Plot: What’s it about?
A neighborhood that looks and sounds like a normal, quiet neighborhood. A house that looks just like many others, a simple, quaint house. But within this house is Brak, a space pirate who has settled down and now goes to school, like little children do. He lives with his parents, including his father, who is a very small Latin man. His mom is sort of like Brak himself, only more feminine, of course. Most of his time is spent with his best pal Zorak, also a nefarious villain who has moved to a more normal lifestyle. Or at least as normal a life as creatures like Brak and Zorak can manage. The two often hang out with Thundercleese, a massive robotic instrument of destruction that happens to live next door. Thundercleese has a short temper and a powerful weapons system, which means a lot of stuff explodes in this neighborhood. All of these characters and others wind up in situations like you wouldn’t believe, stuff like time machine voyages, instant singing voices, and neighborhood wars over bikini briefs, all of which are sure to result in hilarity.
I admit it, I am a full scale Adult Swim junkie. I love all the shows and without fail, my personal video recorder is always loaded down with episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, and Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, not to mention this show, The Brak Show. A spin-off of sorts from Space Ghost, which is kind of a spin-off itself, this series revolves around Brak. He isn’t the lone Space Ghost element however, as the lovable Zorak is also on hand, but don’t think this is a Space Ghost clone. On Space Ghost, Brak was random and never made sense, but his lines were always hilarious. That trend continues on his own show, as the stories make no sense and the dialogue is off the wall, but the laughs are frequent. Brak’s constant presence does lessen the humor at times, since his limited screen time on Space Ghost made what time he did have worthwhile. While not as surreal and addictive as some Adult Swim shows, The Brak Show is still another sold series. This second volume isn’t as good as the first batch, thanks to an obvious change in creative direction. The show’s tone is darker and while still decent, I preferred the original direction of the show. Even so, if you’re a fan of Brak, this second volume offers a good amount of fun, so check it out.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in full frame, as intended. This series has an overload of colors, but this disc never slips, not even for a second. The hues look as vibrant as humanly possible, but never smear or oversaturate, which is highly impressive work. The black levels are rich and never obscure detail in the least. I also saw no evidence of edge enhancement or compression flaws, these all look terrific. The visual design, with animation on photorealistic backgrounds is one of the show’s strong points, so I am pleased that Warner has been able to give us this terrific treatment.
Audio: How does it sound?
The exciting sounds of the Brak sitcom realm are in full force here, from the quirky musical numbers to the squeaky vocals. Of course, this sounds much like the series does on television, so don’t expect much in terms of dynamic presence. I found the audio to be a little sharper here however, so this disc is an improvement, to an extent. The elements all sound terrific here, with booming music, clean sound effects, and well presented dialogue. This release also includes subtitles in English, Spanish, and French, in case you want to read Brak’s ramblings in another language as you watch.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This release contains no bonus materials.
