Wildboyz: The Complete First Season

What to do with the two most colourful Jackasses? It's probably best to give them a show where they visit far-off lands, explore different cultures and molest exotic creatures. And so they did. Steve-O and Chris Pontius wasted no time conjuring up a brilliant new way to test just how far they're willing to go, however, this time they're dealing with live and unpredictable animals. Of course they're attacked and bitten by most of what they interact with, as you'd expect, but it never gets tiresome seeing Steve-O get it in the ass or Pontius get it in the face. (In fact, so proud are they of their wounds that a full bite list is featured as an extra for each.) Travelling all over, from New Zealand and Alaska to South Africa and the swamps of Florida, the 'boyz seek out the wildest, craziest and scarcest creatures. They play hot potato with a ham in the company of hyenas, deke out spitting cobras, test the jaws of a giant clam, ejaculate a sea cucumber, jump in the water with Great White sharks and sacrifice an already dead wallaby to Tasmanian devils in a bizarre mock satanic ritual. These mindless acts result in some of the funniest things on television. The chemistry between the two is spot on: Steve-O's gutsy cry-baby balances nicely to Pontius's cool, unfazed hunk. The blatant homoeroticism is also fun to watch, as they ham it up for the camera; they even admit in the commentary, "we have lost so many fans because of this." But where Wildboyz deserves its most praise is in containing some educational content, explaining the history of different cultures (i.e., tribes) and dropping tidbits about the animals. Sure, most of it's in bad taste, utterly indecent and you'll hate yourself for loving it, but it's fun to learn and laugh at the same time. The extras are plentiful and first-rate. The commentary is immature yet moronically amusing, subjecting you to constant burps, mimicking, Steve-O's obsession with the "ticklish" logo and Pontius's underage dolphin princess dream. The outtakes are never-ending and completely outrageous, with an amateur wildebeest autopsy, playing soccer with a musk ox and Steve-O concocting a fertility cocktail in his mouth with semen and eggs from dead salmon. The "making of" documentary reveals secrets of shooting the show and gets down and dirty interviewing the cast, while the provided encyclopaedia is actually filled with true, tangible facts. Plus: music videos, more. (MTV/Paramount)