Family Bonds - The Complete First Season
Family Bondsis an endearingly raw peek into the lives of the Evangelistas, a large Long Island family who happen to work together as bail bondsmen. The 10 episodes compiled here follow family patriarch Tom Evangelista, his wife Flo, and their children, friends, and co-workers as they track down unsavory characters in New York City while dealing with a host of issues at home, from their youngest son's attempt to master riding a bike to the birth of their first grandchild. And it's the balance between these two worlds, which invariably overlap in intriguing ways (Flo is called in to handle a female fugitive; Tom must deal with his eldest son Sal's desire for a gun when he joins the business) that makesFamily Bondssuch a watchable program--the Evangelistas, for all their rough edges, manage to remain a caring and even sweet family in the face of their unpleasant line of work. Their commitment to one another offers a refreshing alternative to the more cartoonish approach to bail bondsmen offered by the seriesDog the Bounty Hunter. The DVD includes commentary by director Steve Cantor, producer Matthew Galkin, and editor Pax Wasserman, as well as a "sit down" with the Evangelistas at a family barbecue.--Paul Gaita