DVD/TV Series Review: Hart of Dixie: Season 4

 

+++Warning, this contains minor spoilers from the prior season, but no major spoilers from the final season+++

Season four of Hart of Dixie is a shorter season (just ten episodes to accommodate Rachel Bilson's real-life pregnancy so the show could wrap before she gave birth) that ties up the various storylines. The show continues to be very much a primetime soap opera and the focus is on the ever-shifting relationships. Early in the season Lavon and George are forced to work together as volunteer firefighters despite their feelings for Lemon, and Lavon having chased after Lemon to try to get to her before she left on the cruise. Zoe and Wade are doing the will-they-wont-they get together dance. There is also a love square between Lemon, George, Annabeth, and Lavon, as well as Brick having to sort out his love life. So, there is a lot to pack into the ten episodes.

The DVD set is just a made-on-demand set that has the episodes only. There are no extras, which on one hand is not a surprise since Bilson would not have been available to participate in anything that was put together after the show wrapped, but disappointing given that it was the final season of the show. So really, unless you really have a preference for physical discs over streaming, the only reason to get the DVD set is to keep a collection complete, which probably means you prefer the physical discs to streaming.

Overall, the final season is good but definitely rushed. Even so, the storylines are tied up well, and the show uses a flash-forward to give fans an idea of how the main characters turn out. The "fish out of water" plot that was the focus of season 1 was pretty much scrapped as Zoe had committed to staying in Bluebell, so really the only mystery is what characters would end up together. The acting was good even if the writing could get a bit sappy at times (which pretty much is the case with all prime-time dramas that lean toward the soap opera end of the spectrum).

DVD/TV Series Review: Hart of Dixie: Season 3

 

Hart of Dixie most definitely embraces its soap-opera-like qualities over the fish-out-of-water aspects that the first couple of seasons had. It focuses a lot more on the various romances of the characters than it does on Zoe's adjusting to life in Bluebell. The season starts out with Zoe working in an NYC ER, having left Bluebell, seemingly for good at the end of season two. She decides that she misses Bluebell and returns, to a much different reaction than she expected. She has a new boyfriend in tow, a writer named Joel (played by Josh Cooke). The show is much more of a serial story now with the story arcs (mainly about the various characters' love lives) stretching throughout the course of the season than it is a story-of-the-week procedural.

For those who get the DVD set, it is a pretty standard MOD DVD set that just has the episodes, but no extras. There are captions in multiple languages, but there are no deleted scenes, gag-reel, etc., so really the only reason to get the physical disc over just streaming the show is if you got the first two seasons on disc and want to keep your collection complete.

Overall, the show continues to be good. I would not say that it is great, it is definitely a prime-time soap opera as opposed to a traditional medical drama. It does not take itself too seriously, blending in elements of comedy here and there, but it also does not lampoon the south and probably shows what life is really like in most southern towns as opposed to what people who do not live there think it is like. Some of the storylines do get a bit dumb, but on the whole, it is a good-natured character-driven show that is worth the time to check out if you don't expect it to be an award-winning drama.

DVD/TV Series Review: Hart of Dixie: Season 2

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the first season, but no major spoilers from season two.+++

Hart of Dixie is a serial prime time soap-opera set in the fictional small town of Bluebell Alabama. Season one focused on the fish-out-of-water storyline with Rachel Bilson's character Zoe Hart, leaving NY and taking over her father's portion of a medical practice that he shared with Tim Mattheson's character, Brick Breeland, and trying to assimilate to life in a small southern town. Season two picks up immediately after the events that ended the first season, with George calling off the wedding to Lemon Breeland and walking out on her because of his feelings for Zoe. The repercussions of this event ripple through the entire season and result in major shifts in character arcs as Lemon has to grow on her own without George (and Jamie King does a great job this season), and Zoe having to decide between George and Wade, as well as continuing to acclimate to the town. In another side arc, Lavon's ex played by Golden Brooks returns to town and decides to run against him for mayor.

The show continues to be a good blend of comedy and drama. Because it is a prime-time soap it can get sappy and a bit much with all the various love triangles going on. That said, it is pretty well-written and very well-acted. The only disappointing thing about the DVD release is that it has no extras, just the episodes, so it is basically a MOD release. But, the second season of the show aired just when physical releases for TV series were getting scaled way back, so the fact that it got any physical media release is nice. If you were a fan of the first season, I definitely recommend season two.

DVD/TV Series Update: Hart of Dixie - Season One

 

Hart of Dixie is a show that premiered in 2011 that takes a twist on the themes of the series Northern Exposure and Doc Hollywood. The premise of the show is that a doctor from NY named Zoe Hart (played by Rachel Bilson) fails to get a fellowship at the hospital in which she was interning. She ends up taking the offer of a stranger who attended her graduation from med school to work at his practice in the small town of Bluebell Alabama. When she gets there, she discovers that the stranger was her biological father and left her with half of the medical practice he shared with Tim Mattheson's character, Brick Breeland. What follows is a pretty typical fish-out-of-water story in which Zoe has to adjust to life in small-town Alabama and while being an outsider. The show has a fairly large ensemble cast including Cress Williams, Jamie King, Scott Porter, and Wilson Bethel. It does get soap-opera-like with multiple love triangles going on between the various characters. It has a good blend of drama and comedy (mostly about how the north views the south and vice-versa) and ultimately tells a good story.

The DVD set spreads the 22 episodes over five discs. The extras include deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a behind-the-scenes documentary that runs just under twenty minutes. A decent amount of material for those who like the extras. The show is pretty well written and acted. It is a bit formulaic and predictable and does not really do anything that is extremely new. It is definitely more of a prime-time soap opera than it is a straight prime-time drama. but it has likable characters played by a good cast, so it works. It is definitely worth picking up.