- Release Date: March 24th, 2009
- Publisher: Paramount
- Price: $27.99 on Amazon (Buy It
)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Run Time: 417 Minutes
- Special Features: Commentary on Select Episodes, How Andy Richter Controlled the Universe, What if Andy Richter Controlled the Universe
- Starring: Andy Richter, Paget Brewster, James Patrick Stuart, Jonathan Slavin, Irene Molloy
- Genre: Comedy
Back in 2002 a little show named Andy Richter Controls the Universe aired on Fox. While it only ended up lasting 19 episodes (over two seasons) the show developed quite a cult following for a comedy. After years of waiting fans can finally relive their favorite episodes of this short run comedy.
Andy Richter Controls the Universe follows a fictional Andy Richter (who just so happens to be played by Andy Richter). Andy is a instruction manual writer for a large corporation named Pickering Industries. Joined by his friends Jessica, Byron, Keith and Wendy; Andy tries to get through the monotony of his work.
While Andy Richter Controls the Universe didn’t last for very long, I have wanted to see the series for quite some time since I am a pretty big fan of Andy Richter. While the series started off a little slow, you could tell that the series was really starting to get a footing and was starting to develop into a very good comedy. It’s too bad that it was canceled shortly after that occurred.
For those of you not familiar with the series, I would compare it to Scrubs. As a matter of fact I would say it is what you would get if you moved the cast of Scrubs from the OR to the boardroom. Andy Richter Controls the Universe shares a lot in common with Scrubs. The humor is similar (even down to the wacky dream sequences). If you like Scrubs or wackier comedies in general I can’t imagine that you would not like Andy Richter Controls the Universe. The series starts a little slow but if you stick with the show you shouldn’t be disappointed.
One thing I was surprised about was that the dvd set actually had a satisfying amount of special features. For a show that was canceled so early, I didn’t expect much as far as special features were concerned. While the special features aren’t great, I have to applaud Paramount for at least giving fans of the series some special features. You get two commentaries with Andy Richter and Victor Fresco. You also get How Andy Richter Controlled the Universe which is a 25 minute look at how the series and characters were created. It’s not a bad special feature but it isn’t much more than your generic behind the scenes special feature. Finally What If Andy Richter Controlled the Universe is a five minute look at what the world would be like if the various character actually controlled the universe. The special feature has some funny moments but it really isn’t that insightful and really has nothing to do with the series.
Even though Andy Richter Controls the Universe didn’t last very long, that should not make you write the show off before trying it. If you are a fan of the series I would definitely recommend picking up the dvd set especially if you want to see the episodes again. Also if you like wackier comedies like Scrubs I would recommend that you pick up Andy Richter Controls the Universe. While it’s not the best comedy ever, Andy Richter Controls the Universe is one of all too many series that were canceled before they were given a chance to fully blossom.
