The All-New Super Friends Hour: Season One, Vol. 2 (2008)
Super Friends DVDs

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Jumping from the pages of the hit DC comics and onto television screen, the ALL-NEW SUPERFRIENDS HOUR proved to be a colossal hit when it premiered on ABC Saturday morning line-ups in 1977. The animated series which followed the adventures of Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman and Aquaman would have an indelible impact on an entire generation of youth (myself included). In the interest of full disclosure I must reveal that I was a huge fan of the ABC Saturday morning Cartoon "ALL NEW SUPERFRIENDS HOUR" which was just released on DVD. Growing up, this was THE show to watch on Saturday mornings - perhaps rivaled only by Scooby Doo. It would be a few years before the boom of classic 80's cartoon television like He-Man, GI Joe, Transformers or Mask so Superfriends pretty much had the awesomeness market cornered.

Each episode was divided into four segments and usually ran something like this - the shows would start out with a team-up between two Super-Friends. The second segment would focus on new characters the Wonder Twins Zan and Jayne (along with their monkey Gleek) and their shape shifting capabilities. The third and 'primary' segment would feature the entire team along with the Wonder Twins and finally the fourth segment would wrap up with a special guest hero stopping by and saving the day in some manner that usually revolved around that character's unique special abilities. Also new superheroes were added to the rotating roster. Besides the main five and occasional members from the real Justice League, new superheroes `Apache Chief', `The Samurai', `Black Vulcan.

Interspersed between segments were the occasional fun mini-segment in which the Superfriends would ask riddles, teach magic and occasionally give little mini-PSAs on important stuff like First Aid. If that sounds a little campy and simple - well, it was.

To be honest, between this show and the Adam West version, it's a wonder that I even considered stepping foot in the theater to see the drastically darker 1989 Batman film. Growing up, this WAS Batman and Robin. But it's nice to see that regardless of their overwhelming success they've had with their recent 'grim and gritty' film franchises, DC is not ashamed to pull out and reflect upon the more campy aspects of their long history. Although things have changed in the ways of overall tonality to DC's lineup, this show, when put into context is the cornerstone in which all future Animated shows would be based upon. Sure, it may be easy to compare the lighter more innocent Super-Friends hour with say 'Batman: The Animated Series' and make fun - but without the success of the Super-Friends Hour it's unlikely that BtAS would have ever been greelighted for production.

That isn't to say that there aren't things worth poking fun at. For instance, upon re-watching this series, my adult mind was left wondering - just where DID Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog go? Replaced by Zan, Jayne and Gleek - no mention is ever given to Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog or their whereabouts ever again. And while the Wonder Twins and their ability to transform into nearly anything is pretty neat - they are a bit... well, creepy. They may be hip and able to relate to the kids but quite frankly they seem to be close in the kind of borderline inappropriate way that would weird just about anybody out (unless you're from Tennessee maybe).

The DVD's sole extra features focus on the ambiguous twins in a segment called " The Wonder Twins Phenomenon: Zan and Jayna's Impact on Pop Culture". Just imagine an episode of VH1's "I Love the 80's" based around the Wonder Twins and starring Paul Dini and Alan Burnett along with the hosts of `Attack of the Show.' It's a hilarious romp through pop culture history and actually gives a little insight into the creation of the Twins.

Bottom line is - it's hard to find something wrong with this series. Sure it has it's dated moments but overall I'd have to say that this set is a must have for any serious DC Animated collector. Plus it's a fun trip down memory lane for those of us who may have outgrown our Batman & Robin Underoos a long time ago. Give this one a shot - you won't be disappointed. The All New Super Friends Hour is available now at retail and online stores.