Teen Titans is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics series of the same name by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani. Developed by Glen Murakami, Sam Register, and David Slack for Cartoon Network and Kids' WB. The series was produced by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation with Sander Schwartz serving as executive producer and Glen Murakami, Bruce Timm, and Linda M. Steiner signing on as producers. The series follows the adventures of a team of crime-fighting teenaged superheroes, consisting of the leader Robin (Scott Menville), foreign alien princess Starfire (Hynden Walch), the technological genius Cyborg (Khary Payton), the dark sorceress Raven (Tara Strong), and the green shapeshifter Beast Boy (Greg Cipes).
Inspired by the success of the DC Comics based series Justice League, the series was created in a semi-serialized format, utilizing anime styles and mixing it with American style animation. The show was greenlit in September 2002 and began airing on Cartoon Network on July 19, 2003, and on Kids' WB on November 1.[1][2][3] The series lasted five seasons, each consisting of 13 episodes, with the 65th and final episode airing on January 16, 2006. The series was concluded with a television movie titled Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo on September 15 the same year. Each season has a story arc revolving around a main character: Robin (season one), Terra (season two), Cyborg (season three), Raven (season four), and Beast Boy (season five).[4] The series's alternative network, Kids' WB, aired two seasons of the show. All five seasons of the series were released on DVD, starting with the first season on February 7, 2006, and ending with the fifth season on July 22, 2008. All seasons were also released on Blu-ray Disc, with the first season released on January 23, 2018, and a complete series box-set released on December 3, 2019.[5][6]
Teen Titans has been critically acclaimed for its strong storylines and for its use of anime influences.[7][8] The first season garnered strong ratings for Cartoon Network; the network had initially ordered 52 episodes of the series.[9] The series was also nominated for 3 Annie Awards.[10]
Series overview edit
Each season contains a distinct story arc that is centered on a specific Titan on the team. Starfire is the only individual member who was part of the original roster to not have a season focused on her.
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Season-centric Titan(s)[4] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 13 | July 19, 2003 | November 11, 2003 | Robin | |
| 2 | 13 | January 10, 2004 | August 21, 2004 | Terra | |
| 3 | 13 | August 28, 2004 | January 22, 2005 | Cyborg | |
| Special | January 3, 2005 | — | |||
| 4 | 13 | January 29, 2005 | July 16, 2005 | Raven | |
| 5 | 13 | September 24, 2005 | January 16, 2006 | Beast Boy | |
| Movie | September 15, 2006 | — | |||
| Crossover | September 24, 2019 | — | |||
Episodes edit
Season 1 (2003) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Final Exam" | Michael Chang | Rob Hoegee | July 19, 2003 | 385-903 |
| 2 | 2 | "Sisters" | Alex Soto | Amy Wolfram | July 26, 2003 | 385-902 |
| 3 | 3 | "Divide and Conquer" | Ciro Nieli | David Slack | August 2, 2003 | 385-901 |
| 4 | 4 | "Forces of Nature" | Ciro Nieli | Adam Beechen | August 16, 2003 | 385-904 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Sum of His Parts" | Alex Soto | David Slack | August 23, 2003 | 385-905 |
