NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Imprint Blu-ray (September 2024): Imprint have transferred their Tales Of Adventure – Collection 4 to Blu-ray. It consists of seven Republic serials, as advertised, between 1949 and 1953 (well, Mysterious Doctor Satan is from 1940.) This package has over 24 hours worth of serials! - not including the extras - so, this is not our usual 'complete' review. I have watched many and sampled some of the commentaries. About 10 years ago we reviewed bare-bones Olive Blu-rays of Flying Disc Man From Mars, The Invisible Monster, and Commando Cody: Sky Marshal Of The Universe. We've compared a couple of frames below and found little to no differences - Commando Cody still looks rather faint. The unusual transfers are Zombies Of The Stratosphere and Mysterious Doctor Satan that have 720p upscaled high-definition presentations where all the rest are in 1080P. They generally look appealing with decent contrast, not an overabundance of marks / speckles and very infrequent anomalies. It surprising what decent shape these sources have been maintained. A few have depth and inky black levels. The image quality is not, at all, a deterrent.

"Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe was a syndicated TV series of self-contained episodes (no cliffhangers) relying mostly on footage recycled from the three earlier (1949–1952) "Rocket Man" theatrical chapterplays. For contractual reasons, it was initially given a brief theatrical release as a feature before going to TV in 12 episodes."

On their Blu-rays, Imprint use linear PCM dual-mono tracks (24-bit) in the original English language. Effects exist - usually a mechanized gizmo - including flying suits or communication devices. Prolific  Stanley Wilson composed for many more than 3 decades for westerns like Woman They Almost Lynched and as well as Republic serials Radar Men From The Moon, King of the Rocket Men, Zombies of the Stratosphere, Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe, The Invisible Monster and Flying Disc Man from Mars. His scores are typically energetic with plenty of drama As an executive at Revue Studios, Wilson employed composers like Pete Rugolo, John Williams, Elmer Bernstein, Dave Grusin, Quincy Jones, Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifrin, and others. On Mysterious Doctor Satan we have music by Ross DiMaggio, Mort Glickman (Invaders From Mars), and head of the Republic studio's music department Cy Feuer (all three worked on Adventures of Captain Marvel.) Imprint offer optional English subtitles on Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe (but none on the rest that I have seen) and their Blu-rays are Region FREE.

The Imprint Blu-rays offer new, select chapter, commentaries by the likes of film historian / screenwriter Gary Gerani (Fantastic Television) on The Invisible Monster, Zombies Of The Stratosphere and Mysterious Doctor Satan - Heath Holland, host of Cereal at Midnight Podcast on King Of The Rocket Men and master-commentator Tom Weaver (A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde: Interviews with 62 Filmmakers) on Flying Disc Man From Mars and Radar Men From The Moon. There are no commentaries on Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe. Those who are familiar with the commentarists know they take their craft seriously and do extraneously research - exporting it in a professional manner. I consider their contributions very valuable to this set. Other supplements include re-edited Film Versions; the hour-long Lost Planet Airmen – an 1080p high-definition presentation of the feature film version of the King Of The Rocket Men serial. Across the Stratosphere is a new 41-minute video essay by film historian Phillipa Berry. Missile Monsters is a 1080p presentation of the feature film version of the serial Flying Disc Man From Mars. Slaves of the Invisible Monster – 1080p high-definition presentation of the feature film version of the serial The Invisible Monster (the master contains a jump cut – this presentation is the only available source.) Retik, the Moon Menace is a feature length 1080p presentation of the feature film version of the serial Radar Men From The Moon. Going Commando: The Influence of ‘Radar Men From the Moon’ is a 20-minute video essay by Max Evry (A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune. An Oral History.) Satan’s Satellites is an hour-10-minute HD presentation of the feature film version of the serial Zombies Of The Stratosphere. Doctor Satan’s Robot (how do you not love that title?) is an hour-40-minute SD presentation of the feature film version of the serial Mysterious Doctor Satan. Lastly on the second Commando Cody Blu-ray disc is a 2024 feature documentary; Pulse Pounding Excitement!: Inside the Sci-Fi Serials of Republic Pictures. 

Four of these are considered "Rocket Man" serials; King of the Rocket Men, Radar Men from the Moon, Zombies of the Stratosphere, and Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe having 'rocket-powered heroes'. We also have plenty of evil villains; evil Martians, an evil alien life form, evil genius calling himself ‘The Phantom Ruler’ with an army of ‘invisible’ soldiers, a mad scientist, atomic rays, crime, espionage, cliffhanger endings etc. The hokey-ness is part of the appeal and I've always enjoyed the whole concept of the 'serial' - from Jungle Girl to Judex. These chapter-fashioned stories were very popular during the first half of the 20th century with a typical Saturday matinee at the movies including one or more chapters of a serial, animated cartoons, newsreels, and a 'B' feature and a main feature film draw. I was very keen to sink into Mysterious Doctor Satan (originally intended as a Superman serial,) Zombies of the Stratosphere (notable as one of the first screen appearances of a young Leonard Nimoy, who plays one of the three Martian invaders) and King of The Rocket Men (flight sequences were inspired by the Buck Rogers comic strip.) For those not-so-much into the serial format, with repeated opening sequences, the included re-edited film versions are a wonderful bonus. There are 66 Republic Serials - let's hope more make it to Blu-ray. For the serious aficionado, the commentaries are both edifying and enlightening. The Imprint Blu-ray package is the ultimate home theatre set for these historic, nostalgic, time-capsule-worthy, Republic Serials. To any keen fans this is warmly recommended.

Gary Tooze