Puppets Who Kill: The Best of Seasons 3 and 4 (2005 - 06/VSC/MVD DVD)
Picture: C Sound: C Extras:
B- Episodes: B
Puppets Who Kill follows the exploits of four puppets living together in
a halfway house: Cuddles the comfort doll, Buttons the bear, Bill the
ventriloquist dummy, and Rocko the dog. Their
live-in social worker, Dan, often tries to influence the puppets for his own
gain and can sometimes be just as reprehensible as they are. While not as ballistic as similar fare, such
as Peter Jackson's Meet The Feebles, it's a solid program.
The show could be seen in Canada
on The Comedy Network, and though it seems to have been fairly popular on that
side of the border, it has gone largely unseen in the United States. Networks might have been turned off by the
modest production standards of the show, which, admittedly, are about on par
with an average sketch comedy show. Though
it does look a tad cheap for a sitcom, the frugality on the set has failed to
make it any less hilarious.
It's unclear exactly why the 3rd and 4th
Seasons have been truncated for this release, as VSC saw fit to release
complete DVDs of the first two seasons back in 2004 and 2005. Even more unusual is that only some of the
episodes follow their original airdates. This is a minor complaint, however,
considering that because of the exclusions, there are gaps in chronology, and
that the episodes are mostly self-contained.
The episodes included in this set are as follows, listed in broadcast order:
Season 3
1. Buttons on a Hot Tin Roof
2. Cuddles the Manchurian Candidate
3. Buttons the Dresser
8. The CBC is Killing Again
9. The Lovely Fred
13. Dan and the New Neighbour
Season 4
1. Joyride
2. Dan and the Garden Shears
3. Mr. Big
4. Dan is Dead
5. Bill and the Berkowitz's
7. Buttons and the Make a Wish Foundation
9. The Rival House
Multiple commentary tracks can be found on the episodes Joyride and Dan
and the Garden Shears, with a single commentary track available for Buttons
the Dresser. Sadly, there are no
other extras present, but they are informative and provide sufficient insight
into the show.
Video is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, with audio in
stereo. Both hover around average, but
there isn't anything substantial to fault them with.
Considering the high quality of the writing and performances, it's only a
matter of time before a larger cult following forms around Puppets Who Kill.
Hopefully the DVD releases will do their
part to help spread the word, and maybe sometime we'll see complete releases of
the later seasons. Until then, this set
makes a good tide over, and is an excellent way to get your feet wet before
picking up the earlier seasons.
- David Milchick
