Man Stroke Woman: The Complete Series

Six improvisational comics—three men and three women—throw themselves into brief, always funny, sometimes hilariously unexpected skits revolving (as the title suggests) around men and women and the dance between the sexes in relationships, break-ups, parenting, the workplace, and other social situations. Nick Frost (costar of the movies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) is prominently featured on the cover, as he's the only member of the ensemble known to American audiences, but on the series he's an equal in a talented group of comedians whose skits come fast and furious. As in Little Britain, another beloved British sketch-comedy offering, the players tend to fall back on running jokes, with variations on repeated situations, recurring characters, and familiar punch lines. But the skits are all sharp and generate plenty of laughs, which has made the show a YouTube favorite, with excerpts attracting millions of hits. Compiling all 12 episodes of the show's two seasons (aired in 2005 and 2007) along with audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and outtakes, this series will appeal to fans of both American sketch comedy and British humor. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)