|
|
 |
Mind of Mencia: Season Three
R1 - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (26th November 2007). |
|
The Show
 Ever since watching Joe Rogan smack Carlos Mencia down on the Internet for stealing and repeating old jokes, I haven't been too impressed with Mr. Mencia. After watching the third season of Carlos Mencia's show, I've changed my opinion slightly, but I still think Mr. Mencia isn't as funny as many others do. In the entire season, every single sketch, every single joke is based on stereotypes and race. Now, he does get in some nice jokes, as he does in the sixth show during his opening monologue, but ultimately he seems to be repeating the same joke over and over again. How many times does he say 'beaner' in every show, making jokes about their jobs or their work ethic? How many times does he joke about his brother not being able to say the letter 'v'? How many times does he yell to tell you to say what you think and that people shouldn't be offended by jokes? That doesn't mean this show is completely unfunny. I laughed a few times every episode, and some of the jokes are pretty insightful. Some of his sketches, like the opening sketch of the season, and 'Are You Smarter than a Wetback?' don't show too much creativity, but the bits where he has other people, like the Indian clerk guy and the Sterotype Olympics get some pretty hefty laughs. Overall the season is watchable, though not the funniest thing I've seen. 'The Daily Show', for example, has better satire and more original jokes. That show also doesn't seem to resort to race all the time. However, 'Mind of Mencia' has enough nice material to keep one interested, and depending on the episode, it might want to make you come back for more. One thing's for sure, though: Carlos Mencia has tons of fun doing his show, and that's a lot o fun to watch. He and his brother and his other friends enjoy every second they're on the show. I also don't think Mr. Mencia isn't racist. He plays on race, yes, but only because it makes people laugh. Whether those people are racist or not, I won't venture to guess, but if those people stop laughing at Mr. Mencia's jokes, then he'll try other things. He knows what he's doing and he's riding the wave, enjoying what he's doing. Comedy Central can't call this set a 'complete' season because two episodes are missing. Episodes 8 and 16 were 'highlight' shows, which, I guess, Comedy Central didn't think would make the set any better. Here is a rundown of the set with each episode. 301 (21:34) The season starts out with Carlos Mencia reminiscing about the stupid celebs over his hiatus. He also makes fun of coach movies and has a kids show called Carlosaurus Rex. Deleted Scene (1:07): a Carlosaurus Rex song. 302 (21:34) Here, he has rap love songs with Three Six Mafia, shows his version of Iraqi TV, and his version of 'Borat'. Deleted Scenes (3:25): more opening monologue bits, more Iraqi TV bits 303 (21:35) He rants about taxes, has rap songs about being in jail and has 'Are You Smarter than a Wetback?'. Deleted Scenes (10:27): more opening monologue bits, a bunch of more questions from 'Are You Smarter than a Wetback?'. 304 (21:34) His opening monologue is in defense of white people and immigrants. He then goes on with Carloslam, with Mario Lopez and goes on the street to ask 'Would you vote for a woman/black man/whoever for president?'. Deleted Scenes (1:59): more opening bit stuff, more Carloslam. 305 (21:35) He talks about Mexicans in the US, goes on the streets to see the power of words, and talks about VIP lines with Club Carlos. Deleted Scene (0:46): Tom Cruise at Club Carlos. 306 (21:36) Thanks to Don Imus's now-infamous words, Mr. Mencia goes on about the word 'nappy' (which has a really good joke), and women in general. He also has a class on political correctness, and a skit about seed dating. Deleted Scene (0:48): an extra speed dater. 307 (21:34) He starts off the show by talking about pressure at school, inspired by the Virginia Tech shooting. He also creates a superhero for Beaners, with music by POD. He finishes the episode by talking about having the wrong person for the job. Deleted Scene (1:02): a few other jokes from the last segment of the episode. Audio commentary by Carlos Mencia and Brad Williams This is a pretty nice track, where Carlos Mencia talks about the various sketches. He talks about how he came up with, for example, the opening Alec Baldwin thing. He also talks about the opening monologue and what irks him in general. Beanerman was important to him, so he expands on that, as well. It's a nice commentary with good information and it will make you laugh, also. disc 2: 309 (21:34) Here starts off the episode by talking about people who are offended by jokes. He also has 'First Man', about Bill Clinton if Hilary Clinton becomes president. He finishes off the episode by being the Indian clerk guy. Deleted Scenes (3:10): opening monologue extra bits, 'First Man' extra scenes, Indian clerk extra scenes. 310 (21:34) The episode starts with Mr. Mencia talking about people being afraid of race, then moves on to 'Man vs. Wild in South Central LA', and finishes with 'Carlos Mencia, MD'. Deleted Scene (0:34): Man vs. Wild extra scene. 311 (21:34) Appropriately, Mr. Mencia talks about speaking your mind. He also has a few people doing impressions of him, and finishes with asking 'Why Are You Afraid of a Black President?'. Deleted Scenes (0:40): male view, white guy and black guy impression. 312 (21:35) The episode starts with Mr. Mencia talking about kids and discipline, and plays a game called 'What Time Is It?'. Then comes the lackluster 'Would You Be Badass if Video Games Were Real?', and finally a news show from April 2027. This isn't the best episode. Deleted Scenes (1:33): extra monologue jokes, extra video game scene, extra news scene. 313 (21:34) Mr. Mencia starts off with a story about baby showers and kids, then he shows you one of his dreams, and finishes with Principal Mencia. Deleted Scenes (1:27): 2 other dream scenes 314 (21:34) Mr. Mencia gives out tips on listening to other people as well as Internet dating tips. He also shows you how to raise wild animals at home, and finishes off the episode with Judge Carlos. Deleted Scene (0:29): decoding an Internet dating ad. 315 (21:19) Mr. Mencia talks about the Iphone and other cool inventions and Mexicans in movies. He finishes the season off by having the 2nd Annual Stereotype Olympics, which, when all is said and done, is pretty absurd, but funny. Deleted Scenes (1:01): extra 'X-Men' scene, 'Gone in 60 Seconds' clip.
Video
1.33:1 full screen. Depending on the clips they're showing, the aspect ratio may change, the show is generally shot in 1.33:1. The picture is very crisp and clean. The show is very recent (at the time of transfer, anyway) and it shows because the colours are very bright, strong and vivid. The print is likewise pristine, showing no specs or scratches. The transfer is also very strong, with no compression artifacts and no edge enhancement. The level of detail is also pretty nice. It's a very nice picture.
Audio
This show only comes in a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track (in English, of course, with some Spanish swear words). The dialogue is clear and clean, with no hissing or popping, thankfully. The laughs and cheers are also loud and clear. The music has a nice oomph, and the sound field is pretty wide and adequate. The sound is very good. There are no subtitles.
Extras
As you may have guessed by reading above, there are Deleted Scenes in every episode. There's also an audio commentary on episode seven, also seen above. What's not above is something called Comedy Central Quickies, which are short clips of three shows. There's 'The Colbert Report' : Breasts (1:26). This is a 'Tip of the Hat, Wag of the Finger' segment. Pretty funny stuff. Next is 'South Park' : Essays (2:12). The four boys don't want to write an essay, so they hire people to do it for them. After that is 'Reno 911!' : Chatty Junior (2:04). An Internet sting with a funny punch line. There are also a bunch of DVD Previews 'South Park: The Complete 10th Season' (1:19), 'The Sarah Silverman Program: Season One' (1:21), 'Drawn Together: Season Two' (1:26) are here. These are also start-up trailers.
Overall
|
|||||
|