Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Tales of the City: 20th Anniversary Collection DVD Review

 ***Complimentary product received in exchange for an honest review***



“One of the 10 best miniseries” (Entertainment Weekly) and “Uncommonly fine television” (The New York Times)  

The influential PBS miniseries returns with SDH subtitles, exclusive footage, and more. Deftly chronicling the quest for love and connection across a spectrum of sexual experiences, the Peabody Award-winning miniseries features a star-studded cast including Oscar® winner Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck), Oscar® nominee Laura Linney (The Big C, John Adams, The Savages), Gemini winner Paul Gross (Slings & Arrows), Billy Campbell (Once and Again), and Thomas Gibson (Dharma & Greg). Based on the groundbreaking novel by Armistead Maupin, Tales of the City follows a colorful cast of characters living at 28 Barbary Lane in anything-goes 1970s San Francisco. The series received universal acclaim when it debuted in 1994, hailed as “a brilliant evocation of a time and place” (Los Angeles Times), and remains a television landmark. (DVD 2-disc set)


 My Thoughts

I had never seen this series before getting this DVD to review, and I was definitely missing something fabulous. The zany characters are fun, witty, and homosexual--a first for its time. Despite  the scandal it caused originally, its actually a quite realistic look at the seventies, especially the casual drug use. The man character is a naive young woman named Maryann who suddenly finds herself thrust into a life of sex and drugs, and she has a lot of choices to make. Everyone around her seems to at least dabble. Her best friend is a wild child and even her landlady grows pot. Along the way she gets into all kids of scraps, including falling into bed with her boss's son-in-law. Other characters face the challenge of coming out to their parents. There are many secrets revealed as the show progresses, all leading up to a nail biting finale. I thought the whole cast did an amazing job and I was especially excited to see Barara Garrick  who was on my favorite soap opera, One Life To Live. Definitely a fun series with lots of laughs and drama.


If you would like to pick up a copy of  Tales of the City: 20th Anniversary Collection, you can find it on Acorn for only $49.99



***Please note that I received no form of monetary compensation for this post. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced in any way. ***

0 comments: