Reno 911! - 
The Complete Third Season Uncensored
(Paramount Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(2003)
review by Catwalk

“Reno 911!” is a regularly-airing series on Comedy Central, following the mayhem and misadventures of the grossly inept and equally humorous Reno Sheriff’s Department.  Led by Lieutenant Jim Dangle (in his signature short shorts), the cast is a very strange mix of riotous racists, would-be sexpots, and militant tough guys, none of whom could actually arrest even a jaywalker.

By Season Three, the show has found more consistency, becoming slightly more formulaic and less ad-libbed than in the first two seasons.  Junior (Garant) is the go-to-guy for physical comedy; if someone’s going up on a roof, it’s most likely going to be him.  Dangle is flippant and stupidly optimistic, going through life with rose-colored blinders. 

Jones (Yarbrough) and Garcia (Alazraqui) provide the sexist and racist pairing, routinely picking on mormons and taking advantage of kids, with it always backfiring.  Williams (Nash) and Johnson (McClennon) are the sassy, look-down-my-nose ladies who consider themselves glamorous and always end up the butt of the joke.  Kinney provides the awkward, gun-loving and slow Trudy Wiegel, who is the most acquired taste of the cast, but largely a reason the series works.

Meanwhile, the show has added in a number of other repeating characters and elements in an attempt to keep things fresh.  Several of these new additions work out well, most notably episode four, where the officers get to meet kids’ show host, Reading Ron.  As expected, the poor TV host can barely find any material worth using on his show, when the officers continually botch every attempt to be helpful.

New to the show in Season Three is Deputy Kimball, played by Mary Birdsong as a tough-nosed cop, the closest thing to a real professional the force has yet.  She instantly becomes the straight man (or the “holy crap is she a lesbian”) for the rest of the team to abuse.  Kimball is introduced in episode three, which features yet more physical comedy, as well as some off-the-wall military humor.
Historically, the show has brought in tons of comedic veteran talent, including Patton Oswalt and most of the Mad TV cast over the past seasons.  Season Three is no different, bringing in comics like Zach Galifianakis, Paul Rudd (40-Year Old Virgin), David Koechner (The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show), Jack Plotnick (Drawn Together), and Toby Huss (Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law).

The regular cast are no slouches themselves, with a range of credits including CSI, That’s So Raven, The Bernie Mac Show, The Boondocks, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Fairly Odd Parents, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Ellen Show and Invader Zim, just to name a few.  As usual, several cast members also have recurring side roles as townies with repeat arrests.

The DVD includes a ridiculous number of outtakes, natural for a mainly improv show, promos for fake action figures (including the deep undercover Dangle), a ton of commentaries and a special surprise from the crew.

Episode Guide:

Episode One – The officers have been put away by D.A. Mike Powers, spending most of the time in prison before being set free to new lives on the streets.

Episode Two – Each former deputy lives their life in Reno, from groupie to carnie to mall cop, before confronting the dastardly Mike Powers.

Episode Three – Using a ridiculous interview process, the force adds a new member, Deputy Kimball.

Episode Four – Childrens’ TV show host Reading Ron visits the station, and his life will never be the same.

Episode Five – The deputies must use skill and cunning to track down the elusive criminal, Fast Eddie McLintok.

Episode Six – The staff gets a chance to escort a dignitary from the city of Wanganui.

Episode Seven – Jones celebrates his low-level celebrity as the new voice of a local carpeting company.

Episode Eight – Liberace’s piano is guarded by the deputies while Clementine tries to marry The Hot Tub King of Reno.  The officers prove as adept at organ transplantation as they are are marksmanship.

Episode Nine – Garcia has a new girlfriend, and he’s damned if the rest of the force will meet her.  This one opens with a demonstration of the department’s new protective cup, with expected results.  Local hand job artist Terry makes another appearance.

Episode Ten – The Sheriff’s Department gets a new Humvee, and Dangle takes time away with a young man who just may be his son.

Episode Eleven – CSI comes to town, with the force taking work as security guards.  This episode features one of the best prat falls since Chevy Chase’s early days in SNL, and a hilarious PSA about age of consent.

Episode Twelve – It’s skin in the wind when Dangle and Junior are forced to get from a drug sting to the station, buck naked.

Episode Thirteen – It’s beat the clock as Wiegel’s boyfriend, The Truckee River Killer, proposes, while the courts have determined he’s to be executed.  Kimball and Jones wind up losing their car in a parking garage and take on a tiny karate kicking tot.