Product Details

• Actors: Carlos Alazraqui, Mary Birdsong, Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney, Thomas Lennon (III)
• Directors: Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon (III), Michael Patrick Jann
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Unknown)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Comedy Central
• DVD Release Date: June 22, 2004
• Run Time: 337 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0001XAODE
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,771 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Television > Crime > Reno 911!

• For more information about "Reno 911 - The Complete First Season" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 1 in The Reno 911! Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

From the creators of the flamboyantly fabulous Viva Variety (and when will that be released on DVD?) comes Reno 911, Comedy Central's most arresting comedy series. Ride along with the cluelessly cracked squad of the Wahoe County Sheriff's Department, who cross the proverbial thin blue line with impunity. "That's how we do it in Reno," exults Lt. Dangle (Thomas Lennon), after absent-mindedly rear-ending a car whose trunk pops open to reveal a cache of marijuana. Reno 911 has Cops's gritty documentary feel, and Police Squad's straight face in subverting cop show conventions. The hapless officers get no respect, not from the citizens they encounter, from their colleagues in the FBI, or even from themselves. Kerri Kenney-Silver's unfortunate Det. Wiegel is the squad's odd girl out. "She's like a bad casserole" is one of the more polite things said about her. In one episode, a misunderstanding leads to her being put under a suicide watch, and she so loves the attention, she doesn't bother to inform her brethren that she, in fact, did not try to kill herself. The forays into black comedy are about as subtle as a S.W.A.T. assault. In the first episode's opening moments, an officer answers a domestic disturbance call with guns blazing, only to discover it is a surprise birthday party for him.

But Reno 911 would have gotten old fast if it was just Police Academy-style mishaps and slapstick. What elevates this from being a one-joke series are the intimately observed characters' quirks and personal dramas. Dangle has a penchant for short shorts, and, in the first episode at least, comely male traffic offenders. Dangle is not exactly Capt. Furillo (from Hill Street Blues) in the compassion department. When the squad learns that unwed Deputy C. Johnson (Wendy McLendon-Covey) is pregnant, he jokingly searches for a phone book when considering who the father might be. "There's usually a phone book around here," he shrugs. "It would have been funnier." Comedy Central may be guilty of running these episodes into the ground, but for Reno 911's devoted following, and for rookies to the force, this boxed set of commercial-free episodes, some commentary-enhanced, is just the ticket. --Donald Liebenson

Product Description

Movie DVD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bad Boys Bad Boys - What ya gonna do?, July 2, 2004

By	Brett D. Cullum (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

RENO 911 is a hilarious spoof of COPS. Set in Reno it follows a rag tag group of inept police officers as they fumble and fall all over the place! It's a lot of fun, and surprisingly well done. Each episode is about 20 minutes of the whackiest footage you will see - shot on video exactly like COPS. My favorite character has to be Lt. Dangle with his "Daisy Duke" shorts and penchant for going undercover as a female prostitute (on his day off!). Amazingly all the lead actors play both the cops and the criminals for the most part! A wig and a well placed blur usually means someone in the cast is pulling double duty. It's like COPS meets SPINAL TAP! But surprisingly as the stories develop you grow to love this group of enforcement misfits!

The DVD set shows you all of season one's episodes in order! Which is a great bonus since they aired somewhat out of order on Comedy Central initially. You noticed this the most with Clementine as her pregnancy didn't unfold in the correctly in the original airings. You get commentaries from the cast on the episodes - including some truly funny "hidden" commentaries which can be found by highlighting the push pins on the photos in the menus. It's a great set for a great show!

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Biggest Little Comedy On TV!, July 20, 2004

By	Mike King "Michael A. King" (Taunton, MA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

A camera crew follows the comings and goings of the Reno Sheriff's Department to create the TV series "Reno 911!" Leading the crack squad is Lt. Jim Dangle (Thomas Lennon), who wears short-shorts while on duty and dresses up as a female hooker on his days off. Deputy Trudy Wiegel (Kerri Kenney) is the offbeat officer who dreams of motherhood and tends to her pet cats. Deputy Clementine Johnson (Wendi McLendon-Covey) is the blonde bombshell who always gets her man! Deputy Raineesha Williams (Niecy Nash) never breaks a nail when apprehending criminals. Deputy S. Jones (Cedric Yarbrough) upholds the law, even when assigned to being a crossing guard. Deputy James Garcia (Carlos Alazraqui) is the grizzled veteran of the squad, having recently celebrated his fifteenth year of service. Deputy Travis Junior (Robert Ben Garant) has a better relationship with his canine partner than he does with the human members of the Sheriff's Department.

The first episode starts off with a bang at a birthday party, when everyone yells "Surprise!" and an officer is shot. Later on, Lt. Dangle rear ends a car, which causes the trunk to pop open, revealing several bags of marijuana. The squad really enjoys sitting around the campfire as the illegal marijuana is burned. In later episodes, a tear-gas grenade is used to destroy an old microwave oven, and an ice cream truck loaded with illegal fireworks is blown up. My favorite episode involves Lt. Dangle and Deputy Travis Junior on a drug stakeout. Lt. Dangle turns his attention away from the hotel room where the drug deal is supposed to take place, and discovers that Leonard Nimoy is staying in the next room. The officers decide to investigate this, only to discover that the man is a Leonard Nimoy look-alike who is in Reno for a Star Trek convention. While they're talking to him, the drug deal goes on in the next room. It turns violent, as the drug buyer kills the seller. As he's using a chainsaw to cut up his victim, the officers hear the noise and assume it's a leaf blower. The criminal leaves with his bloody chainsaw and the drugs, while the officers leave with free tickets to the Star Trek convention. "Reno 911!" is the funniest series on television today!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny as you-know-what!, June 25, 2004

By	Tony R. Tucker (Crewe, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Thank goodness I stumbled onto Reno 911! one night on Comedy Central. In just a few scenes I was absolutely hooked. My fear was that I had just seen their best episode, but as it turns out they are ALL funny!

The premise is a reality-tv crew is following around seven members of the Reno Sheriff's Dept for a tv show called "Reno 911". Every cop is a unique character, and they are all some of the worst cops that have ever lived! Equal time is given for the actors to explore their characters. Three of the actors, Kerry Kenney (Officer Wiegel), Robert Ben Garant (Officer Junior), and Tom Lennon (Lt. Dangle) created the show and have worked together for over 15 years.

What's refreshing is that the commentaries show a genuine friendship between cast members. They poke fun, compliment, and psychoanalyze each other. The commentary is uncensored and hilarious. There is also an easter egg to be found if you highlight the odd colored thumbtack on the bulletin board on disc one. Click it and you will watch the episode with the entire cast ad libbing the entire episode from memory. It's a riot and further illustrates how much they seem to be having a great time together.

Depending on where you look, you can find this collection from $19.95 to $29.95. It would be a great deal even at $50. Too bad more series don't offer entire seasons for such a reasonable price. I sure hope this is only the first season of a long, long running series.