All Rise...

Judge David Johnson had a great day. It was a super way. To spend some time together.

Editor's Note

Our reviews of The Fresh Beat Band: Season Two (published April 21st, 2012) and The Fresh Beat Band: The Wizard of Song (published August 14th, 2012) are also available.

The Charge

It goes a little something like this…

The Case

As I sit here on a breezy, unseasonably warm April night in New England, contemplating what to write about the Season One DVD release of Nickelodeon's The Fresh Beat Band, my mind wanders. I'm drowsy. I blame the leftover Easter chocolate bunny I just devoured like an emaciated jaguar at a Golden Corral.

Thankfully, it's not difficult to write about this series. This has been our savior, rescuing my wife and I from the unending cycle of Yo Gabba Gabba! Our toddler cannot get enough of The Fresh Beat Band and, truthfully, I don't even mind firing it up and watching it with her. Four hopelessly happy, deliriously peppy twenty-somethings in pastel outfits bound around and every five minutes or so belt out songs I sheepishly confess to as being catchy. There are far worse things for my daughter to gravitate to, and they star with "D" and end in "ora."

Shout on keyboards, Kiki on guitar, Marina on drums, and Twist on the turntables (though I rarely hear much scratching in the songs), engaging in such hard-hitting plot lines as dealing with Shout's crazy "loco legs," solving a temporary power outage with glow sticks, swapping out tap shoes with quacking duck slippers, and singing/rapping about the glories of smoothies.

How much do I not dislike this show? My wife and I just dropped more money than I'd care to admit on tickets to The Fresh Beat Band live show in September. My child's first concert experience will involve four young adults with blisteringly white teeth and a penchant for sporadically breaking into tightly choreographed dance moves singing about their love of bananas.

The Fresh Beat Band: Season One provides twenty episodes on four discs, shockingly infectious and utterly devoid of an even a shred of cynicism. All transmitted in standard definition full frame video, Dolby 2.0 stereo audio, and four music videos as extras. Really, it's just…just…

"Just wake up already! It's time to go to Music School!"

My eyes snap open. Where am I? Why am in bed? I was just at my desk, writing a review on --

"We're going to be late!" Four high-pitched voices, emanating from four beaming faces, looking down on me.

-- The Fresh Beat Band???

To be continued in the review of The Fresh Beat Band: Season 2.

The Verdict

Not Guilty!!!

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Did we give The Fresh Beat Band: Season One a fair trial? yes / no

What's "fair"? Whether positive or negative, our reviews should be unbiased, informative, and critique the material on its own merits.

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