I’d just as soon start 2007 with as clean a slate as possible, so I wanted to toss out a few quick takes of stuff that I’d really intended to do longer takes on, except that…well, I just never had the time to watch them in their entirety, basically. I hate to knock out a full-length review on a season of a show if I’ve only watched a few episodes; it results in a composition that’s mostly filler…and if it’s gonna be mostly filler, then why not just do a quick take in the first place? So here goes…
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist: Season Two: Jonathan Katz’s animated creation returns with another season of stand-up comedians who need therapy. Katz once again returns to do a few audio commentaries, though unlike the previous DVD set, none of his former guest stars took time out to revisit their appearances; they’re barely missed, though, given that Katz is a man who’s always “on,” thereby resulting in always-enjoyable commentary. The biggest question you’ll have after watching this set is, “What the hell happened to Kevin Meaney, and why doesn’t he get more work?” Damn, that guy’s funny.
Criminal Minds: The First Season / Numb3rs: The Complete Second Season: I’m pretty sure CBS has more crime dramas than ABC, NBC, and Fox combined, and here are two of them, both of them about the FBI. “Criminal Minds” focuses on the organization’s criminal profilers, and while the show has an okay ensemble, it’s clearly a vehicle for Mandy Patinkin’s character, Special Agent Jason Gideon, who’ll remind you of Will Graham, from Thomas Harris’s novel, “Red Dragon.” Of the aforementioned ensemble, the character that really stands out is Dr. Spencer Reid – played by Matthew Gray Gubler – who’s a genius with virtually no social skills. It’s an okay show, but it’s not must-see TV. And neither, for that matter, is “Numb3rs”…and, yet, David Krumholz’s performance makes it a show that you’ll almost always stop to watch when you happen to flip by it. Having a supporting cast that includes Peter MacNicol and Judd Hirsch doesn’t hurt any, either…but – and maybe this is just me – I just don’t buy Rob Morrow as a tough-guy FBI agent. It’s worth nothing that both of these DVD sets include decent special features, featurettes, behind-the-scenes docs, commentaries and whatnot, furthering the theory that CBS treats fans of its recent shows better than just about any other studio.
Joan of Arcadia: The Second Season: This is a show that had its one-liner of a premise – teenage girl talks to God – played up way too much. Until I got this set, I had absolutely no idea that Joan’s parents were played by Joe Mantegna and Mary Steenburgen. Hell, if I’d known that, I’d’ve watched the show when it was on the air in the first place! Seriously, though, while Joan’s conversations with God in all his various guises are a major part of the show, “Joan of Arcadia” is a well-written drama that parents could watch with their teens with neither party feeling like the show isn’t aimed at them. It’s philosophical, it’s intelligent, and it provides a positive message without getting mired in schmaltz. Basically, it’s “Touched By An Angel” for the crowd that understands that, in life, every ending isn’t happy.
Ghost Whisperer: The Complete First Season: I think you’re either a “Medium” guy or a “Ghost Whisperer” guy, but you can’t be both. And, frankly, if you’re a guy, you might think you’re not supposed to be either one…but the reality is that “Medium” is awesome. “Ghost Whisperer,” meanwhile, stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, who’s way too perky and cute to be talking to the dead. Sorry, I’m just not buying it. And you probably shouldn’t, either. If you do happen to be a fan, however, you’ll be pleased with all the special features. (Yep, it’s another CBS release.)
Beverly Hills 90210: The Complete First Season: My wife saw this set come in, and while she didn’t exactly grab it with a “Yoink!” and run off to watch it in one sitting, she did find herself wrapped up in the series just as much as she had been during its original release. Me, I was mostly fascinated by how the show’s 2-hour pilot plays less like a teen-angst drama and more like an attempt to reproduce the feel of a John Hughes movie on TV; it doesn’t really succeed on that level, but that’s definitely what it feels like they were going for. While my wife mostly rejoiced in watching episodes she’d already seen half a dozen times on FX, she did observe that “the producers must’ve had a checklist of every teenage problem they could think of and were going through, checking them off as they went through them. And they’re all solved so fast – generally before the end of a single episode – that they must’ve been scared they were gonna get cancelled and didn’t want to leave any cliffhangers.”
Melrose Place: The Complete First Season: Has any guy ever watched a complete episode of this show and not felt guilty about it? Yeah, maybe. After all, the cast includes Courtney Thorne-Smith, Daphne Zuniga, Heather Locklear, and Josie Bissett, making it pretty easy to keep your eyes on the screen and still live with yourself. Actually, this first season of the show – which, FYI, was a spin-off from “90210,” thanks to Jennie Garth’s character from “90210,” Kelly, dating studly carpenter Jake Hanson (played by Grant Snow) – is before things went so far over the top that Locklear was willing to mock the show on “Saturday Night Live.” It was actually a pretty decent nighttime soap at this point. And can you believe there were 32 episodes in the first season? That’s a lot of backstabbing and bedhopping in a year’s time.
Def Comedy Jam Classics, Volume 1 & 2: What’s that? You say that you love comedy, but you can only afford to buy one of these volumes and you want to make sure you get the one that’s got the highest ratio of f-word usage to funny material? Well, I don’t want to make your decision for you, but Volume 2 features James Hannah, Arnez J, and Rich Vos, and it’s hosted by Steve Harvey, while Volume 1 features Dave Chappelle, D.L. Hughley, and Chris Tucker, and it’s hosted by Martin Lawrence. Go ahead, pick.
