It's A Fact - The Kids in the Hall Complete Second Season is on DVD!
Written: Aug 11 '04 (Updated Aug 11 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: All 22 episodes from Season 2 in their original, uncut form
Cons: The extras are nice, but I want more!
The Bottom Line: Fabulous sketch comedy. All of the 2nd season uncut and uncensored. You NEED this set!
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| mizgnomer's Full Review: The Kids in the Hall - The Complete Second Season |
I've always been a big fan of sketch comedy, and The Kids in the Hall remain at the top of my list of favorite sketch comedy troupes. With their "screw authority" mentality and off-the-wall humor they gave me hours of escapism and laughs back when I really needed them. As a college kid who didn't make enough money to afford HBO, I had to watch the 5 year run of their sketch comedy show cut-up and censored on channels like Comedy Central and CBS. Broadway Video and A&E came to my rescue last year when they offered The Kids in the Hall - The Complete First Season on DVD, and due to its popularity they have just released the second season (a season that improved upon the already hysterical first one)!
Who are The Kids in the Hall?
The Kids are a Canadian comedy troupe. After being discovered by Lorne Michaels of "Saturday Night Live" fame, they were given a chance to make a sketch-comedy television show that ultimately ran from 1989 to 1995. Even if you aren't a Kids' fan you've probably seen the guys elsewhere, as they've all done well since the show ended. Dave Foley went on to star in "NewsRadio" and was the voice of Flick in Disney's "A Bug's Life". You can currently see him as the well-received new host of "Celebrity Poker Showdown" on Bravo. Bruce McCulloch wrote and directed "Dog Park" and directed "Stealing Harvard" (and appeared in both). Kevin McDonald has a recurring role on "That 70's Show" and does voices on the Disney "Lilo and Stitch" movies and subsequent television series. Mark McKinney joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live", and Scott Thompson had a long-running role on "The Larry Sanders Show".
Episodes of the show (censored and cut for time) can still be seen on Comedy Central.
Some of My Thoughts and Opinions:
I've enjoyed being able to watch the first 2 seasons in order. Not that there is any "real" order to the episodes, but watching them this way you can really see the growth and progression of their skills. The first season is really good, but the second season is even better. As the Kids state themselves (in the documentary included in this set), by season 2 they had learned that playing to the camera was different than playing to the live audience they were accustomed to. They did more filmed pieces that looked more impressive and professional (although they still did plenty of stuff in front of an audience). Season Two starts off very strong and quite simply stays that way throughout. I think that seasons 2 and 3 are my favorites - great quality, great diversity, and lots of laughs throughout.
Some recurring characters are back and new ones are introduced. Some of my very favorite characters make their first appearances here in season two -- ones like Sir Simon Milligan and Hecubus (the "evil" host and his Satan-serving manservant -- although both of them seem fairly nice and only minorly evil) and the little kid character, Gavin (who I thought was hysterical even before I had a kid, but now that I've got one of my own I really appreciate how spot-on Bruce's performance is). Who can forget about the Chicken Lady -- especially in her first appearance as she terrifies and repulses her blind date. Francesca Fiore and her lover, Bruno Puntz Jones, make their first appearance here too, in a delightful sketch called "Hazy Movie" where Scott tries to tell Dave about a movie he liked, but he keeps getting the details all wrong. The two clearly insane people (both named Jerry Sizzler) are here too, adding lunacy where necessary, the two cops make their first appearance, and young rocker Bobby rears his shaggy head. The 30 Helens from Season One are gone, replaced by the red-headed "Fact Girl". Other great characters from the first season are here too -- like office workers Cathy and Kathie, the Head Crusher, Buddy Cole, Cabbage Head, the Blues Guy, married couple Fran and Gordon, and the Geralds.
The Kids tended to stay away from timely topics, with little or no references to "current events" or anything political, so nothing stands out in my mind as being dated. The episodes are just as funny now as they ever were. There are plenty of other shows that lose their zing down through the years due to their subject matter -- whereas troupes like The Kids, Monty Python, and SCTV really never go out of style. I also appreciate how well they can act -- there's none of that "noticeably reading from the teleprompter" stuff on this show.
