Review of Ally McBeal: Season 4 Part 1 (Boxset)

Introduction

Ally McBeal is an extremely popular romantic sitcom, featuring Calista Flockhart as Ally, forever looking for the right man, and her friends in an even more desperate state altogether! Ally stumbles from one relationship to another, whilst the law firm that she works for tries a number of bizarre cases, most with hilarious courtroom scenes.

This three-disc boxset contains twelve episodes - Sex, Lies and Second Thoughts; Two`s a Crowd; Girls Night Out; Without a Net; The Last Virgin; `Tis the Season; Love on Holiday; The Man with the Bag; Reasons to Believe; The Ex-Files; Mr.Bo and Hats Off to Larry. As you have probably guessed, the split is four episodes per disc.

Video

The video is presented in 4:3 full-frame and is of a good standard, being a high-profile series made for television in the last couple of years.

In classic American sitcom style, the episodes are punctuated with various repeated shots of buildings and aerial photography, with the vast majority of the action taking place inside. In Ally McBeal, the locations used are quite limited, mainly being the office, the club or Ally`s flat. All of these are well filmed and look pretty convincing.

Audio

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is functional rather than unexciting, which is a shame because the series does have some good music, and would have benefited from a Dolby Digital 5.1 remix.

Being a comedy, the series of course relies on the dialog to provide laughs, and luckily it is always clear and understandable, and thanks to the superb script, the laughs are plentiful.

Features

There are no extras on offer, however there are three DVDs included for a low retail price, so I`m not complaining too much.

My review discs came minus packaging, but retail copies come in three cases housed in a cardboard box.

Conclusion

I`ve only ever seen bits of Ally McBeal in the past, and I must say that watching 12 episodes in close succession was extremely entertaining and the series make thoroughly compelling viewing.

Calista Flockhart is superb as Ally, a character who is instantly likeable (and who, it has to be said, would benefit greatly from a few good meals!) and the supporting cast are equally superb, with a great range of characters, all of whom receive good development throughout the series. The traits of each character are continually played on, with continual reference to events in previous episodes, so you have to be paying attention.

The video and sound are competent rather than exceptional, and the lack of extras is disappointing, however the value cannot be questioned - three DVDs containing twelve forty-odd minute episodes for under £20 is to be applauded and other sellers of television series should take note.

Overall, Ally McBeal Season 4 is a superb entertainment and this is a great value and recommended DVD.