The Corner Penthouse

Warner Brothers recently released the Super Friends: The Complete Collection Blu-ray. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

The greatest of the DC superheroes work together to uphold the good with the help of some young proteges. Produced by Hanna-Barbera, Super Friends is an animated TV series, featuring the Justice League of America, that ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part the Saturday morning cartoon lineup.

[ EPISODES ]

The 16-disc set includes all 109 episodes of the various series that ran from 1973 to 1985. There are too many episodes to list, but here is a brief breakdown. All 1973 and 1977 episodes run approx. 45-46 minutes each, all of the rest run approx. 22-23 minutes each. There is no episode list provided inside the case.

01. Super Friends! (1973) - 16 episodes on 3 discs.
02. The All New Super Friends Hour (1977) - 15 episodes on 3 discs.
03. Super Friends! (1978) - 16 episodes on 2 discs.
04. Challenge of the Super Friends (1978) - 16 episodes on 2 discs.
05. The World's Greatest Super Friends (1979) - 8 episodes on 1 disc.
06. Super Friends! (1980) - 8 episodes on 1 disc.
07. Super Friends! (1981) - 6 episodes on 1 disc.
08. Super Friends! (1983) - 8 episodes on 1 disc.
09. Super Friends! The Legendary Super Powers Show (1984) - 8 episodes on 1 disc.
10. The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (1985) - 8 episodes on 1 disc.

[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

The show is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The show is Not Rated. Audio languages include English. Subtitle languages include English SDH.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

All of the special features below can be found on the respective Blu-ray discs, and are not mentioned anywhere on the case. They are all vintage DVD-era items, with the commentaries using the original standard-definition (upscaled to 1920x1080) video. Watching the picture quality on these really makes you appreciate how good the high-definition episodes look. Do note that, for example, "S2,D3" refers to Series 2, Disc 3, as per the series list in the breakdown listed in the "Episodes" section above.

• DISC 3 (S2,D3): One-Dimensional Goodness: The Super Friends and the Good Old Days (14:33) - In this 2008 featurette, animation writers and historians Mark Waid, Alan Burnett, Jerry Beck, John Semper talk about why the show was so simple yet appealing.
• DISC 3 (S2,D3): Origins of the Guest Stars (8:29) - This 2008 featurette goes into some detail about the guest heroes on the show, such as Hawkman & Hawkgirl, The Atom, Green Lantern, and Rima.
• DISC 3 (S2,D3): The Wonder Twins Phenomenon: Zan and Jayna's Impact on Pop Culture (12:08) - In this 2008 featurette, various animation creators, Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn (the hosts of G4's Attack of the Show at the time), and others attempt to explain or mock Zan, Jayna, and Gleek the space monkey.
• DISC 8 (S3,D2): The Ballad of Zan and Jayna (Wonder Twins Power Activate) (4:06) - This music video from 2005 is performed by P.T. Zarnum & the Trouble Alerts.
• DISC 8 (S3,D2): Pajama-Rama: Super Friends Retrospective (11:55) - In this 2005 featurette, pop culture enthusiasts and celebrities, such as Wendi McLendon-Covey, celebrate the lovable goofiness of the Super Friends.
• DISC 15 (S9,D1): Audio Commentary on The Wrath of Brainiac (11:04) - with writer Glenn Leopold and DC historian Mark Waid.
• DISC 15 (S9,D1): Audio Commentary on No Honor Among Thieves (10:08) - with writer John Semper and Mark Waid.
• DISC 15 (S9,D1): Audio Commentary on The Mask of Mystery (10:52) - with writer Glenn Leopold and DC historian Mark Waid.
• DISC 15 (S9,D1): Audio Commentary on The Case of the Dreadful Dolls (10:34) - with writer Rich Fogel and Mark Waid.
• DISC 15 (S9,D1): Audio Commentary on The Royal Ruse (10:45) - with writer Rich Fogel and Mark Waid.
• DISC 15 (S9,D1): Evolution: New Heroes, Viler Villains, and Ethnic Additions (17:44) - This 2007 featurette covers this series' incremental innovations, with comments from Michael Swanigan; Firestorm creator Gerry Conway; DC exec editor Dan DiDio; DC writer/historian Mark Waid; Legendary Super Powers Show writers Glenn Leopold, Rich Fogel, Alan Burnett, John Semper, and Marc Scott Zicree; DC writer Denny O'Neill; and DC president/publisher Paul Levitz.
• DISC 15 (S9,D1): The Super Powers Collection: The Effect of the Toy Industry on the Super Friends (7:37) - In this 2007 featurette, action figure historian Jason Geyer, Georg Brewer of DC Direct, Paul Levitz, John Semper, Gerry Conway, Mark Waid, and Rich Fogel talk about how de-regulation by the Reagan administration led to the creation of toys based on animated series, and vice versa.
• DISC 16 (S10,D1): Super Friends Redux: Galactic Guardians (11:10) - In this 2007 featurette, Mark Waid, Rich Fogel, Dan Didio, Paul Levitz, Alan Burnett, and Michael Swanigan discuss how this series brought the Super Friends more in line with DC's monthly publications, how Kenner Toys' marketing needs influenced the show, and various other topics.

From what I have read, the only significant DVD extras that were not ported over were from the Challenge of the Super Friends: Season One DVD: audio commentaries on the episodes "Wanted: The Super Friends" and "History of Doom", and the "Saturday, Sleeping Bags & Super Friends: A Retrospective" featurette (14-minute). That same DVD also includes "Hall of Justice" and "Legion of Doom" character bios and montages, which also were not ported over, but that's no great loss.

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

No digital copy code voucher is included. However, the thick, clear 12-disc DVD-size case fits inside a slipcover. Yes, although this is a Blu-ray release, it comes in a DVD-size case. As if that wasn't bad enough, Warners chose to use one of the crappy cases where the inside part that holds the discs isn't attached to the outside, and the discs are hard to get out because the clasps that hold them in place have zero give to them. If you want to see a photo of this case, see my reviews of Succession and The Powerpuff Girls.

[ NOTES ]

Super Friends: The Complete Collection is available on Blu-ray. Despite the few missing extras and the extremely crappy DVD-style packaging, this set is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Every episode looks beautiful and it's all in one collection. It's also another series where Adam West voices Batman (in the later series) and Ghostbusters fans will want to keep an ear out for Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore) as the voice of Cyborg in the last series.

This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.