Saturday, November 04, 2006

Mini-DVD Reviews: Beverly Hills, 90210: The Complete First Season and Melrose Place: The Complete First Season (Nov. 7)

Today we take a look at two classic '90s Fox dramas. Paramount Home Entertainment's Beverly Hills, 90210: The Complete First Season and Melrose Place: The Complete First Season. See Shawn Eaton's mini-DVD reviews of both of these sets below:

Beverly Hills, 90210: The Complete First Season (Paramount, $54.99) brings us the classic first season of probably one of the best teen dramas of all-time. School is back in session with the kids of BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 finally coming to DVD! Paramount has issued the Complete 1st Season of the hit FOX teen-soap, which ran on the network from 1990 until 2000, spanning a whopping 10 seasons of friendships, betrayals, rivalries and love affairs. This acclaimed series made stars out of it's entire cast. Leading the pack are Jason Priestley as Brandon Walsh, Shannen Doherty as Brenda Walsh, Luke Perry as Dylan McKay, Jennie Garth as Kelly Taylor, Tori Spelling as Donna Martin, Ian Ziering as Steve Sanders, Brian Austin Green as David Silver and Gabrielle Carteris as Andrea Zuckerman. Rounding out the first season cast are Carol Potter as Cindy Walsh, James Eckhouse as Jim Walsh and Douglas Emerson as Scott (David's nerdy pal).
This six-disc set contains all 21 regular episodes along with the original two-hour pilot (which is broken into two parts). The six discs are spaced out over three slim cases. Discs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 each contain four episodes. Disc 6 contains three episodes, plus the bonus features.
Notable episodes for this season include "Pilot" which started it all. "The Green Room" is the one that introduces Luke Perry as Dylan. "Higher Education" is the one where straight-ace Brandon cheats on a test after being pushed to the limit by a demanding and harsh teacher. "Perfect Mom" is where we are introduced to Kelly's boozing mom, Jackie (played by Ann Gillespie). "The Gentle Art of Listening" as Brenda joins a teen hotline. "Isn't It Romantic?" is where the foundation for the Brenda/Dylan relationship is set. "Slumber Party" is where a bitchy friend of Kelly's forces all the girls to reveal dark secrets about themselves. "It's Only A Test" in which Brenda finds a lump in her breast and "Home Again" in which Jim gets a job offer that could take the Walsh family right back to Minnesota! The episodes themselves have six chapter skips and they appear to be uncut (as far as I can personally tell, as they each run around a whopping 45-46 minutes), although the music has been changed (the theme song is intact; no worries), which isn't very noticeable, in my opinion and it's the episodes that matter!
The special features on this set are very nice. We have the all-important Commentary by creator Darren Star, on "Pilot" (Part 1 only), and "Spring Dance". We also have some featurettes including: "Beginnings with Darren Star" is a six minute interview with Darren Star as he discusses Season 1, how they expanded Tori Spelling's role, how they told issue-oriented stories, and how great the actors were--a nice interview. "Meet The Class of West Beverly High" is an awesome featurette! You go to a sub-menu and can select each character (Dylan, Brenda, Brandon, Donna, David, Kelly, Andrea and Steve) and you can see the "stats" of the character and then click on a Behind-The-Scenes interview with the cast member of that character in which they talk about their character. Interviews are NOT new, and appear to be from the 1990/1991 era. Very fun! "90210" Behind-The-Scenes Featurette" seems to be from back in 1991 or 1992. It doesn't appear to have been made for the DVD, but was an old Behind-The-Scenes thing. Nice featurette that goes through each character, giving a run-down of the characters. And the "Looking Back: Season One - The Recap" is just recaps of the episodes. It lists the episodes, you select one and it gives a recap.
Overall, a fantastic release by Paramount, and I for one cannot wait until the Second Season!

-- Reviewed by Shawn Eaton
(4.5/5 stars)

To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Beverly Hills, 90210 TV.com Page


