DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Place Season 3

 

+++Warning, this will have spoilers from prior seasons, but no major giveaways from Season 3+++

The 12-episode third season of The Good Place aired during the fall of 2018 and winter of 2019. It continues telling the serial story, so there is no way you can jump into the show part-way through and have a hope of following along with it. The seasons tell one long story that will make little sense if you just try to start watching it halfway through. In fact, each episode begins with a title card listing the chapter number, which has been counting up from the start of the series. So, if you are going to watch it, start at season one.

The season begins with everyone back on Earth, with Michael having saved them all, altering the events just before they each died to keep them alive, in the hopes that they will, on their own, become better people and end up in "The Good Place. "Of course, things start to go off the rails, and the plan ends up changing. It is almost impossible not to give too much away, but by the end of the season, the show comes (almost) full circle with twists.

The show continues to be well-written and acted. You really do get the idea that the bulk of the story has been planned out from day one by the writers, so it has a very good flow, and keeping the number of episodes in the season low, really works well. While all the actors do a great job with their parts, D'Arcy Carden deserves special props for her portrayal of Janet because she has to play so much in one character. Most of the same guest stars make at least one appearance this season, including Maya Rudolph as the TV binge-watching judge and Adam Scott as a demon from "The Bad Place."

The DVD set is a two-disc set. While the show is fantastic, the DVD release, as has been the case with the prior seasons, is bad. It is basically a MOD release that happens to have a couple extras. The plus of getting the DVD is that some episodes have an extended running time over what was broadcast. I am not sure if Hulu has the extended episodes. The two extras are an 8-minute gag reel and a 2-minute special-effects reel. Otherwise, there are no commentary tracks, captions, behind-the-scenes material, or anything DVD sets used to get. And, of course, there is no blu-ray release, which is not surprising given that TV series blu-ray sales are so bad as a whole that only a select few series ever get a blu-ray release, and when they do, more and more, they are getting MOD releases. The DVD transfer is not of great quality, at least when watching it on a DVD player that does not have an HDMI connection. So, mainly, the reason to get this is the extended episodes and for those, like me, who still have a large physical disc collection to keep it complete. Otherwise, you are not getting much above just streaming it.

DVD/TV Series Review: Hawaii Five-0 Season 8

 

The 23-episode 8th season of Hawaii Five-0 aired during the 2017/2018 season. This season was a fairly significant shakeup for the show. Notably, Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park left the show after a pay dispute, essentially wanting to be paid the same as Scott Caan and Alex O'Loughlin, and the producers and/or network refused, using the argument that they were secondary characters. So, the characters of Chin and Kono were written out of the show based on their season seven storylines, with Kono following the sex-trafficking ring and Chin heading up his own task force in San Francisco.

To balance out their departures the show brought in Meaghan Rath, who plays Tani, a police academy washout with McGarrett-like tendencies, and Beulah Koale, who plays Junior, a former Navy Seal looking to get on to the task force. The series also upped Ian Anthony Dale to a series regular. The writers did not split up Adam and Kinon, instead, oddly keeping them married, with her gone for the entire season. The addition of the new characters breathed a bit of new life into the series and allowed the show to do the kind of character development it had not done for quite a while, given that most of the other cast members had been on the show for a long time. That said, it was pretty crappy that Park and Kim were not paid the same given that for the first few seasons, before the additions of Chi McBride, Masi Oka, and Jorge Garcia as series regulars, those four characters basically built the series.

The show kept the case-of-the-week format it used throughout its run and tied in longer arcs throughout the season. One of the longer arcs involved Adam, as did the season-ending cliffhanger. This season's notable guest stars included Joey Lawrence, James Frain, Randy Couture, and Vincent Pastore (who plays Danny's uncle in a few episodes). Michelle Borth and Terry O'Quinn also reprise their roles as Catherine and Joe White in different episodes. The show did a good job balancing out stories for all the characters, which was helped by Scott Caan's notably reduced schedule during the season.

The DVD set is a six-disc set. The extras include deleted scenes for select episodes spread throughout all the discs. The final disc has a behind-the-scenes feature (about 23 minutes), a short feature on the new characters/actors, an animated "cargument" between Steve and Danny, and a gag reel. So, the set includes a decent amount of bonus content, but not as much as was included in the sets for the first few seasons. And, of course, as has been the case from about the fourth season onward, there is no Blu-Ray release available, just DVDs.

