Sam & Max: Freelance Police – The Complete
Animated Series (Shout! Factory
DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: B+ Episodes: B+
Sam & Max to this reviewer was always a
comic series and a hit Lucas Arts game series; but to his shock and pleasure it
is also an amazing animated series. Sam & Max: Freelance Police – The
Complete Animated Series originally appeared in 1997 on the FOX Network and
lasted for a total of 24 episodes. The
series is kooky, creepy and some times full of poopy (opps! I mean guff). Sam & Max are our two lead detectives who
go after some of the most oddball crimes that can range from a battle on Mount
Olympus to a case of Mutant infested waters at the Bohunk Lagoon. The series
remains edgy throughout with its use of impious and silly dialogue coupled with
an impressive art direction. The
characters are likable and will surely leave a lasting impression…and probably
a few stains.
It won’t
take a detective to figure out that the features on this 3-Disc set are
surprisingly solid. The picture is
presented in a 1.33 X 1 Full Screen that is crisp, clean, and bright with only
the rare occasion of debris being visible in the scene. What is especially surprising is how good
colors and brightness is with the series being so dark to begin with; this
reviewer gives SHOUT! Factory a pat
on the back for this one. The sound is
presented in a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo that is adequate for the series and
displays the zaniness that is the Sam
& Max world quite well, from the scratchy (maybe annoying) character
voices too the oddball opening soundtrack it is all there in solid stereo
sound.
The most
impressive technical feature available on this set is the awesome amount of
extra features. Fans will be pleased to
find a plethora of features such as ‘A Comic Conversation’ with creator Steve
Purcell, 3 animated shorts originally seen on FOX Kids, an all new animated
short, a look behind the Telltale Games with cofounder Dan Connors, some
playable game demos, an art gallery, and an ‘Original Series Bible’ by Steve Purcell. The extras do the series justice and will
give any fan the chance to catch up on all the behind the scenes action of Sam & Max: Freelance Police – The
Complete Animated Series.
In the
end, Sam & Max: Freelance Police
is an amusing and hilariously funny series that embodies an off-the-wall brand
of humor that infuses a brand of characters and art direction that you can’t
find anywhere else. Steve Purcell’s
series may have been an underground comic phenomenon at first, but it is time
to bust out those flashlights and shed some light on some of the weirdest
criminal cases to ever hit your DVD player.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
