Cougar Town The Complete First Season DVD Review And Giveaway

To make it as a TV series, you simply must evolve. Your characters have to develop, and eventually, a show ought to only bear a certain family resemblance to the first few episodes. Cougar Town's first season put the most rapid fire treatment to this theory in the history of television, and by the time all was said and done, the entire first season was akin to one, enormous pilot episode.

Back when I reviewed the show as a fall preview, I disliked it immensely. It tried too hard with its gags, and forced its title down my throat in a way that I found borderline sad. A little bit of trivia you'll get from the DVD bonus features is that the word "cougar" has never been used in the show, but it didn't need to be. A fairly boring vanity piece, the show's best hope was its supporting cast, but little of the writing delivered anything interesting to sink your teeth into.

I reviewed it pretty harshly, and I stand by that review, but somewhere around episode 7, the show changed completely. Working up to Jules' dumping of her young boyfriend, everything cougar-ish suddenly vanished. Well, except for one semi-frequently recurring character who is older than Jules, and a bit creepy. Her continued inclusion, in fact, actually distances the show even more from its cougar roots.

Taking a sharp 180, the show switched to a kind of ensemble piece. On the bonus features, you'll also hear one of the show's creators refer to it as something like Friends in their forties. If you take into account what Friends became toward the very end, you'll know that isn't far off at all.

Once that first fling is over, Jules dates men her own age, though she briefly (sort of) tries to date another younger guy, and our focus is on the relationships of our inner circle. Jules has two best friends who don't like each other, a decidedly flaky ex-husband who is around an awful lot now that they're divorced, and a "paper buddy" who is slowly becoming part of the neighborhood gang. We progress through a variety of stages, including the complicated affair of Jules' best friend's husband trying to remain friends with Jules' ex-husband, against his wife's wishes. It sounds more complicated than it is. And yet, it's pretty complicated.

The show is now about everyone involved equally, with best friends/neighbors Ellie and Andy, played brilliantly by Christa Miller and Ian Gomez, providing most of the show's best moments.

By episode ten or twelve, you can't really make sense out of the name, and while you might have heard about the possible name change, and the idea that something more family friendly might help with ratings, I think it might have had something more to do with the basic fact that it is at this point simply confusing.

Perhaps owing to the fact that this just might be rather a vanity piece after all, it seems you can see the point when both Jules and Courteney finally work up the nerve to just say, "It is what it is." For Jules, who has a lot of that Monica-esque neurotic behavior by the way, she works out that it might be possible to overplan, overthink, and generally try too hard at life as a whole, and moving on in particular. For Courteney, she seems to let this role (perhaps this show, who knows?) settle into something that is itself not trying quite so hard. Not trying to be so funny. Not always "on." Maybe being hilarious isn't what this show turns out to be about.

It's funny. A million times funnier than it was out of the gates, if you ask me, but a different kind of funny. Often a more subtle humor, one that doesn't feel the need to slap you around with everything, and have the characters provide laughtrack. But, also one that is more brave when it works, such as the reverse intervention, which was a nice touch.

You often hear the yarn about authors being asked why a certain thing happened in a story, and coming back with the reply, "that's just what happened," or somesuch. A variety of spins on the idea are attributed to many writers. When you're an author (I hear tell), sometimes your characters just rebel. You think you're about to write one thing, and before you know it, an entirely different chain of events are on the page.

Maybe that's what happened here. The clever, witty, honest characters (especially Ellie and Andy) just weren't having it, and those in charge were actually smart enough to give the horse its head.

If you tuned out, as I did until someone told me I should check out the new direction, I advise you to catch up before the new season starts. I very honestly think you'll be glad you did. There are many difficult things to do in the realm of television, but taking a show I can't stand, and turning into something I'm looking forward to is about the hardest thing there is (statistically speaking).

Bonus Features:

Oddly enough, one of the bonus features is devoted entirely to the show's shift in perspective. Taming Cougar Town is a short, but interesting look at the de-cougaring of the show. It's barely five minutes, but it gives the creators a chance to give some perspective on the changes.

You get a series of Ask Barb snippets which feature the only cougar left in the zoo, and her very cougar answers to questions about dating, women, and being a cougar. Somewhat fun, but not something with a lot of meat.

A similar inclusion are the Stroking it with Bobby Cobb bites which feature Bobby sort of randomly babbling innuendos while golfing. While I rather like the character (to a point) in the show, this is a throwaway as a special feature. There's little enough to it in any case, but it isn't funny, and doesn't go anywhere.

On the other hand, the Jimmy Kimmel Live bit Saber-Tooth Tiger Town, which obviously isn't anything exclusive to the release, is hilarious, and even if you've seen it before, it's worth owning, and a welcome addition. Taking things a few age demographics further, Cloris Leachman takes her turn going on the prowl.

You also get a collection of deleted scenes and bloopers, which are pretty standard.

Overall, this is a pretty nice release. It isn't loaded with a lot of additional value by way of the bonuses, but there is at least some effort. Assuming you've seen any of the episodes past the eighth, this one is worth owning. If you haven't, make sure to give it the chance to get you there.

Own it on DVD today!

Win it!

Leave a comment below, and you are automatically entered to win your very own copy of the DVD release. U.S. only. Winner will be randomly selected September 10th.

Check out some clips.

Golden Globe® nominee* Courteney Cox (Friends) stars in the hilarious hit comedy Cougar Town: The Complete First Season. After spending the last seventeen years as a wife and mother, recently divorced Jules (Cox) has reluctantly waded back into the dating pool and quickly finds herself in over her head.

Now forty-something and single, Jules tackles real-life issues – dating, parenting and friendship. It doesn’t help Jules that her two best friends can hardly stand each other, her ex-husband is hanging around more now than he did during their marriage…and there’s that handsome divorced neighbor that Jules can’t quite get out of her head. Packed with laugh-out-loud moments and featuring a cast of television’s brightest comedic stars, Cougar Town struts its stuff in this DVD collection, along with exclusive bonus features and one or two special surprises.

Cougar Town – it’s more than a place, it’s a state of mind.

COUGAR TOWN: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON was created by Bill Lawrence (creator of Scrubs) and Kevin Biegel and also stars Christa Miller (“Scrubs”, “The Drew Carey Show”, “Seinfeld”), Busy Philipps (“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”, “ER”), Dan Byrd (“Heroes”, “CSI”), Josh Hopkins (“Private Practice”), Ian Gomez (“The Drew Carey Show”) and Brian Van Holt (“John from Cincinnati”).

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About Marc Eastman

Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.

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