Upright Citizens Brigade: The Complete First Season

This Comedy Central series, already a cult favorite, revolves around a fictional underground organization—"with no government ties and unlimited resources"—dedicated to spreading chaos and observing the fruits of its labors from a secure underground base. Upright Citizens Brigade is a sketch comedy series depicting various bizarre situations around the world enacted by later-to-be Saturday Night Live favorite Amy Poehler, Matt Walsh, Ian Roberts, and Matt Besser, who all play multiple characters. The cast's improvisational talents are also evident in UCB's signature real-life skits (which usually come at the end of each episode), in which cast members are filmed with hidden cameras interacting with strangers. Not surprisingly, UCB can be wildly uneven, although some of the bits on these 10 first season episodes from 1998 are truly hilarious. DVD extras include the original pilot episode and audio commentaries. A strong optional purchase. (E. Hulse)