Overall, while the show is getting a bit "long in the tooth" I would not say it is entirely stale. While the show does suffer a bit from the loss of Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim, the overall feel did not change much. If you have been a fan of the prior seasons, you will probably like this one. On the other hand, if you have not really liked the show up to this point, nothing about this season will likely turn you into a fan.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Fight Season 3

 

The 10-episode third season of "The Good Fight" aired during the spring of 2019. It ended up being more controversial than it originally was when Juliana Margulies and Alan Cumming let it be known that they were in talks to reprise their characters from "The Good Wife" to be part of the storylines that ultimately went to Michael Sheen (in a role that was probably heavily re-written for his off-the-wall character Roland Blum) and a watered-watered down role given to Sarah Steele's character, Marissa. Ultimately, the network and/or producers were not willing to pay Margulies and Cumming what they were making as series regulars on The Good Wife, and they both said no. If you believe Margulies, she will never appear on the spin-off show because of how insulting the offer to pay her the guest-star rate was. Whether the hard feelings will last forever remains to be seen.

Ultimately, the season combines story-of-the-week episodes with an ongoing anti-t***p resistance theme centered around the characters of Liz and Diane. The show is unashamedly anti-t***p and ties a lot of things from the real-world (or variations of them) into the storylines (e.g., the plaid-shirt guy getting kicked out of t***p's rally, the unqualified judges being approved, etc.). So, if you love the orange genital wart you will hate that part of the show, but realistically, if you were paying attention from season one, it just amps up what they were doing before. On the other hand, if you hate agent orange, you will either find it highly amusing or ignore it. The show does a good job of not painting those involved in the "resistance" movement as heroic or all-good. In fact, in the season finale, the show sets up them as a potential "bad guy" in season four.

Overall, the season is very good. It tackles issues like the "me too" movement, climate change, race relations, etc. There is quite a bit of cast turnover, with some characters being put on the back burner and others getting a larger role. Michael Sheen was excellent in his role as a morally compromised, drug-addled lawyer who was sometimes an ally and sometimes an enemy of Reddick, Boseman, and Lockhardt. Christine Baranski does a great job again as the series lead, and it continues to be well-written and acted.

To me, the one thing it lacked was balancing stories for all the ensemble cast members. It is a very large cast, and given that there are a smaller number of episodes per season (this one had just 10 episodes), there was no way to give all the characters compelling stories. Like the prior seasons, the episodes vary in length from about 44 min to 55 minutes, and because it airs on CBS All-Access (now Paramount+), they can get away with swearing and more risque sex (the latter of which there was really not any of this season) as they could on The Good Wife. The political themes do not bother me. I do find some funny and others silly. But of course, many times when people complain about a show getting into politics it is because the politics are against what he or she personally believes. But, given that the parent show, The Good Wife, was very heavy into politics, it is not a shock that this one would keep at least some politics in the mix.

The DVD set is a three-disc set. For those who get the DVD set, I would describe it as a MOD-plus set. It does have a few extras (deleted and extended scenes for some episodes, a gag reel, and the pilot episode of Star Trek Discovery), as well as captions. But, there are no commentary tracks, behind-the-scenes, or making-of features. So it is very bare-bones. Overall, if you liked the first two seasons, you may, but are not guaranteed, to like this one. That will depend largely on who your favorite characters and storylines from the first couple of seasons were. If you did not like the first two, then there is nothing about this one that is likely to change your mind.

DVD/Documentary Review: Alexander Hamilton

 

Alexander Hamilton is a PBS documentary about the life of one of the (until relatively recently) lesser-known founding fathers of the United States. The DVD was released in 2007 and combines interviews with historians with scenes played by classically trained actors who mostly read lines from the writings of the people they were portraying. The documentary details Hamilton's life, from growing up as a bastard with no status in the West Indies, coming to the United States and taking up the cause of revolution against the English, impressing George Washington during the war, his advocacy for the Constitution (including writing most of the Federalist Papers) and becoming the first treasury secretary during Washington's presidency. It also details Hamilton's anti-slavery beliefs and his advocacy for a strong Federal government, establishing a national bank, and his penchant for pissing people off, which would ultimately end his life in a duel with Aaron Burr. 

The DVD is a single-disc release. The documentary runs just under two hours. The extras include a short behind-the-scenes featurette in which the documentary's creators explain how most of the scenes were shot and include interviews with a couple of the actors. Then, there are also a handful of deleted scenes that run anywhere from one minute to just over six minutes. Ultimately, the documentary provides much information on Hamilton's life, including some aspects that are not as well known. It does an excellent job explaining just how influential Hamilton was to the creation of the United States and his influence on the politics of the time. It is absolutely worth watching.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Fight: Season 2

 

The 13-episode second season of The Good Fight aired in the spring of 2018. The show continues to do an excellent job of standing on its own without leaning on the success of The Good Wife. That said, there are still nods to the parent show. Many of the supporting actors and actresses from The Good Wife appear this season, such as Mike Colter, Wallace Shawn, Maimie Gummer, and Margo Martindale. The show does keep its own storylines and does not recycle old ones from the parent series. The biggest non-Good Wife guest star this season is Alan Alda, who plays a smarmy lawyer from an opposing firm. Similar to the role Michael J. Fox played, but a very different type of character.

