Common themes from the LGBT community are explored, putting the queer “family” in the roles of pitcher (comedian) and catcher (punch line).
(Perhaps I am being too hard on the program in one respect: the Celebrities for Straight Parenting ad in the fourth episode is a starting point for a discussion on the ability of Britney Spears, Dina Lohan, Kevin Federline and Alec Baldwin to bring up children versus a gay couple.)
One last item I wanted to mention: the final sketch, bringing the most popular characters of the year onto the stage at the same time, resulting in Guarino´s ex-KGB agent Svetlana shooting some on stage. Is it Liza Minelli, Fitzwilliam (the boy who wants a vagina), Trixie (Fitzwilliam´s stuffed unicorn), acerbic exercise instructor LaTanya, morbidly out of shape Stephen, a parody of Broadway goddess Elaine Stritch, Maya Angelou or Naldo? Aside from suggesting there will be a third season of the program, I can´t help but wonder who thought this was a good idea. The entire concept is a clunky mess, giving each character/cast member a moment to take the stage before the next comes out, followed by a group dance number no one seems terribly sure about. A horrific way to end a season.
VIDEO:
As with the first year, we have a standard full screen presentation. Along with the higher production values, the picture also appears a bit enhanced, with better color saturation and delineation from start to finish. Only the skits taking place outside the studio exhibit any issues. And those problems-grain and bad lighting-are common to most programs filming outdoors on a tight schedule. Blacks and darker colors are well rendered without any blocking. There is no smearing of colors, only very slight jagged lines in a couple details through the season (especially in "The Facts of Life" piece).
AUDIO:
Another full English 2.0 track here (no subtitles) bringing the dialogue to life as crisply and efficiently as can be expected. There aren´t any issues of note this time out, with a deeper sound field than in the first season. Again, as with the video, only the outdoor productions pose any sort of concern: the audio level goes down just a notch between the studio pieces and what is filmed outdoors. Nothing to be majorly concerned with, though.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
I feel like I´m repeating myself here. In season one, I mentioned there were a lot of extra features not amounting to a hill of beans. The same is true here; however, some of the more obnoxious bits (the preponderance of McGovern, the interminable Celesbian Interviews) have either been cut or severely pared down. And just like the first season, the extras are broken down into categories with a "Play All" option on the main menu and sub-menu. (This also goes for the individual episodes…a very nice touch.)
Section one is labeled "The Big Gay Stuff." The main attraction here is a hideously unfunny 22-minute special called "The Big Straight Sketch Show." In it, the cast is informed they are making a new program, this time targeting the heterosexual audience to expand Logo´s viewer base. The less said about this misbegotten attempt to be funny the better. Two more of Julie Goldman´s Celesbian Interviews are up next, the first with Nicol Paone (6:26) and the second with Kate McKinnon (7:49). These are both a fair bit better than what we got in the first season. Being cast mates, Goldman, McKinnon and Paone have a fun chemistry with each other which comes through in each talk. A series of trailers for other Logo product are next, starting with a holdover from the first season (How to Get More Gay), followed by "Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in the World," "The Big Gay Sketch Show" (Season One) and "Exes and Oh´s."
Ten deleted sketches are housed in the appropriately titled "Big Gay Bonus Sketches." Upon watching what is included here, the edits are painfully obvious and necessary. In particular, I felt bad for Guarino in his "Desperate Logo Fairytales." Quite honestly, it may be the most unfunny sketch the show produced in two years. "Bondage on Three´s Company" and "Fag Hag Friendship" are little better.
"The Big Gay Interviews" is a recycled section from the previous release. All eight cast members (and Amanda Bearse) are interviewed here in segments running between 1:55 and 2:50. As with the season one interviews, these are wholly disposable. I have a feeling the interviews were used to promote the show on Logo, hence their short running time and lack of depth into the program itself.
Lastly, "Behind the Big Gay Scenes" consists of a couple blooper reels. There isn´t a lot to tell about the items here. Watching the crew interact with each other away from the camera is an enlightening experience, yet these aren´t true bloopers. The second segment, "Hold My Hair When I Throw Up" is simply Ash and Paone yucking it up backstage.
PARTING THOUGHTS:
I will readily admit feeling apprehensive heading into the second season of "The Big Gay Sketch Show." Comedy is a hard genre for me to appreciate because of how crude it usually is. Quite simply, fart jokes and other toilet humor isn´t funny to me. Thankfully, only one or two sketches in this season focus on the grotesque. Instead, common themes from the LGBT community are explored, putting the queer "family" in the unique position of being the pitcher (comedian) and catcher (punch line).
