Holliston: The Complete First Season

FEARnet's Holliston gives the sitcom genre a jolt with lashings of metal and horror. Hatchet director Adam Green's semi-autobiographical creation centers on Adam (Green) and Joe (Joe Lynch), who direct commercials and introduce horror movies for a Massachusetts cable access station (in the bonus cast audio commentaries, Green says he started out the same way, and that Holliston was originally created for UPN—with the exteriors shot in his Holliston hometown, and the interiors in Hollywood). Dee Snider, in full Twisted Sister drag, plays station boss Lance Rockett, who also fronts a Van Halen tribute outfit. Stranger yet, GWAR's Dave Brockie, in his Oderus Urungus persona, plays an imaginary friend who gives Adam advice. When Adam and Joe aren't working at the station, the pair are toiling away on their own low-budget horror movie. On the social front, Joe is seeing Laura (Laura Ortiz), who likes to paint creepy babies, while Adam pines for ex-girlfriend Corri (Corri English), a nurse who has recently returned to town with her doctor boyfriend. Just as Adam can only see Oderus, he can also only see the creatures, like Kane Hodder's axe-wielding maniac, and special effects, like exploding heads and disintegrating faces. Other fun touches include his animatronic cat and the tweaking of various sitcom conventions, although the laugh track and puke effects grow annoying. Featuring guest stars including Ray Wise and Tony Todd, storylines in the eight debut season episodes compiled here revolve around attempts to rent the station camera, a misadventure with a skunk, and a visit to a horror convention. Extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and bloopers. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)