| 6 | 6 | "Nevermore" | Michael Chang | Greg Klein & Tom Pugsley | August 30, 2003 | 385-906 |
| 7 | 7 | "Switched" | Ciro Nieli | Rick Copp | September 6, 2003 | 385-907 |
| 8 | 8 | "Deep Six" | Alex Soto | Marv Wolfman | September 13, 2003 | 385-908 |
| 9 | 9 | "Masks" | Michael Chang | Greg Klein & Tom Pugsley | September 20, 2003 | 385-909 |
| 10 | 10 | "Mad Mod" | Ciro Nieli | Adam Beechen | September 27, 2003 | 385-910 |
| 11 | 11 | "Apprentice" | Michael Chang | Rob Hoegee | October 4, 2003 | 385-912 |
| 12 | 12 | Ciro Nieli | David Slack | October 11, 2003 | 385-913 | |
| 13 | 13 | "Car Trouble" | Alex Soto | Amy Wolfram | November 11, 2003 | 385-911 |
Season 2 (2004) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "How Long Is Forever?" | Alex Soto | David Slack | January 10, 2004 | 257-321 |
| 15 | 2 | "Every Dog Has His Day" | Michael Chang | Rob Hoegee | January 17, 2004 | 257-322 |
| 16 | 3 | "Terra" | Ciro Nieli | Amy Wolfram | January 24, 2004 | 257-323 |
| 17 | 4 | "Only Human" | Alex Soto | Adam Beechen | January 31, 2004 | 257-324 |
| 18 | 5 | "Fear Itself" | Michael Chang | Dwayne McDuffie | February 7, 2004 | 257-325 |
| 19 | 6 | "Date with Destiny" | Ciro Nieli | Rick Copp | February 14, 2004 | 257-326 |
| 20 | 7 | "Transformation" | Alex Soto | Rob Hoegee | February 21, 2004 | 257-327 |
| 21 | 8 | "Titan Rising" | Michael Chang | Amy Wolfram | February 28, 2004 | 257-328 |
| 22 | 9 | "Winner Take All" | Ciro Nieli | Dwayne McDuffie | March 6, 2004 | 257-329 |
| 23 | 10 | "Betrayal" | Alex Soto | Amy Wolfram | July 31, 2004 | 257-330 |
| 24 | 11 | "Fractured" | Michael Chang | David Slack | August 7, 2004 | 257-331 |
| 25 | 12 | "Aftershock" | Ciro Nieli | David Slack | August 14, 2004 | 257-332 |
| 26 | 13 | Alex Soto | Amy Wolfram | August 21, 2004 | 257-333 | |
Season 3 (2004–05) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "Deception" | Michael Chang | Rob Hoegee | August 28, 2004 | 257–481 | 0.86[11] |
| 28 | 2 | "X" | Ben Jones | David Slack | September 4, 2004 | 257–482 | N/A |
| 29 | 3 | "Betrothed" | Alex Soto | Amy Wolfram | September 11, 2004 | 257–483 | N/A |
| 30 | 4 | "Crash" | Michael Chang | Rick Copp | September 18, 2004 | 257–484 | 1.68[12] |
| 31 | 5 | "Haunted" | Ben Jones | Adam Beechen | October 2, 2004 | 257–485 | N/A |
| 32 | 6 | "Spellbound" | Alex Soto | David Slack | October 9, 2004 | 257–486 | N/A |
| 33 | 7 | "Revolution" | Michael Chang | John Esposito | October 16, 2004 | 257–487 | N/A |
| 34 | 8 | "Wavelength" | Ben Jones | Greg Klein & Thomas Pugsley | October 23, 2004 | 257–488 | N/A |
| 35 | 9 | "The Beast Within" | Alex Soto | David Slack | October 30, 2004 | 257–489 | N/A |
| 36 | 10 | "Can I Keep Him?" | Christopher Berkeley & Michael Chang | Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | November 6, 2004 | 257–490 | 1.20[13] |
| 37 | 11 | "Bunny Raven... or... How to Make a Titananimal Disappear" | Ben Jones | Louis Hirshorn & Joelle Sellner | January 8, 2005 | 257–491 | N/A |
| 38 | 12 | "Titans East" | Alex Soto | Marv Wolfman | January 15, 2005 | 257–492 | N/A |
| 39 | 13 | Michael Chang | David Slack | January 22, 2005 | 257–493 | 2.14[14] | |
Season 4 (2005) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1 | "Don't Touch That Dial" | Ben Jones | David Slack | January 29, 2005 | 257–494 | 1.36[15] |
| 41 | 2 | "The Quest" | Ben Jones | Amy Wolfram | February 5, 2005 | 257–495 | 1.73[16] |
| 42 | 3 | "Birthmark" | Michael Chang | David Slack | February 12, 2005 | 257–496 | N/A |
