Customer Reviews

Strangers With Candy - Season Three

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Better than good, it's gooder. Thats right, SWC Season 3 is probably the best season of this sadly short-lived cult classic show. Each character fully comes into his own. The episodes are:
1. Jerri's Burning Issue
2. Is Freedom Free?
3. Trail of Tears-Will Ferrell guest stars, Andy Richter
4. Invisible Love
5. Is My Daddy Crazy-Stu at his best
6. Steroid Relay-Andy Richter
7. Ask Jerri- My favorite from this season b/c of Noblet and Jellineck, but really all episodes are great
8. Sexual Harassment
9. Bully
10. The Last Temptation of Blank-Winona Ryder guest stars
Also I want to remind everyone that the MOVIE is coming, probably in 2005.

It's a shame this show was cancelled in it's prime.
The 3rd season was one of the best (though each season is fantastic and holds it's own) season 3 had some of the most hilarious situations Jeri would get herself into. Getting an STD, a boyfriend who wants to keep her a secret, and having a run-in with a school bully are just a few of the wacky episodes in this season.

The reason I especially love this season set is the fact that there is a very extensive blooper reel on it and a dance sequence compilation, both of which are HYSTERICAL. It's a shame they didn't include blooper reels for each season, but this one on the 3rd season set contains bloopers from all the seasons together, so it works out.

Being that the 'Strangers' sets are so inexpensive, even if you haven't watched the show before, you definitely should pick a set up and give it a shot. If you like crazy off the wall, politcally incorrect and just plain WEIRD humor, this is for you.

Strangers With Candy is by far one of the most brilliant cult series. Its brash and overtly racist and homo- (and hetero-) phobic views made it one of the greatest politically incorrect comedies. The anti-heroic characters are amazingly perfect and no doubt about it, the fact that a woman in lead role and a head writer makes it even better for its subculture overtones.

Season three pushed the limits of bad political tastes to the edge as Mr. Noblet (Stephen Colbert) says: "Fidel Castro dressed up like Marilyn Monroe and gave John F Kennedy of case of syphilis so bad that it eventually blew the back of his head off". Or how about Jerri's realization that she's a Native American: "I thought that being an Indian had to do with ethnic pride, love of the Earth and the return of rightful lands. But now I know that being an Indian is about drinking, gambling and scalping". Let's not forget Buddah Stalin being Flatpoint's Marylin Manson and Jerri's 10 minute hunger strike to prove that freedom belongs in a cage. Jerri's use of steroids and her sudden growth of a beard will always stay an unforgettable image in my brain!

The DVD itself is actually not as impressive as the first two. Sorely missed are the episode commentaries by Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello as in the season one and season two discs. The packaging is actually slightly annoying having the discs being in two separate plastic cases although the year book theme is interesting. The bonuses are interesting but nothing out of the ordinary. The bloopers could have had more blooper/outtake material and not just a collaboration of outtakes and 'best of'. The dance sequence 'medley' is so-so, not to mention the silent dance sequence. However the menu selection as an old projection reel is very innovative.

For these reason, I chose to give the DVD 4 stars as a whole NOT the actual series which is a 5!

Yes, it's in re-runs now, but we'll never get new episodes unless you consider the movie to be a new show. Well, this is the end and it's still funny, but you get a sense that they knew it was ending as they were doing the episodes. It has a slightly different feel this time out. It actually gets darker and more mean-spirited, but there are still some hilarious episodes contained and the special features contain outakes from the entire series going back to the beginning and it's truly interesting the see the progress, as well as a collection of all the interesting end credit sequences.

Finally, Strangers With Candy has found its entire release on DVD. Although Season Three may not be the greatest season of all, I can't wait for it to be released.

One of the greatest episodes is "Jerri's Burning Issue," when Jerri contracts syphilis, and her syphilis has crabs, and those crabs are carrying gonorrhea.

I can't wait for this to come out on DVD. It comes out on my brother's birthday, but I feel it is more my birthday. The best show to come on tv will be released, and I will be one of the first to own it.

Thank you Jerri Blank. You have given me three years worth of laughter, and I will never be able to repay you.

Amy Sedaris is my hero, and I hope others agree with me. I will always give Strangers With Candy my highest respect. Long live Jerri Blank!!!

I'm a sucker for anything that tweaks and lampoons authority, and this is a fabulous example of that kind of fun.

I have a great many friends who can't get past how Sedaris looks in her role as Jerri Blank - but for me that's the least of the issues.

Laugh out loud funny - Jellineck and Noblet are wonderful, but the principal Mr. Blackman steals most of the show.

The FREEDOM episode in this set is brilliant -

Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, Stephen Colbert and Gregory Hollimon all shine in "Strangers With Candy," a sublime spoof of those ABC "After School Specials" we grew up with in the late 1970s and early 80s. "Strangers With Candy" is based upon the unlikely premise of 46 year-old ex junkie whore Jerri Blank turning around her life by returning as a high school freshman after 32 years on the wild side. Each week brings some new "crisis," which involves fitting in vs. conforming, trying drugs and alcohol, teenage sexual experimentation, retardation and special ed, etc. Naturally, half-wit Jerri always makes the wrong choice.

