The Story So Far...
Captain Murphy is a bit of an absent-minded leader; one who switches thought patterns like you flip a lightswitch. He's in charge of Sealab, an underwater research lab with a a crew of equally twisted scientists. Each episode tops the previous one in terms of creativity and madness, creating short 11 minute segments out of redubbed and reanimated shows from the original "Sealab 2020" series. Warner Brothers released the first season of "Sealab 2021" in July of 2004. The DVDTalk review can be read here.

The Show
It's hard to imagine that the creators of "Sealab 202" could ever have foreseen their show would be reborn decades later as a slickly off-kilter late-night treat for the now grown-up kids who once watch the formulaic adventures. If they had, the show might not have made the transition as smoothly as it did. Taking a cartoon without a hint of irony and dipping it in subversive sauce created a series that is one of the most consistently hilarious on TV.

Season Two of "Sealab 2021" was a bit of a challenge for the series creators. They now had people's attention thanks to their first set of mental moments, including the now legendary "Stimutacs," "Murphy Murph and the Feng Shui Bunch" and "All That Jazz" episodes. Now they had to keep the fans coming back for more, without making the premise tired or predictable.

Through some unique and creative concept episodes, like the humorless "7211", the single-cel "Fusebox," movie tie-in parody "Tinfins" and the fourth wall-breaking "Return to Oblivion," the show didn't have to fear about becoming stale. Meanwhile, hilarious insane episodes like "Hail, Squishface" and "The Policy" showed the writing staff was far from done.

With the show full established, the characters were developed a bit more in Season Two, as Quinn and Debbie's relationship comes to the fore, Sparks finds new levels of depravity and Stormy... well, Stormy is just stupid. Plus, Debbie flashes more often this season, so it's go that going for it. All in all, a good step-forward for the show.

If there's one episode that stands out as the best of the year, it would be "Bizarro." Much like the Superman concept of Bizarro Superman (an opposite version of him from another universe), the Bizarro Sealab crew are twisted versions of the old standbys. So when partly-robotic Bizarro Debbie decides to interrogate real-world Quinn...with her breasts!...it makes perfect sense. It should be no surprise that Bizarro Murphy steals the show. A perfect example of why this series works so well, thanks to its unpredictability and wacky sense of comedy.

The DVDs
The 13 second-season "Sealab 2021" episodes arrive on two DVDs, packaged in a slipcased digipak that's designed to look like an old comic book, picking up the theme of one of the seasons' most popular episodes, "Bizarro." The anamorphic widescreen main menus feature a play all option, episode selections and language set-up. Episode selection menus include still previews, titles and episode numbers, while subtitle options include English, French and Spanish.

Just like "The Brak Show" DVDs, "Sealab 2021" Season Two has a different episode order than the airdates listed on TVTome. In fact, some of these episodes are listed as being from Season Three. Here's the differences:

The Quality
Despite being mostly recycled animation, the full-frame video looks excellent. Some dirt and grain is evident from the original material, but that's a given for such old animation. Because of this, the difference between new animation and the old cartoon is much more evident on DVD. Either way, the color and detail is very good. The funny thing about this series is, if it looked much better, the joke wouldn't work.

The audio, presented in 2.0 Surround, is simple and effective. Technical innovation isn't exactly a hallmark of the show. You won't miss a joke with this utilitarian, yet well-crafted track.

The Extras
The biggest extras on this DVD set are the commentaries found on each episodes. If you've seen an episode of "Sealab 2021," you'd expect that the people behind the madness wouldn't deliver a standard commentary track. They start out relatively normal, but quickly they devolve into insanity. Whole tracks are devoted to pointing out bubbles, playing air hockey, shooting skeet and other non-DVD activities. It gets a bit tired after a while, but it's definitely not the same old, same old.

A tribute to the voice of Captain Murphy, Harry Goz, is probably the least-likely part of this set, as it is in no way funny. Show creators Matt Thompson and Adam Reed, cast member Bill Lobley and his son Michael (also a cast membet) share their memories of the late actor, who was the show's rock as the goofy, hare-brained captain. More cast cooperation or perhaps more of the man himself would have made this better, but as it is, it's a decent tribute.

"20 Questions With the Cast" could have been lame, but is instead fantastic, thanks to the questionable interviewing skills owned by Bikini Chick #1, who expertly stumbled her way through her cue cards as she interviews Bill "Sparks" Lobley, Ellis "Stormy" Henican, Kate "Debbie" Miller and Brett "Quinn" Butler. Of course, the cast are in their animated forms, but they are being their real world selves. It's an interesting look at some of the stars of the show, but without the usual "let's take ourselves seriously" feel you get from actors.

"Take a Tour of 7030" allows the viewer to see where the magic happens, a.k.a 7030 Productions. If you've seen the Pixar tours on their DVDs, you have no idea what to expect here. Nope. It's completely different. Similar to the tour, "Rough Cut" isn't exactly what you might expect from a early cut of the episode "Der Dieb." Definitely check it out. It's amazing how much an episode can change during its production lifecycle.

Wrapping up the bonus fun is "Ronnie," an early review of an episode that never made it to air. This tale of Captain Murphy, Hitler and Joseph Stalin is a very crude version, without the correct voices, mouth animation or comedy. It's basically an animated storyboard. The creators claim they couldn't make it work, but they are liars. This could have been great, but instead is just a supplement now. For shame....

The Bottom Line
As "out there" as "Sealab 2021"'s first season was, the second season was even crazier, reaching beyond what anyone could have expected out of this series. From the barrier-breaking concept shows to the all-out insanity of the Bizarros, this season saw Captain Murphy's crew hit new heights of hilarity. The second season DVD set keeps up with the show's manic pace, adding a load of creator commentaries and featurettes that have the same sense of humor as the show, as well as a touching tribute to the late Harry Goz. It's an excellent package of late-night fun, one that will save you some sleep and provide some new Sealab entertainment.

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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.