Squidbillies – Volume Four + Children’s Hospital – The Complete First and Second Seasons + Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! – Season Cinco (Adult Swim/Warner DVD)

 

Picture: B-/B-/C+     Sound: B/B-/B     Extras: B/B/C+     Episodes: B+/B/C

 

 

Adult Swim features the good, the bad and the ugly; with the DVD releases reviewed here hosting the full gamut of just that.  Recently released on DVD we have Squidbillies – Volume Four, Children’s Hospital – The Complete First and Second Seasons, and Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! – Season Cinco. 

 

Squidbillies – Volume Four

 

Unlike the other series reviewed here, I see Squidbillies getting better and better.  The series that stars a host of crudely mannered and crudely drawn southern squids (among other crazy characters) has managed to develop into a wonderfully addictive series.

 

Squidbillies is not all too ‘deep’ in meaning and certainly does not pretend to project moral values or life lessons like that of more recent episodes of say South Park, but it is a good time nevertheless.  If anything the series is a rough and ready commentary on society, at least the lesser discussed or embraced aspects.  Granted the family of squids, goes beyond societal norms and are certainly exaggerations, but on some rudimentary level they showcase the deeper, darker parts emotion and desire.

 

This may be reading too deep into a series about greedy, foul mouthed, violent, alcoholic squids with no discernable sense of right from wrong, but I like to think there is more to this tale than just sheer chaos.

 

The series initial premise hasn’t changed much as it still centers on Early, his son Rusty, sister Lil, Grandma, the Sheriff, and evil corporate genius Dan Halen; but over the past several seasons the series has most definitely honed in on its best parts and emphasized those.

 

 

Children’s Hospital – The Complete First and Second Seasons

 

My thoughts are that most medical professionals would not look too favorably on this series.  The series would be best described as Scrubs with no moral center.  With that said, the show is downright hilarious.  Outside of the hospital setting, lab coats and scrubs there is little to suggest these characters have medical degrees.  Their self indulgent behaviors and complete disregard for patient safety dances the line between uncomfortable silence and awkward hilarity.

 

The over the top comedy is the work of the Daily Show’s Rob Corddry, as well as Jonathan Stern and David Wain.  The setting is a Brazilian Children’s Hospital, but with all the sex, drugs and petty arguments the facility is better akin to a brothel than a health institution.

 

The cast is a who’s who of sketch comedy as Rob Corddry, Rob Huebel, Henry Winkler, Ken Marino (The State), Malin Akerman, Erin Hayes, Lake Bell and Megan Mullally all shine as irreplaceable entities for the series.  The self obsessed characters deliver every episode as we are taken down the rabbit hole of quirky insanity.  Children’s Hospital gets right what series like Tim & Eric have gotten wrong as it serenely balances idiotic gibberish with solid comedic performances.

 

I can only see the series getting better and with more and more stars lining up to make an appearance I can only imagine what is to come.

 

 

Tim & Eric –Season Cinco

 

Off color and out of their minds, Tim and Eric continue to deliver some of the most ‘unique’ and idiotic humor on television.  Almost like being out of the play book of a film student, the duo attempts to push the bounds of creativity; often times venturing too far and into the realm of moronic.  As I have stated in previous reviews, Tim and Eric’s brand of humor is simply lost on me.  At first I watch in eager anticipation and confusion, but sadly that anticipation has developed into a sense of disdain.  This is not to say the ideas of Tim and Eric are completely without merit or liking, as they have garnered quite a large following; with sold out live shows, CDs, DVDs and more.  As this is the last season for the odd couple they took insanity to the max and dragged all their celebrity friends along for the ride.

 

My favorite sketches are still the fake products the guys create, but outside of that I was little entertained if at all.  Eric Wareheim and Tim Heidecker may be creative geniuses and I just don’t see it; but for there final 10 episodes (running ~13 minutes each) they continue on their downward spiral of insanity.  The seemingly public access type series may have grabbed the attention of some through gross outs, tangential material and essentially being blithering idiots, but this reviewer is happy to see the series rest in peace.

 

The DVD technical features on all three series are similar and even as some have intentionally grainy footage (Squidbillies and Tib & Eric) their overall presentation is adequate.  The visual presentation on all three series is a widescreen letterbox that is intended to preserve the original aspect ratio of the series.  The colors and clarity are best on Children’s Hospital as the full spectrum of colors pop and the digital filming gives a crisp, clean image.  Squidbillies is a bit more muted in the color category as it is intentional portrayed in a gritty, southern, beige; clarity has improved this season as there is still a rough element to the animation, but crispness has improved. Think about the evolution of The Simpsons animation to see what I mean.  Tim & Eric is most definitely (again) the presentation that flounders between good and bad; again I realize this is intentional, but not much unlike the rest of the series it doesn’t mean it doesn’t annoy me.  The sound on all Tim & Eric and Squibillies is a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround that is nicely done, but nothing amazing.  The dialogue comes through cleanly and the action of Squidbillies is well rounded and full of life.  Children’s Hospital is a Dolby Digital Stereo that gets the job done, as it is mostly a dialogue driven series, though the faster paced moments are left somewhat flat and lifeless.

 

The extras for each series are as follows:

 

Squidbillies

1. Squidbillies Dragin Con Panel 2010
2. Voice Over with Dancing Outlaw
3. Robot Moon Dragonmoon Wars! (Comic Con Greeting with Early)
4. The Making of America: Why I Love Her
5. The Squidbillies Freedom Hour Made by Americans for Americans God Bless America USA#1
1. A nice look (best on the set) at the wonderful musical episode
6. Dougal County Ink Off 2009
7. Funny Pete Stuff
8. Art and Music

 

Children’s Hospital

1. Rob Corddry and Cutter Spindell: The Man Inside the Man Behind Children’s Hospital
2. I Killed Cancer Music Video: Exclusive Extended Edition
3. Dr Owen Maestro Answers Medical Questions from Kids
4. Deleted Scenes and Outtakes
5. Gag Reel (you can tell they have a lot of fun)

 

Tim & Eric

Annoying as Tim and Eric themselves the menus deliberately hide/make it hard to find extras; not so much Easter Eggs as they are just a pain to navigate.

1. Deleted Scenes
2. Awesomecon 2009 with Tim and Eric
3. Tribute to Richard Dunn

 

 

-   Michael P. Dougherty II