Warner Home Video presents

Robot Chicken: Season Two: Uncensored (2006)

"I am Skater McGee...the best skateboarder in all of Western Ohio. At least I was."- Skater McGee (Christian Slater)

Stars: Seth Green, Breckin Meyer
Other Stars: Dax Shepard, Christian Slater, Corey Haim, Corey Feldman
Director: various

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (adult themes)
Run Time: 03h:41m:00s
Release Date: 2007-09-04
Genre: television

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B+	B	B+	B	A

 

DVD Review

My first exposure to Robot Chicken didn't come until a few months ago when the show lampooned the Star Wars saga. That recently-aired installment is an instant classic, sending up George Lucas' timeless series in a warped, hilarious manner. While I still haven't caught the show on a regular basis as part of Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" line of programming, I did get to test its mettle via Warner's new DVD set, Robot Chicken: Season Two: Uncensored.

This collection compiles 20 uncut episodes from the second season, and what we have, overall, is a mixed bag. From episode to episode, you never know just how loud, or how long, you're going to laugh. While some bits kept me rolling on the floor, there seemed to be far too many dull, laughless spots, on the whole. This hit-and-miss nature is similar to another series that Seth Green plays a major part in, Family Guy, but that hit cartoon is much more consistently funny than not. Still, tons of points should be given to Robot Chicken for it's unique, stop-motion animation, which carries us through countless pop culture references that'll keep you reminiscing even when you aren't exactly laughing.

The first disc houses 12 installments, beginning with Suck It, which starts right off with an animated Seth Green "sliming" the creator and then being banished to space. Federated Resources features appearances from none other than Lion-O, of the Thundercats, The Swedish Chef, and Clifford the Big Red Dog, along with Corey Feldman and Corey Haim. Christian Slater provides more voice work in Easter Basket. This episode also shows an Egyptian pharaoh being creative with Lego blocks, and takes a shot at Dragonball Z. Celebrity Rocket is one of the few shows that don't feature many laughs at all, but Dragon Nuts gets us back on the right track, especially when the Batcave is discovered by Batman's maid.

1987 shows us the new craze of popular film directors tackling board games, while Darth Vader makes a phone call to Emperor Palpatine about the Death Star. Cracked China has two of the series' most memorable bits, "My Little Ponys of the Apocalypse" and "Golden Girls and the City," while Rodigitti gives us a look at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles living in a nursing home. The world's greatest fear is realized in Massage Chair when President Bush learns he has Jedi powers. Password: Swordfish is another standout, with Harry Potter using his magic spells to fight the evils of puberty and Ben Affleck suing the AFLAC duck. In Adoptions an Option, E.T. goes to a home that isn't quite what he remembered, while during the final show on the first disc, The Munnery, we see what The Kraken does once freed and watch the crew of the Starship Enterprise go at it with each other.

Disc 2 starts with Metal Militia, in which Young Indiana Jones goes looking for treasure at his school, Rainbow Brite turns evil, and Hulk Hogan winds up in Hogan's Heroes. Veggies for Sloth finds the Beastmaster on Broadway and Buck Rogers finding a rhyming name for his, while Sausage Fest has Garfield and Heathcliff settling their differences in court and Lil' Hitler showing up. Drippy Pony reveals The Penguin's deepest secret, and introduces us to Jesus and the Argonauts. We then enjoy a Day at the Circus with a race-aware Black Stallion and Oprah and Dr. Phil in a buddy cop movie, then afterwards, Lust for Puppets shows Montezuma finally getting his revenge. The last two shows are Anne Marie's Pride, featuring an alliance between Mr. T and the Foo Fighters, and Book of Corrine, with Casper's brother Jasper and Sesame Street trying to handle an outbreak of a virus.

Rating for Style: B+
Rating for Substance: B

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: Presented in their original full frame format, all episodes look as good, if not better than they do on the Cartoon Network. The colors are bright and vivid, with red being one of the more prominent hues. Fortunately, there isn't any bleeding, and grain and dirt are kept to a minimum.

Image Transfer Grade: B+
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: The audio is Dolby Digital 2.0, and it's also near broadcast TV quality. The surrounds are rarely used, but everything sounds great coming from the front. Music and sound effects come across fine, while the dialogue is always crystal clear.

Audio Transfer Grade: B 

Disc Extras

Static menu with music
Scene Access with 20 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English, French, Spanish with remote access
8 TV Spots/Teasers
10 Deleted Scenes
2 Featurette(s)
20 Feature/Episode commentaries by Cast and crew
Packaging: Cardboard Tri-Fold
Picture Disc
2 Discs
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. The Christmas Special - Bonus Episode
2. Deleted Audio - Five selections
3. Deleted Animatics - 20 selections.
4. Slide Show
5. Video Blogs - 10 selections.

Extras Review: A ton of extras are spread over both discs, including an audio commentary track for each episode. These tracks feature amazingly in-depth discussions on everything that goes into the making of an animated show, and, to top it all off, these guys are damn funny as well.

Disc 1 houses 10 deleted scenes that run a total of just over 11 minutes and include introductions by co-creators Seth Green and Matt Senreich, and other crew members. These clips are mainly for the die-hard fan, as they contain footage that was trimmed, seemingly for timing purposes.

The Making of a Sketch lasts nearly 13 minutes, and is essentially hosted by Seth Green. He goes over quite a bit more of the technical details involved in the show, but Green has a great personality that makes this stuff fun to digest.

The Christmas Special is also here, and this 11-minute episode is more of the same fun we expect from the series. There are also eight "Adult Swim Promos," that are essentially TV Spots for Robot Chicken, and five "Deleted Audio" segments. Also available, as an Easter Egg (found among the tick marks on the "Extras" menu), is a five-minute "Nerf War" featurette. This is nothing but fun, as much of the show's crew goes at it with Nerf guns.

Disc 2 includes a look at four "Animation Meetings," totaling almost six minutes, and giving us an in-depth look at what takes place during these get-togethers. There's also a collection of 20 "Deleted Animatics," again, introduced by various crew members, a look at the commercial for the Robot Chicken PS3 Contest, and a Slide Show hosted by Green and co-head writer Tom Root.

Finishing up the plentiful extras are 10 "Video Blogs," featuring footage taken from the making of these skits and from the first DVD collection release party, and the full-length "Freedom Rock" ad for Robot Chicken.

Extras Grade: A
 

Final Comments

Robot Chicken: Season Two: Uncensored won't do much to convert non-fans, but it will more than please its devote followers. Fans will love having all 20 episodes presented unedited, but they'll love the wealth of extra features just as much, if not more.

Chuck Aliaga 2007-09-19