Search - Mission Hill - The Complete Series on DVD

A brilliant series, cut short. (Think stocking stuffer...)

Andon M. Coleman | Cape Coral, FL USA | 12/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This series was truly brilliant, cut short by the WB. Ironically, the WB continues to show mediocre shows while canceling ones such as this. It makes you wonder who the WB's target audience is.

The series was ahead of its time ... on the wrong network, unfortunately. Were it a new series now, it might have been pitched to Comedy Central or Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) and survived not only to _finish_ the first season but for subsequent seasons as well.

The episodes have a slightly higher replay value than most series', a lot of the humor and in fact, some of the best humor is very subtle - such as the No Smoking sign in Jim's office. Moreover, the question everyone always asks is finally answered in the commentary, I am referring of course to the reason all of the characters appear to have Jaundice and yellow teeth. ;)

For ~$20, the two-disc set is well worth it - it would make a great stocking stuffer for anyone with a Kevin or Andy character in his or her own life. :)"

Brilliant

Grant McKee | Chicago, IL United States | 12/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mission Hill is probably my favorite animated series of all time. It succeeds in taking everyday situations and blending in things that couldn't be accomplished with live people and real-world backgrounds. Set against the colorful backdrop of Mission Hill (based largely on Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood), this series follows the life of Andy French, a 24-year-old hipster and aspiring cartoonist recently saddled with the family dog (who he's happy to share his home with) and his little brother Kevin (who he's not so happy to share his home with). Andy's roommates Jim and Posey are there for the hilarity along with his neighbors, co-workers and Kevin's friends from high school whenever the show needs to "nerd it up."

This show was a great voice for Generation X. In the best episode of the short-lived series ("Unemployment, Part II"), Andy's without a job, and perfectly set to laze about at home, cashing his unemployment checks to fuel his malt liquor needs. In his mind, he's living the lifestyle people of his generation were encouraged to live. Andy gets kicked in the keister, though, when he finds out that his roommate Jim is leading the complete opposite life, without Andy having any clue. This kind of real-life insight set the show apart from more slapstick-inspired series like The Simpsons (where Homer seems to lose his job in every episode, which doesn't disrupt the family's life) or Family Guy (where everything seems to work out in the end, no matter what Peter ends up doing). That isn't to say Mission Hill is melodramatic. Far from it - this show is one of the funniest I've seen in years. But it's funny because the viewer is invited to share themselves with the characters.

This is the perfect DVD for fans of the show, and I think each fan should find some friends that didn't get to enjoy Mission Hill during its brief time on the air, and share this show with them."

A really great show released in a not so great way

A. E. Prins-Stairs | Emeryville, CA | 04/24/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I love Mission Hill, however this DVD set is not as great as the version you see on Adult Swim, a lot of the music is edited out and replaced and a scene is cut out on one of the episodes "Kevin Finds Love (or Hot for Weirdie)" and even worse, the voice audio on one of the episodes "Andy and Kevin Make a Friend (or One Bang for Two Brothers)" is so quiet that you have to turn the TV up all the way to hear it and it makes all the other sounds so loud that it hurts your ears. If you really love Mission Hill, try recording the series onto DVD for yourself when it airs on Adult Swim, at least the episodes there are not edited and the episode with the bad voice track audio on the DVD set is not messed up on the original airing. If you don't have a DVD recorder then for the sake of the episode "Andy and Kevin Make a Friend (or One Bang for Two Brothers)" I would at least record it onto VHS so you can hear it perfectly without having to turn the volume up all the way. The bonus features are pretty cool though but for me that the only good thing. While the episodes are still good on this, if you don't mind changes to music then go for this set, however as I said for one of the episode, damaged voice audio so be careful."

The show is great, the image is great, but the DVDs suffers

Max A. Haider | Davie, FL United States | 03/15/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mission Hill is an excellent show and if this is the best way for you to see it, buy the discs. I have to make one warning, though: the background music was switched out for inferior generic music in many scenes.

Ron doesn't get to play Blue Monday at his party.

The strip club loses a lot of energy, with wimpier background music and lap dance music this is much less cool (and less hilarious).

The planatarium narration "First there was the Milky Way, then there was the Crab Nebula, then there was Judas Priest!" gets cut off and inferior music is used.

Kevin no longer gets to nerd up the Ferraro with Gordon Lightfoot. I believe some instrumental music (Scott Joplin?) is used instead.

Kevin's tie loses its ridiculous "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton, and it's replaced something like a Christmas jingle. (I think Jim's music cigarette also gets changed to the same song.)

There's no more Wackety Sax (sp?) when Kevin is swimming after the college recommedation from Wierdie's dead dad.

Worst of all, the wonderfully funny use of REM's "Everybody Hurts" as a "Real World: Mission Hill" castmember is hauled away in an ambulance is replaced with ambient filler on the DVD. When the cast of neighbors starts singing REM's song at the end, the DVD version gives you no reason for why they would choose the song, taking the joke away.

Anyway, this is from distant memory from the last time I watched the set, so I might have missed a few other changes. One exception is that I think the song from Run Lola Run stayed intact.

This music issue was the only problem with the DVDs for me. Everything else was first rate, and it's a gem of a show. The slight reduction in depth from the music changes might not bother anyone who's not famailiar with the show, and I believe you don't have to be gen-X to like it, because it has all the cartoon fundamentals (...that I can make up on the spot): signature style, full use of color, background detail, character development, and natural dialogue. It's just the darn music. A warning would have been nice."