House Of Payne – Volume One (DVD/Lionsgate)
Picture: C Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes: B-
After
several hit plays and hit motion pictures, Tyler Perry has now conquered TV
with his new hit TV show House Of Payne,
a hit cable series that landed a contract so impressive, it shocked many
executives in the industry. Despite some
mixed reviews, the show instantly set ratings records and here already are the
first 20 of what is reported to be at least 100 episodes.
The story
of a family led by a firefighting father (Allen Payne) could have just been a
rehash of Amen or (worse,) another
mindless, silly, airheaded sitcom typical of most from the 1980s. However, it instead becomes an extension of
the kind of Christian parables wrapped in layers of comedy Perry has made his
name on. The show is not bad, has yet to
fall victim to the weekly TV grind and is the kind of sitcom the 1980s may have
produced if TV was not so suddenly regressive then. It is also cast well, which is half the
battle won.
Perry
even shows up as Medea in a surprise cameo in the pilot, cleaned up in words
even more than the gap between the plays and feature films, but like so much of
the show, the flaw is that there is just not enough time for character
development or story development. From
the opening when all we get is the cast sitting on the couch after a prologue
with the title above and no theme song, it is always a reminder that the show
will have limits it should not. This has
nothing to do with censorship (this is for cable TV) and everything to do with
Perry not breaking enough of the sitcom conventions. If the show is to survive, it can either
coast on in its current condition, or take some artistic risks that would not
disrupt its perceived family audience.
We’ll see what he does.
The 1.33
X 1 image has all kinds of motion blur and looking as if it were shot in
digital High Definition video, which also means these are probably widescreen
shows that have had their sides cut off for this DVD set. The Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo are a
bit better with no serious surrounds in either case, but clean, clear recording
throughout. The only extra is a making
of featurette entitled The House That
Tyler Perry Built.
For more
on Tyler Perry on DVD, star with Tyler
Perry – The Plays at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6267/Tyler+Perry+%E2%80%93+The+Plays
- Nicholas Sheffo
