My Wife & Kids – Season One (Lionsgate DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Episodes: C

 

 

After failing to become the next big screen Eddie Murphy, Damon Wayans co-created another happy family sitcom in the Cosby Show mode and came up with My Wife & Kids, a moderate hit that allows him to show off his comic talents in a child-safe way.  Yet, the series had the guts to tackle some serious subjects here and there and the cast, including Tisha Campbell-Martin a good match as his wife.  They have three children, a Hispanic nanny who does not like dad and their share of events.

 

There were only 12 half-hours and they are all captured on two DVDs, but they are not the worst set to start with and we have seen much worse since the 1980s regressive move in the sitcom’s mentality.  Though this can be predictable often, the combination of some energy and the fact you can tell the leads are working hard to make this material work make the show worth revisiting as lite entertainment that is sometimes about something.  It is also not as condescending as The Cosby Show often was.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is not bad for its age and an early HD shoot, but motion blur is more prominent than later shoots that are too often still plagued with them.  We get some good color, but definition limits are also present.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is on par with a production its age including limited fidelity that is adequate for a sitcom.  There are no extras.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo