The Brak Show, Vol. 2 DVD: Review By Travis Young

The Brak Show.

Just saying the title brings a smile to my face. Watching The Brak Show truly is a one-of-a-kind experience and I can honestly say that it's the weirdest show I've ever seen (yes, weirder than Aqua Teen Hunger Force). The humor is so wacky and off the wall that you pretty much will either think it's hilarious or you'll think it's the dumbest show you have ever seen. Like Family Guy, there really isn't a storyline at all. Basically, the main characters of the show are shown, something unexpected happens and then hilarity ensues. The best part about the show is how unpredictable it is. You never have any idea where the show is going with each second, and because of that it always keeps your interest. Not to mention the fact that each episode is only about 15 minutes, so they are great for some quick laughs.

Not much has change in the world of The Brak Show for Volume 2 (A combination of most of Season 2 episodes and all of Season 3 except for the New Year's Eve Special). Brak, Zorak, Thundercleese, Mom and Dad all return for more wacky and ridiculous situations. There is one new character who shows up quite a bit named Clarence. I guess the best way to describe him would be to call him a hyper nerd. And while that sounds funny, it's not quite as great as you would imagine. He's got some good lines in a few episodes, but for the most part he's forgettable. Also, there is one thing that really sticks out in the second season. There has been a change in voice actors for the character of Brak's Mom. Marsha Crenshaw, who played the role for the first 13 episodes, had such a sweet and soft voice that was pleasing to hear and it balanced correctly with the other characters. She was the everyday mom that everyone loves. For all of the episodes on this volume, Joanna Daniel took over the role of Mom and she gave the character a heavy British accent and a fiery personality. If you're a huge fan of the show then you surely know of the immediate dislike and hate that the new voice received on the internet. I also disliked the change and really wished it would have never happened. It's not that the accent is annoying, though at times it can be; it's that it just doesn't sound right with the show at all and it does actually change the character more than you would imagine.

Now I was extremely excited to watch and review this second volume of The Brak Show. I had seen all of the first volume's episodes and loved just about every minute of it. I got the humor right away and I loved the absurdness of it. My expectations after seeing the first season were very high, so it was going to be very difficult for the Brak creators to live up to it. Unfortunately for me, they didn't. It's a very good volume, don't get me wrong, but I just found it to not be quite as great. When I compare it to the first season it just doesn't feel as memorable. In the first season there were unforgettable episodes such as "Goldfish", "Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk", and "Time Machine" (just to name a few). With Volume 2, there were really only two episodes out of the fourteen that stuck out for me and stayed consistently funny throughout. Those two episodes were "Shadows of Heat" and "Dinner Party". Both feature insane new characters and hilarious one-liners.

Though there were only two episodes that I found to be great, that doesn't mean that the rest were bad. In fact, they were all very funny. Each one got a good number of big laughs from me and that's not easy to do. If you're interested in watching The Brak Show for the first time then I recommend you check out the first volume before you go to this one. Volume One has, in my opinion, the funniest episodes and it will give you the best idea of whether or not you're into this kind of bizarre humor. After that, if you enjoyed it, then I would say at the very least rent this volume. The first 3 episodes are only somewhat funny, but after that the show stayed very consistent with the laughs.

No special features at all. Not even one easter egg.

Full Frame (1.33:1). Just like in the first season, a lot of the show takes place in Brak's kitchen, though occasionally we are treated to Brak's bedroom and even out in the middle of nowhere on a bridge during the "Shadows of Heat" episode. You'll also recognize that a lot of the secondary characters that Brak encounters are done in the same style as Aqua Teens Hunger Force.

English Dobly Stereo 2.0. Every so often were treated to an abrupt and hilarious song sung to us by the one and only Brak. The songs are so stupid and so weird that you can't help but roll over in laughter.

Standard DVD case. 14 episodes on 2 discs. On the cover is of course the face of Brak in a knitted style with "The Brak Show" featured on top.

If you absolutely love The Brak Show, then I see no reason why you wouldn't want this DVD in your collection. No there aren't any special features and though that does disappoint a lot of the fans out there, they need to remember that this is the only way they are going to get the rest of their Brak episodes on DVD. It's basically this, or nothing. A few commentaries would have been nice, but the most important part is that the episodes are on here and and they are, so honestly I'm happy with that.