I had thought that the days of “Candid Camera” were a thing of the past. There’s nothing better than seeing someone caught in the middle of an elaborate hoax. Over the last couple of years, there have been a slew of shows trying to recapture the popularity of the practical joke. One of the most promising was “Scare Tactics”, which set up some really complex ways to terrify people. Unfortunately, due to the scattershot camera work and the extremely vapid hostess work done by Shannon Doherty, it ended up being a bore to watch. On the other hand, “The Jamie Kennedy Experiment” offered up clever practical jokes that are filmed in such a way as to make them easy to watch, and even easier to enjoy. Host and mastermind Jamie Kennedy is truly a ‘Master of Disguise’ and is involved in every joke. Often he is recognizable to the viewer, but every now and then the makeup work is so good as to even fool us.

had missed the series during its 1st season, but had caught a few later episodes. I was enough of a fan of Kennedy’s to pique my interest in what he was up to. Towards the end of last year, I sat down to watch the Paramount DVD release of the first season and ended up watching all seven episodes on the first disc. I honestly couldn’t stop laughing. My wife was working in another part of the house and kept yelling at me to find out what was so funny.

The series turned out to be quite a hit, so the 2nd season was expanded to offer up a full slate of 23 episodes. So when Paramount released the 2nd season, the size of the set jumped from 3 discs to 4, and all of the episodes are every bit as funny as before. Kennedy created a slew of memorable ‘characters’ during the few episodes of that first season. Many of them carried over into 2nd season, including my favorite, rapper Brad Gluckman. But Kennedy really started to cut loose and added several new characters to the fold. If you’ve never seen him as the incompetent valet parker or the ‘bubble boy’, you don’t know what you’ve missed.

Now Paramount is set to release the third and final season of “The Jamie Kennedy Experiment” on DVD and with the release of each season it has become harder and harder to pick out a couple of favorite gags. But I feel the need to give you some kind of idea what you are in for with this show. Some of the best (and most uncomfortable) involve convincing someone’s parent that their child is involved in something they wouldn’t even come close to approving of. Two in particular come to mind, the first where Kennedy convinces a father that his son is mixed up with gamblers. The other one is even worse as he pretends to be a sleazy strip club owner and tells a woman that her daughter is his number one stripper. There is also a very surprising guest star in the otherwise prim and proper Kathie Lee Gifford as she teams up with Kennedy (dressed as a waiter) and pretends to seduce a stranger at a table, only to cut out and leave him with e very large bill.

These are just samples of the truly hysterical jokes that Kennedy pulled on people over the show’s three year run. Kennedy is a very talented and creative guy, and it shows in every episode of this series.

Actor Jamie Kennedy’s first breakout role was the jokester / nerd Randy Meeks in Wes Craven’s “Scream.” Even in that first film, it was evident Kennedy had a knack for voices and characters. That talent lends itself perfectly to this series. What shocks me though is that neither Kennedy nor the series became recognizable enough for people to catch on. Somehow, they kept finding marks. This run of luck must have begun to run out, though as the series was finally cancelled at the end of this third season. I imagine this had a little bit to do with ratings as the series had some stiff competition, but I’ll bet it became harder and harder to find marks.

This DVD set for the final season of DVD set offers up 22 episodes of “The Jamie Kennedy Experiment”, but cuts the number of discs back to 3. In the areas of extra features, it includes some alternate set-ups, where some of the practical jokes were played on a second mark.

“The Jamie Kennedy Experiment” is a hysterically funny series, so if you want a good laugh I recommend picking up this set. It’s more than worth it.

Starring: Jamie Kennedy
Extras: 2nd Marks for JKX Season 3 with Introduction by Jamie Kennedy
Specifications: Full Screen, English 2.0 Surround
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 1/25/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give The Jamie Kennedy Experiment: Season 3 a B.