It's hardly the strongest sketch comedy show of all time, but the impact created by Keenen Ivory Wayans' In Living Color (1990-1994) pushed the genre forward with its groundbreaking style and multi-cultured cast. Original members like Jim Carrey have since gone on to even greater success, but later years marked the introduction of a few new future stars: Jamie Foxx (Collateral, Ray), comedian Steve Park, "Fly Girl" Jennifer Lopez (Gigli) and Shawn Wayans as regular cast members, just to name a few. With its raw energy and penchant for offending every race on the planet, In Living Color was one of the more memorable sketch comedy shows of the 1990's (and there were a lot, weren't there?).

After enjoying an enormous level of success and critical acclaim with the first three seasons, the fourth year marked "the beginning of the end". In addition to the Wayans siblings leaving the show mid-season (Keenan, Damon, Shawn, Kim and newcomer Marlon), a few others packed up and left as well, including Tommy Davidson and Kelly Coffield. On many occasions, there's more of a reliance on reoccurring characters than ever---not that that's always a bad thing, but it's fairly obvious that fans were clamoring for new and different characters, and that's something Season Four couldn't always provide.

By the end of this troubled season, nearly every other episode was a "best of" collection, stopping In Living Color's momentum nearly dead in its tracks. Even so, the first half of Season 4 contains what many fans would consider to be the last grest run of this influential show---it's certainly not a perfect run from beginning to end, but there's some great moments that still hold up very well. From the L.A. Riots to Ross Perot's infamous campaign, any child of the 1990's will certainly enjoy themselves. From start to finish, here's a complete list of included sketches in this 3-disc set:

Disc One, Side A

Episode 1 (9/27/92) Ross Perot Apology / Fire Marshal Bill Rebuilds L.A. / Rodney King And Reginald Denny PSA / Clean Up My Yard / Benita Butrell: At the Riots / Closing Performance by Redman
Episode 2 (10/4/92) Go On Girl: Barbara and Hillary / The Amazing Leron / Snuff & Roam (first "episode") / Ugly Woman: Basic Instank II
Episode 3 (10/11/92) MTV Political Coverage / Cousin Elsee: At the Wake / Woody Allen: Date the Children / Mr. & Mrs. Brooks / Closing Performance by Gang Starr
Episode 4 (10/18/92) Jay Leno / Lori Davis Beauty / George Hamilton Luggage / Black People's Awards / Closing Performance by ADOR
Episode 5 (10/25/92) Baby Lonnie / Super Bimbo / Def Jam Comedy Hour / Juicemania / Closing Performance by Grand Puba

Disc One, Side B

Episode 6 (11/1/92) Head Detective: A Very Special "Head Detective" / Ice Poe: At the Airport / Anton's Comic Relief
Episode 7 (11/8/92) Dysfunctional Home Show / Snuff And Roam / Homey the Clown's Son / Closing Performance by Wreckx-N-Effect
Episode 8 (11/15/92) "Chris Rock" for "Anonymous Express" / Wanda Meets the Ugly Man / "Make Me Rich!" / Handi Man Loses His Powers / Closing Performance by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
Episode 9 (11/22/92) Mr. & Mrs. Brooks: Thanksgiving Dinner / Candy Cane / Men On Cooking / Closing Performance by Mary J. Blige
Episode 10 (11/29/92) Timbuk: The Last Runaway Slave / Rescue Whenever / The One Night Stand / Anton Gets Rich

Disc Two, Side A

Episode 11 (12/13/92) Li'l Magic: Working Girl / Your Face Is Your Passport / Bram Stoker's Wanda
Episode 12 (12/20/92) Driving Miss Shott / An Ice Poe Christmas / Benita Butrell: Holiday Volunteer / Tunes for Tots / "Why?" Eyewitness / How MacAfee Stole Christmas / Closing Performance by Jamie Foxx
Episode 13 (1/3/93) Vera DeMilo: The Stank of a Woman / Cousin Elsee: At the Hospital / "Why?" Commercials / The Dysfunctional Home Christmas Show / Mr. & Mrs. Brooks: Second Honeymoon / Closing Performance by Digable Planets
Episode 14 (1/17/93) The Capital Hillbilies / Benita Butrell: At the Physician's Office / Amy Fisher Seminar / Tales From The Crib / Ross Perot Inaugural Interruption / You Bet Your Career / Closing Performance by Father MC
Episode 15 (2/6/93) LaToya Jackson: Michael Wrapped / Home Alone Again / MJ Potato Head / Michael Unwrapped / Family Feud: Jacksons & Royals / Closing Performance by Another Bad Creation

