DVD Review: i<3 iCarly Collection

DVD Reviews, Reviews

How can iCarly be described to those who haven’t had a tween kid take the remote control hostage on a Saturday night?

Imagine Wayne’s World if it was about two teenage girls that go on the internet instead of linger on local public access TV.

That might have been the pitch Dan Schneider gave to the channel’s executives. Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove) lives in a big apartment in Seattle. Her older brother Spencer (Jerry Trainor) watches her since their parents are missing. She and her girlfriend Sam (Jennette McCurdy) star in the webisodes where they bounce around and do stupid things like pour water on a laptop. It’s all videotaped by their dorky pal Freddie (Nathan Kress). There’s pesky kids all over the place. I <3 iCarly Collection brings together three previously released DVDs of the hit Nickelodeon series. iFight Shelby Marx, iSaved Your Life and iSpace Out contain season three episodes including the special “movies.”

While Carly is the namesake of the show, Sam does the heavy lifting. She’s the granddaughter of Fred and Ethel Mertz from I Love Lucy. In iFight Shelby Marx, her comments during a show get Shelby Marx furious. Who is Shelby? She’s America’s top teenage MMA cage fighter. She’s also played by Victoria Justice, the future star of Victorious. The nature of the fight keeps changing as Carly thinks it’ll be a fun little experience for her show. But some evil person keeps manipulating the tape to enrage Shelby. Looks like Carly’s pretty face is going to be turned into a bloody pulp. Luckily Sam is on the other side of the cage to wrap up the show in case her friend has her jaw busted. The other episodes on the DVD are “iLook Alike,” “iDate a Bad Boy” and “iCarly Awards.”

“iSaved Your Life” refers to Freddie rescuing Carly from a certain death. The moment bonds the friends into realizing they should be lovers. Or maybe it’s just the endorphins mixing with their teen hormones making them do the wrong thing. Sam doesn’t seem pleased. This is the extended director’s cut. Later Sam has had it with Carly on “iQuit iCarly.” Their friendship can’t come to an end. Although Sam would have a better career without Carly. “iTwins” doubles up the weirdness for Sam when her twin sister arrives. But Freddie thinks this is a joke. Is this a Candid Camera stunt? The other two episodes are “iThink They Kissed” and “iMove Out.”

“iSpace Out” doesn’t put the kids in orbit. They get invited to a billionaire’s space camp training. All seems fun until Carly, Sam and Freddie get locked in the isolation chamber to see how they’d react on the journey to the moon and beyond. Needless to say that much energy stored in a tight space is bound to explode the gaskets. I misread “iWas a Pageant Girl” as “iWas a Pregnant Girl.” That topic is a little too hot for Nick. Turns out Sam was the one the used to compete. “iFix a Pop Star” pokes fun at Miley Cyrus. “iWon’t Cancel the Show” involves Sam and a chili dog. That sounds worse than it is. “iEnrage Gibb” and “iBelieve in Bigfoot” wrap up the DVD.

The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfers look fine since it’s such a recent show shot on HD. The audio is Dolby Digital Stereo. The mix can handle the loud yelps of Sam and Carly. Each episode is Closed Captioned.

Meet Lewbert (1:44) introduces us to the disgusting doorman. He explains how long it takes to apply his wart.

Message Board (2:38) lets Nathan and Jerry prove they read the posts on iCarly’s website.

Pilot of Big Time Rush (47:57) introduces us to Nick’s next big hit.

Welcome to My Boat (1:59) gets a tour of Jerry’s S.S. Placeholder.

Window Stunt (1:35) breaks down how Carly and Sam dangled off the side of a building. Spoiler alert! They had stuntwomen.

Birthday (1:48) celebrates Miranda blowing out the candles. The cast shares their worst birthday gifts.

Meet Chuck
(1:27) introduces a supporting character.

iSpace Out with iTrivia (23:35) is a pop up video version of the episode.

Bonus Episode of Victorious (23:41) is the pilot where Victoria gets accepted to the art school.

I <3 iCarly Collection highlights the big moments of season three. The girls face mortality, boxing gloves and fake space in their adventures. This is a fine bribe gift to get back the remote control from a tween.

Paramount Home Entertainment presents I <3 iCarly Collection. Starring: Miranda Cosgrove, Jerry Trainor, Jennette McCurdy and Nathan Kress. Boxset Contents: 15 episodes on 3 DVDs. Released on DVD: July 19, 2011. Available at Amazon.com.

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.