In Living Color – Season Four set
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: B-
For their
fourth season, In Living Color
managed to stay on track, retaining then dancer-only Jennifer Lopez and Jamie
Foxx, while trying to decide what to stay with and what to introduce. At this time, many of the cats were starting
to go out on their own by 1992 – 1993.
Even Lopez would eventually strike out in this direction, but during
this season, she was getting more notice.
Damon Wayans had already left for a feature film career that had mixed
results. The show also had some
repetition itself, dragging the series down a bit. “Cheat” shows that recycle previous skits is also annoying, even
when the skits are good.
Contained
once again on three DVDs in slender cases, the “Men On” skits are back
including a compilation show of earlier installments hosted by name (but not
always good) critics, as well as Homey The Clown, Benita Butrell the Gossiper,
Kim Wayans’ Dionne Warwick send-up, Foxx’s Ugly Woman and Bill Cosby. New classics include an underrated skit
called Why? that asked about stereotyping in the media. This should have been a bigger hit, though
it is a series that endures. Reality
Check is also not bad as a series.
Other highlights include Driving Miss Schott, a satire of Driving
Miss Daisy that criticizes sports team owner Marge Schott, who kept getting
in trouble for her bigoted comments at the time. Jim Carrey does an outrageous Ross Perot a few times, a
compilation of Jackson send-ups is included, Amy Fisher and Joey Buttafucco get
lampooned, What If Bob Hope Were Black? is a hoot, Carrey is a hoot as
Telly Savalas sending up his Diner Club card ads, a McLaughlin Group send-up
with infomercial stars (Cher and Jessica Hawn included) should have been a
regular skit and Thelma & Louise Jefferson is a real bulls-eye that
never fails.
As it was
in the previous editions, the 1.33 X 1 full frame, color footage is in great
shape, as clean and clear as it is going to get for professional analog NTSC videotape
of the time on DVD. The Dolby Digital
2.0 Stereo is good for its age, but offers no surrounds of any kind. Combined, the show again has never looked so
good. There are once again no extras,
which is sad. Is this the end of extras
in these sets? In any event, the shows
are very strong and that is reason enough to recommend it highly.
- Nicholas Sheffo
