Going off-topic, but Dragonball as a whole is not bad. The comics are all great, and yes that includes the "Z" stuff. It's the cartoon that's all slow-paced, boring, and inconsistent in art style and animation. This is rather typical of most comic-to-anime adaptions if you ask me; the only one I have ever liked as much (actually more) than the original is Azumanga Daioh.
I don't know if it got an official English release, but check out the 14th Dragonball movie. It's a condensed retelling of the original Dragonball story with some great animation. Fun to watch.