Mini-DVD Review: Alvin & the Chipmunks: Trick or Treason (Aug. 22)

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Mini-DVD Review: Alvin & the Chipmunks: Trick or Treason (Aug. 22)

This week we take a look at Paramount Home Entertainment's Alvin & the Chipmunks: Trick or Treason. Alvin & the Chipmunks is of course the hit animated series that ran from 1983-1991. It was most popular in the early-mid 80s and this set has a 1994 Halloween special and four mini episodes from 1988 and 1989. Cartoonist Dave Seville takes care of three chipmunks: Alvin, Simon and Theodore! See my mini-DVD review of Alvin & the Chipmunks: Trick or Treason:

Alvin & the Chipmunks: Trick or Treason (Paramount, $14.99) brings a classic Halloween special and four spooky animated episodes. This is the second set from Paramount featuring the Chipmunks. The last set was the Christmas special release along with a few holiday-themed episodes. Both releases have episodes only when the show was renamed to The Chipmunks in 1988 and 1989. DiC designed the show then and they don't look the same as from 1983-87, but they still look great! Paramount has also released the Chipmunk feature film from 1987 on a separate set. This set has a 1994 half-hour Halloween special that aired on cable, titled "Trick or Treason," hence the title of this DVD. Alvin wants to join the Monster Club this Halloween and you will get to see them perform a great rendition of the hit tune "Monster Mash." The set also has spooky episodes, like I mentioned. On this volume are all mini episodes, meaning each half hour had two episodes when they originally aired, and we get one of them here. The episodes on this set are: "Babysitter Fright Night," "Theodore's Life as a Dog," "Nightmare on Seville Street," and "No Chipmunk is an Island." Two of the four episodes do not have closing credits, as they probably were the first episodes of the half-hour; runtimes range from about 10-12 minutes each. The menu screen has Play All and Episode Selection, with a song from the Chipmunks in the background. When we go to episode selection, the episodes are listed with a screenshot from the episode. The menu is designed quite well and is easy to navigate. The video and audio are decent and very watchable. I highly do recommend any fan to pick up this set. New fans might also want to, but I am hoping Paramount (or any other studio) releases the series on DVD in order, and not just select episodes from The Chipmunks years. So, hopefully that happens, but for now go out and buy this set to make that happen before Dave says "Alvinnnnn!"
-- Reviewed by Pavan

(4/5 stars)

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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Alvin & the Chipmunks TV.com Page

We might have two special mini-DVD reviews during the week this week. So stay tuned for that. And if all goes well, next Saturday we will have a special mini-review of not a DVD, but a TV-movie, about Diff'rent Strokes, which will premiere on Labor Day on NBC. We also will have a review of Barry Williams' (Greg Brady on The Brady Bunch) new CD. Should be fun!

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Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 8)

Tuesday, August 9

Ryan Reynolds (Two Guys and a Girl) - Catch Ryan on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kaitin Olson (Hacks/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/The Mick) - Kaitlin appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Rob McElhenney (Mythic Quest/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) - Rob guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever) - Maitreyi is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
D'Arcy Carden (Barry/The Good Place) - D'Arcy will be on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Chris Redd (Bust Down/Kenan/Disjointed) - Chris appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Rainn Wilson (The Office) - Rainn is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Idris Elba (Turn Up Charlie) - Idris will be on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor Noah at 11pm. He talks about Beast on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project/The Office) - Mindy appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo. She talks about Never Have I Ever on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Adam Pally (Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo.
David Duchovny (Californication) - David chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Raven-Symoné (Raven's Home/Hangin' with Mr. Cooper/The Cosby Show) - Raven-Symoné is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Katie Lowes (How We Roll) - Katie guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill/Sunnyside) - Joel appears on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Jay Pharoah (White Famous) and Guy Torry (Good News) - Jay and Guy talk about teaming up with an all-star comedic cast to pay tribute to Phat Tuesdays at the Comedy Store, now a Prime Video documentary, on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) - Aubrey talks about Emily the Criminal on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Tisha Campbell (Uncoupled/Outmatched/Dr. Ken/Rita Rocks/My Wife and Kids/Martin) - Tisha talks about Netflix's Uncoupled on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri will be on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am. She guest hosts a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years) - Danica appears on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
Jennette McCurdy (Sam & Cat/iCarly) - Jennette is a guest on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.