FRIENDS THE COMPLETE SERIES DVD TALK REVIEW

As one of the longest-running and most successful American sitcoms in television history, David Crane and Marta Kauffman's Friends (1994-2004) amassed a huge following during its ten-season run. Revolving around a group of six friends in New York City, the series never broke a great deal of ground in the heavily-tread genre; instead, it simply persevered with sharp writing, entertaining stories and memorable moments. Fans of Friends grew to love the characters as they waded through the confusing late twenties / early thirties stage of life, from the earliest glimpses of real independence to the reality of settling down with a family (or staying single, whatever). Through weddings, births, new jobs and plenty of running gags, the polished formula and popular momentum made Friends an easy show to get comfortable with.

The series has been released on DVD a number of times already, from the popular multi-disc season sets to the slimmed-down Best of Friends collections and even a few themed releases ("The One With All the Weddings", etc.). Loyal owners of each and every season set could even purchase a deluxe wooden box to house their prized possessions, but only if they had plenty of shelf space available. Friends: The Complete Series is simply the same gift wrapped in more compact packaging, so any fans fretting about a double-dip shouldn't worry: this one's strictly aimed at those who haven't bought many of the seasons yet (and rabid collectors with $200 to spare, of course). Either way, you've been warned.

Though the organization of the series is somewhat odd at first glance, the included booklet (tucked inside the box) indexes every last bit of included content...so don't lose it. It includes the complete list of episode names, numbers, credits and descriptions; this is of major importance, since the discs themselves only list the numbers. The actual discs include the same content as the original releases---from the menu designs to the bonus features---though they sport all-new artwork. All 10 seasons are divided among six hardbound "books" (which hold roughly 7 discs apiece), featuring photos of each of the main characters. So while it might take a minute to find out what disc "The One With Joey's New Brain" is on (Disc 27!), those who favor chronological marathons shouldn't notice much of a difference.

From "The Pilot" to "The Last One", this gargantuan release is the most economical way to get all 236 episodes in one handy package. For additional help navigating the maze, I've assembled a complete index of this collection's content, organized book-by-book and disc-by-disc. All discs with additional extras have been marked with a star (*), though the actual bonus features will be covered in more detail later on. WARNING: Many, many spoilers are ahead, as if it weren't painfully obvious.

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(Episodes #1-43)

This first book takes us from the pilot episode to three-quarters of the way through Season Two. Most fans of the series are more than familiar with the earlier days of Friends; they naturally show their age, placing this show squarely in the early 1990s. Though it would take several more seasons for Friends to get completely comfortable in its own skin, there are several standout episodes along the way, including the first of many two-part episodes, the first of many Thanksgiving celebrations and the first romance between two of the main characters. Also of note is the post-Super Bowl episode, which remains the most-watched episode of Friends (though its season-long ratings were more consistent in later years). Even with a few stumbles along the way, it's easy to see here that Friends got off to a great start, paving the way for even more consistent future seasons.

Of course, what sitcom would be complete without the occasional guest appearance? During its ten-year lifespan, Friends featured a lineup of familiar (and soon-to-be familiar) faces that rivaled The Simpsons for pure name value. Guest stars for this batch of episodes include Elliott Gould, Hank Azaria, Morgan Fairchild, Jay Leno, John Lovitz, Helen Hunt, George Clooney, Noah Wyle, Jennifer Grey, Chrissie Hynde, Harry Shearer, Jonathan Silverman, Steve Zahn, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael McKean, Mrs. Roper, Julia Roberts, Brooke Shields, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dan Castellaneta, Chris Isaak and more. Whew!

Book One Episode Listing

Disc One - SEASON ONE BEGINS - Pilot, "The One With the Sonogram at the End", "The One With the Thumb", "The One With George Stephanopoulos, "The One With the East German Laundry Detergent", "The One With the Butt"

Disc Two - "The One With the Blackout", "The One Where Nana Dies Twice", "The One Where Underdog Gets Away", "The One With the Monkey", "The One With Mrs. Bing", "The One With the Dozen Lasagnas"

Disc Three - "The One With the Boobies", "The One With the Candy Hearts", "The One With the Stoned Guy", "The One With the Two Parts" (Parts 1 & 2), "The One With All the Poker"

Disc Four* - "The One Where the Monkey Gets Away", "The One With the Evil Orthodontist", "The One With the Fake Monica", "The One With the Ick Factor", "The One With the Birth", "The One Where Rachel Finds Out"

Disc Five - SEASON TWO BEGINS - "The One With Ross' New Girlfriend", "The One With the Breast Milk", "The One Where Heckles Dies", "The One With Phoebe's Husband", "The One With Five Steaks and an Eggplant", "The One With the Baby on the Bus"

Disc Six - "The One Where Ross Finds Out", "The One With the List", "The One With Phoebe's Dad", "The One With Russ", "The One With the Lesbian Wedding", "The One After the Superbowl" (Parts 1 & 2)

Disc Seven - "The One With the Prom Video", "The One Where Ross and Rachel...You Know", "The One Where Joey Moves Out", "The One Where Eddie Moves In", "The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies", "The One Where Eddie Won't Go"

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(Episodes #44-79)

The second book closes out Season Two, runs through Season Three and begins the fourth year. Along the way, we're treated to a handful of episodes featuring Tom Selleck, Chandler dealing with his frequent Janice relationship, Phoebe's haunted dollhouse, the infamous "Smelly Cat" commercial, the Thanksgiving football showdown and the continued saga of Ross and Rachel's relationship. It's a fairly solid group of episodes, all things considered; Friends was a series that seemed to refine its formula and cast chemistry gradually, which would soon come to fruition during its most popular years.

This time around, Friends doesn't seem to rely on guest stars as much, though several participants return as their respective characters over the next few years. Guest stars for this batch of episodes include Tom Selleck, Adam Goldberg, Charlie Sheen David Arquette, Isabella Rosselini, Sherilyn Fenn, Jon Favreau, Ben Stiller, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Teri Garr, Penn Gillette, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and more.

Book Two Episode Listing

Disc Eight* - "The One Where Old Yeller Dies", "The One With the Bullies", "The One With Two Parties", "The One With the Chicken Pox", "The One With Barry & Mindy's Wedding"

Disc Nine - SEASON THREE BEGINS - "The One With the Princess Leia Fantasy", "The One Where No One's Ready", "The One With the Jam", "The One With the Metaphorical Tunnel", "The One With Frank, Jr.", "The One With the Flashback", "The One With the Race Car Bed"

Disc Ten - "The One With the Giant Poking Device", "The One With the Football", "The One Where Rachel Quits", "The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister", "The One With All the Jealousy", "The One Where Monica and Richard Are Friends"

Disc Eleven - "The One With Phoebe's Ex-Partner", "The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break", "The One the Morning After", "The One Without the Ski Trip", "The One With the Hypnosis Tape", "The One With the Tiny T-Shirt"

Disc Twelve* - "The One With the Dollhouse", "The One With a Chick and a Duck", "The One With the Screamer", "The One With Ross' Thing", "The One With the Ultimate Fighting Champion", "The One At the Beach"

Disc Thirteen - SEASON FOUR BEGINS – "The One With the Jellyfish", "The One With the Cat", "The One With the Cuffs", "The One With the Ballroom Dancing", "The One With Joey's New Girlfriend", "The One With the Dirty Girl"

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(Episodes #80-121)

The third book picks up Season Four partway through and continues to the end of Season Five. It's easy to see that Friends has really hit its stride by this point, featuring some of the series' best moments overall. Along the way, Monica and Chandler's relationship begins to blossom, Ross gets married (twice, sort of), Rachel starts another job, Joey chooses a meatball sub over his friends, we get another classic Thanksgiving episode, Ross loses his prized turkey sandwich and the series passes the 100th episode mark. It's quite possibly the best run of the series (closely tied with the Season 6-7 era, most of which is found in the next book), making it easy to see why Friends did so well during its "mid-life crisis".

There seems to be even less reliance on guest appearances this time around, though Michael Rapaport's supporting role as a police officer is worth looking out for. Other guest stars for this batch of episodes include Charlton Heston, Fergie (the original), Olivia Williams, Hugh Laurie, George Newbern, Soleil Moon Frye, Joanna Gleason and more.

