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Show:		6.0
Picture:		7.0
Sound:		7.0
Extras:		10.0
Score:		7.0

Director(s):	Dwayne Carey-Hill • Peter Avanzino • Frank Marino
Writer(s):	Dave Jeser, Matthew Silverstein, Jordan Young
Starring:	Adam Carolla • Cree Summer • James Arnold Taylor • Abbey McBride • Jess Harnell • Jack Plotnick • Tara Strong
Genre:	Animation • Comedy
Website:	http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/drawntogether/
Release Date:	November 17, 2009

List Price:	DVD - $37.99
Amazon:

Drawn Together represents a microcosm of Family Guy’s career from start to its current agonizing continuation. Family Guy started out with smart, fresh and unexpectedly sharp commentary that rocked people expecting just another weekly animated comedy like The Simpsons; Drawn Together’s first season sparked interest in much the same way and seemed to be the continuation of the Family Guy legacy which had come to an unexpected and unfortunate end in 2003. Thus, the 2004 debut of a crudely hilarious show like Drawn Together, which takes pop-culture icons of the last 80 years and forces them to interact in ridiculous 22-minute-long episodes, seemed like the next logical step of animated television.

And it was. The characters worked in a dual-commentary fashion. Not only did they lampoon the original characters which inspired them but they also took on personalities unique to the show’s story and made new comedy from that. Drawn Together may have only lasted three seasons but the amount of material present in the concept remains largely untapped. Unfortunately, the unrealized potential of the show isn’t solely due to its premature cancelation but also the writers whom, like The Simpsons episodes of today, attempted to emulate the comedy on Family Guy when it returned in 2005. Gone were the episodes of Drawn Together which expertly utilized the archetypes constituting the cast and in their place were overly long fart gags and exhausted jokes about homosexuality. If it sounds familiar it’s because it’s the exact same path that Family Guy has been taking ever since its return from cancelation. Family Guy had a few instances of comically long gags before it got the axe (Peter gripping his knee on the ground in pain in the Willy Wonka parody), but when it returned it took the elements people thought were great and just sucked them dry – and so did Drawn Together.

Drawn Together: The Complete Series lets you watch as the show slowly dims from its stellar starting point. The first season easily stands as the best in the set and represents the show’s pinnacle. Throughout the second season the show remains somewhat constant (with Ling Ling perhaps being the funniest part of the show, at this point) but then drops off horribly towards the end. By the time the show hits season three the premise feels tired and the writers have no new tricks; so they recycled old ones over and over again.

What made Drawn Together appealing from the start is the cast of characters and the voice actors who bring them to life.

Xandir P Whifflebottom (Jack Plotnick) – The overtly homosexual RPG hero who starts as the brunt of gay jokes until they become the show’s par for comedy.

Foxxy Love (Cree Summer) – A remnant of old school blackspoitation films and African American stereotypes who also fills in as the show’s in-house slut.

Spanky Ham (Adam Carolla) – The internet meme popular for a week and then discarded, Spanky plays pranks, womanizes and schemes his way through episodes.

Captain Hero (Jess Harnell) – The blatant Superman parody who originally has a jock persona but gradually devolves into a supplementary gay joke for Xandir.

Toot Braunstein (Tara Strong) – The aged and obese cartoon icon from the olden days whose desperation for sexual attention drives everything she does.

Ling-Ling (Abbey McBride) – Pokemon’s loveable main monster becomes a horny, honor-bound character who speaks in subtitles but often has more going on in his head than all the other characters combined.

Princess Clara (Tara Strong) – The entitled, homophobic, racist and fundamental Christian character with a squid-like monster for a vagina.

Wooldoor Jebediah Sockbat (James Arnold Taylor) – Every wacky cartoon character instilled in a body slightly resembling but legally different enough SpongeBob SquarePants.

DVD Bonus Features

This “Party In Your Box” megaset release of Drawn Together not only houses the complete series but also a board game which it openly encourages be used for drinking. The DVDs have drinking games attached for certain episodes and varying levels of gameplay so the more seasoned players can have a more difficult time when either playing it for the millionth time or starting slightly too sober. A full-color and solid board is included in the set as well as stand up game pieces and multi-option trivia cards. You can tell some thought went into this release concerning the target audience. There are also audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes interviews and deleted scenes. The commentaries are interesting, though aren’t better than the show itself until the third season.

To the show’s credit, it went after everyone. No one was safe from the show’s scathing sense of humor and for the first season and a half it makes for outstanding animated television. For some people, the addition of the board game will help make up for the subpar final season (which ended with a clip show? WTF?) but for others the complete series set didn’t need it to begin with and it’s just icing on the cake. For my dollar, any show that takes aim at fundmental Christianity and then makes a necrophilia joke in the same 22 minutes deserves a look.