Enjoyable, fun and crazy! If you enjoy “iCarly”, definitely check out “Victorious: Season One, Volume Two” featuring ten episodes + the “iCarly/Victorious” special.
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DVD TITLE: Victorious: Season One, Volume Two
DURATION: 10 episodes + iCarly Crossover Special (Duration: 240 Minutes)
DVD INFORMATION: Full Screen Format, Dolby Digital (English Stereo), Closed Caption
COMPANY: Nickelodeon/Paramount
RATED: G
RELEASE DATE: November 1, 2011
Directed by Steve Hoefer, Adam Weissman, Russ Reinsel and David Kendall
Sweries Written by Dan Schneider, Jake Farrow, George Doty IV, Matt Fleckenstein, Arthur Gradstein
Producer: Sean Gil, Joe Catania, Bruce Rand Berman
Associate Producer: Aline Robey, Irene Oncley, Erin Braun
Executive Producer: Dan Schneider
Music by Michael Corcoran
Cinematography by Mike Spodnik
Edited by Nancy Morrison, Andrew Hirsch, Patricia Barnett
Casting by Krisha Bullock, Leslie Zaslower
Production Design by Harry Matheu
Set Decoration by Jason Howard
Series Costume Design by Kristin Dangl
Starring:
Victoria Justice as Tori Vega
Leon Thomas III as Andre Harris
Matt Bennett as Robbie Shapiro
Elizabeth Gillies as Jade West
Ariana Grande as Cat Valentine
Avan Jogie as Beck Oliver
Daniella Monet as Trina Vega
Michael Eric Reid as Sinjin
Eric Lange as Mr. Sikowitz
Lane Napper as Lane
Take center stage with Victorious Season 1, Volume 2! From performing at a children’s party to being stars of a reality show, the students at Hollywood Arts keep things interesting with their crazy antics and creativity.
From the executive producer of “Drake & Josh”, “iCarly”, “Kenan & Kel” and “Zoey 101” comes a new series titled “Victorious”, starring Victoria Justice (known for her role as Lola Martinez on “Zoey 101”) as Victoria “Tori” Vega.
In “Victorious”, the story focuses on Victoria “Tori” who has been accepted at Hollywood Arts High School, after taking her sister Trina’s (played by Daniella Monet) place in a showcase. While Trina is known more for her drive to become an actress, her sister “Tori” has talent that she is not too conscious about and now trying to fit in her new school.
She becomes friends with a talented musician Andre Harris (played by Leon Thomas III), a journalist/ventriloquist named Robbie Shapiro (played by Matt Bennett) and rival Jade West (played by Elizabeth Gillies) and her boyfriend Beck Oliver (played by Avan Jogia) and naive actress Cat Valentine (played by Ariana Grande).
With the DVD release of “Victorious: Season One, Volume Two”, included are 10 episodes from the first season plus the “iCarly/Victorious” special.
“Victorious: Season One, Volume Two” features the following episodes (spoilerless summaries):
Note: Episodes listing on this DVD is not going by episode series #, but is going by production code #.
DISC 1:
- EPISODE 16: The Diddly-Bops – Tori and friends book a performance at a children’s party, meanwhile Andre receives a call from a record producer.
- EPISODE 12: Cat’s New Boyfriend – Tori finds out that her ex-boyfriend Danny is dating Cat. Meanwhile, Trina introduces her friends to fish that eats callus.
- EPISODE 20: Sleepover at Sikowitz’s – Sikowitz teaches the group a lesson about method acting.
- EPISODE 18: The Wood – A new reality show called “The Wood” is being filmed at Hollywood Arts and the group end up on the show.
- EPISODE 11: The Great Ping-Pong Scam – Tori wants to know why her friends are avoiding her.
DISC 2:
- EPISODE 8: Survival of the Hottest – A heat wave hits Los Angeles and Tori and friends decide to go to Venice Beach.