Book Three Episode Listing

Disc Fourteen - "The One Where Chandler Crosses the Line", "The One With Chandler in a Box", "The One Where They're Going to Party!", "The One With the Girl from Poughkeepsie", "The One With Phoebe's Uterus", "The One With the Embryos"

Disc Fifteen - "The One With Rachel's Crush", "The One With Joey's Dirty Day", "The One With All the Rugby", "The One With the Fake Party", "The One With the Free Porn", "The One With Rachel's New Dress"

Disc Sixteen* - "The One With All the Haste", "The One With All the Wedding Dresses", "The One With the Invitation", "The One With the Worst Best Man Ever", "The One With Ross' Wedding" (Parts 1 & 2)

Disc Seventeen - SEASON FIVE BEGINS - "The One After Ross Says Rachel", "The One With All The Kissing", "The One With the Triplets" (AKA "The One Hundredth", "The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS", "The One With the Kips", "The One With the Yeti", "The One Where Ross Moves In"

Disc Eighteen - "The One With All the Thanksgivings", "The One With Ross' Sandwich", "The One With the Inappropriate Sister", "The One With All the Resolutions", "The One With Chandler's Work Laugh", "The One With Joey's Bag"

Disc Nineteen - "The One Where Everybody Finds Out", "The One With the Girl Who Hits Joey", "The One With the Cop", "The One With Rachel's Inadvertent Kiss", "The One Where Rachel Smokes", "The One Where Ross Can't Flirt", "The One With the Ride-Along"

Disc Twenty* - "The One With the Ball", "The One With Joey's Big Break", "The One in Vegas" (Parts 1 & 2)

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(Episodes 122-164)

The fourth book starts strong and stays strong, kicking off with the Season 6 premiere and taking us through the bulk of Season 7. Along the way, Monica and Chandler's romance reaches a boiling point, Ross and Rachel drift slightly apart (annulment will do that to a couple), Joey hooks up with a dancer, we see "what could have been" during a classic two-part episode, Ross and Monica dance on Dick Clark's New Years' Eve special and Rachel finally turns 30 (which prompts a few amusing memories). Though Phoebe and Ross are slightly pushed to the background here, the rest of the main characters carry the weight nicely. As most sitcoms typically fizzle out after a few years, it's great to see that Friends wasn't just a late bloomer; already passing the 150th episode mark, this seven-disc run is home to plenty of great moments and milestones.

Guest stars for this batch of episodes include Ron Glass, Elle MacPherson, Reese Witherspoon, Bruce Willis, Kristin Davis, Eddie Cahill, Jason Alexander, Susan Sarandon, Gabrielle Union and more.

Book Four Episode Listing

Disc Twenty-One - SEASON SIX BEGINS - "The One After Vegas", "The One Where Ross Hugs Rachel", "The One With Ross' Denial", "The One Where Joey Loses His Insurance", "The One With Joey's Porsche", "The One On the Last Night"

Disc Twenty-Two - "The One Where Phoebe Runs", "The One With Ross' Teeth", "The One Where Ross Got High", "The One With the Routine", "The One With the Apothecary Table", "The One With the Joke"

Disc Twenty-Three - "The One With Rachel's Sister", "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry", "The One That Could Have Been" (Parts 1 & 2), "The One With Unagi", "The One Where Ross Dates a Student", "The One With Joey's Fridge"

Disc Twenty-Four* - "The One With Mac & C.H.E.E.S.E.", "The One Where Ross Meets Elizabeth's Dad", "The One Where Paul's the Man", "The One With the Ring", "The One With the Proposal" (Parts 1 & 2)

Disc Twenty-Five - SEASON SEVEN BEGINS - "The One With Monica's Thunder", "The One With Rachel's Book", "The One With Phoebe's Cookies", "The One With Rachel's Assistant", "The One With the Engagement Picture", "The One With the Nap Partners"

Disc Twenty-Six - "The One With Ross' Library Book", "The One Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs", "The One With All the Candy", "The One With the Holiday Armadillo", "The One With All the Cheesecakes", "The One Where They're Up All Night"

Disc Twenty-Seven - "The One Where Rosita Dies", "The One Where They All Turn Thirty", "The One With Joey's New Brain", "The One With the Truth About London", "The One With the Cheap Wedding Dress", "The One With Joey's Award"

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(Episodes 165-206)

The penultimate fifth book shows Friends entering its later years, running from the end of Season 7 all the way through the first half of Season 9. As the personal relationships between the characters have changed much over the years, this batch of episodes is much more rewarding for those who stuck with Friends from the very beginning. Along the way, we see a nice mix of stand-alone episodes, Chandler and Monica finally tie the knot, Joey hooks up with Rachel, Monica joins a cooking class, Rachel has a baby, no one proposes and Chandler shows a unique interest in shark documentaries. There are plenty of great moments here, but the consistent flow and energy from the last two seasons doesn't shine quite as brightly now; perhaps its due to the plateau in Monica and Chandler's relationship or the odd pairing of Joey and Rachel, but it seems as if the writers were occasionally grasping at straws during this seven-disc run. Even so, a potent amount of classic moments are still on board here, enough so that longtime fans of Friends shouldn't mind putting up with a few average episodes.

Guest stars for this batch of episodes include Denise Richards, Winona Ryder, Kathleen Turner, Alexis Arquette, Gary Oldman (sweet!), Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Alec Baldwin, Paul Rudd, Freddie Prinze Jr., Christina Applegate, Selma Blair, Dermot Mulroney and more.

Book Five Episode Listing

Disc Twenty-Eight* - "The One With Ross and Monica's Cousin", "The One With Rachel's Big Kiss", "The One With the Vows", "The One With Chandler's Dad", "The One With Monica and Chandler's Wedding (Parts 1 & 2)

Disc Twenty-Nine - SEASON EIGHT BEGINS - "The One After 'I Do'", "The One With the Red Sweater", "The One Where Rachel Tells...", "The One With the Videotape", "The One With Rachel's Date", "The One With the Halloween Party"

Disc Thirty - "The One With the Stain", "The One With the Stripper", "The One With the Rumor", "The One With Monica's Boots", "The One With Ross' Step Forward", "The One Where Joey Dates Rachel"

Disc Thirty-One - "The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath", "The One With the Secret Closet", "The One With the Birthing Video", "The One Where Joey Tells Rachel", "The One With the Tea Leaves", "The One in Massapequa"

Disc Thirty-Two* - "The One With Joey's Interview", "The One With the Baby Shower", "The One With the Cooking Class", "The One Where Rachel is Late", "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby" (Parts 1 & 2)

Disc Thirty-Three - SEASON NINE BEGINS - "The One Where No One Proposes", "The One Where Emma Cries", "The One With the Pediatrician", "The One With the Sharks", "The One With Phoebe's Birthday Dinner", "The One With the Male Nanny"

Disc Thirty-Four - "The One With Ross' Inappropriate Song", "The One With Rachel's Other Sister", "The One With Rachel's Phone Number", "The One With Christmas in Tulsa", "The One Where Rachel Goes Back to Work", "The One With Phoebe's Rats"

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(Episodes 207-236)

The sixth and final book brings the series to a close, finishing out the remainder of Season 9 and all of Season 10. Though most critics felt that the series should've gone out on top a few seasons back---especially as the new trend of reality TV was being shoved down our throats---this final run of episodes is still home to plenty of great moments and fond farewells. Along the way, Joey and Ross take turns pining for Rachel, Phoebe and Mike get hitched, Monica and Chandler get good news from the adoption agency, Gunther reveals his true feelings for a certain someone, Ross and Rachel reach a boiling point and the gang finally turns in their apartment keys. It's a relatively strong ending for the series---though some fans didn't care for the conclusion, much like the final episode of Seinfeld---and one that ties up as many loose ends as possible. All things considered, those who made it this far should be happy that the series ended on its own terms.

Guest stars for this batch of episodes include Jeff Goldblum, Aisha Tyler, John Stamos, Alex Borstein, Jennifer Coolidge, Greg Kinnear, Anna Faris, Danny DiVito, Donny Osmond, Ellen Pompeo, Dakota Fanning, Jane Lynch, John Rubinstein and more.

