I know, I’m late to the party; the Army Wives’ season 2 DVD set came out a few weeks ago. But, judging by how it’s doing on Amazon’s sales ranking (#170 in Movies & TV), not many of you have noticed.
Actually, there’s a ton of stuff before it on the list that shocks me, but I know that belittling most of those series will enrage all of you, so I’ll stick to safe stuff. Reba: Season 6? Eastbound & Down’s first season? The Big Bang Theory? Elmo’s Potty Time? Okay; that one makes sense. And, The Secret Life of the American Teenager: Season Two? Are you kidding me?
I know that we’ve spent plenty of time lamenting the new season of Army Wives, as well as much of last, which this DVD set includes. That’s why I’m going to let you in on a little secret: TV on DVD is not always about the episodes … many times, it’s the extras that count!
Now, Army Wives isn’t a series you’d expect to have a lot of bells and whistles, as far as extras go. Which is why I was so glad to see that the DVD set is not only reasonable on what it packs in, it also makes excellent choices for us fans. Come preview with me.
Episode Commentaries – The truth is that three just wasn’t enough. I’m not the type of person to check out commentaries, unless I know I’ll enjoy them for reasons beyond dissection of the plot. The likelihood is that, had I not been watching Army Wives from a reviewer’s perspective, I wouldn’t have even bothered. And I would have seriously missed out.
The three episodes that utilize the feature aren’t as important as how the segment was done. Meaning, it’s nice to hear when actors actually feel something for what they’re doing. This cast has that in spades. I was honestly blown away by the passion that the ten main characters seem to have for the show, and for their opportunity to provide us with a different perspective on the military, one that hopefully gives us more appreciation for the sacrifices that they, and their families, make.
Each actor has their own personality: Jeremy Davidson (Chase) is quiet, Terry Serpico (Frank) shy, while Brian McNamara (Michael) is very loud and boisterous, and Kim Delaney (Claudia Joy) and Catherine Bell (Denise), sound like the superstar actresses that they are. In a good way. And it’s obvious that they all get along, and that they enjoy their work, and being together.
Because most of these actors were unknown to me before Army Wives premiered, which isn’t unusual, I had no appreciation for how who they are in real life colored their characters. Although it’s a limited opportunity, and most all of the actors only got one go-round, I watched the most recent episode of the show with a brand new perspective on most of the characters. And it was really great. It’s just too bad they didn’t do a lot more episode commentary on the DVD.
The Cast visits Fort Bragg – Nothing major here, except the segment does provide an opportunity for us to see the actors all together in a different environment, watch how they really interact. It also gave us a shot of Sally Pressman (Roxy) doing one of those airplane practice jumps, so that was cool.
Getting the Army’s Support – Again, the title of the segment speaks for itself. It was amazing to see how much care Army Wives puts in to telling an authentic story. It’s also funny to hear how many things they did wrong that first season. But, this segment was most significant for one thing: the cast did a Q&A session with army wives on base. The real life spouses who are right now sitting at home, praying that their loved one makes it back. It didn’t get sentimental or emotional, but still. Wow.
The Tribe – A nice little piece about the five main characters, and their relationships on and off set. Also, a little bit about each character, including some of the thought processes behind little specifics and quirks (i.e. Catherine Bell rides motorcycles in real life, so they worked it into the show for her.)
Army Wives Gives Back – I’d actually heard about this, where the show, and the characters, surprised real army wives with different things, depending on why they were in need. One woman got a brand new bedroom; another, whose husband’s second deployment to Iraq ruined their dream wedding, got an all-expense paid honeymoon. Not sure if it was with, or without, the husband, who’s still overseas. But, it was really nice to see how much respect and admiration the actors who play army wives have for the real thing.
The one complaint that I had about this segment, was the use of Wendy Davis (Joan), instead of Sterling K. Brown (Roland). That gives the impression that there are no female soldiers, with husbands waiting back home for them. I thought the whole idea behind Roland’s character was to clear up that misconception. The segment only supports it, and I think someone should rethink that message.
Deleted Scenes – I didn’t find this as enjoyable as I had expected to. Sometimes, you feel like you can’t believe a scene was cut; for the most part, I’m surprised the scenes contained here were even included in the script. Not that they were bad, but rather, they weren’t so informative. I guess that’s why they didn’t make the cut. Still, it’s always enjoyable to see a scene from one of your shows that you’ve never seen before, so I’m glad that these were included.
Bloopers – I love the bloopers reel on a DVD set. Usually they’re long, and hilarious. This one was actually quite short, but, you know what? I’m glad. I laughed at what was there, but I appreciated the fact that the producers didn’t turn the DVD into a comedic farce. That’s not true to the show, so it would be a mistake to share 20 minutes of bloopers with us, even though I’m sure they could. This segment was the same amount of light fair, proportionately, that the show provides us with per episode. Well done.
Even though season two may not have lived up to its predecessor, it was still head and shoulders above most everything else on TV. If you’ve seen it, or if you haven’t, the DVD set of season 2 is worth a buy. Plus, the extras are really great, and definitely add a lot of insight into the show, the characters, and the actors, that any hardcore fan, or newcomer, will appreciate.
It’s “Second to None” – Second US Army motto … and a pun!
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Jun 25, 2009 @ 11:21 EST5EDT
