When you think about the giants amongst television show producers which names come to mind? Norman Lear? Aaron Spelling? David E. Kelley? J.J. Abrams? How about Dan Schneider? Name doesn't ring a bell? Well, if you know any tweens, then they know his work. As the driving force behind the Nickelodeon shows Drake and Josh and iCarly, amongst others, Schneider has brought the traditional sitcom to a younger audience. (Of course, to my generation, this former actor will always be the big guy from Head of the Class or, even better, Ricky Smith from Better Off Dead.) Schneider's latest creation is another sitcom, Victorious.

Victorious introduces us to Tori Vega (Victoria Justice), a seemingly normal (more on that later) high school student. Tori's conceited sister, Trina (Daniella Monet) attends Hollywood Arts. When Trina can't perform in a school show, Tori, who has heard Trina rehearse so much that she's memorized the song, fills in and she's so good that she's invited to attend the school. She quickly makes friends with Andre (Leon Thomas III), Cat (Ariana Grande), and Robbie (Matt Bennett). She also shares classes with Beck (Avan Jogia) and his malevolent girlfriend, Jade (Elizabeth Gillies). Tori initially feels out of place at this special school, but with the help of her friends, she quickly begins to fit in. However, she must still contend with Trina's self-centeredness and Jade's jealousy.

Taking cues from Schneider's enormously successful iCarly, Victorious has become a hit as well, thus, I was surprised by how lackluster the show is. First of all, it's one of the most underwritten things that I've ever seen. In the pilot, we meet Tori and we're given no background information on who she is, where she currently goes to school, or what her life is like. Suddenly, due to Trina's illness, Tori is whisked away to the performing arts school. It's made very clear that Trina has no talent, but we're never told how she's allowed to be a student at the school. Tori makes friends, but other than Andre, who is a musician, we never get a handle on what the other students are good at. Most of the action takes place at the school, but when we see Tori and Trina at home -- in their large house -- their parents are never around. Just as with Tori, we learn very little about the other characters. The only adult prominently featured on the show is the drama teacher, Mr. Sikowitz (Eric Lange), who is portrayed as irresponsible.

Victorious is supposed to be a comedy, but it simply isn't funny. The jokes typically fall into the lowest common denominator category and are often painfully obvious. By way of comparison, iCarly isn't necessarily a laugh riot, but it can be clever at times, especially when Spencer gets crazy. There isn't a funny character on Victorious. Cat's dim-witted act is hackneyed and Robbie's smart-mouth puppet is annoying and doesn't hold a candle to Arrested Development's Franklin. The show is also surprisingly mean-spirited. No, high school isn't always the nicest place, but Victorious often goes to far with situations in which the characters put each other down, especially Jade, the "mean girl" who has to expose her soft side every few episodes. Something which struck me early on was the overall amateurish feel of the show which, given that Schneider is a TV veteran, is unexpected. Many scenes have the feel of watching a high-school play, with the blocking, acting, and camerawork.

Victorious: Season One, Volume One made me rethink any affection that I'd felt towards ventriloquism on DVD courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment. The two-disc set contains ten episodes from the show's first season. (However, according to episode guides found online, these aren't the first ten episodes. These are ten random episodes from the show's 19-episode first season.) Even stranger than that, the shows are letterboxed at 1.85:1, but the transfer is not anamorphic. My cable system doesn't provide an HD Nickelodeon channel, so I don't know if the show is broadcast 16 x 9, but this letterboxing is just weird, especially for a kid's show. The image is sharp and clear, showing no defects from the source material and no grain. The show appears to be shot on video, as the image is crisp and the colors look good. The image is never overly dark or bright. The DVD offers a Dolby Digital stereo audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The actors are always intelligible and the music doesn't drown out the dialogue. But, given the fact that the show contains some musical numbers, one would think that they would have wanted something better than simple stereo.

The Victorious: Season One, Volume One DVD contains only a few extras. "Meet Tori Vega" (33 seconds) has Justice describing her character. "Meet the Cast" (45 seconds) offers very brief comments from each of the main actors. The extras are rounded out by MUSIC VIDEOS for the songs "Freak the Freak Out" and "Beggin' on Your Knees" performed by Victoria Justice and the cast.