Roughnecks is the computer-animated TV spin-off from director Paul Verhoeven's live-action sci-fi shoot-'em-up Starship Troopers. Verhoeven had already seen his Robocop movie spun-off into animated television with mixed results, so when it came to Starship Troopers he wanted Roughnecks to be a little different (the director acted as Executive Producer on the series). The style of computer animation here recalls, if anything, the little green soldiers from the Toy Story movies. Backed by an unending techno-based score (despite which the series has won several awards for sound editing), the 20-minute episodes are like viewing brilliantly conceived "cut scenes" from computer games. The series concept begins by taking the movie's characters, giving them different origins---and then forgets about a bug home-world in favour of a mobile threat that can appear anywhere. With souped-up combat suits that better acknowledge Robert Heinlein's original novel, the technological look and feel also owes a significant debt to Aliens.

This first collection edits together the opening five episodes to make a 100-minute self-contained movie about a crawling infestation on Pluto. You'll know where shows start and end by the narration. The story is all to do with set-up as we meet the titular Roughnecks: Rico, Dizzy, Doc, Jenkins, Higgins and Razak. Between missions of rescue and mercy, a love triangle is established, Rico's heroics and Higgins' cowardice are explored and more bugs are wasted than you can possibly keep count of. The finale's discovery of "Bug City" will test anyone for arachnophobia. --Paul Tonks

In Volume 2 of Roughnecks--Starship Troopers Chronicles, Johnny Rico, Lieutenant Razak and their computer-animated squad embark on the Tesca campaign, once again fighting the bugs in all their myriad forms, shooting anything that moves and generally causing chaos and mayhem. Inspired by Robert Heinlein's sci-fi classic and executive-produced by Paul Verhoeven, who made the big-screen version, Roughnecks is cutting-edge TV animation that's more for grown-ups than kids. The neat equipment, combat suits and weapons are as deadly as they are cool, and even though the extreme gore and violence of the movie has been toned down the endless threat from all manner of nasty bugs is still pretty terrifying (the Giant Spider Bug, for example, really is the stuff of nightmares). As with Volume 1, the five 20-minute episodes are here spliced together into a movie-length feature, which makes for a satisfyingly lengthy story arc instead of the more usual self-contained individual episodes. The show's structure also allows for plenty of character development: this time the squad are joined by an alien "skinny" called T'Phai who, as might be expected, has to work hard to bond with the rest of the team and earn their respect. Like all good war stories, at its heart Roughnecks celebrates that "Band of Brothers"-style bonding in extreme circumstances which we viewers can only experience vicariously.

On the DVD: The 4:3 picture is good, although it's better to watch with the lights off to see all the detail in the moody (i.e., "dark") CG animation. The 5.1 sound shows off explosions and gunfire, but also the almost incessant techno soundtrack. There's a good commentary from cast and crew members, who talk about their various movie inspirations (from the D-Day landing sequence of Saving Private Ryan to, of course, Aliens) and their desire to parallel real war situations. There's also a photo gallery of the human actors and a trailer. This is a stylish show, and a good DVD.--Mark Walker

Inspired by Robert Heinlein's pulp classic and executive-produced by Paul Verhoeven, who made the big-screen version, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles is cutting-edge TV animation that's more for grown-ups than kids. The neat equipment, combat suits and weapons are as deadly as they are cool, and even though the extreme gore and violence of the movie has been toned down, the endless threat from all manner of nasty bugs is still pretty terrifying. Five roughly 20-minute episodes are spliced together into a movie-length feature, which makes for a satisfyingly lengthy story arc instead of the more usual self-contained individual episodes. Like all good war stories, at its heart Roughnecks celebrates that Band of Brothers-style bonding in extreme circumstances that we viewers can only experience vicariously.

On the DVD: Roughnecks, Volume 3: The Hydora Campaign finds Lt. Razak's troopers on the aquatic planet Hydora, where they meet massive mosquitoes among other oversized pests. The disc has a good 4:3 picture, although it's better to watch with the lights off to see all the detail in the moody (i.e. "dark") CG animation. The 5.1 sound shows off explosions and gunfire, but also the almost incessant techno soundtrack. There's a commentary from cast and crew members, a photo gallery of the human actors, filmographies and a trailer. --Mark Walker

Inspired by Robert Heinlein's pulp classic and executive-produced by Paul Verhoeven, who made the big-screen version, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles is cutting-edge TV animation that's more for grown-ups than kids. The neat equipment, combat suits and weapons are as deadly as they are cool, and even though the extreme gore and violence of the movie has been toned down, the endless threat from all manner of nasty bugs is still pretty terrifying. Five roughly 20-minute episodes are spliced together into a movie-length feature, which makes for a satisfyingly lengthy story arc instead of the more usual self-contained individual episodes. Like all good war stories, at its heart Roughnecks celebrates that Band of Brothers-style bonding in extreme circumstances, which we viewers can only experience vicariously.

On the DVD: Roughnecks, Volume 4: The Tophet Campaign finds Rico, Flores and co on the desert planet Tophet, where they team up with the humanoid Skinnies to fight massive crawler bugs--though all is not as it seems. The disc has a good 4:3 picture, although it's better to watch with the lights off to see all the detail in the moody (i.e., "dark") CG animation. The 5.1 sound shows off explosions and gunfire, but also the almost incessant techno soundtrack. There's a commentary from cast and crew members, a photo gallery of the human actors, filmographies and a trailer. --Mark Walker

Inspired by Robert Heinlein's pulp classic and executive-produced by Paul Verhoeven, who made the big-screen version, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles is cutting-edge TV animation that's more for grown-ups than kids. The neat equipment, combat suits and weapons are as deadly as they are cool, and even though the extreme gore and violence of the movie has been toned down, the endless threat from all manner of nasty bugs is still pretty terrifying. Five roughly 20-minute episodes are spliced together into a movie-length feature, which makes for a satisfyingly lengthy story arc instead of the more usual self-contained individual episodes. Like all good war stories, at its heart Roughnecks celebrates that Band of Brothers-style bonding in extreme circumstances, which we viewers can only experience vicariously. --Mark Walker