See, even I just made a joke.
One last item I wanted to mention: the final sketch, bringing the most popular characters of the year onto the stage at the same time, resulting in Guarino´s ex-KGB agent Svetlana shooting some on stage. Is it Liza Minelli, Fitzwilliam (the boy who wants a vagina), Trixie (Fitzwilliam´s stuffed unicorn), acerbic exercise instructor LaTanya, morbidly out of shape Stephen, a parody of Broadway goddess Elaine Stritch, Maya Angelou or Naldo? Aside from suggesting there will be a third season of the program, I can´t help but wonder who thought this was a good idea. The entire concept is a clunky mess, giving each character/cast member a moment to take the stage before the next comes out, followed by a group dance number no one seems terribly sure about. A horrific way to end a season.
VIDEO:
As with the first year, we have a standard full screen presentation. Along with the higher production values, the picture also appears a bit enhanced, with better color saturation and delineation from start to finish. Only the skits taking place outside the studio exhibit any issues. And those problems-grain and bad lighting-are common to most programs filming outdoors on a tight schedule. Blacks and darker colors are well rendered without any blocking. There is no smearing of colors, only very slight jagged lines in a couple details through the season (especially in "The Facts of Life" piece).
AUDIO:
Another full English 2.0 track here (no subtitles) bringing the dialogue to life as crisply and efficiently as can be expected. There aren´t any issues of note this time out, with a deeper sound field than in the first season. Again, as with the video, only the outdoor productions pose any sort of concern: the audio level goes down just a notch between the studio pieces and what is filmed outdoors. Nothing to be majorly concerned with, though.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
I feel like I´m repeating myself here. In season one, I mentioned there were a lot of extra features not amounting to a hill of beans. The same is true here; however, some of the more obnoxious bits (the preponderance of McGovern, the interminable Celesbian Interviews) have either been cut or severely pared down. And just like the first season, the extras are broken down into categories with a "Play All" option on the main menu and sub-menu. (This also goes for the individual episodes…a very nice touch.)
Section one is labeled "The Big Gay Stuff." The main attraction here is a hideously unfunny 22-minute special called "The Big Straight Sketch Show." In it, the cast is informed they are making a new program, this time targeting the heterosexual audience to expand Logo´s viewer base. The less said about this misbegotten attempt to be funny the better. Two more of Julie Goldman´s Celesbian Interviews are up next, the first with Nicol Paone (6:26) and the second with Kate McKinnon (7:49). These are both a fair bit better than what we got in the first season. Being cast mates, Goldman, McKinnon and Paone have a fun chemistry with each other which comes through in each talk. A series of trailers for other Logo product are next, starting with a holdover from the first season (How to Get More Gay), followed by "Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in the World," "The Big Gay Sketch Show" (Season One) and "Exes and Oh´s."
Ten deleted sketches are housed in the appropriately titled "Big Gay Bonus Sketches." Upon watching what is included here, the edits are painfully obvious and necessary. In particular, I felt bad for Guarino in his "Desperate Logo Fairytales." Quite honestly, it may be the most unfunny sketch the show produced in two years. "Bondage on Three´s Company" and "Fag Hag Friendship" are little better.
"The Big Gay Interviews" is a recycled section from the previous release. All eight cast members (and Amanda Bearse) are interviewed here in segments running between 1:55 and 2:50. As with the season one interviews, these are wholly disposable. I have a feeling the interviews were used to promote the show on Logo, hence their short running time and lack of depth into the program itself.
Lastly, "Behind the Big Gay Scenes" consists of a couple blooper reels. There isn´t a lot to tell about the items here. Watching the crew interact with each other away from the camera is an enlightening experience, yet these aren´t true bloopers. The second segment, "Hold My Hair When I Throw Up" is simply Ash and Paone yucking it up backstage.
PARTING THOUGHTS:
I will readily admit feeling apprehensive heading into the second season of "The Big Gay Sketch Show." Comedy is a hard genre for me to appreciate because of how crude it usually is. Quite simply, fart jokes and other toilet humor isn´t funny to me. Thankfully, only one or two sketches in this season focus on the grotesque. Instead, common themes from the LGBT community are explored, putting the queer "family" in the unique position of being the pitcher (comedian) and catcher (punch line).
See, even I just made a joke.
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