Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Rob Dyrdek, Chris Boykin
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: January 8, 2008
I admit openly that I am very picky about reality television. There are shows that I watch, ones I can stomach but do not prefer, and ones that make me turn channels at all costs. I find that the reality shows that I watch are either about a person that has made me interested in them before the show began or they are the shows that offer some sort of humiliation based on talent or lack thereof.
For the most part, I tend to avoid the MTV and VH1 shows just because I forget that they are on and because since MTV stopped playing videos and no longer produces the amazingly interesting retro game show, Remote Control, I stopped watching the network all together.
When Rob and Big: The Complete Seasons 1&2 landed on my desk for review, I looked at it for a moment and put it out of my mind until it came time to watch it and write this review. Some movies arrive and have me clamoring to watch them, but this was just another on my desk. At times, my opinions change when I watch certain DVDs. In the case of Rob and Big: The Complete Seasons 1&2 my opinion did not change too much. It wasn’t a bad show, but at the same time it was probably not something that I would have purchased after seeing it sitting on a store shelf.
Release Information:
Rob and Big: The Complete Seasons 1&2 is one of many music television (in this case MTV) reality television shows. This box set, which came out on January 8, 2008 offers all of the episodes for seasons one and two of Rob & Big along with a selection of special features to gear viewers and future fans for upcoming seasons of this interesting and humorous show.
The Rob and Big: The Complete Seasons 1&2 Plot
Rob and Big is your typical MTV reality drama. There are moments of comedy, moments of grossness, and moments where you want to stab a spork through your eye. You get a little bit of everything from Rob & Big, but for the most part you end up with a light hearted look at Rob Dyrdek (professional skateboarder) and his best friend, who doubles as his bodyguard, Christopher Boykin, also known as Big Black. During the show we see the humorous reality of these young, rich men and their mascot Meat Bag, who is affectionately known as Meaty.
It makes perfect sense that this set was released on January 8 because that is the date when season three was set to begin. The show, created by Jackass‘ Jeff Tremaine, includes 16 episodes where the duo travel around the world and do a variety of interesting things, as they get into all kinds of mishaps to apparently make you laugh, though they do appear to generally appear to have a good time doing these things.
In the 16 episodes, you will see the duo with Three 6 Mafia, Tila Tequila, and many other celebrities and pseudocelebrities. Rob & Big will head off to Vancouver to party in the episode where they hang with Three 6 Mafia. Next thing you know they will be going on a diet or adopting a miniature horse to make it part of the family. They also have a chance to perform as male strippers, hire an animal psychic for a reading, and be part of the Wall Street Journal. Naturally, you will see Dyrdek skating quite a bit.
The skate footage is quite entertaining, especially if you are into extreme sports. Dyrdek isn’t shy and will grab his board just about anywhere and go to town, so there is a lot of unexpected, realism to this portion of the show. The best thing about this show is that considering it’s network the Rob and Big are not competing for a girl or guy, trying to lose more weight than someone else or being forced to live in a home with a bunch of other wannabe famous lunatics from days gone by. They are just two guys that go through life messin’ around. This is the most impressive and enjoyable part of this show. They are two guys out to have fun. Who can fault them for that?
Rob and Big: The Complete Seasons 1&2 contains a total of 16 episodes with bonus features that are spread out amongst four discs. You have two discs per season with the features for each season right along with the episodes. Everything fits easily into a cardboard slipcase for your convenience. If you like reality television or comedy this should be right up your alley, especially if you are younger in age.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
The video and audio is presented in the same transfer as you might have seen it on MTV. For those that haven’t watched the MTV version you can expect a transfer of 1.85:1, non-anamorphic widescreen. The quality is not the worst I have seen, but it is hardly perfection. It works without too much fuzz or softness, but is otherwise mediocre.
The audio comes in with Dolby 2.0 stereo. You can choose censored or uncensored. I didn’t notice a big difference here because the boys don’t use bad language enough to bother choosing one track over the other. While the audio was standard it was a much better transfer than the video.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
The majority of the special features can be found on the second and fourth discs with exception to the commentary. As this is a two season box set, the bonus features will be looked at based on what goes with what season. The first season offers 23 deleted scenes, some “Special Meaty Puppy Footage”, “Rob & Big: The Real Deal”, and some skate tutorials. The second season brings on 12 more deleted scenes, a music video of Bobby Light’s “Dirty Girl”, “Special Mini Footage”, “Special Uncle Jerry Footage”, some highlights of the best of season two, and some shots of the duo on “MTV Cribs”.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
Rob and Big: The Complete Seasons 1&2 offered some overall good moments. The show was funny without being too zany or over the top. As far as reality shows go it is one of the more realistic shows, as it is just about two guys having fun. It’s not about a competition or something unrealistic. It’s just two best friends going through life. How much you like this show will ultimately depend on how much you favor reality shows and comedy. If you like both you will want to give Rob and Big a try. If not you might be better off skipping this one.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Rob & Big, Complete Seasons One and Two, MTV, Reality Television, Comedy, Misadventures, Skateboard, DVD, DVD Review, TV Box Set
[...] to be asked to review Rob & Big: The Complete Third Season for that very reason. I reviewed the Season One and Two box set previously and deemed the show, funny but not really my cup of [...]
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