Cartoon Network’s Regular Show is currently in its sixth season. The series presents the outlandish adventures of twenty-something friends Mordecai, a blue jay, and Rigby, a raccoon, who work as park groundskeepers alongside Hi-Five Ghost, a yeti named Skips, and an unidentifiable creature named Muscle Man. Benson, an anthropomorphic gumball machine, is their supervisor, and the park is owned by the father of Pops, a lollipop-shaped man.
Following the release of last year’s Rigby Pack, Warner Bros Home Entertainment has released Mordecai Pack, a new collection of 16 eleven-minute episodes with over half coming from Season 5 (eleven) and the remaining coming from Season 3 (one), Season 4 (three), and Season 6 (one). The set resembles the Mordecai + Margaret Pack, as many of episodes focuses on Mordecai and his relationship with CJ, a young cloud woman.
Mordecai and Rigby’s escapades in these 16 episodes continue to be as outlandish and ridiculous as fans have come to expect, including occasions when they travel through time and space. For example, Mordecai’s “Play Date” with CJ finds him babysitting Death’s 300-year-old toddler-shaped son in the underworld. A standout episode finds the gang taking on the members of the neighboring “Country Club” where a group of rich people have stolen a park golf cart to use in a bizarre ritual for the solstice. A few notes from Pink Floyd’s ‘Echoes” finds its way onto the soundtrack.
While the show delivers great laughs, it’s the tender moments that make the characters authentic and beloved and allow the audience to identify with them. Pops wants to be part of the gang’s “Guy’s Night” so he tries repeatedly to drink a gallon of milk within an hour as an initiation (don’t try at home). Mordecai brings CJ home to meet his parents (voiced by Katey Sagal and Ed Begley, Jr.) in “Maxin’ and Relaxin” but he’s worried about his mom embarrassing him.
While I personally prefer complete-season sets, for those who have buying these smaller random collections or for those new to the series, Mordecai Pack is as good as the series gets.
