The Big C – The Complete First Season (2011/Sony DVD) + Pretty Little Liars – The Complete First Season (2010/Warner DVD) + Stargate SG-U - The Complete Final Season (Season Two/2010 – 2011/MGM DVD)

 

Picture: C/C+/C     Sound: B-/B-/C+     Extras: C+/C/C-     Episodes: C+/C/C-

 

 

And now for some TV shows that show the state of television today for better and worse.

 

I had heard some good things about the new Laura Linney cable TV hit and so when The Big C – The Complete First Season (2011) showed up, I started watching.  I liked her, the set-up and supporting cast including Oliver Platt and Gabourey Sidibe in a show with a title with multiple meanings.  The smart writing and storyline is undone a bit by one too many smug obscenities that hurt the show, but I can understand its success and the writing was surprisingly consistent to the end and throughout.  Linney is a mother sick of her husband (who she has thrown out), is having difficulty with her son and her neighbors can be annoying.  All this becomes worse when it turns out she is very sick.

 

Linney holds her own and though some situations are just goofy and ruin suspension of disbelief, but you get 13 episodes and they are worth your time.

 

Pretty Little Liars – The Complete First Season (2010) is a show made for the too-safe-for-its-own-good ABC Family Network, so any storylines about secrets, murder, terrorism and betrayal are going to be limited by standards and practices.  We get 22 shows and though I admit the new actresses look good on screen, this is just a gossipy soap opera with little originality, point or longetivity following formulas we have seen to death (no pun intended).  It will become boring quickly and I expect little growth.  Hard to believe this is based on a book series, but it is made (too much so) for as younger audience and they may be amused at best.  Three featurettes and Unaired Scenes on the DVDs, plus a paper pullout with an episode guide are the extras.

 

Finally we have Stargate SG-U - The Complete Final Season which has a name that cannot admit this is actually Season Two.  We have covered the show before and only on Blu-ray, as these links show including information about this latest series based on the hit motion picture:

 

Complete First Season

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10435/The+Final+Countdown+(1980/Blue+U

 

1.0

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9607/Stargate+Universe+%E2%80%93+Sea

 

1.5

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10177/Stargate+SG-U+1.5+(MGM+Blu-ray

 

 

I thought this was one spin-off too many, but there seems to be a sudden effort to add some energy to the proceedings and that is better than what they started with, though Robert Carlyle never gets to show off his talents.  At this point, it is for fans only, as is the whole show, so only look at it if you are a REALLY BIG fan.  Extras include Interviews and several making of featurettes.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on all three are softer than I expected, though Liars was not as bad, it too had motion blur and some color fidelity limits.  All have Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes, but it is ironic that Stargate has the poorest soundfield with too much sound in the center and front channels.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo