- Release Date: April 7, 2009
- Publisher: Paramount
- Price: $25.99 on Amazon.com (Buy It
)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Run Time: 656 minutes
- Special Features: None
- Starring: John Forsythe, Linda Evans, Joan Collins, Heather Locklear, Kathleen Beller, Geoffrey Scott, John James, Gordon Thomson, Pamela Sue Martin, Lee Bergere
- Genre: Soap, Drama
Going into this review, I had only watched the second half of the third season of this show. I noted in my review of that set that it wasn’t a good idea to randomly start watching the show in the middle of its run and I will tell you again, do not pick up “Dynasty: Season 4, Volume 1″ if you haven’t watched the earlier seasons. The show is heavily serialized and because I still haven’t watched the first two and a half seasons, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I probably could have.
For those who don’t know “Dynasty” was a primetime soap that aired in the ’80s. It has been compared to “Dallas” and I can definitely see why. However, the storylines in “Dynasty” are much more campy and over-the-top. The show centered on the insanely wealthy Carrington family that proved that money can’t solve every problem. I’m not going to get into the individual storylines of this half-season because those who have already been buying these sets will likely continue to do so and I don’t want to spoil things for those new to the franchise.
Like “Season 3, Volume 2,” I thought this collection of 14 episodes was just alright. The show does a lot of things well and most of the stories are interesting but it is nowhere near being perfect. Also, since I’m only in my early twenties I didn’t grow up with the show. Some of the new primetime soaps like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Desperate Housewives” were the first shows I started watching when I got into TV. Since those shows are geared more towards people my age I obviously prefer them.
Video and audio quality isn’t perfect but for a show that is over twenty years old, both are pretty impressive. Some scenes are a bit grainy but most of the time the transfer is quite good. Unfortunately there still aren’t any bonus features included.
If you’ve been buying the “Dynasty” sets there is no reason not to pick up season three, volume two. I would also recommend the show to soap fans but those who grew up on the soaps of today may not enjoy it as much as recent shows. No matter what, I would definitely not recommend jumping right into this set. Get the first three seasons first or you’ll have no idea what is going on just like me.
