Who knew that when MTV's Jackass went off the air that there would be so many spin offs? Steve-O has his Don't Try This At Home video series as well as Wild Boyz, and Bam Margera's got his own Viva La Bam thing going on as well. While not as outrageous in the stunt department as Jackass was, it still packs a whole lot of mayhem and destruction into one half hour episode as possible.

The basic premise of the show is quite simple. Bam Margera and his skate punk friends (including Jackass alumni Ryan Dunn) basically play tricks on and make life Hell for Bam's family. That's it in a nutshell. It's a very open ended concept that lends itself to all manner of possibilities.

The second season turns the trickery up a few notches compared to what they got away with in the first season. Bam starts things off in the first episode of the second season by buying a new house for the crew to do their thing in and of course as soon as they find it they redecorate it using their two main rules (#1 – If you don't like it, destroy it and #2 – If you can't use it, burn it!). They handle the landscaping chores using their ATVs, they push all the old furniture out the window, the flips Ryan Dunn's bed over, and they host a Slayer concert in their backyard – all within the first two episodes. All the while, Don Vito plays the patsy and gets pranked in all sorts of different ways from being lifted onto the stage in the middle of Slayer's mosh pit to being coerced into trying to pick up women that are way out of his league.

Of course most of the humor is crass and tasteless, but that doesn't make it any less funny. Seeing Don Vito and Phil trying to out eat each other in what Bam calls the Fat Ass Face Off is hilarious, if slightly cruel, and when he convinces his family members to add something to the community that they all call home, the results are predictably off the wall.

Aside from the wanton trickery, crass humor and mass destruction, another factor that makes the show interesting and always surprising are the guest stars. Of course, Slayer makes an appearance in much the same way as Turbonegro did in an episode on the first season. Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk accompanies the crew on their trip from Pennsylvania to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. When Bam turns his drive way into a skate park Jack Osbourne, Tommy Lee, Dave Grohl, and the members of N.E.R.D. all show up to help him break it in. It shouldn't surprise anyone to see Johnny Knoxville appear in an episode as he and Bam go way back but it should turn a few heads when Oscar winner Sean Penn tags along for the ride. When Bam opens up a rock and roll school, members of The Bloodhound Gang and Him are on hand to help out.

The episodes in the set are laid out as follows with the eight episodes from Season Two on disc one and the eight episodes from Season Three on disc two.

Video:

Video quality is pretty much identical to the first DVD release that the series received last year. The fullframe 1.33.1 image looks pretty darned good. The material that is shot with hidden cameras of course doesn't look quite as crisp or detailed as the other footage but looks very nice for what is essentially a reality show. Colors look really good and the image is consistently clean and problem free considering it's shot on video and oft times with moving or handheld cameras. There aren't any problems with compression artifacts at all and there's only a slight hint of edge enhancement and the odd shimmering effect worth noting. Flesh tones look lifelike and natural and overall these episodes look very nice.