TV Show Review: Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends - Season 3

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Clever writing keeps you laughing

Cons: R&B logo, repeated segments, lacking extras, but all minor, really

The Bottom Line:

You have to love puns

But what's not to love with puns

Just laugh at the puns

May the Pun be with You

The puns are punnier and the stories are zanier as Rocky & Bullwinkle enter their fun filled third season. It consists of 33 episodes with everyone's favorite animated moose and squirrel as well as their friends and enemies.

The central focus of the show is the continuing exploits of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose. Each episode features two segments of the current serialized story, and there are four of them this time around.

Missouri Mish Mash finds Bullwinkle and Rocky caught in the middle of a feud being run by Boris Badenov, their arch nemesis. However, when Bullwinkle finds a special hat, things really start to get interesting.

Lazy Jay Ranch finds our heroes moving to Wyoming after they buy a ranch. Turns out it's a worm ranch, and Boris has plans of his own for those worms.

The Three Moosketeers brings our heroes to the country of Applesauce Lorraine after the rightful king is replaced by the scheming Francois Villain. (Something tells me he's a bad guy.) Of interest, this is the first Rocky and Bullwinkle story to not feature Boris and his sidekick Natasha Fatale.

Topsy Turvy World finds the world's axis shifting. With the new North Pole on the Equator, it's up to Rocky and Bullwinkle to right the world before Boris gives Santa a bad name.

Of course, each episode also includes several special features. Either a Fractured Fairy Tale or an Aesop and Son (a fable like you've never heard before), Bullwinkle's Corner (poetry and nursery rhymes for laughs) or Mr. Know-it-All (Bullwinkle shows us how NOT to do something), and Peabody's Improbably History (a dog makes sure history goes as recorded) or Dudley Do-Right (a spoof of melodramas set in Canada.)

These shows are absolutely hysterical, if you can stand a good pun. The writers seem to be at the top of their game, with the puns coming so fast you just might miss one. It breaks all the rules of TV with the characters often talking directly to the audience or making references to their TV show, but it only adds to the laughter. While kids will enjoy watching, it's the adults that will get the word play and the now dated historical references.

Of course, being an animated show from the 60's means the animation isn't up to today's standards. Still, it does a good job of getting the story across and holds up to some of today's TV animation.

I was disappointed to recognize many of the Bullwinkle's Corner and Mr. Know-it-All segments this time around. They are recycled from earlier seasons. I don't know why this is, but I hope the fourth season contains new material.

This set consists of four single sided DVD's. The picture and sound are great, although the occasional bit of dust or grain does betray the show's age. Unfortunately, Sony still sees a need to include the clear R&B logo in the lower right hand corner for a minute of each segment. I hardly notice, but when I do it is annoying.

The set this time has a circus theme to the box, booklet, and menus. The booklet contains a funny biography of villains Boris and Natasha. Also this time around, the booklet contains information on the Bullwinkle's Corner and Mr. Know-it-All segments, something that's been missing in previous sets.

Extras are light. They include some third season intros from the Bullwinkle puppet (including the infamous one where he tells kids to rip off their TV's knobs so they won't miss the next episode), a preview of the next season, and some "best of" moments from the season.

While the extras aren't a reason to buy the set, the shows themselves are still as punny as they were over forty years ago. Anyone with a fond memory of Rocky & Bullwinkle and a strong constitution for puns will love it.