Samantha Who? – The Complete First Season (ABC/Disney DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C- Episodes: C-
Christina
Applegate has been through hell and more in her private life while her career
has held together since the overrated Married,
With Children launched her into stardom.
She has proved herself a comic talent beyond the show in films like the
middling Anchorman and a share in a
famous spoof Cher’s hit infomercial for Laurie Davis hair products. Now comes Samantha Who?
In it,
she plays a working class gal who has lost her memory and has to recover from
the loss while dealing with her overbearing mother (Jean Smart) and a generally
dysfunctional group of family and friends who make her wonder if she is better
off forgetting. Unfortunately, this is a
one-joke show with no room for growth, coasting in her star appeal and one that
becomes very thin by the end of the pilot.
Co-stars Jennifer Esposito and Kevin Dunn help, but this is awkward and
the fact she is returning to shoot the show after surgery should make the
second season odd. In the meantime, you
can examine The Complete First Season
yourself.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 has motion blur throughout, is typical of the
flat HD sitcom look that is annoying and makes al the shows and scenes look the
same too much, too often. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix has dialogue limits and the soundfield is awkward as a
result. Extras include deleted scenes,
audio commentary on select shows, deleted scenes that don’t help much and Sam’s Survival Guide booklet inside the
DVD case.
- Nicholas Sheffo