The Season starts with the funeral of Carl Reddick, who died offscreen between seasons one and two. His daughter, played by Audra McDonald, joined the firm after she was fired from the US Attorney's office after sending out an anti-t***p tweet. The writers wrapped up the Rindell storyline early in the season, which was needed because the story had played out. The rest of the season focuses on Diane going through a mid-life crisis, Chicago lawyers being bumped off, Luca and Colin's relationship, and being anti-the-orange-genital-wart. The show pulls no punches in its political bent and hatred of t***p, at least by the showrunners. So, if you love t***p and are one of his idiot cult members, you will absolutely hate this season (and probably the show in general).

The DVD set is a four-disc set. For those who get the discs, they are a bare-bones, almost a made-on-demand set. It does have a handful of extras, deleted scenes for some episodes, and a gag reel. There are no commentary tracks or behind-the-scenes material. Pretty par for the course when it comes to what is being released on DVD for TV seasons these days.

This is definitely not a show that will appeal to everyone. It is highly and unashamedly political. And, because it airs on the streaming platform, it does show nudity and has a lot of swearing, including the f-word. Kind of hilariously, the gag reel bleeps out all the swear words the actors say when they mess up, but the show is full of swearing. So if that kind of stuff will turn you off to a show, then you should skip this. However, if you liked season one, the writing and acting are on par or better.

DVD/TV Series Review: Grounded for Life Season 5

 

Grounded For Life was a very underrated sitcom that aired from the early to mid-2000s. However, it ended up being a very uneven series due to a cancellation from FOX, switching to the WB network (and nights that it aired), and a good amount of cast turnover. The final season was really a partial season given to the series to give it a sendoff as opposed to an outright cancelation. The 13-episode 5th season aired during the 2004/2005 TV season. The actor who played Henry (Jake Burbage) left the show after the fourth season, and no explanation for his absence was ever given. There were only a couple of throwaway references to him in the final two episodes of the season. Walt (played by Richard Riehle), who had become a minor recurring character (which really hurt the show, in my opinion), only appeared in the series finale.

The show ended with a "life will go on" feel for the characters. The writers tied some things up by the end of the series but left a lot open for the characters, leaving the audience to imagine how life would work out for them. That was a fine way to end a series like this. Even though the series did not feel the same as in past seasons, it tried to hit on similar themes of family and growing up that had carried throughout the prior seasons. Overall, the show ended up with a 91-episode run, slightly under a "normal" five-season run for a series, which usually results in at least 100 episodes. While it was the right time to end the series, I would have liked the full original cast to have more of a presence, at least in the final couple of episodes.

The DVD set is a two-disc set. Of all the DVD releases for the series, this one is the most bare-bones. It just includes the episodes. It has no extras, and the episodes do not have captions. The DVDs do go out of print from time to time and can be harder to find at a reasonable price. If you can find the set at a fair price and have the other seasons, it is worth adding to your collection. If not, it is available to stream and I believe is included if you have Amazon Prime.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Fight Season 1

 

The 10-episode first season of The Good Fight aired in the winter and spring of 2017. The show was spun off from the long-running CBS show The Good Wife. It was created by the showrunners of The Good Wife and stars Christine Baranski, Justin Bartha, Rose Leslie, Sarah Steele, Delroy Lindo, Audra McDonald, Nyamibi Nyambi, Gary Cole, Erica Tazel, Michael Boatman, and Cush Jumbo. Even though the show is a spin-off, you do not need to have seen a second of The Good Wife to be able to follow 99% of this show. That is mainly because there was nothing in the final season of The Good Wife done to set up the events that kick off this show, aside from introducing the character of Lucca Quinn (played by Jumbo).

The Good Fight picks up a little more than a year after the series finale of The Good Wife. The opening scene is Diane (Baranski) reacting to the inauguration of t***p, and then planning her retirement in France. Of course, she signed the paperwork to give up her partnership with the law firm (which now has eight named partners because of mergers with two other firms), much to the delight of David Lee. She is then caught up in a Madoff-like financial scheme allegedly run by the parents (and uncle) of her god-daughter and newly hired associate of the firm (who was never mentioned on The Good Wife), Maia, played by Game of Thrones alum Rose Leslie. When Diane tries to revoke her retirement and resume her role as a named partner in the firm, she is essentially forced out and ends up with a rival, mostly black-owned firm, Reddick, Boseman, and Kolstad. That is all the setup the show gives or that the audience needs to know before the show gets going.

There are a few main themes that run throughout the season, Diane trying to catch on at the new firm and being a fish out of water, Maia trying to navigate being a new lawyer and dealing with the scandal involving her family, and, of course, the various cases of the week. We do not really get much of an idea of what happened to the main characters from The Good Wife. We learn through Lucca and Marissa Gold (the latter of which comes in as Diane's assistant) that Alicia has left Chicago, but we do not learn of her "post slap" fate beyond that. The only plot point from The Good Wife that carries over to this show is Diane and Kurt's relationship after the final trial of the other show.

