The Red Green Show – Stuffed & Mounted Six Pack Box Set +
Hindsight Is 20/20 (Compilation)
Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes:
B-
Sometimes, you can start from the wrong end and after
seeing and being disappointed by It’s A Wonderful Red Green Christmas
(reviewed elsewhere on this site), seeing the actual episodes of The Red
Green Show clarify its appeal after what turned out to be a set of oddly
misguided duds. The Stuffed &
Mounted Six Pact box is a favorites collection of the series as it ran from
1991 – 2000 across six DVDs, while Hindsight Is 20/20 is a much briefer
2003 look-back at the series on a single DVD.
In its original form, the show is more witty and is good
at spoofing pretensions and popular items of the time, so some of the jokes are
dated, but the live audience’s reaction reminds us of its context if we do not
at the time. Red Green himself is the
host of the fictitious show with his three regulars surfacing at will during
the various broadcasts.
This single disc is intended to be promo program to gain
more fans of characters Edgar, Hap, Bill & Harold. For a show that made its first appearance on
another show (ala the start of The Simpsons on The Tracey Allman Show),
it has endured as well as can be expected and then some for a simple show that
manages to stay above a one-joke premise.
The episodes in the box include:
1) The
Wind-Powered Boat
2) The Salt
& Pepper Shakers
3) Maple
Syrup
4) Fire
Brigade
5) The Beef
Project
6) The
Badger Project
7) The
Network Deal
8) The
Science Fair
9) Car Pool
10) The Owl Project
11) Men’s Night On The Mountain
12) Sedgwick The Tenant
13) The Winter Carnival
14) Mad About You
15) Too Much Information
16) No Duct Tape
17) The Spawning Ground
18) The Beer Project
19) The Driving Test
20) The Driving Lesson
21) The Town Mall
22) Life Cycle
23) The Auto Club
24) Damn You Emu
25) Magnetic Lake
26)
The
Firewood Project
27)
The
Satellite Dish
28)
The Tax
Refund
29)
Outside
30)
Town
Services Contract
31)
Guinness
World Records
32)
The
Dandruff Foundation
33)
Underground
Parking
34)
The
Hydrogen Project
35)
Father
& Son Banquet
36)
No Church
37)
The Good
Old Hockey Game
38)
Better To
Give Than To Receive
39)
Hurricane
Doug
40)
The Beaver
Dam
41)
The Tanks
We Get
42)
The
Schoolhouse Project
43)
The New
Doctor
44)
The Petting
Zoo
45)
The
Splinter Lodge
46)
The Mayor
Race
47)
The Battle
Call
48)
Who Wants
To Be A Smart Guy?
The titles show the kind of humor it is, which is still
limited and even an acquired taste, to be honest. Still, I am impressed the show is able to handle the TV grind as
well as it does for what it is. Only if
you become a fan will you find any rewatchability in these shows, but for those
who do, Acorn Media has both titles available and that will suit anyone’s
budget who wants to have the series in their collection.
The 1.33 X 1 NTSC image on all the DVDs is once again
adequate throughout, all in color, usually on the same set over and over
again. The funny thing about the analog
look is that it perpetuates the phoniness the show intends in ways they may not
have anticipated at the time, but digital High Definition’s better quality and
wider aspect ration give the phoniness a new authenticity. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is also
adequate, but has silly music and no surround information in all these cases
too. Extras on the single DVD include
66 minutes of extended clips, never-before-scene footage that is more of the
same fans will like, and a photo galley.
The box includes a promo coaster slipped in between two of the DVD cases
to set you beer/pop/etc. down on as you watch, unless you intend to keep it as
a souvenir. It is not plastic, so you
will want to put it in plastic. Other
extras on the actual DVDs include character biographies and star Steve Smith’s
introduction pieces on all discs, as was the case with the Holiday release,
which made me wonder if these regular versions of the show would work. I was right, so if you are interested in
seeing any of The Red Green Show, you should start with one of these
titles.
- Nicholas Sheffo
