There is something inherent in human nature that results in a need to prove you are better than anyone else. This need for competition is in both genders but lets face it guys, our Y chromosome must have some supercharger for this trait since we are known for taking on the stupidest dares possible. This usually dyes down as a personality trait sometime after puberty; actually it just gets focused in different directions. Instead of eating worms or running through a yard with a mean dog guys move to competitions involving the opposite sex or getting that corner office at work. While most of us make that transition to adult competition but lately it would appear that some guys never grow up. There are, of course the Jackass and Steve-O types where the stunts they pull will hopefully exclude them from the reproductive part of the population. Then there are Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice. These two friends have been making a living competing with each other for their television series aptly named ‘Kenny vs. Spenny’. This is a juvenile series where tow ostensibly grown men act like idiots. I have to admit that when I first heard about it I didn’t have much hope of enjoying watching the show. I was wrong; it is extremely funny in a strange, almost mesmerizing way. Almost like a traffic accident that you can’t turn your head from this show pulls you in to its unique brand of insanity. Okay, I am not in the target demographic which is mostly stoned out frat guys. For those of us of more mature years this is like going back in time to watch the kid in the playground who would eat any gross bug for a dime. There is a childlike quality here that makes the stupidity on display funny in a guilty pleasure sort of way. This series started in Canada and the United States distribution rights were purchased by the Comedy Central network. Now, they are releasing the entire first season on DVD. Well, that is a little misleading. What is called the first season here in the States is actually the forth season of the series from the Canadian point of view.

The format of each episode is pretty much the same. Kenny and Spenny decide on some sort of challenge. These are not much more advanced than what a couple of kids in the school yard or some drunken college guys at a bar would devise. They can range from who can stand up the longest or who would look better in drag. There are basically two major categories that the challenges can take. There are those that are objective where the results can be determined my something tangible such as who can avoid using their arms the longest. Then there are the subjective objectives like which one of the guys is the sanest. Actually with that particular case even the premise is highly prone to debate. Kenny has always wanted to be a film maker and has been working to fulfill that goal since his age was in the single digits. He has been a writer on ‘South Park’ and the animated ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’. Spenny is also a Canadian who has been friends with Kenny since early childhood. He has less on the way of formal credits and is usually the more rule oriented of the two. He typically wants to make sure the criteria of the competition is outlined in detail to prevent Kenny from finding any ways around the rule set for that particular endeavor. Kenny is often painted as the villain of the pair. He is willing to bend or even break the rules where possible in order to win the competition. Spenny, on the other hand, is the more by the book, moral one. In some ways this gives the show a little touch of good versus evil aspect to it. On one level this is a fantastic parody of all the insipid so called reality shows that have flooded the television networks lately. They poke fun of things like ‘Fear Factor’ and do so extremely effectively. This series has as its executive producers the weird minds behind ‘South Park’; Matt Parker and Trey Stone so you pretty much know what to expect; gross, puerile fun.

This series is definitely not for the kids out there. This is demonstrated with the first challenge of the season; who can go the longest without getting an erection. This sounds like something right out of some sleep away boy’s summer camp. Kenny starts right off trying to put Spenny off his game. He tells the camera that Spenny tried to entice him into a three way once, rubs Spenny’s bathing suit on his gentiles and butt and puts a gay pride flag over his bed. Typical of the series there is little to no attempt made to hide the cameras or microphones; they are almost always in the shot. Both of the guys have to wear bathing suites so the looser will be obvious. Kenny starts off making sure he will not get excited by having one of the crew hit him in the groin with the peddle of a bass drum. Yes, this is the extent that he will go to in order to win. Kenny’s strategy is to get Spenny frustrated. Back in grade school he got frustrated while giving a presentation in class and got an erection so Kenny plans to use this fact against his friend. As is typical the time period for the event is three days. If at the end of that time there is no distinct winner they go for a winner take all special competition or situation.

Other competitions are equally gross or childish. In one episode the competition was to pass the biggest, noisiest fart. Kenny tries to get Spenny to eat some of his gas producing chill but unknown to Spenny he has put anti-gas medication in the concoction. Another episode tries to see who can stay tied to a goat the longest or who can eat the most meat. There is one competition that treads very close to going over the line. It was who could endure the most torture. The specific events included getting electrical shocks from a dog collar, inserting a hot dog furthest up their rectums and being used as a human piñata by a group of children. Just remember these are life long best friends doing this to each other. Just imagine what people who don’t like them would do. Largely because of his willingness to cheat Kenny usually wins although Spenny does take the day on several occasions. Whoever looses the competition has to endure a humiliation. These can range from licking the doorknob on an adult bookstore to making out with an elderly lady or having the Canadian farting champion, well you see where this is going. One of the sickest humiliations had Spenny rolled down a hill in a huge plastic sphere filled with dog feces. You can easily see why Kenny is usually so willing to cheat to win.

Typical of a lot of the series on Comedy Central this one comes to DVD completely uncensored. The language is on the rough side and not for those out there easily offended. It includes two episodes previously not seen here in the States. While not for everyone this is great fun for a night with some more resilient friends.