Melrose Place: The Complete First Season (Paramount, $54.99) brings us the classic first season of the spin-off of 90210 and one of the best prime-time soaps of all-time. Let the scheming, the scandals and the sex begin! 4616 Melrose Place is where it all takes place. One of the guiltiest pleasures of all time, the FOX primetime soap (and spin-off of equally popular "Beverly Hills, 90210) "Melrose Place" is finally available on DVD! Paramount has issued a massive 8-disc set of the Complete 1st Season, which features all 32, yes 32, first season episodes of the hit series. A spin-off of "90210," "Melrose Place" took to the airwaves in the summer of 1992, to less than stellar ratings, only to catapult to success with the addition of Heather Locklear and the swift change of issue-oriented story lines to camp soap opera stories. The premise was a bunch of very different 20-somethings living in the same apartment building. The tenants at the start of the series were Josie Bissett as fashion designer and wife Jane Mancini, Thomas Calabro as Dr. Michael Mancini, Andrew Shue as good-natured writer Billy Campbell, Courtney Thorne-Smith as the hapless Alison Parker, Grant Show as biker bad-boy with a heart of gold, Jake Hanson (who had made his debut on "Beverly Hills, 90210" as Jake), Doug Savant as the openly gay Matt Fielding, Vanessa Williams as jazz instructor Rhonda and Amy Locane as southern starlet Sandy. After 13 episodes, Locane left the series and the producers brought in Daphne Zuniga as mysterious photographer Jo Reynolds along with Heather Locklear as the bitchy uber-executive Amanda Woodward. Throughtout the season we also were introduced to future regulars (and some say two of the most popular characters in the series), Marcia Cross as tightly-woven Dr. Kimberly Shaw and Laura Leighton as Sydney Andrews, Jane's sister.
The eight-disc set contains all 32 episodes of the first season. The eight discs are spread over four slim-cases. Each case features two or three of the main cast in a nice teal color. Each disc contains four episodes. The special features themselves are actually spread out over several discs, instead of being on the last disc, like most sets, but I'll get to those in a bit.
The episodes, arguably, start out slow and cheesy (according to most fans, myself included), but I'll list the notable ones to take a second look at. "Pilot," is where it started it all and introduced us to 4616 Melrose Place. "Second Chances" which is one of Rhonda's few storylines to shine in. "Lonely Hearts" in which Sandy and Amy Locane get to shine in a chilling plot. "Burned" is where racism is dealt with. "A Promise Broken" in which we are introduced to Marcia Cross' Dr. Kimberly Shaw. "House of God" is the one where we meet Daphne Zuniga's Jo. "Single White Sister" in which we meet Laura Leighton's Sydney. "Picture Imperfect" is the one where Heather Locklear debuts as Amanda Woodward. "Pushing Boundaries" is the one which Kimberly puts the moves on Michael. "Carpe Diem" is about Alison and Billy having their first "date." "State of Need" is the one where Amanda reveals her pregnancy with Billy's baby. And the season finale "Suspicious Minds" in which Amanda announces herself to be the new owner of Melrose Place! The episodes themselves do appear to be uncut (at least to me, personally) and run about 44-45 minutes in length, although the music has been changed, the popular theme song is still intact, thankfully. Chapter skips for each episode are available.
The special features, themselves, as I have said, are spread out over several discs. Disc 2 features "Beginnings," a 5 minute featurette in which creator Darren Star discuss the start of the series (based on his own personal experiences living in a similar complex, etc.) with interviews with the stars (the interviews are not new and probably from around the start of the show in 1992/1993). Disc 3 features "Friends & Neighbors" a mini-featurette that runs about 6 minutes and features Darren Star discussing several of the characters inter-cut with old press interviews with the cast (appears to be, again, from 1992/1993). Star discusses Jane, Michael (and to a lesser extent Kimberly), Matt, Sandy and Jake. On Disc 4, we have "Neighbors & Friends" which is the same as "Friends & Neighbors" except Star discusses the rest of the characters (Billy, Alison, Jo, Kimberly, and Rhonda). It also runs about 6 minutes in length. On Disc 5 we have "Season One - Episode Guide" in which, like the "90210" release, you can click on an episode title and read the description of the episode. Also on Disc 5 we have "Melrose Place: Behind-The-Scenes Featurette" much like the "90210" one. It appears to be from around the start of the series, 1992/1993, and features a run down of the series and interviews with the cast as they discuss their characters, etc. It runs around 5 minutes. On Disc 6 we have "Amanda", a mini-featurette that runs about 2 minutes and features Darren Star discussing the arrival of Heather Locklear and the formation of Amanda. Disc 7 brings us the final special feature "Melrose Place: New Style Profile" featurette, which runs about 5 minutes and talks about the style of the show (it appears to be another "Behind the Scenes" featurette).
Once again, a truly FANTASTIC release by Paramount that I'm sure Melrose Place fans (like myself) will be absolutely ecstatic about!

