. Luckily the X-Wing books they appear in take place before this book. Oh and it introduced two characters who become the parents of a character who plays a major role in the Del Rey era of publishing in the 2000s and early 2010s. We'll meet her next time.

The Crystal Star by Vonda N. MacIntyre, who I know as the best Star Trek novelization author of all time, is considered to be the worst Star Wars novel ever. At least of the Bantam era. I admit I haven't read it in years, but from what I remember of it, it's a bit silly, but it isn't bad. Yes, there's a weird religious cult that sacrifices people to Waru, and all three Solo children are kidnapped for the first time, but, at least it's not the Empire doing the same old stuff again, which is what the Bantam era became as time went on. This is the only novel that MacIntyre wrote for Star Wars, but it's the first novel that really began to develop Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin as characters. It's also the first novel to start developing a backstory for Han Solo as it introduces his ex-girlfriend, Xaverri, who would return in the Han Solo Trilogy.

After nearly a decade Star Wars returned with a bang with nine bestselling novels by notable Sci-Fi authors of the day, and one Young Reader series. But those nine novels were just the beginning. 1995 would bring new stories, new characters, and start two Young Readers series that would further shape the future of the Star Wars Expanded Universe beyond Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin, though all three Solo children would help shape that future.

Alright my friends, that's it for me for this week, but I'll be back next week with more reviews and other blog posts. So until then have a great weekend and I will talk to you all later. Take care.