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Paramount Studios presents

Nick Picks 1 (2005)

"Instead of going to the big school dance with somebody handsome and popular, how about going with me, Timmy Turner?"- Timmy Turner

Stars: Nancy Cartwright, Clancy Brown, Tom Kenny
Director: various

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (nothing objectionable)
Run Time: 03h:00m:30s
Release Date: 2005-05-24
Genre: animation

Style
Grade
Substance
Grade
Image Transfer
Grade
Audio Transfer
Grade
Extras
Grade
C+ BBB- D-

 

DVD Review

The number of original animated series on the Nickelodeon networks has been grown exponentially over the past few years. The amazing part is that kids everywhere (especially my daughter) somehow manage to stay up to speed with the storylines of each and every show.

Now, parents can try and get caught up and maybe even show their kids a thing or two by sampling some of Nick's best shows in the new Nick Picks 1 DVD. Sure, the kids will still be the primary spinners of this disc, but these shows are truly entertaining for adults as well.

One of the best aspects of the entire Nickelodeon entourage is the wide array of genres that are touched on in a given day of programming. In one half-hour, we get a group of kids who are making the jump from diapers to their early teen years (All Grown Up), then a half-hour later, the further adventures of a talking sponge (SpongeBob SquarePants), followed by a teenage robot who battles evil (My Life as a Teenage Robot). This parity results in a network that will never get old.

A fine collection of what Nickelodeon has to offer is available in Nick Picks 1, which features the following episodes of the network's best:

All Grown Up - Lucky 13: Angelica is preparing for her huge 13th birthday party, when she learns that one of the most popular kids in school is having their party on the same day as hers.

SpongeBob SquarePants - SpongeBob B.C. (Before Comedy): This unique episode takes us back in time to the days of Spongegar, Patar, and Squog.

The Fairly OddParents - Information Stuporhighway: Timmy has accidentally sent a very embarrassing email to Trixie, and must turn himself into data to journey through the Internet and stop the message from reaching its destination.

Jimmy Neutron/The Fairly OddParents - Jimmy/Timmy Power Hour: Timmy Turner is granted his wish of going to the greatest lab in the universe, winding up in Jimmy Neutron's secret laboratory.

Danny Phantom - Bitter Reunions: Danny comes across the dastardly Vlad Plasmius, who also has ghost powers and clashed with Danny's father years ago.

My Life as a Teenage Robot - Hostile Makeover: Jenny has been infected with a nanobot that turns her into a monster-robot.

Rugrats - Finsterella: Chuckie is having delusions of a life like Cinderella's when Angelica reminds him that he's got a stepmom and stepsister.



Rating for Style: C+
Rating for Substance: B

 

Image Transfer

 One
Aspect Ratio1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratioyes
Anamorphicno


Image Transfer Review: The shows' original full frame presentations are here, and are just as sharp and colorful as they are on TV. The styles of animation vary from series to series, so these presentations are quite different from each other, but none of them exhibit any major flaws. The Jimmy Neutron episode does stand out from the rest of the pack due to the fact that it is all CGI-animation, and therefore, features more defined images.

Image Transfer Grade: B
 

Audio Transfer

 LanguageRemote Access
DS 2.0Englishyes


Audio Transfer Review: The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio mixes are standard TV animation tracks, complete with semi-active surrounds and nice directionality during the action sequences. The dialogue is never a problem, remaining easy to decipher at all times.

Audio Transfer Grade: B- 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 7 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
4 Other Trailer(s) featuring Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, The Fairly Odd Parents!, All Grown Up: Lucky 13
Packaging: Keep Case
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extras Review: The only extras are a few trailers for other Paramount Home Video releases.

Extras Grade: D-
 

Final Comments

"Sampler" discs are usually a bad idea, but a good argument for the concept is presented in the form of the Nick Picks 1 DVD. Solid audio and video is a plus, but the near complete lack of extras is disappointing.

Chuck Aliaga 2005-09-29