DVD Review: Robot Chicken Season III
Seth Green and Matt Senreich's Show For Cartoon Network
Oct 9, 2008
Season III of Robot Chicken shows that creators Seth Green and Matt Senreich (click the link for an exclusive interview) are still improving their rapid-fire stop-motion show, both in the production values and comedy writing. It's a slam-dunk for fans, and might attract some casual watchers as well.
Robot Chicken Season III DVD
After 3 seasons on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block, Robot Chicken is starting to find its groove. The sketches rarely wear out their welcome - mainly because they're so freakin' short - and the writers have started flipping back and forth between different sequences to show the passage of time in a sketch. Some familiar characters return, such as the luckless nerd, the funky aliens, and George W. Bush (a lot of American comedy writers will go into mourning after this November), which give the show a bit more continuity.
As in previous seasons, Green, Senreich and the other writers go for the throw-as-many-jokes-at-the-screen-as-possible-in-the-hope-that-some-of-them-work method of gag writing, though to be fair, about 70% of them succeed. That's a definite improvement over previous seasons; and some of the bits (like Barbara Bush having a kung fu fight with a V-styled Paris Hilton) are so bizarre that the audience ends up laughing at the show's chutzpah.
Much like South Park, the Robot Chicken gang hasn't yet learned that puke jokes have a limited shelf life but some bits, like the guy who gets the Ferris Wheel to stop so he can (unsuccessfully) propose to his girlfriend have that wonderful Tragedy + Time = Comedy feel to it.
Extra Features
Much like John Lasseter, Green and Senreich are a fan of over-delivering: giving fans more for their hard-earned money. To that end, they've packed this DVD with extra tidbits.
Disc 1 features what they call "Chicken Nuggets," otherwise known as stuff that ended up on the cutting room floor. It's understandable why most of this stuff got chopped, but there are some funny bits in there. There's also a "Gag Reel" (not what you're thinking) plus a comparison of shots pre and post-VFX.
Disc 2 has some alternate audio for various scenes from voice actors Donald Faison and Seth Green. There are also some more deleted animatics, some deleted scenes, a studio tour hosted by Green, and video blogs from various members of the Robot Chicken gang.
The Final Analysis
If you're a fan of Robot Chicken, then the Season III DVD is a no-brainer. Casual fans may get seduced by the show's rapid-fire jokes, but many of the references are pretty generation-specific (besides, do we really need another 300 spoof for the "1776" sequence?).
Going by the show's 70% funny-to-non-funny ratio - plus an extra point for over-delivering - the Robot Chicken Season III DVD gets a 8/10.
 |
