For those unfamiliar with the series, Robot Chicken skewers movies, music, television and other facets of pop culture using... action figures! It might sound kind of strange - and it is - but the series, created by Seth Green and Matthew Seinreich, is actually a lot of fun and often times quite hilarious. Each episode runs about fifteen minutes or so in length and is presented in a 'channel surfing' format meaning that what you see are little sketches enacted with action figures that replicate the bits and pieces of television you would see if you were sitting around working the remote. Somehow it manages to work, even if it doesn't sound like it should.

This fourth collection of episodes, twenty in total, picks up more or less where the third season left off, meaning that co-creators Green and Seinreich are feeling the after effects of the killing spree they went on that took the lives of many but accomplished very little. Now unemployed, the pair decide to explore Hollywood and, along the way, meet up with the likes of Joss Whedon, Ron Moore and Seth McFarlane, all in hopes of winning a spot on their respective television shows. And with this, season four is off with a bang as this self-referential season premiere kicks things into high gear right out of the starting gate by delivering everything the fans want - quirky and unexpected guest stars, random cartoonish and over the top violence and of course, insane comedy.

As the other nineteen episodes play out, the typical pop culture skewering provides most of the laughs. The first episode features a great bit where we get to watch movies in 'Just The Good Parts' format, meaning you'll get to enjoy your favorite Hollywood classics in ultra-condensed form. We also pay visits to Tila Tequila and Parappa The Rapper before moving on to the second episode which features some hilarious bits where we see a contractor building a temple for the natives to use in Raiders Of The Lost Ark, peer in on the Justice League Of America as they find out the pros and cons of taking their sidekicks to work with them, and spend a bit too much time with an overzealous employee in the bathroom of a posh strip club. Episode three pokes fun at James Bond and Iron Man before we see what happens in the world of The Masters Of The Universe when Skeletor's plot to discredit He-Man goes awry. A screwy bit involving Pluto Nash of all people brings this episode to a close. Episode four mixes up werewolves, Santa Claus, Daredevil and Hanna Montana while episode five teaches us about the differences between Go-Bots and Transformers (ever an important debate for children of the eighties), explains where Billy Joel's creativity stems from and introduces us to some alternatives to The A-Team. Episode six throws Strawberry Shortcake, Billy Dee Williams, Harry and the Hendersons and G.I. Joe all into the same stop-motion pot while episode seven mixes up Babar The Elephant, O.J. Simpson, and The Terminator with typically unusual results. Moving right along, episode eight pokes fun at Clash Of The Titans, Star Trek, Speed Racer, and a certain MTV program while episode nine gives us a horny Punky Brewster, an insane Joker, and a look at what it might be like to live next door to Stephen King. Episode ten throws Freddy Kruger at us before riffing on Criss Angel and Lindsay Lohan, two easy but deserving targets if ever there were such things.

The batch of episodes on the second disc follow the same suit, going after everything from the WWE, The Muppets, The Dukes Of Hazzard, and Gone With The Wind to more obscure targets like M.A.S.K., Snorks, Gyro-Robo, Dungeons and Dragons, The Dark Crystal, Fantasy Island, and The Wuzzles. You'd forgotten all about The Wuzzles, right? The Robot Chicken crew didn't, and so much the better.

While so much of the series' appeal lies in its sometimes remarkably obscure pop culture references, don't underestimate the power of its shock value. There's something to be said for seeing a wholesome eighties TV icon like Punky Brewster turned into a boy crazy nymphomaniac or seeing a party crazed He-Man ruin Skeletor's scheme. Obviously if you remember these characters in their original form, as many of us do, you'll get more out of it than someone who doesn't but the insanity of it all, peppered by foul language, violence and crass humor, makes it funny regardless (so long as you're not easily offended). The fact that a show whose very lifeblood is basically ripping nostalgic characters a new one and poking fun at celebrities has remained on the air as long as Robot Chicken is testament to this.

Video:

The 1.33.1 fullframe picture on this DVD looks better than you'd probably expect it to. Color reproduction is nice and bright without looking overdone while detail levels stay pretty strong and consistent throughout. There's a little bit of shimmering here and there but not major problems with mpeg compression artifacts (though you might notice it in some of the darker spots if you're looking for it) or edge enhancement to complain about. There's a bit of softness to the picture at times, but really, the quality here is perfectly acceptable.