Seth Green

First season of Cartoon Network show showcases series’ humor

["Robot Chicken: First Season," $29.98]

Let’s start with a pop culture pop quiz: "Robot Chicken" is A) Dark, B) Twisted, C) Irreverent, D) Extremely Funny, or E) All of the above.

The answer is E) All of the above. And fans of such black humor will relish in the DVD release of "Robot Chicken’s" first season, which came out last Tuesday.

"Robot Chicken," the brainchild of actor Seth Green and former toy magazine writer Matthew Senreich, premiered on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim last year and became an immediate hit with the cable channel.

Nothing is sacred or off limits with this series which takes action figures, dolls, stuffed animals and other assorted toys you might remember from your childhood and creates fast-paced skits using stop-go action photography. The results are well dark, twisted, irreverent and, most of the time, extremely funny.

A spoof of MTV’s "The Real World" becomes "Real Metropolis" starring super hero action figures Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Hulk and Aquaman. Other spoofs include "Zombie Idol" and a retelling of the serial killer movie "Seven" set in the land of the Smurfs.

If those examples sound demented and sick, then you might want to skip this one. But if you find yourself giggling at the mental images, then there’s a lot more where that came from, many of which exceed the boundaries of explanation for a family newspaper.

The two-disc set is packed with extras. In addition to the 20 11-minute episodes, the set includes deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes look at how "Robot Chicken" was created and commentary on all the shorts.

So if you have a taste for slightly tasteless humor in the same vein as Monty Python and Kids in the Hall, then grab yourself a helping of "Robot Chicken." Pop culture references fly fast and furious as do the laughs.