4/5 it was really a pretty cool show back then . . .
  by trebe
Scott McCloud is the Space Angel, cruising through the far reaches of space, on missions of goodness and niceness, accompanied by his redheaded crewmates Taurus, and Crystal Mace, on the rocketship Starduster.

Space Angel (1962) was Cambria Studios' follow up to their adventure series Clutch Cargo (1959). When viewed today, these cartoons may appear to be quite crude, however they employ what were then 'new' techniques that produced some unique results.

To get things done faster than traditional animation, Cambria employed methods involving shooting moving elements (like a spaceship), against a still background. The 'Syncro-Vox' technique, where human lips were superimposed on the faces of characters, was invented by Edwin Gillette, a television camera operator. This process allowed a still image to appear to be a `live' character, with the ability to speak. Although the speaking character is capable of very limited movement, this technique greatly reduced production time.

Production of the cartoon involved combining images created in various ways. The ease which speech could be incorporated, made longer conversations common. There is often more talk than action, as shooting moving objects generally took more time. Like Clutch Cargo, each Space Angel adventure was broken up into a series of five episodes (for daily syndicated viewing). The rather slow pace of the show, fit in well with the episodic format.

On Space Angel, the 'Syncro-Vox' technique is less obtrusive, and weird looking than on Clutch Cargo. Ned Lefebver provided the voice for Scott McCloud, while Margaret Kerry voiced Crystal. Veteran character actor Hal Smith, who was Otis on The Andy Griffith Show, was the voice of Taurus.

Full scale dynamic action and movement, was not really possible using these methods, which made generating excitement a challenge. What Cambria was able to achieve, was quite admirable. The stories are usually solid, and competently presented. Space Angel was fun, and popular with kids in its day, and those same viewers as adults, are probably the target market for this release. It is hard to imagine that current generation of children, accustomed to fast paced, action oriented animation, and anime, would find the program of much interest.

Space Angel may be a thing of the past, but it looks very good on DVD. Viewing the episodes back to back, the stories flow along pretty smoothly. The nine adventures in Volume 1 are not in production order, but are arranged in chronological order. A total of 45, five part adventures were produced. Perhaps Volume 2 will be forthcoming at some time in the future.

5/5 Nostalgia for collectors
  by W P Treller (Anywhere, USA)
This is an excellent choice for collectors of nostalgia, particularly sci-fi buffs like myself. This series would be an excellent reference for students of animation techniques due to the novel "Synchro-Vox" process and well drawn, thought provoking static panel art by Alex Toth used throughout the series.The DVD quality is very good and case graphics are worthy of display. I usually store my collection in a large, multi sleeve zippered case and dispose of the retail case. However, the graphics on this case proved good enough to keep. I'm looking forward for the remainder of the series to be released.

5/5 Space Angel Collection Full Color
  by Wayon M. Smith (Bloomington, IL USA)
I own 2 Space Angel DVD's. If a 3rd is published I will buy it!

4/5 Hal Smith
  by Uh-Clem
When I started watching these shows after many years, I noticed that the narrator sounded remarkably like Otis Campbell, the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show. I checked with IMDB.com and it listed this actor as Hal Smith. Hal Smith is listed as the voice of Taurus on Space Angel, and I am certain he also narrated it.

Yes the animation is real low budget and there are many bloopers, but it's still fun to watch.

3/5 Brings back memories
  by BonBon57 (Warren, MI)
I remember watching this cartoon in the 60's while getting ready for school in the morning. Although the animation was not the greatest, it was still a very well-done effort with good characters and storylines.
I am not sure if kids today would appreciate it, with all the special effects available now, but for me, it will always remind me of days gone by.