As one of the first shows on Cartoon Network employing Hanna-Barbera's collection of cheap, mass-produced, yet often captivating shows, Space Ghost Coast to Coast's non sequitur brand of humor quickly became a cult favorite, especially among bong-toking college students who had nothing better to do for the 15-minutes between 11:45 and midnight.
The episodes (and interviewees) featured on Volume 3 are as follows:
Disc One
1) Rehearsal: Fred Schneider
2) Gallagher: Bob Odenkirk and David Cross
3) Edelweiss: Beck
4) Anniversary: Judy Tenuta, Bobcat Goldthwait
5) Zoltran: Robin Leach, Merrill Markoe
6) Pilot: Ice and Tower from "American Gladiators"
7) Speck: Jimmy Cliff, Jack Logan
8) Zorak: Dr. Maxcy Nolan, Steve Arnold
9) Switcheroo: Bill Mumy, Mark Hamill
10) Mayonnaise: Jon Stewart
11) Brilliant Number One: Peter Fonda, Buzz Aldrin
12) Boobookitty: Michael McKean, David Lander
13) Needledrop: Ice-T, Ernie-C, Fred Willard
Disc Two
1) Sphinx: Mike Judge, Harland Williams
2) Pavement: Colin Quinn, Pavement, Red Green, Goldie Hawn, Tommy Davidson
3) Untitled: George Clinton, Erik Estrada
4) Hipster: "The Millionaire" from Combustible Edison, Sam Butera
5) Piledriver: Rob Zombie, Raven Symone
6) Suckup: John Henson, Bob Goen
7) Dam: Charlton Heston
8) Boatshow: Steve Allen, Andy Dick
9) Telethon: Bob Abdou, Pete Michael, Russ Powell
10) Dimethyl-Pyrimidinol-Bisulfate: Pat Boone, Chuck D
11) Joshua.: Tony Bennett, Tom Arnold, Kathy Kinney, Ginny the Dog who Saves Cats, "Dinner and a Movie" hosts Paul and Annabel, John Flansberg (just cameos and no real interviews, though)
Score: 7 out of 10
The Video
Appropriately, SGC2Cv3 is shown in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, with the exception of "Brilliant Number One," which is presented in a widescreen format. There are noticeable flakes and bits of dust, the colors are a bit washed out and muted, the blacks aren't perfect and the animated characters sport soft edges. However, given the source material used for most of the show's content -- the low-budget cartoons that Hanna-Barbera originally pumped out nearly 40 years ago -- the video actually looks pretty good. Not great, but pretty good.
The more recent interviews, shown on the retractable television in the Ghost Planet studio, look much cleaner than the original bits of animation, even with the simulated static inserted for effect.
Score: 6 out of 10
The Audio
Like most television shows, the bulk of the episodes on SGC2Cv3 are presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. However, the musical fanfare "Boatshow" sports DD 5.1 so you can enjoy the likes of Space Ghost, Zorak, Moltar, Steve Allen and Andy Dick in full surround. This 5.1 mix is actually quite nice, and gives more depth to the sound effects and musical numbers in this episode.
Although the audio on both discs is only broadcast in English, there are English, Spanish, and French subtitles for each episode as well
Score: 7 out of 10
The Extras
The extras on this two-disc set are decent, but unremarkable. You'll find a short (three-minute) interview with a pre-Daily Show Jon Stewart rambling on about the Banana Splits, a couple of unused/deleted scenes and a 1995 Cartoon Network special hosted by Space Ghost entitled "World Premiere Toon In," where his ethereal spaceness interviews a group of animation directors pitching prospective shows to Cartoon Network. I guess Cartoon Network liked what they saw, because they not only picked up winner Craig McCracken's Powerpuff Girls, but eventually Genddy Tartakovsky's Dexter's Laboratory and Van Partible's Johnny Bravo as well.
There are also commentaries for five of the episodes ("Zoltran;" "Brilliant Number One;" "Pavement", "Boatshow" and "Joshua"), but they're mostly tedious, uninformative exercises. The one exception is the commentary for "Pavement," where we learn that the entire episode was written by passing a notebook around the room with each writer given 20 minutes to write something that was tacked on to the last author's notebook entry. After watching the episode, it's obvious that the writers were trying to trip each other up from the get-go. The episode starts with Space Ghost asking "Guess who wrote tonight's show? C'mon, guess!" Zorak replies with a sigh, "Who wrote it?," with Space Ghost enthusiastically answering, "Me! I wrote it!"
The best extra on the set is the pre-edited interview with David Cross and Bob Odenkirk. It was cool seeing an actual interview before the animation is added and how the interviewees interact with the real-life off-camera interviewer.There are also three Easter Eggs to be found in the set, all on the first disc. Just click around in the main menu and in the episodes menu -- you'll find them.
Not a bad set of extras on this two-disc set, but nothing outstanding. However, it's still better than the other volumes of SGC2C.
Score: 6 out of 10
The Final Verdict
Overall, Space Ghost Coast to Coast Volume 3 makes for a fun disc set to toss in the DVD player for a few laughs, and both the video and audio are better than what you'll see on TV in re-runs.
One bit of warning, though. It's worth watching a few episodes from time-to-time, but extended viewing may cause temporary insanity in some. I happen to like the quirky, off-kilter humor, but I've also watched episodes with people who literally stood up and walked out of the room after a few minutes because they couldn't stand the show.
Score: 7 out of 10