The series does an excellent job of introducing the new characters into the universe the prior show set up. The great (mostly) character actor Delroy Lindo and Justified alum Erica Tazel play the new partners opposite Diane. Justin Bartha (probably known best from the National Treasure movies) plays an AUSA and love interest for Lucca. Those who were fans of The Good Wife will recognize many guest stars, including Christine Lahti, Matthew Perry, and Jason Biggs (among others). Michael Boatman also reprises his role as Julius Cain, who has left Lockhart, Agos, and Lee and become a partner at Reddick-Boseman.

As with the parent show, this one delves not only into politics (and if you are a t***p supporter, you will probably not like the political bent) and current (or recently current) events. It is well written and acted, and like The Good Wife, it gets a lot (although not all) of the legal stuff correct. Any lawyer will appreciate the scene where Maia is refreshing the screen while waiting for her bar exam results to come in, which many would-be lawyers have done. It does take many of the same creative liberties with the courtroom scenes that The Good Wife did to make things more dramatic than would occur in real life.

The DVD set is a three-disc set. It is a very bare-bones release. It is almost a MOD release, but it does have some extras (deleted scenes for most episodes and a gag reel) and captions (which kind of hilariously were clearly done knowing most sets would likely be sold in the UK because they spell words like honor as honour, and use mum for mom, as would be done in the UK). However, given that most shows do not get a DVD release in the US these days, it is nice to get anything from those who prefer physical media. I think the showrunners made a good decision to keep the season shorter, 10 episodes, as opposed to the 22-24 per season that The Good Wife got. It enables them to get in and out of the main storylines and leaves the viewers wanting more. Because it airs on the streaming platform and not over the air, the episodes are a bit longer (usually between 45 and 55 minutes), and they get away with swearing (there are many f-bombs dropped). While I cannot say that everyone who was a fan of The Good Wife will like this one, I generally think if you enjoyed that show, you will like it. That said, the show really goes out of its way to stand on its own, and while it does pay homage to the parent show it, wisely, does not try to be a carbon copy of The Good Wife.

DVD/TV Series Review: Grounded For Life Season 4

 

The 28-episode fourth season of Grounded For Life aired during the 2003/2004 TV season. It ended up being the longest in the series run. This is because there were six episodes filmed during season three that were held over as the show moved from FOX to the WB network after FOX canceled it. While the show continued to be very funny, I think the downgrading of Richard Riehle's character to recurring (he only appeared in a few episodes this season) hurt the show. That said, since the show had a large ensemble cast, coming up with enough material to give all the characters enough of a story arc was hard, so I can see why they did it. However, having his character as a part of the dynamic regularly was missed.

For the most part, the show continued with the same feel as it had. Mostly, story-of-the-week episodes that did not carry over to subsequent episodes. They did not rely on flashbacks as much as in prior seasons to tell the stories. The show still incorporated them into most of the episodes; they just did not use as many as they did in the prior seasons. The show continued to use the themes of family and growing up, both for the kids and the adults of the show. Although the characters of Henry and Jimmy took a backseat to Lilly's storylines as far as the kid's characters went.

The DVD set is a four-disc set. The extras were the same as the season-three set. Commentary tracks on select episodes and previews for other DVD sets released around the same time. There are no other behind-the-scenes materials. Chances are, the only people likely to get these DVDs are people who were fans of the show when it was on the air. The sets are going out of print and getting much harder to find as time goes by, which is why some are $50+. This one is the most expensive of the individual season sets, so if you can find it for a reasonable price, pounce on it because they may get more expensive as time goes by. And, given that TV series being released on physical discs are going the way of the dodo bird, the chances of it ever getting another DVD printing is slim to none.

DVD/TV Series Review: Grounded For Life Season 3

 

The 11-episode third season of Grounded For Life aired during the 2002/2003 TV season. It ended up being a bit of a mess for the series, primarily because Fox ended up canceling it, and it was then picked up by the WB network. So, some episodes aired on FOX, and others aired months later on the WB. A couple of the episodes filmed during the third season never aired on either network (but are included in this DVD set's bonus features), yet other episodes were held for the fourth season. Needless to say, it was a bit hard to follow as the show aired, but having things in the correct order on DVD makes it better.

The season starts out with life changes for the family, as the result of Claudia's pregnancy test at the end of the second season is revealed. I will not reveal everything that happens, but some things about the show stayed the same, but others changed quite a bit, brought on by the kids growing up and Richard Riehle being downgraded from a series regular to a recurring role, which, in my opinion, did hurt the show a lot. In the shows that aired on TV, he was only in one episode this season, but he did appear in the two bonus, unaired episodes. The show continued to deal with themes about growing up, both for the kids and the adults, in a humorous way, including relationships, peer pressure, sex, etc.