"Strangers With Candy" was Comedy Central's most clever and politically incorrect show (even moreso than "South Park"). Along with Jerri are her alcoholic stepmother (prudishly played by Deborah Rush), a classmate of indeterminate ethnicity ("Orlando," played by Orlando Pabotoy) who Jerri uses for the butt of her racist jokes, and the amazingly narcissistic faculty, headed by Principal Onyx Blackman (Greg Hollimon), the black principal with a penchant for "fine white women." Blackman has a thing for Jerri's stepmom, but it never pans out, because her stepmom is as big a racist as Jerri! Swishy art teacher Joffrey Jellineck (Paul Dinello) and uptight science teacher Chuck Knoblet (Stephen Colbert) confound students with their learned ignorance, and the pair carry on a secret gay affair in the boiler room.

But Sedaris really makes the show work for her over-the-top earnestness in playing Jerri. Sedaris wins the Chloris Leachman award for botching up her natural good looks with gaudy makeup, harelip overbite, twitching unibrow, wrinkled forehead and padded hips just to get totally into character. And like Lucille Ball, Sedaris will do anything for a laugh, but unlike Ball, we're talking NC-17 rated here!

It was a shame to watch it being given the boot in 2001 because of low ratings. For some reason, it never caught on. However, it is becoming evident that it was because "Strangers With Candy" was ahead of its time: All three seasons are now available on DVD.

This DVD compilation of the show's third and last season, is it's best, I think: The writing and acting were running on all eight cylinders, and the subtle in-jokes were finely hones. Best episodes: "Jerri's Burning Issue," in which Jerri manages to give her newly deflowered boyfriend syphillis, crabs and gonnorhea; "Freedom Isn't Free" -- Jerri has a run-in with the local televangelical preacher, who bans her naked photo, made under the influence of a hilarious send-up of Marilyn Manson, the immortal Buddha Stalin.

The lyrics to the end credits (a Buddha Stalin song) are a scream:

In the United Hates of Asscarica
They censor my words and it ain't fair-ica
I'll say what I want, I don't care-ica
So welcome to my nightmare-ica

Puppy Dog Pee in a doody stew
Booger souflee in a sea of poo
Doody Doo Doody, Doo Doo
Ca Ca Ca, Pee Pee, Poo Poo

In the United Hates of Asscarica
You try to trap me in a snare-ica
But I've lured you into my lair-ica
Now who's gonna answer your prayer-ica?

In "Trail of Tears," Jerri discovers she's part American Indian, and then is sent to a Native American Total Immersion camp run by paleface Will Ferrell, and learns to set fire to wagon trains and scalp pioneers.

"Blank Relay": Jerri and fellow girls' track teammates shave minutes off their time and hair off their faces after taking steroids.

"Bully" is a fun one: Pacifist ("I Pass A Fist") Joffrey Jellineck learns that violence never solves anything, except conflict.

"The Last Temptation of Blank" is the show's ultimate episode. Guest starlet Wynona Ryder comes aboard to give Jerri a cool makeover; Sheri Oteri and Mark McKinney guest as school board bureaucrats who have plans to turn Flatpoint High into a strip mall (Remember "Strip Mall," the actual short-lived program that replaced SWC?) and Principal Blackman torches the campus rather than letting it be taken over.

This would be your last chance to put this excellent series on your DVD player and be prepared to be entertained, humored and offended. However, great news! A "prequel" movie is in the works, with ALL the original major cast members, including the cute-as-a-button Maria Thayer and is actually in post-production.

Thank you, O Gods of Celluloid!!!

I finally got to complete my trilogy today! I've been waiting for Season 3 for so long, and now it's here, and I'm happy, and sad that the end is here.

Disc 1 opens up with Jerri's Burning Issue, and it is so much funnier than I remember. Lot's and lots of details, which makes it fun to watch over and over again (perhaps while enjoying a bowl of Chocolate Scabies?)...

Thank goodness I'm not the only one who thinks this show is amazing. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the movie happens SOON.

Amy Seadris has to be one of the most clever women to dream up such a character as Jerri Blank. You will be blown away by Jerri's crazy antics and her outrageous behavior. I first caught this show about a week ago on Comedy Central for the FIRST time, I had never seen it once. I watched two episodes and I was HOOKED! This is such a diamond in the ruff of all the crap that is on T.V. these days. Comedy Central was crazy to let go of such a talented cast.

In Season 3 (I havent watched or bought others), Jerri has some interesting experiences. Some of the highlights include "Trail of Tears" a side-splitting episode that stars one of the kings of comedy, Will Ferrell. Another gem is "There Once Was A Blank From Nantucket", truly a gem. Some of the low lights include "Is Freedom Free?" which I didn't find to be all that humorous but still worth the watch.

It's not just Amy Sedaris (Jerri) who does it up, Mr. Jellineck and Mr. Goblet do a fantasic job. Also Jerri's stepmother plays one hell of a b*tch!

Overall, you must get this DVD. And be on the lookout for the movie... out soon!

...And then he tried to shave me. This is my favorite season of this show because it has such a fast pace. Don't get me wrong all the seasons are wonderful and you should get them now. The third season is fantastic and I am at a loss why these guys didn't win an Emmy. They ended on a high note. I have written Comedy Central many times about putting the show back on the air as I think it was foolish to take it off given it's massive underground following.
Like another reviewer said, it's impossible to repay these fine actors and writers for such a masterpiece of pitch black comedy. In closing, let me say that my favorite episode is probably Stew going nuts or the one where she gives advice in the newspaper.