DVD Review: THE WHITEST KIDS U’ KNOW: THE COMPLETE SERIES

Home » DVD Review: THE WHITEST KIDS U’ KNOW: THE COMPLETE SERIES

Dec 15 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

The cable TV sketch comedy series The Whitest Kids U’ Know, starring the comedy troupe of the same name, premiered on the Fuse network in 2007. After the fist season, the program switched to IFC, where it ran for another 4 seasons. The comedy troupe consists of Trevor Moore, Zach Cregger, Sam Brown, Timmy Williams and Darren Trumete, who pretty much play all of the characters—both male and female—in the sketches. Though there some recognizable guests who pop up for a single sketch, such as Jenny Slate and Kristen Schaal.

The series was very low budget, and sometimes this shows in the production value, but the comedy itself is very solid. The sketches are fast-paced and just go right from one to the next. The sketches generally don’t have recurring characters, though there is a multi-part “The Civil War on Drugs” sketch in the final season. The second season also includes a recording of one of the troupe’s live shows in order to fill out the season’s 10-episode order.

The Whitest Kids U’ Know runs the gamut when it comes to comedy styles, and nothing seems to be off-limits for the Kids. The series is uncut and uncensored on this DVD release, which means lots of F-bombs and cursing, nudity, and more. The Kids were on cable TV and they often really tested and pushed its limits. The series has a lot of scatological and gross-out humor, with one early sketch finding a businessman pulling a “log” out of his pants during a meeting and grossing out his co-workers, as well as many other sketches involving various bodily fluids. But there are also some really cleverly-written jokes, as well as many humorous songs throughout the series, usually performed by Trevor Moore. One of the early episodes includes a music video sung by a resurrected A. Hitler. Other sketches poke fun at gender, war, history (including several centered on the Lincoln assassination), and so many more topics, some a bit taboo. It’s quite impressive the wide range of things the Kids cover. More-sensitive modern viewers may find some of this material to be offensive by today’s standards—in fact 15 sketches that originally aired on TV have since been cut out of the episodes, including on these DVDs (more on that in a bit).

The first three seasons of the series had previously been released on DVD, but have since gone out of print, with the final two seasons never making it onto disc. However, Shout! Studios has now brought all 5 seasons together on disc for the first time in a new 10-disc “Complete Series” DVD set, along with some new bonus content. While this set is labeled as “The Complete Series”, there are about 15 sketches from the show’s original airings that have been cut from the episodes included on the discs — Season 1: “Abdel Drums” (S1E2), “Classroom / Scotty” (S1E2), “Dating Game” (S1E5), “Dear Black People” (S1E7), “We Gon Make Love” (S1E10); Season 2: “Black Doctor” (S2E1), “Whale Tale” (S2E5), “Our Label Is Run By Homos” (S2E6), “Driving Instructor” (S2E8); Season 3: “Asian Hooker Business” (S3E4), “Life Goes Alien” (S3E8), “Butler Sketch” (S3E9); Season 4: “Secrets of the Pyramids” (S4E7), “Chad’s Rad” (S4E8); Season 5: “Sophomores” (S5E10).

These sketches also aren’t included in Shout!’s FAST and streaming versions of the episodes as well. However, the clips are still available on the official WKUK YouTube channel as linked above. The missing sketches seem to have poked fun at race, stereotypes and/or sexuality, and this is likely why they were removed. However, it appears as though these sketches may have already been excised for the show’s previous DVD releases, as the commentary tracks on those episodes (which have been ported to theses DVDs) don’t sound like they’ve been edited around the missing content—the chatter flows seamlessly across the sketches. Either way, it’s a shame that these missing sketches were not at least included in the bonus material on the DVD—the series already has a warning before each episode that some viewers may find it offensive by modern day standards. Also, one of the season 5 discs includes a “Banned Sketches” section, but this only contains 2 sketches that weren’t even aired to begin with.

