Melrose Place: The Fifth Season, Vol. 1 Review

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(More customer reviews)At last, season 5 lands, albeit volume 1.
Thankfully, CBS DVD are having a change of heart with Melrose and are getting it back on dvd after abandoning it last year in the u.s., and in 2007 in europe... due to poor sales, i believe.
(although, as of feb 09, melrose season 3 has been again delayed in europe...it didn't arrive feb 9th, instead now due late may, but i for one gave up on waiting for these releases and am thankful for the region 1 releases i can get)
THE DVDS:
On this set, you get part one of season 5 on a 4 disc set- episodes 1-20 of 34. (As i recall, episode 18 (Great Sexpectations) is a two parter, which aired as a 2 hour episode during the february sweeps season of 97, subsequently this was split into 2 separate episodes in other countries. on the case, it's named as just one episode of 19 on the set... but i believe we are getting 20 episodes). regardless, we are getting slighlty more than half the season, 17 would have been half..
volume 2 will probably be a 3 disc set of the 14 episodes left (i hope this will come in april or may, Dynasty had volume 1 in august, volume 2 in october last year of season 3, so i hope we're given a simliarly short gap between volumes).
The set includes:
Disc 1: Living With Disaster (Sept. 9, 1996)
Over Dlck's Dead Body (Sept. 16, 1996)
Moving Violations (Sept. 23, 1996)
Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love (Sept. 30, 1996)
Un-Janed Melody (Oct. 28, 1996)
Disc 2: Jane's Addiction (Nov. 4, 1996)
Young Doctors in Heat (Nov. 11, 1996)
Mission: Interpersonal (Nov. 11, 1996)
Farewell Mike's Concubine (Nov. 18, 1996)
Nice Work if You Can Get It (Nov. 25, 1996)
Disc 3: Sole Sister (Dec. 2, 1996)
Quest for Mother (Dec. 9, 1996)
Crazy Love (Dec. 16, 1996)
The Accidental Doctor (Jan. 6, 1997)
Escape From L.A. (Jan. 13, 1997)
Disc 4: Eyes of the Storm (Jan. 20, 1997)
Better Homes and Condos (Jan. 27, 1997)
Great S-e-x-pectations : parts 1 and 2 (Feb. 3, 1997)
Catch Her in the Lie (Feb. 10, 1997)
(By the way, episode summaries are returned to the packaging this time, when you open the case, episode titles and summaries are evident)
THE SEASON:
As for the show itself, season 5 was great for me... a lot of changes occurred during the season, particularly cast changes but the show still didn't lose it's momentum, it's ability to shock, it's strong plots and stories and characters that we cared about... at least not until the finale of the season ... season 6 never took off, the show couldn't recover from the mass exodus by the end of season 5. So, this was it really, the last enjoyable season, in years 6 and 7, fans didn't really connect with the new characters or care about them..
But this is a very satisfying season, because the characters we all knew and loved bowed out with strong stories.
There was Kimmy's cancer battle and battle to hold onto Michael's affections once Megan and him became serious,
Sydney finally got to be her own person this year... and not just Michael's lapdog....in season 4, she became nothing but a comical extra to other people's plots.. this year she found love, first with Carter and then with Craig... and wasn't the finale build-up great... Syd taking on Amanda and putting her and D&D out of business!
Alison and Jake seemed to settle down and were ready to start a family, but Alison got cold feet in the end and ruined it all....
Jane, well jane just lost it for the first part of this season! It was nice to see her get back that nasty streak we saw in her early in season 4 before Richard wore her down... I hated Jane the victim, so I was rooting for her crazy stalking of jake and alsion! Plus, it was nice to have a nut in action since Kimmy was mellowed out this year!
Other pluses this year..
Amanda got her spine back, season 4 and the parezi brothers saga made her such a victim too. She lost her edge... But this year, she was back to her bitchy self trying to assume control of d&d.
Taylor was a nice addition to the cast. Her devotion to Peter by the end of the season was shocking, hitting herself with a door to make him think he was abusing her! Genius, just what Kimmy would have done!
Of course, we did get lots of duds/ copies in the cast this year in anticipation of the exodus: kyle was a copy of jake (the macho hothead stereotype), Sam was the new Alison (starting off a nice girl), Jennifer was meant to be the new Syd (fat chance!) Taylor was the new Kimmy etc.
Somehow, the copying of characters didn't really effect the show this year... it was only when the characters we loved had gone in season 6 that it was clear the producers had made big mistakes in allowing so many central character's leave although most had run their course truthfully. The Split Season Problem:
It isn't ideal to have seasons split but i see amazon are today offering it for $26.99, and that is half what i paid for seasons 3 and 4 on amazon on their release date so maybe volumes 1 and 2 of this season will work out similar to what we paid for complete seasons in the past (before sales, reductions). ultimately, fans have to accept that we are a niche market- it's the old supply and demand scenario--not enough people are interested in buying this series to make it profitable, so we have to be prepared to pay some premium to make it viable to release the show any more... and split seasons is this premium.
In short, it is a a pain, it isn't truly necessary BUT I for one am simply glad that season five (the last truly enjoyable season) is making its way to dvd at ALL.
We have a choice: accept what we are getting and be grateful for small mercies and just accept that Paramount could easily do without the hassle and effort of releasing a series that has to date not been very profitable. Paramount can and will make more money, easily and quickly with other titles like CSI etc which have mass and current appeal, Melrose on the other hand won't make them much.
I don't like siding with Paramount ... I know it would be fairer for us as consumers to get complete seasons ... but the past year has taught me to be happy with what we get.
So, enjoy!

