I gotta be honest -- sometimes in this DVD reviewing gig, you're exposed to stuff that you would otherwise never, ever cross paths with. Case in point: Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World. Now, to be fair, I don't watch much (any, truly) of the GLBT-tailored channel Logo; I certainly applaud the idea of balancing out cable with additional, differing viewpoints from the mainstream, but I'm not sure if the "South Park"-channeling Rick & Steve is putting the best foot forward. After all, I refer you to the pre-show disclaimer: "Warning: The following program contains graphic language, violence and puppet-on-puppet sex. It has no role models and does not represent the opinions of the entire LGBT puppet community ... yet. This show should only be viewed by legally and emotionally mature adults."

Uh huh. Created by Q. Allan Brocka, based on his 1999 shorts of the same name, Rick & Steve is a stop-motion cartoon set in the fictional burg of West Lahunga Beach (lots of puns in this show). The six episodes comprising the show's complete first season, which began in July 2007, dabble in plenty of hot-button issues, such as same-sex parenting, HIV patients, artificial insemination, gay cruises, coming out, political agendas and drug use -- "Dragon Ball Z" it ain't. I kept hoping that the sophomoric scripts would smarten up and quit dropping painfully unfunny one-liners ("I know you fought long and hard for that driver's permit, but I'd rather the HIV kill me than you."). The whole thing just smacks of bad taste.

While there might be an audience (a very small one) for this sort of brazen, tasteless and seemingly shameless comedy, I can't imagine it sustaining any long-term success beyond these initial few episodes. It's not simply because the frank (animated) depictions of GLBT lifestyles might put off the more conservative viewers, but frankly, the smart-assed jokes that make light of very serious problems within the GLBT community and beyond are hard to see in any light as being funny. Rick & Steve dance right up to the line and then cross it with little compunction; this disc is only worth tracking down if you've a mind to be bored and/or offended.

The Video:

Presented as (I'm guessing) originally broadcast on Logo, Rick & Steve looks darn near perfect in this 1.33:1 fullscreen transfer. All six episodes pop with a clarity and richness that befits a program less than six months old. There's nary a defect to be seen and the visual presentation is solid throughout.

The Dolby 2.0 stereo track won't give anyone's home theater a workout, but does convey the dialogue and score cleanly and clearly with no discernible problems. A perfectly fine aural experience.

A few bonus features to be had -- 12 "digisodes," playable separately or all together for an aggregate of 26 minutes, eight seconds; two featurettes -- the four minute, 36 second "The Puppet Masters" and the three minute, 56 second "Toys Will Be Toys: Animating Rick & Steve"; a quartet of interviews with stars Peter Paige, Wilson Cruz, Alan Cumming and Margaret Cho, playable separately or all together for an aggregate of 11 minutes, 17 seconds with (and I quote) "More Gay Crap" consisting of trailers for "Tranny 911," "Exes & Ohs" and "Noah's Arc: The Complete Second Season" finishing off the disc.

While there might be an audience (a very small one) for this sort of brazen, tasteless and seemingly shameless comedy, I can't imagine it sustaining any long-term success beyond these initial few episodes. It's not simply because the frank (animated) depictions of GLBT lifestyles might put off the more conservative viewers, but frankly, the smart-assed jokes that make light of very serious problems within the GLBT community and beyond are hard to see in any light as being funny. Rick & Steve dance right up to the line and then cross it with little compunction; this disc is only worth tracking down if you've a mind to be bored and/or offended. Skip it.