TVSquad

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

I have to admit that I had no idea what The City was when I saw that season one was coming out on DVD this week (an Amazon exclusive). Is it the show Loving became in the late 90s? No, it's the spinoff of The Hills. Oh yes, let me run out and buy two copies of this. One to play until it wears out, and the other to have on my shelf when I can't play the first one anymore.

I have to pick up some of these Super Friends sets at some point. I really loved that show in the 70s. I think these "lost episodes" might be from the 80s.

• 90210 - Season 1
• Adam-12 - Season 3
• Are You Being Served? - Complete Collection

Welcome to Subtle Subtitles. For those of you who are uninitiated to the purpose of this feature, we're asking you to come up with your funniest quote or description for what's going on in the screen grab we choose for the week. Winners are announced in the following Friday's contest.

Last contest's winner: Butters

...and going on Celebrity Fit Club was the best thing Superman ever did.

This week, in honor of Buffy/Angel Retro Squad week ...

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

Even when I was a little kid, there were some things about the Super Friends (or Superfriends or Superamigos, or whatever they were calling it) that didn't sit right with me. Maybe it was because the confluence of superpowers all in one place just boggled my young mind. Maybe it was the mysterious change from Wendy and Marvin to the Wonder Twins that made me scratch my tiny noggin. Not sure. But those mysteries continue to fascinate me, even into adulthood. It's just that those mysteries are more sophisticated:

1. How did the Super Friends have time to hang out at the Hall of Justice? Every one of the SFs lived in different parts of the country: Batman and Robin were in Gotham City, for instance. So, did B&R commute from Gotham to Metropolis a few times per week? Did they use the Bat Plane or the Batmobile most of the time? Did they claim the mileage on their taxes?

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

In the annals of humankind there have been many debates that have crossed generations without one clear winner on one side or the other. Some of the more famous debates have been: what came first, the chicken or the egg; creationism vs. evolution; Cubs vs. White Sox; and what was the better Pauly Shore movie -- Encino Man or Bio-Dome. Yet, no other debate has shown such passionate division, such anger, such incomprehensible argument than one about a certain 70s Saturday morning cartoon featuring a scantily clad woman with a lasso and a man who lurked the alleyways at night to purposely scare people.

I speak about the Hanna-Barbera series Super Friends and the on-going debate about if the show was better before or after the Wonder Twins appeared.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow:

• The All-New Super Friends Hour - Season 1, Vol. 1
• Between the Lions - Season 1
• Clifford The Big Red Dog - Playtime with Clifford
• Family Feud - All Star Family Feud with Richard Dawson
• Gunsmoke - Season 2, Vol. 1
• Lovejoy - Season 2
• MI-5 - Vol. 5
• The Naked Brothers Band - Season 1
• The Riches - Season 1
• Two and a Half Men - Season 2
• The Waltons - Season 6
• What's New Scooby-Doo? - Season 3

Back in the day, Cartoon Network used to have a ton of great bumps featuring the Super Friends and other classic Hanna-Barbera characters. I found one on YouTube featuring Birdman, Wonder Woman and others attending a movie and annoying the audience with a long and unnecessary conversation about how to purchase food at the concession stand before the movie begins. As their incessant blathering continues, people get up and leave the theater. I forgot how funny these spots were, and I think "this looks like a job for a twenty!" is going to be my new saying for this week. I've placed the video after the jump for your amusement. Enjoy:

Back in the early 2000's (wow, I can't believe I just wrote that!), Budwiser ran an extremely successful advertising campaign for its Budwiser beer that most simply called 'Wassup?'. It featured a bunch of guys sitting around, watching a game and drinking their beers, while calling their friends. The extent of their phone conversations was "Wassup?" over and over in a humorous manner.

As its popularity grew so did the Internet parodies, which included South Park, Teletubbies and Super Friends. The Super Friends spot actually became quite a World Wide Web phenomenon, long before the creation of YouTube. However, once the advertising campaign ended, those parodies also faded away and were simply forgotten.

That is, until today, when I found several copies of the Super Friends Wassup parody on ... you guessed it ... YouTube. I watched it again and still think it's hilarious. Take a look for yourself after the jump and let me know what you think.