While it sounds audacious, the Kids in the Hall have achieved a level of comic success like Monty Python, SCTV and the first batch of Not Ready for Prime Time Players on Saturday Night Live. They created a sketch comedy show that retains cult cool after two decades. The five seasons that started in 1989 have them getting better every year and the members have healthy solo careers as they pop up in various TV shows and major movies. The big qualification for greatness is how they can reunite without looking like they took a week off. This was accomplished last year when The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town ran on IFCTV, an eight part series that plays like movie. The Kids In the Hall: The Complete Series bundles all five seasons of the original show with Death Comes to Town.
Dave Foley (News Radio), Bruce McCulloch (Director of Superstar), Kevin McDonald (Lilo and Stitch), Mark McKinney (Saturday Night Live) and Scott Thompson (The Larry Sanders Show) have a great chemistry. The five seasons of The Kids In the Hall are the same as the earlier A&E DVD releases. All the bonus features have been kept on the discs. The show was a semi-traditional sketch show that mixed studio work with shorter sketches shot on location. Like Monty Python, the Kids enjoyed dressing up as women when required. They created numerous memorable characters including the guy who squishes heads and the esteemed Buddy Cole. During season 4 Buddy gets his own special with a visit from Queen Elizabeth II. It’s more exciting that the last royal wedding. Their show has matured with age. The show avoids a lot of current events jokes so you won’t need a history degree to laugh. You might want a few ideas about life in Canada.
After five years, the series ended and the Kids went on to make their Brain Candy movie. It’s not featured in the boxset, but you can get it cheap as part of a double feature with Back to the Beach. They did a few reunion tours. But they seemed rather busy with their various solo TV and movie gigs. Finally they found the time to reunite for a TV project. Death Comes to Town is not them reviving their old characters (with the exception of the two cops). They create a whole new set of identities to populate Shuckton, Ontario. The major character is a grim reaper (McKinney) that arrives in town. It’s a sad time for Shuckton since they just lost their bid for the Summer Olympics. Mayor Larry Bowman (McCulloch) can’t believe they lost out. What’s even more unbelievable is that he’s the reaper’s first victim. But who really killed the mayor? The police quickly find a suspect in a stoned 1/16th Indian (Thompson) who has the mayor’s blood all over his clothes. Except nobody understands why he would have done it. The biggest skeptic is an extremely obese ex-youth hockey star (McCulloch). He’s the town’s most hated guy since he lost the youth hockey championship when he had sex with a fan of the opposing team before the big game. The reaper is obsessed with killing the flabby flop, but he can’t time it right.
Death Comes to Town works as both a comedy and a murder mystery. The Kids push the weirdness without making us forget there’s a killer hidden amongst the citizens. The reveal isn’t a cop out. The new mini-series matches the standards set by their original show on The Kids In the Hall: The Complete Series. This set deserves shelf space near a Monty Python collection. The kids have matured well.
The video for the original episodes are 1.33:1 full frame. Death Comes to Town is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The original series was mastered on video starting in ’89 so it doesn’t look as tight as the HD transfer on Death.. The audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround although the mix isn’t quite dynamic enough to take full advantage of the separation.
Audio Commentaries are provided on all the Favorites episodes on the bonus discs. Two episodes of Death have Dave and Bruce discuss their reunion.
Season One
An Oral History (38:22) lets the troupe discuss their formation and first season on TV.
Pilot Episode Favorites (25:40) are the best sketches from their original outing. Not sure why we couldn’t get the whole pilot, but it’s strange to see them so young after watching Death.
Season 1 Favorites (24:44) is a greatest hits episode.
Performance from the Rivoli Theater (28:05) is raw video from them on stage in the late 80s. The audio is rather rough so don’t talk or chew during viewing.
Rolling Stone Article is a pdf file for downloading.
Season Two
An Oral History Season 2 (15:46) lets them discuss how they wouldn’t have an office at the CBC. They didn’t want to get tainted by the suits. Kevin McDonald’s shirt is cringeworthy.
Season 2 Favorites (58:39) are two episodes with the highlights of the season.
Performance from the Rivoli Theater (24:37) more raw tapes from their time at the club.
Kids in the Hall Performance Posters is another pdf file with the posters ready to print.
Season Three
Season 3 Favorites (47:08) are two episodes highlights of their biggest laughs.
Performances from Rivoli Theater (29:42) gives more time before they were properly wired for sound.
Slide Show (6:38) is a montage of their various promotional photos. They pose in front of the brick wall.
Season Four
Season 4 Favorites (47:00) shows how the series has gotten better production-wise in these two episodes.
Archival Footage (38:06) is more live action from their nightclub days.
Slide Show (4:32) are the color promo shots of the five guys.
Season Five
Series Finale (23:31) is their farewell show.
Season 5 Favorites (23:17) gives us the highlights of their final season.
Death Comes to Town
Deleted and Extended Scenes (29:43) is like a lost episode with the dozens of missing moments put together.
Bloopers (4:52) has them cracking each other up along with wardrobe malfunction. One character has issues playing dead.
The Kids in the Hall: The Complete Series is prime for fans of the comedy troupe. Bringing together the original show with the Death Comes to Town mini-series ties together their work. For those who already own the original show boxsets, Death Comes to Town is offered as a standalone release.
A&E presents The Kids in the Hall: The Complete Series. Starring: Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Boxset Contents: 109 episodes on 22 DVDs. Released on DVD: May 24, 2011.
