The brainchild of Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, Robot Chicken, delivers hysterically with its most recent DVD installment, Robot Chicken Season 3. The Emmy-award winning series has proven itself yet again as the hottest new sketch-comedy – joining the ranks of Chappelle’s Show, Mad TV, and Saturday Night Live.
For those unfamiliar with the format of the show, Robot Chicken is an 11-minute show divided into several spontaneous rapid-fire skits. The show is not portrayed by live actors but with claymation (think Gumby or Wallace ‘ Grommit), giving the creators an interesting and fluid medium through which to reflect their genius for comedy. In the absurdity of the Robot Chicken series, many of the skits reflect pop culture elements and even hide a degree of social commentary.
Any pop culture enthusiast would love Robot Chicken, but newcomers to the show should begin with the first season, as the third season parodies elements built in the first two series, which can be confusing and entirely irrelevant. Nearly 90 percent of the show references different people, places, events, music and movies, making the humor highly dependent on the viewer’s knowledge of pop culture. Otherwise the show comes off as grossly childish rather than a witty, clever and entertaining assessment of pop culture.
Fans of the show will be pleased to know the third season edition is just as fresh and original as the previous installments, and also contains one added element-the box set is uncensored. As the show is dependent on shock humor to conclude each skit, it should be viewed in its rawest form. It’s surprising how inventive the creators are with their newly discovered license.
The season is as edgy as South Park in its approach to hot topics such as world affairs, taking the crazy cowboy stereotype of George W. Bush and his administration to a hilarious extreme.
Another nice treat the DVD set provides is audio commentary, the making of the show and other features that add a lot to the Robot Chicken experience. The extras and commentary are actually worth listening to, if only for the humor.
This series is recommended as a novel item for Cougars to pop into the DVD player and enjoy with the company of friends in your dorm.
This is a genius work of comedy assessing many aspects of the culture we all have at least some part in. Be it to kill 11 minutes or one hour, the Robot Chicken DVD box set is perfect for keeping you entertained.
