Info:
DVD Release Date: February 8, 2005 (Warner Home Video)
Color
MSRP: $29.95
Number of Discs: 2
Number of Episodes: 13
Running Time: 292 minutes
Total Run Time of Special Features: 46 minutes [on bonus disc, read
"My Thoughts" for details]
Languages, Subtitles, Closed Captioning: English,
French, and Spanish subtitles; CC.
Special Features: Warner Bros "Celebrating 50 Years of
the Best Shows on Television" Commemorative DVD,
Volume 6.
My Thoughts:
They're brothers! They're happy and their singin' and
they're colored! Give them a high-five! Well, maybe
that is not the most famous and recognizable theme
song in television history, but they're The Wayans
Bros.! And now, for the first time ever, Warner Home
Video has made the Complete First Season of The Wayans
Bros. available on a two-disc DVD set! The sitcom,
which was a staple in the original programming lineup
for The WB network, features Shawn and Marlon Wayans
playing two brothers that live together in an
apartment in Harlem. There really isn't much of a
plot--the show is basically all about comedy and the
disasters that Shawn and Marlon (yes, they play
characters with the same first name as they actually
have) get themselves into.
In the first season, Gary Coleman puts his life on the
line by helping Shawn and Marlon sell pomade in an
infomercial in "Goop-Hair-It-Is." Uninsured Marlon
pretends to be Shawn after Marlon accidentally sits on
a staple gun in order to use his insurance benefits in
"ER." Sherman Hemsley plays a landlord that appoints
the unqualified brothers as superintendents of their
apartment complex in "It's Shawn! It's Marlon! It's
Superboys!" Additionally, Helen Martin and Garrett
Morris make guest appearances in the first season.
The set comes with two discs, with the first seven
episodes on Disc 1 and the other six episodes on Disc
2. The discs are arranged in a very simple snap case
that has a middle tray for Disc 1. Disc 1 has a
picture of Shawn on it and Disc 2 has a picture of
Marlon on it. On the left-hand side of the case, there
is a pamphlet that has information about the episodes
contained in the set, with a brief synopsis as well as
the original airdate, directors, and writers for each
episode. Additionally, for a limited time, Warner
Bros. is including a special bonus DVD in this set
with episodes of other shows. This disc is contained
in a separate cardboard sleeve.
The menus on the set are very clean and simple. The
main menu that comes up when you place the disc in the
player has the options of Play, Episodes, and
Languages. There is some music that plays in the
background, but honestly, I have no clue what the song
is from. I can say for sure that it is NOT the theme
song, at least not the theme song from the first
season (this is the first time that I have seen the
show, so I can't profess to be an expert on the show).
The Play option is the option that TV-on-DVD fans are
used to seeing as "Play All." Simply put, it plays
every episode on that disc, if you have time to watch
an entire disc in one sitting (through reviews and my
own collection, I have watched dozens of TV-on-DVD
collections and I have NEVER used this option...). The
second option is Episodes, which takes you to a
listing of the episodes on that disc. Once you select
an episode from that menu, it immediately begins to
play that episode... there is no scene selection menu.
Finally, the last option on the main menu is
Languages. From here, you can turn on subtitles, which
are available in English, French, and Spanish.
This show is only 10 years old, so there aren't any
real audio or video quality issues on this set. The
video is fairly clear, but seems a bit fuzzy from time
to time. Honestly though, you probably won't even
notice that unless you are extremely nitpicky. The
audio quality is also very good. Just like almost any
other DVD set, the audio is presented in the
traditional Dolby Digital 2.0 format. Unfortunately,
like many other DVD sets (though certainly not ALL),
the audio is a bit low from time to time, while the
audio on the main menu is very loud. A very useful
feature (one that I often use) is missing from this
DVD set as well--chapters. There are no chapters
within the episodes on this set! Each episode runs
approximately 22 minutes and 30 seconds, which is
about standard for 1995.
There aren't really any special features included on
this set, BUT for a limited time, Warner Bros. is
including a bonus disc entitled "Celebrating 50 Years
of the Best Shows on Television." This disc is
definitely worth watching! Volume 6 is included with
this DVD set, and it contains one episode of Hangin'
With Mr. Cooper ("Hangin' With Michelle") as well as
an episode of a very rare 1980s sitcom, The Redd Foxx
Show ("Good Samaritan"). Both of these episodes are
unedited, which is very good news (at least for Mr.
Cooper, which could lead to a season set maybe?). The
menu for this disc is terrible, however. The options
on the menu are "Play Show 1" and "Play Show 2." Show
1 is intended to refer to Hangin' With Mr. Cooper and
Show 2 is intended to refer to The Redd Foxx Show. It
would have been nice if some real special features
were included in this set, such as commentaries or
just simple interviews. However, the bonus disc,
though the shows have almost nothing to do with The
Wayans Bros., is still a nice feature.
This is my first time ever seeing the show, and I was
honestly expecting a mediocre show that I would just
review and never care to watch the show ever again. I
was wrong, however. It isn't the greatest show that I
have ever seen, but still, it is better written and
funnier than 90% of the programs on television today.
The DVD set, itself is put together very nicely, even
if it does lack special features. If you really enjoy
the Wayans (which I admit that I do to some extent),
then you would enjoy this show--so be happy, start
singin', and pick up this set if you want it!
Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):
Video Quality: 4.5/5
Audio Quality: 4.5/5
Special Features: 3.5/5
Menu Navigation/Design: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5
-- Reviewed by skees53 on 02/11/2005.
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