Describing Robot Chicken to those who've never partaken of its specific brand of geek-skewed genius is a bit tricky. The best summation I've been able to come up with is Saturday morning cartoons steeped in bong water, obscure Eighties movies and back issues of Toyfare magazine, which are then julienned into YouTube-able bits of concentrated hilarity -- a bit long-winded, but it gets you where you need to go. Robot Chicken, the brainchild of Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, is one of TV's cult pleasures, a blink-and-miss-it Sunday night treat that provides just the right amount of nuttiness to cap off your weekend. As the show enters its third season, the laughs are coming as thick and fast as they ever were -- there aren't many other shows on television that can referentially ricochet from "Thundercats" to the 1999 cinematic misfire Idle Hands (which not-so-coincidentally co-stars Green).

The second season, another 20 episodes of caffeinated comedy, is a bit stronger than its predecessor; Green, Senreich and their go-for-broke team of writers and performers seem a bit more willing to dirty up childhood memories (who knew Rainbow Brite was such a skank or that My Little Pony could herald the apocalypse?) -- in doing so, they craft often searingly funny sketches that stick around just long enough to register. The beauty of having this show on DVD is that you can rewind to your heart's content and revel in the minutiae on display.

The season is split across two discs, with episodes "Suck It," "Easter Basket," "1987," "Celebrity Rocket," "Federated Resources," "Dragon Nuts, " Cracked China," "Rodiggiti," "Password: Swordfish" and "Massage Chair" on the first disc and episodes "Metal Militia," "Veggies for Sloth," "Sausage Fest," "Drippy Pony," "The Munnery," "Adoptions an Option," "Day at the Circus," "Lust for Puppets," "Anne Marie's Pride" and "Book of Corrine" completing the second disc. It's worth noting that the episodes aren't presented in broadcast order and "Veggies for Sloth" is missing a segment that aired on Cartoon Network -- an Archies/Final Destination parody -- ostensibly because something of a legal nature couldn't be straightened out in time. It was also rumored that a previously AWOL bit (Beavis and Butt-head meeting the Teen Titans) from the first season would turn up here, but unless it's really well-hidden, I didn't see it anywhere on this set.

The Video:

All 20 episodes of Robot Chicken's second season are presented as originally broadcast on the Cartoon Network in 1.33:1 fullscreen transfers. As expected with a recently created TV show, the image is flawless. No smearing, no video noise or any other noticeable defect can be seen in any of the episodes.

As with the visuals, Robot Chicken is presented just as it was broadcast, with a perfectly adequate Dolby 2.0 stereo track that conveys dialogue, score and sound effects with warmth and clarity. Absolutely nothing to complain about here. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are also included.

A word about the "uncensored" tag affixed to this release: it's slightly misleading since there are still smatterings of bleeps throughout the episodes (such as the "Super Mario Brothers in Grand Theft Auto" segment of "Lust for Puppets" or the season finale, for example). It's unclear why some segments are censored and some aren't, but the bulk of the episodes are bleep-free and laden with colorful profanity, but those expecting a truly uncensored set should adjust expectations accordingly.

The second season of Robot Chicken is housed in a fold-out sleeve that fits snugly into an attractive slipcase. The first disc, in addition to the optional commentaries found on every episode from Green, Senreich and the staff, has 10 deleted scenes (presented in fullscreen; playable separately or all together for an aggregate of 11 minutes, 20 seconds) with introductions from the staff; eight Adult Swim promos (presented in fullscreen; playable separately or all together for an aggregate of four minutes, 23 seconds); the 12 minute, 50 second featurette "The Making of a Sketch," hosted by Green; the 11 minute, five second "Christmas Special" (presented in fullscreen and which essentially recycles material from the episode "Easter Basket"; the profanity is also bleeped here); a collection of deleted audio clips from guest stars Hal Sparks, Michael Ian Black, Dana Snyder (voice of Aqua Teen Hunger Force's Master Shake), Michael Winslow and staff writer Breckin Meyer (presented over a series of static images; playable separately or all together for an aggregate of nine minutes, 59 seconds) rounds out the collection of supplements, with an Easter egg (in the form of the five minute, nine second "Nerf War" featurette) tucked away on the "Extras" screen.

The second disc again features optional commentaries on every episode, as well as four "Animation Meetings" (presented in fullscreen; playable separately or all together for an aggregate of five minutes, 57 seconds); 20 deleted animatics (presented in fullscreen; playable separately or all together for an aggregate of 31 minutes, one second); a one minute, 16 second commercial for Robot Chicken's PS3 contest; a two minute, 12 second "slideshow" culled from an unused promo that's cryptically discussed in the introduction; 15 video blogs (presented in fullscreen; playable separately or all together for an aggregate of 32 minutes, 33 seconds) with the full-length "Freedom Rock" ad (presented in fullscreen; clocking in at one minute, 47 seconds) completing the set.

As Robot Chicken enters its third season, the laughs are coming as thick and fast as they ever were -- there aren't many other shows on television that can referentially ricochet from "Thundercats" to the 1999 cinematic misfire Idle Hands. Call it a show that uses Saturday morning cartoons steeped in bong water, obscure Eighties movies and back issues of Toyfare magazine, julienned into YouTube-able bits of concentrated hilarity. While the lack of a season one sketch that has yet to turn up on disc and an edited season two sketch keep this set from achieving DVD Talk Collectors Series status, it's still packed with bonus material to merit a high recommendation.