Customer Reviews

Felicity - Junior Year Collection (The Complete Third Season)

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What was true about the second season of "Felicity" is even truer about the third season, a.k.a. "Junior Year": I watched this show despite the title character and not because of her. For me the idea that the show might have "jumped the shark" did not come when Keri Russell cut her hair, but rather when Felicity chose Ben (Scott Speedman) over Noel (Scott Foley). This is not to say that Ben does not have his moments, but they are almost always BAD moments. Plus there is the vicious cycle of their relationship. One of them does something "wrong," at which point Ben gets mad and Felicity cries, but she wants to talk about it and he does not (and she gets her way). It is actually a good thing that I know what happens at the end of the series, because that way I do not have to have a vested interest in Felicity's love life, which is fine, because the grand irony is that Felicity is not why I watch "Felicity."

I watch "Felicity" primarily for Megan (Amanda Foreman) and Sean (Greg Grunberg). Whoever decided to take those two scene stealing characters and throw them together into what is one of the great opposites attract pairings in the history of television was either a genius or really lucky. When I think about what are my favorite moments are from the junior year of "Felicity" they basically boil down to Megan being serious with Sean about important things like his cancer ("One Ball, Two Strikes") or their relationship ("It's Raining Men"). Watching Megan strip away everything to get down to the level of absolute honesty was always a big moment. Then there is when Megan is so touched by Sean wearing ass-less pants for a fetish party ("James and the Giant Piece"), and her taking the phone sex job ("Greeks and Geeks"). The writers knew what they had with these two and gave them several great opportunities to shine.

On the Felicity front life is just a continuing series of trauma, with are heroine getting a hell hole apartment to share with Ben ("The Christening"), waking up in some frat guy's bed ("Greeks and Geeks"), gets kissed by Ben's father ("Kissing Mr. Covington"), gets asked by Javier to donate an egg so he and Samuel can be parents ("A Good Egg"), another visit from her mom ("And to All a Good Night"), Avery going after Ben ("Blackout"), Avery kissing Ben ("The Breakup Kit"), Noel kissing Felicity ("Senioritist"), and the biggest trauma of all, what to do in the summer ("The Last Summer Ever").

When the WB stopped broadcasting on WGN my particular neck of the northern woods ended up being the largest television market in the nation without the WB (or maybe it was South Bend, but we were in the running), so after the first couple of episodes in Season 2 the only way to see the show was if I when my brother taped "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" for us if it remembered to tape "Felicity" as well. So I saw some of the Avery episodes, enough to start clucking again over Felicity choosing Ben again. More so than watching season two, for me watching Felicity and Ben during season three was the comic relief, which means that I am pretty much reading this show completely opposite of the way it was intended. Yet, strangely enough, I am happy with that and it does not take away from my enjoyment of the series.

After all, the relationship between Elena (Tangi Miller) and Tracy (Donald Faison), is pretty much through the mirror, with her wanting to have sex and him wanting to wait until marriage ("The Christening"). You have to admit that particular role reversal is refreshing, and Tracy's Christian principles and Sean's brush with death making him decide to start to start practicing his Jewish faith and finally have his bar mitzvah ("Senioritis"), "Felicity" was one of the few television series to deal with religion in a substantial way ("7th Heaven" being the exception that prove the rule on this score), although "BtVS" deal with Wiccans a bit better.

Stil, the tragic figure for me is poor Noel, who comes back from vacation married only to have his friends band together to put an end to it ("The Anti-Natalie Intervention"), and gets to work closely with Felicity on an internet cartoon ("Final Touches (a.k.a. Let's Get It On)"), just so he can have painful reminders of what he has lost on a regular basis. If you liked Noel's "Break Up Kit," then his lovely parting gift, "Our Official Time Capsule," only underscores that Felicity made a serious mistake when the mental coin she flipped to make her decision came up tails. Ben as his best moment is not as good as Noel at his worst (which would be when he was reading Tyra Bank's e-mail, but he is just so earnestly dopey as opposed to Ben's painfully stupid). But, hey, don't run away. Let me tell you what I REALLY think about Ben...

