Synopsis
Tony Danza packs up daughter Alyssa Milano and leaves New York to become thehousekeeper in the suburban home of executive Judith Light. Living with her are smart-alec kidDanny Pintauro and sexually aggressive mother Katherine Helmond. Sparks (or something)ensue between Danza and Light.
Oh, the humanity! Did ever a series more perfectly embody the American sitcom at its mostmind-destroyingly mediocre? The jokes are only recognizable as such because of the strainedl…ugh track, and the characterizations are as dull as they are cliched. Ham-fisted, stupid beyondmy meagre ability to describe, this is everything that is wrong with the network TV sitcom, andmakes one feel that maybe it isn’t such a tragedy that the form is being killed off by the realityshow.
Audio
The mono soundtrack is not one whit better than what the original broadcasts offered. In fact,it has a surprising degree of dialogue distortion. All of which means the dialogue (bad enough toevaporate your soul) doesn’t come through as clearly as it might.
Video
The picture isn’t such great shakes either, hopelessly outclassed by the older material in theSCTV compilation. The pilot in particular looks bad. The image is soft, there is some ghosting,and there is shimmer now and then. No better than VHS.
Special Features
These are special features???!! The seven “featurettes” are nothing more than brief clipcompilations, loosely themed around individual characters or situations. These are perhaps themost lazy, half-assed features I’ve ever seen (at least the Cheers sets, which are guilty of thesame offerings, also have other extras). Given the IQ level the show aims at (i.e. the HomerSimpson category), the target demographic might be satisfied, but dear God, this is pathetic.These extras are so insulting that I’m regarding them as negative value, and reducing the starrating to 0.5.
Closing Thoughts
I suppose the first seasons of Full House and The Facts of Life can’t be longin coming. Makes you want to rethink the value of the entire DVD format, no?
Special Features List
- Clip Compilations