Disc Two, Side B

Episode 16 (2/7/93) "Alive II" with Richard Simmons / Loomis Simmons: Power Stretch / The Info Group / What If Bob Hope Were Black? / Sgt. Koon on "Cops" / Men On Fitness
Episode 17 (2/11/93) Bill Cosby's Condom Commercial / Homey the Clown: Homey's Parole Romance / The Ejector Bed / Velma on a Blind Date / Ugly Woman: One Night Stand
Episode 18 (2/14/93) Oswald Bates: Booked on Phonics / Forever Silky / Lashawn: Dry Cleaners / Reality Check: Aretha / Fire Marshall Bill at Benihuni's / Closing Performance by Arrested Development
Episode 19 (2/21/93) Thigh Master / Calhoun Tubbs at Prison / Dirty Little Dick / Geraldo Rivera Visits the Midget Mill / Rodney Dangerfield / Mr. & Mrs. Brooks: Garage Sale
Episode 20 (2/25/93) Antoine in "Deep Sea Men" / The Rise to Stardom / Cliff Hanger / Sponsors / Ratings / Men on Film Festival
Episode 21 (2/28/93) Passenger 227 / Background Guy / The Dysfunctional Wedding Show / Ugly Woman: The Fifth En Vouge
Episode 22 (3/7/93) Louise Jefferson for "Weezies" / A Different Message / "Why?" Reporters / "Super Dave" with Dance Transition / Make a DeathWish Foundation / "Super Dave" Finale / Grandpa at the Dog Show / Closing Performance by Naughty by Nature
Episode 23 (3/14/93) Great Moments In Black History: Scratchin' / Al Sharpton Hunger Strike / Reality Check: Hair / What If Archie Bunker Were Black? / Mister Rogers: Insufferable Prick / Closing Performance by Heavy D & The Boyz

Disc Three, Side A

Episode 24 (3/21/93) Rodney King and Reginald Denny PSA / "Why?" Eyewitness / Oswald Bates: Booked on Phonics / Ross Perot Inaugural Interruption / Driving Miss Shott / Lori Davis Beauty System / Ugly Woman: Bram Stoker's Wanda
Episode 25 (4/4/93) What If Barbra Striesand Were Black? / Al MacAfee: Metal Detective / Sheila Peace: Employment Agency / Lashawn: Makeover / The Black People's Show / Closing Performance by Prince Markie D & The Soul Convention
Episode 26 (4/25/93) Baby Lonnie / Confident Gay Man / Snookie / Sgt. Koon's Police Academy / Closing Performance by Da Youngsta's
Episode 27 (4/29/93) The Player's Club / Sillycone / Vera DeMilo Milk Commercial / Sally Struthers: Feed the Planet / Tes-T-Shields / Coyote Ugly Escape Kit / George Hamilton Luggage / Amy Fisher Seminar / Juicemania
Episode 28 (5/2/93) Loomis Simmons: Psychic Line / MTV's Teen Court / The Groom Room: James Brown / Interview with The Champ / Closing Performance by Showbiz and A.G. with Dres

Disc Three, Side B

Episode 29 (5/6/93) The Superfly / El Grande Y Spectacular Muchacho Rocketeer / My Left Foot of Fury / Oswald Bates: "Silence of the Lambs II" / Passenger 227 / Ugly Woman: Basic Instank II
Episode 30 (5/9/93) Heterosexual Pride Parade / Reality Check: Bikini / Calhoun Tubbs at Chuck E. Cheddar / Thelma And Louise Jefferson / Mrs. Sheridan at Home / Ugly Woman: The Good, The Bad and the Very Ugly / Closing Performance by Onyx
Episode 31 (5/13/93) Elvis Sighting / What if Bob Hope Were Black? / Woody Allen: Date the Children / Jay Leno / You Bet Your Career
Episode 32 (5/16/93) Grandpa's Dog Commercial / Vera DeMilo: Breasts of Fury / Snackin' Shack: Eligible Bachelor / The Adventures of Bunny & Clive / The Dysfunctional Home Show: At a Funeral / Closing Performance by the Pharcyde (hooray!)
Episode 33 (5/23/93) Joe Jackson: Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots / In Living Color Voice Mail (continues throughout episode) / Lashawn: Beauty Shop / "Why?" Black "Star Trek" Characters / B.S. Brothers: Big Break / The Champ: The Tooth Senate

As in previous seasons, there are a number of edits made to several episodes; this is mainly due to the show's extensive use of music-related parody, though it's not exactly a new problem for classic TV-on-DVD fans. For these reaons, this compilation will be something of a disappointment for In Living Color completists---after all, these shows originally ran for 22-24 minutes apiece, and a handful of these now barely run for 17! If you're not bothered by the cuts, you'll have no problem enjoying this 3-disc set. If you're looking for complete shows, In Living Color: Season Three will be every bit as frustrating as the others. Though I don't have the original broadcasts on tape to provide a complete comparison, more Internet-savvy readers should be able to locate a partial or full list of episode edits out there somewhere (and if you send me a link, I'll certainly post it here).

Though it will be covered in more detail below, the presentation of this 3-disc set also shows a slight decline in quality on Fox's part. The new trend of using double-sided discs is a nuisance for those who like to take care of their discs, while the somewhat disorganized way the episodes are presented on DVD is another head-scratcher. Even so, it's a big block of solid entertainment---well, at least the first two discs are---for a very reasonable price. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

The lively anamorphic widescreen menus (above) mirror the show's 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 Four follows suit with prior collections in all respects except one: each of the discs is packaged in its own slim case, with everything housed inside a colorful, glossy slipcase. The strange thing is that all of the other three collections use clear cases, while Season 4 uses plain black---so the double-sided artwork is basically rendered useless! If you've got the resources and you're as anal as I am, you'll have to make the switch manually.

The third act of this season isn't without its problems, but the fact that it may very well be the swan song for In Living Color makes it worth picking up. Even though the packaging and presentation aren't as strong as the first two seasons, there's a barrel full of laughs here that fans should really enjoy. Season 5, the fifth and final collection, should be released in the near future---so it'll be interesting to see how it holds up in retrospect. Until then, sit back and relax. Mildly Recommended.