Created By: Craig Wright
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Peter Krause, William Baldwin, Blair Underwood
Being a member of the Darling family must be a charmed life. And being their lawyer well, it must suck.
The Season
Death seems to follow the Darlings around. The first season saw the death of Dutch George, the family’s lawyer, in an airplay crash. Season two opens with the death of Patrick Darling’s (William Baldwin) wife Ellen. Of course this isn’t the only scandal going on in the Darling family. After Jeremy (Seth Gabel) is shot down by Lisa George (Zoe McLellan) he runs head long into Nola (Lucy Liu) who just happens to be the prosecuting attorney on Letitia Darling’s (Jill Clayburgh) murder trial.
Then there is Karen Darling (Natalie Zea) and her affair with Simon Elder (Blair Underwood) who just happens to be Darling family patriarch Tripp Darling’s (Donald Sutherland) business rival. Of course being the ex-girlfriend of new family lawyer Nick George (Peter Krause) always leads to fireworks and a cat fight or two. And who can resist a good brawl at a family funeral, a lavish wedding or a high profile murder trial?
Dirty Sexy Money was a casualty of the writer’s strike of 2007. The show premiered with good reviews and even better ratings only go off the air after ten episodes. The last episode of season one aired in December of 2007 and it did not return to the air until October of 2008 killing any momentum for the series. It’s a shame really because there were several plotlines that were never resolved and the show was a lot of fun.
All thirteen episodes are presented here and it was nice to spend some time with the Darlings once again. The cast is spectacular, especially Glenn Fitzgerald’s devilishly spoiled former priest Brian Darling. I miss this show and if I had any pull at ABC I might suggest s series of television movies. This family might have it all but they sure know how to screw things up.
9/10
The Video
Presented in Widescreen 1.78:1-Enhanced for 16×9 televisions. The picture looks crisp and clear which is perfect for such a beautiful cast.
6/10
The Audio
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The audio is crystal clear and never drops out or sounds muddy.
5/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features
The packaging itself is pretty standard with a clam shell case and cardboard slip cover. The special features are a different story. Of course it has the usual deleted scenes and blooper reel and the behind the scenes look at craft services is kind of bland. Just a little better is the featurette A Total Knockout which follows Natalie Zea around for a day. Actually it focuses on the rest of the cast talking about Natalie and barely “follows Natalie Zea around for a day.” It is fun but a little unfocused.
My favorite is Directing The Darlings that follows Jamie Babbit as she directs an episode. Her interviews are very insightful and the cast interviews show how much respect they have for her work.
6/10
The best part of the boom in television series being put on dvd is having access to great shows that didn’t last very long. Do yourself a favor and pick up both seasons of this wonderful show.
Overall (Not an Average) 8/10
The Review
The Season 9/10
The Video 6/10
The Audio 5/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features 6/10
Overall (Not an Average) 8/10