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Written by asap
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Friday, 02 June 2006 |
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JOEY
Grade: D
Starring Matt LeBlanc, Drea de Matteo, Paulo Costanza and Andrea Anders. 525 mins. $39.98
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At first glance, the four-disc set of "Joey: The Complete First Season" seems like the latest example of a trend that needs no further confirmation: there really is no TV show so slight or misconceived that it won't get released on DVD.
But "Joey" is something more, achieving an instant-artifact status. In part, that's because it's rare for a television series so short-lived to be given the DVD treatment. When the second season set comes out, you'll have the entire collection - no need to wait for some boxed-set. The show gets released on DVD for the same reason it was made into a show in the first place. Joey was determined to be the "Friends" character most likely to succeed in a spin-off. And thinking about it that way, things could have been much worse; we could be discussing the DVD release of "Phoebe: The Complete First Season."
Another reason this release is an instant artifact is because it captures and chronicles a sitcom in the making, a chance to observe the forces at work in the creation of a show that's stripped bare. This isn't a show driven by a great, breakthrough concept; it's a show driven by a network's (NBC) desire to squeeze some additional juice out of its prize franchise. So we see all the formulaic parts thrown together in the hopes of putting together a vehicle that would actually run.
Understandably, the show's production team turned to "Frasier," maybe the most successful spin-off series ever, for inspiration. As you watch the first several episodes of "Joey," you can see all the pieces being assembled: new town, new job, new relative and so on. You don't have a bunch of good acting and writing to distract you, so you can closely observe the assembly line in action.
Which brings us to the main reason "Joey" is an instant artifact. In one season, 24 episodes and four discs, this DVD set sums up the history of the network sitcom and why its future is so bleak.
In an age of "Rescue Me" and "Entourage," the network sitcom looks and sounds like a relic. The canned laughter, the forced dialogue; "Joey" is an exercise in predictable story lines and re-packaged cliches. There's no character development, no surprises. Joey's dumb but sweet. His sister (the criminally wasted Drea de Matteo) is sexy and sassy; his nephew is smart but nerdy and so on.
So you watch as the show tries to find its feet and find new ways to make the same old thing seem fresh. But just look at those sets; there's never a moment when you don't know that they're on a soundstage dressed up to look like an apartment or an office or a bar or whatever - call it "Three's Company" Syndrome. And while the show tries to stir up a little show-about-show-business fun, with Joey winning a role in a cheesy TV show called "Deep Powder," it never leads to anything.
At some point, it tries to move into a more "Entourage" kind of experience, but that is (no pun intended) a joke. Bound by network limitations and unable to find ways of making those limitations work for the humor (a la "Arrested Development") rather than against it, the show is left trying to make "Joey" the show seem like hip fun while having Joey the character use words like "defecate."
Top that off with a resounding lack of extras. On the one hand, that's fine. Who wants more "Joey"? But on the other, here's a DVD ripe with possibilities for interesting and entertaining bonus features. It would be great to hear the writers talking about the experience and challenges of trying to make Joey" into something that wasn't embarrassing to work on.
Maybe they're saving that for the second season set. | Only registered users can write comments.
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