Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: "Freakazoid," "Animaniacs," absurd comedy, animation
Likes: The Huntsman, Toby Danger
Dislikes: The Lawn Gnomes
Hates: Kids TV with nothing for adults

The Story So Far...
When he got sucked into the Internet, nerdy Dexter Douglas gained a superpowered alter-ego, the manic Freakazoid, who fights bad guys...at least when he's able to focus enough. He shared his cartoon series with several other characters, serving as the anchor for the show, which ran for a few years on KidsWB in the '90s. The first season was released on DVD in July 2008, and DVDTalk has a review.

The Show
The first season of Freakazoid was simply amazing, with an abundance of hilarious supporting characters, quick-hit jokes and meta comedy that sailed well over the heads of the network's intended audience and right into the laugh centers of older viewers who gobbled it up. But as with most great shows that skew toward the unusual, the network suits didn't get it, and waited until the last minute to renew it for a second season, putting the series behind the eight ball.

A hastily developed second season was marked by a massive change that was at least partially financially-influenced, as the anthology concept was abandoned for half-hour Freakazoid stories. One of the most entertaining aspects of the series in the first season was the way you never knew what was coming next. Sure, it wasn't all magic (ahem...Lawn Gnomes), but even when it wasn't, the downbeat lasted for just a short while. Here, if a plot isn't doing it for you, you're pretty much locked in unfortunately, though fourth-wall-breaking antics still pop up throughout the show. As a result of not having buffer-time from very different, yet enjoyable characters like Lord Bravery and The Huntsman , Freakazoid wears out his welcome a bit through over-exposure.

Also not helping matters is the level of repetition in this season's episodes, unaided by the lack of variety. Almost every other episode features The Lobe as the main villain (literally six of the 11 episodes), Freakazoid's new manservant Professor Jones (voiced by Jonathan Harris) makes appearances every episode, stretching his one note far beyond its limits, and the interplay between Freakazoid and the announcer falls flatter each time it appears. With such an entertaining supporting cast, as evidenced by Season One, there's no reason to not call on them more often. After all, "The Island of Dr. Mystico," which includes not only Tim Curry as a guest, but basically every villain from the first season, is one of the best of the season. Instead, he get frequent musical numbers, which annoyed me then, as it does today on "Family Guy."

On the positive side, there are some additional stand-out episodes, like "Hero Boy," which combines the return of Ricardo Montelbon's diabolical Guttierez, an anime spoof and a Freakaclone, and the series finale, pitting The Lobe against the incredibly adept Norm Abrams, of "This Old House." It's that kind of odd sense of humor at work when the show really hits, like the on-the-nose depiction of a ComicCon panel in "Freak-A-Panel," or the all-over-the-place action in "The Freakazoid," an episode built around a Godfather parody. But too many get bogged down in story to have the kind of fun the first season reveled in.

The DVDs
A slight change this time, with season one's slipcover replaced by a sturdy embossed cardboard slipcase, but otherwise, it's the same set-up, with two discs in a clear, single-width keepcase (with a tray for the second disc.) The discs feature static, anamorphic widescreen menus with options to watch all the episodes, select shows, check out the extras and adjust languages. Audio options include English Dolby 5.1 and 2.0 tracks, while subtitles are available in English SDH (thus, no closed captioning.)

The Quality
After seeing a lot of my childhood favorites look so good on DVD, to see this more recent series look so ragged is a disappointment. Sure, to the casual viewer it will look OK, but pay close enough attention, and you'll see an image rife with dirt and damage (and even the occasional hair!) as well as compression artifacts and pixelation along thin black lines. I expect hand-drawn animation to show a bit of age on DVD, but this was just too much. The frequent use of old stock footage doesn't look great either, but that's no surprise.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio uses the surround speakers to to enhance the sound a bit, but there's nothing dynamic about the mix. The dialogue and special effects are nice and clear, like last time, along with the fantastic score on the show.

The Extras
Up first is the 5:37 "A Full Season's Worth of Commentaries (in Five Minutes or Less)" with cast and crew Rich Arons, Tom Ruegger, Paul Rugg, John McCann and Joe Leahy. Here, these men site down with several of their favorite scenes from Season Two and talk about them, as you normally would get with a commentary. Here, you see the participants, but it's interesting to hear from these creators, though more insight certainly would have been appreciated.

Also on Disc One is the original demo tape for Richard Stone's "Bonjour Lobey," a parody of "Hello Doly" from the first episode. For curiosity's sake it's worth a listen, but that's about it. Instead, flip over to disc two and check out "Liebeslied fur Normadeus" a nearly 20-minute look at the show's second season and series-wrapping finale, with stories about the experience from Leahy, McCann, Ruegger, Rugg and Arons. Done with the same sense of humor as the series, it's really an excellent behind-the-scenes examination of the show, and will be of interest to any Freakazoid fan.

The discs also include a handful of previews for other WB animation titles.

The Bottom Line
After years of waiting to have Freakazoid to enjoy whenever I want, in the span of just four discs and less than a year, it's all here now. From the fan point of view, thanks to the many changes, Season Two doesn't stack up to the first, but it's still better than a lot of cartoons out there. The DVDs arrive in decent shape, with a few short, but entertaining bonus features, so there's no reason for a fan of the series to not own this set, but newcomers need to start with Season One if they feel like falling in love with a guy in red pajamas.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.