Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: "Yo Gabba Gabba"
Likes: Noggin, DJ Lance Rock
Dislikes: Most kids shows
Hates: Creepy sad Muno

The Story So Far...
Yo Gabba Gabba! is a kids variety show starring DJ Lance Rock, and his collection of toys, which come to life when he puts them in their playsets. As they dance and sing, they also learn valuable lessons about things like getting along with others and being careful. Mixed in with the lessons are cartoon shorts and visits from celebrities and musical acts, making the show the Tonight Show for the pre-school set. There have been two previous releases, and DVDTalk has a review of New Friends.

The Show
Here's four more episodes from the magical land of Gabba, the greatest thing on television to happen to little kids and their parents since Noggin was created. It's the perfect blend of goofy puppet show, pre-school teaching and alternative hang-time, offering entertainment to both children and the adults who don't use their television as a babysitter. How many shows feature counting, saying hello and Jack Black in a skin-tight orange jumpsuit?

As is often the case in shows about birthdays, "Birthday" is about a character, in this case little, green Brobee, thinking everyone's forgotten his birthday. It's a bit light on the educational side, with a small tie-in to counting when talking about age, focusing more on the idea of having a party. To celebrate, you get some cute animation of the Gabba gang, and two of the oddest characters yet (which is saying something) as Brobee's cake comes to life (in a vaguely threatening manner) and the sky takes on a personality and vomits confetti and balloons. (She may may have appeared in an earlier episode, but this is the first tome I've seen it.) It is one of the more packed episodes when it comes to guest stars, with Biz Markei bringing a special birthday Beat of the Day, Melora Hardin (The Office) stopping by for Dancey Dance Time, Parker Jacobs (The Aquabats) offering his cool trick, and the Ting Tings singing their version of "Happy Birthday." Mark Mothersbaugh even appears during the party (outside of his usual role.) The only slight let-down is the animated song "It's Your Birthday," which was just OK.

"Dress-Up" is also not hugely educational, though the focus on imagination and playing pretend is certainly worthwhile. This one would be enjoyable if only for DJ Lance Rock's unique costumes, which have a strangely '70s feel, but you also get sketches about numbers, being friendly and playing nice, a fun, poppy Super Music Friends Show appearance by The Little Ones, a creepy pirate drawn by Mothersbaugh, along with an amusing Story Time about a princess and a dragon and a fun animated song, "New Pair of Shoes." The play-time sketch where the gang dresses up like medieval characters runs a bit long in comparison to the usual bits, but it tells a story through singing, and should keep young ones' attention.

Continuing the disc's trend of episodes focused on fun concepts, the "Talent" show is about things you're good at and enjoy doing. Thus, you get the usual elements, focused on abilities, culminating in a talent show featuring the main characters. This fits pretty naturally, as Mothersbaugh shows off his drawing skills, Biz Markie displaying his beat-boxing, and NBA star Amar'e Stoudemire playing basketball, along with the obviously appropriate Cool Trick entry, though the actual trick's a bit bizarre. For the fans who tune in for the show's eclectic musical acts, there's a winner this time, with Hot Hot Heat appearing in a video filmed outdoors (to match the song, "Time to Go Outdoors.") This may be the first live-action footage on the show not shot in a studio.

Wrapping up the fun, but not-so-educational theme of the DVD is "Ride," which is about taking a ride. It's a simple concept to be sure. The episode is built on the rides the characters go on, with "Let's Go on a Fun Bike Ride" being the best of the three feature songs. There are a few lessons snuck into the show, with a focus on using helmets and a DJ Lance Rock dance called the "Buckle Up," which mimics using a seat belt. The Super Music Friend Show segment, with soft-pop duo Dean and Britta, is one of the quieter ones the show's had, and the animated song "Ride," which is about a trio of animals riding various objects, is just plain weird (even for Yo Gabba Gabba!.) Though the Story Time, featuring Mr. Men-style animation, is cute, and the song about the ice-cream man is enjoyable, this episode felt a little light compared to the others, thanks to the bulk of it featuring the Gabba crew, which reduced the sense of variety.

The DVD
The one-disc release is packed in a standard keepcase, and features a static full-frame menu offering options to play all the episodes, select shows and check out previews. There are no audio options and no subtitles, though closed captioning is included.

The Quality
The full-frame transfers are excellent, capturing the show's bright color and detail just about perfectly. The level of fine detail is very nice, and there's no dirt, damage or digital artifacts to be seen.

The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtracks are very good, presenting the music and dialogue quite nicely, though there's nothing dynamic here, with the sound right down the middle.

The Extras
Outside of the usual trailers for other Nickelodeon products, there's no bonus content on this DVD.

The Bottom Line
There's not much that separates this collection from the other Yo Gabba Gabba DVDs, outside of the presence of The Ting Tings and Hot Hot Heat, but any kid worth his sippy cup will welcome four more episodes into their home. The DVD looks and sounds fine, but there are no extras to enjoy, so you're in it only for the episodes.

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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.