Creators
Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney, and Thomas Lennon
Cast
Cedric Yarbrough Deputy S. Jones
Kerri Kenney Deputy Trudy Wiegel
Ben Garant Deputy Travis Junior
Niecy Nash Deputy Raineesha Williams
Thomas Lennon Lieutenant Jim Dangle
Wendi McLendon-Covey Deputy Clementine Johnson
Carlos Alazraqui Deputy James Garcia
DVD Release Date: February 27, 2007
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 154 Minutes
The Movie
There have been so many sketch comedy shows in the past that it’s rather difficult to keep up with them all. Some of the better ones are long gone now dating back to the sixties and seventies with The Carol Burnett Show and Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. The nineties brought us such fantastic shows such as The State and The Kids In The Hall. Fast forward to the past couple years with Saturday Night Live now in its 32nd year and Chappelle’s Show becoming one of the most popular shows ever; sketch comedy is still going very strong.
We tend to forget about The Jamie Kennedy Experiment and Blue Collar TV. Or at least I do.
But there are some shows that still bring fantastic comedy to television week in and week out. With some of the members of The State still refusing to let each other go, RENO 911! brings the funny side of police reality shows to the foreground. Set up much in the same way that COPS is with a camera crew following around officers as they go on their calls, but you will experience the craziest and most wild instances to ever come across the police band radio.
Creators Garant, Kenney, and Lennon (The State) star as just a few members of the Reno Sheriff’s Department who are seeking to make “the biggest little city in the world” free of crackheads, prostitutes, and the largest amount of people committing indecent exposure anyone has ever seen. Their calls are never of the ordinary and also are never simple. You won’t see one of the deputies arrive on the scene, administer a warning, and then be on their way. If there isn’t someone who loses their clothes or gets accidentally shot, then you probably are watching a real police reality show.
The officers themselves are so very unique. Deputy Jones (Yarbrough) one of the two black officers on the show, but a lot of his actions makes everyone think he’s more white then anything. Deputy Junior (Garant) is always easily spotted by the bullet-proof vest he wears over the top of his uniform. Lieutenant Dangle is the leader of this band of misfits who is also easily identified by his daisy duke shorts and large sunglasses. Throw in an idiot, a floozy, a few others, and it makes you wonder if there really are cops out there like this. If there are, we’re in for a lot of trouble but at least we’d get some laughs while getting robbed.
It’s kind of surprising that this DVD is coming out at all considering the first three season of the show are already available. Putting out a “best of” collection right in the middle seems more like an act for just money more than anything. Don’t get me wrong, the episodes they chose for this set are some real gems and absolutely hilarious. Officer Smiley and Rick From Citizen’s Patrol would have to be the two funniest episodes possibly in the entire series, so like I said, they chose some great ones for this set. But that still doesn’t tell us exactly why.
Episodes
Scavenger Hunt
Homeland Security Parts 1 & 2
Reverend Gigg LeCarp
Officer Smiley
Reading Ron
Rick From Citizen’s Patrol
The Video
The episodes are shown in their regular Full Screen format just as they originally were. There is no real big change to how anything looks, but it transfers over well and there should be no complaints.
The Audio
The episodes are heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound and as with the video; there was no real change from when the episodes first aired. It is a bit louder and clearer of course with the DVD quality so it sounds just fine.
Special Features
Best of Reno 911!: The Deputies’ Favorite Calls – Some of the best calls (clips) from the show as supposedly chosen by the deputies themselves. This is a fantastic special feature which gives us some of the funniest moments from the entire series so far. Included are some of the classics such as “Officer Down Surprise Party,” “Naked Hillbilly,” and “Illegal Fireworks.”
Live Performance Of “Don’t Steal Cable” – Lieutenant Dangle brings out his guitar and is joined by Deputies Jones, Wiegel, and Williams for a short, but great, live public service announcement song.
Trailers – South Park: Season Nine, The Roast Of William Shatner, Mind Of Mencia Season 2
The Inside Pulse
The show is fantastic and this is a great set of episodes, but to buy this set and not just spend the extra $5 to $10 bucks to purchase a whole season is beyond reasonable thought. The extras are funny, but again the “favorite calls” are something you can get by just picking up the season sets. Saying that it’s uncensored too shouldn’t be what sways you to pick it up because besides a random curse word here and there, not much changes. I love the show, but this is just an unnecessary DVD.