- EPISODE 9: Wi-Fi in the Sky – When Tori and Trina’s flight gets delayed, Tori uses web conferencing to work on a group project with her friends. Special Guest: Perez Hilton
- EPISODE 13-14: Freak the Freak Out – When Trina gets her wisdom tooth pulled off, Tori must take care of her because her parents leave for the weekend.
VIDEO, AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Victorious: Season One, Volume Two” is presented in full screen, Dolby Digital (English Stereo). The series is shot via Digital and the picture quality is very good on DVD. I didn’t notice any major artifacting or digital noise. But for the most part, fans should be pleased with the video and audio.
There are no subtitles but closed captions are included.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Victorious: Season One, Volume Two” comes with the following special features:
- iCarly Crossover Special: iParty with Victorious – (1:09:50) When iCarly finds out that her boyfriend is dating Tori in Los Angeles, iCarly and friends travel to LA to confront her boyfriend and Tori.
- Behind The Scenes: iParty with Victorious Mash-Up Performance – (1:22) Behind-the-scenes of the cast of “iCarly” and “Victorious” recording their music at the studio and scenes from the set of the special episode.
- Music Video: Best Friend’s Brother – (3:37) Featuring a music video featuring Victoria Justice.
“Victorious” is a fun and entertaining show that isn’t deep, just teenage fun with music and comedy!
When I saw Victoria Justice appearing on “iCarly” last year, I had the feeling that Nickelodeon or even Dan Schneider was planning to use the actress for a new show and I was right. Victoria Justice who had starred on “Zoey 101” and had short roles in various Schneider-related series has her chance to not just showcase her acting but also singing.
And here we are with “Victorious”!
Because Dan Schneider’s name is attached to this series, I know that the series has been compared to “iCarly” and when you make those comparisons, it makes it difficult because “iCarly” is such a popular show and if it doesn’t measure up, some people tend to think its not a good show.
With “iCarly”, the series tends to focus on three friends (and one family member) and there is a good amount of character development within those four characters. It’s a tight-knit group featuring tight-knit stories and with “Victorious”, you have seven individuals and storylines that primarily focuses on Tori.
In some way, because it’s taking place at an art school, some people may feel that it’s a contrived series that is a Nickelodeon take on entertainment ala “Glee” and some may even compare it to Disney’s teenage film series such as “High School Musical” or the TV series “Hannah Montana” but in this case, it’s not. It’s a different type of series that takes on teen issues, friendships and wacky situations.
The show is primarily about Tori Vega and while others may display their musical or acting chops, its a series about Tori and friends. No one breaks out in song or dance unless the situation calls for it but if anyone is doing any singing, it’s Tori Vega and sometimes her very crazy sister Trina.
I found the series to be fun and wacky at times. You have the teen drama, the teen angst and crazy moments, especially when it features ventriloquist Matt Bennett and his dummy Robbie or Tori’s bratty older sister Trina.
Also, it was cool to see the special “iParty with Victorious” included with this DVD release and the collaboration with Miranda Cosgrove and Victoria Justice once again was very cool!
One thing I noticed about this second half of episodes is that the cast are more comfortable, especially with one another and they happen to be much more in sync.
As “Victorious” is on its second season, it’s important to note that this is the second half of the first season DVD release, not the complete first season.
As for parents who are wondering if this is fine for children, for older children, I can say yes as there is no scenes that caused me to rethink of having my own son watching the series. But the series does focus on teenagers and it’s a teen-driven comedy series. I didn’t see any violence but kids who like to mimic what they say on TV, it’s up to parent if they feel that the show is appropriate. I personally didn’t find anything wrong with older children watching “Victorious” and may enjoy the music especially the comedy presented in the series.
Overall, “Victorious” is a fun and enjoyable series and with the second half of the season, the episodes continue its fun and crazy hijinks but moreso, the acting is much better as the talent are now settled in.
If you are a fan of “Victorious”, this DVD is recommended!