ANDY BARKER, P.I. (TV SERIES): THE COMPLETE SERIES - DVD review

Andy Richter is probably best known as Conan O'Brien's sidekick on "Late Night," a position he held from 1993 to 2000. When Conan inherited Jay Leno's spot on "The Tonight Show," Richter returned to the fold as both a writer and on-screen foil. In between those stints by Conan's side, Richter has had supporting roles in films like "Elf," "Madagascar," and "Talladega Nights." On the small screen, he hasn't had much luck, but that's not from lack of trying. Richter's first foray following "Late Night" was the sitcom "Andy Richter Controls the Universe." The Fox series lasted for two seasons with 19 episodes produced. When "Universe" was cancelled, Richter returned to Fox with another short-lived television series, "Quintuplets."

You'd think third times the charm, right? Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with "Andy Barker, P.I." "Barker" definitely had the pedigree to be a successful show. It was co-created by Conan O'Brien and Jonathan Groff, one of the producers and writers for "How I Met Your Mother." The writing staff included Jane Espenson ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Gilmore Girls," "Battlestar Galactica") and Josh Bycel ("American Dad," "Psych"). "Barker" was picked up by NBC in 2007 as a midseason replacement. It only lasted four episodes with the final two burned off on a Saturday. Shout Factory has released this 2-disc set containing the show's entire 6 run episode. "Andy Barker" is definitely one of those shows you wished had gained a sizeable audience.

Richter plays the title character, Andy Barker, a nebbish accountant in the fictional town of Fair Oaks, California. Andy is white bread through and through. He "rocks out" to Norah Jones and enjoys Sandra Bullock movies. Andy is extremely excited when he opens his own accounting office in a strip mall. On his first day, a beautiful blond in a slinky red dress appears in his office. She hires Andy, not to do her taxes, but to find her presumed dead husband. Turns out, Andy's office was previously occupied by a private investigator. He decides to go along with this bit of mistaken identity and begins taking cases along with crunching numbers.

The supporting cast is filled with an assortment of eccentric characters. There's Andy's wife, Jenny (Clea Lewis), who is skeptical of her hubby going into the detective business, but she supports him nonetheless. Tony Hale from "Arrested Development" plays Simon, the manager of the video store underneath Andy's office. Simon's obsessive knowledge of movies can sometimes be more harmful than helpful. Another occupant of the strip mall is Wally (Marshall Manesh), the Afghani owner of a kabob shop who over compensates American patriotism in this post 9-11 world. Finally, there's Lew Staziak the retired P.I. whose office Andy now uses. Staziak is old school and he's played to perfection by the late-character actor, Harve Presnell, who starred in films like "Fargo" and "Face/Off." He's tough-as-nails and has no social graces whatsoever. Lew makes offensive comments and has no qualms in threatening a little kid with bodily harm.

What really clicked with the series is that Andy Barker wasn't a man disillusioned by his suburban life or his desk job. He actually enjoyed accounting and uses some of those skills in his investigations. The juxtaposition of the film noir world in this upper-middle class world also opens up the opportunity for comedy. Barker appears to be the only sane man in this insane world and his nonplussed reactions are usually the highlight of each episode.

The titles for each episode are take-offs of other mystery novels or films. Included in this 2-disc set are:

-Disc 1-
"Pilot" – A femme fatale enlists Andy Barker's services in finding her husband who was believed to be dead. Accompanied by Simon, Andy is put on a collision course with the Russian mafia.

"Fairway, My Lovely" – When Andy's friend and client Guy Halverson, an obese slob of a man, drops dead of a heart attack, Andy is shocked to hear that his wife believes it was murder. He's even more surprised to find out that women found Guy incredibly sexy, including his own wife.

"Three Days of the Chicken" – As a favor to Wally, Andy looks into a powerful poultry distributor that is pushing low-quality chicken on helpless restaurant owners.

-Disc 2-
"Dial M For Laptop" – Two goons burst into Andy's office and steal his laptop which contained his father-in-law's tax returns. Unbeknownst to him, Lew has drafted Andy into investigating a seductress (Traci Lords) working to steal credit card numbers.

"The Big No Sleep" – Andy trails a sick, invalid woman who is believed to be having an affair. What he uncovers is a philandering doctor (Nestor Carbonell) running a con with his charity work. Andy works to take the doc down while trying to get some sleep as his daughter cries all night after losing her favorite toy.

"The Lady Varnishes" – Ed Asner guest-stars as Lew Staziak's crooked ex-partner, Mickey Doyle. Andy and Lew work to prove that Doyle framed a former starlet (who they both dated) in the murder of her Mafioso boyfriend.

VIDEO:
The video is presented in anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. This is about as good a transfer as you're going to get in standard definition. The picture quality is clean and is only a few notches below a good HD broadcast.

AUDIO:
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. "Andy Barker" isn't a Bruckheimer production so there's not a lot of oomph in the sound output. However, the show gets good usage out of the 5.1 track. Dialogue comes in crisp and clear.

EXTRAS:
Each episode contains an audio commentary track with various members of the cast, writers, producers, and directors (including Conan O'Brien himself). There's a different line-up on each episode. The tracks are a good listen as the participants crack jokes and provide anecdotes about shooting the episodes.

Writers 101 (30:18) is a detailed look at what goes on in the writers' room. The writers are interviewed as they discuss the development of each episode, how involved Conan and Andy were, and how changes were made following notes from the network.

Going Where the Numbers Take You (32:42) is a retrospective look back at the making of the show. The actors are interviewed about working on the show and comments on their fellow cast members. The interviewees also discuss the perils of getting the show on the air and its quick cancellation.

Rounding out the DVD is a gag reel.

FILM VALUE:
"Andy Barker, P.I." did not deserve its fate as a one season wonder. The series had the same quirky humor of shows like "30 Rock" and "Arrested Development." While that sort of humor may win over critics, it hasn't caught the attention of mainstream audiences who seem to prefer the lazy comedy of "Three and a Half Men." The first few episodes are a bit uneven, but "The Lady Varnishes" is a great episode. It's too bad "Andy Barker" wasn't given the time to find its voice.