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: 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: 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.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Lethal Weapon Season 3

 

The 15-episode third and final season of Lethal Weapon aired during the 2018/2019 TV season. The show started out with so much promise and ended with mostly a whimper. As many people are likely aware, Clayne Crawford was fired from the show after the second season due, in part, to his behavior on the set and, in part, to his ever-degrading relationship with Damon Waynes. It appears that Crawford was a hothead and Waynes kind of a jackass who did not really even want to do the series in the first place (which makes it kind of surprising that the series was not canceled after season two, and that they decided to go forward with him in the lead role).

The series picks up just after Riggs gets shot at the end of season two, and we find out within the first episode that he died, then there is a six-month time jump and we find out that his brother committed suicide, and that was it for the Riggs storyline (aside from a couple of throwaway lines during the season that mentioned him). The series then focuses on the new Lethal Weapon, an ex-CIA agent named Wesley Cole (played by Sean William Scott), who is new to the department trying to put his past behind him and connect with his 12-year-old daughter.

It is mostly again, a case-of-the-week series, but there are a couple of storylines that play out across multiple episodes. I do think Scott did a great job with the character of Cole. Given that he has mostly played Stifler or slight variations of Stifler his entire career (with a couple of exceptions), this showed he has a range beyond the raunchy comedies. Maggie Lawson (best known for the series Psych) was another good addition to the cast as Cole's ex-wife who is trying to put her past with Cole behind her, yet still, have an amicable relationship with him for the sake of their daughter. One major defection from the cast (aside from Crawford) was Jordana Brewster, who basically left the show after a couple of episodes.

It is a fairly standard MOD set for those who get the blu-ray set. The fifteen episodes are spread over three discs. It has captions and a true "play all" mode that allows you to pick back up where you stop, even in the middle of an episode. There are no extras like commentary tracks, making-of, deleted scenes, or behind-the-scenes material. It did try to keep a similar feel to the prior two seasons, and I think the writers and cast did the best they could, given the mess they had going into the third season. However, it was not the same show without the character of Riggs.

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.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Lethal Weapon Season 2

 

The 22-episode second season of Lethal Weapon aired during the 2017/2018 TV season. Most fans know that the friction (to put it mildly) between Wayans and Crawford led to Crawford's firing and Riggs's writing off of the show. I will not spoil how the season ends, but needless to say, it ends on a very big cliffhanger.

Much of the season is devoted to Rigg's past, specifically at the hands of his abusive father. There are a lot of flashbacks throughout the season. Riggs still has guilt issues over the death of his wife, but the storyline that ended the first season (with Rigg's going to Mexico to get revenge) is resolved pretty much in the first episode. Two of Riggs' friends from his youth are brought into the story this season, one of which becomes a new love interest. I will not go into details to spoil anything for those who have not watched, but it follows the same formula as a weekly procedural that deals with the case of the week, with a larger story arc that spans the course of the season. This season's guest and recurring stars include Michelle Hurd, Ernie Hudson, Joanna "JoJo" Levesque, Adrian Pasdar, Scottie Pippen, and Swoosie Kurtz.

The Blu-Ray set is a four-disc MOD set. They allow for a play-all mode that lets you pick up where you left off, which is better than the "regular" blu-ray sets for the other WB shows. The only extras are deleted scenes for select episodes. There are no commentary tracks on any episodes or behind-the-scenes material, most likely due to the on-set tension that occurred throughout the season. You could tell that by the end of the season, Crawford and Wayans were being kept away from each other as much as possible while filming, and it seemed like every effort was being made to have them together in as few scenes as possible. Even so, they managed to maintain their on-screen chemistry. You could not tell that they were (reportedly) screaming at each other until "action" was called on set.

It is unfortunate that the two leads hated each other because it was a great show, with the two iconic movie characters cast perfectly. Like the first season, it paid homage to the movie franchise and characters without being a carbon copy. Whether it is good or bad going forward into season 3, it will not be the same without the character of Riggs. Chances are it will not survive after season 3, which is a shame because it was really a show that could have had a good 5-6 season (or more) run in it.

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 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: The League Season 1

 

The League was a comedy that aired on FX and is centered around a group of friends who play in a fantasy football league together. The six-episode first season aired in the fall and winter of 2009. The storylines are primarily about their weekly matchups, whatever background story happens to be going on in the particular episode (usually involving the personal lives of one or more of the characters), and their busting on each other. It starred Mark Duplass, Paul Scheer, Nick Kroll, Katie Aselton, Stephen Rannazzisi, and John Lajoie. It also had several recognizable guest stars and recurring characters, such as Nadine Velazquez, Janina Gavankar, Brie Larson, Leslie Bibb, Jeff Goldblum, Seth Rogan, Brooklyn Decker, and Jason Mantzoukas, and several appearances by current and former NFL stars. The show did not have as many notable guest stars in the first season as it would in later seasons.

For those who get the DVD set, it is a two-disc set with a pretty standard A/V transfer. Nothing special. The extras include deleted scenes, alternate jokes, a "Mr. Mcgibblets" funhouse and dojo, just John Lajoie in the mascot outfit in a classroom with weapons for 7 minutes, and a gag reel. A good amount of material. Also, if you use the play-all feature, you can watch the episodes as they aired, but if you go into each episode, you can also watch extended versions with unedited jokes.

It is definitely not a show that will appeal to everyone. There are a lot of sex and drug references, so it is definitely not a family-friendly sitcom. While I do not think you need to be a fantasy football fan or really even a football fan, to enjoy the show, it does help. However, being at least somewhat into football is helpful to get the references. Those provisos aside, if you are looking for a funny, adult sitcom and have not checked this out, it is definitely worth it.

4K-UHD/Movie Box Set Review: Back to the Future: The Ultimate Trilogy

 

Back to the Future: The Ultimate Trilogy is a box set containing the three Back to the Future movies: the iconic 1985 original film starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thomson, Crispin Glover, and Tomas F. Wilson in the main roles and Claudia Wells, James Tolkan, Wendie Jo Sperber, Billy Zane, and Marc McClure in the primary supporting roles; 1989's follow-up Back to the Future Part II, which brought back Fox, Lloyd, Wilson, and Thomson to reprise their roles with Elisabeth Shue replacing Claudia Wells as and Jeffrey Weissman replacing Crispin Glover (and includes Elija Wood's first acting credit in a very small role); and 1990's Back to the Future Part III, which added Mary Steenburgen to the cast. All three movies were written by the duo of Robert Zemeckis (who also directed all three films) and Bob Gale (who was an executive producer on all three movies).

Chances are, most people know the plots of the movies, but for anyone who does not, in the original film, a local scientist in the fictional town of Hill Valley, California, named Emmit "Doc" Brown (Lloyd) invents a time machine in 1985 that he built into a Delorian. A local teen named Marty McFly (Fox), who has befriended Doc Brown, helps him film the first time travel experiment, which is interrupted by Libyan terrorists from whom Doc stole Plutonium to power the time machine, and during which Marty is transported back to 1955. In 1955, Marty accidentally interrupts his parents' (Glover and Thomson's) first meeting, causing his mother to fall in love with him, which starts erasing his existence. Marty must help his parents get together, deal with the town bully, Biff Tannen (Wilson), and get the younger version of Doc Brown to help him get back to 1985. In the 1989 sequel, Marty, Doc, and Marty's girlfriend, Jennifer (played by Shue), first travel to 2015 to prevent Marty's son (also played by Fox) from doing something criminal with Biff's grandson, Griff (also played by Wilson). Biff steals the time machine in the future and travels to the past to give himself a sports almanac so that his younger version can use it to bet on every major sporting event, making him a millionaire in a new version of the future. Marty and Doc then have to go back to 1955, into the events of the first movie, to get the book back from young Biff and restore the timeline; in the 1990 conclusion to the trilogy, Marty has to travel back to 1855 to rescue Doc from the old west.

The 4K set is a six-disc set containing three UHD discs (one for each movie) and three regular Blu-Ray discs (also one for each movie). The 4K discs and the regular Blu-Rays have the same content, the movie and the bonus material. There are hours of bonus content for each movie. The bonus material includes archived behind-the-scenes material shot while the movies were being filmed, material created for the original DVD release, and material filmed in 2010 for the original Blu-Ray release. No new bonus content has been created for the 4K release. The extras include deleted scenes, a three-part documentary called Tales from the Future, which features interviews with the cast and crew, promotional material, the trailers, and more. Each movie also has two commentary tracks, one featuring a Q&A session with Zemeckis and Gale at USC, which plays for a portion of each movie. The longest is in the first movie, and the shortest is in Part III. Then, each movie has a feature-length commentary track with Bob Gale and another producer, Neil Canton. What knocks the set down a star for me is the packaging. It comes in a nice-looking digibook case, but the discs are all in tight slip notches, which makes them hard to get out and susceptible to scratching. 

The three movies are well-written and very well-acted. Even though the first movie is nearing 40 years old, it (and the sequels) hold up reasonably well. The bonus features offer a lot of insight into the filming process, including how Michael J. Fox came on board (he was initially not going to be allowed to film the movie by the showrunners of Family Ties, which was the wildly popular 1980s sitcom he starred in), the firing of Eric Stolz who was originally hired to play Marty when Fox was allowed to film the movie, and the producers side of why Crispin Glover did not return for the sequels (they claimed he was making unreasonable demands because he did not like how the first movie ended). There is no discussion of Glover's lawsuit because of the use of archival footage featuring him in Part II. There is also an interesting insight into how they envisioned what things would be like in 2015. Gale said they were trying to think of the most unrealistic things they could (hence flying cars and hoverboards), which makes things they got right (e.g., biometric identification and locks, video conferencing/calling, etc.) even more impressive. It is interesting that they thought fax machines would be prevalent and that every home would have multiple fax machines.

While it is easy to think that the movies are totally derivative of each other (and they do recycle some jokes in all three movies), they are really very different. In the first, Marty's parents are arguably as important to the story as Marty is, and the story is about George McFly's transformation from a lovable loser to a confident success. In the second movie, Biff is the more important character, and we see the first movie's events from a different perspective. The third movie is about Doc Brown's character, with Marty almost as a supporting character in Doc's story. The movies are mostly family-friendly, although there is quite a bit of swearing (the worst of which is the word "shit") in each film, a couple of cleavage shots of Lea Thompson in Parts I and II, and a butt shot of Michael J. Fox in Part III. While the movies are a bit dated, and some things would probably be changed if they were made today, they generally hold up well and are definitely worth watching, especially for 1980s kids who grew up with the movies. 

DVD/TV Series Review: 2 Broke Girls: The Complete Series

 

2 Broke Girls was a six-season CBS series that ran from 2011 to 2017. It starred Beth Behrs as Caroline, a heiress who lost all her money when her father was arrested for running a Bernie Madoff-like Ponzi scheme. She ends up working at a diner in Brooklyn and befriending another waitress named Max, played by Kat Dennings. The show basically details their attempts to open their own cupcake shop and get out of working in the diner. The rest of the main cast includes Jonathan Kite, who plays a cook at the diner named Oleg; Matthew Moy as Han, the owner of the diner; Garrett Morris, who plays Earl, the cashier at the diner; and Jennifer Coolidge, as Sophie, Max and Caroline's upstairs neighbor. The supporting and guest cast members included Nick Zano, Eric Andre, Ryan Hansen, Jesse Metcalfe, Lindsay Lohan, Martha Stewart, George Hamilton, John Michael Higgins, and Caroline Rhea.

I will not go into too much detail so I do not spoil the show for those who have not seen it, but it is a fairly standard sitcom that mostly has story-of-the-week episodes, with some longer story arcs that play out throughout the show's run. The humor is very raunchy. I am still amazed that they got away with some of the jokes they did. They also show off Behrs in skimpy outfits and Denning's cleavage in pretty much every episode. So, if sex and drug jokes offend you, definitely stay away from this show. 

The complete series set is just the individual season sets packaged into one box. Similar to what was released for shows like The Office, Parks and Recreation, and the like. Hence, all the DVD extras are identical to those in the individual season releases. There are no extras that are exclusive to this set. Overall, the show was funny (if you like the kind of humor), well-written, and well-acted. The only thing I did not like about the series was the finale. I think it mostly felt like just another episode (with one exception) and did not give all the characters a great sendoff as series finales should. Overall, however, it is a very enjoyable show and worth checking out if you are a fine of sitcoms.

