Eastbound & Down The Complete Third Season   Starring: Danny McBride, Steve Little, Katy Mixon, John Hawkes, Jennifer Irwin and Andrew Daly HBO Home Entertainment RRP: £20.42 1000329219 Certificate: 15 Available 08 October 2012

Kenny Powers has had his time in the limelight, playing in the major baseball leagues, but every star which rises has to set and so Kenny is force back home and back into the minor leagues. Not that this bothers Kenny as he has a myopic view of his own abilities and charisma. In truth, Kenny is a misogynistic, inadequate buffoon, with a long suffering wife from whom he is now separated. With an ego the size of a planet and ability the size of a balloon Kenny forges his way through life hoping that the balloon will never burst...

Eastbound & Down is a HBO comedy show, produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, staring Danny McBride as Kenny. The show is written by Jody Hill, Shawn D. Harwell, Danny McBride and Ben Best. The show has run for three short seasons, short in terms of American television series and season four, with a total eight shows, has been picked up.

It’s a strange kind of show and, realistically not really to my taste, although I can see where the team were trying to take the series. The whole thing is pinned on whether you find Kenny to be an arrogant oaf with a heavily hidden soft vulnerable side, in which case you’ll probably love the show. Personally I found the character odious therefore found it difficult to care what happened to Kenny.

The comedy relies on Kenny saying, acting and doing things which most of those around him find either reprehensible or just downright stupidly insulting. The comedy of Gross has had its many adherent and I’m not ashamed to say that I have also found myself roaring with laughter at things I probably shouldn’t, but hey if it’s funny, it’s funny. Here we get to the crux of the problem. Humour is very personal. The fact that HBO keep ordering more shows proves that there is an audience out there waiting to see what Kenny will do next.

The two main thematic threads through the eight episodes of season three deal with Stevie’s loss and guilt and Kenny’s unexpected enhanced paternal role, alongside the long running story about Kenny’s baseball career. I won’t go into detail as it would spoil the show.

Season three is presented on a two-disc DVD set. Disc one includes recaps for season one (3 min, 24 sec) and season two (1 min, 32 sec) as well as a full length commentary track for every show with various combinations of writers, directors and actors. Disc two has Dinner with the Schaeffers (5 min, 35 sec), with Will Ferrell, who appears in the show as a dodgy car salesman. It’s essentially a shaggy dog story told over dinner, followed by the deleted scenes (46 min, 12 sec), an impressive amount of material, which will please fans. The disc finishes with the Outtakes (8 min, 35 sec). The audio is English 5.1 with four other European languages.

I can see what the show was trying to achieve and if this is the type of comedy which appeals to you then the show piles joke upon joke. I guess that had I seen the first two seasons I would have had a deeper understanding of Kenny and so would have found the show funnier. As it is, it’s a well-made comedy, with a strong following.

7

Charles Packer