Billy the Exterminator: Season 1 by A&E HOME VIDEO

Actors

• Billy Bretherton

Format

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• NTSC

Editorial Review

You know those warnings about not going swimming less than a half hour after eating? The same caution applies here: You might want to get as much distance between you and mealtime before watching this A&E reality (creep)show. Roaches and mice and defecating turkeys (oh my!) are business as usual for leather-clad, mullet-maned Billy Bretherton and the crew of Louisiana-based Vexcon pest control. Each episode finds Billy and company–wife Mary, brother Ricky, father “Big” Bill, and formidable mother Donnie–tackling some off-the-wall (or in some cases, inside-the-wall and under-the-floorboards) pest problem or infestation. Billy, first introduced on episodes of Dirty Jobs, has a distinct Southern accent, but he is fluent in reali-tease. “An easy job just got trickier,” he states in one episode in which he tries to wrangle some wild raccoons. In another, he supplies this major understatement: “If those are killer bees, we are going to be in serious danger.” The personal dramas (the return of Ricky's ex-wife, interfering mama, discord between Billy and Mary) are not nearly as compelling as the creepily fascinating footage of Billy's too-close encounters with killer bobcats, closet-lurking snakes, and the like. Billy's appearance may be gothic (he wears a skull mask while handling bees), but he is more into benevolently relocating animals than killing them. And there is nothing more interesting than expertise. Billy knows his stuff. “I feel good knowing he's in there checking things out,” one relieved homeowner states. Bonus features include brand-building segments devoted to Billy's “words of wisdom,” his home, and members of the family. –Donald Liebenson