1990-92/2007
After starring in comic books and two feature films, the scientist-turned-monster known as Swamp Thing made the jump to television in his own cable series, which ran for three years on USA in the early Nineties. Spread across four DVDs, this set presents the first two seasons, in the order they were meant to be seen, rather than the jumbled manner in which they were broadcast.
Shot on the Universal backlot in Florida, "Swamp Thing" has our hero (Dick Durock) patrol the marsh, while the town is terrorized by the mutant experiments of evil Dr. Arcane (Mark Lindsay Chapman). In the first season, Swampy's sidekick is a precocious boy; he's later replaced by his hunky, oft-shirtless stepbrother.
The budget must've been bargain-level, as production values are spotty and performances amateurish (Durock excepted). But damned if the show isn't vastly entertaining. With easy-to-digest 20ish-minute episodes, they're like the Lay's Potato Chips of the cult-TV world: Betcha can't watch just one.
Extras are limited to two interview segments, but with nine hours of strange-science fun, you won't care. What you will want, however, are the remaining 50 episodes not included here; hopefully Shout! Factory will provide that fix soon.
"?Rod Lott
