Kids In The Hall – Season 1 (TV Boxed Set)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Episodes: B-
Some
shows are on so late, that if that is the only time you have seen them and did
not like them, you may not be giving the show a fair chance. Upon rewatching some of the skits and shows
in the Kids In The Hall – Season 1
(1989) 4 DVD set, I realized that happened to me with this show. I totally thought it was pointless before
watching it. Now, I can see it was
slightly better that I originally thought, but the Lorne Michaels production
founded a new style of non-comedy comedy that slyly deconstructs things. It is more amusing that actually funny, and
its style eventually consumed Saturday
Night Live by the latter half of the 1990s.
The show
revived the age-old tradition of men doing all the women’s roles, but Monty Python’s Flying Circus this is
not. It worked for someone, as the show
was a moderate hit, has a cult status and launched the careers of Dave Foley,
Bruce McCullogh, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson, some of whom
did go to Saturday Night Live. The first 3 DVDs contain all 20 shows form
the first season and the skits are not only listed, but they are numbered in
later shows as they reappear, making access easier for fans and newcomers
alike.
The full
frame image originated on NTSC professional analog and shows its age, with the
kind of softness expected from a production of its time. The show is colorful and creatively shot,
which makes it easier to watch, so I will give it credit for some good
form. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has
no Pro Logic surround information, but is good for what it is. It is good for its time and considering it
was from TV. Most of the extras are on
the final DVD, though Cast Biographies are on DVD 1, however brief. DVD 4 offers a 45-minutes look at the show
dubbed An Oral History, audio
commentaries on the Pilot show repeated on DVD 4 and on the Season One Favorites section, a Rolling
Stone Magazine article accessible via DVD-ROM only with Adobe Acrobat, seven
Rivoli Theater clips (1987 – 1989) before the advent of the show featuring the
cast and even a trailer for Mr. Bean –
The Animated Series. Note that the
Rivoli clips are of older amateur NTSC quality and are monophonic, but these
are actually a bit more entertaining than the actual shows.
Yes, I
can remember the nights going out and then coming back with my friends who
would watch this. I can see why I did
not remember the specifics, though could not forget that the show existed. Comedy is hard, but this worked for someone
and that is why its DVD arrival will please its cult of fans and be a curio to
those who never saw it, but know its stars.
- Nicholas Sheffo