As mentioned earlier, this series had a very low budget, so the production value sometimes feels more like a student film. However, the audio and video presentation on this DVD release still looks quite good. The first season is presented in full frame format, while the remaining seasons are in widescreen. The quality of the picture varies as the video comes from different sources, but overall it is generally clean, and certainly better than just watchable. The audio track is only 2.0, but the dialogue is clear and easy to understand, and subtitles are also provided for all episodes.

The bonus material from the previous DVD releases of the first three seasons has been ported over, which includes commentaries on all 30 of those episodes, as well as a short intro to the cast, and some bonus sketches. New to Shout!’s DVD set are three-dozen “Post-Sketch Discussions” in which the cast gathered over Zoom during lockdown to re-watch and comment on sketches. The set also includes a pair of banned sketches, some footage from the troupe’s early live shows, and some photo galleries.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (17:51:01)

All 5 seasons/50 episodes of the series on 10 discs:
- Season 1 (2007) (3:21:49) – 10 eps / 2 discs
- Season 2 (2008) (3:25:40) – 10 eps / 2 discs
- Season 3 (2009) (3:39:57) – 10 eps / 2 discs
- Season 4 (2010) (3:41:08) – 10 eps / 2 discs
- Season 5 (2011) (3:42:27) – 10 eps / 2 discs
480i / Full Frame 1.33:1 (Season 1), Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1 (Seasons 2-5)
Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English
Closed Captions: None

Extras:
All of the bonus material from the previous DVD releases of the first three seasons has been carried over, plus some new material.

