The premise is simple, as Kimmel, Adam Corolla and a crew of guest comics, including Kevin Nealon, Jim Florentine, Billy West and Tracy Morgan, act out a cast of outrageous characters calling people and harrassing them. The calls are rarely abusive, as the jokes tend to be more fun and goofy, which raises the show above the level of The Jerky Boys. The quality of the calls can be hit or miss, depending on the responses by "The Mark," but on a whole, they tend to be pretty good.

Some of the best segments of the show came during the first season, including the sweetly-retarded Special Ed (Jim Florentine) calling tech support, creating the show's signature cry of "I got mail! Yay!", Sav Macauley of The Phone Zone (Dane Cook) calling a crazy military man and Shavin (Dave Chappelle) trying to book the Wu-Tang Clan rooms at a bed-and-breakfast. The shows fly by, at 22 minutes a piece, with six or seven calls in each, some longer than others. Small interstitials serve as transitions between the various locales of fictional Yankerville.

The big selling point of this set is that it's uncensored, which means that all the puppet nudity that was blurred and the cursing that was bleeped, is included in its untouched form. It's odd to see that the puppet makers included nipples on their felt creations, but if you wondered what that was like, this set is the way to go. I really didn't think the bleeping was a big deal, but some people enjoy an F-bomb caressing their ear. The fact that they are being dropped by puppets makes it funnier in a way, working along the lines of how South Park has children cursing.

The DVDs
The first season is split across two discs, with five episodes on each. Animated intros lead into nicely-designed menus built around a telephone keypad. The extras are included on Disc Two. The set is packaged in two ThinPak cases, with episode information on the inside, housed inside a cardboard slipcase.

Here's a breakdown of what's on the set:

Episode 1
Elmer (Jimmy Kimmel) calls for an apartment
Gladys Murphy (Wanda Sykes) lodges a complaint
Batman's Nemesis (Jordan Rubin) calls 411
Birchum (Adam Corolla) applies for a job
"Big Bird"
Mooshu (Billy West) calls record store
Elmer still needs an apartment
Special Ed (Jim Florentine) books a trip
Tenacious D performs
Highlight: The fully-nude Tenacious D performance is great, while Batman's Nemesis is fun and silly.

Episode 2
Cammie (Lisa Kushell) needs a job
Classic Crank Call (Billy West)
Boomer (Patton Oswalt) and the Nudge (Jimmy Kimmel) radio contest
Spoonie Luv (Tracy Morgan) orders roses
Jimmy (Jimmy Kimmel) needs help downstairs (with Sarah Silverman)
Joe (Dennis Leary) has a problem pet
Special Ed needs support
Highlight: Special Ed's character defining moment and Cammie's ridiculous situation.

Episode 3
Shavin (Dave Chappelle) makes a reservation (with the Wu Tang Clan)
Bob Carlman (Super Dave Osborne) calls a Dick
Elmer lodges a complaint
Brought to you by...
Hadassah (Sarah Silverman) responds to ad
Rob (Stephen Colbert) lends deaf friend a hand
Mooshu vs. Monkey
Highlight: The sweet nature of Savin's "mark" makes the call a winner.

Episode 4
Puppets Gone Wild
Elmer needs a hearing aid
Karl Malone (Jimmy Kimmel) - You Got to Know
Wanda (Wanda Sykes) calls from Internet sex site to thank customer
Miles Standish (Tony Barbieri) needs assistance
Confucious say...
Sesame Street Sex
Woman thinks she called parcel company (with the Touch-Tone Terrorists)
Highlight: Wanda's call is great, but the reaction to the Touch-Tone Terrorists is priceless.

Episode 5
Bobby Fletcher (Jim Florentine) needs a job
Lisa (Lisa Kushell) needs help
Frank (Dave Attell) wants hair removal
Birchum calls lost and found
Bill Cosby teaser
Confucious Say...
Terrence (Jimmy Kimmel) makes a reservation for Cosby
When Puppets Explode
Danny (David Alan Grier) gets off
Highlight: A great all-arond episode, with Lida, Frank and Danny all delivering hilarious calls.

Episode 6
Woman thinks she called parcel company (with the Touch-Tone Terrorists)
Niles Standish orders invitations
Helen Higgins (Susie Essman) has a problem pet
Don't go away...
Bobby Fletcher needs a job (social worker)
Vote for Tony DeLoge (Super Dave Osborne)
Karl Malone - You Got to Know
Highlight: Niles Standish's naughty note takes the prize.

Episode 7
Hadassah conducts survey
Lawyer Ad
Spoonie Luv pitches card ideas
Confucious Say...
Sav Macauley (Dane Cook) in The Phone Zone
Karl Malone - You Got to Know
Bobby Fletcher has question
Ween
Highlight: One of the weaker moments, but Dane Cook as Sav Macauley is fun.

Episode 8
Spoonie Luv places personal ad
Mark (Super Dave Osborne) seeks advice
Helen wants cookies
Bobby Fletcher and Birchum at bar
Ken (Kevin Nealon) seeks OCD date
Go-Go Dancer
Terrence sets up Jared appearance
Karl Malone - You Got to Know
Highlight: Ken is a riot, while Spoonie Luv's ad is guaranteed to make you laugh.

Episode 9
Karl Malone needs Beanie Babies
Bobby Fletcher wants a job (auto shop)
Hadassah calls from the Department of Waste Management
Helen strips
Birchum gets an estimate
Confucious say
Danny calls a caterer
Elmer lodges a complaint (TV)
Highlight: It doesn't get any better than Karl Malone's Beanie Babies.

Episode 10
Elmer lodges a complaint (parcel)
Spoonie Luv orders roses
Gene Winterbuck (Dane Cook) book requests
Confucious Say...
Hadassah files a complaint
Sav Macauley in the Phone Zone
Birchum drills a hole
Vote for Tony Deloge
Highlight: Sav Macauley is amazing, thanks to the maniac he calls.

The Quality
The full-screen video on these episodes look great, but due to the high quality of the image, the animation can expose the low-budget production, as the edges of the live footage look rough against the animated background. On TV, it looks smooth, but with the increased resolution of DVD, it's obvious. The puppet shoots look fantastic though. The audio, done in Dolby 2.0, isn't the most impressive track, but it reproduces the phone calls (and the uncensored cursing) well.

The Extras
The extras are light on this set, but the behind-the-scenes featurette, "Dial 'T' for Torment - A Mini-Documentary" is exactly what I wanted to see. I'd always been curious about how the show is made, and this documentary (shot during the third season) explains it all, from the writing to the calling to the puppeteering, which is some of the most impressive work this side of Jim Henson's crew. With interviews with several of the comedians and the show's staff, "Dial 'T'" is a near-perfect featurette.

The other extras are two calls that were never aired, for good reason. In two of the show's least funny clips, Hadassah calls a hip-hop record store to try and sell her Jewish folk music, and Herman Gout calls to set up a funeral for his dead horse. Neither call works well, and I'm surprised that after hearing them, the producers went through with all the intensive production work. Also included are three promotional "Quickies," featuring Dave Chappelle, "Reno 911" and "South Park," which are found on Disc One.

The Bottom Line
"Crank Yankers" is as fun a show as you'll find on television, and now, it comes complete with puppet nipples and cursing. Does that make it funnier? I don't really think so, but it doesn't hurt. But if you like puppet boobs and potty mouths, you'll be very happy with this set. Fans of the show should enjoy themselves as well. This stuff never gets old, and holds up well to repeated watchings, as the creators put tons of jokes in the background. For fans and anyone that missed out on the first season, I recommend this set.

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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.