Super Friends! The Complete Collection and Rick And Morty: Seasons 1-7 DVD Reviews
2 new animated series releases from WB.
DC fans, rejoice ! All 93 episodes of the Hanna-Barbera produced “Super Friends” have now been released on DVD. This includes episodes from the various iterations of the series- “Super Friends” (1973, 1980-1983), “The All-New Super Friends Hour,” “Super Friends/Challenge Of The Super Friends,” “The World’s Greatest Super Friends,” “Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show,” and “The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians.” As you may know, the series had multiple formats. Some episodes contained 2 to 4 stories each and the cast of characters changed. The debut season featured Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Aquaman (the Justice League) being joined by “Scooby-Doo” rip-offs Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog. Yes, the show had teen detectives and a talking dog. Don’t ask. The first season also featured non comic villains like Professor Baffles and King Plasto.
With each passing season more characters from DC lore are introduced with “Challenge Of The Super Friends” being the real turning point with the introduction of the Legion Of Doom. Plot wise, viewers can expect stories about alien threats, weapons, robots, environmental disasters, rescue operations, time travel, Krypton, transformations, and face offs against villains like Darkseid, Scarecrow, Lex Luthor, Legion Of Doom, Mxyzptlk, and Brainiac. Expect to see plenty of heroes make appearances throughout the show’s runs such as Firestorm, Cyborg, Flash, Hawkman, Wonder Twins and Gleek, Green Lantern, and El Dorado.
Before comic fans became overwhelmed by DC TV shows, movies, and animated films and shows, “Super Friends” was THE cartoon to catch your favorite DC superheroes in action. Yes, it was not a perfect show by any means. The first season in particular features a watered down version of the characters that feels less comic book-y and more goofy like “Scooby-Doo” (the music score still slaps though). The stories also tend to be rather pedestrian to put it kindly. Thankfully, the show got better as it went along with season 3 and on arguably being the strongest with episodes like “History Of Doom,” “Secret Origins Of The Super Friends,” “Super Friends: Rest In Peace,” and “The Fear.” The last 2 seasons also feature Adam West voicing Batman as an added bonus.
“Super Friends” does deserve credit for 2 notable introductions to the world of DC. First and foremost, the series introduced the Wonder Twins to the world who still continue to endure to this day. Secondly, the aforementioned Legion of Doom also came from this series if you can believe that!
We all know comic series and films have become more sophisticated over the years so something like “Super Friends” looks rather dated and basic in this day and age. With that said, “Super Friends” should not be overlooked because of that. Not only is it still a nostalgic favorite to many viewers and comic fans out there, but the exciting cartoon also helped pave the way for what was to come later. The show is a real reminder of just how much comic book series have evolved. Even “Super Friends” itself evolved with the final 2 seasons especially offering up more complex stories.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.37:1. How does it look? The episodes contain defects, grain, scratches but the prints still look cleaned up. Note: This set is also available on Blu-ray.
Audio Track: Dolby Digital 1.0. How does it sound? Satisfactory.
Extras:
* WB trailers
* “The Wonder Twins Phenomenon” featurette on the popular characters.
* “One Dimensional Goodness: The Super Friends And The Good Old Days”- Animation veterans and experts talk honestly about the series and its history.
* “Origins Of The Guest Stars” explores the guest star characters.
* “The Ballad Of Zan And Jayna” music video.
* “Pajama-Rama: Super Friends Retrospective” is all about Saturday Morning nostalgia.
* Commentary on “Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show” episodes “The Wrath of Brainiac,” “No Honor Among Thieves,” “The Mask Of Mystery,” “The Case Of The Dreadful Dolls” and “The Royal Ruse.”
* “Evolution: New Heroes, Viler Villains, And Ethnic Additions” dives into the changes of the “Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show.”
* “The Super Powers Collection: The Effect Of The Toy Industry On The Super Friends”- A featurette on the toy line.
* “Super Friends Redux: Galactic Guardians”- A general featurette on the final season.
While you wait for season 8.
Created by Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, 2013’s animated sci-fi comedy “Rick And Morty” revolves around the titular characters of an oddball scientist (Rick) and his grandson (Morty). The cult series contains a vast amount of stories involving aliens, different dimensions and alternate realities, Pickle Rick, The Vindicators heroes, Summer (Morty’s sister), Beth and Jerry, portals, monsters, robots, virtual reality, meta world, various versions of the core characters, Mr. Poopybutthole, Rick hunting for Rick Prime, Valhalla, a Fear Hole, you get the drift.
Over the past several years WB has released packages of seasons 1-4, 1-5, 1-6, and now 1-7. It’s a good way to catch up on the series each year if you’re curious to check out the much buzzed about show.
It’s no secret that the adult animated series has developed a devoted fanbase. The Adult Swim show’s quirky and dysfunctional characters, clever play of sci-fi tropes, and frantic, convoluted, and downright bizarre stories have resonated with viewers. Granted, the series may not be for everyone (or might be wildly uneven for others like myself).
The show’s seventh season turned out to be a rather divisive one. Justin Roiland departed the series as both a creative and the voice actor of the 2 lead roles. Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden stepped in to voice Rick and Morty respectively which some viewers were none too pleased by. Obviously, it’s hard for any series to continue on after a co-creator leaves the series, but it’s even more challenging when he also voices the title characters. Can the series survive the changes? It remains to be seen. Season 7 had some strong stories such as “Unmotricken” which deals with the ongoing Rick Prime arc, but the show certainly seems different tonally as it’s not nearly as humorous as past seasons. Then again, a lot of fans feel the series was at its best in the first 3 seasons and hasn’t been the same since (which is entirely valid).
Note: A Blu-ray release of seasons 1-7 is not currently available but is on the way from what I’ve heard.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.78:1. Grade: B+
Audio Track: Dolby Digital 5.1. Grade: B+
Extras:
Having reviewed seasons 1-6, you can seek out detailed rundowns of the extras on those releases with these review links:
In terms of what’s new on this set, there’s an exclusive poster and season 7 extras that include “Inside The Episodes” featurettes on all 10 episodes, “Inside Season 7” featurette with interviews, “The Characters Of Season 7,” and “Directing Unmotricken” (director Jacob Hair talks about the episode).
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