Book Six Episode Listing

Disc Thirty-Five - "The One Where Monica Sings", "The One With the Blind Dates", "The One With the Mugging", "The One With the Boob Job", "The One With the Memorial Service", "The One With the Lottery"

Disc Thirty-Six* - "The One With Rachel's Dream", "The One With the Soap Opera Party", "The One With the Fertility Test", "The One With the Donor", "The One in Barbados" (Parts 1 & 2)

Disc Thirty-Seven - SEASON TEN BEGINS - "The One After Joey and Rachel Kiss", "The One Where Ross is Fine", "The One With Ross' Tan", "The One With the Cake", "The One Where Rachel's Sister Baby-Sits", "The One With Ross' Grant"

Disc Thirty-Eight - "The One With the Home Study", "The One With the Late Thanksgiving", "The One With the Birth Mother", "The One Where Chandler Gets Caught", "The One Where the Stripper Cries", "The One With Phoebe's Wedding"

Disc Thirty-Nine - "The One Where Joey Speaks French", "The One With Princess Consuela", "The One Where Estelle Dies", "The One With Rachel's Going Away Party", "The Last One" (Parts 1 & 2)

Disc Forty* - Additional Bonus Features

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Presented (again) on DVD by Warner Bros., this massive 40-disc set doesn't add anything new in the technical department, though it's no big surprise. The show's A/V quality has always been a bit shaky---most notably during the first few seasons, of course---and the bulk of the bonus material is still a bit on the fluffy side. Either way, the slightly modified but familiar presentation is worth combing through a second time for those willing to throw down $200 for this well-stuffed collection. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Video & Audio Quality

As a simple repackaging job, it's no surprise to learn that this collection's technical presentation remains the same as past releases. On par with most TV-on-DVD sets in its class, Friends: The Complete Series looks a bit iffy at first and improves over time. The original 1.33:1 aspect ratio has been preserved, skin tones and other colors look natural and black levels are usually solid. Earlier episodes obviously aren't as sharp and clear (additionally, there's a fair amount of color bleeding and digital noise), but it's much harder to complain from Season 6 onward. Friends may aim fairly low in the visual department, but this DVD presentation shouldn't hamper your enjoyment one bit.

The audio is a similar story, as these front-heavy Dolby Digital 5.0 Surround mixes offer clear dialogue and music paired with good front channel separation. The toe-tapping theme song by The Rembrandts and the alt-rock scene transitions sound especially crisp and clear, while no music changes appear to have been made due to rights issues. Rear channel activity is limited to the occasional music cues and studio audience laughter, so don't expect anything spectacular and you'll be fine. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are included for the episodes only.

Menu Design, Presentation & Packaging Seen above, the menu designs appear to be the same as the original release, though a portion of the earlier menus aren't presented in anamorphic widescreen (above left). Overall, the basic color-coded layouts feature smooth navigation, though the advertisement of additional bonus features on other discs obviously doesn't match up with the new DVD numbers. Each episode is presented without chapter stops, while no apparent layer changes were detected during playback.

Deserving of its own paragraph is the excellent, compact packaging job that may slightly confuse those weaned on the stand-alone season sets. As mentioned earlier, this 40-disc set is housed in a series of six hardbound "books" (roughly 7 discs apiece) that clearly state the episode numbers included inside. In turn, the books are housed snugly inside a hinged red outer box, while an oversized booklet/episode index is tucked away in the back. The deceptively small size of this collection makes it an obvious space saver, though the odd division of the 10 seasons might take some getting used to. For a closer look at the packaging design, a few photos have been linked below.

Index booklet, outer box and all 6 "books" | Interior of the "books" | Box interior and open booklet

Bonus Features As originally seen on the original season sets, each and every extra has returned on this collection. First up is a series of Audio Commentaries (typically featured on season premieres, finales, and other key episodes) by creators and producers Kevin Bright, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, adding up to roughly three per season. For the most part, these three participants---who are often recorded separately and edited together---do a good job of providing background information and interesting trivia, though the addition of more participants would've been preferable. It's odd that none of the cast members recorded a single track at any point; especially David Schwimmer, who even directed a handful of episodes along the way. Still, it's especially interesting to hear the creators' thoughts during the pilot episode and series finale, which serve as fitting bookends to their popular production.

Also here is a gaggle of fluffy featurettes and other minor extras, including "Friends of Friends" (guest star lists, interviews and appropriate clips, appearing during the final disc of most seasons), various Trivia Quizzes and Previews for the upcoming seasons---though in this case, it's not needed. Also of minor interest are various Interactive Maps for key Friends locations, featuring notes about the props and set designs; as well as several Highlight Clips for the six main characters and a few Foreign Language Clips. Season Five's closing disc features a pair of moderately interesting extras, including "The One That Goes Behind the Scenes" (42 minutes, above left) and "Friends: On Location in London" (2 minutes, above right); the former gives a decent overview of the show's development and production (including the writing process, rehearsal, audience taping and more), while the latter gives us a brief glimpse of the cast in action overseas.

Later season-ending discs include a few Gag Reels that are certainly worth a look and a few throw-away Interactive Games. Also included on the final disc is a promotional Music Video entitled "Joey, Joey" (below right) and an interesting retrospective featurette, "Friends Final Thoughts" (25 minutes, below left). This behind-the-scenes piece features comments from prominent cast and crew members, from the early casting process to each participant's thoughts about the final episode. It's a fitting end to the series, but the lack of meatier bonus material earns the collection lower marks in the extras department. Owners of the multi-disc season sets should already be familiar with this lineup, but those unfamiliar with the series' DVD presentation may feel slightly underwhelmed. It's not a bad spread on its own terms, but it's obviously very light in proportion to the total episode count.

All bonus features are presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio; like the actual episodes, they increase in technical quality as the series progresses. Unfortunately, none of these extras include optional subtitles or Closed Captioning support.

It's certainly not tailor-made for those who own all ten seasons already, but Friends: The Complete Series is still a decent release worth looking into. Though the organization of the discs may take some getting used to, the themed packaging and compact presentation ensures that this mammoth release won't hog shelf space. It's too bad that the series couldn't have scored an A/V overhaul, as the visuals for the first few seasons certainly show their age; additionally, a few retrospective bonus features would've really sweetened the pot. On the other hand, such minor improvements may have incurred the wrath of broke Friends loyalists the world over...and if there's one thing you don't want on your hands, it's angry Friends loyalists. All things considered, fans who understand this release's merits---compact presentation, convenience and a reasonable price---shouldn't have a problem making a decision. For those who haven't already bought the bulk of the series on DVD, this 40-disc monster comes easily Recommended.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE SEASON 1 DVD TALK REVIEW

Wow! CBS DVD and Paramount Home Entertainment have a powerhouse boxed set in Mission: Impossible - The Complete First TV Season, with seven single-sided DVDs in four slim cases featuring all 28 first season (1966-67) shows. Those familiar only with the mostly terrible (and, largely, in-name-only) Tom Cruise movies are in for a real treat. The series' famous machine gun pace, epitomized by an iconic opening that in quick, very contemporary cuts preview the episode to follow, was way ahead of its time. When it was new, CBS was concerned that its complex, adult storylines and at times frantic pace might be too much for Middle American viewers to follow. Looking at it now, four decades after it premiered, it almost plays like a brand-new series aiming for a '60s-retro look.

　

Mission: Impossible was born of the James Bond craze of 1965-66. It's essentially a spy show ingeniously structured within the context of mini-caper / heist-type films of the sort popularized in movies like Jules Dassin's Rififi (1955) and, more contemporarily, his Topkapi (1965) and the Italian-made Grand Slam (1967). Though it would become tired and repetitive in later seasons - with various cast changes, the series lasted until 1973 - in every department these early shows are terrific.

In each episode, Dan Briggs (Steven Hill) leads the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) on a seemingly, well, impossible mission. Shows open with Briggs working his way through a folder of glossy photos, theater programs and the like, selecting the best talent to comprise each particular mission. In virtually every show, Briggs' team includes cool, curvy Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain), whose specialty is diversion; electronics expert Barney Collier (Greg Morris); strongman Willy Armitage (Peter Lupus), for muscle; and master of disguise Rollin Hand (Martin Landau who, apparently for contractual reasons, isn't billed among the regulars, but rather gets a "Special Appearance by..." credit).

