The All New Super Friends Hour: Season One, Volume Two – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews

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The Super Friends were a major highlight of my Saturday morning TV watching. Batman, Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman kicking ass while I was still working on my second bowl of Capn Crunch. This series was the reason to be up at 8 a.m. on a Saturday. I feel bad for todays kids who wake up on Saturday morning and get stuck stuck with network morning news shows. Would you rather watch Batman fight supervillains or hear reports about how your fathers company is about to have massive layoffs? I blame the growing number of kids being depressed on the lack of fun entertainment that isnt enriched by E/I content and calculated by a bunch of PhD weenies.

Are you wondering which version of the series is found on The All New Super Friends Hour: Season One, Volume Two? The 8 episodes in this set are from the 1977 season. They had made a few changes since the original ran in 1973. Instead of one marathon adventure dragged over an hour, we now get 4 different shorts along with safety tips and a De-coder clue to guess. They fired the normal teenagers that played Marvin, Wendy and Wonderdog. They brought in the Wonder Twins. Zan and Jayna were two alien kids who looked remarkably like Donny and Marie Osmond. Except instead of lame brother Jimmy Osmond, the Wonder Twins were stuck with Gleek, a purple monkey who could twirl his tail to fly like a helicopter. The twins super powers had Jayna turn into any animal and Zan transform into water, ice or steam. Gleek could make buckets magically appear so he could carry the water-version of Zan.

Purists bemoan having shorter adventures being a sign of the reduced attention span of kids, But the original Super Friends really dont need to be an hour long. They stretched those plots out like Plastic Mans arms. These were not close to being mistaken for Sopranos scripts. They didnt even have notable super-villains. The would happen in 1978 with the Legion of Doom in Challenge of the Super Friends. However the lesser evil doers on this boxset dont have to battle for an hour so they are more palatable. They also brought in guest superheroes like the Atom, Green Lantern, the Flash and Hawkman. We also got unknown minority super heroes such as Black Vulcan, Apache Chief and Samurai.

The episodes arent hard-hitting crime dramas like The Dark Knight. No matter how rough the action seems, the ending features on character cutting a joke while the others life. “The Mummy of Nazca” has a made scientist using a mummy to steal objects. They name him Professor Korloff. Could this be a homage to Boris Karloff? The background music when Superman and Aquaman are in Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Phooey theme. “The Protector” has Batman and Aquaman take down the Shark. He wants to protect the oceans by committing major crimes. Was this part of big media tainting the Greenies?

The Zan and Jayna solo adventures are pretty much safety films as they warn the kids. “Initiation” has them warn frat boys about going into bear caves. “Dangerous Pranks” reminds us why its wrong to dress up as bigfoot to scare friends. “Stowaways” lets us all know that we cant hide on boats. The Wonder Twins were as squeaky clean as Donny and Marie.

“The Day of the Rats” has one of the great dumb gags. After saying that the rats are attacking the new 200 story Gotham hotel, they cut to the image of the building. A Lighted sign on the building reads, “The New 200 Story Gotham Hotel.” These shows werent designed to be watched by rocket scientists. Which is good since at 8 a.m. not many of us were paying too much attention after the Crunch Berries kicked in.

Super Friends isnt just about battling baddies. Aquaman tells you how to turn a plastic milk jug into a piggy bank. How come there werent any craft tips in The Dark Knight and Iron Man? Aquaman finishes the project without sharp objects. The Super Friends understood safety first.

If youve got a small child at home who likes superheroes – use your super speed to snag this DVD. Dont let your children wake up on Saturdays and watch Weekend Today. Dont let the networks scare them with the thought that Bernie Madoff stole all your money. Let them know that guys in tights can respond evil rats attack The New 200 Story Gotham Hotel. One morning, theyll bump your hand and say, “Wonder Twins power activate.” Youll know that youve become their Super Friend. Although they might be disappointed when you dont turn into an ice cage.

The Episodes

“The Collector,” “Handicap,” “The Mind Maidens,” “Alaska Peril,” “Attack of the Giant Squid,” “Game of Chicken,” “The Water Beast,” “Volcano,” “The Invisible Menace,” “Initiation,” “Coming of the Arthropods,” “River of Doom,” “The Fifty Foot Woman,” “Cheating,” “Exploration Earth,” “Attack of the Killer Bees,” “Forbidden Power,” “Pressure Point,” “The Lionmen,” “The Day of the Rats,” “The Man-Beasts of Xra,” “Prejudice,” “The Tiny World of Terror,” “Tibetan Raiders,” “Frozen Peril,” “Dangerous Prank,” “The Mummy of Nazca,” “Cable Car Rescue.” “The Protector,” “Stowaways,” “The Ghost” and “Rampage.”



The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfers look good. Theres enough sharpness and details to spot the dust trapped between the animation cells. The cartoons look better than what I saw on TV as a kid. The audio is Dolby Digital Mono. The mix keeps the sound of buildings collapsing from overwhelming Batmans instructions. The subtitles are English and French. If you turn the volume down, your kids can learn to read the show like a comic book in motion.



The Wonder Twins Phenomenon (12:08) explores the impact of Zan and Jayna on the series. Where did these shape-shifting aliens with a purple monkey come from? They mention Wendy, Marvin and Wonderdog with their lack of super powers. The Wonder Twins werent normal kids. Plus one of the talking heads mentions how they were based off Donny and Marie Osmond. A guy from Robot Chicken jokes about having them mess up a mission. Has he not seen the Adult Swim spoofs of the Wonder Twins? The best is when they discover Marvin is working at a video store and hide in the adult section. They question where Gleek the space monkey always found his buckets to hold Zan. G4s Attack of the Show guys wear Wonder Twin outfits.

The All New Super Friends Hour: Season One, Volume Two brings back the goodness of Saturday mornings. The action isnt full blast. The plots arent overly complicated. This series is perfect for letting the brain warm up after a rough Friday night.

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Warner Home Video presents The All New Super Friends Hour: Season One, Volume Two. Starring Batman, Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman and The Wonder Twins. Boxset Contents: 8 Episodes on 2 DVDs. Released on DVD: January 27, 2009. Available at Amazon.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.