Back in early 2000, the USA Network introduced us to a pair of action shows (similar to the Action Pack that gave us Hercules) to help us wile away our weekend afternoons. One was “Jack of All Trades”, which starred the ubiquitous B-movie star Bruce Campbell as an 18th Century ‘Scarlet Pimpernel-esque’ hero. It was paired with a futuristic sci-fi series called, “Cleopatra 2525.” I was drawn to watching both of the ½ hour shows because of Campbell’s presence in the former, but ended up liking both of them for the silliness they offered. “Cleopatra 2525” starred Jennifer Sky as an exotic dancer, frozen in the present, then found and re-animated in the year 2525. Think “Futurama” with a little ‘T(ease) and A(ction). The year 2525 is a time where humans have been driven underground by a race of robotic villains. Not to continue comparison, but it’s a little bit “Terminator” and a little bit “Battlestar Galactica”, only with an abundance of cheese.

We have the great Sam Raimi to thank for the cheese factor, as he was the undisputed master of it during his days directing the “Evil Dead” trilogy, “The Quick and the Dead” as well as producing the famed “Hercules” and “Xena” series. Here he takes on the role of producer once again and his team delivers some sci-fi light with “Cleopatra 2525.”

Unfortunately for both of the shows, they were short-lived and didn’t make it past the angel of Cancellation. On the bright side, Universal Home Entertainment has seen fit to release the entire 28 episode run of “Cleopatra 2525” on a 3-disc DVD set. (I’m still hoping they’ll release “Jack of All Trades… but the wait goes on…) I hadn’t seen the all of the episodes during their initial airing, so I prepared to catch up no what I missed. Overall the series was what I expected… extremely silly, but offering great looking women in tight outfits kicking butt and taking names. Granted, I usually require a lot more than that to hold my attention, but the show was just kinda fun.

What I didn’t realize at the time it aired, was that one of the stars was Gina Torres, who of late has become quite the well-known actress for her roles on “Alias”, “Angel”, “24”, and my personal favorite “Firefly.” I didn’t know who she was back then, and was actually surprised when I saw her on the cover of the DVD set. This sparked my attention even more, and I enjoyed the watching the fun she obviously had with her role. I mentioned to my wife that she was in it, and she replied, “Well, heck… it was money…”

The DVD set has quite a few more extra features than I had expected for a cancelled series, including some deleted scenes and some of the unfinished special effect and stunt shots. There’s also a very candid outtake sequence that is quite funny. Universal has also included one of the episodes for the series “Earth 2” (which is being released at the same time) in an effort to do some cross over promotion and drum up some sales. Look for that review of that series elsewhere on the site.

“Cleopatra 2525” was a piece of sci-fi fluff. There were no deep meanings or controversial subjects. It was created to be pure dumb fun, and I believe it succeeded in delivering just that. Call it a guilty pleasure.

Episodes:
Quest For Power
Creegan
Flying Lessons
Mind Games
Home
Rescue
Run Cleo Run
Choices
Perceptions
Trial and Error
Double
The Last Stand
Hel and High Water - Part 1
Hel and High Water - Part 2
The Water
Baby Boom
Brain Drain
Mauser's Day Out
Reality Check
Pod Whisperer
Out of Body
Juggernaut Down
Truth Be Told
In Your Boots
The Soldier Who Fell From Grace
No Thanks For the Memories
Noir or Never
The Voice

Starring: Jennifer Sky, Gina Torres, Victoria Pratt
Extras: Earth2 Bonus Episode, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, Special Effects and Stunts
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Universal
Release Date: 7/26/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Cleopatra 2525: The Complete Series a B.