The series was originally designed to include guest stars brought in playing other agents with various specialties. Wally Cox, for instance, appears in the pilot as an expert safecracker, while Star Trek's George Takei guests in another show as a biochemist. This facet was retained somewhat in later seasons but deemphasized, especially after Landau, Bain, et. al. became stars in their own right.

The program was the creation of writer-producer Bruce Geller, who had previously written and/or produced such above average TV Westerns as Have Gun Will Travel, The Rifleman, and Rawhide. Mission: Impossible secured his reputation, though none of his later shows quite matched its success. (He did make one exceptional feature however, Harry in Your Pocket, a very good, offbeat film about pickpockets starring James Coburn and Walter Pidgeon.) Geller's scripts, along with other series writers like Jerome Ross, Ellis Marcus, and Alan Balter & William Read Woodfield, are consistently ingenious. (Mild Spoilers): In the pilot, the IMF have to steal two atomic bombs from an impregnable safe; rather than try to break in, their solution is ingeniously simple: smuggle the team's safecracker (Cox) into the vault and have him break out of it instead. In "The Carriers," the IMF infiltrate a meticulously recreated American town where foreign agents are being trained to act like ordinary Americans and carry a plague back with them to the real U.S.A. Briggs' strategy is brilliant: neutralize the plague but then allow the team to be captured, making it appear that their attempt to reach the toxic viruses has failed. In "Operation Rogosh," terrorist and mass murderer Imry Rogosh (Fritz Weaver) is kidnapped by the IMF, drugged into a state of unconsciousness, awakening in what appears to be a maximum security prison in his Iron Curtain country - three years later! All of this is in fact an elaborate ruse to trick Rogosh into revealing his plans for an imminent bioterrorism plot in Los Angeles.

The strength of these clever scripts is backed up with outstanding production values for a '60s TV show. Production company Desilu (then concurrently shooting both Star Trek and The Lucy Show) spared no expense, hiring no less a talent than John Alton to shoot the pilot (it was, sadly, the great cinematographer's last credit) and Lalo Schifrin to write the sensational score, and rising talent Bernard L. Kowalski to direct it. (Editors John M. Foley and Axel Hubert, Sr. cut it, setting the standard for all that followed.) The number of set-ups, the elaborate sets and location work, and number of extras confirm this was no cheap show. Subsequent episodes lean heavily on the Desilu/RKO/Paramount backlots, but still look expensive. (They continued shooting on location, however. "The Carriers" opens with an exciting scene shot in the middle of Hollywood, around Yucca and Ivar.)

Geller won two Emmys for the show's first season, as co-producer (with Joseph Gantman) of the year's "Outstanding Dramatic Series," and for his writing, while Barbara Bain won a Best Leading Actress in a Drama prize while her then real-life husband Martin Landau was nominated.

By spy show standards, the caliber of acting talent on Mission: Impossible is exceptional, with the ensemble giving extremely intelligent, low-key and subtle performances. Bain, who would be totally lifeless, like a department store mannequin, on her subsequent series with Landau, Space: 1999, is sexy and smart here; although she's an attractive woman, this sexiness comes from her performance as much as her outward beauty or her slinky wardrobe.

　

Lupus and especially Morris give strong supporting performances, but the show really belongs to Landau and Steven Hill, the latter quitting after the first season when he couldn't come to terms with a grueling production schedule that wouldn't accommodate his needs to observe the Jewish Sabbath. Hill, who later earned more acclaim as District Attorney Adam Schiff on ten seasons of Law & Order, was like Landau a product of The Actor's Studio, and his quiet amusement at capers pulled off was missed in subsequent seasons. (He was replaced by, of course, Peter Graves.) Incidentally, the show's famous "this tape will self-destruct in five seconds" is only gradually introduced. The pilot has Briggs playing a self-destructing record album, while some of the audio tapes Briggs destroys himself.

Other fine actors appearing in these first season shows include: Albert Paulsen, Oscar Beregi, Mary Ann Mobley, Nehemiah Persoff, Mark Lenard, Joe Mantell, Arthur Hill, Beatrice Straight, Lloyd Bridges, Sid Haig, Eric Braeden, Albert Dekker, Joe Maross, Simon Oakland, Carroll O'Connor, Gail Kobe, David Opatoshu, Woodrow Parfrey, Ricardo Montalban, William Windom, William Schallert, James Daly, Eartha Kitt, Barry Sullivan, and Paul Mantee.

Video & Audio

Mission: Impossible is presented in impressively eye-popping transfer far superior to all previous home video and syndication versions. The sharpness and color of these shows is extremely impressive. Episodes are in their original full frame format and are not cut or time-compressed. Typically there are four episodes per disc. The shows are offered in their original mono, but the audio defaults to a superb Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, which adds enormously to the show's excitement, and Lalo Schifrin's theme really comes alive. (Thankfully, menu screens are without music; the impact of the 5.1 mix would've been ruined had it been heard ad nauseum in the menu screens prior to selecting an episode.) There are no subtitle or alternate audio options, and no Extra Features.

Parting Thoughts

Mission: Impossible: The Complete First TV Season falls short only with its lack of extra features: commentary tracks would be especially welcome in subsequent season sets. Otherwise, the superb transfers and extremely high quality of the show itself make this a must-have for classic TV and espionage fans everywhere.

7TH HEAVEN SEASON 3 DVD TALK REVIEW

The Third Season

For those who are not familiar with 7th Heaven it is a melodrama that revolves around the Camden family. Each episode takes a look into their life as the characters struggle to right some wrong and at the same time, learn a few valuable lessons. The main characters include Reverend Eric (Stephen Collins), Annie (Catherine Hicks), Matt (Barry Watson), Mary (Jessica Biel), Lucy (Beverley Mitchell), Simon (David Gallagher), and Ruthie (Mackenzie Rosman). Despite that one of the main characters is a minister, the series isn't about religion but rather the trials that the family members go through and their individual quests to right wrongs. For more details about the show, please refer to DVD Talk's reviews of season one and season two.

In season three, the Camden family finds themselves in the midst of a lot of drama. The episode's content ranges from teenage sex and pregnancy to drinking and alcohol abuse to over-the-counter drug abuse to lying to war veterans and the homeless to school problems to kid and guns. And it all adds up to a bunch of overly dramatic episodes that feel much like the earlier seasons. Bottom line, if you enjoy 7th Heaven, then the season three set is a nice addition to the series with some big stories dealing with the family.

One of the biggest changes this season is Annie's pregnancy. In the season three premiere episode "It Takes Two, Baby", the family learns that Annie is carrying twins. The pregnancy is an issue throughout the season, up until the birth of the twins, and even in a few episodes having the new kids around the house and how everyone's responsibility changes. In the very early episodes, Annie's pregnancy adds a fun dynamic and tidbits of humor, as her hormones get the best of her. Annie also finds herself working alongside a small group of pregnant teenagers in "Let's Talk About Sex".

Another change this season is Matt going to college. In the season premiere episode, he attempts to move out on his own, which proves to be a daunting task. He moves in with three girls and his appeal to the opposite sex gets him kicked out when all three make moves on him. Matt also finds himself in the midst of a serious alcohol poisoning story in "Drunk Like Me" when his friend almost dies from drinking too much at a fraternity initiation party. Matt also makes a bonehead move and tries to kiss one of his professors. Opps! But the stories about Matt aren't all about college. In "All That Jazz", his ex-girlfriend Heather comes back into his life to tell him she is engaged. The story is revisited in the two-part season finale "There Goes The Bride".

Lucy's life changes on a couple different levels. Her new best friend Nicole has a problem. In "Cutter", everyone finds out she is a cutter, a person who uncontrollably inflicts pain on herself. It is a traumatic episode for Lucy as she loses her best friend. Another change for Lucy is her new boyfriend Jordan. He is an older guy in Mary's class, and he gives the Camden's a scare dealing with teenage sex in "Let's Talk About Sex". Lucy's ex-boyfriend Jimmy Moon comes back into the picture in "Paranoia" and Eric suspects he is using drugs.

