Synopsis
Season Three is the junior year for Felicity, and her initial plans to move in with twogirlfriends take a turn when, on the spur of the moment, she rents a run-down apartment for herand Ben. Other storylines revolve around Richard’s sexuality (is he gay or just very shy?) andSean’s medical condition (which reaches a climax in the episode titled, with macabre humour,“One Ball, Two Strikes”).
In retrospect, what with the flood of box sets hitting the market, a series …ixing drama withcomedy and young people doesn’t really stand out. Still, Felicity boasted very well drawncharacters, and the witty dialogue seems less forced than in some other dramedies. Felicityherself is a rather ambiguous character, since the initial premise of the show set her up as whatis, when you get right down to it, the world’s perkiest, cutest stalker. That element creeps backin with the plot twist about renting an apartment for her and Ben without telling him, but thisis, at least, a development that raises the eyebrows of other characters. Where the series also hasstrengths is in its integration of New York City as a character itself (even if the geography issometimes a bit creative).
Audio
The audio is a fairly typical 2.0 TV mix. The dialogue is crisp and undistorted. In theexterior, street scenes, there is a fairly solid use of surround, creating a not-half-bad environment.Though not a stand-out, then, this is a perfectly acceptable sound mix.
Video
The fullscreen picture is a little inconsistent. Exterior scenes, which have good sound,conversely have more grain, while the interiors have a much more solid picture and strongercolours. Not perfect, then, but better than some other TV transfers out there, and most of the timethe picture is quite acceptable.
Special Features
Commentary is provided on episodes 6, 10 and 13, with different cast and crew memberstaking part each time. The problem with group commentaries is apparent here, especially in theepisode 6 talk with Greg Grunberg, Amanda Foreman and Robert Patrick Benedict, which is farmore silly than informative. The same is true of the “Docuventary” on Disc 5, which looks backat Season 3 using the video journal device that Sean employed in the season. Way too muchgiggling here in between insights. Finally, there’s a “Felicity” parody sketch from MAD TV inwhich Keri Russell participated. It has its moments, but is hardly prime MAD. The menu’s mainscreen and transitions are animated and scored, while the second-level screens are scored.
Closing Thoughts
You already know if you like the show or not. As for the extras, they are very much averageas far as TV box sets go.
Special Features List
- Audio Commentary on 3 Episodes
- “Docuventary” Look Back at Season 3
- Keri Russell on Mad TV
