The now-canceled "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" suffers from just such an over-complicated set-up that often requires a tremendous amount of cooperation and production to work. While simple bits like Valet and Express Line work, many of the other segments drag on a bit. Plus, the non-actors are very obvious, which is a bit distracting when watching. You want to say, "How does he not know this is fake!?" But that's not to say there aren't some enjoyable moments during the longer pranks. A segment with Jeff Goldblum should go to the TV hall of fame, though that's entirely thanks to Goldblum's hilarious madness. In the same vein, Quick Cash should be legendary for its manic pace.

While there are some good segments, one of the big strikes against the show is the sting, which should be the pay-off to the joke. Here, it simply doesn't work. When Kennedy has to say "You've been X'd. You're on my hidden camera show, it's called 'The Jamie Kennedy Experiment,'" the immediacy of the moment is lost. The line, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera," works much better, simply because it comes out faster. Often, Kennedy will deliver the first half of the sting, and the mark simply looks confused, which doesn't make for great TV. It doesn't help that he's laughing so hard at his own joke when saying the line.

On the other hand, the show has two things working for it. Kennedy is an excellent actor. His ability to lose himself in his characters in impressive. He was so good, often, I found myself forgetting who exactly the mark was. In particular, a bit at a gym had me worried for Kennedy's safety, because I couldn't remember who was in on the joke. The work done by the make-up and costume people, as well as the set crew is quite good. Though occasionally Kennedy is recognized (an astonishing feat in itself), most of the time, he is tremendously disguised.

The fact that they show bits that go wrong is genius as well. Everyone knows these types of pranks don't always work, so to see the reality of that is very entertaining. One in particular, a Lou's Paper Route bit, only really works because it failed in its original intentions. If only that had been the case for the rest of the show. What aims for hilarious only reaches cute when at its best. It's not the worst show ever, but I don't think it's a show that holds up to repeated viewings.

The DVDs
The 23 episodes in season two are spread out over four DVDs, with seven on the first disc, eight on the second, seven on the third and one on the fourth. Also on the fourth platter is a selection of special features. There are no set-up options, while the static menus have episode selections. Each episode has segment listings on-screen. Two episodes also have commentary options. As far as packaging goes, the discs come in four ThinPak cases, which are in a cardboard slipcover. Each case has episode descriptions, though they failed to take advantage of the two-sided cover, designing the inside with art that lines up with the disc art.

The Quality
The full-frame video is a bit above standard broadcast quality. Depending on the location of the segment, the lighting varies in quality, and skintones and shadows differ accordingly. Though encoded at a low average of 5Mbps, it definitely looks better than it did when it first aired. The audio is in Dolby 2.0, encoded at 192Kbps, which does the trick for the simple soundtrack. Curiously, the end credits are silent, but I can't remember if it was that way on TV. There may be a music rights issue there.

The Extras
To start his first commentary, Kennedy apologizes for being half-asleep during the commentaries on the first season's DVDs, and says he'll be better this time. I didn't hear the first ones, but these are decent. Kennedy gives plenty of info on how the segments are created, including the technical background and logistics. He suffers slightly from the "They're great," syndrome, but there's some interesting stuff. Considering that there's only two commentaries, it would have made sense to talk about the series, instead of the episode at hand. Worth noting in regards to my previous critique, Kennedy says that there were complaints about the bits being too complicated.

On disc four, there's a selection of alternate takes for nine bits from the second season. The segments are done several times during production, in order to find the best reaction. When you access the special features menu, an audio introduction by Kennedy plays, and then you can select a bit, or choose the "play all" option. A newly-recorded voiceover from Kennedy sets things up each time. The clips are encoded at a higher rate than the in-episode versions, but oddly look darker and grainier. The bits aren't bad, but, as with pretty much all deleted material, there's a reason why it was cut.

The Bottom Line
As I said, "Candid Camera" worked well thanks to the simplicity. "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" suffers from a lack of it. There are some really fun bits here, but you have to dig a bit to find them. I can't see many people watching this set more than once, since there is an element of suspense involved that is lost after the first pass. I'd say its worth checking out, but keep your expectations low.

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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.