Season One
- Featurette (2:04)
  The cast talk about how fame has changed them, their style of comedy, their love scenes, and more. Includes some clips from some of the sketches that were cut.
- Commentaries
  The cast provides fun commentaries on the episodes. It’s part them having fun remembering working on the episodes, part sharing of behind-the-scenes stories.
  - Episode 1 (21:58)
  - Episode 2 (15:09)
  - Episode 3 (21:46)
  - Episode 4 (21:46)
  - Episode 5 (16:51)
  - Episode 6 (21:56)
  - Episode 7 (20:34)
  - Episode 8 (21:46)
  - Episode 9 (21:46)
  - Episode 10 (18:17)
- Post-Sketch Discussions
  New to this disc release, but previously available on YouTube, the cast gets together over Zoom to discuss some of the show’s sketches. They share fun behind-the-scenes stories, talk about how the sketches differ from their live show versions, and more.
  - Intro (:41)
  - Timmy Poops His Pants (6:06)
  - Super Size Me with Whisky (5:55)
  - Astronaut Mess (3:37)
  - Hunting Accident (3:41)
  - Hot Air Balloon Poop Rope (4:56)
  - Gallon of PCP (8:57)
  - Glory Hole (10:29)
  - Mountain of Chairs (3:49)
Season Two
- Commentaries
  - Episode 1 (22:02)
  - Episode 2 (22:02)
  - Episode 3 (22:17)
  - Episode 4 (22:05)
  - Episode 5 (16:41)
  - Episode 6 (15:08)
  - Episode 7 (20:49)
  - Episode 8 (20:18)
  - Episode 9 (22:08)
  - Episode 10 (22:10)
- Post-Sketch Discussions
  New to this disc release, but previously available on YouTube.
  - Mail Gun (1:42)
  - Alcoholic Husband (1:53)
- Photo Gallery (6:28)
  New to this release, behind-the-scenes photos auto-advance every 3 seconds.
Season Three
- Commentaries
  - Episode 1 (24:01)
  - Episode 2 (24:20)
  - Episode 3 (23:15)
  - Episode 4 (17:49)
  - Episode 5 (23:03)
  - Episode 6 (23:23)
  - Episode 7 (21:38)
  - Episode 8 (18:39)
  - Episode 9 (21:21)
  - Episode 10 (22:28)
- Post-Sketch Discussions
  New to this disc release, but previously available on YouTube.
  - Call of Duty (3:24)
  - Water Balloons (2:52)
  - JJ Marvin (7:31)
  - Presidential Props/Super Dog (15:01)
  - Helicopter Door (3:23)
  - Horses Love/Stegosaurus (3:26)
  - Yellow Mustard-Ed (4:02)
  - Table Monster (1:28)
  - Dad Story (3:07)
  - Wheel of Money (4:10)
  - Hiking Documentary (1:32)
  - Donkey Dad (1:39)
  - Maroon President (1:53)
- Photo Gallery (3:06)
  New to this release, behind-the-scenes photos auto-advance every 3 seconds.
- Bonus Sketches
  - Good Cop/Terrible Cop (2:22)
    As one cop tries to be the bad cop during several interrogations, his partner fails to get the cues, and makes things worse.
  - There Will be Dick (4:50)
    The Kids bring out a psychiatrist to help prepare the audience for a dick that will be appearing on the screen.
  - Greek Sketch (4:45)
    Some men in togas gather in the woods to decide what to name the months.
Season Four
- Post-Sketch Discussions
  New to this disc release, but previously available on YouTube.
  - Alien Autopsy (1:55)
  - Santa Clause (2:49)
  - Barf Museum (5:57)
  - Changing Channels (2:27)
  - Bike Up The Ass (1:44)
  - Pussy Salad (8:18)
  - Halloweiner (10:39)
Season File
- Post-Sketch Discussions
  New to this disc release, but previously available on YouTube.
  - Baked Beans (7:40)
  - Songs of Olden Times (5:46)
  - First Date (1:28)
  - Careful Commandos (1:17)
  - MacDougal (2:07)
  - It Was Pretty Good (4:14)
- Banned Sketches (3:50)
  Unfortunately, this doesn’t include any of the 15 prevously-aired sketches that have been removed from the episodes. Two sketches play back-to-back. In the first, McGriff the Crime Dog warns young Billy about various situations that will lead to him getting raped. And in the second, during a live sitcom recording, the audience cheers for the uncle character to make out with his young nephew Billy.
- Early Live Shows
  New to this release, check out rare clips from the group’s early live shows—some of these were ultimately turned into sketches on the series. Presented in 4:3 format.
  - Fat Baby/Ghost Teabag/Metallica Rules (14:32)
    A Sears Portrait Studio employee tries to figure out how to light a fat baby, Geppetto and Pinocchio try to figure out a way out of the whale; a man visits a palm reader; and a mother questions her son after her returns home from a wild night of drinking.
  - Gun in the Face/Gross Out/Rad Mountain (11:23)
    A man gets annoyed when his friend won’t get off the phone; a man on the stage drinks buckets of increasingly grosser substances; and a man’s bragging to his date grows increasingly unbelievable.
  - Hot Air Balloon/Baby Pop/Catcher Trip/Boiler Room (23:27)
    A family goes on a hot air balloon ride along with a foreign exchange student who suddenly needs to go to drop a deuce; a mailroom employee breaks into a meeting of movie studio execs to pitch his ideas; two pregnant ladies discuss their pregnancies; a catcher keeps tripping whenever he approaches the pitcher; and panic in the boiler room of a ship when the fuel pump breaks.
  - Massage My Nipples (5:45)
    A massage therapist deals with an awkward client who says he carries his stress in his nipples.

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Episodes:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Recommended

The Complete Series of The Whitest Kids U’ Know finally makes its way onto DVD, though the name is a bit misleading as there are still over a dozen sketches missing. That said, fans should be quite pleased to be able to revisit the series via this Shout! Studios DVD collection. The show is fast-paced and tackles all kinds of topics, though some more-sensitive modern viewers may find it to be offensive at times. While there is a lot that is smartly-written, the series also often delves into scatological and gross-out humor. The DVD release includes a lot of great bonus material, especially the commentary tracks on the first three seasons and the Zoom “Post-Sketch Discussions” which gives fans a nice behind-the-scenes look at the series. This release comes highly recommended for fans of the series, and worth a look for those who aren’t easily offended and are interested in a different kind of sketch show.