Andy Barker, P.I. (TV Series): The Complete Series (DVD)

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Andy Richter is probably best known as Conan O´Brien´s sidekick on "Late Night," a position he held from 1993 to 2000. When Conan inherited Jay Leno´s spot on "The Tonight Show," Richter returned to the fold as both a writer and on-screen foil. In between those stints by Conan´s side, Richter has had supporting roles in films like "Elf," "Madagascar," and "Talladega Nights." On the small screen, he hasn´t had much luck, but that´s not from lack of trying. Richter´s first foray following "Late Night" was the sitcom "Andy Richter Controls the Universe." The Fox series lasted for two seasons with 19 episodes produced. When "Universe" was cancelled, Richter returned to Fox with another short-lived television series, "Quintuplets."

You´d think third times the charm, right? Unfortunately, that wasn´t the case with "Andy Barker, P.I." "Barker" definitely had the pedigree to be a successful show. It was co-created by Conan O´Brien and Jonathan Groff, one of the producers and writers for "How I Met Your Mother." The writing staff included Jane Espenson ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Gilmore Girls," "Battlestar Galactica") and Josh Bycel ("American Dad," "Psych"). "Barker" was picked up by NBC in 2007 as a midseason replacement. It only lasted four episodes with the final two burned off on a Saturday. Shout Factory has released this 2-disc set containing the show´s entire 6 run episode. "Andy Barker" is definitely one of those shows you wished had gained a sizeable audience.

Richter plays the title character, Andy Barker, a nebbish accountant in the fictional town of Fair Oaks, California. Andy is white bread through and through. He "rocks out" to Norah Jones and enjoys Sandra Bullock movies. Andy is extremely excited when he opens his own accounting office in a strip mall. On his first day, a beautiful blond in a slinky red dress appears in his office. She hires Andy, not to do her taxes, but to find her presumed dead husband. Turns out, Andy´s office was previously occupied by a private investigator. He decides to go along with this bit of mistaken identity and begins taking cases along with crunching numbers.

The supporting cast is filled with an assortment of eccentric characters. There´s Andy´s wife, Jenny (Clea Lewis), who is skeptical of her hubby going into the detective business, but she supports him nonetheless. Tony Hale from "Arrested Development" plays Simon, the manager of the video store underneath Andy´s office. Simon´s obsessive knowledge of movies can sometimes be more harmful than helpful. Another occupant of the strip mall is Wally (Marshall Manesh), the Afghani owner of a kabob shop who over compensates American patriotism in this post 9-11 world. Finally, there´s Lew Staziak the retired P.I. whose office Andy now uses. Staziak is old school and he´s played to perfection by the late-character actor, Harve Presnell, who starred in films like "Fargo" and "Face/Off." He´s tough-as-nails and has no social graces whatsoever. Lew makes offensive comments and has no qualms in threatening a little kid with bodily harm.

What really clicked with the series is that Andy Barker wasn´t a man disillusioned by his suburban life or his desk job. He actually enjoyed accounting and uses some of those skills in his investigations. The juxtaposition of the film noir world in this upper-middle class world also opens up the opportunity for comedy. Barker appears to be the only sane man in this insane world and his nonplussed reactions are usually the highlight of each episode.