Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Season One
DVD
Starring Levar Burton, Whoopie Goldberg, Meg Ryan, Martin Sheen, Ed Asner, and Jeff Goldblum
Shout! Factory
Release Date: April 19, 2011

The eco-conscious ’90s are revisited in this collection of Season One of Captain Planet and the Planeteers. In this collection, viewers are introduced to the Planeteers, a group of teens chosen by Gaia, the Spirit of the Earth, to defend the Earth from environmental villains. The Planeteers are a multicultural bunch that includes Kwame from Africa, Wheeler from America, Linka from Eastern Europe, Gi from Asia, and Ma-Ti from Brazil.

As a Reading Rainbow and Roots fan, I remember being happy that Levar Burton was included in the cast as the voice of Kwame. I was also a fan of the original voice of Gaia, Whoopi Goldberg. Sadly, Goldberg and several of the original voice actors for the eco villains would be replaced in later seasons. In Season One, however, we have the voice talents of Meg Ryan (Dr. Blight), Jeff Goldblum (Verminous Skumm), Martin Sheen (Sly Sludge), John Ratzenberger (Rigger), and Ed Asner (Hoggish Greedly). This all-star gathering gave the show legitimacy and made watching the series more exciting. After I read the credits, I began playing a guessing game and trying to match the celebrity voice with the eco-villain.

The Doors
Blu-ray Edition
Directed by Oliver Stone
Starring Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kevin Dillon, Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Madsen, Billy Idol, Kathleen Quinlan
Lions Gate Home Video
Release date: August 12, 2008

The Doors cuts a jagged swath through the life of singer Jim Morrison, one of the most charismatic and exciting figures in rock history. The film begins with Morrison’s arrival in California and explores his assimilation into the Venice Beach culture, his relationships with girlfriend Pamela Courson (Meg Ryan) and future bandmate Ray Manzarek (Kyle MacLachlan), and the origin of The Doors. As fame takes its toll, Morrison spirals downward into an inferno of drugs, alcohol, public obscenity, arrests, and depression. As director Oliver Stone puts it, during his insightful audio commentary, “Morrison was the poster child for a nation on the verge of a nervous breakdown.”