Reba - Season 5 DVD review

[ryan423]

I figured since this set wasn't reviewed, I'd take a crack at it. Hope it satisfies the reader enough to buy it, so we can assure we have season six later this year in order to complete the show on dvd;

Front:


Summary:
Reba is back, and the Hart household is crazier than ever! Country music superstar and Grammy® winner* Reba McEntire returns as the feisty-yet-frazzled head of the uproariously unpredictable Hart family when "Reba"- Season Five" debuts on DVD January 13th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Returning with her hilarious "down-home" antics, McEntire stars as a single suburban mom trying to juggle her career, family and relationships with pizzazz - but this time around, everyone has issues! While Cheyenne and Van struggle to save their rocky marriage, Brock is in danger of losing his home, and Barbara Jean is simply driving the rest of the family insane! And still, with a little tough love and a whole lot of determination, Reba manages to keep her extended brood together, proving that she really is a survivor in the hilariously heartfelt Season Five of "Reba."


In the fifth season of "Reba," the Hart family faces new trials and tribulations as Reba and son-in-law Van Montgomery (Steve Howey, Supercross) decide to team up and work in real estate together. Just when she thinks money troubles are a thing of the past, Reba and her ex-husband Brock (Christopher Rich, "Murphy Brown") are audited by the IRS for back taxes. Meanwhile Brock's wife Barbara Jean (Melissa Peterman, Fargo, How High) tries to sue Reba after spraining her ankle in the house Reba and Van rent to her. Featuring all 22 original episodes, "Reba" - Season Five DVD is available for the suggested retail price of $29.98 U.S. / $37.98 Canada.

Source of above summary: tvshowsondvd.com

20th Century Fox has refused to continue with commentary since the season 3 set, so there are no special features on this long-awaited dvd release. But after a 26 month wait, I'm sure like myself, many fans are just glad we've seen the light of day. The set contains 2 discs, instad of three and are double-sided discs (like previous releases of this show). On Disc One, Side A, episodes 1-7 of season 5 can be found, On side two, you can find episodes 8-11. On Disc 2, Side A, episodes 12-19 can be found, while episodes 20-22 can be found on Side B of the disc.

This set, unlike other seasons released, is in a standard case, with a flap that holds discs 1 and 2. No booklet is provided, and no where on this set does it list episode titles and original airdates. Episode titles can be found in the 'Episode Selection' menu on each disc.

Each menu plays the latest version of the theme song (used in seasons 2-6) and contains pictures of the cast (mainly screenshots taken for the episodes). On the bottom left-hand side, you will find a play-all selection, a episode selection menu, and a special features menu, which leads you to various subtitles to choose from.

Although 20th Century fox obviously put little to no work into making this set sharp and attractive, I, as many other fans, am just glad season five has finally made its way to dvd. This season, being my favorite of the show's 6, contains some of the most memorable episodes of the series;

In the season opener, "Where There's Smoke", we take off where we left off in the season 4 finale cliffhanger, where we discover that Cheyenne is an alcoholic. In the season permiere, we discover Cheyenne's new habit, smoking (which is never seen after this episode) and the side effects of perscription drugs when Reba mistakes one of Cheyenne's "booze away" pills for a female vitamin. What she doesn't know is, the slightest sip of Alcohol after taking one of these "vitamins" will make you horribly sick. In the fourth episode of this season, "When God Created Van," we discover that Van has stopped believing in God, due to his back injury which cost him his dream career in the NFL.

All and all, if your in it for the episodes, this is a fantastic set. I for one, have almost never seen a clearer picture. Since this season took place in 2005-06, you can expect the sharpest picture. This show remains in it's original full frame format.

Back Cover:


Special Features: 0/5
Overall Score: 4.5/5

[Lorimar Television]

Awsome review. But actually the theme song was changed in season 5 from the one used in season 2-4 and I just wanted to say that the new theme song is the one playing on the menu. It's too bad that they don't have "live" menus on this set, but the pictures were done pretty well. I'm glad that they finally released it. And I heard that it's selling very well.

[TJ]

We received this very late. Originally they sent Season 4 instead of Season 5.

It’s the show that no one watched in original broadcast (at least I had an excuse -- no WB/CW affiliate to watch it on), yet everyone seems to have fallen in love with in syndication on Lifetime. This is Reba’s fifth season, where Cheyenne and Van struggle to save their marriage, Brock is in danger of losing his home, and Barbra Jean is just driving everyone nuts -- well, that’s really no different than usual. Trying to keep everyone sane...or at least keep herself sane...is Reba, the matriarch of this bizarre extended family.

This season is without supporting cast member Scarlett Pomers, who was away from the show the entire season while battling an eating disorder. While the circumstances behind her temporary departure are unfortunate, in my opinion the show actually improves a slight amount this season without her. Scarlett/Kyra would disappear from the show after the beginning of the season, and wouldn’t be seen again until the sixth/final season. Having one fewer cast member to consider in plots actually seemed to quicken the pace of the slow just slightly -- at least in my opinion. The remainder of the cast (Reba McEntire, Christopher Rich, Melissa Peterman, Joanna Garcia, and Steve Howey) shines, and shows why this really is one of the best sitcoms of this decade!

Read our review by Seth here:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/rebaseason5dvdreview.html

[ryan423]

Great to see a new fan TJ!

It may have been on a second tier network (The WB), but was the network's highest rated comedy ever. It's a shame though...the CW had a very strong show (well two if you count Everwood) and let them go, although Reba did get to return and finish things. Even 7th Heaven was great, that is until it's infamous CW season.

[Pavan]

Seth did the review.