A group of refugees attempting to escape the American Civil War in a balloon wind up stranded on a remote Pacific island, where they are able to improvise a comfortable living for themselves while they wait for a passing ship.
Able to monitor the island through steampunk-style closed-circuit television and other advanced devices, he treats the castaways as human laboratory specimens, influencing their environment to test their behaviour under stressful conditions.
As the series progresses, his tests become more extreme as their continued co-operation threatens his preferred thesis that all humans are, at base, selfish and untrustworthy.
In a final twist, he puts out to sea without them, apparently leaving them alone on the island, without his influence for good or ill. On November 11, 2008, Echobridge Home Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 (US only) for the very first time.
[2] On June 14, 2011, Alliance Home Entertainment will release Mysterious Island- The Complete series on DVD in Canada for the very first time.