Welcome! It’s the third issue of the new EyeCraveTVonDVD column, a weekly feature to wrap up the news, rumors, gossip, changes, release dates, and more on your favorite television show DVD releases. This week, find out about all the animation and cartoon (for kids and those grown up inner-children!) releases coming your way – read on for all the crave-ables you need for the week! Cartoons are the craze, and just take a look at the success of The Simpsons (now in its 17th season) and The Family Guy (revived from cancellation by DVD sales) for your proof. The Simpsons does so well on DVD, that aside from season sets, fans can look into themed releases that coincide with holidays, with this week’s release The Simpsons: Kiss & Tell collecting episodes of love for Valentine’s Day.Cartoons are not just for children anymore, and in fact some may not even be for children at all (take a look at South Park for instance). The Cartoon Network’s biggest success is “Adult Swim,” a late night chunk of adult cartoons that are explicit, hilarious, and insanely popular with all age ranges.Now let’s get on with the crave-ables. This week’s releases feature some of the most recent action-cartoons based on comic book superheroes that have received immense amounts of critical praise (for cartoons). The Batman and The Teen Titans both get a first season release this week (the latter a follow up to the single volumes that had been released previously). Bonus features on these popular shows include featurettes, console games, music videos, and other short ‘toons. The sets fans have been waiting for, The Justice League and Batman Beyond, will join the DC superhero DVDs in March with commentaries and featurettes included on the season one releases.Superhero fans have also been hearing the rumor mill grinding for Marvel’s upcoming superhero releases. The Ultimate Avengers, a straight-to-DVD feature based on the comic line, will street in late February, and will feature some documentaries and a console game. Fans of X-Men: Evolution will get a full third season release in late Spring to tie with the third movie from the franchise. This will be a pleasant surprise to collectors who have eight single volume DVDs from the first two seasons. No word on re-released season sets of earlier seasons or the long anticipated and oddly MIA 1990s X-Men: The Animated Series.Moving a little further back in time, The Flintstones continues with season five in March and the Thundercats get their volume two release in April. Part superhero, part 1980s cult phenomenon, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe will continue its finely tuned DVD releases with season one, volume two next week. The set will feature art postcards, a documentary, a convention panel, profiles, commercials, trivia, storyboard comparisons, and episode scripts. And if that isn’t enough to tide you over, the rest of the series is expected to finish by the end of 2006, with The New Adventures of He-Man (the early 1990s galactic follow up) expected in the Fall. The company that puts these sets out (BCI) has recently acquired the entire Filmation library, and plans to bring He-Man’s sister She-Ra: Princess of Power to DVD in July, with a release of “The Secret of the Sword,” the pilot movie that started that series. No word on special features or if the release will include the edited movie version or the extended episodic version (consisting of five episodes). Amongst their plethora of other animated acquisitions which will apparently lead to 27 future DVD releases, are Ghostbusters, Groovie Goolies, and Brave-starr.Disney fans can’t feel left out of the news either, as Goof Troop and Quack Pack both have their first volume releases later this month. Darkwing Duck’s first season will finally make it out onto DVD in 2006. No word yet on Talespin or second volume releases of Duck Tales and Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers.Adult animation fans can begin to expand their library very soon, as little known shorts such as Showtime’s Queer Duck (due later in the year) start to make their way onto set releases. South Park continues its raunchy releases in March with season seven, with no word on extras there yet. Adult Swim shows are also making the rounds, albeit slowly, as Seth Green’s brainchild Robot Chicken hits in March with no word on extras. Also no word on the remaining releases of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, Space Ghost, or the newest hit The Boondocks. American Dad, the second show from the creators of The Family Guy, streets in April with commentaries, featurettes, table read footage, and deleted scenes.Tune in to EyeCraveTVonDVD next week for a full wrap up of the latest news and a feature on the conundrum of television set re-releases, as well as rumors, scoop, and the latest crave-ables!Television shows that released on DVD this week include:The Batman Season 1Emergency! Season 2Growing Pains Season 1Moonlighting Season 3Poltergeist: The Legacy Season 1Sex and the City Essentials (Four Releases)The Simpsons Kiss & TellTeen Titans Season 1Touched By An Angel Season 3 Volume 1
