Big Train: Seasons One and Two

God bless the Brits: they know how to limit a TV show to just the right number of episodes…even if it's only 12…spread across two seasons…separated by four years. An outrageously surreal Monty Python-esque comedy, the wonderfully demented Big Train serves up sketch comedy at its wild best: aggressively silly, unafraid to take chances, and deliciously absurd and nonlinear—even the recurring motifs (riffs on horse-racing jockeys crop up repeatedly) catch you by surprise, again and again. The first season dates from 1998, and the second from 2002, but Big Train's askew viewpoint has a timeless quality: the comedy is not only cohesive but also durable, and could attract the same kind of long-term cult following that the Pythons continue to enjoy. It's hardly a shock to discover, among a cast mostly unknown in the United States, Simon Pegg (star of Shaun of the Dead and of Hot Fuzz), but it is a delight. DVD extras include cast and crew commentaries, deleted scenes, and entertaining menus (and, joy of joys, you can jump around from sketch to sketch—very cool). Highly recommended. (M. Johanson)