Plot: What’s it about?
The telephone is a true miracle, a device that allows us to chat with distant friends, reach out to family members in other towns, and get help in emergency situations. But the phone is also a potential source of endless entertainment, as you can chuckle at the expense of others through the wonders of crank calls. Crank Yankers celebrates the crank call tradition, with talented and often famous crank callers in their prime element, making phony phone calls to normal folks and making them come off as foolish. Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Carolla, Sarah Silverman, David Alan Grier, Kevin Nealon, and countless guest stars make crank calls in this series, which often focus on staple characters, such as the elderly Elmer, the bitter veteran Burcham, the insane OCD Ken, smooth Spoonie Luv, and of course, the retarded Special Ed. But this is not an audio only show, as we see both sides of each phone call, from a puppet’s perspective. Thanks to an elaborate production process, the entire calls are acted out by puppets, but these aren’t the kind seen in Sunday schools. No, these puppets get naked, smoke, drink, belch, masturbate, and even vomit. The end result is more hilarious than words can describe, if you enjoy a good prank phone call, that is.
This is where Crank Yankers began, the debut season in which we were introduced to this world of puppet pranksters. The premise was one we could all relate to, as we’ve all been on one end of a prank call at some point. Maybe we did the crank or we were cranked, but the phony phone call is an institution. Of course, now we have overly sensitive people all over the place, which has sent the crank world into the shadows. But with Crank Yankers, the practice is brought back into a brighter place we can all appreciate. The calls are real, which is evident by the flat moments and better than fiction interactions that sometimes unfold. The callers play off their prey with great skill, the kind you just can’t script at will. Some are funnier than others, but there is enough diversity within the call styles to please most folks. But the actual calls are only half the fun, as the wild puppet theater is just as entertaining. These are higher end, middle end puppets that never cease to make us laugh, with expert handling and superb production design. The sets are detailed and the puppets are manipulated with immense skill, so Crank Yankers isn’t a low end production. This two disc release has all of the first’s seasons episode, in uncensored fashion, plus some cool extras, which is more than enough to earn a high recommendation.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in full frame, as intended. The show has some detailed visual touches, especially in the set designs, so I hoped for a top notch presentation. As it turns out, Crank Yankers looks better than ever in this release, which is great news. The visuals are much cleaner and refined than I ever expected, so once you’ve seen these episodes, the broadcast versions will seem soft and dull, no doubt. The images have immense depth and detail, so all of the little touches come across in full speed ahead form. The colors are vivid and never err in the least, while contrast provides smooth, rich black levels throughout. In short, this is a wonderful visual effort on all counts, so credit is due to Paramount here.
Audio: How does it sound?
No complaints here either, as the audio covers all the needed bases of the material. You don’t need constant surround presence or dynamic power in the world of crank calls, just a clean, crisp overall presentation. Both ends of the calls come across in pristine fashion, so no lines are lost or even muffled in the least. That is the most important issue of course, since the humor would be gone without the dialogue. But no such worries, as the vocals have a loud and clear presence that never falters. The music sounds terrific also, while the assorted sound effects are in tip top shape also, not much else we could ask.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This release includes two unaired cranks, as well as a terrific series of featurettes, which explore the behind the scenes of Crank Yankers. You’ll see how the calls are planned, the creation of the intricate sets, how the puppets are designed then created, and even how the finished project comes into existence.
