Like all cable series it takes getting used to, and Holliston is certainly no exception. Having said this however, I found the second season 10 episode series now on Blu-ray/DVD to be very likable, grotesquely funny, wacky and even good-humored. The uplifting cast puts on a good show keeping their characters continuously illogical and hip with stories that remind me of many sitcoms, including “The Big Bang Theory” (but sexier).
The show features Adam (Adam Green) and Joe (Joe Lynch) as the two male leads with Laura (Laura Ortiz) and Corri (Corri English) as their female counterparts. In addition, weekly regulars are Dee Snider as Lance Rockett and Dave Brockie as Oderus Urungus. The show gets its name from the city a Massachusetts where it all takes place. This second season was aired on FEARnet cable television between June 4, 2013 and August 6, 2013.
The first of the ten episodes is called “The Christmas Special” and finds Adam, Joe, Laura and Corri celebrating the eve of the holiday at Adam’s apartment. There’s two killers on the loose in Holliston, an escaped convict called Christine Cringle Tingler and a maniac out for blood. The hour long episode aired December 18, 2012 and has been added to the season two Blu-ray.
In episode two called “Suicidal Tendencies” the two guys are making a film called “Shinguards” and want Kane Hodder of Friday the 13th fame to play the lead. When he turns up in a hospital, they have to sneak in and give them their script.
Episode three “Holloween Girl” has Danielle Harris as a guest star. Harris appeared in Holloween 2 and 3 as Annie Bracket and Adam has a crush on her when she comes to play opposite Kane Hodder in “Shingards”. The scenes are very funny involving a lot of teasing sexplay with Adam going over the deep end.
“Hobgoblin” finds the four friends frustrated over their “Shingards” movie and take a break to make a The Blair Witch Project type film. They turn the cameras on themselves in the woods and get spooked.
In “Honesty” we find Laura’s parents visiting her and they have issues on who she should be dating. When they arrive and meet Joe they are off put so Laura substitutes Adam as her mate.
The best most hilarious episode by far is called “Rock the Cradle” and features guest star Bailee Madison as Adam’s new girlfriend. She uses a fake ID to claim she’s 21 and tries to bond with the group. At the same time, Lance gets a visit by a son (played by Cody Blue Snider, Dee Snider’s real son) who he was not aware he had.
In “Joe’s Soda” there’s a suspected werewolf in town and Corri thinks she has been bitten by the Lycan at her hospital. Her three friends chain her to the living room chair to see if she changes while they search out the beast at the hospital. The episode has a scene with David Naughton who played in An American Werewolf in London.
The episode called “Blooby” is kind of interesting because it’s fully animated. After Laura brings a blob of brown paint goo to life, the four friends are caught up in a nightmare. All the while Adam and Joe are filming the weird destruction of Holliston for a short movie to enter in a film festival.
“Cursed” is a parody on The Ring where a video gets sent to Corri and if you watch it you must pass it on to someone else or the four friends will die. Adam meets a gorgeous lady on the web played by Caitlin Upton (“Tosh. O”). He finds out she is a racist and doesn’t know how to handle it.
Number nine “Kevin’s Wedding” features a skit about Corri’s ex-boyfriend Kevin who invites her to his wedding. Not wanting to attend alone she brings Adam as her date. In the meantime Odorous moves out of Adam’s closet to the bathroom at the wedding because he feels unwanted. Complications arise when Adam falls for Dana (Rileah Vanderbilt of the Hatchet series) who makes Corri jealous.
In the final chapter called “Farm Festival” the gang has set up a film fest to show their film “Shingards”. However, in err the festival is called the Annual Holliston Farm festival. The season ending episode ends with a lot of surprises with one leading back to the “Christmas Special”.
The teen thru 20’s targeted series does a very good job of reaching that audience. The writers use snappy dialogue and it’s delivered well by the main cast. The sitcom gets addictive following the third chapter and I found myself watching the rest of them in one sitting.
The Blu-ray disc has some cool extras.
BONUS FEATURES:
- “Behind the Scenes” captures the essence of Dee Snider. Narrated by this wife Suzette Snider she talks about the costuming, Dee and her son Cody Blue. Adam, Joe and crew members chime in with other aspects of the making of the series.
- “Table Read” features the stars visit to the Rock and Shock Convention in Massachusetts. There they held a panel and invited audience participants who were familiar with the show as part of the dais.
- “Deleted Scenes” the only way to see the deleted scenes is to select them from the episode menu where you will also find the key to turning on the commentaries. “Commentaries’ actor and creator Adam Green, Joe Lynch and Laura Ortiz can be accessed by going to the episode selection at the menu.
- “Music Videos” There are three music videos, the first features Corri English with “Can You Hear Me”, the song featured in Episode ten. Dee Snider’s “Love it Down Your Throat” is the extended and uninterrupted version from episode nine. The final one is Adam rehearsing for his mimicking of GWAR’s “The Road Behind” which appears in episode 8.
- “Bloopers” the reel is fast and furious with a good number of mistakes and adlibs.
The video and audio quality is very good delivered from my Blu-ray player to my HD Television. The video 1080p HD Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1:78:1 fills my whole 16×9 TV just like originally shown on FEARnet. It is crystal clear without distortion. The colors are bright and the camerawork nicely framed. The sound quality with the DTS-HD Master Audio allows for clear understanding of all the dialogue. It could have been my speaker system, but I did hear some surround and special effects as well.
Holliston has not been rated by either the TV or MPAA boards but contains ‘bleeped’ language, mock violence, drug use, suggestive sex and brief nudity. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the sitcom as it does have some scenes that are inappropriate for adolescents.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Adam Green, Joe Lynch, Laura Ortiz, Corri English, Dee Snider and Dave Brockie
Creator: Adam Green
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Sitcom
Running Time: 4 hrs
Video Release Date: April 8, 2014
Original Film Release Date: June 4, 2013 to August 6, 2013.
Language: English
Format: Blu-ray and DVD
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen Aspect Ration 1:78:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Number of Discs: 1 Disc Blu-ray
Distributed by: RLJ Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
