The Ren & Stimpy Show: The First and Second Season (Uncut)
The delirious animated seriesRen and Stimpymakes its DVD debut in a three-disc set that features seasons 1 and 2, as well as a handful of extras to please its devoted fan base. The surreal adventures of short-tempered Chihuahua Ren and good-natured but simple cat Stimpson J. Cat caught on like a house afire with teen and college audiences during its 1991-96 run on Nickelodeon, despite regular battles between the network and creator John Kricfalusi (who also voiced Ren and several other characters) over allegedly objectionable content in certain episodes. The conflict eventually led to several episodes suffering edits, much to the chagrin of the show's creators and audience alike; the unedited versions of these episodes have become much sought-after and traded items among collectors. And while this set attempts to rectify that situation by presenting the show in its uncut form, die-hard fans should know that several episodes retain minor cuts; however, many others, most notably the pilot, "Big House Blues," and "Powdered Toastman" are presented in their original, uncut versions. Extras include commentaries on seven episodes by Kricfalusi and the show's creators, storyboard galleries, a featurette, and the "banned" episode "Man's Best Friend."--Paul Gaita