It's hardly the strongest sketch comedy show of all time, but the impact created by Keenen Ivory Wayans' In Living Color (1990-1994) helped push the genre forward with its groundbreaking, edgy style and multi-cultured cast. Original members like Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans have gone on to even greater success, but Season Three marked the introduction of a few new stars: Jamie Foxx (Collateral, Ray), comedian Steve Park, "Fly Girl" Jennifer Lopez (Gigli) and Shawn Wayans as regular cast members (with DJ Twist replacing Wayans). Despite already enjoying an enormous level of success and acclaim with the first two seasons, this year would really show the series near the top of its game: there's sharp writing, edgy satire and plenty of memorable performances by the cast (in short, more of the same). Unfortunately, things would start to slow down in the years to come, with the show fizzling out after its fifth and final season.

Truth be told, In Living Color didn't really break any new ground in the overall format of sketch comedy: it simply threw out as many ideas as possible, gauging the audience reaction and ratings to see which characters would return. Fan favorites like Homey the Clown, the "Men On" segments, Fire Marshall Bill and The Head Detective would return this season, along with plenty of other new stabs at comedy gold. Things didn't always work perfectly, though: despite the show's continuous attempts to spoof current events, some ideas---several of the proposed "movie sequels", for instance---should have been left on paper. Still, it was tough to get through an episode of In Living Color without a good laugh, and it still is. Though younger audiences may not appreciate the dated satire and pop culture references, those who enjoyed the show the first time through should find plenty of entertainment value here. Below is a complete episode index for Season Three, though die-hard fans may notice a few things missing...

Disc One - Episodes #1-10

Side A
Episode 1 (Original Air Date 9/22/91) - Pee Wee's Pornhouse / Misery II / Homey the Clown: Homey Returns / Detective Head Goes Undergarment (also includes introductions to the new cast members)
Episode 2 (Original Air Date 9/29/91) - Kung Fu Master '91 / Jews on First (w/ Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan) / Velma and the Burglar / Oswald: The Silence of the Lambs II / Men on Film: The Return
Episode 3 (Original Air Date 10/6/91) - Clarence Thomas' Badass Song / El Grande Y Spectacular Muchacho Rocketeer / Al MacAfee: Condom Distributor / Butt Out Jeans / Benita Butrell: Carnival Booth / Anton's Play
Episode 4 (Original Air Date 10/13/91) - Jesse Jackson's Kids Books / New Neighbors / B.S. Brothers: City Slickers / Fire Marshal Bill's Cruise (w/ closing performance by Leaders of the New School)
Episode 5 (Original Air Date 10/20/91) - Clarence Thomas: Girlie World / Construction Guys / Snackin' Shark Goes Pirate / Lizzy's / Cephus & Reesie: Bar Mitzvah / Handi Man: The Adventures of Handi Boy

Side B
Episode 6 (Original Air Date 10/27/91) - Sally Struthers: Adopt a Child Star / The Coyote Ugly Escape Kit / The Brothers Brothers: Black Like You / Minute Maiden / Ninja Security System / Vera de Milo Milk Commercial / Home Alone with Michael Jackson (w/ closing performance by Nice & Smooth)
Episode 7 (Original Air Date 11/3/91) - Act Up Guy / Arsenio Hall: Dare to Say "Hmmm..." / Ice Poe: Street Poet / Samantha Kinison: The Kinisons at Home (w/ closing performance by Sam Kinison)
Episode 8 (Original Air Date 11/10/91) - Sheila Peace / Les & Wes: On the Run / Timbuk: The Last Runaway Slave / Late Night with Mike Tyson (w/ closing performance by Big Daddy Kane)
Episode 9 (Original Air Date 11/17/91) - Oswald: 48 Hours Again / Krishna Cop! / Family Feud / Detective Head Meets Mrs. Potato Head (w/ closing performance by Queen Latifah)
Episode 10 (Original Air Date 11/24/91) - Wilt Chamberlain Memorial / My Left Foot of Fury / The Groom Room / Frenchie Goes to an AA Meeting / Skully Conditioner / The "Men on Film" Festival

Disc Two - Episodes #11-20:

Side A
Episode 11 (Original Air Date 12/8/91) - Jimmy Swaggart / Benita Butrell: Witness for the Prosecution / Calhoun Tubbs & the Rock Star / Anton's Box Guest
Episode 12 (Original Air Date 12/15/91) - Bill Cosby's Condom Commercial / HBO's Tired Comedy Night / Lil' Magic: Helen Keller / Tes-T Shields / Sidekick in Vietnam! / The Ugly Woman's Blind Date
Episode 13 (Original Air Date 12/22/91) - Equity Express Blue Dot / Kennedy Cart Blanch / Tommy Wu Seminar / Homey at the Circus / The Jerry Curl / Young Filmmaker / Fire Marshal Santa
Episode 14 (Original Air Date 1/12/92) - B.S. Brothers: At the Funeral / Handi Man and the Tiny Avenger (w/ closing performance by Jodeci)
Episode 15 (Original Air Date 1/19/92) - Frenchie at Lamaze Class / Big Apple Airlines / Death Takes a Holiday / Star Trek: The Really Last Voyage

