DVD : Challenge of the Super Friends - The First Season (DC Comics Classic Collection)

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- THE COMPLETE SEASON. BUT NOT THE FIRST
The various series of the SUPER FRIENDS ran from 1973-1986 this set is actually the third incarnation in the SUPER FRIENDS franchise. It is however, the season that was called CHALLENGE OF THE SUPER FRIENDS. And it is complete in its original running order. The real first season of THE SUPER FRIENDS featured Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog. Remember them? For those reviewers that lambasted this show in comparison to JUSTICE LEAGUE and JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED,(which in fact are awesome shows) that's a very unfair assessment. Not only was the budget limited so was the general additude of the animation industry at that time. Remember these were cartoons, and "cartoons" were geared to small children on Saturday Mornings. Back then 12 year old boys were expected to mow lawns and rake leaves not sit around watching tv. But now with the advent of DVDS giving us back the Satudays Mornings we lost, we expect the production values to be low, but the fun invaluable. Sometimes simple animation with cut and dried stories of good vs evil is what we need to get us through the rough times in our lives, no matter how old we are.

Rating:

- CHALLENGE OF THE SUPER FRIENDS-SEASON 1
I remember growing up as a child, sitting in front of the television on Saturday mornings watching these cartoons. I loved it back then and I still do now! The electrifying musical score under the supervision of Paul DeKorte and the direction of Hoyt Curtin prepared you for what was about to take place, as well as the narration voice-over from Stanley Jones. It was an amazing feat to gather 13 villians to go up against the Super Friends! I think William Hanna and Joseph Barbera did well and the show really reflected the time, which was 1978. Yes, there are a few blunders in the animation, but the scripts are well-written, although you will find that some of the dialogue, again reflected the time in which it was made. All in all, it is a very good show.
My favourite episodes are " The Time Trap, The Monolith Of Evil, Secret Origins Of The Super Friends, Swamp Of The Living Dead, Fairy Tales Of Doom, Super Friends: Rest In Peace and History Of Doom."
The transfers and the audio are quite good for the time and the age(1978) of the prints, although Warner Brothers should have done some restoration work on this collection. The audio should at least be in 2.0, but they gave us 1.0 with this collection. The special features are good, espically "Saturday, Sleeping Bags & Super Friends: A Retrospective."
All in all, it is a very good collection. I will never forget my memories of watching these cartoons growing up as a child. These were my Super Heros and i am so happy that they have finally been released on DVD!

Rating:

- Great superhero show for young viewers
I purchased this for my son's third birthday. He is absolutely crazy about superheros but most of the recent superhero cartoons are too violent. This show has all the superheros and is perfect for children young and old--we have had kids from 3-10 watch it and love it. I highly recommend it!

Rating:

- nostalgic
I bought this for my husband as a fun christmas gift. He loves it and loves sharing these fun episodes with our son. It feels like Saturday mornings in the 70's.

Rating:

- SUPER FRIENDS UNITE !!
This DVD set is sure to be a hit with Super Friends fans of all ages. Growing up as a young boy in the 1970's I didn't have a worry in the world, because the Super Friends were there to protect me. Each week the Super Friends battled the Legion of Doom and tried to protect the world from evil. This show is pure entertainment for the whole family. The DVD picture and sound are really good but the video does suffer from age related issues and debris but not enough to detract from the overall viewing experience. This show contains some of the greatest Super Heroes and memorable Villains DC Comics has to offer. After all these years the Super Friends message is still evident, good conquers evil and truth, honesty and justice are standards to live by. Some very nice special features are included in this set and I found them interesting to watch. Even though I'm much older now, I still enjoy the opening theme song and characters from this show. They just don't make them like this anymore, five stars all the way!

DVD Features:
* Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
* Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
* Commentary by: on 2 episodes by comic book writers Geoff Johns and Mark Waid
* Contains All 16 episodes from the 1978 season
* "Saturday, Sleeping Bags & Super Friends" a retrospective
* Character bios

Episodes Include:
- Wanted: The Super Friends
- Invasion of the Fearians
- The World's Deadliest Game
- The Time Trap
- Trial of the Super Friends
- Monolith of Evil
- The Giants of Doom
- Secret Origins of the Super Friends
- Revenge of Gorilla City
- Swamp of the Living Dead
- Conquerors of the Future
- The Final Challenge
- Fairy Tale of Doom
- Doom's Day
- Super Friends: Rest in Peace
- History of Doom

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