The DVD set is a two-disc set. The bonus material includes the two unaired episodes and commentary tracks by cast members and showrunners on a few select episodes. There are no other behind-the-scenes material or cast interviews as there are for the sets for the first and second seasons. As is the case for the other seasons, the DVDs are basically out of print and getting harder to find at a reasonable price, so if you are a fan of the show and see the sets at a good price, they are worth the pickup, even though the DVD sets are fairly bare-bones.

DVD/TV Series Review: The League: The Complete Series

 

The League was an adult sitcom that aired on FX from 2009 to 2015. It was centered around a group of friends who played in a fantasy football league. In a very large sense, it was almost one of those sitcoms about nothing in particular, just events that occurred in the characters' lives. But the focus was always on the weekly matchups in the league and a lot of smack-talking. It starred Katie Aselton, Mark Duplass, Stephen Rannazzisi, Paul Scheer, Nick Kroll, and Jon Lajoie in the main roles. It featured several recognizable actors in guest and recurring roles, including Jason Mantzoukas, Nadine Velazquez, Seth Rogan, Janina Gavankar, Leslie Bibb, Brie Larson, Brooklyn Decker, Jeff Goldblum, Adam Brody, Zach Woods, and Keegan-Michael Key. It also featured cameos by several NFL stars and announcers throughout its run.  The show ran for seven seasons, with the first three being the best and the final season the weakest. The cast really seemed to have great chemistry (whether real or fake) and worked well together. Nick Kroll was, in my opinion, the star of the series as Ruxin, the acerbic corporate lawyer. But all of the cast members did a great job and really had great moments throughout the series.

For those who get this DVD set, it is just a different packaging of the individual season releases. It is a huge keep case with 14 discs (two discs per season, with the episodes split across the two discs) with round plastic holders with a tab in the middle that the center of the disc is placed over. In the early seasons, if you use the play-all mode, it only plays the broadcast versions of the episodes. If you go into the episodes menu, you get the option to play the broadcast version or the extended/uncensored versions, which usually had more swearing but also, at times, nudity. The extras were pretty consistent throughout the series. Deleted scenes, gag reels, alternate jokes reels, and musical numbers (sometimes the same that aired in the shows and sometimes ones just included as DVD extras).

As I said above, the show is not for everyone. But, if you like the more adult humor that the cable series can get away with, it is definitely a show worth checking out even though it did hang on for a season or two too long.

DVD/TV Series Review: Grounded For Life Season 2

 

Grounded for Life was one of the shows on Fox that was always on the brink of cancellation, yet ended up with a five-season run (although a couple of those seasons were partial seasons, so in episode count, the series had about 4 "full" seasons worth of episodes). The 22-episode second season aired during the 2001/2002 season. 

The feel of the second season was much like the first, with the episodes telling a self-contained story, picking up the story in the middle (or later) of the story, and then catching the audience up using flashbacks. This season tackled topics like pregnancy scares, the teenage sex talk, Claudia taking up smoking again, adolescent love, both requited and unrequited, etc. The show told serious stories with a comedic twist, without going over the top into stupid, hokey comedy.

The best part of the show is that it depicted real people in relatable situations. The cast did not look like a bunch of supermodels, and the people were not depicted as perfect like a lot of sitcom families are. It filled in the studio audience's reactions with laugh tracks, but that never bothered me. I know some people hate shows with laugh tracks, so if that is you, it is worth keeping in mind.

As with the first season release, this DVD set is fairly bare-bones. It contains the 22 episodes on three discs. The discs are in paper sleeves inside the case, which sit in a rectangular cutout. It is actually a pretty good setup to keep the discs from getting scratched up. There are no captions, which may be a pain if you are hard of hearing or watch TV while working out on a treadmill or elliptical or something like that. There are about 25 minutes of extras, including an interview with Kevin Corrigan, a gag reel, an interview with Jake Burbage and Griffen Frazen, a sizzle reel of season-two highlights, and a segment on Ashton Kutcher's guest-starring role. Other notable guest stars in season two include Stephan Root, Natasha Lyonne, and football players Jim McMahon and Willie Gault during a Superbowl episode.

Chances are anyone who knows about the show after all this time will be a fan trying to track down the DVDs. They are getting harder to find at a reasonable price as they are now out of print. So, if you are a fan and you see the sets at a good price, snap them up because they may not be around that much longer, and I have not (as of this writing) seen the show on any of the streaming services. The DVD release is not great, but it is likely the best that will ever be put out for the show.

DVD/TV Series Review: The League Season 7

 

The 13-episode seventh and final season of The League aired during the fall and winter of 2015. As was the case with prior seasons, it centered around the group of friends who played in a fantasy football league. In a very large sense, it was almost one of those sitcoms about nothing in particular, just events that occurred in the characters' lives. But, the focus was always on the weekly matchups in the league, and a lot of smack talking.

