Release Date: November 26, 2013
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: Approx. 374 minutes

Impractical Jokers centers on four real-life best friends – Q, Sal, Joe and Murr – who dare one another to do ridiculous things in public. They then capture their extreme dares on hidden camera, complete with the unsuspecting public’s amused, confused, or flabbergasted reactions. After completing each dare, the guys are given a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down to determine who succeeded under pressure and who collapsed in defeat. At the end of each episode, the guy with the most fails must face a mortifying punishment with truly humiliating consequences.

If you’re unfamiliar with Impractical Jokers which premiered on truTV in December 2011, you’re not alone. But now it’s time to make yourself familiar with this group of four guys from the tri-state area who are all about having fun and making a fool of themselves in public… with the public’s help under hidden cameras.

Two of my real life friends on Twitter have tweeted about the show in the past, so while I have caught a handful of episodes in the past because their tweets caught my interest, this was the first time I sat down to watch an entire season of the show. Time well spent.

There are 17 episodes (though 16 completely new ones if you’re not including “Joker’s Choice” which is a recap/retrospective of the first 8 episodes) with about 3 practical jokes per episode. I don’t know what was funnier, the guys acting out the pranks or the unsuspecting people going about their day. My favorite pranks included those conducted on the boardwalk, at the supermarket and in the pharmacy. My favorite prank by far has to be when the guys interview candidates for an apartment roommate. Comedy gold. The runner up has to be when the guys raise money for fake charities at a donut shop.

I wouldn’t consider this a family show unless you’re all adults. There are a number of sexual references and such making the show a bit crude at times so you have to decide for yourself if that puts a damper on the pranking or not.

What sets this show apart from other hidden camera shows is the competition aspect. These guys are playing against each other while telling each other what to do as each prank plays out and the friend who fails to do what they are told or complete their challenges is forced to do something utterly embarrassing before moving onto the next round of challenges. They call it a punishment but half the time it’s really not that bad. Sal failed quite a number of challenges in the beginning of the season but put his foot down and redeemed himself in the end. That was fun to watch! Still, even though this is one aspect that sets the show apart, I can’t say that I found these acts to be all that entertaining. I just wanted more practical jokes.

Bonus Features:

*Deletes Scenes (Approx. 9 minutes) – There are 12 deleted scenes on the DVD with the option to play individually or play all. I’d say go ahead and play all. Who doesn’t want more Impractical Jokers? The only downside to playing all is that the Impractical Jokers Deleted Scenes intro still plays for every individual scene like a broken record. There’s one scene that is more like a behind the scenes deleted scene as it has nothing to do with a prank and everything to do with eating before and during filming. My favorite deleted scenes are “Don’t Tip This Man,” “Checking for Guns,” and “Q’s Home Party.”

*Behind the Scenes (Approx. 7 minutes) – There are 4 behind the scenes featurettes including “Brian Quinn: Q Up for Laughter,” “Larry! It’s the Best Joe Moments Ever!,” “James Murray: Off the Couch,” and “Delicious! The Best of Sal Vulcano.” I love that each friend has a feature for himself but I don’t love that these are NOT behind the scenes features. These are one minute compilations of each guy’s best moments on season one. There is no new footage but after watching all four best of reels, it’s safe to say Joe may have had the best moments this season out of all four guys.

*Meet the Stars of Impractical Jokers (Approx. 5 minutes) – There are 4 featurettes including “Totally Shameless” which is all about Murray, “Totally Fearless” all about Joe, “Rough Around the Edges” about Q, and finally, “Mr. Hopeless” about Sal. The guys talk about each other’s strengths as pranksters though there’s really not a whole lot to this feature so I’d say skip it.

*Commentary – There are 5 commentaries on the DVD conducted by all four friends for the episodes, “Pay It Forward,” “Boardwalk of Shame,” Out of TP,” “Who Arted?,” and “Charity Case.” While there are a few things to learn from the commentaries about the pranks, filming, and the guys I’d recommend watching your favorite episode of the commentary episodes and calling it a day. The commentaries are surprisingly not as entertaining as one would expect them to be. So while I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch all of the commentaries, if you find that you have extra time on your hands, check at least one out.

Own Impractical Jokers: The Complete First Season on DVD today.