DVD
Review | Arliss, The Best Of Written by:Kage
Alan
I will be one of the first to admit that I had
absolutely no interest in this series back when I had HBO and wouldn’t
have given it a second thought when it came out on DVD. Why? I’m
just not a sports person and I really can’t see spending my time
watching a series about a sports agent. My impression was that there
would be major inside sports jokes and I’m just going to get them.
Well, I sat down to watch these 13 episodes taken from the show’s 7
seasons with some trepidation and damn if I didn’t laugh the whole way
through!
After seeing actor Robert Wuhl in “Batman”, it was
difficult to envision him as Arliss, one of the most powerful sports
agents around (a kind of Jerry Maguire character). He pulled it off,
though, and is even responsible for creating this show. Aside from the
ins and outs of dealing with the whims of any number of athletes,
getting them deals and acting as a surrogate shrink and big brother,
Arliss’ office is staffed with a number of very colorful individuals.
The glue holding it all together is Rita Wu, played by the incredible
Sandra Oh (“Double Happiness”). Rita may be a little on the nosey side
as well as opinionated, but her observations are dead on and she manages
to keep everybody honest. It was a breath of fresh air to see an Asian
actress given this kind of role.
Another member of the staff is Kirby Carlisle (Jim
Turner, “The Ref”), a sex-crazed almost clumsy/goofy yet well meaning
guy. He seems very much like a chameleon and can fit almost any scene
whether it needs to be dramatic or comedic. Last, but by no means
least, is Stanley Babson (Michael Boatman, “The Peacemaker”). Stanley
is the kind of guy audiences love to hate. He’s incredibly insensitive,
yet absolutely hysterical in his narrow views of life. Believe me when
I say that for every insensitive thing he says, the man is paid back in
full for in one way or another.
One of the things I was most impressed with is that
“Arli$$” really bit into some major dramatic stories and didn’t shy away
from controversy. There are characters dealing with rape, with having
been molested in life, drugs, death, coming out, cancer… It’s comedy,
but there is just enough reality in the show that made it appeal to me
and I’m sorry I never gave it a chance. By the same token, I’m now
disappointed that HBO didn’t release the show in full seasons instead of
just a 13-show collection. It brings back shades of what happened with
“Friends” before the studio got the hint that viewers weren’t going to
settle for “Best Of” sets.
HBO has released this 2-disc set in a decent
looking Full Screen transfer. There is some grain here and there, but
the picture quality is solid for the most part. Audio was quite nice as
well, but not overly showy because it doesn’t need to be. As for
extras, there are some in-depth cast bios and an audio commentary by the
4 leads on the episode “Moments To Remember”. The commentary is okay
and some good information is given, but it feels very much like the cast
wasn’t really sure what they were doing or what to say. Also, a single
commentary and no documentaries or other supplementary material for a
show that lasted 7 seasons does not impress me.
How well “Arli$$” sells will most likely impact
whether or not HBO decides to release full seasons. Unfortunately,
“best ofs” may only appeal to existing fans and annoy them at the same
time (i.e. what happened with “Friends”) while not really bringing in
any new fans. If you’ve never seen the show, I do urge you to take a
look at this collection and decide for yourself if it’s for you. I
loved it and I hope for further releases! For those of you out there
who are already fans, buying this is a risk should HBO decide to bring
out full seasons. Whatever the case may be, “Arli$$” is incredibly
entertaining and, at times, thought provoking.
