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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very thorough and detailed review, for those still contemplating on buying this set..., September 26, 2008
Introduction (Taken from the DVD set):
Tune in to this classic show featuring Doug and his pals Skeeter, Patti, Roger and Beebe. They dance, they camp, they doodle, they play, and they...blow up the science room? It's one wild adventure after another with Doug and all his pals.
Memorable Episodes:
As someone who has seen the show during its original run, it's really tough to pick out just a few memorable episodes...each episode holds a special place for me! There are a few obvious ones, though, and I'll go over those. In the premiere episode "Doug Bags A Neematoad", Doug and his family move to Bluffington, and worries that he won't make any friends there. He experiences the good...and the bad, but in the end, it's all one big learning experience.
In "Doug Gets Busted", as described in the introduction, Doug creates a volcano for a science experiment, and when a rumor is spread that it caused the lab to explode, Doug becomes "Jack Bandit" to run away from possible trouble.
In "Doug Rocks", Doug and Skeeter get a chance to see The Beets live, but Skeeter gets grounded. Doug wants to go, but decides to stick with his best friend. They get a nice surprise in the end, on their visit to the Honker Burger.
In "Doug Is Quailman", Doug begins to doodle his favorite cartoon superhero, Quailman, and imagines himself as the title hero, in his own adventures.
Packaging:
The packaging is a very standard Amaray-style case, which holds the three discs. The case actually feels quite sturdy, and the discs do not overlap each other. The artwork is simple, and it gets the job done. The discs themselves are printed on a nice, glossy, and high quality label, which gives it a professional look and feel to it. Episodes are all listed on the back of the case, without descriptions.
Menu:
The menus are very simple..almost too simple. They don't really look professionally done. I'm sure anyone could pull off a better menu using Nero. Main menu gives you the options of Play All or Episode Selection.
Video/Audio Quality:
If you're familiar with Doug during its original airings, or even the reruns on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons Network, you're probably familiar with the quality of the show. Pretty much the norm of Nickelodeon shows (and Nicktoons), they resemble that of VHS quality. Honestly, I don't think any cleaning up was done to these episodes, but don't get too worried, cause there's probably not much that could be done to the episodes anyway. Video isn't too consistent, plenty of color changes at random, a bit dull and not too bright in the color department...but hey, that's just reviewing the original source. Some episodes do look fairly sharp. I didn't notice any visible compression on any of the episodes. Audio is in 2.0 stereo, as originally aired, and pretty much makes use of both channels well enough. Dialogue is clear and volume is consistent. I didn't notice any problems with the audio at all.
As for episode lengths, despite it being a Paramount property, it's being released through Amazon's Burn-On-Demand feature, courtesy of CreateSpace, so don't worry about any "Some episodes may be edited..." nonsense that is typical of CBS Paramount releases. If you want to see consistency, the lengths are very consistent, depending of course. Take note, though, not all episodes have the intro intact, but I guess that has to do with the DVDs each being one long feature, broken down by chapter. I'm not a fan of this at all, but I guess the intro is there in some form, at least. You'll notice that the episodes with the intro are maybe a second or two apart, and the episodes without the intro are also a second or two apart from each other. Ending credits are intact on all episodes, and for the closing logo fans, the dark blue variant of the Jumbo Pictures logo and the Nickelodeon logo with the 1991 copyright year are both present. Episodes (with lengths) are as follows, per disc:
Disc 1:
1. Doug Bags A Neematoad (23:33)
2. Doug Can't Dance / Doug Gets Busted (23:31)
3. Doug's Dog's Date / Doug's Big Nose (22:46) *
4. Doug Takes a Hike / Doug Rocks (22:47) *
Disc 2:
5. Doug Can't Dig It / Doug Didn't Do It (23:31)
6. Doug, Mayor for a Day / Doug's No Dummy (23:33)
7. Doug to the Rescue / Doug's Cool Shoes (22:46) *
8. Doug Gets His Ears Lowered / Doug On The Wild Side (22:47) *
Disc 3:
9. Doug's Big Catch / Doug Needs Money (23:32)
10. Doug's Doodle / Doug's Runaway Journal (22:47) *
11. Doug's Cookin' / Doug Loses Dale (22:47) *
12. Doug is Quailman / Doug Out in Left Field (22:46) *
13. Doug's Fair Lady / Doug Says Goodbye (22:46) *
Note: * represents episodes with the intro missing.
Special Features:
In a perfect world, there'd be promos, behind the scenes, commentary, deleted scenes, and much, much more. Sadly, this isn't a perfect world. You're just getting the episodes here. Nothing more, nothing less.
Final Comments:
Despite lack of extras and very cheap-looking menus, Doug is finally out on DVD. The episodes are uncut (minus a few missing intros), and the quality on par with the original airings. If you are a fan of the show, Nickelodeon, or the 90's in general, buy this DVD (and season 2)! The show hasn't been on reruns in a while (at least, in the US), so there's one more reason to buy it. If you need one more reason, think of it like this: Paramount damn sure won't put it out on DVD themselves, after the Nick Rewind collection failed badly in sales, so this is the only chance it has of getting an official DVD release. I highly recommend it, and here's hoping seasons 3 and 4 are added to CreateSpace.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There's something funny about Funnie!, September 11, 2008
Douglas Yancy Funnie has no incredibly special qualities. He's not half-ghost. He doesn't have a pair of wacky fairy godparents (though he does have a dog who thinks he's practically human) at his beck and call. He doesn't live under the sea. He's just a normal 12-year-old boy going through normal, REAL things and writing (or drawing) about it in his journal. And we love him just the way he is. From adjusting to a new environment, to getting your crush to notice you, to working through low self-esteem, this middle-schooler charmed his way through every episode dealing with these issues.
Doug was Nickelodeon's very first Nicktoon (and you may be interested to know that his voice is provided by Billy West of Futurama fame). It's very cute and fun, and you can't leave feeling anything but good, no matter your mood when you started. But if you're looking for outrageous situations and computer slick animation, look elsewhere.
Now, for content. If you're expecting extras - cast interviews, photo gallery, TV commercials, etc. - don't. You won't find it. The menus are plain and to the point, your only options being to choose an episode or play all of them, and that's it. This is as bare as it gets. However, the video quality is very good and played fine on my DVD player and computer. Despite the price for something so minimal, it's definitely worth getting. If you consider yourself a fan and want to support the show, get it for sure. Send a message to Nickelodeon that we want more seasons released.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Doug - The Bare Essentials, March 16, 2009
You get the shows. Nothing more, nothing less, unless they don't burn correctly in which that case, you'll end up with less. :(
The quality of the picture and sound for the episodes is decent, but the menus are terrible. Half the time I have to restart my DVD player over and over again to be able to select the "Play All" feature because I know the episode selection never works. If you're a hardcore Nickelodeon freak from back in the day like I am, it'll be worth your money, just beware.
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