Hannah Montana - Pop Star Profile

Okay, I know I said a while back that I was going to have this review (or the Star Trek review) completed pretty quickly, and that was at least two weeks ago, but it seems like I've taken a bit of a step back for a while. (That and a top-secret project or two that I'm working on, not to mention home, family, work, etc. took center stage.) I guess you can chalk it up to that chronic thing we all suffer from that's called attention-deficit lazy butt disorder. Hopefully this won't last too much longer!

I have to tip my hat to my 11-year-old stepdaughter for getting me into this Disney Channel original series called "Hannah Montana", which has now become one of the really hot properties on Disney today. Even my younger daughter, who's only two, likes to watch the show - go figure! For those of you who have obviously lived under a rock over the past year or so, "Hannah Montana" chronicles the comic mishaps of Miley Stewart (played by Miley Cyrus), who leads a double life of middle school student by day and tween pop star Hannah Montana by night, all with a change of clothes, makeup, and hair to keep her true identity a secret. Miley is aided, abetted, and often annoyed by her best buds Lilly (Emily Osment) and Oliver (Mitchell Musso), her older brother Jackson (Jason Earles), and her father/manager Robby (Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley's real-life father), who do all they can to maintain her dual identity a secret. And you thought Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne had it bad!

In "Pop Star Profile", the second compilation of episodes from the popular series, Miley's life is turned upside down when Jake Ryan (Cody Linley), teen heartthrob and star of "Zombie High", starts going to her school. In the first segment "New Kid in School", everyone in the school falls all over him, the teachers give him extra perks that other students aren't allowed, and even Tony the janitor gives him his own customized locker - all at Miley's expense and overall annoyance at his self-aggrandizing ego, which turns her off. And when an air-headed tabloid reporter milks Jake's life at school for all it's worth, Miley threatens to reveal her secret identity of Hannah Montana to the world. Of course, guess who steps in to save the day but dear old Dad, who's got enough troubles of his own at keeping the new love in his life - his brand new car, no less! - clean and out of the hands of his teenage son.

In "More Than a Zombie to Me", Miley finds herself torn between fighting off any feelings for Jake when she repeatedly turns him down to go to the school dance with him, competing with Lilly over Jake, and giving in when, as Hannah Montana, she does a guest turn on "Zombie High". Meanwhile, Robby and Jackson go to war against each other to see who is the king of practical jokes. In "Good Golly, Miss Dolly", Miley's godmother (Dolly Parton) tries to get back a camcorder tape of Miley opening up and revealing to her that, despite his ego, she's falling for Jake. Finally, in "People Who Use People", when Miley spots Jake with another girl, she uses a younger boy to prove how much she doesn't like Jake, which of course backfires, while Jackson tries to play matchmaker by fixing Robby up with his science teacher just so he can a good grade in her class.

I've got to admit, I'm really growing to like "Hannah Montana" a lot. It's a half-hour of good, clean fun with lots of laughs and plenty of love in the family. As a father, I have to give kudos to the Cyrus family, especially Billy Ray and Miley. Any father who would allow his teenage daughter to star in her own series would have to know what kind of content it presents and approve (or disapprove) of such content presented on screen. Furthermore, it's also wonderful to see a father like Billy Ray Cyrus want to star in a series with his own daughter. That speaks volumes of his commitment to his family and also his personal walk. (Of course, he even takes a hilarious tongue-in-cheek potshot at his "Achy Breaky Heart" beginnings in "New Kind in School" - complete with a faux wig of his hair from the early 90's! - to show that he's not afraid to laugh at his own roots, which shows how far he's come from being seen as a one-hit wonder.)

All four episodes on "Pop Star Profile" are presented on a single dual-layered disc in their original broadcast aspect ratio and in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, with optional English subtitles and closed captions. For a current series like "Hannah Montana", it's good to see this series get a 5.1 track, given its pop-inspired score. You have the option of viewing each episode individually or in a "play all" block.

As for extras, there are only two bonus features included on this disc. The first is a Hannah Montana concert performance of "Nobody's Perfect" (3:31), which was previously featured on the DVD portion of the first two-disc soundtrack release, also presented in 5.1 sound. The other is a brief behind-the-scenes featurette entitled "Backstage with the Real Miley Cyrus" (5:24), in which she talks about working on the series with her father and co-stars and having as normal a life as possible while juggling acting and music. For some reason this featurette is presented in Dolby 2.0 sound, which is baffling, considered that everything else is in 5.1 sound.

The disc is rounded out with a series of DVD and theatrical preview trailers for "Meet the Robinsons", "Bridge to Terabithia", "Peter Pan: Return to Neverland", the highly-anticipated upcoming TV movie "High School Musical 2", "High School Musical Concert - Extreme Access Pass", the "Superman"-inspired theatrical release "Underdog", the "Jungle Book" 40th anniversary Platinum Edition DVD, "Return to Halloweentown", "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody", and a Disney Movie Rewards spot, all of which can be viewed prior to the start of the program or in its own separate trailer gallery. The good thing about this DVD is that you have the option of skipping over the trailers and heading straight for the main menu without having to worry about forced trailers.

If I have one issue to pic, it's that for some reason Disney tends to release some of its TV series in these individual volumes. While the family-friendly affordability is good, many other series (including numerous other Disney-released titles shown on other networks) go the way of full-season or -series sets. It's a shame that Disney hasn't fully jumped on the full-season bandwagon with "Hannah Montana" and other numerous Disney Channel series. They really should.

It's no surprise that the third volume, "Life's What You Make It", is coming in October. That'll certainly appease all of the tweeners in your family - I know it will mine. So if you're a fan of this series, chances are this and future volumes will make its way into your family's DVD collection. What else can I say?

Okay, next time I promise that it'll be that long-awaited "Star Trek" review. Maybe by then I'll be completely over this chronic attention-deficit lazy butt disorder thing. See you again soon!