The series is based on the revamped version of the silver age super-hero group The Teen Titans that came out in 1982.  The Titans are five teenagers living together in Titan Tower.  Batman's sidekick Robin is the unofficial leader of the group. (Batman is never mentioned in the series though.)  Cyborg, half machine and half human, provides the muscle of the group, and Beast Boy, who can change into any animal, (previously a member of the Doom Patrol,) provides a lot of the comic relief.  The group is rounded out by a pair of women; Starfire an alien who can fly and shoot power blasts from her hands, and the contemplative Raven, a mystic with the power to levitate objects and create solid shapes with her mind.

From their base in Titan's Tower, a giant T shaped dwelling located on an island in the middle of a river, the group protects their city from whatever evil may befall it and bickers amongst themselves.  Their main nemesis is Slade (he goes by Deathstroke in the comics.  I assume the name was too intense for the intended audience) a powerful and manipulative villain who wants to control the city, but even more importantly to destroy the Titans.

Like last season's story arc involving Slade, this set of shows also has some continuity.  Several episodes throughout the season are an adaptation of The Judas Contract, a storyline from the comic book.  This story involves Terra, a young girl who can telekinetically manipulate the earth.  She can toss boulders around like they were used tissue and rip open the ground just by thinking about it.  After seeing how powerful she is, the Titans ask her to join them.  She has a secret though, she can't always control her powers, and she leaves the group because she's afraid that she'll accidentally hurt one of them.   Her leaving breaks Beast Boy's heart.  When she shows up again unexpectedly some time later, her powers in total control, the Titans welcome her with open arms, especially the love-sick green changeling.  Trusting her so completely and so soon might have been a big mistake though.

The episodes dealing with Terra were a pretty good adaptation of a great comic story.  My children, who haven't read the comics that this story was adapted from, were on the edge of their seats during some of the more suspenseful moment.  They did take out some of the more adult aspects of the story (namely the love affair between the underage Terra and Deathstroke) but these show were very faithful to the spirit of the comics and make for a great story.

Many of the other shows in this season are good too.  One of my favorites is How Long is Forever.  While battling a villain from the future, Warp, Starfire gets sent ahead twenty years in time.  She discovers that, with her missing from the group, things haven't gone so well for the Titans.  They've split up and all of them are living pretty miserable lives.  Can Starfire get the old friends talking again, and is there anyway to get back to her own era?

This was just a really good show.  I enjoyed seeing how everyone turned out in the future, and was very happy to see that they kept everyone's personalities the same.  The way that they worked in the "friends are important" lesson was good too.  It wasn't overdone and corny like most cartoons.

Along with the serious episodes there were some light fun ones.  The Titans battle a great villain in Fear Itself.  Control Freak is "a couch potato with a remote control" who attacks a video rental store because Star Wreck V, movie that reunites the entire original crew, isn't on their store's recommended list.  While spouting several sci-fi cliches, he fights the Titans and is quickly defeated.  Back at home, Beast Boy screens a horror movie, the scariest movie ever filmed.  All of the Titans had a great time being scared with the exception of Raven, who "doesn't get scared."  That night Titans Tower gets attacked by the same villain from the movie and, in true horror movie style the heroes get picked off one by one...

This parody episode was a lot of fun.  There were a lot of laughs and some great take-offs on horror films.  I especially liked Beast Boy's prediction that the comic relief always gets picked off first.  (He was right, much to his chagrin.)

I also enjoyed Fractured, the silliest show in the series so far.  After Robin gets his arm broken in battle, Nosyargkcid (Dick Grayson spelled backwards) pops out of the teen's cranium.  A Mr. Mxyzptlk-type character from another dimension, this magical imp simply adores Robin.  Unfortunately when he tries to use his magic powers to fix the Boy Wonder's arm, things go a little ca-ca and the Titans find themselves in a cartoon world.  Be sure to watch the opening credits to this episodes too, it's pretty funny.

Not every show was a winner though.  One or two just didn't work as well as they could have.  Case in point, the Cyborg showcase episode Only Human.  When Atlas, a robot from a video game, comes to life and captures most of the Titans, it's up to Cyborg to beat the fighting robot.  The only problem is that this robot is stronger and faster than the half-human cyborg.  Is there anyway he'll be able to triumph?   This was one of the lamer episodes on the disc.  They never explained how the video game character came to life, and no one seemed to think it was all that strange.   Atlas was a pretty dumb antagonist too.  This show usually has interesting and defined villains (like Control Freak in the following episode), but this guy was very generic: An ultra-strong bad guy who treats his lackey like crap. *Yawn* Haven't we seen this all before?

These shows are just as entertaining as the first season episodes were.  They are action filled, but the characters have real personalities.  There is a good amount of humor and the occasional touching scene that works well.  A very enjoyable show that both kids and adults can enjoy.

This set includes all 13 episodes from the second season on two DVDs in a single width keepcase.

There is one odd thing about these discs.  There are no chapter stops in the middle of the episodes. It would have been nice if they had included one after the opening credits and again half way through the show.

Audio:

There is an English stereo track on this DVD as well as stereo dubs in Spanish and French.  The sound was very good for a TV show.  The explosions and fight scenes were fairly dynamic and there was some use made of the front soundstage.  There wasn't any noticeable hiss or other common audio defects.  There were also subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

Video:

This show looked pretty good.  The fullscreen image was bright and clear, with nice looking colors and sharp lines.  There was a little bit of aliasing, causing some curving lines to have a stair-step effect, but this was minimal.  A nice looking show.

Extras:

There only bonus feature in this set is quick recap of the previous season told through clips from the show. It wasn't that exciting really.

Final Thoughts:

I'm really glad that WB has started releasing the Teen Titans in season sets.  These are much better than the half-season snapper case discs.  No matter the packaging though, this is a very good show, one of the best American-made cartoons from the last few years.  It has a lot of action, humor and just a touch of drama.  With strong stories and a tongue-in-cheek style that works well, this set is Highly Recommended.