Victorious: Season One, Volume One

Nickelodeon's Victorious stars Victoria Justice as Tori Vega, who attends the elite Hollywood Arts High School with her less talented sister Trina (Daniella Monet). The girls, who sing and dance, take classes in improv and stage fighting, while also performing in school plays and talent shows. On her first day at school, Tori gains a friend in the childlike Cat (Ariana Grande) and an enemy in the cynical Jade (Elizabeth Gillies), who doesn't appreciate the way her boyfriend Beck (Avan Jogia) ogles the new student. Other characters include André (Leon Thomas III), a gifted songwriter; Robbie (Matt Bennett), a lovably quirky ventriloquist; and Mr. Sikowitz (Eric Lange), the batty acting teacher. Whereas creator Dan Schneider's iCarly revolves around a web series, Tori uses the website TheSlap.com and the Twitter-like service Twit-Flash for her social-networking needs. Consequently, the series plays like a cross between iCarly and Fame, but it isn't quite as good as either. The humor skews towards the juvenile when Tori has to scrape food off the cafeteria walls, or Robbie dreams that his dummy Rex turns into a giant who douses him with snot. As with most Nickelodeon shows, the central character looks preternaturally mature; ‘tween girls don't seem to care, although parents may feel otherwise about Justice's short-shorts. Compiling the first 10 episodes of the 2010 debut season, DVD extras include an extended pilot, music videos, and promo spots. Optional. (K. Fennessy)