Don't Be a Stranger... with Candy

It's an exciting time to be a fan of Strangers With Candy.

This series, which ran on Comedy Central from 1999-2000, seems to be having a well-deserved resurgence in popularity. While the old two-disc Season One and Season Two DVD releases have been out of print for a while, Comedy Central's DVD department surprised many when it announced the release of a complete series six-disc set, featuring all three seasons and thirty episodes of the series, which is downright hilarious, for those who don't know.

The series, of course, focuses on Jerri Blank (played by a hideously-ugly-on-the-show-yet-pretty-beautiful-in-real-life Amy Sedaris), a 46-year-old ex-junkie who decides to go back to high school and pick up where she left off years ago. You'll also see Stephen Colbert (that's right, the guy who "feels the news at you" on The Colbert Report) and Paul Dinello, who play a couple of (not so) secretly gay Flatpoint High teachers. The school's principal (Gregory Hollimon) is also truly hilarious, and he steals just about every scene in which he participates. The series is a parody of those old after-school specials, and it's not exactly a politically correct type of program. It is, however, one of the funniest and most original shows Comedy Central has ever aired.

This Complete Series set was most likely released only because the Strangers with Candy movie, which is a prequel to the series, is now finally opening in theaters this summer, after having been in limbo since 2004, due to the lack of a distributor for the film. It'll be opening on July 28 in my city, and I'll probably be seeing it, despite the fact that while on a recent episode of The Colbert Report (dated July 10), Amy Sedaris said a DVD release is likely for this fall.

The SWC Complete Series set includes additional interviews, commentary, deleted scenes, and more that were not included on the previous releases. The packaging is made to look like a Trapper Keeper with an individual folder inside for each of the three seasons. Each disc is held on a piece of cardboard, and although it looks great, it is definitely not the sturdiest of packages. It is, however, an exciting collector's set, and if you don't already have the individual season sets, this complete series package is definitely the way to go.

MkO INFOlinks
The Official Strangers With Candy The Movie Website
Click here for tickets and showtimes for the movie in your area.
Click here to visit Tony's SWC Companion, a fan site with tons of news and info on the series.
Click here to purchase the complete series of Strangers with Candy on DVD (6 discs currently @ $39.49) at Amazon (and to support MkO).