Warner Archive Collection Press Release: Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles (Complete Series 1966-1967) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[oldtvshowbuff]

Yes, in 2006 and then re-released again without the extras. Buyer beware -- in this case the "extras" included eight Magilla Gorilla cartoons so the version of the set with the red banner ("diamond collection") is actually incomplete.

Neither version of the set includes the show opening or closing. But the original 2006 release at least has all the cartoons.

I'm making a bold prediction for a newly remastered in 4K of MG on BD. Feltenstein would guarantee it!

 

[Mark Y]

I'm making a bold prediction for a newly remastered in 4K of MG on BD. Feltenstein would guarantee it!

I would double dip for a properly restored Magilla Gorilla show.

 

[Brucie P.]

View attachment 239587
COMING TO BLU-RAY FROM THE WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION ON JANUARY 28th!

New 2024 1080pHD MASTERS FROM 4K SCANS OF ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVES

FRANKENSTEIN JR. AND THE IMPOSSIBLES-The Complete Animated Series (1966-67)

2 BD-50s
18 episodes
Running Time: 383 Minutes
COLOR
NOT RATED
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 1.33:1 with side mattes
Audio Specs: DTS HD-MA 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: ENGLISH SDH
Special Feature: MONSTER ROCK: THE ADVENTURES OF FRANKENSTEIN JR. & THE IMPOSSIBLES
FRANKENSTEIN JR. and THE IMPOSSIBLES is one half-hour packed with the kind of adventures of two of the most unusual, animated creations of the legendary Hanna-Barbera studio. Buzz Conroy is a heroic boy genius who builds the powerful robot Frankenstein Jr. When the Ghastly Genie, the Junk Man and other evildoers get up to their old tricks, “Frankie” and his young creator crank into action! The crimefighting coalition continues with THE IMPOSSIBLES, a group of superheroes disguised as a beatnik rock group. At the direction of “Big D”, Multi Man, Coil Man and Fluid Man make hot rockin’ musical justice thwarting thieves and corralling crooks with their transformative powers. All-family classic cartoon fun isn’t just possible – it’s guaranteed with this 2-disc, 18 Episode Collection, now newly remastered in High Definition from 4K scans of the original camera negatives of the series.

Warner Archive says it's "The Complete Series" so I'm trusting that (when released) the Blu-Ray will include the (4) :20 second bumpers from the original 1966 TV show:

1 - Frankenstein Jr. & Buzz fly to the aid of the Impossibles when they discover the bridge up ahead is out
2 - The Impossibles change from guitar-playing singing group into their superhero identities
3 - Frankenstein Jr. places Buzz on a nearby steeple before going to battle a tornado
4 - Buzz being elevated on a lift while using tools to get Frankenstein Jr. ready & operational

The reason I point this out is because the "Space Ghost and Dino Boy-The Complete Series" Blu-Ray that Warner Archive released in 2020 doesn't contain the Space Ghost meets Dino Boy bumper where Space Ghost (in the Phantom Cruiser) chases away two prehistoric vultures who have Ugh and Dino Boy trapped on a ledge. It seems to me you can't package a Blu-Ray as "The Complete Series" then overlook key pieces, especially bumpers. Everything produced as part of that original series needs to be there.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Thank you for supporting HTF when you preorder using the link below. As an Amazon Associate HTF earns from qualifying purchases. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.

https://www.amazon.com/Frankenstein-Jr-and-the-Impossibles-The-Complete-Series-Blu-ray/dp/B0DSCN5ZB2?tag=bluray-011-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

[oldtvshowbuff]

You may see a delay in the release I would guess, due to the wildfires.

 

[Midnight Mike]

I just got this delivered today and great news, It’s looks excellent! And, all four of the interstitials ( or bumpers) are included! I’ve only sampled 2 episodes so far, but as with the Herculoids and Space Ghost, as well the other recent Hanna Barbera archives releases on Blu ray, it’s a massive upgrade from the 2011 DVD release.

 

[oldtvshowbuff]

I just got this delivered today and great news, It’s looks excellent! And, all four of the interstitials ( or bumpers) are included! I’ve only sampled 2 episodes so far, but as with the Herculoids and Space Ghost, as well the other recent Hanna Barbera archives releases on Blu ray, it’s a massive upgrade from the 2011 DVD release.

I read that this series had the Screen Gems S snake, a.k.a. the S from hell! I suppose Warners left it out!

 

[Midnight Mike]

I read that this series had the Screen Gems S snake, a.k.a. the S from hell! I suppose Warners left it out!

Yeah, there are no Screen Gems logos at the end of any episodes.

However I’m amazed and very happy they were able to restore all the bumpers. Also, the color is amazing! The old release was a bit faded. The colors on the new release are really vibrant and rich!