Part of what I like about The Kids is the variety of sketches they are able to pull off. They can go from large production pieces filmed on location and overlaid with sweeping background music to simple sketches with minimal props filmed before a live studio audience. I have a soft spot for the sketches that give a winking glimpse into the lives of the players themselves -- ones where the guys play themselves interacting directly with the audience or with each other. In this set that includes sketches like the one where they sit around a table discussing whether or not they could take their own fathers in a fist fight, the one where Scott (the gay member of the troupe) decides that he's not gay anymore (much to the dismay of the straight Kids in the Hall), or the one with Bruce's super-long suicide note. I like the ones where they mock themselves -- such as the episode that ended with Mark asking viewers to call in for a chance to win the grand prize of "Touching Bellini". Like Python did before them, I love the way that sometimes The Kids will just stop a sketch right in the middle and address the audience as themselves (like the one where they get the audience to scream out "Screw You Taxpayer!"). I love the way that some sketches are a bit "dirty" (like the one where the two couples, in proving how comfortable they are around each other, talk about and do things in each other's company that would make any normal person run screaming), some are risky (Dave's "Christ as a Carpenter" sketch is enough to make me feel like I'm sinning if I so much as crack a smile), whereas others have a kid-like innocence (I particularly love the ones with the little kid character, Gavin). Some are deep while also being very clever, whereas others are just plain silly. And the songs! My favorite from Season Two has to be "Liposuction" (with Kevin and Dave serenading a couple at dinner), although "The New Style" and "The Best Looking Man in the World" are up there too.
The Kids are also extremely quotable. Back when I was in college a bunch of my co-workers also watched the show, so we ended up quoting The Kids throughout each day. Even now, my husband and I still make little Kids in the Hall references. Although one of my husband's favorites is from Season One ("I'm gonna hold my breath until I turn gay"), there are too many great quotes to mention from Season Two -- stuff from characters like Sir Simon and Hecubus ("I'm ready to serve you master... aaandd Satan!"), Gavin ("You know what's in wieners..."), some of Bruce's 30 second stories, etc. The stuff from the "Daddy Drank" sketch is extremely quotable (although the Epinions filter would complain, so I'll restrain myself).
In the Season One DVD set there were a few sketches that I had never seen and others that had large chunks edited out back when I watched the show during its heyday. I did not have HBO back then, and the versions shown on Comedy Central and CBS were edited for both time (so they could show commercials) and content. Getting to see the uncut, HBO versions on my DVD set was great! During season two my then-boyfriend (who is now my husband) managed to record a bunch of episodes at his parents' house off of HBO, so I am now less able to detail the differences for this season. I do know that things were cut -- you can even hear the kids talking about it in their commentary on the best-of episodes. Still, I did see some differences in a few episodes that I did not already have from HBO -- namely a version of "Scott's Not Gay Anymore" that goes on much longer than the one I'm used to, and a little sketch about "The Shortest Tubes In North York". The episodes included on this Season Two DVD set are the full, uncut, HBO versions, not the ones you see on Comedy Central.
As you will be able to tell when you read some of the sketch titles listed below, this series is not appropriate for children. I think it is strongly aimed at the college crowd, so those types of people (or us older ones still in that same mindset) are the ones who will get the most out of the show.
Disc Specifics:
The set consists of 4 discs in a box containing slimline cases (which is nice because they only take the shelf-space of two normal DVD cases). The episodes and sketches contained on each disc are listed on the back of the case (which is also nice because I never knew the "real" names of the sketches before). The disc chapters are broken out by sketches - another nice touch so I can quickly skip past sketches I don't like or have seen a million times already.
All 20 of the first season episodes (from the 1990-1991 season) are on the first 3 discs. Two "Best Of" episodes and bonus features are on the 4th disc.
Running time is 8 hours, 20 minutes (plus around 90 minutes of extras)
It is presented in the full-frame format, which is how it was originally aired. It looks very crisp and clean to me (a big improvement over my old videotapes, at any rate).
The audio is Dolby Digital 2.0
The Kids in the Hall - The Complete Second Season is currently only available through http://www.kidsinthehall.com, but will be released to retail stores in November of 2004. If you order through http://www.kidsinthehall.com you also get a free Kids in the Hall t-shirt in your choice of size.
