High school is a time of self-discovery and personal growth, but the experience is usually fraught with awkwardness, insecurity, bullying, and wildly conflicting emotions. Whether things are different at a prestigious performing arts high school is something Tori (Victoria Justice) is about to find out. After filling in for her sister in a big arts showcase performance at the prestigious Hollywood Performing Arts School, Tori is asked to join the student body. Feeling unsure and distinctly out of place, she makes the switch to the new school and soon encounters some very unique individuals, including talented musician Andre (Leon Thomas III), vacant and perhaps even bipolar Cat (Ariana Grande), good-looking actor and budding playwright Beck (Avan Jogia), awkward ventriloquist Robbie (Matt Bennett) and his puppet Rex (voiced by Jake Farrow), and the broodingly violent Jade (Elizabeth Gillies). The group become friends, though there's a definite love-hate relationship that tends mostly toward hate between Jade and Tori, and together they make their way through the trials and tribulations of high school and growing up. While their days at Hollywood Arts are an atypical mix of acting classes, stage fighting, film production, and live stage performances, Tori and the other students will definitely fulfill the universal, if unwritten high school requirement for interpersonal drama. Created by iCarly creator Dan Schneider, Victorious capitalizes on every tween's and teen's dream of becoming a star and their accompanying fear of being laughed at and bullied by their fellow students. While the acting is at times overdone and the script can feel forced, Victoria Justice and the rest of the cast are talented individuals who work well together and have effectively captivated the program's target tween and teen girl audience. The five episodes in this first volume of the first season are presented in production order--which is not how they originally aired on Nickelodeon, but that's basically irrelevant plot-wise. The bonus features are decidedly skimpy, with just two roughly 40-second commercial spots, "Meet Tori Vegas" and "Meet the Cast," and the music videos "Freak the Freakout" and "Beggin' on Your Knees." --Tami Horiuchi