Scared Weird Little Guys-The First 15 Years (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Audio Commentary-SWLG - TV Appearances TV Spots-TV Appearances Gallery-Photo
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	115:55
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Rusty Berther John Chaplin-Fleming
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	None Given

    The Scared Weird Little Guys... "mindless stupidity for the thinking person" is how their website promotes them and few could argue. If you're not sure that you are familiar with the antics of the Scardies (henceforth referred to as SWLG) then I can pretty much guarantee you have either heard or seen them somewhere over the last 15 years - which is how long Rusty Berther (the little one) and John Chaplin-Fleming (the taller one) have been performing together.

    The first SWLG show was at the Hilton Comedy Room in Melbourne on 17 July 1990 and since then the zany duo have performed their unique blend of crazy lyric songs, manic guitar playing and a few bawdy jokes in live venues around the country and the world. They have also appeared on just about every television show in Australia over the last 15 years including Hey Hey it's Saturday, The Midday Show, Tonight live with Steve Vizard, The Big Gig, Good Morning Australia, In Melbourne Tonight, The Footy Show, The Today Show, Denise, Today Tonight, A Current Affair, AM Adelaide and the highlight of their career so far, according to the blurb anyway, The Sale of the Century Gift Shop.

    Not content with television they have also appeared on many radio programmes around the country with their famous "Stump The Scardies" segment, a very funny spot where listeners phone in and suggest two songs for the guys to play. The challenge is that they must use the lyrics of the first song but play the melody of the second on their guitars. It makes for amusing listening and gives an indication that the guys are actually quite talented musicians. Just listening to something like Nirvana's Smell Like Teen Spirit played to the tune of The Sound Of Music will have you cracking up in an instant.

    To celebrate the 15 year anniversary of Rusty and John getting together, the boys have released a DVD which contains a whole stack of material taken from their time together and even going back to a time before they knew each other (two 1987 performances on Hey Hey It's Saturday's Red Faces segment are a highlight).

    There are three separate parts of the main section of the DVD plus a few bonus extras. First up is a performance called Live At The Spiegeltent. It runs for a healthy 50:59 and is a recently filmed live performance of the boys in action. They perform a few of their well known routines including Volvo Man and a very funny song based on names in the phonebook. There's some good stuff in here.

    Next up is a 37:59 section called Superband which I understand was filmed at last year's Melbourne Comedy Festival. It's a bit of a comedy take on several well known songs with Rusty and John either singing like The Proclaimers 500 Miles (I'm Gonna Be) and Survivor's Eye Of The Tiger or backing up others as they attempt a song (Ant Music by Spicks and Specks host Adam Hills is particularly painful - but then I think that is the idea).

    Lastly is a 1998 performance called Score, where the Scardies perform live on stage with a symphony Orchestra as backing. There is some repeat of the material from the first segment, but it is interesting to see how much more slick the guys have become in the years since this show was recorded.

    All up the above runs for nearly two hours and with the bundle of television spots detailed in the extras section gives a pretty decent summary of just what the Scared Weird Little Guys are all about.

Video

    The three major sections are presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and are not 16x9 enhanced.

    The level of detail varies a bit here with some of the footage shot in pretty dark conditions with the 1998 footage of Score appearing quite grainy. Overall the transfer is about as sharp as can be expected, and is best described as average to good without being spectacular. There are no examples of edge enhancement that I could detect, which is a bonus.

    The colour palette is decent enough, with the SWLG bright red suits coming up the best.

    There are unfortunately no subtitles available.

    This is a dual layered disc, with the sections spread across different layers so there is no layer change to negotiate.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
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Film Artefacts
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Audio

    There are two audio soundtracks to choose from though for the majority of the content it is served simply by a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track. There is also a Dolby Digital commentary track that can be popped into action during the television spots extra.

    The main Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack handles all music and dialogue well. The track does the job expected of it and there are no audio sync issues.

    There is no surround or subwoofer use at all.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
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Audio Commentary

    Both John and Rusty provide some comments on most of the archival television spots.

Television Spots

    A treasure trove of performances of the Scardies going back to some of their earliest moments on television. There's a couple of solo performances of Hey Hey It's Saturday in 1987 before they formed SWLG together with brief snippets from shows like The Big Gig, Tonight Live with Steve Vizard, The Midday Show, more Hey Hey It's Saturday and a host of others. A good section to look through for a little nostalgia.

Gallery

    Half a dozen photos of the guys from their first 15 years performing.

    This disc is not available in Region 1.

    Scared Weird Little Guys - The First 15 Years is an amusing tribute to a lasting comedy duo who have entertained thousands of people around the country. The DVD package presented here is excellent with a swag of bonus material delving right back to the earliest performances of the pair.

Video
Audio
Extras
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Overall