Watching Reno 911!: Miami on DVD is pretty much the same as watching Reno:911! on cable television, except that the production values are better. A little better. Which means that, if you're a fan of the show, you're just getting more of the same, except you're paying extra for it. And if you're not a fan, then why are you bothering? Confusing things further is the fact that there's already been a DVD release of the movie, back in June 2007. Was there some sort of public clamor for a bigger, better DVD of Reno 911!: Miami that I missed somehow?

Unfortunately, like a lot of movies made from popular TV comedies (think The Simpsons Movie) it's also a lot like watching the worst episodes of the show strung out so that it lasts for 80 minutes. The conceit is that the Reno crew goes to a cop convention in Miami, but they can't get in. After a bio-terrorism attack on the convention center puts every cop in the city under quarantine, they're the only ones left to keep the peace. In, you know, Miami.

What follows is much the same partially improvised, COPS-parody comedy that one gets from the TV show, only the Miami location allows for jokes involving alligators and skimpy bathing suits. Cars are crashed, and comedic injuries ensue, just as you'd expect. Some of it is very funny, in a squirm-inducing way, while most of it's worth little more than a chuckle. Perhaps its the length of the film, or the expectation of something more from a feature film, but nothing seems quite as funny as it ought to be.

There are nice cameos by familiar comics like Michael Ian Black, David Wain, Michael Showalter and Paul Reubens, plus Patton Oswalt (whose small role is funnier than anything else in the film) as Miami's Deputy Mayor. Overall, however, it's just a whole lot of B-grade Reno: 911! with extra nudity and swearing. Perhaps that's enough for some fans, but it's hard to imagine that anyone unfamiliar with the show will appreciate it at all

The "More Busted Than Ever" DVD release from 20th Century Fox (replacing that "unrated" edition released in June, 2007) offers a decent anamorphic wide-screen (1.85:1) transfer (enhanced for 16x9 televisions) that looks good enough considering that it's, well, a pretty crappy looking movie. The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround audio (English, Spanish or French, with English or Spanish subtitles) is fine.

Extras include three -- yes, three -- commentary tracks, one with writer/actor/director Robert Ben Garant and writers/actors Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver, a second with in-character commentary by Lt. Dangle, Deputy Junior, Deputy Wiegel, and Deputy Williams, and third in-character track with Deputy Garcia, Deputy Johnson, Deputy Jones, and Deputy Jones, and Deputy Kimball. How much time you spend on these, which are modestly amusing, is directly proportionate to your love of the series.

Also on board is an hour-plus of extended and deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Garant, Lennon, and Kenney-Silver. There's a lot of improv here, and it's interesting to watch the actors riffing in the various scenes. There are also some funny, fake public-service announcements, a five-minute look at the film's premiere, and the theatrical trailer, plus ads for other Fox products.

There's also a digital copy of the film on a separate disc, so you can load it onto your iPhone or something. Perhaps watching it really, really tiny will make it seem funnier.

Dawn Taylor misses the days when TV shows just stayed on TV.

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