Little Simon finds himself in a lot of drama this season. In "The Legacy", he sees his science teacher shove the father of one of his friends. The teacher is suspended for his actions, but Simon knows why it happened. He is scared to come forward about it. Simon also finds himself with a new girlfriend named Deena. She is a nice girl, who is not without her own drama. In "Johnny Get Your Gun", perhaps the most dramatic story of the season, Deena's ex-boyfriend threatens to shoot Simon with a gun. "Nobody Knows..." adds to their drama when it is revealed Deena used to have cancer.

Mary scares the family on more than one occasion. In "...And A Nice Chianti", Mary gets her learners permit. Rather than face Mary behind the wheel of a car, Simon and Lucy take the bus to school, and they find life is very different. Later in "Nobody Knows...", Mary gets her license due to a technicality and feels very guilty about it. Some other stories involving Mary include one of Mary's friends having a heart attack after using over-the-counter energy pills, Mary sneaking around with boys, and other such things.

Young miss Ruthie does not really get into too much drama, as she is a young kid still. But on occasion she finds herself in the middle of her own issues. With the twins on the way, she begins to worry she won't receive any attention or love from the family. And when the twins arrive, it only gets worse. She also shows Simon what it is like to be a babysitter, sympathizes with her pregnant mother, calls a psychic, and other such things.

In the middle of it all is Eric. The good Reverend Camden finds himself going through one ordeal after the other, trying to help people and maintain a balance at home. Some of the big stories he finds himself in include defending a janitor at Simon's school who claims to hear the voice of God, reuniting with his rock 'n' roll buddies and the lifestyle he could have had, helping pregnant teenagers, dealing with his pregnant wife (for the sixth time!), counseling troubled couples, his alcoholic sister Julie, and more.

Overall, the season three content feels much like the first two seasons. The stories are generally episodic with the cast getting into one thing or another that typically has a theme, e.g., everyone deals with teenage pregnancy and sex or drug abuse. The end result is overly dramatic storylines with tidbits of humor. In short, if you have enjoyed past seasons, then you will enjoy season three. My impression about season three were much like my thoughts about season two. I enjoyed the episodes enjoy that I had a hard time putting them down, but I can't imagine wanting to watch them over and over again.

Episode Guide

1. It Takes Two, Baby: Annie announces she's expecting twins, but it's Ruthie who gets morning sickness. Meanwhile, Matt moves in with three girls, while Mary and Lucy put their faith in "The Rules".
2. Drunk Like Me: Matt's friend at college goes through an initiation that involves too much alcohol. The family restores a car as a gift to Matt, but Simon wants no part of it. And a divorcee flirts with Eric.
3. Cutters: Mary discovers a horrible secret about Lucy's new friend. Ruthie fails her math test in order to get attention from her mother, so Simon offers to pay her to pass.
4. The Legacy: After his teacher is suspended, Simon feels responsible and gets his father to help. Meanwhile, Matt gets the wrong idea from his attractive professor, and Mary cuts class for the first time.
5. ...And A Nice Chianti: Eric helps a woman find the donor recipients of her son's organs. And while Simon and Lucy find adventures on the school bus, Matt gets arrested while helping a girl with her car.
6. And The Home Of The Brave: Annie befriends a homeless man...who ends up coking at her father's wedding reception! Matt and Mary take a road trip that proves endless. And Ruthie reunites with an imaginary friend.
7. Johnny Get Your Gun: Simon is threatened by his girlfriend's ex, but it's Eric who ends up the target. Mary becomes interested in a boy who Matt says is trouble.
8. No Sex, Some Drugs And A Little Rock 'n' Roll: While Eric's high school rock band pays a visit, the Camdens are forced to face their various addictions. Mary and Matt's interest in an herbal energy drug worries their father.
9. Let's Talk About Sex: While Eric and Annie counsel two pregnant girls from prenatal class, Lucy considers having sex. Meanwhile, older sister Mary sneaks away to a co-ed sleepover.
10. Here Comes Santa Claus: As Eric and Annie get creative with their gift-giving, Lucy receives the wrong present from her boyfriend. Mary meets an attractive man at the soup kitchen and invites him home for Christmas.
11. Nobody Knows...: Simon learns that his girlfriend Deena once had leukemia, so Ruthie helps by consulting a psychic. Mary passes her driving test, but cries in front of the instructor. And aunt Julie is back in town.

12. All That Jazz: Annie and Eric realize that Dr. Hastings, the doctor who nearly killed Matt during childbirth, may deliver their twins. Matt's ex-girlfriend Heather announces she's engaged.
13. The Tribes That Bind: Matt and Eric witness racism at a local restaurant. The church ladies throw a baby shower that gets out of hand. And the battle lines are drawn between Ruthie and her nemesis.
14. In Praise Of Women: While in labor with the twins, Annie asks for help from an unlikely source. At the hospital, Mat is nervous about donating blood. And Happy the dog has a few friends over.
15. It Happened One Night: Because Annie and Eric have their hands full with the twins, Ruthie starts to feel neglected. Lucy has to cover for Mary, who is out with an old boyfriend. Matt reluctantly starts his new delivery job.
16. Paranoia: Lucy's ex-boyfriend may be involved with drugs, so her parents forbid her to see him. And Eric is afraid the deacons at church are conspiring to have him fired.
17. Sometimes That's Just The Way It Is: As Eric consuls a divorcing couple, Simon tries to improve his luck. Meanwhile, Matt joins the Army in order to help pay for college. And Mary and Lucy rebel, and later regret it.
18. We The People: When an extramarital affair involving the president of Matt's university is exposed, the Camdens are torn about whether to get involved. Simon and Ruthie get unexpected help on their paper route.
19. The Voice: A janitor from school may be forced to resign after claiming to hear voices from God. Annie is desperate for a night away from home. And no one believes Ruthie when she says she saw a chimp.
20. All Dogs Go To Heaven: Two parishioners ask Eric to help them put a beloved pet to sleep. Simon's dinner date is chaperoned by Lucy, who gets a date of her own. And Matt catches Mary making out...in a police car!
21. There Goes The Bride (Part 1): Eric and Annie worry about Matt's reaction to Heather's wedding. As Aunt Julie secretly dates Dr. Hastings, Lucy finds herself in a love triangle.
22. There Goes The Bride (Part 2): After disrupting Heather's wedding, Matt must now face current girlfriend Shana. Eric counsels his newly-married sister. And Simon is caught kissing in the bedroom.

The DVD
The packaging for the third season of 7th Heaven is not common to the first two releases. This season contains six DVDs that are stored in a single DVD case. The DVD case is a special case that can hold six DVDs! It is pretty slick they can fit six discs into a normal sized case, but also disappointing at the same time because the packaging is dramatically different than the first two seasons. It's going to look weird on your shelf.

Video:
The video is given in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The video quality is pretty good and offers a fairly clean picture. There is a grain and minor compression artifacts. However, there is nothing that should interfere with your viewing experience.

Audio:
The audio in this release is given in English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. The audio track is mainly dialogue driven and sounds good. There is very little distinction between left and right channels. This release is support closed captioning.

Please note the box cover claims "some music has been changed for this home entertainment version".

Extras:
There are no extras provided with this release.

Final Thoughts:
7th Heaven is the kind of show you either love or hate. The series takes a very melodramatic approach with family-oriented content. Its storylines tend to offer morals and promote good, wholesome family values. The content, being melodramatic, can get over-the-top and fluffy. However, at the same time, it is enjoyable. The bottom line, if you enjoy family-oriented dramas, then 7th Heaven is worth your time. I give this set a Rent It recommendation only because I do not imagine watching the episodes over and over again.

BONES SEASON 1 DVD TALK REVIEW

The First Season

Bones is a television that first aired on the FOX Network in 2005. The series is a crime drama about an unlikely pair who work together to solve crime, Booth, an FBI agent who uses his gut and instinct, and Brennan, a forensic anthropologist who uses evidence and science, to solve cases. As such, Booth and Brennan work on cases that involves bodies that are burnt, decomposed, or destroyed beyond recognition. Joining them is Brennan's forensic team from the Jeffersonian Institute. The show is partly based upon the fictional novels written by Dr. Kathy Reichs. As an overall crime drama, Bones gets two thumbs up. It is a fun show that includes drama, mystery, comedy, and action. Not to mention, it has a fairly well-rounded cast and solid storylines.

