David Galindo
Screenwriter
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2003
- Messages
- 1,264
[c]Chappelle’s Show: Season One, Vol. One (UMD)
Region 1 • Unrated • Dolby Digital • Available Now
[/c]
Yet another no-frills Paramount TV release, but it’s something I’ve had to expect from the studio anyways. Wait, I said the same thing in the South Park review. Well, Paramount leaves me very little to work with I guess.
Thoughts on the TV Show
I really like the TV UMD samplers that have a theme to it. Take the recent South Park: When Technology Attacks! UMD. It contains some brand new episodes not available on DVD yet, and the whole theme thing makes the UMD a bit more fleshed out and better.
What Paramount did for the Chappelle UMD though is to take the first five episodes of the first season and slap it on UMD. The facts are these: the first season was great but definitely not as good as the second season, and when two of the five episodes aren’t that great, you’re in trouble.
The UMD contains the following episodes:
EP1- Dave Chappelle plays America’s most vicious blind white supremacist and unveils racy bootie videos starring Nat King Cole.
EP2- The introduction to Tyrone Biggums, the crack addict that talks to an elementary school about drugs.
EP3- The “It’s a Wonderful Breast” sketch as well as some outtakes from Roots.
EP4- Dave gives out awards for Best NY Boobs and talks about what would happen if reparations for slavery were given.
EP5- Reflections on “Great Moments in Hookup History” and the first segment of “Ask a Black Dude.”
Episodes three and four are definitely the weakest, as “It’s a Wonderful Breast” is pretty bland and not too funny.
If Paramount could do six episodes for Viva La Bam, why not here? Had they included the sixth episode of the season, it would have the Real World episode (one of many great season one sketches), or even switch them all around for a “Best of Chappelle’s Show.” But the ones here are OK, just not as good as some of the others that could have been here instead. And because of that, the score is lower than it normally would be.
Video Quality
Yet another fantastic video transfer by Paramount. Everything looks great, and once again it’s in a 4:3 ratio meaning you can stretch or zoom into the picture. The colors, the detail, everything in fact looks as good as it can from a TV show (yet once again the reds bleed a bit).
4.5/5
Audio Quality
This is a pretty loud UMD, and the sound is a bit better than expected. The audience applause and cheers are very loud and well separated, and it comes out very nicely with some headphones. Great sound overall.
4/5
Extras
No extras once again, and the menu is as bland as the DVD menus were. The episodes are listed as Episode One, Two, etc. so that it’s hard to remember which sketches are in what show (even more so since there is no insert in the case). Just a play all button is about all you’re gonna get from Paramount, which is a shame.
0/5
Overall…
This UMD feels a bit lightweight. Five episodes from the first season would have been great, had they been the best five episodes of the season. Instead we get two really great episodes, one good one, and two OK ones. While your opinion may differ from mine, it doesn’t change the fact that Paramount could have done a better job with the extras, or in fact had just given us ONE more episode! Sigh...
2.5/5
Region 1 • Unrated • Dolby Digital • Available Now
[/c]Yet another no-frills Paramount TV release, but it’s something I’ve had to expect from the studio anyways. Wait, I said the same thing in the South Park review. Well, Paramount leaves me very little to work with I guess.
Thoughts on the TV Show
I really like the TV UMD samplers that have a theme to it. Take the recent South Park: When Technology Attacks! UMD. It contains some brand new episodes not available on DVD yet, and the whole theme thing makes the UMD a bit more fleshed out and better.
What Paramount did for the Chappelle UMD though is to take the first five episodes of the first season and slap it on UMD. The facts are these: the first season was great but definitely not as good as the second season, and when two of the five episodes aren’t that great, you’re in trouble.
The UMD contains the following episodes:
EP1- Dave Chappelle plays America’s most vicious blind white supremacist and unveils racy bootie videos starring Nat King Cole.
EP2- The introduction to Tyrone Biggums, the crack addict that talks to an elementary school about drugs.
EP3- The “It’s a Wonderful Breast” sketch as well as some outtakes from Roots.
EP4- Dave gives out awards for Best NY Boobs and talks about what would happen if reparations for slavery were given.
EP5- Reflections on “Great Moments in Hookup History” and the first segment of “Ask a Black Dude.”
Episodes three and four are definitely the weakest, as “It’s a Wonderful Breast” is pretty bland and not too funny.
If Paramount could do six episodes for Viva La Bam, why not here? Had they included the sixth episode of the season, it would have the Real World episode (one of many great season one sketches), or even switch them all around for a “Best of Chappelle’s Show.” But the ones here are OK, just not as good as some of the others that could have been here instead. And because of that, the score is lower than it normally would be.
Video Quality
Yet another fantastic video transfer by Paramount. Everything looks great, and once again it’s in a 4:3 ratio meaning you can stretch or zoom into the picture. The colors, the detail, everything in fact looks as good as it can from a TV show (yet once again the reds bleed a bit).
4.5/5
Audio Quality
This is a pretty loud UMD, and the sound is a bit better than expected. The audience applause and cheers are very loud and well separated, and it comes out very nicely with some headphones. Great sound overall.
4/5
Extras
No extras once again, and the menu is as bland as the DVD menus were. The episodes are listed as Episode One, Two, etc. so that it’s hard to remember which sketches are in what show (even more so since there is no insert in the case). Just a play all button is about all you’re gonna get from Paramount, which is a shame.
0/5
Overall…
This UMD feels a bit lightweight. Five episodes from the first season would have been great, had they been the best five episodes of the season. Instead we get two really great episodes, one good one, and two OK ones. While your opinion may differ from mine, it doesn’t change the fact that Paramount could have done a better job with the extras, or in fact had just given us ONE more episode! Sigh...
2.5/5