Side B
Episode 16 (Original Air Date 1/26/92 - Super Bowl Halftime Show) - Homeboyz Shopping Network / Fire Marshal Bill / Sugar Ray's Celebrity Interviews / Men on Football / Background Guy / (w/ closing performance by Color Me Badd)
Episode 17 (Original Air Date 2/2/92) - Bush Wu / Head Detective Gets Framed / Don Rickles Peace Conference / Cape Rear
Episode 18 (Original Air Date 2/9/92) - Sally Struthers: Feed the Planet / Televangelist on Trial / Ugly Woman: Ugly Masseuse
Episode 19 (Original Air Date 2/16/92) - Elvis Sighting / Vera de Milo: The Fist That Rocks the Cradle / Men's Movement / House Party 3 / Ghost II: Sammy Visits (w/ closing performance by Eric B. & Rakim)
Episode 20 (Original Air Date 2/23/92) - Club Ozone / Al MacAfee: McBurgers / Amoeba Standstill / Benita Butrell: Class Reunion / Men on Vacation (w/ performance by Shabba Ranks & Maxi Priest)

Disc Three - Episodes #21-28

Side A
Episode 21 (Original Air Date 3/1/92) - Anton: Green Card / Chillin' / Handi Man: The Sequel
Episode 22 (Original Air Date 3/15/92) - Player's Club / Snackin' Shack: President's Day / Act Up Guy at the Art Gallery / Homey the Clown: Kindergarten Clown (w/ closing performance by Black Sheep)
Episode 23 (Original Air Date 3/29/92) - Tester's Choice, Fatal Choice / The Brothers Brothers: $100,000 Pyramid / The Last Man on Earth / Men on Videotape Rentals (w/ closing performance by Kriss Kross)
Episode 24 (Original Air Date 4/12/92) - Wilt Chamberlain Memorial / Jews on First w/ Al Sharpton and Loius Farrakhan / Velma and the Burglar / Men on Football / Ugly Woman: Blind Date

Side B
Episode 25 (Original Air Date 4/26/92) - Blooper episode (outtakes from previous shows)
Episode 26 (Original Air Date 5/3/92) - Krazy Poly-Dente / Cousin Elsee / B.S. Brothers: Hollywood Tour / Les & Wes: Go West, Les & Wes (w/ closing performance by Heavy D and the Boyz)
Episode 27 (Original Air Date 5/10/92) - SillyCone / Benita Butrell: Delegate / Crazy Tom's / LaShawn: Museum Guide / Fire Marshal Bill in Space (w/ closing performance by MC Lyte)
Episode 28 (Original Air Date 5/17/92) - Law Offices of Oswald Bates / Head Detective: On Head Majesty's Secret Service / Super Clyde / Ugly Woman Dating Game

Unfortunately, this is where the good news ends. As in previous seasons, there are a number of edits made to several episodes; this is mainly due to Season 3's extensive use of music-related parody (most TV-on-DVD fans are familiar with this problem). Particularly noticeable is the absence of Episode #1's West Side Story spoof "Crown Heights Story" and "Little Timmy's Not My Lover", the Michael Jackson-themed sketch from Episode #14---in fact, several shows run well under 20 minutes after trimming. A few Fly Girl performances feature different music dubbed over the dancing, and some of the show's closing musical performances have also been dropped (for a few more examples, there's an ongoing thread about the cuts over in the DVD Talk Forum). As with both previous collections, this volume will certainly be a disappointment for In Living Color completists.

It's a shame Fox couldn't shell out for the complete music rights, but it's just another problem that DVD fans will have to live with for the time being. If you're not bothered by the cuts, you'll have no problem enjoying this 3-disc set. If you're looking for the complete episodes, though, In Living Color: Season Three will be every bit as frustrating as the other collections.

It's worth noting that Fox has gotten cheaper with the presentation as well. The usual single-sided, dual-layered format has been done away with, as these 28 episodes are now presented on two-sided, single-layered discs. This means that more episodes have been squeezed on each disc, though the series' low-budget visuals don't appear to be affected too much. Fox has also done away with bonus materials for this volume; though they weren't particularly earth-shattering on previous seasons, it's still a shame that there's nothing here. All in all, this marks another solid season of In Living Color---it's too bad that the DVD presentation looks to be going downhill fast.

The lively anamorphic widescreen animated menus mirror the show's new opening sequence, featuring mostly black and white designs with splashes of color. Navigation is smooth and simple, though an on-screen sketch or chapter index would have been helpful (each episode has been divided into chapters, though you'll only know where you're going if you follow the index on the packaging). Speaking of the packaging, Season Three follows suit with prior collections: each of the three discs is packaged in its own slim case, with everything housed inside a colorful, glossy slipcase.

Let's play ball! Strike one: several sketches and performances are cut, and Fox didn't even bother to mention this on the packaging (this goes for earlier seasons too!). Strike two: the use of double-sided discs makes the presentation seem cheaper. Strike three: there's no related bonus materials to be found. This would normally be enough to give any release a terrible rating, but the strength of In Living Color---which, despite the nature of its topical humor, holds up surprisingly well----is enough to help Season Three inch by...but just barely. The series would gradually begin its decline before the fifth and final season, but hopefully Fox will get their act together by then. It's certainly not a great example of what TV on DVD can be, but hey...at least it's great TV. Recommended.