They asked Jackie Gleason once why The Honeymooners "Classic 39" episodes were still on the air after three decades. He answered simply: "Because they were funny." And that's really the only criteria that anyone can have for reviewing a comedy disc: is it funny?

In Toronto, in 1982, Kevin McDonald, with Dave Foley, formed the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. They were later joined by Mark McKinney and Bruce McCulloch, in 1984 (previously, McCulloch and McKinney had formed the comedy troupe, The Audience, in Calgary in 1981). Scott Thompson, a friend of McKinney, joined the group in 1985. After splitting up to pursue other options, the group reunited in 1986, to play at the famous Rivoli Theater on Queen Street in downtown Toronto. Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live, brought the troupe to New York in 1987, and The Kids peformed for the next seven years, appearing on HBO, Comedy Central and the CBC. In 1995, they released a movie, The Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy.

I remember watching reruns of The Kids in the Hall on Comedy Central back in the early to mid-90s, and finding them both quirky and funny. So how do they hold up now? After all, The Ritz Brothers and Wheeler and Wolsey used to be considered screams back in their days -- but have you seen them lately? Well, The Kids do manage to hold up quite well -- perhaps not as well as when they were considered fresh and daring. Certainly their large fan base (largely centered in their home country of Canada) has never forgotten them, and they continue to tour to sell-out venues. Watching them today is an exercise in nostalgia; it's been almost 20 years since they first started recording their comedy routines. Some of the skits fall flat -- no comedian or comedy team ever hits it out of the ballpark every time. And as for the label "pioneering" that is thrown around quite often at The Kids, I doubt there's anything here that wasn't first tried out in Monty Python (or for that matter, The Goon Show or The Marx Brothers).

Some might quibble about the insistent laugh track that was used to bouy the skits; it only bothers me when it's pumped up to bring over skits that are fairly lame. It sometimes feels like Lorne Michaels -- no stranger to product-building instincts when it comes to his comedy proteges -- is deliberately trying to create "instant sex symbols" with the canned sounds of young girls giving numerous "oohs" and "ahhs" throughout the filmed segments. No matter. It doesn't really interfer with the comedy.

There are more than enough funny moments throughout this collection (made up of clips from their first HBO special, and the first two season of their show) to justify checking it out. A few skits can stand alone and be considered geniune TV comedy classics; particularly The Chicken Lady (has to be seen to be believed), Simon and Hecubus and the "Nobody Likes Us" guys (both strong showcases for Foley and McDonald) and the French Canadian fur trappers who canoe through the modern office buildings of Toronto, looking for fresh pelts of Armani buisness suits.

The skits included on The Best of The Kids in the Hall disc are:

Season 1 -- Episode 1:
Death Row / The Banker Doesn't Like Us / Buddy's Better / Crushing Your Head Part 2 / Citizen Kane / Car Ride / Womyn / Crushing Your Head Part 3 / The Banker Doesn't Like Us 2

Episode 2:
Hey You Millionaire / Crying Guy / Crush Your Head Part 1 / Cabbage Head / Romeo / Crush Your Head Part 2 / Buddy Cole / Reg / Crush Your Head Part 3

Season 2 -- Episode 1:
Fact - Uncle Tony / Headcrusher - Rival / Off Swingin' / Daddy Drank / The Affair / Fact #3 / The Doctor / A Little Something / Fact - 45 Years of Love / First Time / Girls of Summer

Episode 2:
Cops - Prisoner / Comfortable / Trapper / Painting A Chair / Cops - Shootout / Chicken Lady / Simon and Hecubus / Cops - Dad / Hazy Movie

The DVD:

Video:
The full screen image is fine, taken from the video masters for the original shows. Any slight fuzziness -- almost exclusively in the video-shot skits -- are due to the source material.

Audio:
The Dolby Digital stereo mix is adequate; actually, the best separation comes during the commentaries.

The Extras:
There is a commentary track, featuring all of The Kids, for the entire duration of the show. It's an interesting commentary, first from the standpoint of listening to the shifting dynamics between the cast, and the various levels of cast interest that you can discern from what is said -- and not said. Second, there's a lot of fast-paced information thrown out about the series' production and past troupe activity -- some of it worthwhile, and other info, more "inside." You might have to be a really dedicated fan to decipher some of the commentary. There's also cast biographies and a photo gallery. If you're a big fan, you'll enjoy them.

Final Thoughts:
The Best of The Kids in the Hall is a great trip down memory lane, worthwhile to touch base with what we thought was funny almost twenty years ago. Some of it is dated, some of it was overrated at the time, but most of it is still very, very funny. You don't need any more justification than that. Recommended.