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Beverly Hills 90210: Seventh Season Review

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(More customer reviews)The drama continues in Beverly Hills 90210: The Seventh Season as everyone's favorite drama crew begins their senior year of college at California University. The dramatic characters of 90210 return for another season of soap opera-quality teen drama: Val Malone (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen), Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestly), Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering), Donna Martin (Tori Spelling), David Silver (Brian Austin Green), Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth), and Clare Arnold (Kathleen Robertson).
Season seven picks up during the summer just before the beginning of senior year at C.U. Brandon and Steve are in the middle of a cross-country drive before returning to Beverly Hills for the school year. Once school begins, Brandon engrosses himself in the campus television station (as well as a new, Kelly-free relationship) while Steve fights to stay in school and land a job... all while still keeping Clare and her father, the C.U. chancellor, happy with him.
Meanwhile, Val struggles with financial trouble at her club, After Dark. She decides to seek out help from a family friend, but things get out of hand when when an unexpected pregnancy creates friction between Val and the other 90210-ers.
Clare continues to struggle in her relationship with Steve while trying to balance her goals and issues with adjusting to new challenges. Even though Clare is known for keeping Steve in a relationship the longest in the show's history, there is constant trouble between the two as Steve falls back into his carefree ways.
Donna and David's tempestuous relationship continues throughout the season, ranging from perfectly calm to breakup. Both characters try to encourage their friends and one another to finish up college, but things become difficult when David decides to drop out of college and suffers serious mental problems while Donna's former attacker and near-rapist begins stalking her again.
Kelly revisits her past with Brandon and struggles with lingering feelings that collide with other characters. She also attempts to become friends with her long-time nemesis, Val, but the two girls seem to be more prone to fighting than being friends.
Season seven ends with a highly satisfying college graduation for all of the cast members, but it leaves the audience wondering: what's going to happen next? How can we possibly keep following all these characters as they grow up, get jobs, and move on with their careers? Even though the series still feels like it has some life left in it, the two-part graduation special made the story seemed a little final.
But by the far the best part of this DVD set is being able to experience all of your favorite Beverly Hills 90210 drama in the privacy of your own home (complete with tissue box) in a complete and newly restored, remastered version that looks unlike any other version of the series out there. While non-fans may have a little trouble getting into the constantly intense drama of the series, long-time fans will be delighted with the quality and completeness of this 7-disc collectible DVD set.

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Beverly Hills 90210: Season Eight Review

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(More customer reviews)Maybe it's the nostalgia... or maybe it's the beauty of the boxset where you can become really engrossed in a t.v. show, watching episode after episode like reading chapter after chapter of a really good book you can't put down...
But I had quite low expectations of season 8 of 90210 on dvd and it turned out to be much better than I remembered.
I remembered this as the season that the show started to wane but actually this season was another fine run of the show.
It starts off a little rocky with the silly daytime- soap- type amnesia storyline for Kelly. But once the show got going, it was another solid year of ups and downs for the gang of friends we've grown to know and love over the years.
This year actually starts off a lot quicker then previous school/ college based seasons. The gang are thrown into the real world at last...
So this season sees Kelly and Brandon slowly tire of each other , Brandon's infidelity, the show continues to tackle social issues like drug abuse, gay rights, teen pregnancy etc. through Brandon's work as a journalist and Kelly's work at a clinic, Donna and David drift apart, David loses the club, gains some fame and loses it again, Valerie and David get back together, Val continues to be the most fun character with her bitchy antics, Steve looks like he has grown up the most when he dates single mother Carly until mid-season when Hilary Swank (Oscar winner!) leaves... we are also introduced to Noah, a kinda Dylan -esque rich guy with lots of baggage but he comes across a lot more likeable and less self-pitying than Dylan ever did!
This season's highlights for me:
St. Brandon slips up at last when he meets Emma. Although it seems so out of character for Brandon to cheat... it kinda underlines how bored Kelly and Brandon are of each other by now and how there really is no future for them...
Val's juggling of the rich guy Cooper and supposedly poor as a pauper Noah was also fun,
More glimpses of the vulnerable side of Val (the drug/rape affair, the HIV fear) really humanised her as more than just a bitch again this season.
Noah was a welcome addition, Carly was never really rounded out as a character and her being written out mid season was kinda lame ... they didn't try to integrate her into the group much this year... she was more of a 2d stereotype- the struggling single mom.. it was a shame the writers didn't round her character out more...
And this season sees a proper cliff hanger for the show this year... with Val leaving us dangling about her fate...
All in all, this was a good season. Season 9 really will be where the show dips... with Val and Brandon both leaving early on , the show suffers... Brandon always was the heart of the show- the solid sensible one and Val was always so much fun..
Enjoy!

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The ensemble drama about young adults growing up in Beverly Hills is a blend of romantic drama and subject matter that crosses all cultural boundaries. The storyline has followed the Walsh family as they moved from a middle-class Midwestern neighborhood to wealthy and glamorous Beverly Hills, maturing from high school to college students, facing new challenges as they continue to grow and discover more about themselves and their personal ambitions. As their worlds evolve, old friendships will be tested as new relationships develop, but no matter how complicated their worlds become, they will always share in their strengths and experiences.

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