| 43 | 4 | "Cyborg the Barbarian" | Alex Soto | Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | February 19, 2005 | 257–497 | 0.90[17] |
| 44 | 5 | "Employee of the Month" | Alex Soto | Rob Hoegee | May 21, 2005 | 257–498 | N/A |
| 45 | 6 | "Troq" | Michael Chang | Amy Wolfram | May 28, 2005 | 257–499 | 0.94[18] |
| 46 | 7 | "The Prophecy" | Ben Jones | Greg Klein & Tom Pugsley | June 4, 2005 | 257–500 | 1.05[19] |
| 47 | 8 | "Stranded" | Alex Soto | Melody Fox | June 11, 2005 | 257–501 | N/A |
| 48 | 9 | "Overdrive" | Michael Chang | David Slack | June 18, 2005 | 257–502 | N/A |
| 49 | 10 | "Mother Mae-Eye" | Ben Jones | David Slack | June 25, 2005 | 257–503 | 1.23[20] |
| 50 | 11 | "The End" | Alex Soto | Amy Wolfram | July 2, 2005 | 257–504 | 1.41[21] |
| 51 | 12 | Michael Chang | Rob Hoegee | July 9, 2005 | 257–505 | 1.02[15] | |
| 52 | 13 | Ben Jones | David Slack | July 16, 2005 | 257–506 | 1.36[15] | |
Season 5 (2005–06) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 1 | "Homecoming" | Michael Chang | Rob Hoegee | September 24, 2005 | 257-507 |
| 54 | 2 | Ben Jones | Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | October 1, 2005 | 257-508 | |
| 55 | 3 | "Trust" | Matt Youngberg | Amy Wolfram | October 8, 2005 | 257-509 |
| 56 | 4 | "For Real" | Michael Chang | Melody Fox | October 15, 2005 | 257-510 |
| 57 | 5 | "Snowblind" | Ben Jones | Rob Hoegee | October 29, 2005 | 257-511 |
| 58 | 6 | "Kole" | Matt Youngberg | Amy Wolfram | November 5, 2005 | 257-512 |
| 59 | 7 | "Hide and Seek" | Michael Chang | Amy Wolfram | November 12, 2005 | 257-513 |
| 60 | 8 | "Lightspeed" | Ben Jones | Rob Hoegee, George Pérez & Marv Wolfman | December 3, 2005 | 257-514 |
| 61 | 9 | "Revved Up" | Matt Youngberg | John Esposito | December 10, 2005 | 257-515 |
| 62 | 10 | "Go!" | Michael Chang | David Slack | December 17, 2005 | 257-516 |
| 63 | 11 | "Calling All Titans" | Ben Jones | Amy Wolfram | January 7, 2006 | 257-517 |
| 64 | 12 | "Titans Together" | Matt Youngberg | Rob Hoegee | January 14, 2006 | 257-518 |
| 65 | 13 | "Things Change" | Michael Chang | Amy Wolfram | January 16, 2006 | 257-519 |
Specials edit
Special episode (2005) edit
| Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Lost Episode" | Matt Youngberg | Rick Copp | January 10, 2005 (online) February 6, 2007 (DVD) | |
|
A new villain called Punk Rocket sets off shock waves playing loud music on his guitar, which releases destructive sonic waves, and wants to spread "The Sound of Chaos". Villain(s): Punk Rocket, H.I.V.E Headmistress (cameo at concert), Mad Mod (cameo at concert), Wintergreen (cameo at concert), Amazing Mumbo (human form; cameo at concert) | ||||
Television film (2006) edit
| Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo | Michael Chang, Ben Jones & Matt Youngberg | David Slack | September 15, 2006 |
Crossover film (2019) edit
| Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans | Jeff Mednikow | Marly Halpern-Graser & Jeremy Adams | September 24, 2019 (Digital) October 15, 2019 (DVD) |
Home media edit
From September 28, 2004, to September 20, 2005, Warner Brothers released three volumes (the entire first season and the first six-season two episodes) of the series, but cancelled other volumes. From February 7, 2006, to July 22, 2008, Warner released complete season releases on two-disc sets. On October 2, 2018, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released the complete series box set on the seven-disc set, and on Blu-ray on December 3, 2019.
