The Show
If you didn't catch the first installment of Will Ferrell's best "Saturday Night Live" performances, you probably won't want this one. I only say that because if you didn't pick up the first volume, you probably don't like Ferrell's comedy. He's simply that good. If you enjoy him, you just can't get enough of him. Lion's Gate has met that demand with a second collection of his SNL exploits. The question asked itself though, what was missing from the first set than could be put in the second?

The DVD
The second volume of the greatness that is Will Ferrell looks much the same as the first disc in terms of layout, with title-themed animated menus that allow you access to a play all option, scene selections and extras. Here's what's in volume two:

George W. Bush: Ferrell's excellent imitation of the Buffoon-in-Chief isn't as funny now, as the country struggles under the real thing. You can still appreciate the talent, even if the subject matter is more depressing than funny. You have to like putting Dick Cheney into the Axis of Evil, though.

Show Your Patriotism (with Sean William Scott): A parody of what was acceptable in the name of patriotism in the wake of 9/11, this look at Ferrell's ass will seer into your brain. It's an excercise in "Ferrell flesh" that repeats itself often. A lowest-common-denominator laugh on a purely physical basis.

The Mark Jensen Family Christmas: SNL's love of the puke pipe shows through in this parody of schmaltzy TV Christmas specials. Not the greatest sketch I've seen, and the puke pipe never works just right. At least it's short.

Dr. Surreal: This is one of the funniest sketches I've ever seen on SNL, and I'm not so sure it's on purpose. Ferrell is a strange doctor giving a couple the runaround when they ask about their baby. The whole scene makes no sense, and becomes funny only when Ferrell and Molly Shannon begin to crack, thanks to a great bit by Tim Meadows.

Janet Reno's Dance Party (with Rudy Giuliani): Ferrell's Vera DeMilo-esque imitation of the former Attorney General, placed in the context of a teen dance TV show, is just ridiculous. When she takes on the former mayor of New York in an impromptu boxing match, it goes to another level of insanity.

Frat Boy Randy Graves: Ferrell's manboy persona takes to Weekend Update to talk about President Clinton's legal troubles. Like the frat boys he is making fun of, the act gets annoying quickly.

The Lov-ahs (with Christopher Walken): This is a good example of Ferrell's sexual intellectual, but disappointingly, this is the same sketch seen on the "The Best of Christopher Walken" DVD. If they aren't going to release season sets, they could at least put out as many different sketches as possible.

Ted Brogan (with Charlie Sheen): Rachel Dratch gives birth to a full-grown man, played by Ferrell. There's only one joke here, and it doesn't stretch out well. On the first DVD, it was included as a small clip (of just the actual birth), which was probably the best way to experience it.

Inside the Actors Studio (with Kate Hudson): James Lipton exercises his interviewing expertise on Drew Barrymore. Ferrell's Lipton is one of his best characters, but Hudson's not a great Barrymore. Thankfully, Ferrell is more than capable of carrying the show.

Mr. Tarkanian (with Pierce Brosnan): With Brosnan on a job interview, he watches his potential new boss abuse his employees. Anyone who has interviewed with one boss, only to work for another will enjoy this one. A bit overdone, but it's fun to watch Ferrell lose it.

VH-1 Storytellers: Ferrell and Kattan are Air Supply, and while singing their new song, they find they share more than just a band. Short and relatively pointless.

Wake Up and Smile (with David Alan Grier): When the teleprompter goes down during a morning chst show, chaos reigns supreme, as they don't know what to do when not told. The de-evolution into a post-apocalyptic nightmare is presented by some lame fake commercials. A funny and dark concept that's done very well.

Bill Brasky (with Alec Baldwin): People exaggerate, but not like Brasky's friends. Drinking like fish, they eulogize the giant, coffin-side. A limited concept and not one of Ferrell's best.

Scene on an Airplane (with Toby Maguire): On Maguire's first flight as a co-pilot, he's stuck with a couple of maniacs who insult and abuse the passengers. This is furious

Robert Goulet (with Alec Baldwin): Ferrell's Goulet is a riot, and now he's playing onstage in "Red Ships of Spain" with his two brothers. It just drags on and on, until it finally ends with a wimper. For big Ferrell or Goulet fans only.

Tough as Nails (with Katie Holmes): Ferrell's a movie actor on the rough end of Holmes' assaults, as she grabs his groin again and again with each take. Low-brow laughs.

The Terry Ganter Family Workout: Running under the credits, this scene features Ferrell as an overexcited exercise-show host who injures himself badly and reacts even worse.

The Quality
No complaints here. The video has excellent color, solid blacks and crisp images, while the audio is good 2.0 Dolby Digital. For a clip job from across nearly a decade of cable TV, it looks and sounds great.

The Extras
An automatic photo album includes behind-the-scenes photos and scene stills, while a pair of cut dress rehearsal scenes show that edits are often made wisely. One is a Terence Maddox photo class that intoduces his arch-nemesis Sebastian Clay (Alec Baldwin). Though promising in context, the comedy is lacking. The other is a "real-life" sketch with Kelsey Grammer and Shaquille O'Neal. It's insane, and probably should have been cut, but it could just as easily have been left in for madness' sake. My life will never be the same after seeing it.

Two Ferrell appearances on Conan O'Brien are also included, which may be the best bits on the disc. In the first clip, he appears as a naughty leprachaun, talking about sexy Irish people, while in the other he talk about his wife's Swedish background. Ferrell's at the top of his game when on Conan, getting very loose and very funny.

The Bottom Line
This could have been a better collection, but the quality of the sketches falls short of Volume One. In fact, the absence of any Jeopardy sketches is a major mark against it. If there were better extras, it would help, but as it is, this is a major mis-step for a line that had been cranking out some excellent DVDs.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.