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The Movie: "In Living Color" was Fox's prime-time sketch comedy series that launched in 1990, lasting for four years. Created by Keenan Ivory Wayans and starring other members of the Wayans clan (Marlon, Kim, Shawn and Damon), the show was also the launching pad for Jim Carrey (listed in the credits as James Carrey in these early episodes), David Alan Grier, Tommy Davidson and Jennifer Lopez (who was one of the Fly Girl dancers in later episodes.) While not as savage as "Mad TV" occasionally is these days, "In Living Color" certainly gained an audience by being edgy and unafraid to make jokes that were crude or edgy. Watching the show again after all these years, it's remarkable to see not only how well some of it holds up. Despite the fact that the show's look appears a little dated at this point, the humor still hits pretty consistently and fans can get a look at the early years of some great comedic talents. Although it offered a fantastic cast, "Color" also employed a series of writers who went on to other things, such as Les Firestein ("Drew Carey Show"), Steve Odekirk ("Ace Ventura"), Colin Quinn ("Saturday Night Live"), Robert Schimmel ("Saturday Night Live") and Larry Wilmore ("The Bernie Mac Show"). The third season of the series tried to top the heights hit in the second season of the series and mostly, it succeeded. Notable for the introduction of Jamie Foxx ("Collateral", "Ray") to the series (bringing his "Wanda" character) and also, for the introduction of Jennifer Lopez as one of the Fly Girl dancers. Damon Wayans also left the series at the end of the season. Many of the favorite characters return here, including Jim Carrey's Fire Marshall Bill ("Fire Marshal Bill In Space", "Fire Marshal Bill's Cruise" and "Fire Marshal Santa"), the "Men On" skits, Carrey's "Vera De Milo", Damon Wayans' "Homey the Clown" and the return of both "Men on Film" and "Homeboyz Shopping Network". Other highlights include: "Don Rickles Peace Confrence", "Home Alone Again With Michael Jackson", "Family Feud", and more. The 3-DVD set includes all 28 episodes of the third season, one of which is an extremely funny "look back" at bloopers that have occured so far in the series. The DVD VIDEO: "In Living Color" is presented by Fox in the show's original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio again for this second season. The picture quality is slightly improved upon the prior season set, but the image quality is generally good. Sharpness and detail are satisfactory, as the presentation consistently appeared fairly crisp and clear, but sharpness and detail were never above average. Colors generally appeared fine, with good saturation and no smearing. No pixelation was noticed, nor was any instances of edge enhancement. Shimmering was apparent in a few scenes, but this wasn't too much of an issue. Overall, these episodes looked perfectly fine. SOUND: The stereo soundtracks are perfectly adequate, with crisp dialogue and clear music. The audio is nothing above ordinary, but it delivers what one would expect from a 90's sitcom. EXTRAS: No supplements are offered this time around, aside from a "Mad TV" promo. Final Thoughts: The third season of "In Living Color" was another strong showing for the series, with the addition of Jamie Foxx and the inspired continuation of some of the favorite characters. Fox's DVD edition provides fine audio/video quality. Recommended. |