Animated 'G.I. Joe' blasts its way onto DVD

"G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero: Season 1.1" A few weeks after releasing the first season of "Transformers," the Shout! Factory presents another holy relic of Reagan-era childhoods: the "G.I. Joe" animated series. Created in the mid-1980s to promote an updated "Joe" toy line, the show became a smash in syndication and blossomed into one of the most potent pop-culture crazes of the day.

Looking at it more than 20 years later, I'd say the show holds up reasonably well, though adult fans will certainly have a few "what was I thinking?" moments. The premise, for the uninitiated, is simple: G.I. Joe, a high-tech military attack force, protects the world against Cobra, a ruthless international terrorist group. The stories are pretty good, delivering wall-to-wall action and resisting the urge to talk down to the viewers. (The late Steve Gerber, a cult-favorite comic book writer, served as story editor.) Sure, the plots can be goofy and over-the-top, but hey, so were the '80s. My one gripe: While dozens of laser guns blast away in these episodes, nobody gets hit! Adding a sense of real danger to the action might have given the show a bit more dramatic oomph.

This four-disc set includes 22 episodes: the three five-part miniseries that launched the program, along with seven episodes from the first official season. The shows look great, even if the animation is a mixed bag. Extras include a three-part interview with writer Ron Friedman, who scripted the three miniseries; vintage Hasbro toy commercials; a collection of those awesome "Knowing is Half the Battle" PSAs; and best of all, the original G.I. Joe Toy Fair presentation from 1963! All in all, a nice set for longtime fans and "Joe" newbies alike. Yo, Joe!!!! Note: A 17-disc complete-series set will be available later this month. (Shout! Factory, $29.99)

"The Haunting in Connecticut" Haunted-house flicks are tricky because there's usually a simple solution to all the terror and mayhem: Leave. The. House.

Alas, the characters in these movies rarely consider that idea, which is the case in "The Haunting in Connecticut," the latest film to have a go at this premise. Based on a "true" story, the movie follows the Campbell family as they move into a rental house in the titular state. Immediately, oldest son Matt is tormented by horrific visions of the past owners, who ran a funeral home out of the basement and did some, well, bad things with the corpses in their care. Despite the high level of technical craft here, nothing much works in the film.

We've seen all the scares before, and the get-right-into-it pace prevents us from connecting to any of the characters. The DVD, though, is pretty impressive. It provides us with an unrated cut, two commentaries, a making-of featurette, deleted scenes and a two-part documentary about the real-life case that inspired the film. (NR; Lionsgate, $34.98 or $39.99 for Blu-ray)

"The State: The Complete Series" For those, like me, who missed this series when it aired on MTV in the mid-1990s, here's the perfect way to experience a singularly bizarre and funny sketch comedy program. The State is a comedy troupe composed of Gen-Xers who met and performed together in college. (A few, like Michael Ian Black, David Wain and Ken Marino, continue to thrive on TV and in movies.) MTV, in the midst of its run of adventurous '90s programming ("Daria," "The Maxx"), decided to hand these kids a show, and the result was a unique mix of Monty Python, the Kids in the Hall and "Saturday Night Live."

Many of the sketches are laugh-out-loud funny, and even those that don't work feel fresher than anything "SNL" has done for years. This five-disc set includes all 24 episodes of the show, each one accompanied by a commentary featuring various members of the troupe, and a wealth of extras. Fans should note that much of the rock music featured in the show when it aired has been replaced. Despite that, much care has obviously gone into the creation of this set, which should satisfy fans and newcomers alike. (Paramount, $69.99)

Also out this week "Break," one of the last films to star the late David Carradine, arrives from Cinema Epoch. Other notable releases include "Grey Gardens" (HBO) and "Leverage: The Complete First Season" (Paramount).