This season was largely similar to the others, mixing a couple of ongoing storylines (one significant one involving Andre and another involving a bet between Kevin and Jenny) with procedural stories of the week. It continued to be a very raunchy comedy and is definitely not something that will appeal to everyone. Overall, I thought the episodes were weaker in this season than in the prior seasons, but I do think that was partly due to the show generally running out of steam. There was only so much mileage that a show like this would have, and by the time this season rolled around, it was ready to end.

The DVD is a single-disc set. The extras are the same as in prior seasons for those who get the DVDs. Musical numbers, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and an alternate jokes reel (sometimes another gag reel). A decent amount for a 13-episode season of half-hour (mostly) long shows. As has been the case for the prior few seasons, there are no separate broadcast and extended/uncensored versions of the shows. The extended versions are included (for the episodes that had them); otherwise, they are the broadcast versions of the shows.

As I said above, the show is not for everyone. There is a lot of swearing, references to drug use, and sex. In the uncensored episodes from prior seasons, there were some nude scenes, but not much in this season (aside from a couple of butt shots). It is definitely not a kid-friendly show. But, if you like the more adult humor a cable series can get away with, it is definitely a show worth checking out.

DVD/TV Series Review: The League Season 6

 

The 13-episode sixth season of The League aired during the fall of 2014.  The show's format continued in the same vein as the similar seasons. The primary storyline in each episode was set around the weekly fantasy football matchups, and intertwined were stories involving the characters' lives.  As in past seasons, there were cameos by NFL players. This year, most player cameos occurred during a hilarious sequence at the combine that kicked off the season. The jokes were very similar to the past seasons, and an argument can certainly be made that this season is when the show started to get stale. I think overall, there were fewer laugh-out-loud moments than in past seasons. Jay Glazer and Darren Sproles were among the celebrity cameos this year, and there was another Rafi and Dirty Randy-centric episode, which, as in past seasons, was co-written by Jason Mantzoukas and Seth Rogan. Brenda Song, Rob Huebel, and Zach Woods also had guest roles this season. 

The DVD set is a two-disc set. The extras are the same as in the past seasons. Those include deleted scenes, Taco Tones (musical numbers that appeared in the episodes), an alternate joke reel, and a gag reel. Also, you do not have to choose between broadcast and extended versions of the episodes. The extended/uncensored episodes are automatically included when available and replace the broadcast versions. So, if you only get DVD sets when there are a lot of extras, you get quite a bit. Ultimately, the show is still funny but less funny than in the early seasons. Most of the jokes are played out at this point and are generally not as clever or edgy as they were. That said, if you have liked the show up to this point, it is still worth watching as long as you realize it may not be as enjoyable as the prior seasons were.

DVD/TV Series Review: The League: Season 5

 

The 13-episode fifth season of The League aired during the fall of 2013. By the fifth season, the show had found its format and mostly stuck to it. Most of the episodes are centered around the weekly matchups between the fantasy football league members, along with one or more side stories involving the characters' personal lives. That format is shaken up a bit this year. First, we learn that there is an out-of-town member of the league named Ted, played by Adam Brody. Second, there is a totally off-beat episode featuring Rafi and Dirty Randy written by Jason Mantzoukas and Seth Rogan, in which the primary characters barely appear. Along with Brody and Roga, this season's guest stars include Ali Larter, model Erin Heatherton, NFL players Greg Jennings and Vernon Davis, Aziz Ansari, and Lizzy Caplan,

The DVD set is a two-disc set containing uncensored/extended episodes, deleted and extended scenes, alternate jokes, a gag reel, and the musical numbers (again called Taco Tones) that appeared during the season. Ultimately, the show continues to be a good adult comedy. It is definitely on the raunchier side and has a lot of swearing, sexual content, and drug references. An argument can be made that the show was starting to get stale by the fifth season, and the writers definitely recycled some jokes (although the side stories did remain pretty fresh). While it is not as good as it was in the first couple of seasons, there are some very funny moments and the show is still worth the time to watch. 

DVD/TV Series Review: Grounded For Life Season 1

 

Grounded For Life was an early 2000s sitcom about a young, middle-class, or lower-middle-class family living in Staten Island, NY. It starred Donal Louge, Megyn Price, Lynsey Bartilson, Griffin Frazen, Jake Burbage, Kevin Corrigan, Richard Riehle,  Bret Harrison, and Miriam Flynn. The 15-episode first season aired during the winter and spring of 2001. The show's premise is that a couple named Sean and Claudia Finnerty, played by Donal Logue and Megyn Price, have a kid just out of high school (and eventually two more kids) and are still growing up as they raise a family. They make plenty of mistakes and learn about life and parenting along the way.

Like most family-based sitcoms, pretty much every episode has a self-contained story that involves some conflict that has to be resolved by the end of the episode. The twist that the series puts on it is that the show starts the story halfway to two-thirds of the way into the story, so the conflict or disaster has either happened or is ongoing, then tells, through flashbacks, what led up to the point where the episode starts. It was a fairly unique way of storytelling for sitcoms up to that point and kept it from being a cookie-cutter, carbon copy of what had come before.

