Info:
DVD Release Date: May 9, 2006 (Warner Home Video)
Color/1989-90
MSRP: $39.95
Number of Discs: 6
Number of Episodes: 22
Running Time: 900 minutes
Total Run Time of Special Features: approx. 55 minutes
(counting commentary)
Languages, Subtitles, Closed Captioning: English;
English, French and Spanish subtitles; Closed
Captioned.
Special Features:
* Bill Smitrovich/Patti LuPone Screen Test
* Pilot Episode Commentary by Chris Burke and Series
Creator Michael Braverman
* Laughs Go On: A Mini Gag Reel
Introduction:
After thirteen years, the Thatchers have finally
returned to warm our hearts with Warner Home Video’s
release of Life Goes On: The Complete First Season on
May 9, 2006. This groundbreaking ABC family drama
starring Chris Burke (“Corky”), Kellie Martin
(“Becca”), Patti LuPone (“Libby”), Bill Smitrovich
(“Drew”) and Monique Lanier (“Paige”) was the first
network series to address difficult social issues
including Down syndrome, AIDS and teenage sex. In its
inaugural season, Chris Burke was presented with a
Young Artist Award and was nominated for a Golden
Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting
Role in a Series. And actress Vivica Lindfors
received an Emmy for “Outstanding Guest Actress” for
her portrayal of Mrs. Doubcha in the episode entitled
“Save the Last Dance for Me.” Life Goes On: The
Complete First Season includes all 22 episodes and
bonus features in a 6-disc collection. And the
original theme song is not intact for all the episodes
except the pilot. I will have more on that later in
the review…so keep reading!
Meet the Thatchers Drew (Bill Smitrovich), Libby
(Patti LuPone), Paige (Monique Lanier), Becca (Kellie
Martin), and Corky (Chris Burke). Oh and yes Arnold
the Semi-Wonder dog, too. They are your typical
suburban family with their own set of unique issues.
Paige, the oldest of the three Thatcher kids, is
Drew’s daughter from a previous marriage. She has
graduated from high school and returns home frequently
to help her hard-working parents take care of the rest
of the clan. Becca is an antsy teenage girl eager to
date boys and fit into in her high school social
scene. Corky, the Thatchers’ only son attends high
school with Becca but is dealing with a different set
of acclimation issues. Born with Down syndrome, Corky
struggles to keep up with the “mainstream” students
while striving to maintain a healthy social life in a
world where his peers are different than he is.
Memorable Episodes / Notable Guest Stars:
This heartwarming family drama broke ground by
addressing difficult social issues including Downs
Syndrome and AIDS has so many memorable episodes. Some
stand-out episodes include “Pilot” where we meet Corky
and the Thatchers and learn all about them; “The
Babysitter” where Corky gets a job babysitting but his
classmates barge in; “Corky Witnesses a Crime” is the
one where Corky is the football team’s manager and
sees the coach beating a player and wants to tell on
the coach; “Corky’s Crush” has Corky falling in love
with his partner for a school project; “Corky Rebels”
is the one where Corky wants to be his own man and
does some bad things; “Pig o’ Mart” in which Drew buys
a restaurant, and “Spring Fling” is the season finale
where Becca gets asked out by Tyler.
Famous faces include Al Michaels and Frank Gifford;
Shannen Doherty; Denise Richards; James Cromwell;
Scott Weinger; and Seth Green. Recurring include Tommy
Puett as Tyler Benchfield, Michele Matheson as Rhona
Lieberman, Ray Buktenica as Jerry Berkson, and Tanya
Fenmore as Maxie.
Packaging:
The packaging is nicely packaged! The usual WHV sets
are digipak but not this one! We get three slim cases
holding two discs each! The color scheme for this set
is black and yellow. The box cover features a nice
cast photo of the family with the dog, too! They are
posing in front of their house and a tree. The show
logo is also present and above that is the note of
“The Complete ‘1’ First Season” with headshots of the
family. The back of the box has information on the
series, set & special features and three snapshots. It
also states “Original theme music substituted on DVD
set.” I will talk about that little later on. So
keep reading again! The slim cases are very nice. Each
has a different photo (or photos in some cases) on
each side of each case, along with episode info from
each disc indicating episode number, title, writer,
director, original airdate and a short synopsis. When
we open each slim case, they have the same photo of
the family behind the discs.
