The Book of Pure Evil is a Satanic spell book that gives its possessors the ability to make their deepest, darkest desires come true…but at a cost. The only ones who can stop this book from unleashing havoc on the town of Crowley Heights is stoner metalhead Todd Smith (Alex House) and his Scooby gang. However, every time they get close to capturing the book, it flies away and finds another Crowley High student to tempt.

When Todd & The Book of Pure Evil‘s second season opens, Crowley High School guidance counselor Atticus (Chris Leavins) has possession of the book. He also has Todd’s crush Jenny (Maggie Castle) and her father tied up in his evil lair at the Crowley Retirement Home. But one of Atticus’ inept minions accidentally allows the book to escape. While Atticus tries to find the book so he can become the pure evil one, Todd and his friends are on a mission to stop him—following and fighting the mayhem the book leaves in its tracks.

I had never seen Todd & The Book of Pure Evil before watching this second season DVD, so I had no idea what to expect. It was really easy to jump into season two without having seen the first season. The first episode of the season does a great job of getting new viewers up to speed.

Todd & the Book of Pure Evil is like an uncensored comedy version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In each episode, the book falls into the hands of a student who uses it to fix something in their life or get revenge on someone. The school then finds itself under attack from a new monster or in some crazy situation, and it’s up to Todd and his gang—best friend Curtis (Bill Turnbull), Curtis’ girlfriend Hannah (Melanie Leishman), Jenny and school janitor/weapons supplier Jimmy (Jason Mewes)—to fix things.

The show is crazy, wacky and even a bit raunchy. I think cast member Chris Leavins pretty much sums up the insanity of the show perfectly in one of the DVD bonus features when he matter-of-factly states what happens to his character in the second season: “This season, I transform into a goat, I get raped by a wolf, I perform an Elton John ballad in a sequined tuxedo, I get transformed into a caveman, I take my father’s severed head to a house party full of teenagers where I get really, really drunk and dance to an Anvil song. It’s a wild year.”

The second season monsters and situations include hoards of zombie grannies, students merged into a single student body, students being turned into skin suits, monster cheerleaders, students becoming cavemen, a giant birthday cake that eats students, the gang getting stuck in a video game, a pervert terrorizing the school, some AV students literally editing life like a movie, and Todd traveling in time.

However, the biggest and most amazing surprise of the season for me was the “2 Girls, 1 Tongue” Phantom of the Opera-like rock opera episode. It was very clever and the song lyrics were totally inappropriate and fun. The music actually moved along the plot rather than just having singing for singing sake. For the most part the performances were really impressive—though they probably should have not had Jason Mewes sing, because he was certainly not up to par with the rest of the cast.

The episodes are presented on this DVD in their original uncensored soundtrack. This is certainly not a show for younger viewers as there’s plenty of profanity, adult situations, and lots of guts and gore.

Todd & the Book of Pure Evil is a lot of fun and the episodic stories are filled with lots of humor and craziness, but the show also does a great job of weaving a central mystery and story throughout the season that pays off in the season finale. The acting is great, and the actors have a lot of chemistry with one another—you really believe these characters are friends. Chris Leavins is particularly hilarious as the over-the-top campy villain, and the actor seems to be willing to do anything! The special effects on the show also look really good, and not like a low budget green-screened show.

The picture and audio quality of the DVD is good, but at times the show looks a little dull or grainy. I would have loved to see this series in HD. This DVD set is loaded with every kind of bonus feature a viewer could want. Commentaries, deleted/extended scenes, a gag reel, behind-the scenes featurettes andinterviews with the cast and crew—it’s got a little bit of everything.

After watching this second season of Todd & the Book of Pure Evil, I immediately ordered the first season on DVD, and I can’t wait for the upcoming series finale animated feature film. I highly recommend checking out this fun series!

What’s Included on the DVD:

Episodes: (289 min)

• All 13 episodes of Season 2
  Disc 1: “Redierment Home”, “The Student Body”, “Daddy Tissues” , “Simply the Beast”, “Jungle Fever”, “Fisting Fantasy”, “See You Later, Masturbator”, “Loser Generated Content”
  Disc 2: “Deathday Cake”, “2 Girls, 1 Tongue”, “B.Y.O.B.O.P.E.”, “The Toddyssey”, “Black Tie Showdown”
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Closed Captioned

Extras:

• Cast and Crew Commentaries
  The cast and crew provide fun and interesting commentaries on three of the second season episodes. They give a lot of behind-the-scenes information and talk about some of the things that were cut from the episodes.
  • Episode 4 “Simply the Beast” (22:17)
    Co-creator Craig Wallace, executive producer Andy Rosen, creature effects designer David Scott, writer Ian Malone, and actors Alex House and Bill Turnbull.
  • Episode 7 “See You Later, Masturbator” (22:17)
    Co-writers Max and Adam Reid and actors Bill Turnbull, Jason Mewes, and Alex House.
  • Episode 13 “Black Tie Showdown” (22:17)
    Co-creator/writer/director Craig Wallace, actor Alex House and editor Gillian Truster.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes (11:53)
  A collection of 18 deleted and extended scenes. Play All or select from:
  • Episode 2: Don’t Tell Anyone I Like Dinosaurs (Extended Scene)
  • Episode 4: Curtis Wants Toast (Deleted Scene)
  • Episode 4: Extended Fight Training Montage (Extended Scene)
  • Episode 4: Hannah Hears a Scream (Extended Scene)
  • Episode 5: Atticus’ Tapes Are Blank (Extended Scene)
  • Episode 6: Todd’s the Hero (Deleted Scene)
  • Episode 7: Girls Aren’t Pervy. Or Are They? (Extended Scene)
  • Episode 7: Todd Thinks Like a Perv (Extended Scene)
  • Episode 7: Curtis’ Arm is Getting Beepier (Deleted Scene)
  • Episode 2: Don’t Tell Anyone I Like Dinosaurs (Extended Scene)
  • Episode 12: Curtis Overhears the Femme Battales (Deleted Scene)
  • Episode 12: Fun Torture? Or Not-Fun Torture? (Extended Scene)
  • Episode 12: Is it? (Deleted Scene)
  • Episode 13: Todd and Jimmy Have a Heart-to-Heart (Extended Scene)
  • Episode 13: Who are the Metal Dudes? (Deleted Scene)
  • Episode 13: The Dudes Are Watching (Deleted Scene)
  • Episode 13: Jimmy Gives Todd Advice (Extended Scene)
  • Episode 13: There is Another… (Extended Scene)
• Extended Musical Numbers (5:45)
  Play All or select from:
  • Episode 10: “Something Evil” (Extended Bridge)
  • Episode 10: “Metal Dude Wop” (Full)
  • Episode 10: “So Sincerely Sorry” (Full)
  • Episode 10: “Horny Like the Devil” (Alt. Performance)
• Special FX Bonus Material (3:03)
  A look at how some of the bloody special effects were tested and executed. Play All or select from:
  • Episode 2: Leslie is Ripped Apart
  • Episode 4: Arm Rip Behind-the-Scenes
  • Episode 4: Head Punch Behind-the-Scenes
• Blooper Reel (5:40)
  Flubbed lines, prop malfunctions, cracking up and just having fun on the set—and lots of profanity.
• “In Memorian”: A Tribute to the Fallen Students of Crowley High (1:20)
  A look at the many deaths on the show across both seasons, set to music.
• Script To Screen Featurette (16:58)
  A look at the making of episode 11, from initial writing meetings to the casting and the table read, to the actual filming of the episode and post-production.
• Cast Q&A (15:44)
  Cast members Alex House, Bill Turnbull, Melanie Leishman, Maggie Castle, Chris Leavins and Jason Mewes talk about their characters’ roles in the second season.

Final Thoughts:

Todd & The Book of Pure Evil is a fun, wacky show that’s like Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a 22-minute adult uncensored comedy form. I had never seen the series before, but jumped right into the second season and still thoroughly enjoyed the show. In addition to the thirteen hilarious episodes, this DVD also comes fully-loaded with bonus features, making it an easy recommendation.