The Show
"Futurama" is a certified cult hit, thanks to a wonderful cast of characters, smart writing and its place in the sci-fi genre. Its on-air history, being put in terrible timeslots; being bumped; but making enough episodes for syndication as part of the cult hit-making [adult swim] lineup, helped it build that coveted status that sells DVDs today.

"Tripping the Rift" certainly isn't close to cult-hit status, but it picked a solid course by taking the "Futurama" concept of a ship of misfits, adding the glossy CGI look and pumping in more sex than is legally allowed on most networks. Being that the show was tucked away on the genre ghetto known as the Sci-Fi Channel, it wasn't seen by anywhere near as many people. Thus, expectations were a bit lower, and the series was able to develop in peace.

Led by the slimy purple alien Chode, the ship basically follows its captain's desires, chasing down money, sex or whatever else catches his fancy. In voicing Chode, Stephen Root ("NewsRadio") seems to be channeling Adam Carolla, creating a character without the uniqueness of his other roles, but which exceeds all expectations in terms of evil.

Chode's attitude is counterbalanced by the thoughtful nature of Six, his sex slave android. Gina Gershon gives the character a proper blend of sexuality and intellect, but it all gets overwhelmed by her character's pneumatic and often nearly-nude body. The animators broke new ground in illustrating the way breasts move in animating Six, as her chest sways and bounces with amazing exaggeration, no matter how slight her movements.

The rest of the crew is filled with your usual sitcom stereotypes (the ugly woman who doesn't know it, the slacker teen), done in sci-fi style, though the robot engineer, Gus, is entertaining, and played as gay, though he doesn't know it. Surprisingly, the small part of the ship's computer, Bob, is performed well by former Howard Stern intern "Stuttering" John Melendez. It's not the toughest acting job in the world, but he makes it work.

Though the show starts with some obvious sci-fi jokes about Star Wars and Star Trek, outside of the main villain, Darph Bobo, and the obvious Trek references in the series' Confederation government, the writers don't even try to savage the network's bread and butter. Instead, they fluctuate from social commentary about life without God, gun control and the U.S. political system, to standard sitcom fare, like long-lost identical twins and matchmaking.

I can't say I found any big laughs in the obvious jokes or lowbrow sex comedy. For example, during an intergalactic beauty competition, one of the contestants is a massively endowed blonde named Spamela Anderslut. That one took a lot of thought I'm sure, but maybe not as much as the character of Spank the Monkey.

While most of the comedy didn't do it for me, I did enjoy the more thoughtful plots. Among the stand-outs are "The Devil and a Guy Named Webster," in which Chode sells his soul to Satan, only to battle him in court with a little help from a little friend, and "2001 Space Idiocies," which puts a peaceful, naive culture at the mercy of Chode and Darph Bobo. A few more like these and the show would be well on its way toward a long cult-enhanced life, but the second season, took a step back from here, and even replaced Gershon as Six. That more than likely means this is the series' pinnacle.

The DVDs
The packaging for this series is a somewhat unique take on the standard digipak case. Inside of a slipcover is a five-panel digipak, but there are only three disc trays. One panel holds a booklet in its nook, while the three trays are covered with die-cut fold-outs that reveal part of the DVD art. Anchor Bay gets some credit for trying something different. Don't be fooled by the "Unrated" sticker on the front though. There's no nudity, and the cursing is bleeped.

The 13 episodes from "Tripping the Rift"'s first season are split over the three DVDs, with five on the first disc, and four on the remaining two. The extras are limited to the third platter. The discs feature animated full-frame main menus, which have options to view all the episodes, select individual shows and setup the audio. The episode selection menu lists the titles, and is followed by a screen with a synopsis for each. The audio options include English and French 2.0 soundtracks.

The Quality
I'm of the opinion that computer-generated animation should always look gorgeous, as there's no reason for any imperfections. "Tripping the Rift" includes some excellent visuals, but too often the series has a softness that just doesn't jive with the genre. The color and detail are nice, and the metal effects on the robots are also very impressive. There wasn't an obvious bit of dirt or damage, as one would hope with CGI.

The sound, presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, doesn't stand out in any way, but it's fully function for this series. Being a sci-fi show, there's quite a bit of action and special sound effects, but it doesn't make for a dynamic listening experience.

The Extras
It's slim pickings when it comes to extras on this set. In the packaging is an 8-page booklet, with character profiles and episode descriptions. The profiles, written as though they are confidential Confederation files, are complete with blacked-out information and are somewhat cute.

On the third disc, there are character artwork and background art galleries, which can be flipped through with your remote. The art is nice, including alternate designs and some storyboards, but it's not the most fulfilling supplemental material. Putting the third disc in your DVD-ROM drive gives access to PDF-format scripts for all 13 episodes, which again is nice, but not of much interest to most viewers. Where's the original pilot episode that features actual nudity from Six? That's what people picking this set up want.

The Bottom Line
I'm have somewhat mixed feelings about this show. When it really tries for parody, like the episodes about killing God or gun control, it hits the mark, delivering an interesting, and occasionally quite funny show. But when it shoots for the lowest common denominator, "Tripping the Rift" becomes no better than the average sitcom, just with more bouncing computer-animated breasts. The presentation on these DVDs is decent, but not exceptional, and the set is severely lacking in terms of extras. Fans might want it if they really want to revisit the series, but a rental check-out is enough for most viewers.

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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.