Headlining the cast are David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel. Boreanaz plays FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth. Booth is a former Army Ranger sniper who relies on his wit to solve cases. He believes it is his intuition and ability to read people that solve cases. Evidence and the scientific process mean almost nothing to him. He works for the FBI in the homicide unit trying to solve as many murder cases as possible to make up for the countless lives he took as a sniper.

Deschanel plays Dr. Temperance Brennan, who Booth affectionately calls Bones. Brennan is a forensic anthropologist who works for the Jeffersonian Institute. Her area of expertise is postmortem identification of bodies that are beyond recognition by conventional means. She is an expert martial artist and marksman. She desires to work cases from both the laboratory and the field. She lost her family when she was fifteen. To date, she is still looking for them. It is this incident that drives her to solve cases.

Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin) is an artist who is unlike the rest of her cohorts at the Jeffersonian. She lacks their nerdy, anti-social tendencies. She works in facial reconstructions and provides visual representations of what the deceased may or may not have looked like using a 3D holographic computer program she designed. Zack Addy (Eric Millegan) is a young, but bright aspiring doctoral candidate. He is pursuing two doctorates in anthropology and engineering. He works as Brennan's assistant. He is socially reserved and beyond geeky.

Dr. Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) is the team's entomologist. He likes bugs and slime. He is a conspiracy theorist who is reserved about working with the FBI. Hodgins is somewhat geeky, but has social skills and knows how to work with people--most of the time. Dr. Daniel Goodman (Jonathan Adams) runs the Jeffersonian and he typically oversees Brennan's latest important assignments. As an archeologist, he occasionally offers his expertise. Deputy Director Sam Cullen (John M. Jackson) is Booth's boss at the FBI. He is not one of the main characters, but he has an important role.

The characters are part of what makes this series so strong. Each character provides a likeable individual and the relationships they have with each other only strengthen the appeal. Firstly, the seemingly social awkwardness some of the cast have makes for a few laughs in their daily interactions. For instance, Dr. Brennan is focused and typically lacks the same social grace Booth has with people. What works is how well her character and quirks are worked into the stories, as well as the other characters. In the end, they feel more real than most television characters.

In regards to content, Bones follows a fairly formulaic approach. The episodes begin with Booth bringing in a new case for the Jeffersonian team to work on, or Dr. Goodman informing Brennan's team they will be working on this or that. After a preliminary analysis of the remains, Booth and Brennan hit the field to interview suspects, witnesses, and look for more clues to solve the case. Eventually, between their different approaches, a conclusion is found and the bad guys are caught. However, despite the very formulaic approach, the content keeps fresh with its characters and how they develop as individuals and handle each case. In the end, it makes for some topnotch content.

However, while I praise Bones as a solid production, there are some faults. The series does one thing far too much, drama. In each episode, there is some form of drama that clouds one or more of the character's lives. This aspect is useful for character development, but at the same time it can be pretty thick and fluffy. Fortunately, it is not bad to the point it drowns out the rest of the show's positive qualities.

For notable episodes, there are many, but I'll only mention a few. "The Man On Death Row" is a solid episode with a great story. Booth is forced to revisit an old case when a man on death row (he helped put there) is shouting out for anyone to listen. He is innocent and wants someone to take another look at his case. Booth was a green agent at the time and he has Brennan help him find out if the man on death row deserves to die. What works for this episode is the major plot twist it takes. It is very exciting.

"The Girl In the Fridge" is another great episode. A girl is found dead in a refrigerator and Booth finds out a couple with a risque sexual appetite to be the suspects. This is one of the few cases that make it into the court room. What works for this episode is the defense's expert witness, Brennan's old professor and love interest. "The Woman In Limbo" is the series finale and it is an awesome episode. It focuses on Brennan and develops her character further by solving the mystery of what happened to her parents. The episode has a trail of mystery and unfolds a story that you won't want to miss.

Other strong episodes include "The Man In The S.U.V.", Booth and Brennan must find out if a man is a terrorist or just unlucky, "The Man In The Fallout Shelter", the Christmas episode where everyone is quarantined in the laboratory after a biological agent is released, "The Woman In The Garden", Booth and Brennan's latest case lead them to an El Salvadorian gang, and "Two Bodies In The Lab", Booth and Brennan investigate a six-year old case of a deceased mob boss and Brennan's life is threatened.

Overall, Bones is an exciting drama that focuses on homicide cases and dead bodies burnt, decomposed, or destroyed beyond recognition (you might not want to eat while watching this show). The series has a strong cast who works quite well individually and together, as well as solid storylines with only a tad bit too much drama. In the end, Bones makes for a compelling drama that any fan of crime dramas will enjoy.

Episode Guide

1. Pilot: Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan teams up with FBI agent Seeley Booth to investigate the murder of a Senate intern, the political implications of which may prove to be staggering.
2. The Man In The S.U.V.: When a Middle Eastern diplomat is killed in a car-bomb explosion, Brennan and Booth must determine whether he was a terrorist suicide bomber or a murder victim.
3. A Boy In A Tree: Brennan and Booth attempt to untangle a complicated web of deception, sex, and blackmail as they investigate an apparent suicide at an elite prep school.
4. The Man In The Bear: Brennan and Booth travel to a small town in Washington to investigate the gruesome case of a human hand found inside a dead bear.
5. A Boy In A Bush: When the body of a young boy how has been sexually assaulted and murdered is discovered, Booth calls on Brennan to help find the killer.
6. The Man In The Wall: A scuffle at a nightclub leads to the discovery of the mummified corpse of a hip-hop DJ.
7. The Man On Death Row: The race against time is on as Brennan and Booth investigate the case of a death row inmate who may or may not have committed the murder for which he is about to be executed.
8. The Girl In the Fridge: Brennan reconnects with her old college professor--he's also her ex-boyfriend--as she investigates the case of a decomposed corpse found in a refrigerator.
9. The Man In The Fallout Shelter: The team is quarantined and must remain in the lab over Christmas when the examination of a corpse trips the building's biohazard alert system.
10. The Woman At The Airport: Brennan and Booth head to Los Angeles to investigate the murder of a call girl whose extensive plastic surgery complicates the investigation, and Goodman and Hodgins clash while trying to authenticate an Iron Age skeleton.
11. The Woman In The Car: A woman's body is found in a burned-out car, leading to the discovery that her child has been kidnapped.

12. The Superhero In The Alley: The enigmatic death of a self-styled superhero calling himself Citizen 14 has Brennan and Booth searching for answers.
13. The Woman In The Garden: Dead bodies begin to pile up after the arrest of an El Salvadorian gang member, and Brennan and Booth suspect a possible link to a U.S. Senator.
14. The Man On The Fairway: Foul play is the obvious conclusion when Brennan determines that one of the bodies found at the site of a plane crash was not on board the flight.
15. Two Bodies In The Lab: Brennan's life is threatened by a hit man when the body of a mob boss washes ashore, re-opening a six-year-old investigation, while Booth is haunted by a murder resembling a case from his past.
16. The Woman In The Tunnel: Brennan and Booth go underground to solve the murder of a filmmaker killed while documenting the mysterious denizens of a subterranean tunnel system beneath Washington, D.C.
17. The Skull In The Desert: Angela fears the worst when Brennan and Booth investigate the discovery of a human skull found in the desert where her boyfriend has recently gone missing.
18. The Man With The Bone: A human finger-bone found in the clothes of a drowning victim leads to a search for buried treasure.
19. The Man In the Morgue: While in New Orleans to help identify the bodies of Hurricane Katrina victims, Brennan is thrust into the city's shadowy voodoo underworld, becoming the prime suspect in a grisly murder along the way.
20. The Graft In The Girl: Angela befriends a young cancer patient while Brennan and Booth trace the source of her illness: a tainted bone graft provided by a rogue bio-tissue supply house.
21. The Soldier In The Grace: At Arlington National Cemetery, Booth and Brennan investigate the apparent suicide of a soldier who served in Iraq, and Brennan suspects a cover-up.
22. The Woman In Limbo: Brennan tries to come to grips with her past when the remains that she's examining turn out to be those of her mother.

The DVD

Video:
The video in this release is given in anamorphic 1.78:1 ratio widescreen color. The picture quality is generally good with detail looking sharp and no issues with colors. However it does have a slight grain, which is more noticeable during darker scenes. There are also some minor traces of edge enhancement.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is in English 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound. The sound quality is top notch and delivers a strong an audible experience by taking advantage of the 5.1 setup (where applicable). The dialogue is easy to hear over background music and sounds effects.

There are also subtitles provided in English, French, and Spanish.

Extras:
Audio Commentaries are included for the episodes "Pilot" with executive producer Barry Josephson and series creator Hart Hanson, and "Two Bodies In The Lab" with actors David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel. Both commentaries are entertaining and worth sitting through, especially if you enjoyed the season episodes as much as I did.

Squints Featurette (7:54) is about the cast, specifically the forensic scientists, with dialogue from David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, TJ Thyne, Eric Millegan, Michaela Conlin, and Hart Hanson. It begins with an explanation to what a squint is and why the term applies. Then the focus moves into discussion about the characters and their dynamics, e.g., having Angela to balance out the scientist roles. The actors also provide insights to what it is like on the show.

The Real Definition Featurette (7:28) is a somewhat interesting featurette. It is a montage of clips from the season one episodes divided into four parts. Each part focuses on a technical definition and provides a non-technical explanation, relevant information, and how it pertains to the case. Each is explained with clips from the episodes. The terms include hyperparathyroidism, coccidioidomycosis, sternal foramen, and prion diseases.

Bones: Inspired by the Life of Forensics Anthropologist and Author Kathy Reichs (6:43) is a featurette about the creation of the series. It stars Barry Josephson, Hart Hanson, and Kathy Reichs. They talk about Kathy's role on the series, the science in the show, why they wanted to use Kathy's worth as a creative starting point, the characters, Emily Deschanel, and so on.

Character Profiles is a collection of character facts for Dr. Temperance Brenna, Special Agent Seeley Booth, Angela Montenegro, Zach Addy, Dr. Jack Hodgins, and Dr. Daniel Goodman. The information is brief and stuff you will pick up if you watch the season one episodes.

Final Thoughts:
The inaugural season of the television series Bones offers twenty-two episodes that are compelling, engaging, and most importantly, entertaining. The show focuses cases where bodies are burnt, decomposed, or destroyed beyond recognition. An FBI agent joins with a forensic anthropologist and her team to solve cases. The cases they work on provide an entertaining mystery while the character development gives the show personality. In the end, fans of crime dramas should appreciate this fresh look at criminal investigations that is bad to the bone. It is Highly Recommended.

PARTY OF FIVE SEASON 2 DVD TALK REVIEW

The Second Season

Party of Five is a teenage melodrama about five siblings getting their lives back together after the death of their parents. I never watched this show religiously when it aired, but I did manage to catch enough episodes that I am pretty familiar with it. The back story of the series (covered in the pilot episode) is about the Salinger family. They are put into disarray when the parents are killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. This tragic event forced the five siblings to band together in a way they never expected. In the first season, a lot of the plotlines were about the cast getting used to their new situation and at the same time trying to live regular lives with an otherwise irresponsible twenty-four year old guy being forced to act the parent to three teenagers and a baby. The drama surrounding these events developed was thick and sometimes way over the top. The second season's drama maintains the thick, over the top melodramatic tone.

While I had somewhat fond memories of this show, the second season left me feeling less than entertained and on occasion, frustrated. For the most part I felt the stories were good, but the drama was a little more than I could bear. An over the top, dramatic story can be good, but too much of it can turn into something bad. On more than one occasion it felt like way too much and more often than not I thought the characters came off as whiny. It was the whiny factor that caused my frustration. Sometimes it was just hard to sit through.

The second season picks up with the end of summer. Charlie and Kirsten are working out the details of their upcoming marriage and at the same time Charlie is trying to figure the details of his life. Julia is welcoming back her longtime friend and boyfriend Justin from his summer trip in Europe, while at the same time trying to keep her illicit love affair with bad boy Griffin a secret. Bailey is overcoming the events from the end of season one, while struggling to find his confidence in life. As usual, Claudia feels like the little kid no one pays attention too.

As the season unfolds, Charlie and Kirsten's relationship becomes the key fixture for the first half. While the two are deeply in love with each other, Charlie begins to doubt their relationship. The thought of marriage and being with only one person until death scares him a lot. His reservations about marrying Kirsten become a big problem for her as well and it ends their relationship. In the second half of the season, we find them lowly rebuilding their relationship and trust in each other.

Julia's story starts off with her trying to juggle two boyfriends, but when the truth comes out she is forced to pick one of them. She picks Griffin, who is a jerk and troublemaker. Yet, Julia does not give up on him. Later they realize the relationship is doomed for reasons out of their control and she tries to repair her relationship with Justin. Towards the end of the season this becomes a very dramatic story, as their relationship became sexual and Julia got pregnant and had a miscarriage.

Bailey is hurting the tragedy from the end of season one and he is having trouble overcoming it. Because of this, he is unable to be in a relationship. His best friend Will tries to setup him up with a girl, which fails. Bailey's friend Sarah also actively pursues him, but despite hint after hint, he never realizes her interest in him until she points it out. They end up dating, but not for long because Bailey isn't over his problem yet. Will and Sarah get together and it fills Bailey with jealous and he is finally able to commit to a relationship.

Sarah finds out her life has been a lie. Her parents are not her real parents. She was adopted. Sarah does not react to this news well and soon turns into an angry at the world teenager who likes to yell and scream. Fortunately Bailey is there to help her through the ordeal.

Claudia breaks her wrist and is unable to play the violin for months. And playing the violin had been a big part of her life. In this season she finds a new friend, a troublemaker who smokes cigarettes and does anything to defy authority. She starts turning Claudia into a junior-version bad girl. In the end, Claudia realizes she is no longer the same person and when her wrist heals, she gives up playing the violin and tries a different path in life.

This season has plenty of more dramatic stories such as Julia dealing with sexual harassment from a teacher, Charlie taking over the family restaurant and running into severe financial difficulties, Bailey struggling to get into college, and so on. In the end, some of these stories prove interesting, while others tended to drone on. Party of Five should be great for fans of series, but those looking for a good teenage melodrama might want to look elsewhere.

Episode Guide
1. Ready or Not
2. Falsies
3. Dearly Beloved
4. Have No Fear
5. Change Partners... and Dance
6. Analogies
7. Where There's Smoke
8. Best Laid Plans
9. The Wedding
10. Grand Delusions
11. Unfair Advantage
12. Hold on Tight
13. Poor Substitutes
14. Strange Bed Fellows
15. Benefactors
16. Comings and Goings
17. Valentine's Day
18. Before and After
19. Altered States
20. Happily Ever After
21. Spring Breaks I
22. Spring Breaks II

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The picture quality looks decent and offers a viewable picture. There are traces of edge enhancement and a fair amount of compression artifacts, as well as some ghosting. Colors usually look good, but there are times when they are not represented well and bright colors appear too dark.

Audio:
The audio is given in English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. The sound quality is adequate and like most TV on DVD releases provides an audible track with dialogue that is easy to hear throughout each episode. There are no subtitles included, but the feature supports closed captioning.

Extras:
This box set comes with three audio commentaries and a featurette. The commentaries are for episodes "The Wedding", "Grand Delusions", and "Before and After". Each commentary has writer and producer Chris Keyser, and actors Lacey Chabert, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Scott Wolf, and Paula Devicq, sitting in on it, except the track for "Grand Delusions" does not include Keyser. The general topic of discussion was common to most commentary tracks. Scott Wolf turned out to be quite funny and made listening to the tracks a lot of fun. Note, if you try to access these from the DVD menus, they will not load the episodes with the commentary tracks. You will have to select the track manually when the episode begins.

The featurette is "Party of Five: A Look Back with Jennifer Love Hewitt", which is thirty minutes of reflection time with Jennifer. She talks about how she got on the show, her interaction with the other characters, what people thought about it, experiences on the set, etc. It started off lackluster, but as it went on Jennifer turned out to provide some interesting insights. There's one portion when she talks about what it was like kissing Scott Wolf, and her comments are on the funny-side. Overall I enjoyed the extras more than I did the season episodes.