 

[Mark Y]

I read that this series had the Screen Gems S snake, a.k.a. the S from hell! I suppose Warners left it out!

I thought Screen Gems was out of the picture by then but not certain (other than shows featuring their licensed characters).

 

[Broomy]

I watched episode one this morning, and was bowled over by how great this looks. Comparing this to how it used to look on Cartoon Network is night and day.
It’s also an immensely fun show, with colorful characters and witty plots. I’m surprised this isn’t as loved as the more famous HB fare,

 

[Mick Hyperion]

My only disappointment with this set is the somewhat sloppy indexing between chapters in each episode. The point at which one chapter ends and another begins is off by a fraction of a second or more in many cases, resulting in the ending of some segments containing the start of the next while the start of those next segments are clipped and not starting with the full fade in from black. This is an issue for me because I rip each segment as a stand-alone Frankenstein Jr or Impossibles cartoon so they can be played on shuffle in a playlist with other cartoons rather than watching all segments of an episode together each time (sorry Randy K). I hope future releases have this indexing tightened up. It makes ripping them much more difficult.

 

[Midnight Mike]

My only disappointment with this set is the somewhat sloppy indexing between chapters in each episode. The point at which one chapter ends and another begins is off by a fraction of a second or more in many cases, resulting in the ending of some segments containing the start of the next while the start of those next segments are clipped and not starting with the full fade in from black. .

Interesting, I haven’t had any of these issues. I’m just watching each 22 min episode straight through on a Sony UBP X800M2. And they all play normally with a slight fade to black before the next segment begins, no clipping off of any kind.

 

[Mick Hyperion]

Interesting, I haven’t had any of these issues. I’m just watching each 22 min episode straight through on a Sony UBP X800M2. And they all play normally with a slight fade to black before the next segment begins, no clipping off of any kind.

Yeah, you won’t notice it if you’re playing each episode and its segments in sequence because the placement of the index points (chapter markers) is irrelevant then. It’s only if you skip to another chapter, or rip each chapter as a stand-alone file, that you’ll notice the clipping in some cases. It’s not a consistent amount of time that it’s off by from chapter to chapter and it’s not on every one of them, but it’s definitely off by a fraction of a second. On Disc 1, it affects 26 of the 45 chapters contained within the 9 episodes.

I have over 7000 cartoon shorts that I’ve ripped from discs. The indexing is rarely a problem, but when it is, it means I can’t just rip by chapter number, but by frame number and I have to actually determine which frames to use as the start/stop points for each file. Otherwise, as a cartoon playlist shuffles during playback, the affected files will appear clipped or contain the first split second of the start of another cartoon that followed it on the disc its from.

The DVD of Frankenstein Jr & the Impossibles didn’t have any indexing problems that I recall. None of the Hanna-Barbera DVDs had this issue. This particular blu-ray does though and I hope future HB titles with short segments do not. It’s not nearly as bad as the Ren & Stimpy discs were though, or the Harveytoons set. Those were a mess.

 

[Broomy]

Yeah, you won’t notice it if you’re playing each episode and its segments in sequence because the placement of the index points (chapter markers) is irrelevant then. It’s only if you skip to another chapter, or rip each chapter as a stand-alone file, that you’ll notice the clipping in some cases. It’s not a consistent amount of time that it’s off by from chapter to chapter and it’s not on every one of them, but it’s definitely off by a fraction of a second. On Disc 1, it affects 26 of the 45 chapters contained within the 9 episodes.

I have over 7000 cartoon shorts that I’ve ripped from discs. The indexing is rarely a problem, but when it is, it means I can’t just rip by chapter number, but by frame number and I have to actually determine which frames to use as the start/stop points for each file. Otherwise, as a cartoon playlist shuffles during playback, the affected files will appear clipped or contain the first split second of the start of another cartoon that followed it on the disc its from.

The DVD of Frankenstein Jr & the Impossibles didn’t have any indexing problems that I recall. None of the Hanna-Barbera DVDs had this issue. This particular blu-ray does though and I hope future HB titles with short segments do not. It’s not nearly as bad as the Ren & Stimpy discs were though, or the Harveytoons set. Those were a mess.

Since you made your original post I had a look through the episodes, simply skipping through the chapters to see if I could notice anything and haven’t seen this happening.
Which episodes are you seeing this?

 

[Mick Hyperion]

Since you made your original post I had a look through the episodes, simply skipping through the chapters to see if I could notice anything and haven’t seen this happening.
Which episodes are you seeing this?

I have only been through Disc 1, so far.

Here's a screen capture of the last frame of the first chapter of episode 1:

This is a screen capture of the first frame of the second chapter of episode 1:

If the index point between chapters one and two had happened only a few frames sooner, there would be a nice clean fade from black at the start of chapter two.

