- Release Date: January 27, 2009
- Publisher: Shout Factory
- Price: $36.99 on Amazon.com (Buy It
)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Run Time: 840 minutes
- Special Features: Original Pilot Episode, “A Very Special Show,” “A Very Special Friendship,” “A Very Special Style,” Commentaries
- Starring: Mayim Bialik, Jenna von Oy, Ted Wass, Michael Stoyanov, Joey Lawrence
- Genre: Comedy
One of the best things about reviewing TV shows on DVD is that you get the opportunity to try shows that you’ve never even heard of. Sometimes they turn out to be gems, other times they are so bad I wish I never received them. “Blossom” fits right in the middle of that spectrum, I’m glad I got a chance to watch the first two seasons but I wouldn’t call it a gem. It’s basically a generic ’90s family sitcom.
“Blossom” is about a girl unsurprisingly named Blossom. She has to grow up without her mother, who divorced her dad before the series began. Father Nick means well but usually isn’t a big help and neither are her dimwitted brothers Anthony and Joey. She does get some help in the form of best friend Six. Even though the show is a comedy, it deals with a lot of teen issues like drugs, dating, and divorce.
Most of the episodes I watched were pretty funny overall. I wouldn’t say the show is any funnier than other early ’90s sitcoms but it’s definitely worth watching if you love comedies from that time period. While the show is just average in the comedy department, the dramatic moments set it apart from other sitcoms. These moments are emotional and really add something different to the show.
Acting overall is pretty good. Mayim Bialik has good chemistry with both Ted Wass (Nick) and Jenna von Oy (Blossom). As one of the bonus features point out, Bialik and von Oy became friends in real life so their chemistry isn’t too shocking. All three actors are very good and Michael Stoyanov and Joey Lawrence are also fine in their roles as Blossom’s brothers.
Right when I popped in the DVD, I could tell “Blossom” was quite dated. Unfortunately, this means it doesn’t look that great on DVD. While Shout did the best it could, the video quality is still very soft and even fuzzy at times. The quality is acceptable though, especially since it’s pretty obvious the show was low-budget. On the other hand, sound quality is very crisp and just about perfect.
Since most of the bigger DVD companies don’t even bother adding extras for older shows, I was shocked Shout managed to pack in two commentaries, the original pilot, and three featurettes. I applaud them for their effort even though the features are on the average side. The commentaries are solid but there are some moments of silence. The featurettes feature the show’s style (”A Very Special Style”), Bialik and von Oy’s friendship (”A Very Special Friendship”), and the production of the show (”A Very Special Show”). “A Very Special Show” is easily the longest and best of the three but “Blossom” fans will probably enjoy the other two as well. Still, I’d say most of these extras would rate as average at best.
Despite being an older show (as you probably know from most of my reviews, I generally don’t like older shows), “Blossom” surprised me a bit. I liked the show’s mix of comedy and drama and while it was far from a gem, I would definitely recommend it.
