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Superman Animated Series: A Little Piece of Home

Warner Bros. // Unrated // October 19, 2004
List Price: $14.97 [Buy now and save at Amazon]

Review by John Sinnott | posted October 25, 2004 | E-mail the Author
Title: Superman: A Little Piece of Home

Body of Review: After the popularity of Batman: The Animated Series, the creators decided to try their had at another DC Super-hero: Superman. Debuting in 1996, Superman lasted for 54 episodes over four seasons (though the last season was very abbreviated, containing only three episodes.) Like its predecessor, this cartoon is filled with action and adventure, but not at the expense of the plot. The stories were intelligent and entertaining for adults as well as children, and the humor made the show even more delightful.

Superman: A Little Piece of Home is the second DVD released with episodes from this fun series. It contains four very different episodes which come from the first three seasons of the show. This is a great mix of programs, highlighting the wide variety of shows that the series created.

Episode : Little Piece of Home
From early in the first season, Lex Luthor finds out that Superman has a weakness. When he attempts to stop a robbery of a museum's gem exhibit, Superman becomes very weak and almost passes out. While reviewing the security camera tape, Luthor discovers which stone had this effect, and after testing it, sets a trap to rid himself of the Man of Steel forever.

Episode : Speed Demons
The race everyone has been waiting for: Flash vs Superman! The first one to circle the globe 100 times wins the title of "Fastest Man Alive." It should be a straight forward race, but the Weather Wizard siphons 'ionoc energy' from the racers via the GPS tracking armbands that they are wearing. When he gets enough power, he creates typhoons and blizzards and tries to blackmail the city of Metropolis. This lighter episode was a lot of fun.

Episode : The Late Mr. Kent
This episode had a nice mystery, and a big problem for Superman. Clark interviews a prisoner on death row, and believes his claim of innocence. He obtains the police files, and discovers some evidence that clears the man. But as he's driving to the Governor's mansion to present his case, a bomb detonates in his car causing in to go off the road and into the ocean. A fisherman see this all happen, and now everyone thinks that Clark Kent is dead. How can he manage to save his secret identity and the innocent man's life now that the evidence clearing him has been destroyed?

Episode : Where There's Smoke
The last show on the disc takes a dig or two (or three) at Marvel comics. A school for children with paranormal gifts, which is run by a bald man, is actually a recruiting/training agency for government assassins. The leader of this project, is a tall man with an eyepatch who looks very similar to Nick Fury (a Marvel comics hero.) One of their students-turned-assassins, Volcana a lady who can create and control fires, has escaped and they'll stop at nothing to get her back. Superman gets caught in the middle of this battle when he tries to stop Volcana in the middle of a robbery. A fun action filled show that is made even more enjoyable if you know something about Marvel comics and can spot all of the references. (Note the guards dressed as AIM agents.)


The DVD:

Extras: There are a few neat extras on this DVD. Superman: A Little Piece of Trivia allows the viewer to watch the show with pop up windows that give little bits of trivia about the show and character. Postcards from Metropolis: A guide to Superman's City is a six-minute guide to the cartoon version of Metropolis. Through video clips from the show the sights of Metropolis and main characters are revealed. It is a good introduction for people who haven't seen the show before.

Metropolis Challenge is a game you can play with your remote. The disc is rounded off with a selection of trailers for other Warner children's DVDs.

Video: The full frame video looks great. The colors were very bright and vivid, and the image was tight. There were a few minor imperfections in the picture, just an occasional small spot on a frame though. Nothing major though. The digital defects were very minor, some infrequent aliasing in the background is all. Overall a very nice looking transfer.

Audio: The English Dolby surround sound audio track is nice. The dialog is clear and the sound effects come through strong without being overpowering. There isn't any hiss or other audio defects. The rears are mainly used for music and sound effects but they are used effectively. The opening credit sequence is particularly impressive sounding with the theme music really surrounding the viewer. A nice sounding disc. Surround tracks in French and Spanish are also present, as well as English, Spanish, and French subtitles.

Final Thoughts: This is an entertaining show that has held up very well. This DVD in particular offers a good mixture of episodes offering humor, adventure, and mystery. Fans of the show will be happy with both the audio and video quality. Recommended.

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