The rest of the main cast included Kevin Corrigan as Sean's slacker brother, Richard Riehle as Sean's dad, and, Lynsey Bartilson, Jake Burbage, and Griffin Frazen, as the kids Lilly, Henry, and Jake. All the actors and actresses did a great job and had chances to steal scenes they were in. Lynsey Bartilson did a great job playing a moody teenage girl (with a great shriek when she got mad) who often scared the adults who had the responsibility to punish or lay down the law with her.

The DVD set is a four-disc set. The DVD release is bare-bones, with just the episodes and a handful of extras. The Mill Creek releases (which are not easy to find since they are out of print) are getting harder and harder to find at a reasonable price. They were put out years after the series ended as TV series releases on DVD were getting very scaled back, so you will not get commentaries, captions, or extremely in-depth behind-the-scenes material. That said, the extras included are still more than a lot of the sets are putting out these days (the end of 2019 as I write this), where many DVDs or, in the even rarer case, blu-ray releases just provide the episodes and nothing else. They include character profiles for Sean, Claudia, and Lilly, a chat with the show's creators, a short gag reel, and highlights from the first season episodes. Probably just over a half-hour's worth of material.

Overall, the show was very good, and a bit underrated. It is kind of shocking Fox kept it on the air as long as they did, given the network's reputation for giving shows a quick hook if they do not get great ratings immediately. While I do not think the show was ever a ratings monster, it was well-written and acted, and came across as a lot more "real life" than some family-centered sitcoms do. It also tackled subjects like sex, bullying, and even religion in a humorous yet respectful way, and is definitely worth a look. Just a note that it was filmed partially in front of a live audience and partially without, and does use laugh tracks for the parts that were not filmed live (much like The Big Bang Theory). So, if you are one of those people who absolutely hate laugh tracks in sitcoms, it is something to be aware of.

DVD/TV Series Review: The League Season 4

 

The 13-episode fourth season of The League aired during the fall and early winter of 2012. Chances are, anyone reading a review of the fourth season of the series will know what it is about, so I will not spend much time on the substance of the storylines. The season follows a similar format to the first few seasons, but there are more callbacks to earlier episodes, jokes, etc., in this season than in the prior seasons. But, for the most part, it is all about the group's weekly matchups and the trash-talking that went along. There are many more cameos by NFL players, including in the season premiere, which was filmed at the Cowboy's training camp. There are also a couple of hilarious episodes set around Jenny and Kevin's new baby.

The DVD set is a two-disc set. The extras are similar to those included in the prior seasons' DVD releases. A gag reel, an alternate jokes reel, deleted scenes, and Taco Tones (mostly replays of the musical numbers). There is no longer an extended episodes option on the episodes menu. The DVDs have uncensored versions of the episodes, meaning some f-bombs and nudity are mixed in. So, not that the show was a good one for young kids to watch anyway, but even less so since you cannot play the broadcast versions vs. the uncut versions.

Overall, the series remains very funny. The writing and acting are still top-notch, and for a show that is centered around fantasy football, it is enjoyable for those who do not play fantasy football, or even like football all that much. Although, I do think it helps to do both. It is definitely one of the better adult sitcoms of the recent past.

DVD/TV Series Review: The League Season 3

 

The 13-episode third season of The League aired during the fall and winter of 2011. This is the season where the show really hit its stride. It did not deviate (much) from the format of the prior seasons, although it did focus more on what I would call the "side" stories that were going on with the various characters unrelated to the fantasy football stuff. And, the show did more callbacks to events that occurred in earlier episodes, as opposed to having each episode be stand-alone. All of the series regulars returned for the third season. There were many notable guest stars during the season, including Jeff Goldblum as Ruxin's dad, Sarah Silverman as Andre's sister, Eliza Dushku as a Krav Maga instructor in the class Kevin is taking, Ray Liotta as Ruxin's boss, as well as a few NFL players.

The DVD set is a two-disc set. As with the prior seasons' DVD releases, you have the option of playing all the episodes as they aired or going into the "episodes" portion of the menu and playing the extended versions of the episodes. The extras include deleted scenes, alternate jokes, a gag reel, and "Taco Tones" with the various musical numbers from the season.

Overall, the show is very funny if you like the brand of humor and does not take itself too seriously. You do not have to be a football fan or play fantasy football to enjoy the show, but I think it helps to understand some of the jokes if you at least have a passing familiarity with the NFL. The actors seem to all get along with each other, which really helps in an ensemble show like this, and they have fun with the characters. It is well written and acted and is definitely worth checking out.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Gifted Season 2

 

++++Warning, this contains season 1 spoilers, but no major season 2 giveaways++++

The 16-episode second season of The Gifted aired during the 2018/2019 TV season. It ended up being the series' final season, as it was canceled without getting a full season run. It is a bittersweet end because the season was very good, and the writers were clearly setting up a third season that would have taken the show in a different direction, but the show was canceled after the season aired. However, it provided a decent ending to the initial storyline that was the focus of season one.

