Comedy, like music, is highly personal and watching a show full of random stand ups is similar to MTV playing Gwar, Joni Mitchell and Lil Jon back to back… it doesn’t work. Down and Dirty with Jim Norton tries to remedy the Premium Blend model by assembling a group of comedians with similar material.

The show’s host and namesake, Jim Norton, only has about two minutes of material per thirty minute episode. The format usually consists of two lesser known comedians and one headliner. The bantering co-host, who also composed the shows theme, is the always entertaining demigod, Motörhead’s own Lemmy. There are a few moments when the viewer may be confused by his presence, as his sole job seems to be standing on a balcony in front of audio mixing equipment that he never touches. Lemmy is there simply to be Lemmy.

The DVD itself is as straight forward as can be, consisting of all four episodes of Down and Dirty with Jim Norton with headlining comedians like Artie Lange, Patrice O’Neal and Bill Burr. Assuming “play all” is the main DVD feature, the bonus features include the ability to watch individual episodes and the case. I was really disappointed that there weren’t any real bonus features, especially extended sets by the comedians. It would have been nice to see the untrimmed sets by relative unknowns like Kevin Shae, a Korean-American that I can see easily getting his own special.

I suggest renting it and watching it with a couple of drunken friends, or, better yet just “YouTubing” the individual comedians and purchasing DVD specials of the ones that really suit your comedic tastes. Many of the comedians showcased here have not yet honed their craft and are simply trying to be “edgy”. The kiss of death for any “edgy” comedian is recognizing the fact that he’s edgy and catering to this. You can’t simply mention AIDS in a poorly structured joke and hit a home run every time.

ComicsOnline gives Down and Dirty with Jim Norton 2.5 out of 5 unnecessary references to rape.