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Punk'd: Season 2
Paramount // Unrated // October 12, 2004
List Price: $39.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
A show that found its way into the national vocabulary, "Punk'd" became a huge success for MTV in its first season. The show, which played elaborate practical jokes on celebrities ranging from Justin Timberlake to Jessica Alba, put celebs through uncomfortable situations, wild car rides or, in Timberlake's case, pretended to be taking all of his possessions. The pranks were often inspired and the results were nicely edited and built-up towards the eventual reveal. Making the show even better were its main stars - Al Shearer, Dax Shepard and Ryan Pinkston. Shepard's performances were often terrific, managing to create funny characters and hint without revealing. Pinkston's timing was priceless, although his nearly making Denise Richards appear to cry when he asks her, "How did it feel to play someone smart?" may have taken things a little too far.
The second season of "Punk'd" became somewhat inconsistent. The concept of the show required that the main stars featured in the first season would not return, as they would be too recognizable. While the new leads in the show are effective, they aren't to the level of the first season's cast. Some of the stunts are also a little too similar to the first effort: Hilary Duff's driving lesson goes awry, as does a limo ride for Lindsay Lohan.
However, some other bits are more successful. Missy Elliot becomes outraged when some of her diamonds are accidentally misplaced, eventually threatening the "owner". Little Bow Wow becomes awfully quiet once he's introduced to a large feline co-star on a photo shoot. Katie Holmes gets herself in the middle of a love triangle unknowingly when she's meeting with "Charlie's Angels" director McG. Finally, one of the biggest pranks has the cast grabbing Outkast's expensive rental car and taking it for a joyride.
Finally, despite the show's announcement that it was hanging it up after this season ended, it was, in fact, all another prank, leading to a third season. MTV has also announced that "Punk'd" will keep punking unsuspecting celebs for a few more seasons down the road.
Celebs punk'd in this set include: Travis Barker (Blink 182), Jaime Pressley, Lindsay Lohan, Beyonce Knowles, Goldberg, Dave Mirra, Outkast, Amber Tamblyn, Tommy Lee, Nick Carter, Lara Flynn Boyle, Ashanti, Mya, Tracey Morgan, Katie Holmes, Hilary Duff, Lil Bow Wow (Ok, now it's only Bow Wow, apparently), Rachel Leigh Cook, Halle Berry, Taye Diggs, Usher, Missy Elliot and others.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Punk'd" is presented in 1.33:1 full-frame by Paramount. The picture quality is generally good, although some inconsistencies are understandably due to different cameras used in filming. Sharpness and detail are usually fine, although some scenes appear slightly softer or affected by some issues due to the camera. Shimmering does appear noticably in some scenes, as do a few minor traces of pixelation. Colors generally appear natural and accurate.
SOUND: "Punk'd: Season 2" is presented in 2.0 audio. Dialogue remains crisp and clear.
EXTRAS: All of the episodes include an audio commentary from co-creator Ashton Kutcher, producer/co-creator Jason Goldberg and stars Steve Ranazzisi and Ahmed Ahmed. The commentary isn't quite as funny as the original season DVD's, but it's entertaining, as the group manages to offer a lot of funny stories about going after the celebs and the behind-the-scenes of the pranks. The group continually comes up with different words that they attempt to try and insert into their comments in a game that runs throughout the commentaries.
Aside from the commentary, there is also deleted footage that can be watched in the episodes by turning on the option in the menu (and clicking on an icon during the episodes). The deleted footage can also be seen separately on the second disc. We also get two unaired pranks, a "making of" for the Outkast punk, a "punk your friend" featurette and MTV promos.
Final Thoughts: "Punk'd" offers some definite highlights in the second season, although the series doesn't quite hit the heights it did the first time around. Paramount offers another very good set for the show, with excellent audio/video quality and a nice helping of supplements. Recommended.
A show that found its way into the national vocabulary, "Punk'd" became a huge success for MTV in its first season. The show, which played elaborate practical jokes on celebrities ranging from Justin Timberlake to Jessica Alba, put celebs through uncomfortable situations, wild car rides or, in Timberlake's case, pretended to be taking all of his possessions. The pranks were often inspired and the results were nicely edited and built-up towards the eventual reveal. Making the show even better were its main stars - Al Shearer, Dax Shepard and Ryan Pinkston. Shepard's performances were often terrific, managing to create funny characters and hint without revealing. Pinkston's timing was priceless, although his nearly making Denise Richards appear to cry when he asks her, "How did it feel to play someone smart?" may have taken things a little too far.
The second season of "Punk'd" became somewhat inconsistent. The concept of the show required that the main stars featured in the first season would not return, as they would be too recognizable. While the new leads in the show are effective, they aren't to the level of the first season's cast. Some of the stunts are also a little too similar to the first effort: Hilary Duff's driving lesson goes awry, as does a limo ride for Lindsay Lohan.
However, some other bits are more successful. Missy Elliot becomes outraged when some of her diamonds are accidentally misplaced, eventually threatening the "owner". Little Bow Wow becomes awfully quiet once he's introduced to a large feline co-star on a photo shoot. Katie Holmes gets herself in the middle of a love triangle unknowingly when she's meeting with "Charlie's Angels" director McG. Finally, one of the biggest pranks has the cast grabbing Outkast's expensive rental car and taking it for a joyride.
Finally, despite the show's announcement that it was hanging it up after this season ended, it was, in fact, all another prank, leading to a third season. MTV has also announced that "Punk'd" will keep punking unsuspecting celebs for a few more seasons down the road.
Celebs punk'd in this set include: Travis Barker (Blink 182), Jaime Pressley, Lindsay Lohan, Beyonce Knowles, Goldberg, Dave Mirra, Outkast, Amber Tamblyn, Tommy Lee, Nick Carter, Lara Flynn Boyle, Ashanti, Mya, Tracey Morgan, Katie Holmes, Hilary Duff, Lil Bow Wow (Ok, now it's only Bow Wow, apparently), Rachel Leigh Cook, Halle Berry, Taye Diggs, Usher, Missy Elliot and others.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Punk'd" is presented in 1.33:1 full-frame by Paramount. The picture quality is generally good, although some inconsistencies are understandably due to different cameras used in filming. Sharpness and detail are usually fine, although some scenes appear slightly softer or affected by some issues due to the camera. Shimmering does appear noticably in some scenes, as do a few minor traces of pixelation. Colors generally appear natural and accurate.
SOUND: "Punk'd: Season 2" is presented in 2.0 audio. Dialogue remains crisp and clear.
EXTRAS: All of the episodes include an audio commentary from co-creator Ashton Kutcher, producer/co-creator Jason Goldberg and stars Steve Ranazzisi and Ahmed Ahmed. The commentary isn't quite as funny as the original season DVD's, but it's entertaining, as the group manages to offer a lot of funny stories about going after the celebs and the behind-the-scenes of the pranks. The group continually comes up with different words that they attempt to try and insert into their comments in a game that runs throughout the commentaries.
Aside from the commentary, there is also deleted footage that can be watched in the episodes by turning on the option in the menu (and clicking on an icon during the episodes). The deleted footage can also be seen separately on the second disc. We also get two unaired pranks, a "making of" for the Outkast punk, a "punk your friend" featurette and MTV promos.
Final Thoughts: "Punk'd" offers some definite highlights in the second season, although the series doesn't quite hit the heights it did the first time around. Paramount offers another very good set for the show, with excellent audio/video quality and a nice helping of supplements. Recommended.
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