The Case for Retro Activity

A wee while ago, I began a (not yet exhausted) list of fond TV show memories from my childhood, with the occasional link to jog the memories of those who might really remember them.

Well, someone from Whitcoulls must have been thinking about them too, as today I went in to the Lambton Quay store and found the Nipponmarionation classic Star Fleet on sale. Yes, that one. The brief video clip on YouTube that I linked to gave me pause, but the tantalising temptation that the tactile sensation of the DVD case stirred within me was almost too strong. The back of the case thrilled me even more, the bare threads of the plot in those brief sentences beginning to knit a tea cozy of childhood warmth in my mind. But the substantial price tag was enough to convince me to put the case (and a comic story book inside!) back down again and ponder this potential purchase, for perhaps another time and a 20% DVD sale…

Of course, I had said the same thing about the Mysterious Cities of Gold, the 6 DVD collection of which I also visited in that same store. Oddly, it is in the “Festival” section of the store, its French/Japanese origin perhaps relegating it to a more exotic categorisation than the kiddies animated aisle. I have been wisely warned that the reality of this series will be wildly different to the anime to which I have become accustomed later in life – though, to be fair, even most live dramas compare unfavourably with the story (if not necessarily the pacing) of Gundam: Seed – and so I should perhaps never go back again for my own sanity and fond memories. But still, and perhaps more so than with Star Fleet (for aforementioned reasons), the allure remains, though once again the hefty “normal price” tag acts as a powerful negative condition.

As I left the DVD section, I began to ponder that now, quite a while after the publishing of those posts, these shows (along with, and not to forget, the “best of Sesame Street” compilations available from the Warehouse) are being released here, and that perhaps these are but the prelude to a DVD nostalgical tidal wave. So, by the time I left the store, I had my fingers and toes crossed (which did make movement difficult and led to some fairly odd looks from fellow pedestrian) and a mesmerising mantra running through my mind: “Tiny Toons, Animaniacs. Tiny Toons, Animaniacs. Tiny Toons, Animaniacs…”

Verdict: Sometimes dreams do come true. They tend to be silly ones that don’t involve Lotto wins (though I would like to be proved wrong there with a large Lotto win of my own), but small crutches to get one from A to B with a (sometimes hefty) detour through one’s bank account. 4 steps of the Dance of Joy out of 5.