The Discs:
note: I apologize in advance for some of the sketch titles -- don't blame me I'm just tellin' ya what The Kids call 'em... I edited some because the Epinions filter didn't like them (yes, I know how to get around it, but if Epinions doesn't want me using those words then I won't)
Disc One:
Episode 1
Spring · Comfortable · Trucker #2 · Hard Day · Off Swingin' · The Doctor · Bobby and The Devil
Episode 2
Cops - O Canada · Trapper · Cabbage Head - Old Friends · Not Working Out 1 · The Loner · Not Working Out · Simon and Hecubus · Not Working Out 3 · Girls of Summer
Episode 3
Mark's Newscast - Paper Airplanes · Sizzler & Sizzler · Pageant · Tony and Nick · Mark's Newscast - Meech Lake · A Little Something · Phone
Episode 4
Nutty Bunnies · Queer Nation · Cops - Uniform · Excellent Dinner · Cops - Stanze · The Parrot · Cops - Running Naked · Customer · On the Run
Episode 5
The Jury · Cops - ShootOut · Prisoner · Sizzler And The Bank · Cops 17 - 211 In Progress · Chicken Lady · Drugs Are Bad · Cops - Prisoner · Clean Sheets · Justice
Episode 6
Second Novel · Baboon · Hair Loss · Conversation · Buddy - Wood Nymph · Anecdote · Groovy Teacher
Disc Two:
Episode 7
Lady is a Tramp · Meet the Geralds · I'm English · Lady is a Tramp Part II · Painting a Chair · The Lack O Trust Blues · Lady is a Tramp Part III
Episode 8
I Can't Play the Piano · Democracy · Tampa Bay · Cops - Goose · Freak · Cops - Tony Baldwin · Seminar · Celebrity · Liposuction
Episode 9
Cops - Dream · Crushing Hospital · Cops - Dad · Daddy Drank · The Leash · Cops - Shelley Long · Knocked Out · The Leash - Shelley Long · The Last Straw · Parenting · Dead Dad
Episode 10
Guess Your Weight · Go For Guilt · Hustlers - Math Teachers · F*g Basher · Friendly Rivals · Show Within A Show · Mr. Hugula · Housework Hustlers · Chocolate
Episode 11
Fact #2 · That's America · Prisoner's Jam · Fact #3 · Cuttin' It Close 1 · Secret of Broadway · Cuttin' It Close 2 · Hustlers - Richard Nixon · Mispronouncer · Fact #3A · Dead Fish
Episode 12
Cops - Bubble Bath · How I Sleep · Old Friends · Standing · Vegas · Carpenter · Cops - Daughter · Encounter
Episode 13
Cops - Good Cop, Bad Cop · Brad & The Phone · Fact - Uncle Tony · Book, Bottle, Blonde · Cops - Money · Shoes · Evil T · Fact - Bigfoot · Heckler · Fact - 45 Years of Love · The Long Note
Disc Three:
Episode 14
Report · Gandar 1 · M. Piedlourde Court un Marathon · Jazz Music · Gandar 2 · Touch Bellini #1 · The Affair · M. Piedlourde Essait l'Auto · Queen to Queen
Episode 15
M. Piedlourde Donne Un Coup De Pied Au Ballon · Scott's Not Gay · First Time · Bad News · Poo Guy · M. Piedlourde A Une Rendez-Vous · Victim · Night of the Cow · M. Piedlourde Sur La Lune
Episode 16
One of These Five Men · Cincinnati Kid · Career Ending 2 · 30 Second Stories - Joe · No Words · 30 Second Stories - Dump · Career Ending 1 · The Trip · Wild Weekend
Episode 17
Thousand Dollars · Cops - Towing · Decorator 1 · Headcrusher - Rival · Shortest · Bellini Finale · Cops - Graveyard · Governor · Ham of Truth · Decorator 2
Episode 18
Clandestine Meeting 1 · The Letter · Plungers · Clandestine Meeting 2 · Fact - Aliens Are Super Intelligent · Mr. Pin · Liza's Party · Clandestine Meeting 3
Episode 19
The Cure · Secretaries- Logey · 30 Second Stories- Tess · Directions · Excellent Guy - Big Brother · 30 Second Stories- Office Party · Taxpayer · 30 Second Stories- Fries · Into The Doors
Episode 20
Lively Party · Butcher Shop · Cops - Sexism · Who's To Blame · Cops - Clouds · Having Tea · Faux Pas · Cops - Partners · Messages · Tube Top Justice · Hazy Movie
The Extras:
An Oral History:
At around 15 minutes this documentary is shorter than the excellent one on the Season One set, but it still contains lots of interesting information. The conversations are amongst The Kids themselves (although they are certainly no longer "kids") as well as producer Lorne Michaels and Paul Bellini. They discuss their offices and some of the people they got to work for/with them on the second series -- people who helped to improve the look of the show and people who understood that they were really working on something special. They talk about the cross-dressing/female characters, and how Americans seemed to think they were all gay because of their willingness to dress up (when really only Scott Thompson is gay). Their female characters were different than the females-performed-by-males from troupes that came before them -- the Kids' females were realistic and modeled after their girlfriends, mothers, sisters, etc. I think it is because the guys were all young, baby-faced, and skinny -- some of them (Dave in particular) made VERY convincing females, and some viewers found that disturbing. They talk about the origins of some of their popular characters, such as Sir Simon Milligan and Hecubus, Gavin (the little kid), Chicken Lady, the Cops, and the origin of the "Touch Bellini" contest.
