The deputies of Reno
911! are back with a second season even more absurd than the
first. Whether
they're working security
for Kenny
Rogers, fighting
to save their
mustaches, or hunting down an uppity Milkshake Man, the Reno Sheriff's
Department do their jobs with glorious incompetence that is
luckily caught on
camera week
after humiliating week.
CRITIQUE
The second season of
Reno 911 is surprisingly better than the first one. The comedic
situations are broader and quite funny and the characters are a little
more fleshed out, plus it seems the actors have their characters down
pretty well. Highlights include the deputies trying to ascertain if
Wiegel's new boyfriend is actually the Truckee River Killer (episode
2), the deputies trying to get rid of the Ten Commandments monument on
their front lawn (episode 4), the Annual Sheriff's Ball being
threatened when the local firemen schedule their Pancake Dinner the
same night (episode 6), Jones worrying about a psychic's prediction
and the deputies struggling to save their mustaches (episode 7), the
criminal profiler helping the deputies investigate the Lt. Governor's
missing brother (episode 9), Jones and Garcia going undercover as
hippies on a stakeout (episode 12), the deputies being assigned
traffic control for a presidential visit (episode 13), Jones and
Garcia chasing a Milkshake Man (episode 14), and the investigation by
the District Attorney of the Sheriff's Department (episodes 15 and
16). Reno 911 is worth checking out for people who like comedy,
and overall the second season is a good way to spend a weekend (16
episodes running a combined 340 minutes). For this DVD presentation
the language runs uncensored so you'll hear plenty of f-bombs. The
blurs, however, remain intact.
THE VIDEO
Paramount presents Reno
911 in 1.33:1 fullscreen format. Colors are bright and
clear, and there are no issues with softness or bleed. Image
quality is very nice with a good amount of detail and sharpness
to the picture. Compression artifacts do not appear, but
shimmering shows up in some scenes. The show looks very nice on
DVD, a very good effort.
THE AUDIO
Paramount presents Reno
911 in English 2.0 Dolby Surround. There's nothing major to
report here as everything is located in the front. However, the
front speakers do a pretty good job emitting clearly audible
dialogue, nice sound effects, and good music. It's a perfectly
fine audio presentation.
THE EXTRAS
The extras include
audio commentaries by select cast and director for episodes 10,
11, 14 and 16. They are generally good and informative.
There are also over
32 minutes of alternate/deleted scenes that should please fans of
the show the most. A "play all" option is available. The packaging
promises over 90 minutes of footage but that isn't the case.
The Drug Arrest
Prevention Seminar: Live Performance from HBO's 2004 U.S. Comedy Arts
Festival is a welcome bonus feature that's pretty funny. It runs a
little over 42 minutes.
Also featured are DVD
Previews, which is a five minute reel promoting other Comedy
Central DVDs such as Chappelle's Show, Crank Yankers and
South Park, and Comedy Central Quickies, which shows
brief clips from South Park (a glimpse of Butters aka Professor
Chaos), Chappelle's Show (anti-drug commercial) and Drawn
Together running approximately 7 minutes in total.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Reno 911 comes
recommended; the second season is a nice improvement and overall I had
a good time with this set.