The disc art is the same for each. Green/yellow color,
the logo and disc number. Disc one features episodes
1-4 (episode one with commentary option), disc two
features episodes 5-8, disc three features episodes
9-11, disc four features episodes 12-15, disc five
features episodes 16-19 and disc six features episodes
20-22 and the extras.
Menu Design and Navigation:
Now to the menu navigation--it is very simple and easy
to use. The closing theme plays in the background and
the same photo of the cast from the box is on each
menu screen. The menu seems greenish. The options
are: Play, Episodes, Special Features, and Languages.
A leaf is your pointer to select options. Languages
option has the option of turning on subtitles in
French or Spanish. Special Features is listed on each
disc, but there is content only on discs one and six.
Episodes gives you a list of episode titles and you
can choose which episode you want to watch, obviously.
Play plays them all. Keep reading and you’ll get an
exclusive on the DVD theme…
Video and Audio Quality:
The video and audio quality is very good. The show
never looked and sounded better. The episodes run
usually between 48-50 minutes or so, all uncut. The
pilot runs 47:44. The episode “Return of Uncle
Richard” runs only 45:27, but I think it just ran
short originally. Chapter stops are well placed. WHV
usually does a good job on that for their dramas, but
not for their sitcoms. OK, now what you guys have been
all waiting for! The theme song! The original theme
song is removed from every episode except the pilot.
The pilot’s credits ran longer than the usual and it
was sort of needed. So, at least we get the family
singing “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” at least once! You can
listen to that full theme from the pilot here. Also,
I am happy to report that the closing credits from the
pilot which features a nice (and memorable) song is
very much intact. You can listen to that as well here.
I’m not sure if any music was replaced on any episode,
but I don’t think any actually was. The box only
mentions the theme song was replaced. The replacement
theme song is used for episodes 2-22. It is actually
a catchy theme. It sounds like a theme for a teen
show, but it is addictive. It isn’t better than the
original, but as long as we get the episodes, I’m for
it. I don’t know if this theme was just created for
this set or if it is an actual song. But you can
listen to that theme for the very first time right
here at SitcomsOnline.com! The closing credit theme
for each episode is unchanged, so that is good. And
yes, since I have given you themes for everything
else, you can listen to that closing theme here! Wow,
4 audio clips in one review!
Special Features:
The extras are not that well done, but oh well! The
best extra is on disc one. The audio commentary for
the Pilot is from Chris Burke (“Corky”) and series
creator Michael Braverman. If any of you did not
know, Burke really does have Downs’s syndrome. You
can tell too. He is so innocent though. Braverman is
very informative and remembers a lot. This is a must
to listen to for every fan. The rest of the extras are
on disc six, but are not that good. Bill
Smitrovich/Patti LuPone Screen Test runs 5:58 and
shows three scenes with 3/4 of the screen showing the
screen test and about 1/4 of the screen showing the
actual scene. It is a nice extra, but not a must to
have. The next extra is not good. It is way too
short. It runs 31 seconds. The title indicates it is
a mini, but I didn’t think it would be THAT mini.
“Laughs Go On: A Mini Gag Reel” is what it is called.
It has fast paced bloopers with music in the
background. They should have given us the entire reel
instead!
Final Comments:
I just love this show! It is so addictive. I was
surprised when I was told that WHV was releasing this
as a season set. I never thought they would do it. I
was expecting at the very most a “TV Favorites” set
with 6 episodes, but I’m not complaining. Not at all!
The theme song being replaced is a downer, but at
least we hear it once with the pilot. And the
replacement theme is kind of catchy, too, so all is
not lost. The more important thing is that the
episodes are unedited, and from what I can see, they
are. Let’s hope WHV commits to this series and
releases all four seasons. In order for that to
happen, YOU must buy this set. If you watched the
show last June on TV Land for the first time, then you
should buy this set and watch each episode, since they
only aired the pilot and first season finale. I
recommend people trying this show if they have never
seen it. It teaches you about life and how tough it
can be. Will Becca and Tyler end up together? Or
will Lieberman stay with Tyler? Or will Corky go
after Lieberman? Find out on the first season of Life
Goes On!
Final Numbers (out of 5 stars - How our point system works)
Video Quality: 4.5/5
Audio Quality: 4.5/5
Special Features: 2/5
Menu Navigation/Design: 5/5
Overall: 4/5
-- Reviewed by pavanbadal on 04/25/06
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