-- Reviewed by Shawn Eaton
(4.5/5 stars)

To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Melrose Place TV.com Page


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, October 4

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 30)

Friday, October 4

  • Halle Berry (Living Dolls) - Watch Halle on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Will Ferrell (The Office) - Will and Harper Steele (Will & Harper) are guests on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Kristen Bell (Nobody Wants This/Central Park/The Good Place) - Kristen appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) - Tien is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Sarah Paulson (Leap of Faith) - Sarah can be heard on The Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
  • George Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez/Lopez/Saint George/George Lopez) and Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - NBC's Today catches up with George and Mayan in the 10am hour.
  • Paul Scheer (Black Monday/Fresh Off the Boat/The League) - Paul is telling Drew all about his new memoir and answering questions from his wife June Diane Raphael on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Niecy Nash-Betts (Reno 911!/Getting On/The Soul Man/Do Not Disturb) - Niecy talks about the highly-anticipated premiere of Grotesquerie on FX on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Deon Cole (grown-ish/Angie Tribeca/black-ish) - Deon sits down to chat about his new comedy special and touring with Martin Lawrence on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Nathan Lane (Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Yvette Nicole Brown (Act Your Age/The Odd Couple/Community/The Big House) - Yvette guest co-hosts The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • John Stamos (UnPrisoned/Fuller House/Grandfathered/Jake in Progress/Full House/You, Again?) - John talks about his memoir If You Would Have Told Me on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Victoria Justice (Victorious/Zoey 101/) - Victoria discusses her film Depravity on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT and on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Paul Reiser (Mad About You/Red Oaks/Married/My Two Dads) - Paul is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Ropers - The Complete Series Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD) Young Sheldon - The Complete Series Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

10/04 - Family Guy Halloween Special: Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Cheater; What We Do in the Shadows Returns for Final Season
10/03 - Jack Whitehall Holiday Comedy Special; Leighton Meester Joins Apple TV+ Series
10/02 - The Franchise Launches Sunday on HBO; Remembering John Amos of Good Times
10/01 - No Good Deed Premieres in December on Netflix; SNL Season 50 Opens Strong
09/30 - TV One Acquires black-ish; Whitney Cummings to Host Friends Game Show Event
09/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 30, 2024)
09/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Kathy Bates Matlock Premiere Brings Solid Ratings; Whitney Cummings to Host Friends-themed Game Show
09/27 - Apple TV+ Shrinking Season 2; FETV Highway Patrol 10-4 Day Marathon
09/26 - Max's Velma Halloween Special; Apple TV+ Peanuts Holiday Specials This Holiday Season
09/25 - AXS TV Acquires Nashville; MGM+ Rebooting Robin Hood
09/24 - Trailer and Guest Voices for Everybody Still Hates Chris; The Lincoln Lawyer Returns October 17 on Netflix
09/23 - Laff Fall 2024 Schedule with The Conners and Bob ♥ Abishola; CBS' Comfy Blue Sofa Tour
09/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 23, 2024)
09/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Abbott Elementary Cast Gets Major Pay Raise; Saturday Night Live Season 50 Hosts Announced
09/20 - Sabrina Carpenter Gets Netflix Holiday Special; Starz Announces Dark Comedy Series
09/19 - The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh Drops October 17 on Prime Video; Ellen's Final Comedy Special
09/18 - Australian The Office Coming to Prime Video; You're Laughing at CBS
09/17 - 76th Primetime Emmy Award Winners; Emmys Draw Largest Audience in 3 Years
09/16 - George Lopez Gets Prime Video Special; Netflix Orders His & Hers
09/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 16, 2024)
09/14 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Tim Meadows to Star in New Sitcom DMV; Casting for The Office Followup Series
09/13 - ALF Anniversary Marathon on Shout! TV; HBO Orders Tim Robinson Comedy
09/12 - MeTV Halloween 2024 Events; CBS' Nate Bargatze Holiday Special
09/11 - HBO Orders Rachel Sennott Comedy to Series; Jaleel White Hosts New Game Show Flip Side
09/10 - CBS Fall 2024 Preview Special; The Franchise Premieres October 6 on HBO
09/09 - Lifetime Orders Christmas in the Spotlight; Hulu Sets Murdaugh Murders Series
09/08 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 9, 2024)
09/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Only Murders in the Building Renewed for Fifth Season; Plex Adds Knots Landing and More
09/06 - Hulu's Child Stars Documentary; Keke Palmer Heads to The 'Burbs for Peacock
09/05 - Dancing with the Stars Season 33 Cast; Tia Mowry We TV Docuseries
09/04 - Nick at Nite Acquires Modern Family; SNL Stars Go Live on Peacock Next Thursday