Portlandia: Season Two

This offbeat Independent Film Channel sketch-comedy from singer-songwriter Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney) and Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen became IFC's biggest original hit, thanks largely to YouTube snippets and viral clips. The satire takes comedic shots at the Pacific Northwest culture of Portland, OR, where the population seems to consist largely of aging hippies, slackers, and New-Agers (all of whom are played by Brownstein and Armisen). The sophomore season boasts a great lineup of guest stars: Jeff Goldblum, Kristen Wiig, Tim Robbins, an animated tattoo of Eddie Vedder, and Edward James Olmos and James Callis (the latter pair at a table-read of a fake Battlestar Galactica script), among others. While most episodes feature unrelated short skits built around one longer piece running through the show, the finale draws the regular characters (including a return visit from Kyle MacLachlan as the mayor) into a single story, a humorous little epic called “Brunch Village.” Compiling all 10 second season episodes from 2012, extras include episode commentaries, a director's cut of the finale, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a deleted scene, and a book excerpt from Portlandia: A Guide for Visitors. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)