DVD/TV Series Review: 2 Broke Girls Season 6

 

The 22-episode sixth season of 2 Broke Girls aired during the 2016/2017 TV season. It would be the show's final season. Overall, it was on par with the prior seasons, at least seasons 4-5, which I do not think were as good as seasons 1-3. My main issue with the season is the series finale. It did not feel like a finale episode, giving all the characters a good sendoff. One of the characters gets an ending befitting of a series finale, but for the most part, it feels like another episode of the show. I will not say too much about the season so as not to spoil it for the few who may not have seen it by now. The big serial storylines were Max and Caroline opening the Dessert Bar, relationship drama (again) for both Max and Caroline (including a new love for Caroline in the form of Christopher Gorham, who is probably best known from the show Covert Affairs), and Sophie and Oleg's baby.

The DVD set is a two-disc set. The extras are bare bones, consisting of deleted scenes on each of the two discs and a gag reel on disc 2. There are no making-of or behind-the-scenes features, no retrospective on the series, or the like. Definitely not much, especially given that it was the final season. Overall, if you like the prior seasons, you will probably like this one. Even though I was not thrilled by the final episode, the season overall was still funny and enjoyable.

DVD/Movie Review: Bedazzled (2000)

 

Bedazzled is a 2000 comedy starring Brendan Fraser, Elizabeth Hurley, and Frances O'Connor. It is directed by Harold Ramis (probably best known for his role in Ghostbusters). The supporting cast includes Orlando Jones, Paul Adelstein, Toby Huss, Miriam Shor, and Gabriel Casseus. It is a remake of the 1967 film of the same name that starred Dudley Moore. When the movie was made, Hurley had come off making the original Austin Powers movie, and Fraser was arguably at the height of his fame, having made the first Mummy movie and the comedy Blast From the Past. In the film, Fraser plays a dweeby goober named Elliot Richards, who works for a computer company in San Francisco in a dead-end tech support job. He is the classic "tries too hard" kind of person nobody wants to be around and actively tries to avoid (when not mocking him). Elliot has a crush on a coworker named Alison (played by Frances O'Connor), and after a pathetic attempt to ask her out, he makes the statement that he would do anything to have her in his life. The Devil (played by Hurley) overhears him and tempts Eliot into selling his soul for seven wishes. Of course, the wishes are sabotaged, so Eliot gets what he asks for but never what he wants. 

The DVD extras include two commentary tracks on the movie, one by Harold Ramis and one by Hurley and the co-producer, Trevor Albert. It also includes the HBO First Look, a making-of featurette hosted by Hurley, the trailer, promotional spots, and a stills gallery. Ramis mainly describes the casting process and the various actors in his commentary. He does discuss details of some of the specific scenes as well. In the second commentary, Albert does most of the talking and, like Ramis, discusses the casting process, the locations, the performances of the actors, and the like. Hurley mostly only chimes in during her scenes and does not say much for long stretches. 

The movie is a good comedy, primarily good-natured and relatively wholesome. It is not entirely family-friendly, though. Hurley is in many skimpy outfits throughout the film. There is some sexual innuendo and a bit of swearing. So, it is not appropriate for very young kids, but it is okay for teenagers. Fraser shows off his comedic acting chops by playing many different characters, ranging from a Columbian drug lord to an overly emotional crybaby, in addition to Eliot's "normal" persona. Hurley seems to have a lot of fun playing the seductress and, of course, looks smoking hot throughout the movie. She and Fraser have great chemistry and comedic timing. Despite being a movie about selling one's soul to the Devil, it does not really get religious or preachy. The film's plot and message really boil down to the difference between being selfish and selfless. It is somewhat dated 24 years later (as of this writing), and some things in the movie probably would not be done the same way today. The special effects are okay but nowhere near the quality of today's CGI effects. So, if you watch it on a big screen, especially on a Blu-Ray player or a 4K Blu-Ray player, you can easily tell when something was shot against a green screen. Even though it is somewhat dated, the film generally holds up over time and is worth watching if you are in the mood for a good comedy.