The Justice League

Image via Wikipedia

Evil aliens, mad scientists, power hungry megalomaniacs and many more dangers lurk out there. Who will save Earth? Enter, the Justice League.

After the success of the animated Batman and Superman, its producers set their sights on bringing the world’s first superhero team to life. Created in the comics by Gardner Fox, the Justice League comic teamed up the heavy weights of DC comics: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern (Jon Stewart) and Hawkgirl.

Bruce Timm and Dan Riba brought their established simplistic style to this TV series, whilst still keeping with the grand scale of each story — which was set everywhere, from the vast corners of space to Earth’s backyard. Though a children’s animated series, Justice League is a fun and interesting watch, even for adults. Of course, comic book fans will be getting a treat in not only watching their favourite characters coming to life, but also memorable storylines.

One such memorable storyline is that of Secret Origins. This episode deals with the arrival of J’onn J’onzz, the shape-shifting alien from Mars. J’onzz, or Martian Manhunter, warns Batman and Superman of an impeding alien invasion on earth. Teaming up, the world'’s finest tackle the invasion head-on. With help from other superheroes, they thwart the invasion, the earth is saved and the Justice League is born.

This box-set comes with a special promo for the show, storyboards and commentaries for selected episodes and also a look into character design. Justice League is a fun and exciting watch for the entire family.

Futurama

Image via Wikipedia

People often imagine the future as a utopia — a time when there will be peace and order. Simpson’s creator Matt Groening has a very different outlook on the future, and together with writer/producer David X. Cohen, he brings you Futurama.

Instead of imagining what the future would be like, Groening and Cohen are inspired by science fiction, such as Star Trek and Arthur C. Clarke. The result of this imagination is a unique comedy from black humour to surreal, on to slapstick and a satire on modern times against a futuristic backdrop.

Phillip J. Fry (Billy West) is a young pizza deliveryman who inadvertently gets sent to the future by a prank phone call. After being resuscitated from his cryogenic state, Fry wakes up to find the world filled with aliens, robots and technological wonders. Here he makes new friends Leela (Katey Sagal), a strange one-eyed alien, who is a starship pilot and Fry’s love interest. Bender (John DiMaggio) is Fry’s best friend; he is also a robot who is an alcoholic and despises all humans (except Fry). Bender is to Futurama is what Homer is to The Simpsons. There’s just never a dull moment when he’s on screen, as his antics are priceless.

Futurama is the story of galactic adventure mixed with many funny moments. The box set comes with many special features, including commentaries on every episode. Fans of sci-fi will definitely appreciate the homage, and new viewers will find this as a refreshing and a very funny look into the future

Star Trek: The Original Series

Image via Wikipedia

“Space… the final frontier.” No other words come close to describing Star Trek and in 1966, this science fiction show took audiences where no one had gone before.

Starring in the roles that made them all science fiction legends, William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and DeForrest Kelley (Dr McCoy) embark on a five-year mission to strange new worlds and encounter even stranger aliens. The storylines of this first season were not commercially successful for the studio, however they are considered to be some of the finest science fiction writings.

So much, in fact, so that they were nominated for the prestigious Hugo Award (an award given by the World Science Fiction Society) and won two years in a row. The show was also nominated for Emmy Awards and the recognition does not end there, as Star Trek is considered to be the first TV show that spawned a cult following.

The aspects of the show were ahead of its time, as the writers and producers masked political and social issues of the time into a science fiction theme to portray them. Issues like racism was a flashpoint in American history as was the Vietnam conflict, and Star Trek tackled them by portraying mankind’s mistakes and how they learned from them, instead of ignoring them.

The first season box-set comes with cast interviews, text commentaries and features that highlight the season’s best moments. Star Trek: The Original Series is a must have for fans everywhere, especially Trekkies.