| Season | Episodes | Release date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | ||||
| 1 | 2003 | 13 | Volume 1: Divide and Conquer: September 28, 2004 Episode(s): "The final exam" – "Nevermore" Volume 2: Switched: April 12, 2005 Episode(s): "Switched" – "Car Trouble" The Complete First Season: February 7, 2006; October 2, 2018 (complete series re-release); January 23, 2018; December 3, 2019 (Blu-ray release) | |
| 2 | 2004 | 13 | Volume 3: Fear Itself: September 20, 2005 Episode(s): "How Long Is Forever?" – "Date with Destiny" The Complete Second Season: September 12, 2006; October 2, 2018 (complete series re-release); December 3, 2019 (Blu-ray release) | |
| 3 | 2004–05 | 13 | April 10, 2007; October 2, 2018 (complete series re-release) December 3, 2019 (Blu-ray release) | |
| 4 | 2005 | 13 | November 20, 2007; October 2, 2018 (complete series re-release) December 3, 2019 (Blu-ray release) | |
| 5 | 2005–06 | 13 | July 8, 2008; October 2, 2018 (complete series re-release) December 3, 2019 (Blu-ray release) | |
| Specials | 2006–07 | 2 | Trouble in Tokyo + "The Lost Episode": February 6, 2007; December 3, 2019 (Blu-ray release) | |
References edit
- ^ Godfrey, Leigh (September 30, 2002). "New Superhero Series Greenlit For Cartoon Network And Kids' WB!". Animation World Network. AWN, Inc.
- ^ DeMott, Rick (July 22, 2003). "Teen Titans Premiere Sets Cartoon Net Records". Animation World Network. AWN, Inc. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ Baisley, Sarah (October 31, 2003). "Xiaolin Showdown Premieres On New Kids' WB! Sked". Animation World Network. AWN, Inc. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Five Seasons of Murakanime - Titanstower.com". Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- ^ Lussier, Germain (21 December 2017). "Fans Can Finally Own a Great Version of the Original Teen Titans Series". io9. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ "TEEN TITANS complete series Blu-ray collection announced". 14 November 2019.
- ^ McEntire, Mac (October 25, 2006). "Teen Titans: The Complete Second Season". DVD Verdict. Verdict Partners, LLC. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ Cornelius, David (February 7, 2006). "Teen Titans - The Complete First Season". DVD Talk. Internet Brands. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ Strike, Joe (November 24, 2003). "What Makes a Hit a Hit?". Animation World Network. AWN, Inc. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
- ^ "Teen Titans - Awards". Internet Movie Database. Amazon.com. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ http://ftp.futoncritic.com/ratings/2004/08/31/cartoon-network-charts-best-month-best-summer-ever-in-kids-boys-total-day-ratings-delivery-16820/20040831cartoon01/
- ^ "Latest Toonami Ratings". September 28, 2004.
- ^ "Nice new Toonami ratings!". January 5, 2005.
- ^ "Cartoon Network Ratings Report for 1/17 to 1/23". January 25, 2005.
- ^ a b c "Toonami Ratings Press Release".
- ^ Vasquez, Diego (February 4, 2005). "Ashlee Simpson, queen of teens. Not". Media Life Magazine. Media Life. Archived from the original on August 31, 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ "Ratings - Monday-Sunday Miguzi Leads Delivery, Ratings Growth at Cartoon Network". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ "Ratings - Cartoon Network Sets New May Record for Highest Kids' Total Day Delivery, Ratings in Network History with Kids 6-11, Kids 2-11 and Tweens 9-14". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ "Juniper Lee Debut in Fridays Wins 9 P.M. Kids 6-11 Demos on All TV" (Press release). The Futon Critic. June 7, 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ "Toonami Ratings - 2nd Quarter 2005".
- ^ "Originals Teen Titans and the Life & Times of Juniper Lee Earn Triple-Digit Gains Among Target Audiences for Cartoon Network" (Press release). The Futon Critic. July 6, 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
External links edit
- Teen Titans at IMDb
- Teen Titans[dead link] at the Big Cartoon DataBase