Final Thoughts:
Even though I never watched Party of Five episode after episode when it aired on television, I did caught quite a few from time to time and the experience left me with some fond memories about the series. When I started the second season, I couldn't quite remember what the show was about, but after an episode I was able to remember a lot about it. As season two got underway, I found some of the content to be entertaining, but more typically than not the drama came off as little too much. The character roles felt a little forced and whiny, which left me annoyed and frustrated. In the end, my fond memories were shattered and I can't say I really enjoyed watching season two. This is probably best for the fans of the series, and those looking for a teenage melodrama to get into might want to look toward another show like Felicity or One Tree Hill.

PARTY OF FIVE SEASON 1 DVD TALK REVIEW

The Program

I was never a regular watcher of Party of Five when it first aired on FOX television from 1994 to 2000. I may have followed it for a season or two, at most, and gradually became a sporadic viewer at best. Not that it was a bad show, mind you. It was one of those situations in which you miss a few episodes here, a few episodes there, and suddenly you're miles behind each and every one of the show's subplots.

A shame, really, because Party of Five was a pretty good show. The series dealt with the trials and tribulations of the Salinger siblings: Charlie (Matthew Fox), at 24, the eldest of the clan, Bailey (Scott Wolf), the jock, Julia (Neve Campbell), the beautiful if unsure of herself highscooler, Claudia (Lacey Chabert), the adorably precocious and artistically gifted youngster, and the baby Owen (various infants), who generally burps and poops a lot. As the series started, the five had just begun coming to grips with the autombile-accident deaths of their parents, who had been thevictims of a drunk driver. The group not only had to deal with the loss of their parents, but with the reality of life on their own. Charlie was thrust into the role of de facto parent and guardian, responsible for the livelihood of four minors. He develops a relationship with Owen's nanny (Paula Devicq), an event that is ripe with joy and frustration, a theme that runs rampant throughout the series.

It's really interesting to remember that when Party of Five first hit the airwaves, it was not an immediate success. At the time, FOX was flying high with such cheesy, smarmy, skin-laden and lightweight primetime soap-operas as Beverly Hills: 90210 and Melrose Place, and the relatively straight-laced Party of Five was definitely not cut from the same cloth. Series creators Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman, who had both worked as producers on the NBC drama Sisters, developed a show with more dramatic weight, portraying the existence of five siblings suddenly forced to live on their own with equal parts laughter and heartache. Although the cast is impeccably attractive, the characters felt like people (albeit rather pithy ones) rather than caricatures. Party of Five featured teens and young adults, but never felt like a "teens and young adults" show. The show won critical raves but not immediate popular success. Its cult status was elevated after it won a Golden Globe award for Best Television Drama, and the series at long last became a ratings success. It certainly raised the awareness factor of Neve Campbell, who would go on to find success in the Scream films and the camp classic Wild Things.

The following twenty-two episodes are included in this 5-DVD set:

Disc One

1. Pilot - Five children orphaned by their parents' fatal auto accident seek to make their way in San Francisco.
2. Homework - Bailey develops a crush on Kirsten; Julia strives to be popular; Claudia searchers for the Salingers' long-lost grandfather.
3. Good Sports - Bailey's loyalty to his football teammates places him in jeopardy; Julia's generosity to some popular new friends causes problems for her siblings.
4. Worth Waiting For - Julia is tempted by sex; Kirsten gives Charlie another chance; Bailey falls in love.
5. All's Fair - An old girlfriend tempts Charlie; Claudia and Julia both lie to get what they want.

Disc Two

1. Fathers and Sons - Bailey tries to impress Kate's father; Charlie balks at the constant comparisons with his own Dad.
2. Much Ado About Nothing - Charlie's infidelity jeopardizes his relationship with Kirsten; Bailey's preoccupation with Kate angers Claudia.
3. Kiss Me, Kate - Bailey and Kate disagree over sex, Charlie sets out to impress a potential employer, Claudia's success goes to her head, and Julia struggles in school.
4. Something Out of Nothing - The arrival of an old family friend disrupts the Salinger household.
5. Thanksgiving - The release of the drunk driver who killed their parents divides the family.

Disc Three

1. Private Lives - Keeping too many secrets from each other threatens the Salingers' future together.
2. Games People Play - Bailey learns a secret about Kate; Julia and Claudia each try keeping secrets from prospective boyfriends; a personal crisis prompts Kirsten to turn to Charlie.
3. Grown-Ups - As Claudia and Julia each face the challenges of growing up, Charlie proposes to Kirsten, while Bailey finds himself in a relationship based solely on sex.
4. Not Fade Away - Sparks fly when Charlie moves Kirsten in without consulting his siblings; Julia uncovers evidence that their mother may have had an affair.
5. It's Not Easy Being Green - The Salingers each face problems with their friends and lovers.

Disc Four

1. Aftershocks - As aftershocks rock their home, Bailey discovers Jill is using drugs, Charlie regrets accepting a loan from Kirsten, and Julia comes between Libby and her boyfriend.
2. In Loco Parentis - Bailey and Claudia each struggle to help friends in need, while Julia falls in love with an old friend.
3. Who Cares? - On the eve of Claudia's birthday, Bailey heads to Los Angeles to find Jill.
4. Brother's Keeper - The family is thrown into turmoil when Charlie is offered a job in Seattle.
5. The Trouble With Charlie - As Charlie tries getting some time for himself, the pressures of being the head of the household mount.

Disc Five

1. All-Nighters - Just as Charlie finds a new apartment, he's needed more than ever at home.
2. The Ides of March - Bailey is shocked by SPOILER: highlight Jill's death; Ross's homosexuality threatens his adoption of a little girl.

The DVD

Video:

Party of Five: The Complete First Season is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The transfer is pretty problematic. The overall image suffers from excessive compression noise and shimmering, the result of cramming upwards of five episodes per disc. There is some softness and lack of image detail, noticeable edge-enhancement, and a stable if rather muted color scheme. Contrast levels are adequate are deep blacks are moderately impressive. Overall, the image is mostly acceptable but disappointing.

Audio:

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and presents a reasonably acceptable soundtrack. Dialog levels are impressively clear and bright, while surround effects are used to effectively highlight background and ambient noise without overloading the front stage. The show featured mid-90s alt-rock songs throughout its soundtrack, and these come across with acceptable range and punch.

Extras:

There are some worthy extras of note on this disc. Cast and creators provide separate audio commentaries for the following episodes: Pilot, Thanksgiving, and The Ides of March. As is usual in these cases, the cast commentaries (featuring Matthew Fox, Scott Wolf, and Lacey Chabert) are the "chummier" of the two, while the creator commentaries (featuring Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman) provide more sedate if warmly-recollected anecdotal and technical information.

Disc Five contains two featurettes: Party of Five: A Look Back is an hour-long retrospective that examines the history and development of and reaction to the series, featuring the creators and stars of the show. This extra will probably be the favorite of any Party of Five fan. Creators Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman and stars Scott Wolf, Lacey Chabert, Neve Campbell, and Paula Devicq are all heavily featured throughout the retrospective, which is both quite detailed and extremely heartfelt. You really get the sense that these people loved the show. The second featurette is Party of Five: A Family Album, which runs nearly seventeen minutes in length. This segment focuses heavily on the first season, culling interviews with the cast and creators featuring their recollections of their initial year on the air. This feature repeats of a lot of information found elsewhere on the disc, but it nonetheless makes for a fairly affectionate addition.

Finally, there is a set of previews for 50 First Dates, Contemporary TV Trailers, Dawson' Creek, Go, and The Company .

Final Thoughts

I can recommend Party of Five: The Complete First Season, but with reservations. I didn't care too much for the presentation of the material. While the audio was pleasant, the video was a tad too compressed for my liking. Still the quality of the shows and the supplemental material definitely make a case for this set. I can understand and thoroughly appreciate Columbia Tristar's efforts to keep the price point below $50 retail, as well as include quality, value-adding supplemental material, but perhaps a sixth disc should have been included to smooth out the bit rate. Nonetheless, Party of Five fans will definitely enjoy their time revisiting the Salingers.