Grading on the curve of cheap, syndicated TV of the day, this pilot (part I and II) is a vintage "B" TV gem, and, over twenty years after its original airing, was just the thing to watch to get my high fantasy fix. Unlike a lot of the episodes (or most, I haven't watched most of the episodes in a decade) the pilot was actually pretty affecting. There's more variety in the score than an average episode (which tend to just reuse the main them for fight scenes) and the plot developments feel more impactful than random episodes, partly due to being moderately better overall, and partly by good score usage. The acting is uneven, but it's good enough to serve the story, and smile or laugh at some ridiculous parts, but not to the point of removing any investment in the outcome of serious moments.
This first episode starts off with a bit more cheesy camp, and the sets are really obvious sets, but the overall effect is still properly fantastical, and I actually cared about every named character. Even if you don't want to weather the ups and downs and hilarity of the rest of the series, the two-part pilot is a good standalone watch. Crack open a cold one and marvel at the unbelievable muscle definition and size differences in the cast.
stream-watching note: Firefox, being perhaps the only browser that doesn't use Chromium, will take advantage of your sound card's force surround effect if you have a surround sound system, and will effectively make this surround sound even though the source is stereo. This makes for a more immersive and epic watch, and I'd highly suggest doing it since it gives it the movie treatment, since this is essentially a TV movie.
Review by LNeroBlockedParent2022-08-12T03:30:07Z
Grading on the curve of cheap, syndicated TV of the day, this pilot (part I and II) is a vintage "B" TV gem, and, over twenty years after its original airing, was just the thing to watch to get my high fantasy fix. Unlike a lot of the episodes (or most, I haven't watched most of the episodes in a decade) the pilot was actually pretty affecting. There's more variety in the score than an average episode (which tend to just reuse the main them for fight scenes) and the plot developments feel more impactful than random episodes, partly due to being moderately better overall, and partly by good score usage. The acting is uneven, but it's good enough to serve the story, and smile or laugh at some ridiculous parts, but not to the point of removing any investment in the outcome of serious moments.
This first episode starts off with a bit more cheesy camp, and the sets are really obvious sets, but the overall effect is still properly fantastical, and I actually cared about every named character. Even if you don't want to weather the ups and downs and hilarity of the rest of the series, the two-part pilot is a good standalone watch. Crack open a cold one and marvel at the unbelievable muscle definition and size differences in the cast.
stream-watching note: Firefox, being perhaps the only browser that doesn't use Chromium, will take advantage of your sound card's force surround effect if you have a surround sound system, and will effectively make this surround sound even though the source is stereo. This makes for a more immersive and epic watch, and I'd highly suggest doing it since it gives it the movie treatment, since this is essentially a TV movie.