A few weeks back you may remember I had written up a review of an old Gerry Anderson series called, “Supercar.” It was one of the forerunners to what many consider to be his most famous creation, “Thunderbirds.” Part of Anderson’s claim to fame was his part in the creation of ‘Supermarionation’, which was a system that allowed a greater ability to lip-sync the voices and gain a more ‘realistic’ look to their puppets with the use of finer wiring systems. I grew up watching “Thunderbirds”, but for some reason I missed just about every other show Anderson created, with the exception of “Space: 1999.” It was kind of cool watching “Supercar” to see how it compared to Anderson’s later projects. Now, thanks to the folks at A&E, we now have the opportunity to see some of what came after “Thunderbirds.” Coming up this month is the release of “Joe 90: The Complete Series.” Created back in 1968, “Joe 90: The Complete Series” follows the adventures of Joe McClaine, an operative of W.I.N. (World Intelligence Network).

Some of the Agency’s main goals are to maintain the balance of world power between the Eastern and Western Block, take down terrorists and recover missing nuclear weapons. But Joe just isn’t any agent, oh no. He’s only nine years old… the original Spy Kid. In case you’re wondering why he’s called Joe 90, well that’s simple. Until he came along there were only 89 W.I.N. agents based in London. I think you can figure it out from there.

Now, how does a nine-year old make it as an agent of W.I.N.? All he has to do is have a super smart scientist dad with the most amazing invention this side of the Matrix… the BIG RAT. Not to be confused with the Firesign Theatre’s ‘Giant Rat of Sumatra’, BIG RAT stands for Brain Impulse Galvanoscope Record And Transfer. And just what would you expect a Brain Impulse Galvanoscope Record And Transfer device to do? Well, I’ll tell you. The Brain Impulse Galvanoscope Record And Transfer device is able to give Joe all the skills, knowledge and experience of anyone on Earth. And this device is used to great effect on the show.

“Joe 90: The Complete Series” continues in the tradition of the classic Anderson style. The ‘Supermarionation’ has become more fully developed, the gadgets are ultra-cool, and the action pretty fast paced for a series created with puppets. Even the special effects, taking into the consideration that the show was made in the 60’s, are surprisingly good. What really impressed me more than anything were the great sets that they built for the show. The attention to detail is incredible, even though some of them have that ‘hip retro-60’s’ look.

This new 4-disc set offers up all 30 episodes of the series, along with a few extras for Anderson fanatics. There are commentaries on two episodes, one by designer Mike Trim. That one is more technical in nature, but gives up some good info on how they did what they did so well. The other commentary, by director Ken Turner is a bit more entertaining. There are also data files on some of the equipment and locations used in the series, as well as biographies of each of the characters.

“Joe 90: The Complete Series” is about as groovy as it gets when it comes to 60’s era kids shows. There were actually a few times when an Austin Powers marionette wouldn’t have been too out of place. I’d like to think kids would still enjoy a show like this, and at least be impressed by how darn cool the marionettes are. If your kids are spoiled by the CGI Scooby Doo or have become part of the brain-numbing MTV Generation, banish them to their rooms and keep this set for yourself.

Episodes:
The Most Special Agent
Hi-Jacked
Splashdown
Operation McClaine
Three’s a Crowd
International Concerto
Big Fish
The Unorthodox Sheperd
Relative Danger
Business Holiday
King for a Day
Double Agent
Most Special Astronaut
Arctic Adventure
The Fortress
Colonel McClaine
Project 90
The Race
The Professional
Lone-Handed 90
Attack of the Tiger
Talkdown
Breakout
Mission X-41
Test Flight
Child of the Sun God
Trial at Sea
See You Down There
The Birthday
Viva Cordova

Starring the voices of: Len Jones, Rupert Davies, David Healey, Keith Alexander, and Sylvia Anderson
Extras: Commentary with designer Mike Trim on “The Most Special Agent”, Commentary with director Ken Turner on “The Unorthodox Sheperd”, Character Biographies, Data Files: Equipment and Location Briefings, Photo Gallery
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: A&E Home Video
Release Date: 7/29/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Joe 90 an A.