"Best of" Episodes:
The two Season Two "Best Of" episodes are included. The sketches are:
Episode 21:
Fact - Uncle Tony · Headcrusher - Rival · Swingin' · Daddy Drank · The Affair · Fact #3 · The Doctor · A Little Something · Fact - 45 Years of Love · First Time · Girls of Summer
Episode 22:
Cops - Prisoner · Comfortable · Trapper · Painting A Chair · Cops - Shootout · Chicken Lady · Simon and Hecubus · Cops - Dad · Hazy Movie
The Commentary Track:
The Kids add their commentary to the 2 "Best Of" episodes for season two. I really love this commentary too -- maybe because there are such great sketches in the "Best Of" episodes, and I loved hearing about how they came to be. I never really noticed Dave's fascination with blood before (with his mass-murderer and bad doctor characters, along with being the guy with a good attitude toward menstruation). I was a bit dismayed to discover that the father from the "Daddy Drank" sketch was really based on Kevin's father, but enjoyed hearing about the run-ins the various members had with Kevin's dad. I also enjoyed that the "Girl Drink Drunk" sketch (which will be in a later season) was based on the first time Mark got Kevin drunk. I enjoyed hearing all of the guys speak, and am glad that after all these years they can still have fun laughing and reminiscing together.
Rivoli Theater Footage:
The Rivoli Theater is a venue where they performed comedy sketches for many years before they were "discovered". The set includes 7 sketches filmed during various appearances between 1987 and 1990 (which would include performances after their show had aired) -- taped on a camcorder by someone in the audience. I will admit that while I enjoyed this collection, I didn't find them quite as funny as the ones included in the Season One set. This time they also included sketches that DID ultimately make it into the television series (namely the "Bored Robber" sketch that I have always loved as well as most of the "Groovy Teacher" sketch).
Original Performance Poster Gallery:
These are the posters from when the guys were playing at the Rivoli. Some are crude and hand-drawn, with phrases like "All New Mediocre Material!", while others contain grainy photocopies of pictures of the guys. There are also flyers containing humorous "biographies" of the Kids (with stuff like "his potentially flammable molecular structure lends an air of urgency to his comedy"). The posters are contained in a PDF file on the DVD -- so you have to use your computer to view them.
Trailers:
The trailers included are for "The Office", "The Kids in the Hall - The Complete First Season", and the "Mr. Bean" boxed set.
Final Thoughts:
I really don't have much to complain about. If I could change or add anything to the set, I would have had the troupe pick a few episodes at random from the regular season and add commentary to those as well. It is so great to hear the stories behind the sketches -- only having 2 episodes worth really leaves me wanting more.
If you are a fan of The Kids in the Hall, then I highly recommend going to http://www.kidsinthehall.com and ordering The Complete Second Season now (who wants to wait until November for the normal release - plus you get a nifty t-shirt too). While I also highly recommend The Complete First Season, you certainly don't need to watch it first to get the most out of the second season. The Season Season is really great, and the cool bonus features just make it that much better.
Recommended:
Yes
Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age
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Epinions.com ID:
mizgnomer
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Location: Tennessee
Reviews written: 306
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Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you're crunchy and taste good with ketchup
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