Ahoy, obscure animation addicts! Your comparatively alien ship has come in.

The mostly unfamiliar sci-fi toon The Pirates of Dark Water , which aired briefly in 1991 before disappearing almost entirely, has emerged from the musty vaults of Warner Archive to land a DVD and digital download collection, out Tuesday.

Want a freebie? Let us know in the comments section below if you’ve ever seen the show before. And whether or not it should have stayed in Warner’s vaults.



Taking place on the planet Mer — French for “sea,” to you landlubbers — The Pirates of Dark Water chronicles the misadventures of a crew of seagoing sci-fi misfits, led by prince Ren, as they seek the 13 Treasures of Rule and dodge the evil Lord Bloth. Screen the exclusive clip above and let us know if it passes muster.

All 21 episodes of the truncated series are included in the collection, which has not, it should be noted, been remastered or restored specifically for this release. That’s how deep the thing was buried in the vault. Warner Archive admits it is looking to clean house more thoroughly in the following months, so The Pirates of Dark Water should be followed by a procession of obscure sci-fi, horror and comics-based titles only the geeks have probably heard of.

Speaking of geeks, drop us a line in the comments section below if you’d like a free DVD or download of The Pirates of Dark Water ‘s complete series. Two winners with the best total recall of the relatively unseen show score the seasick giveaways. Contest ends 12:01 a.m. Pacific on Sept. 6, 2010.

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