Puppets Who Kill

Rating:
Summary: Show's premise is funnier than its "execution"
Review: I bought this dvd set without having seen the show based on the title the and preceding review. Unfortunately I did not find this show nearly as enjoyable as the previous reviewer.

The problem I had with this show is that it is just seldom laugh out loud funny. "South Park" makes me laugh out loud when it's good. Ditto "Reno 911," another currently popular dark comedy. But aside from a few of the truly twisted puppet-sex scenes and Cuddles' killing rampage in one of the episodes, I rarely experienced more than a slight smile watching these 13 episodes. Truth be told, I did not find "Kids In the Hall" to be funny, either, so perhaps I should have considered myself warned when I read about that connection to this show's creative team.

I think that what was most disappointing about these shows is that it would be more accurate to call it "Puppets Who Killed" rather than "...Kill", as very few of these episodes feature that ultimate antisocial act. Instead the sort of antisocial behavior the puppets are up to these days involve more mundane things like starting a urine sample company to provide "clean" urine to people who use drugs. Worth a little giggle, I guess, but not nearly as twisted as I anticipated.

To be fair, the later episodes on this 2-dvd set seem to be better than the earlier ones (with the exception of the early episode where Cuddles' killing rampage occurs), so perhaps this show got better over time and subsequent seasons were better.

I found the picture quality to be fine on my 32" HDTV monitor -- not a spectacular picture, but as good as the many other TV shows I have purchased on dvd.

DVD set features a few bonuses, including a commentary track for one of the episodes as well as a "behind the scenes" short that introduces the viewer to the puppeteers behind the characters.

Rating:
Summary: great show why does greg the bunny get all the credit
Review: Now im a bit confussed, everyone i talk to about the fox show greg the bunny loves it to death, yes it has seth green and eugeen leavy and that hot girl from mr. show but this is an excellent canadian show. Not every minute is hysterical but verry intertaining. I love greeg the bunny a lot but i think if people are into that show as i am their should be some love out their for puppets. The only episode that wasnt all that was the first but still good, the show gets better each episode. My favorite puppet is bob the ventroilquist, the 2 best episodes are when one of his former dummies he has killes his son the doctor is out for revenge, and when he reveals his testicle collection. Cuttles the comfort doll is also awesome, this an (A) sexual puppet has to come to terms with his problem in a verry delicate fashion. just give it a change, if you are into something different and want to actually get involved into the characters life. my girlfriend loves this show and she is extremelly picky.

Rating:
Summary: Guilty Pleasure
Review: This is a truly insane comedy about a half-way house for psychotic puppets. The residents include Cuddles, a cute doll who occassionally snaps and goes on killing sprees; Buttons, a sex-crazed teddy bear; Rocko, a burnt out dog doll; and Bill, the scheming ventriloquist dummy who goes into fits of depression if he goes too long without committing a murder. Looking after them is a social worker played by Dan Redican, formerly of The Frantics and behind the scenes with The Kids in the Hall. Dan's ploys to teach the puppets values usually just winds up leading to more murder and mayhem and subsequent coverups so he won't lose his job. If anything, Dan is being corrupted. Along the way, the puppets meet domanitrixes, necrophiliacs, witches, and other interesting characters. There's no nudity, but it is a Canadian show so censorship is not a problem, and you've never truly experience television until you've seen a cutesy wutesy puppet having sex with a human female. The show should appeal to warped minds and fans of South Park.

The series' creators include John Pattison, a former Jim Henson puppeteer, and Shawn Alec Thompson whose main exposure in the US is in John Water's Hairspray. Other people working on the show include former Sesame Street puppeteers and the guys who did Johnny 5 in Short Circuit 2 and the puppets in Bride of Chucky.

The only negative with this collection is the picture quality which is inexplicably grainy.