With all the television stations available now there is one that has made a name for itself by making us laugh; Comedy Central. From its humble beginnings in 1989 when it was known as ‘The Comedy Channel’ through its time as ‘The Comedy Network’ it is now one of the sources for all manner of humor. It may have started out with censored versions of HBO comedy specials and some family friendly humor once it started with original programming like ‘South Park’ the executives over there discovered that more adult faire was their new direction. They have become a force in the political arena with series like the old ‘Politically Incorrect’ and the current ‘Daily Show’ and ‘Cobert Report’. They now have a wide range of mature audience only comedy shows and if you are up late at night, usually after 1 a.m., you can frequently see completely uncensored versions of their shows. The latest DVD anthology from these demented but often brilliant minds is ‘Comedy Central Home Grown’. If there is any doubt as to the target demographic just look at the menu screen. It is divided into three sections; Buds, for full episodes, Seeds, some drug oriented bits and Stems for the more socially unacceptable sketches. You do not have to be pharmacologically enhanced to enjoy this collection but let’s face it; many of the audience will be.

The Sarah Silverman Show – Face Time

This episode from the second season of the series is a double header. It is racially offensive and promotes the misuse of medical marijuana. Silverman may look like a sweet, pretty young woman but she is one of the most over the top comedians to come along in a very long time. She constantly goes up to the very edge of good taste and with a wicked smile on her face blithely leaps over that line. In this episode Sarah goes to a local country club to play some tennis. The receptionist (Susan Yeagley) looks through the membership list and since Sarah is not a member refuses to allow her to play. Sarah is certain she was refused not for lack of required membership but because she is Jewish. Over lunch Sarah complains to her friends about the alleged hate crime and how difficult it is being Jewish. An African American waiter overhears and tells her to consider the prejudice that black people face. In response Sarah decides to go around wearing the most offensive black face possible. In another plot line the boyfriend of Sarah’s sister, Laura (Laura Silverman), police officer Jay McPherson (Jay Johnston) has just busted the pot dealer of Sarah’s slacker gay neighbors, Brian (Brian Posehn) and Steve (Steve Agee). With no other means to get high they decide to fake an illness and get some medical pot. Some of the real stuff much be used on set which could explain why everybody has to play characters with their real first names.

Comedy Central’s TV Funhouse – Christmas Episode

This is a spoof on children’s television that the kids should not be allowed to watch. It features a human guy, Doug the Host (Doug Dale) and a group of smoking, drinking, over sexed animal puppets. It is basically an elaboration of the Saturday Night Live running segment TV Funhouse by Robert Smigel who helped out here with writing and characters. In this episode the gang tries to celebrate Christmas with very strange results. The animals here have a perchance for using very explicit language completely uncensored in this presentation. Doug tells the animals that Christmas cheer runs through his spine. The animals want to make money by selling it so they do a spinal tap on Doug to extract the necessary cheer. There is a black and white short made to look like the old time TV kids’ Christmas specials only here the subject is Tingles the Christmas tension that brings anxiety to all the people around the holiday.

Lewis Black Root of All Evil – Beer versus Weed

This is one of the newest series on Comedy Central featuring the curmudgeon comedian Lewis Black as the judge of a case to determine which of two things is the root of all evil. In this case the decision is between beer and pot. The advocate for pot as the root of all evil is comedian Paul F. Tompkins. On the other side favoring beer as evil is Andrew Daly. The series is set up like a courtroom with opening statements, presentation of evidence and closing statements with Black making the final decision.

Reno 911 – Burning Man

This series is a parody of the Fox network favorite, ‘Cops’. Supposedly a camera crew is following the most inept group of law enforcement officers in the world. This episode from their first season has a couple of officers from the Reno Sheriff’s office going undercover to look for drug use at the annual ‘Burning Man’ festival. Let’s just say that Lieutenant Dangle (Thomas Lennon) switches from his usual extreme short pants in favor of a leather demon outfit that unfortunately leaves nothing to the imagination. Thankfully they still blur out the backless thong he wears.

Strangers with Candy – Old Habits, New Beginnings

Jeri Blank (Amy Sedaris) is a past her prime woman who spent most of her life as a prostitute and drug addict. She is trying to regain her lost youth by getting adopted by a family and going back to high school. In this episode she finds the best way to make new friends is to supply them with drugs.

This is a collection of some of the more socially unacceptable sketches and bits on a number of their series. There are selections from ‘The Dave Chappellle Show’ and ‘The Sarah Silverman Program’, different from the previous ‘Sarah Silverman Show’ and more of a variety series. From the animated reality show parody ‘Drawn Together’ there are two musical numbers from different episodes; ‘God is Watching Everything You Do’ and ‘Sunshine’. You have a choice of Karaoke or Sing-a-Long. There is also a bit from the very twisted and perverted puppets who make phone calls with ‘Crank Yankers’.

In this sections there are basically things left over from the other two segments. One of the best is a send up of the popular laid back series on Public Television; ‘The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross’. Most people who have seen the show think that Ross must be on pot due to his constantly mellow attitude and love of fluffy clouds and trees.

There is a section with some random shorts and looks at other Comedy Central series. This is a great collection of off beat and adult comedy that most will enjoy. It is a perfect disc to bring out when friends drop over. It is released to DVD by Comedy Central through Paramount Home Entertainment.