From comedienne Sarah Silverman and Comedy Central comes the DVD release of the first season of The Sarah Silverman Program (just 6 episodes under 30 minutes a piece).  The show garnered some decent word-of-mouth before the end of the first season and Comedy Central is hoping it’s a hit in this second season currently airing (jury is still out).

The show doesn’t really have a plot, it just centers around Silverman who plays a lazy, very non-politically correct slacker (named Sarah) who sponges off her sister Laura (Silverman’s real life sister Laura) and hangs with her gay neighbors Brian (Brian Posehn) and Steve (Steve Agee – notice a trend with the character names yet?). 

The first six episodes see Sarah go on a mission to find remote control batteries after being physically incapacitated by the event, going around calling herself a lesbian after meeting one and thinking she could do her, trying to impress her friends by farting but having an unfortunate accident instead, and even having sex with God (yes, you did read those lines correctly).

CRITIQUE

Even though I always thought Silverman was funny from the little I saw of her (some of the Comedy Central roasts and her stand-up act), I never saw her as big star material that could ever headline a movie or a TV show.  But obviously Comedy Central sure did.  And after a bunch of hosting gigs and other TV spots, I was already starting to tire of her act.

So once I sat down with this season one of her show, I was hoping I would be turned back around.  Unfortunately, just like I thought, a little bit of her goes a very long way and a full sitcom based on her offensive and relentlessly ridiculous comedy is just tiresome and not funny at all.

Her style is extremely abrasive and rude which can be very funny in small doses but is completely overbearing and obnoxious when it is all that is offered.  If you absolutely love her stand-up and wish you had even more and more of her, you may enjoy the show.  But for me, this was excruciating to watch and it is only a 6 episode arc!  And I always hated her musical numbers in her stand-up (I always thought that was the weakest part of her act) and in the show there are tons of musical numbers.  

The supporting cast is all over the map.  Laura Silverman is just an atrocious actress and is the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard.  But Posehn and Agee have their moments and could be a very funny duo on a decent show.  The rest of the cast is adequate enough to just react to Silverman in a low key manner (when if this was reality Silverman wouldn’t last another month or so without being seriously hurt).

THE VIDEO

The transfer is adequate for the soft, dull look of the show.  There were not any grain or clarity issues, it’s just a somewhat ugly looking show.

THE AUDIO

The show is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound and the presentation is crisp and the dialogue and strange musical numbers come through strong.

THE EXTRAS

There are a bunch of Audio Commentary Tracks featuring most of the cast, writers and directors.  There are more commentary tracks than actual episodes!  So if you are a fan of the show, this would be a great bonus.  For me, even though these commentaries are a bit more entertaining than the show, these are still a chore to go through (since I disliked the show so much).  The best tracks are with Posehn and Agee who just have a great, natural chemistry.

Then there are dozens of Musical Performances featuring Silverman, her sister and Agee and some featuring Karaoke/Sing-a-long modes.  I have to be honest, I couldn’t even get through all of these; excruciatingly bad.  But again, if you find her musical numbers hilarious, you’ll be as happy as a lark.

There are also Storyboards covering some episode topics like the chase scene in the last one.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Sarah Silverman Program is an incredibly offensive, ridiculous show that hinges on whether you absolutely love Sarah Silverman or not (and I mean, you must absolutely love her as I liked her and still completely hated this show).  The DVD transfer, audio and extras are all above average for fans.  Just don’t count me as one of them.