Cougar Town – The Complete First Season (2010/ABC/Disney DVD Set)

 

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

 

 

Trying to find another hit long after the overrated Friends, Courtney Cox has decided to take on the role of a divorcee trying to find a new life and some fun in life with Cougar Town.  Created by the team that helped make Scrubs possible, this Complete First Season is not as bad as a potentially one-joke series could be, yet despite some energy to it, the 24 half-hours really have few smiles and no big laughs.

 

It is not that Cox is trying too hard, but she just has lost whatever comic timing she may have had back in the day and the grind of her big former hit likely drained her of any new ideas or approaches here.  The supporting characters are too often cardboard and two-dimensional, while the storylines are not very memorable.  This is one of those shows that does not know the 1980s are over (especially the sitcom style here), so we’ll see how long it lasts.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on each episode can be soft, with some good shots, but also limited color, motion blur and other flaws one would associate with an HD shoot or bad Digital Internegative work where filming applies.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is actually better than expected, even with the dialogue too much in the center channel, as there is otherwise a good surround field and said dialogue is almost integrated well into it.  Extras include Deleted Scenes, Bloopers, three making of featurettes and a tie-in with The Jimmy Kimmel Show.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo