Before I tell you any more about the series, I have to mention that my brother and I watched it religiously as kids, and we definitely weren't the only ones. We'd take the figures, act out the shows, and have a blast with our friends. G.I. Joe really hit home with boys and girls as well, thanks to the wonderful stories and characters that they created. Not to mention they were wonderful role models, characters that kids strived to imitate the good and moral behavior they exhibited on the shows.
The first mini-series, "A Real American Hero," really does a wonderful job introducing us to all the major characters. At the beginning of it, Cobra (the main enemy in G.I. Joe) develops a new device that allows them to teleport from place to place. Duke tries to catch them and is sucked into it as well. He is captured by Cobra and the Joe's must figure out where he is and then figure out how to get him back. This is no easy feat as he disappeared into thin air! Can they figure out how to find Duke, build their own teleporter to rescue him and defeat Cobra? Especially after Scarlett ends up captured at one point when she's caught by Destro. It's going to be quite a challenge for them, but I'm quite confident that G.I. Joe can win. They're the good guys!
In "The Revenge of Cobra," Duke and Snake Eyes are both captured by Cobra. You'd think Duke would have learned better last time, but you're probably figuring out by now that Cobra captures the G.I. Joe crew quite a bit. If Cobra was smart and just killed them, things might end up a lot different, but thankfully the Cobras and Cobra Commander just aren't that smart. Anyway, it's going to take all of the Joe crew, Flint, Mutt and Junkyard (my personal favorite character - the dog!), Shipwreck, and the rest, to figure out how to shut down Cobra this time and turn the tides on Cobra's weather controller.
In "The Pyramid of Darkness" mini-series, Cobra heads to space to try and destroy the Joe team. If you remember the time period that these shows came out, the space race was a very hot topic, so to see the cartoons mimic that was really quite nice. Anyway, as usual, the Joes are going to have to figure out how to beat Cobra yet again. After this mini-series is over, most of the episodes are wrapped up at the end of that episode. The first 7 of the non-mini-series episodes are also on the DVDs. You'll notice at the end of these episodes that there are quick "lessons" and morals to learn, always ending with "Now you know, and knowing is half the battle." Just in case you've heard this saying before (I know I say it a lot), but had no clue where it came from, now you know.
As if all these episodes weren't enough to convince you to buy this set, the DVD also include quite a few special features. They have "Looking Back With Writer Ron Friedman," which is really nice to watch. There are also the original toy commercials available. Talk about a blast from the past! Not to mention many more features that you will really enjoy! I almost forgot to mention that the mini-series can be played seamlessly, so that the 5 episodes play as one long episode. That is a really wonderful feature!
In case you haven't figured it out by now, I love G.I. Joe. It was a wonderful series with intriguing stories and amazing characters. I highly recommend you go pick this set up today in preparation for the upcoming movie. Hopefully, the rest of the series will come out soon so stay tuned for more information on your favorite heroes!