This season can best be summed up by mutants vs. mutants vs. humans. One team of mutants consisted of the inner circle, formed after Lorna and Andy decided to go with the triplets and split from the mutant underground. Both groups faced a threat from a group of anti-mutant humans, eventually led by Jace after his dismissal from sentinel services, who are basically a group of vigilantes who hunt down mutants. Peter Gallagher (of The OC and Covert Affairs) comes in part-way through the season to play an anti-mutant television personality who stirs up trouble. In large part, the entire season is a metaphor for today's political climate.

Every episode provides a back story for each main character told through flashbacks. It is the main vehicle for character development this season. I will not give too much of the story away, but the crux of the season is about stopping an all-out war between mutants and humans.

The DVD set is a four-disc set. It is a basic MOD set with no extras of any kind and no subtitles. The set has 16 episodes, which can be played individually or in a play-all mode. So, the only reason to get this is if you bought season one on DVD and want it to have both seasons. Otherwise, there is no benefit that you will get with the DVDs versus streaming the show.

DVD/TV Series Review: The League Season 2

 

The 13-episode second season of The League aired during the fall and winter of 2010. It continued to be a very funny adult comedy set around a group of friends who play in a fantasy football league. If you liked or loved the first season, the second season follows the same format. There is usually some story involving the lives of one or more characters, but overall, the focus is on the group busting on each other about their weekly matchups, their teams, etc. If you were a fan of season one, you will likely enjoy season two.

As the show gained in popularity, they were able to get more guest stars from the NFL, for example, Chad Johnson/Ochocinco guest starred in the first episode which was set in Vegas. The DVD set is a two-disc set. For those who get the DVDs, like the first season release, you can play all episodes in a "play all" mode from the main menu, but that option plays the broadcast versions. If you go into the episode menu, you can play extended, unedited episodes (when available) but have to play them individually. For extras, there are deleted scenes for most of the episodes, an alternate joke reel, a gag reel, a couple of Taco-specific musical numbers, and a hilarious Bob Ross impersonation by Andre doing a paint-by-numbers routine with "The Kluneburg," which was the subject of one of the episodes.

Overall, it is definitely not a show that will appeal to everyone, but if you are a fan of sarcastic, sometimes potty-mouth-trash-talking with-your-friends type of humor, this is a great show. I definitely recommend it.

DVD/TV Series Review: Shameless Season 10

 

The 12-episode 10th season of Shameless aired from November 2019 to the end of January 2020. Season 10 of the show has even more cast turnover, the largest of which, of course, is the loss of Emmy Rossum. This leads to everything from the opening credits being updated to a large hole in the family dynamic. Although Fiona is mentioned a couple of times, the family has, for the most part, moved on without her. One thing that does give the show is the potential for more developed and fleshed out storylines. Frank is still horrible but gets a bit of a comeuppance from someone with a grudge against him, Debbie continues to have relationship issues, Carl is trying to be a productive member of society, Liam is still the outsider of the family, and Lip is dealing with both a new baby and Tami's issues. Noel Fisher did rejoin the cast as a series regular, and one of the most prominent storylines of the season deals with Ian and Mickey's relationship, which, as has always been the case, is tumultuous.

The DVD set is a three-disc set. The A/V transfer and quality are horrible, which knocks it down a couple of stars for me. Of course, as most know, after 9 seasons of blu-ray releases, the show is only being released on a MOD DVD release which is, honestly, not much better than a bootleg release. It does have captions and deleted scenes for some episodes, but no other extras at all. And, I had an issue with the audio track going out of sync with the video. If I hit stop on the DVD player and immediately hit play again the issue always resolved, but it was still annoying. While physical media is going extinct (especially TV series releases, and even more especially TV series releases on blu-ray, Shameless is still a popular enough show that it should get a better release than this, and should still be available as a MOD blu-ray release. There is always an outside chance that the complete series may get a blu-ray release (ala Masters of Sex, which had two seasons released on blu-ray, did not have seasons 3 and 4 released on disc at all in the US, then got a blu-ray release for the complete series box set).

The show will be getting a final season starting in December of 2020. I definitely think that it is right to end the show at 11 seasons because it is definitely getting long in the tooth. Not necessarily horrible, but it is starting to get stale. I hope they can get at least some of the departed cast members to come back, even if just for a cameo, in the final season, but I am unsure if there are any plans for that. I have not watched the 11th season as of this writing, so I am unsure if any of the ex-cast members appear in the final season. I cannot say that everyone, even die-hard fans of the show (especially the early seasons) will like season 10. However, if you have not been a fan of the show up to this point, there is probably nothing about season 10 that will change your mind about the show.