In a prescient essay that Donny Osmond wrote for Time magazine about Miley Cyrus (one of the magazine's “2008 Time 100” most influential people), the former teen idol noted that Cyrus “is riding a huge tidal wave at the pinnacle of her career; this is as it should be. I hope she enjoys it. I guarantee there will be many bumps in the road ahead….Within three to five years, Miley will have to face adulthood. Fans grow up, and their youthful interests quickly dissolve. Her challenge will be overcoming the Hannah Montana stereotype.” The first season of her Disney Channel series is Cyrus' A Hard Day's Night, a time capsule capture of the first burst of Miley-mania, in which she stars as typical high school “dork” Miley Stewart, who leads an extraordinary double life as the fabulous, wildly popular pop star Hannah Montana, recently transplanted from Tennessee to posh Malibu. Hannah Montana combines tried and true themes of other Disney ‘tween sitcoms: misfit empowerment, fantasy fulfillment, coming-of-age, and lesson-learning misadventures. Miley is admirably well grounded, while Lilly (Emily Osment, a natural talent who deserves her own show) is the very model of a faithful best friend. Teachers and adults are unfortunately often portrayed as clueless buffoons, but at least Miley's father (played by her real-life dad, country star Billy Ray) is a rock-solid voice of reason, even if some of his southern-fried adages are indecipherable. Painfully ham-fisted Disney Channel acting is in effect, but the writing can be clever, and the songs are now Cyrus standards. While many of the 26 episodes from the 2006-07 first season have already been released on other Disney compilations, fans of the series will appreciate seeing them all in chronological order. DVD extras include pop-up trivia tracks on several episodes, a brief featurette in which Miley and her father return to the Cyrus family farm, and an episode of Disney Channel Games 2008. Sure to be popular, this is recommended. (D. Liebenson)
Hannah Montana: The Complete First Season
Walt Disney, 4 discs, 588 min., TV-G, DVD: $39.99 January 19, 2009
Hannah Montana: The Complete First Season
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