Swamp Thing--The Series(2008).
© Shout Factory Theater
Title: Swamp Thing - The Series Season 1 and 2
Rating: Unrated
Starring: Dick Durock, Mark Lindsay Chapman, Carrell Myers, Kari Wuhrer, Scott Garrison
Writer: Tom Blomquist, Steven L. Sears, Jeff Myrow
Director: Walter von Huene, Chuck Bowman, John McPherson
Distributor: Shout Factory Theater
Original Year of Release: 1990, 2008 DVD
Extras: Exclusive interviews with Swamp Thing co-creator Len Wein and actor Dick Durock
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Swamp Thing - The Series Season 1 and 2
By: Robert T. Trate, ColumnistDate: Monday, January 21, 2008
“When an attempt on Dr. Alec Holland’s life leaves him consumed by deadly chemicals and fire, the swamps of Louisiana transform him into a superhuman creature hell-bent on ridding the swamp—and the world—of the evil that men do, beginning with his arch nemesis, Dr. Anton Arcane (Mark Lindsay Chapman), the mad scientist responsible for Holland’s monstrous new incarnation as Swamp Thing (Dick Durock).” –Shout Factory
Following up ‘The Return of Swamp Thing’ (1989) the powers that be thought perhaps the tales of the cursed Dr. Holland would work better on a smaller weekly format. So before Warner Brothers had a tighter grip on its D.C. Comics characters, the USA Network commissioned 72 episodes of “Swamp Thing”. Showcased to a surprisingly younger audience than its comic incarnation, the show played as if it were a live action cartoon. Thirty minutes a week where good people would fall into harms way and Swamp Thing would be there to save the day. After 15 years would this kid friendly, basic cable show still hold up?
The first 22 episodes are presented in the proper order. Season 1 has been repackaged as seasons 1 and 2 over four discs. The reason for this is unclear; however, the proper order is evident as in the first episode.
In “The Emerald Heart” we are introduced to our main characters: Jim (Jesse Zeigler), his mom, Tressa (Carrell Myers), the evil Dr. Anton Arcane (Mark Lindsay Chapman) and of course Swamp Thing (Dick Durock, reprising his film role). We learn quickly, it is after all only a 30 minute pilot, that Dr. Arcane is beautiful outside and monstrous inside. He is also infatuated with the “girl next door”/ mom, Tressa. Jim has a knack getting into trouble and bit of a liar but deep down has a good heart. More importantly we witness that Dick Durock brings the same gallant environmental superhero to life just as brilliantly as he did in the two ‘Swamp Thing’ films. Durock is the saving grace of this show and his beautiful soul of a monster is the complete antitheists of Chapman’s brutal, demented genius. Chapman also deserves credit for bringing to the show a Lex Luthor type villain (in giant shoulder pads no less) who is monstrous and scary but not so much that it would scare away the audience or their mothers who might walk in on them watching this show. A show filled with weekly genetic mutations and girls that dance like strippers dressed in body glove outfits.
Disc 2 brought up some interesting questions for the series. The first being, did Jim ever go to school? Why there aren’t more than 5 people walking on the city streets at one time? How come Dr. Arcane’s Un-Men only mutate on their hands, heads and feet? Obviously the answer to these questions is because of the budget. After a while, Swamp Thing’s little comments as he is submerging into the swamp at the end of each episode started to look repetitive, revealing that the producers were recycling the footage week after week. It might have bothered me more if what Swamp Thing said hadn’t been so prolific.
“Spirit of Swamp” which co-starred Roscoe Lee Brown as a Voodoo priest that Dr. Arcane hires to destroy Swamp Thing is a refreshing episode. Brown brought the acting up a notch and this is the first episode to not feature Jim (he is absent from the episode). The battle of wills between this sorcerer of nature and the spirit of swamp provided some much needed reassurance that the show would improve and it did.
The show did lack a real starlet, some cleavage, or even a love interest that is until on Disc 3 (dubbed Season 2) when the cast got an over haul and Kari Wuhrer (of “Sliders” fame) joined the cast as Abigail. On a weekly basis the basic subplots of the show were revealing that Dr. Arcane was experimenting on humans and his “results” were then sold into slavery. Jim discovers the truth of what Dr. Arcane is doing and is then captured and sold into slavery. So Jim is written out of the show and his character is believed to have been killed. Swamp Thing and Will, Jim’s recently moved to town older half brother (Scott Garrison), know the truth. From this point to the end of the “second season” (actually Season 1, Episode 22) Jim is not mentioned of by either character. Hopefully, the quest for Jim will be a part of later episodes. His last moments haunt you as this scared little boy is boxed up with some mutants and sold into slavery.
Along with a few new sexier characters to the cast and a budget our Dr. Arcane gets a boss. A shadowy figure bound to a wheel chair known only as the “General” who invokes the best and worst of the nineties. The best in he is faceless uber figure with government ties and his motives make our bad guy, Arcane, look tame. The worst in that he sounds and what little we do see of him is reminiscent of Lord Dread from “Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future”.
“Walk a Mile in My Shorts” provided that classic superhero story where the hero and the villain switch minds and see how the other half lives. Chapman for once gets to play the good guy and Durock plays a bungling too big for his britches bad guy. It gave some much needed insight for both characters.
“Tremors of the Heart” introduced Sienna (played by Sandahl Bergman who genre fans will remember as Valeria in ‘Conan the Barbarian’) as a love interest for Dr. Arcane. Finally an actress came to the show with enough acting chops to hold her own against the actor and the character. Sadly this was Bergman’s only performance on “Swamp Thing”.
“Season 2” ends with W.W.F. (now the W.E.) wrestling legend Terry Funk (though his voice was dubbed for some odd reason) as a hit man who’s come to town. There is very little grandeur, closure or opening for sort of a new story arc. The cast seems in place as Kari Wuhrer and Scott Garrison become permanent fixtures to the cast. There wasn’t any sort of tease for Season 3 on the DVD but if the final fifty episodes do come out on DVD I want to see how the guardian of the swamp will continue to save the day.
Special Features:
An exclusive interview with Co-Creator Len Wein gives a great back story to the comic book hero he co-created (in House of Secrets #92). Wein then reveals the process he went through which inspired him to take it from a one shot story to a continuing monthly series.
Swamp Thing himself, Dick Durock, provides insight into his stuntman career and his career as Swamp Thing. How he started on “Lost in Space” as Guy Williams stand in and that he would become Hollywood’s go to guy for stunts working at two or three different productions a day. Durock also provides great archival photos from the show and both the feature films. Be sure to catch the photographs in the credits after the interviews, which are priceless and comedic.
What’s missing?
Commentary is lacking on this 4 disc set. Some insight from any of the creators, producers, directors or stars as it pertains to the episodes would have been a nice feature. Outtakes are another; I remember seeing some once on “TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes with Dick Clark” where Durock’s suit was so saturated with water he couldn’t lift his leg to climb into a window. It was pure gold.
Even without additional special features this nineties diamond in the rough is an excellent collection for any fan of the superhero genre.
We HAVE to get another season out of Battlestar if some shitty thing like this can get 72 Episodes!