Got my DVD and am enjoying it now.
BTW, I'm now remembering that when I watched this show as a youngster I thought the lyrics to the theme song were "Portugal! ACTION!"
SO WAIT A SECOND:
Did they switch out Cutlery Barn for a different take in Skits and Stickers, which is probably the version I've watched over and over, or did they switch it out for the DVD? Either way, it's a completely different take, and the slight differences were unsettling.
i guess it must be karma that a birthday (america's) is delaying my viewing of this dvd set.
"This is not the Beach Boys. It can't be. Why? No beach songs! I thought it was some kind of joke. All 'Pet Sounds' offers is the opportunity to hear Brian Wilson whine for forty minutes, backed by elevator music. There's barely any Mike Love on the album at all."
The unaired sketches here are really remarkable, the quantity and the quality. Most of them are really funny, some as good as the show's best sketches. They're all well-preserved too, and yet they've never shown up anywhere but here. I honestly didn't expect there to be as many as there are.
One other thing of note is that for most of the live ones, it seems the reason they weren't included is because of incredibly poor audiences. There are some great ones that the audience doesn't respond to at all, almost like they can't keep up with them. Seeing them, it's understandable why they felt the need to do so many sketches along the lines of The Popes-a Visit or Mudwrestler, which aren't bad, but rely on gimmicks more than jokes.
Also, David Wain just gave the fans a new question to bug him with to replace "When's The State coming out on DVD?"
What are the odds that this is really going to happen? I hope they're higher than I think they are.The DVD comes with an advertisement for a new show with Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black [the other two members of "Stella"]. Does mean that Stella is a thing of the past?
No, it doesn't mean that at all. There's a Stella movie in development. We might tour as early as the fall or winter.
Where's that from Aaron?
I have been watching the shit out of the DVD and I gotta say that aside from a few terrible disapointments re: music replacements, that it's overall a really satisfying experience.
It's actually been a while since I watched a lot of these, so there aren't a LOT of specific music cues that I actually remember. Some sketches suffer, sure. The absolute two worst ones were "Pants" (just isn't the same without the Breeders) and "240 Dollars Worth of Pudding" (the ADR job in it is pretty atrocious, but this sketch was never a favorite of mine) but both of those were ones I'd seen pre-DVD, so I was ready for how bad they were. There's a LOT of material on these DVDs that aren't affected at all. And they made sure to clear things that were sung by cast members (Sitting on the Dock of the Bay, Are You Going to Scarbourough Fair, Happy Birthday). I haven't noticed anything CUT yet.
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I actually think that in a way, "Pants" is funnier with the new cue because it is trying so hard to be Cannonball without actually using the track.
ditto.
some of the other sound-a-likes are fun (the "loser" ripoff), but some don't work for me ("today" from the pre-school narc sketch).
there was also some annoying blurring of posters, but it's amazing to be seeing these shows in a version that's not a blurry vcd/dvd-r or hastily converted former-asf file. now i can recognize all the locations i could have jerkily pointed out to my friends when i was living in new york city.
"This is not the Beach Boys. It can't be. Why? No beach songs! I thought it was some kind of joke. All 'Pet Sounds' offers is the opportunity to hear Brian Wilson whine for forty minutes, backed by elevator music. There's barely any Mike Love on the album at all."
How is the video quality of the dvds?
They've been re-running the show on Mtv2 recently, and it looks like it was taped in Hi8 and lit with raver glo-sticks, but that could just be Mtv2's issue..
Hey, check me out. I'm a ghost.
The music changes weren't really that irritating, but why did MTV replace all the original actors with really, really young people?
I'm Dwyane Wade! I do commercials!
The quality at which the sketches were filmed varies more than any other television show I've seen. The second unit stuff was all shot on Hi-8 cameras. Of the others, some were shot on tape, some on film. So some look terrible, and some are pristine.
Just saw it for the first time last night on Comedy Central. Liked it. God I hate being so young.
I don't mind the dubbing that much. More than anything else, I am appreciative of the work to get it out there.
But I have to ask, what was the original music over the sketch Hepcat? Because I have no idea what that is supposed to be.
I remember that jazzy music that plays was always generic sounding, but I might be wrong. I think that's the original music. But it DID also use SURRENDER by Cheap Trick which got replaced, if that's what you're referring to.
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No, I meant the jazzy riff. So that WAS the original music. That's fantastic. I had thought it was a Stray Cats song or something similar.
I was amused by the impressive redubbed karaoke rendition of "Canada" over the end credits.
Last edited by craigtnelson; July 10, 2009 at 6:18 PM.