DVD Review: Game Over - The Complete Collection

Posted by: Dean Kish  •  July 28, 2005 @ 6:51am

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

The CGI animated series Game Over probably isn't a series a lot of you are going to remember. The basic premise was that the folks at fledgling network UPN were trying to find a way merge the billion-dollar industry of video games with a sitcom.

So basically you have the series' central characters, who are a "Gran Turismo"-styled race-car driver named Ripley "Rip" Smashenburn (Patrick Warburton) and his wife, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider wanna-be named Raquel (Lucy Liu).

The concept of the series is that when you switch off your PlayStation or Xbox, these virtual characters return to their normal everyday lives. Rip and Raquel return to their suburban home and their two problem-ridden children.

Okay, for an idea for a series it's sort of interesting, but the problem is that the creators forgot to make the series funny, interesting, and well, relatable to its key demographic.

I really do believe that the reason this series failed was when it added the character Turbo (Artie Lange), who is a cigar-smoking and overly crude family pet. He is so unlikable and annoying it's no surprise the series didn't find an audience.

I really think the series could have had something going for it if it would have adapted some of the Family Guy vibe, like bringing in more pop culture references, and had appearances from actual video game characters. It would have been a hoot to meet Mario or Sonic in this world.

Probably the best episode of the short-lived series is Episode 5: "Alice and the C.A.T.'s", which finds Billy Smashenburn falling for a Japanese foreign-exchange student. The episode is clever and precise, and how the series handles the anime exchange student is priceless. This episode clearly shows how good the show could have been if it tried.

The series is interesting as a concept, Episode 5 is a lot of fun, and the new DVD does have a lot of interesting extras, but the series itself really isn't worth remembering unless you're a fan.

DVD Details: The new 2-disc collection from Anchor Bay Entertainment features a lot of extras for a short-lived series. The set includes character bios, trivia game, production secrets and a progression reel featuring storyboard to layout to animation to final picture crew photos. The set also includes one never-before-seen episode: "Monkey Dearest".

Tags: Game Over, UPN, Patrick Warburton, Lucy Liu, Artie Lang

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