Todd & the Book of Pure Evil: The Complete First Season

The central conceit of this Canadian comedy series (think: Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Beavis and Butthead) involves a tome hidden deep inside a high school, where it unleashes black magic and supernatural creatures—granting the finder's wish and then disappearing. Enter the reluctant hero, geeky metal-head stoner Todd (Alex House), who spends his nights fantasizing over the school hottie, Jenny (Maggie Castle), and puts together a dysfunctional Scooby gang only because Jenny makes tracking down and destroying the book her life's purpose (the tome is somehow connected to her father's disappearance). Of course, Todd will do anything to get next to Jenny, even if it means fighting demons and rock zombies. Calling the show clever would be a stretch, but it does know its audience and delivers monsters, blood, exaggerated stereotypes, sexually obsessed teenage boys, and lots of really stupid behavior. Kevin Smith favorite Jason Mewes costars as Jimmy the janitor, the closest the series has to a voice of reason. Presenting all 13 episodes from the 2010 first season, DVD extras include cast and crew episode commentaries, deleted scenes and outtakes, a cast Q&A, and the original 2003 same-titled short film that inspired the series. An optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)