iCarly: iFight Shelby Marx

iFight Shelby Marx compiles two TV movies and two episodes (all originally airing in 2009) from the second and third seasons of Nickelodeon's iCarly. In the titular opener, teen webcast hostess Carly (Miranda Cosgrove) is informed by best friend Sam (Jennette McCurdy) that Shelby Marx (Victoria Justice) is “the best female fighter in the entire CFC” (a take-off on the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a mixed martial arts organization). When Carly jokes on her popular web show about beating Shelby in a fight, Shelby calls her bluff. Carly reluctantly agrees, and while misunderstandings heighten the tension between the two, the pair ultimately engage in a harmless exhibition match for charity. Other characters include Carly's goofball brother/guardian, Spence (Jerry Trainor), and pal/cameraman Freddie (Nathan Kress), who harbors a not-so-secret crush on Carly. In the other installments, Carly falls for a guy who isn't as bad as he seems (“iDate a Bad Boy”), sneaks out to watch a mixed martial arts contest (“iLook Alike”), and hands out awards with Sam for their favorite viewer videos (“iCarly Awards”). Cosgrove, McCurdy, and Kress are a likeable team, but iCarly tends to take most scenarios too far, especially those involving Spence's weird art projects, while the gross-out humor comes as a surprise in a show aimed at ‘tween girls. On the other hand, the show-within-a-show viewer-generated content for Carly's webcast does set this popular series apart. DVD extras include behind-the-scenes footage. A strong optional selection. [Note: iCarly: iSaved Your Life is also newly available.] (K. Fennessy)