Rating:  -
For a series that ran for 4 years and has a good 60 episodes to it, this release is going to be pretty thin, although a neccessary one for fans of the Bruce Timm DC animated universe.
By contrast the excellent volume 1 of the Batman Animated Series contains 4 DVDs / 28 episodes (the entire series ran for about 90 episodes),as will the second volume.
I think this is just a lame attempt by Warner Brothers to milk their merchandising of the series.
It's too bad because it would be nice to have comparable quality sets for these companion shows.
As a fan I will undoubtedly purchase the set to replace my old homemade VHS copies of the show, but it would be a service from the company to release a more robust collection.
Rating:  -
After a long wait, WB is finally putting out not only BTAS boxed sets, but STAS volumes as well! This set collects the first 18 episodes of the Superman animated series (basically a third of the entire series) and tosses in some commentary tracks and other goodies. The thing about the Superman show is that while BTAS was groundbreaking and Batman Beyond/Justice League were heavily promoted, Superman kinda fell by the wayside. The series has always been the middle child of the DC Animated Universe, and had such a brief run on KidsWB that most fans have not seen all the episodes. This is especially unfortunate because the second season of Justice League drew heavily from the Superman rogues gallery and unfinished plot threads started by this show (Darkseid, who appeared in the JL episode "Twilight", first appears here in "Tools of the Trade".)
This is a pretty solid collection of episodes. The Superman series got a little erratic later on, with bad animation and poor scripts, but the episodes presented here are some of the best. You get first appearances of major Superman villains (Lex Luthor, Darkseid, Metallo, Parasite, Toyman), a hilarious two-parter with the obscene bounty hunter Lobo, and the first animated appearance of the Flash (another JL note: the episode "Paradise Lost" borrowed some stock footage from here...see if you can find it!) In all, this is a faithful adaptation of DC Comics' flagship character. If you've never seen Superman but love the Batman and Justice League shows, this set is definitely worth picking up.
Rating: -
Knuckle up, and join the Man of Steel in his fight for truth, justice, and the American way in Superman: The Animated Series - Volume One! From the producers of Batman: The Animated Series, Superman featured fun, intelligent, and action-packed stories; a magnificent main title theme by Shirley Walker; and the phenomenal voice talents of Tim Daly, Dana Delaney, Clancy Brown, Corey Burton, Malcolm McDowell, Lori Petty, Brad Garrett, Brion James, and many, many others. This 2-disc set contains the show's first 18 episodes (all 13 season one episodes, plus the first 5 season two episodes) which includes the 3-part pilot "The Last Son of Krypton", and the Superman II homage "Blasts From the Past" Parts I & II. Another highlight is the Superman VS. The Flash charity race in the classic "Speed Demons", the first episode of the animated series to feature a guest-star superhero from DC Comics, and no doubt influenced the creation of the Justice League series. This collection features Full-Frame video, English Dolby Surround Stereo 2.0 audio, along with English, French and Spanish subtitles. Here are the contents of this super-set:
Disc 1:
The Last Son Of Krypton Part 1
The Last Son Of Krypton Part 2
The Last Son Of Krypton Part 3
Fun And Games
A Little Piece Of Home
Feeding Time
Disc 2:
The Way Of All Flesh
Stolen Memories
The Main Man Part 1
The Main Man Part 2
My Girl
Tools Of The Trade
Two's A Crowd
The Prometheon
Blasts From The Past Part 1
Blasts From The Past Part 2
Livewire
Speed Demons
Special Features:
Commentary: "The Last Son Of Krypton Part 1", "Stolen Memories", "The Main Man" and "Tools of the Trade" by Bruce Timm (Producer), Paul Dini (Producer), Alan Burnett (Producer), Dan Riba (Director), Curt Geda (Director), and Glen Murakami (Art Director)
Featurette: Superman: Learning to Fly: Explores the creation of Superman: The Animated Series, including interviews with talent, creators and DC Comics (10:00)
Featurette: Building the Mythology: Superman's Supporting Cast: Focuses on the supporting cast of Superman including Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, and Jonathan and Martha Kent (10:00)
Bonus: A Little Piece of Trivia - Pop up trivia over the "A Little Piece of Home" episode (22:00)
Worth the wait, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Rating: -
IMHO, Superman was just as good a series as Batman, the Animated Series. The stories were not on a higher level, but a different one. Batman reflected film noir dramas as well as having a classic, vintage feel. Superman was a little more lighthearted, more epic, and had a modern feel. As with the Batman series, each Superman episode can be a stand alone episode in itself, yet it all adds considerable detail to the series as a whole making it a signicantly rich world. The consequences and the results of certain episodes are also touched upon from time to time and even lay the foundation for even more dramatic storytelling.
This DVD set includes the first 18 episodes of the series I believe. Starting it off is the 3-part "Last Son of Krypton," which retells the origin of Superman and does a good job establishing the series. Other favorites of mine that are on this DVD set are "Stolen Memories," " The Main Man, Parts 1 & 2," "My Girl," "Blasts from the Past, Parts 1 & 2," and "Speed Demons." This set does include all the episodes on the single disc release "Superman: A Little Piece of Home." If you're a fan of the series I recommend this set over the single discs. If you're a parent looking to simply amuse your children, the single discs may be an option to consider, but even so this set can be bought for less than $25 and has 18 episodes to boot. The only drawback in this set that I can think of is that the second disc is a flipper, where one side contains 6 episodes and then the other side contains the last 6. It's a minor complaint, as I'm just all too happy to have this series as a box set, but it may be an issue to some.
Rating: -
I'm not clear on which episodes were in which season.The one's that stick in my mind are the episodes with Darkseid.Especially the one dedicated to Jack Kirby,when Turpin dies,and the one when superman is brainwashed into thinking he's Darkseid's son and he attacks the earth.These episodes are right up there with the batman series.Also the episodes with bizarro are pretty warped.In particular when they show the deterioration of the perfect clone into bizarro,and the destruction of the many other developing clones.Then there is the episode where Bruce Wayne visits Metropolis and Lois Lane ends up loving Bruce but doesn't want him to be Batman,which is ironic because she loves Superman but not Clark.Then there is the one where Superman fills in for Batman and the villains freak out trying to fight super-batman.Most of these episodes are probably in the second or third set,but they are all top quality.Great stories, great animation, great series. Buy them all.
|
