Jem And The Holograms: The Truly Outrageous Complete Series

Great

Originally meant to be a glorified toy commercial, "Jem and the Holograms" took on a life of its own and made it into the hearts of many. Approaching the music business in a very serious manner, it drew the attention of many due to its drama, action, romance, and often mature themes. I'll be dividing this into two main sections, "About the show" and "About the package".*Please keep in mind that there were two recent releases of this (2015). One was an 8-Disc "basic" single DVD case release, the other is an 11-disc "collector's" box set release with the 11th disc being special features. I'm reviewing the 11-disc set.*CONTENT ISSUES -None to worry about. But the show does deal with mature themes (for a kid's show) like a love triangle, envy and death, and does have romantic kissing (if that's a concern).ABOUT THE SHOW -Back in the 80's, Hasbro Toys was developing a new toy line in competition with Mattel's "Barbie" line. Whereas Barbie's selling point was that girls could imagine her to be anything they wanted her to be (chef, doctor, etc.), Hasbro decided to go a different route and give their new product backstories and established character traits. To help sell this, they decided to produce a cartoon show that would go alongside the physical toys. Little did they know how far "Jem and the Holograms" would actually go.Plot:The overall plot in a nutshell documents the beginning, rise, and progression of the musical group "Jem and the Holograms". Parallel to this, it deals with the personal conflicts of Jerrica Benton as she tries to run her music company and an orphanage inherited from her father (who she is related to Jem will be something you have to discover in the show yourself). In 65-episodes, you get to witness the many challenges, adventures, and conflicts that surrounded their career. You get to see their conflicts with their main rivals, "The Misfits" as well as their interactions with another group known as "The Stingers". From losing band members and holding auditions to find new ones, to being contracted to do movies...you dig deep into their career. Most of the episodes do have storylines that could stand on their own, but they are all tied directly together...so much so that you could see this as just one really long movie. And as the show progresses, the more serious it gets.Characters:One of the endearing things about this show was the multi-layeredness of characters and situations. It's not like the one-dimensionalness of "Josie and the Pussycats" (which I enjoy, too), but characters actually develop over the course of 65-episodes. They each face personal conflicts and chances to grow, they grow fatigued, deal with medical operations, they fail, they rise. It's just really good drama.Continuity:A unique aspect about this show was the continuity between the episodes. Though, yes, the stories COULD standalone, each episode was still tied to the prior ones...and the existence of overarching goals that spanned multiple episodes was also helpful in this regard.Music Videos:This was the first show to have featured real musicvideo-styled music segments (typically 3 original songs per episode). This was the MTV generation, and they owned it.ABOUT THE PACKAGE:Case -The three normal-sized plastic DVD cases are contained in a typical-styled cardboard box case. The cardboard is probably the flimsiest I've ever felt, but it does its job well enough.Special Features:They did not scrimp on this one bit. Besides having a "Video Jukebox" to just play the songs, there's a collection of the original "Jem and the Holograms" tv commercials, animated storyboards, and lengthy documentaries (30 - 40 minutes) with interviews from cast, writers, producers, and fans. There's also DVD-ROM materials that I haven't checked out yet.The only real drawbacks I've found are that they did keep the few original audio mistakes that did happen (which, granted, you kind of have no choice about) such as the double-play intro song in the 2nd or 3rd episode; and the somewhat tacky choice for a "main menu" format. But these are livable issues and don't take away from the show itself.All in All:This is a show that is very interesting and intriguing. As a musician, I'm especially drawn to the music and its treatment of the music business. But, beyond this, it was a show that took it's audience seriously refusing to water down the themes and conflicts featured in the show. This is a wonderful collection that is worth every penny due to the show's content as well as the quality and quantity of the special features.

i bought this as a gift for a big 80s cartoons fan. I intend to give it to her at christmas which is a while away but I wanted to get it now vs later so that I 'know' its quality which it is. the set is beautiful and i love the graphic on the box. I would recommend this seller for this item.

My 7 year old loves it. We watch it together and it’s exactly like I remember.

Only watched one disk so far it was good 👍

Hey guys, as a heads up, please note there are 3 DIFFERENT versions of this set. To make sure u get the right one you want, here is a breakdown, ( & always contact seller).VERSION 1:This is the first one released in 2011. It's an 11-DISC set, loaded with special features, cast interviews, etc, that the normal individual seasons DO NOT come with on their own. In this set, all 3 individual seasons (with special features) come boxed together, & the Jem box set cover art has a nice metallic/"hologram" finish.VERSION 2:Is everything same as above, but the box cover DOES NOT have the metallic/"hologram" finish. (Released in 2015, same company as above).VERSION 3:Is an 8-DISC set (also released in 2015, same company), & appears to be a cheaper version, usually going for $20-$35, unlike the above ones that go from $40-$100. This 8-disc version comes in a opaque white/clear hard plastic shell case, same artwork front & back as above (non-metallic), and NO special features. Just a "bare bones" collection. If u don't care about special features, box art, & just want the entire series on DVD at a good price, this would be your best option.All 3 sets are the same quality, by the same company. Either way, this is a great set to have for old & new fans alike. Hope this helps when purchasing!

The only reason this gets four stars is that my case arrived with some damage. Other than that no complaints, the discs work great.

Jem and the Holograms came out on DVD over a decade ago, but was split apart into several seasons on DVD. I believe at one point they weren't going to release season three because of copyright issues, and people (like me) were stuck with only the first two seasons. Finally, we have all three seasons of Jem on DVD with this set. Yes, it's on Netflix, but you never know how long they've contracted to stay on there, so it's a good decision to own a physical copy. There is no point in having a Blu-ray version as the picture quality of the original 1980s cartoon is only so good.If you've ever re-watched the cartoon series as an adult, you will wonder: "how the flip did this get made, and how was this approved for kids?" Let's see what the cartoon consisted of: arson, attempted vehicular manslaughter, death, deceptions, diva fights, kidnapping, *outrageous* costumes, physical violence, and all around mayhem—and that was just the first episode! This is a cartoon we're talking about! Let me tell you, it was great, it was all amazing as a kid. You have the glamour and glitter for girls (or boys), and you have the action and adventure for the boys (or girls), with memorable songs that I still remember to this day. It was one of the best and most impactful cartoons I ever watched.Buy Jem on DVD today. Relive your childhood, or share it with your children. Recommended.

Very good condition and brought back memories growing up with my sister

I loved the show when I was a kid now my girls are loving it.The packaging is cool. But it was broken on the inside making the disks move around and not stay neatly stacked. (Shipping issue)

It’s a steal. This box set gets really pricey. That being said, it’s a no frills edition. No fun extras. The packaging is basic, but it has all the episodes and songs. What you really want anyways. Grab it.

All the Jem seasons in one set :) Only thing to note is that the intro theme songs aren't in the correct order, with Season 1 playing the Truly Outrageous theme song and the next two seasons playing the Jem Girls (original) theme song. It should be reversed, but since I like the Jem Girls theme song better, I don't mind hearing it more often ;) Threw me for a loop when I first watched Season 1, though, so heads up.

Very happy to have found this collection. The box set is as described by the seller.