Suvudu Universe

Courtesy of Warner Archive comes Teen Titans Go! The Complete First Season on Blu-ray. Two discs hold 26 episodes each for a total of 52, which make for almost 10 hours of fast-paced, colorful entertainment. Each episode, sans credits, is only a bit over ten minutes, which keeps things moving quickly. That suits well the daily life aspect of the show. As Warner describes the series,

What happens after everyone’s favorite teenage super heroes have saved the planet from total annihilation? Swing by Titans Tower and find out as Robin, Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy chill out after a hard day of crime fighting and take on some real challenges like laundry, chores, video games and plain ol’ trying to get along!

Even the most basic activities become ridiculously adventuresome, as in the first episode, where Raven makes up a quest for sandwich ingredients (it’s a BLT) so she can watch the “Pretty Pretty Pegasus” show in peace. Another favorite was “Pie Bros”, because it deals with getting a job and the extent of friendship plus it has a song. Beast Boy wants Cyborg to have a happy birthday, but he has to find a way to get money for the expensive gift his buddy desires. Only, of course, he finds out that true friendship doesn’t involve money. Other plots might involve visits from family members or crushes or playing pranks or coping with a heat wave or trying to find something to do in an afternoon.

There’s a snarky sense of humor that isn’t talking down or softening items for kids. One episode features fighting over who’s going to do the laundry, which results in everyone running around naked (blocked by convenient items) for a while. Another teaches Beast Boy a lesson by pretending he’s a ghost.

The voice acting is a huge part of the appeal, since so much depends on the character interaction. Raven (Tara Strong)’s dry remove from the others is entertaining, as is the way Starfire (Hynden Walch) can sometimes be a bit spacey. (Literally, since she’s an alien princess.) Robin (Scott Menville) has the obsession of the Bat-family, but played for laughs, while Cyborg (Khary Payton) is laid-back, in contrast to his technology. Beast Boy (Greg Cipes) is the over-energetic crazy little kid of the group.

I was thrilled at the few guest stars — and happy that they didn’t use them too often, so when they appeared, it was a real surprise. I never would have guessed Zan and Jayna would appear, for instance, and I thought Speedy as an alternate version of Robin (when competing with him to take out Starfire) was a great choice. We first meet the Titans East (including Bumblebee, Aqualad, and Speedy) when the teams have a combined dance party.

It’s always a pleasure to see a DC superhero show with humor and fun included, and this is the preeminent example of such. Even if they rarely fight villains.

There are no extras on the set, just an episode listing and a “Play All” option. (The studio provided a review copy.)