Product Description

Overwhelming audience demand brings THE KIDS IN THE HALL back on DVD with another brilliant set of sketch comedy classics! After two highly influential seasons, the comedic quintet hit their stride in THE KIDS IN THE HALL: COMPLETE SEASON THREE. Writing and performing every sketch, everyone's favorite shape-shifting Canadians offered up more uproarious, risqué, but always sweet and charming takes on life's absurdities. From familiar favorites like the Chicken Lady and Mississippi Gary to brilliant originals like "Flying Pig" and "Girl Drink Drunk," THE KIDS IN THE HALL always found their unique humor in the strangest corners. DVD Features: New Audio Commentary by the Kids; 2 Season 3 Best-of Compilations Featuring Fan-Favorite Sketches; 30 More Minutes of Never-Before-Seen-On-TV Performances from the Rivoli Theater; Slide Show; Biographies; And More…

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14687 in DVD
• Brand: A&E
• Released on: 2005-10-25
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 500 minutes

Amazon.com
With greater success comes greater confidence. Fortunately, the Kids had the talent to back it up. For their third season, the Canadian quintet upped the ante with more location work (the show is less set-bound than before), more extras (especially senior citizens and canines), and more special effects (Bruce McCulloch's Flying Pig, Kevin McDonald and his twin, Scott Thompson and his robotic double). The basic format, live sketches combined with short films, remained the same. As with their second year, the Toronto troupe brought back a number of fan favorites, while introducing a bevy of new eccentrics.

Like a cartoon version of Freaks, the Chicken Lady (Mark McKinney) returns with new bosom buddy the Bearded Lady (McDonald). Better yet, she discovers scantily clad stripper Rooster Boy (Thompson). Can she handle the excitement? (Short answer: No.) Other returning characters include gabby geek Gavin (McCulloch), bitchy bar man Buddy Cole (Thompson), Jacques Tati-like Mr. Heavyfoot (Dave Foley), clueless Police Department Cops (McCulloch and McKinney), and Sir Simon Milligan (McDonald) and Satanic manservant Hecubus (Foley). Even the "It's a Fact" girl makes a reappearance, although McKinney takes her place when she demands more money ("Triple scale!").

Third year highlights include McDonald's uber-blasé Empty Promises Guy ("It slipped my mind…") and McCulloch's catchy "Terrier Song," in which he extols the virtues of the popular breed ("Give terriers a chance / Do the terrier dance"). Unlike most sketch comedies, The Kids in the Hall was never about guest stars. Nonetheless, sharp-eyed viewers are sure to recognize a pre-Party of Five Neve Campbell in "Pizzeria," in which McDonald and McKinney become gibbering idiots in her private schoolgirl presence. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

The Kids Hit Their Stride In Season 3!
While some considered the 2nd season to be perhaps as funny but slightly less daring than the 1st, this time around everything seems to work perfectly. The concepts are as bold as ever, the insights at times are biting and cynical, the concepts are hilariously absurd yet often executed with nuance (a tough feat) and the boys just seem to have found the perfect chemistry. Their intelligent brand of oddball sketch comedy is now fully mastered coming off smoother than before while thankfully never losing the raw edge of the earlier work.

The 4-disc format of the package remains exactly the same as the first 2 seasons with the actor commentary, compilations of favorite sketches, rare never-seen performances from the Rivoli Theater and cast bios alongside all of the episodes. It's a very solid set of added material though not a total home run in terms of extras; however it's what we've come to expect for the series at this point and the consistency is fine.

Obviously this is a must for fans and I think you'll find this to be the most enjoyable of the 3 sets so far. For newcomers I think this is an easier place to dip into the weird world of KITH since the entire act is a bit more polished.

Girl Drink Drunk
This is the season during which the KITH hit their stride.

Some of their humor is a matter of taste - personally I will die a happier man if I never have to endure another "Buddy Cole" dialogue.

On the other hand, whatever Dave Foley does is uproarious(Hecubus, blood-stained surgeon, polite but inconvenienced axe-murderer, "somnambulant" teen, Danny Husk's assistant), Kevin McDonald is consistently great (his Simon gives Flaherty's Count Floyd a run for his money), and, in spots, even Bruce McCulloch ("flying pig", diminutive bar bully), Scott Thompson (kidnapped Danny Husk), and Mark McKinney (chicken lady) are funny.

But "Girl Drink Drunk" is sublime satire. While Monty Python and SCTV remain the comedy troupes nonpareil, I am not sure that either has ever done anything as perfect as "Girl Drink Drunk".

That alone is worth this price of admission.

Kids are Klassy
There really isn't much that needs saying. The Kids in the Hall are best ensemble comedy group to ever come out of North America. It's a real treat to see the shows as they were originally broadcast in Canada. Aside from the regular episodes there are two "best of " compilations on disk four, both with very interesting and amusing commentary from the performers. There is also footage of a live performance that pre dates their television program.

Any Kids fan will want to own this and every other Season Set.