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Exes & Oh's: The Complete First Season
R1 - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (8th June 2008). |
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The Show
 This is somewhat like the sitcom version of "The L-Word" (2004-Present), or the lesbian version of "Sex and the City" (1998-2004), with more of an earthy feel. The series starts with Jennifer (series co-creator, writer and executive producer Michelle Paradise) seeing her girlfriend and her therapist making out together in a steam bath. One year later, the two get married. The season concerns Jennifer getting over her ex and getting on with her life and her job, documentarian. In her own little world, Jennifer avoids conflict as much as her best friend Sam (Marnie Alton) avoids commitment. A lesbian couple, Kris and Chris (Angela Featherstone and Megan Cavanaugh, respectively), and an aspiring singer, Crutch (Heather Matarazzo) complete her own main universe. The ex-girlfriend, and a few other ladies come and go, but those four are her core. The entire series is pretty simple with every character having an arc they go through. The arcs are all fairly simple, even for Michelle Paradise. This may make the characters seem pretty simple and somewhat underdeveloped, but because of the smart writing, there's a lot of depth with few words. The history behind Jennifer and Sam, for example, is pretty palpable with a few words, and gets deeper as the season moves on. In addition, the simple arcs makes the season very compact, with nothing very extraneous. With only 22 minutes per episode, there's not much time for pointlessness. The mix of comedy and drama is also very well done. With a pretty light tone, the season doesn't really address serious issues, but that's not the aim of the show. The fact that these characters are gay is a given and accepted without any question or undue focus. What the series focuses on is the characters and their development. The comedy bits are funny and mostly real-life. The drama is well-written and never heavy-handed. The biggest moment happens in episode 4, and the last few moments in the season really grab your attention and really hook you into watching out for the next season. I enjoyed this show. Its season is very short, but it's sweet. It's short and simple, with likable characters. One thing I really enjoyed was that they don't use the characters' sexual preference as a gimmick (such as in 'Will & Grace'), but rather as part of their world. Everybody they meet in the show seems to be lesbian, but this is to be expected. This type of thing is common and doesn't bother me, especially with the characters being memorable and entertaining. It's a very nice show and I'm looking forward to the next season. The entire series is on one disc, and here is a breakdown by episode. There Must Be Rules… (22:01) Jennifer wants to get over her ex-girlfriend, who's getting married. This episode defines 'awkward'. Roads Previously Not Taken (22:01) Jennifer decides to make a more important documentary than 'Bird Watching'; a documentary about the power of women and their sexuality. Also, Jennifer gets a date! Cutthroat (22:01) Jennifer wants to get back in the dating game, and has to compete with Sam for a hot date. This is the start of some drama. Love, Money and a Six Olive Martini (22:01) Jennifer tries to find financing to fund her documentary. She meets an investor and the two talk over ideas for the documentary. She has to decide between business and pleasure. Pole Dancing and Other Forms of Therapy (22:01) Jennifer's documentary premieres, and she takes up pole dancing as a form of empowerment, which helps her with her investor. What Goes Around (22:33) After her empowerment pole-dancing thing, Jennifer decides to speak her mind, which gets her into trouble. She has a meeting with a television station. Everything in the season, with all the characters, come to a head, with Crutch and her singing, Kris and Chris and their baby, and Sam and her house.
Video
1.78:1 non-anamorphic widescreen. For some reason, Paramount saw fit not to transfer this show with an anamorphic transfer, even though it was shot on DV. colors are slightly dull, and the contrast could be a bit better, but they’re accurate enough. The picture does appear a bit soft if you zoom it in slightly to fill up the screen, but overall it’s an okay transfer. For a show like this, the transfer is good enough.
Audio
The show comes in English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, and it's a good track. The dialogue is clear and distinct. The score and other sounds come out clear, as well. Nothing really muffles anything else out, and the volume levels are nice. There are no subtitles.
Extras
Paramount got a nice amount of extras into this DVD, already full with the season. First are some Extrasodes (aka deleted scenes). They're pretty extraneous. They are nice to watch and add a little bit to the characters, but they would make the episodes run too long. They are: 'Breaking Up' (2:19), 'You're Almost 30, I'm 28!' (2:07), 'You Don't Scare Me… Much' (1:40), 'Happily Ever After' (2:12), 'Give 'Em a Piece of Your Mind' (1:41) and 'Screw 'Em Back' (1:57). Interviews are next. The actresses mostly talk about their characters and their place in the show. Mrs. Cavanaugh talks about her life and her being gay. These are somewhat interesting, though more so when they're not talk about their characters, but about the show and their impressions of their characters and the relationships between them. Michelle Paradise, as a writer and executive producer, gives by far the best interview. Marnie Alton (1:57), Megan Cavanaugh (6:08), Angela Featherstone (2:43), Heather Matarazzo (2:42) and Michelle Paradise (4:32) are interviewed. Behind the Scenes carries a variety of bits and pieces. There are four behind the scenes bits. '"Gutterball" with Chris and Kris!' (2:44), 'Say "Cheese!"' (1:50), 'Shooting the Skeet' (2:44) and 'A Tour of Beever Café' (3:07). The first is about the bowling scene, but off set. The second one is a bunch of bits of the opening title and promo photo shoots. The third is about the 2-minute scene with Megan Cavanaugh. The last is pretty interesting and it shows the café in its entirety. Extras & Ohs is the last section. There are a few nice things here. First is 'Celesbian Interview with Michelle Paradise' (4:16) (which his also found on the 'The Big Gay Sketch Show' season one DVD). Next is 'Marnie Alton "If I Loved You Anymore"' (4:04), which shows you the music video from one of the songs in episode 4, 'Michelle Paradise's AfterEllen.com Video Blog' (3:52), which is pretty funny, 'NewNowNext Off the Record with The Gossip' (4:17), which is an interview with The Gossip, an alternative-lifestyle group. There are a few trailers, for 'The Big Gay Sketch Show Season 1 on DVD' (0:29), 'Rick & Steve on DVD' (0:33) and 'Noah's Arc' on DVD (2:20). Start-up Trailers start everything off. 'The Big Gay Sketch Show Season 1 on DVD’ (0:29), 'Rick & Steve on DVD' (0:33) and a LogoOnline ad (0:33) are here.
Overall
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