Customer Reviews
Excellent adventure stories for today's youngsters! - By: J. Anderson, 18 Sep 2008 
I enjoyed watching Joe 90 as a youngster in the 70s, having followed other Gerry Anderson shows, like Stingray, Thunderbirds & Captain Scarlet. Now, after purchasing this boxed set, I have the pleasure & delight of watching these stories again with my own 4 1/2 year old son. I'm surprised at how well this series has aged: the special effects are amazing! I think our favourite episodes (so far) are 'Business Holiday' & 'Colonel Maclaine'. There's definitely a place for Joe 90 on today's television schedules. The characters in this show are well developed & the puppets are well sculpted too. I highly recommend it for parents who are looking for good quality 'adventure television' for their children, an alternative to those highly frenetic american cartoons that seem so prevalent on British children's tv these days. Also, being a father now, I appreciate alll the more that the relationship between Joe & his Dad is so central place in the stories. Excellent stuff!
Seems to still be a hit with pre-teen boys - although the many episodes can get repetitive - By: Keith Joseph, 04 Feb 2006 
'Daredevil excitement every boy dreams of. Nine year-old Joe McClaine becomes the "Most Special Agent" of the World Intelligence Network thanks to a device callled the BIG RAT (Brain Impulse Galvanoscope - Record And Transfer) capable of recording the brain patterns of one person & transferring them to another'. I never reallly liked Joe90 as a child, although I persevered a bit with the series as there wasn't much choice on TV then. Back in 1968/1969, I preferred the likes of Dr Who, Time Tunnel & Lost in Space, & when younger Fireballl XL5 & Robin Hood. Probably I was a bit too old at 12-13 for this series. The script, DVD picture quality & special effects are quite good though (at least on a 14 inch set), & the `Dangerman' theme to the series is at least a bit different from GA's other series. The image colour is also nice & bold. The special effects are at least as good as GA's other series. There was only one series of Joe 90 made (30 episodes).
Anyway, as it was far cheaper than Terrahawks for around the same viewing time, I bought this set for my son (spookily then also 9). He rather liked the series, & busily went through the episodes at one or two before bedtime. I suppose he identified with the young boy lead. However he did lose interest after a (longish) while & so far hasn't got to watch the final two DVDs - & the same happened with his large Terrahawks DVD set (he has so many other TV choices & we probably should have got these sets when he was a bit younger). However he quite enjoyed what he did watch, although you could also try renting. My daughter has no interest in these puppet series at alll, much preferring the likes of The Worst Witch (a must for preteen girls & now cheap on DVD). So, recommended for today's male youngsters - particularly pre-teen boys from 6 upwards. Also try the Dan Dare DVD (2001), GAs own Terrahawks, the B&W Torchy the battery boy, & the great new animated Captain Scarlet, plus the excellent BBC serialisations The Chronicles of Narnia, Five Children & it, The box of Delights, & The borrowers. For reading, try 'Captain Underpants', 'Horrid Henry', 'The tentacled terror' & the 'Astrosaurs' books.
This is a W.I.Nner! - By: Coincidence Vs Fate, 15 Aug 2005 OK, so I'm probably being biased here. As Joe 90 is my favourite Anderson outing, then I'd' award it five stars regardless.
I can understand the point of view of an earlier reviewer; this set does feel like it's a bit of a rush job, which is strange as I don't think they'll be a Hollywood version anytime soon! Again as previously stated, the extras are a bit thin on the ground, but maybe that's due to the age of the product. I'm sure in the 60's when the cost of tape was at a premuim, they didn't tend to save too much extra material, they just wiped it.
Watching a Gerry Anderson production is always a special experience from the excellent Barry Gray soundtrack to the quality of the props & vehicles in the show itself. The BIG RAT looks great.
I did try & watch every episode over a weekend once, but my wife put here foot down after one disc! They don't understand, do they?!
A trip down memory lane - By: Lites65, 28 Oct 2003 This set brought back a lot of memories for my sister & me. Even 30 years on, Gerry Anderson's masterpieces of puppetry are still incredible.
Buy it for yourself. buy it for your children or grandchildren. Joe 90 is good, clean, honest, timeless fun!
Just as good as any other - By: , 15 Oct 2003 Just to start things off i only bought this series because it interested me. I must say Captain Scarlet is my favourite Gerry Anderson series, but Joe 90 is now close second. Made just after Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 set in the now modern day (2003)and tells the story of a professor Mclaine & his son joe. With the aid of the 'BIG RAT' joe is able to recieve peoples brain patturns & take on tasks for the world intelligence network (W.I.N). The music for the episode 'Hi-Jacked' shows barry greys genious when composing music.
This is a must buy for any gerry anderson fan.
