If any genres on American television can be called hot right now, they are the so-called ?reality? show and crime-scene mystery. The victim of these rises to fame, the medical drama, has for the most part found itself relegated to reruns and/or dwindling audiences. The changing of the guard has illustrated TV crowds? fickle nature, but if the past few decades have revealed anything, it?s that good-old comedy will never die. And with several new sitcoms and one-man shows springing up, it?s safe to presume TV viewers will have more than their fill of laugh-filled evenings for seasons to come.
Take Comedy Central?s first-season hit ?Chappelle?s Show,? for example. Part ?In Living Color,? part ?Saturday Night Live? and 100-percent original, the show caused quite a stir with its irreverent look at all aspects of society, politically correct or not. Paramount has recently released ?Chappelle?s Show: Season One (Uncensored)? on DVD, and it?s a collection that fans will not want to miss. People unfamiliar with the show, however, would be wise to watch a rerun before ponying up to purchase the Season One set. Dave Chappelle certainly has his moments of comic genius, but they come at a surprisingly inconsistent rate.
Perhaps because his show appears on a cable network, Chappelle writes and produces skits that pull absolutely no punches in their pursuit of a good laugh. Sure, you might get the non-PC statement on occasion from a network sitcom, but Chappelle?s skits thrive by rubbing salt in society?s politically correct wounds. Absolutely nothing is off-limits to Chappelle, and his entire first season proves it time and again.
One skit puts Chappelle in the role of a blind white supremacist who?s unaware that he?s actually black. Original? You bet. Hilarious? Absolutely. A gutsy move? No doubt about it. Another skit shows Chappelle mocking reality TV with a variety of faux-pranks, including one where he robs a bank and one in which he tells two small children that their parents have died in an accident. Again, the concept is fresh, and the decision to produce it is gutsy, but the same ?shocking? scenarios at times expose a weakness in Chappelle?s Season One shtick.
In spite of Chappelle?s originality, many of his skits feel like the ?Half Baked? star is content to capitalize on low-brow humor, concepts such as race relations that are easy to poke fun at because few people have the gall to do it. Yes, Chappelle is incredibly bold for taking his jokes to a mainstream Comedy Central audience, but after five episodes, the jokes start to feel a bit cheapened and end up losing some of their comedic kick.
As any stand-up comic would tell you, even if a joke is fresh, you?re still bound to suffer a bomb or two, and the ?Chappelle?s Show: Season One? DVD suffers exactly that fate. The show has some fantastically hilarious moments, even in the later episodes and after watching skit after skit, but those moments of genius are often sandwiched between sketches that fall flatter than pancakes. Comedy?s never been a science, as watching comedic sketches in back-to-back-to-back episodes makes perfectly clear. It?s not any shortcoming on Chappelle?s part; it?s just the nature of the beast.
The nature of the DVD beast, of course, is the bonus material, and ?Chappelle?s Show: Season One? includes bonuses that are par for the course: commentaries, a group of unseen segments of ?Ask a Black Dude? and a blooper reel.
The commentaries, which appear on five of the season?s 12 episodes, are relatively informal and off-the-cuff ?production notes? about the episode at hand. Nothing too grand, but it?s always fun to hear about some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of TV and movie production. ?Ask a Black Dude? is clearly Chappelle?s most successful bit on race relations, and the unseen footage continues the hilarity of the shtick Comedy Central crowds have loved since the first episode. The blooper reel, on the other hand, is a bit underwhelming and often feels more like a documentary of inside jokes and funny on-set events. It certainly fills the time and the DVD, but it?s nothing you?ll be dying to watch over and over.
And for better or for worse, that?s how the entire ?Chappelle?s Show: Season One? DVD collection really feels. It?s got its classic comedic moments, but there are a few too many bombs to really compel you to watch the episodes over and over. Any comedy shtick is bound to have its flops, but whether it?s the half-hour format or the amount of comedic moments Chappelle tries to fit into each show, there?s just something missing. It?s generally pretty good the first time around, but the longevity just isn?t there for repeat viewings.
In many respects, a Season One Greatest Hits DVD would have better served viewers, not to mention Dave Chappelle and his show. Fans of ?Chappelle?s Show? who know what they?re in for will undoubtedly want to pick up this DVD, but people who are less familiar and want an introduction should watch an episode or two on Comedy Central before rushing out to buy this Season One DVD set.