It also occurs between these other Disc 1 chapters:
Episode 3 - between Chapters 3 and 4
Episode 5 - between Chapters 2 and 3
Episode 5 - between Chapters 3 and 4
Episode 6 - between Chapters 1 and 2
Episode 6 - between Chapters 2 and 3
Episode 7 - between Chapters 1 and 2
Episode 7 - between Chapters 2 and 3
Episode 8 - between Chapters 1 and 2
Episode 8 - between Chapters 2 and 3
Episode 8 - between Chapters 3 and 4
Episode 9 - between Chapters 1 and 2
Episode 9 - between Chapters 2 and 3

This is not an issue that will affect the majority of people. I'm sure the number of people that rip their collections into their computer for playback on an Apple TV or Roku are relatively few. I might even be the only one in this forum doing it, so I'm not suggesting this title needs to have a disc replacement program or that people should avoid buying it. Not at all. I was simply expressing my disappointment in my original post that ripping these requires a little extra work. Most discs are normally ripped with a few mouse clicks, but these will require a little manual adjustment on the affected titles.

I'm very happy to have these classic cartoon releases on disc and will continue to be a day one purchaser and supporter of each one as they get released, as I have for over 20 years now. I just hope for a little cleaner indexing as Warner continues to release these HB titles on blu-ray that will be featuring multiple shorts per episode (Yogi, Snagglepuss, Pixie and Dixie, etc).

 

[Midnight Mike]

I discovered a fun surprise on episode 15!

Right before the end credits there is a network promo for Space Ghost! The narrator says to stay tuned for “The Adventures of Dino boy and The Space Ghost” coming up next, with some scenes shown. That was cool addition!

This is the only time I’ve heard Space Ghost referred to as “THE Space Ghost”.

 

[Mark Y]

I have only been through Disc 1, so far.

Here's a screen capture of the last frame of the first chapter of episode 1:
View attachment 245869

This is a screen capture of the first frame of the second chapter of episode 1:
View attachment 245870

If the index point between chapters one and two had happened only a few frames sooner, there would be a nice clean fade from black at the start of chapter two.

It also occurs between these other Disc 1 chapters:
Episode 3 - between Chapters 3 and 4
Episode 5 - between Chapters 2 and 3
Episode 5 - between Chapters 3 and 4
Episode 6 - between Chapters 1 and 2
Episode 6 - between Chapters 2 and 3
Episode 7 - between Chapters 1 and 2
Episode 7 - between Chapters 2 and 3
Episode 8 - between Chapters 1 and 2
Episode 8 - between Chapters 2 and 3
Episode 8 - between Chapters 3 and 4
Episode 9 - between Chapters 1 and 2
Episode 9 - between Chapters 2 and 3

This is not an issue that will affect the majority of people. I'm sure the number of people that rip their collections into their computer for playback on an Apple TV or Roku are relatively few. I might even be the only one in this forum doing it, so I'm not suggesting this title needs to have a disc replacement program or that people should avoid buying it. Not at all. I was simply expressing my disappointment in my original post that ripping these requires a little extra work. Most discs are normally ripped with a few mouse clicks, but these will require a little manual adjustment on the affected titles.

I'm very happy to have these classic cartoon releases on disc and will continue to be a day one purchaser and supporter of each one as they get released, as I have for over 20 years now. I just hope for a little cleaner indexing as Warner continues to release these HB titles on blu-ray that will be featuring multiple shorts per episode (Yogi, Snagglepuss, Pixie and Dixie, etc).

One thing I noticed with the Peter Potamus DVD set, and now with Yogi Bear and Magilla Gorilla on Me-TV Toons, is -- and I'll try to describe this in a way that makes sense -- when one cartoon or skit ends, a lot of times you're hearing the end of the audio while the picture portion of the next cartoon starts and they overlap for an instant. It reminds me of film editing where the sound is advanced a second or so and can carry over where there is a splice. Is that a factor here?

 

[Mick Hyperion]

One thing I noticed with the Peter Potamus DVD set, and now with Yogi Bear and Magilla Gorilla on Me-TV Toons, is -- and I'll try to describe this in a way that makes sense -- when one cartoon or skit ends, a lot of times you're hearing the end of the audio while the picture portion of the next cartoon starts and they overlap for an instant. It reminds me of film editing where the sound is advanced a second or so and can carry over where there is a splice. Is that a factor here?

No, not that I've come across so far. The audio and video in the previous segments is, so far, completely over before the next chapter begins. At the start of each segment/chapter, the visual comes on for a second or two before the audio starts. It doesn't seem that they've used the audio to guide the indexing, fortunately.