Product: Three's Company: Season One (1977)
Rating: 3.0
If you can stand the poor video quality, this is a must buy.
I was reluctant to buy this disc because of its high price/few episodes ratio. (Come on, "All in the Family" gets 26 episodes for $30, that's under $1 per episode and that's how it should be for all TV!) However, as a proceed of the purchase (how much they won't tell us, hmmmm...) goes to a charity John Ritter adored, I broke down tonight and bought it.After the ubiquitous FBI screen disappears, I was greeted with a menu. Ignore the naysayers, there is nothing wrong with how this menu works and I've used far, far worse in my 300 movie collection. I rather like the menu... And the fact they have a menu option telling us of the Spring 2004 release for season 2 made my day, it's nice to see they'll put out this series for the fans.Now for the transfer. Audio quality is superb, well restored. Video quality is a different story. Upon freeze-framing, it's very clear that, despite doing a good job at restoring the master tapes, they did a rather poor transfering the video to DVD. (You HDTV fans out there may not like watching this on your sets... and by 1996, the FCC is pulling the plug on current broadcast standards...) I can think of 2 reasons why the video looks as poor as it does, but it suffices to say that the end result is a video image that looks needlessly grainy; broadcast video technology of the time never ever looked this bad. But while not as bad as VHS consumer quality videotape, it is well below acceptable DVD quality. (for another example of what not to do in terms of transfrring video quality onto DVD, check out the dithering used in "The Best of the Chris Rock Show" - yuck!) But given the price of this disc and that "All in the Family" costs less per episode and yet looks far better (despite NOT having had its master tapes restored), I'm knocking 2 points off. DVD video should not ever look this grainy in a freeze-frame. (it is bearable when things in motion, but be prepared for a shock if you're a "quality freak".)6 episodes. I was pondering the same issue, why not have a season 1 + 2 box set? But then we'd have to wait until spring, and I hate waiting, though I would have if the video looked better. Besides, these episodes are HILARIOUS. The gags, the double entendres, the Ropers... it's all there. And when you are laughing so much you start to cry and get a stomachache, you know you're watching a winner of a show that's well written and well cast. No wonder "Three's Company" became a success so quickly. As other reviewers here and other websites post plot synopses and reviews, I won't here. (well, "No Dogs, No Children" was probably my favorite of the bunch, especially the scene where Chrissy and Jack are in the kitchen feeding the puppy...)And the real downfall is, John Ritter died an untimely death. :-( He will be missed. He was a great actor and sounded like a great guy too. Very rare in the industry...