Comedy Central Home Video presents

Reno 911!: The Complete Fifth Season (Uncensored) (2008)

“Nobody buys us out in the street, cause they can smell that we’re pigs from a mile away.”- Lt. Jim Dangle (Thomas Lennon)

Stars: Robert Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney, Carlos Alazraqui, Thomas Lennon, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Mary Birdsong, Niecy Nash, Cedric Yarbrough
Other Stars: Michael Ian Black, Nick Swardson, Diedrich Baker, Ryan Stiles
Director: various

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (language, mature situations, nudity)
Run Time: 05h:52m:00s
Release Date: 2008-07-15
Genre: television

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

 

DVD Review

Fans of the long-defunct MTV series The State have enjoyed following most of that show’s cast in the many projects they’ve taken on. A huge chunk of that comedy troupe makes up the lineup for the Comedy Central show Reno 911!. Debuting in 2003, the series continues to make us laugh at the unbelievable exploits of the most dysfunctional band of cops in the country. The department consists of their leader, the effeminate Lt. Jim Dangle (Thomas Lennon), Dep. Jones (Cedric Yarbrough), the strongest of the bunch, and Dep. Raineesha Williams (Niecy Nash), who does, well, nothing, really. Also among the unit is Dep. Garcia (Carlos Alazraqui), Dep. Trudy Weigel (Kerry Kenney-Silver), whom no one can figure out, the buxom Dep. Clementine Johnson (Wendy McLendon-Covey), and possible lesbian, Dep. Kimball (Mary Birdsong).

We pick up in the season premiere, Did Garcia Steal Dangle’s Husband, where we left off at the end of the fourth season. In the ultimate love triangle, it appeared that Garcia was going to run away with Dangle’s ex-wife’s husband, but we find out here what really happened. Also, we still don’t know the father of Trudy’s baby going into this episode, but she takes matters into her own hands about what she’s going to do after giving birth. Next up is one of this season’s best, Bounty Hunter Tommy Hawk. Guest starring Diedrich Baker (Napoleon Dynamite) as Dog, The Bounty Hunter clone Tommy Hawk, much of the hilarity lies in the Reno crew discovering that there’s more to their TV idol than they thought.

In Super Knockers!, the guys in the department like what they see when their female counterparts try on the new tight-fitting, busty bullet-proof vests. Mayor Hernandez gives us perhaps the funniest performance of guest star George Lopez’s career, as he plays the title character with very little abandon, while Coconut Nut Clusters! has the deputies going door-to-door to sell the hard to resist titular treats. After one of the season’s slightly disappointing efforts, Dangle’s Secret Family, we get another one of the best in Undercover at Burger Cousin. This installment exemplifies exactly what makes the show so great, as guest star Seth Green plays the boss of the often-robbed fast food joint that Garcia and Jones go undercover at. Neither of their tough facades can stand up to the constant harassment thrown their way by Green, plus we get a hilarious, albeit predictable twist at the end.

The Wall finds Junior and Garcia helping to build an illegal alien-proof fence at the U.S./Mexico border, and Death of a Pickle-Thrower has actress Kerry Kenney-Silver doing double duty as Trudy and a dying prostitute, whom the whole crew visits in the hospital. The department trains a group of Iraqi policemen in Baghdad 911 and Dangle is in top form in The Tanning Booth Incident. Our favorite Lieutenant is incapacitated after turning beet red from a tanning booth accident, but there are plenty of laughs to be had at his expense thanks to his fellow peace officers.

Deputy Williams is more than thrilled to be the subject of a cover story for the mysterious Strong Sisters magazine in the aptly-titled Strong Sister, and Trudy deals with her fellow cops’ doubts about the return of her estranged dad in Wiegel’s Dad Returns. After one of the most dynamic alumni of The State, Ken Marino, guest stars as a retired Marine in Junior Runs For Office, we finish the fifth season off with a pair of classic Reno 911! episodes. Undercover Acting Coach has the bored deputies hire an acting coach (Ryan Stiles) to help them become more like the people they’re trying to arrest. The season finale, The Parade, involves the department trying to win a contest for most patriotic parade float, but the most important thing, as at the end of every one of the show’s seasons, is the outrageous cliffhanger that has us wanting season six to start tomorrow.

Rating for Style: A+
Rating for Substance: A+

 

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 formats, all 16 episodes feature sharp, detailed images throughout. The colors are bright and vivid, with natural tones, solid black levels, and well-handled contrast throughout. There’s also nothing in the form of dirt, grain, or any other print flaws.

Image Transfer Grade: B+
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: Each show has a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack, and these serve the material adequately. The surrounds are rarely used, but the ambient sounds, effects, and crystal clear dialogue work in perfect tandem in the overall mix.

Audio Transfer Grade: B- 

Disc Extras

Animated menu with music
Scene Access with 96 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English
3 Other Trailer(s) featuring Comedy Central’s TV Funhouse, South Park: The Complete Eleventh Season, Drawn Together: Season Three
4 Deleted Scenes
1 Documentaries
6 Feature/Episode commentaries by Wendy McLendon-Covey, Cedric Yarbrough, Kerry Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Carlos Alazraqui, and Robert Ben Garant
Packaging: Thinpak
Picture Disc
3 Discs
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Comedy Central Quickies – 4 clips from Comedy Central shows

Extras Review: The extras are spread out among the three discs, with the audio commentary tracks appearing on episodes 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 16. The tracks’ participants include Wendy McLendon-Covey and Cedric Yarbrough during episodes 3 and 7, while Kerry Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Carlos Alazraqui, and Robert Ben Garant join Yarbrough for the other commentaries. All are very funny and non-repetitive, which is difficult to accomplish for discussions about a TV series.

Disc 1 also features previews for other Comedy Central DVDs, along with four Comedy Central Quickies. These are clips that run just over two minutes from The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, South Park, and Lil’ Bush.

Disc 3 has the rest of the extras, including Cop Psychology: Inside the Minds of Reno’s Deputies. This hilarious feature finds all of the actors (in character, fortunately) undergoing psychological interviews for just over 23 minutes. There are also four extended scenes that run for over 40 minutes, and feature plenty of funny bits that make them well worth the time.

Extras Grade: B+
 

Final Comments

A TV series that continues to get stronger and funnier gets another great DVD box with Reno 911!: The Complete Fifth Season. We not only get all 16 episodes from this season, but we get them completely uncensored, with all of the swear words, off-the-wall violence, and nudity that was cut out of the TV broadcasts. This three-disc set features great audio, video, and some truly amusing extras that will more than please the series’ rabid fans.

Chuck Aliaga 2008-07-17