We all thought this DVD pkg. wasn't going to get released! Thank you Buena Vista for picking it up. I can't wait to get it when it's released on July 20. We all know it will include the late John Ritter as Ben's dad...so that is maybe why they decided to press it for sale. Either way, 1,000's of Felicity fans worldwide thank you - including me. I can't tell you about how great the series is -- Season 3 will be a great add-on to my collection of Season 1 & 2. Let's now get a date set for Season 4. I watch the entire collection, back to back, day after day within one week from receiving it. You'll enjoy it too.
I want to relive my college years (I'm 33) - How about you? Live them w/Felicity and the gang, over and over again. The tale sure speaks of life in a realistic and flawlessly acted, humourous way!
Peace!

Season three is a must buy after watching the first two...in this season we get to see Ben and Felicity's relationship evolve. I know a lot of people didn't get into the major melodramatic plot lines, music etc.... but I have to disagree. Felicity has this great balance of comedy and drama. Scott Speedman is an amazing actor and both he and Kerri have such a magical chemistry on camera. It's truly magical.

College is a major chapter in anyone's life, it's where you learn to be independent, yet at the same time your building strong lasting friendships. When Felicity first came out I was two years from graduating from high-school, when it ended I was two years away from graduating from university and I have to say watching Felicity was like therapy for me. I was sad when it ended because it's after collage where things really get interesting and decisions get harder. Now in my senior year this is very clear to me. Watching the characters discover not just what they want to do with their lives but also who they are is something everyone can relate with. One of the best things Felicity does in answering these questions is that there is no right answers...as Felicity says in season 2, one of the reason she choose to go with Ben is because if she didn't she would never know what it would have been like. Taking leaps of faith into something that is uncertain is admirable. So take a leap of faith people and buy this DVD! I recommend buying the first two seasons as well to see the development of characters like Megan, Sean, Elena, Julie, Felicity and Ben....Richard, and Javier are hilarious! Noel this season goes through the most character downfalls as he begins to challenge always being the "nice guy". Scott Foley does a great job at portraying Noel in crisis.

I know I'm going on and on....I just want to end in saying that buying Felicity on DVD is a great investment. This is a type of show that you can just watch and re-watch again and again and never get sick of it...the acting is that good.

Junior year was an unbelievable year for Felicity and the gang. I find that I am actually caring about these characters. The episodes have a lot of dialogue that rings true in real life. I felt genuinely hurt for Ben when he was confronted about his plans for a career. I couldn't believe how consumed with Jane Noel was, it seemed out of character for him. While Elena is not my favorite character at all, her relationship with Tracy was heart breaking. Meghan and Sean's relationship gets sweeter and sweeter and I even look forward to Richard showing up!

Above all, I am intrigued by the Ben-Noel-Felicity love triangle. As I watch, I can't get over how much Noel cares for Felicity, and Ben is becoming a character you just keep rooting for. There do seem to be some unusual aspects of their college life, such as why certain characters are taking certain classes, or why Felicity didn't remember that Noel TA'd the class she needed to take for the final. I still don't get why Ben is always drinking, when his father has an alcohol problem.

It was an enjoyable season. Didn't really care for the Avery character, but she provided Keri Russell with some of the most believable emotions I have seen on a TV show. I can't wait for the final season!

I am so glad to see so many people as enthused as I am about Felicity. I loved the show so much in 2000 I had a little girl and I named her that. The show was the best on television and at the time the WB was really doing a terrific job of putting out really good drama. With Buffy and Angel and The Gilmore Girls. I am sad to see so many of these shows gone now because there is really nothing on TV. I am about put out with Reality shows and women degrading themselves to marry an ex athlete or some rich guy or better still an Australian outback dude. The state of television is literally down the tubes. I have to say FX is the only station doing a good job with releasing any good new shows. So thank you thank you Buena Vista for releasing something I can watch at the end of a hard day that has some substance to it. If it wasn't for DVD's like these I do not know what would happen to us. If anyone agrees with any of this give three cheers!!

After a perceived sophomore slump by the critics (I still think it is good especially towards the end of the season), Season 3 reinvigorated the show by raves from the critics and improved ratings. Season 3 is probably the most ensemble based seasons of the show as more of the supporting characters (Megan, Javier, Sean) become more part of the gang.

Some of the best episodes of the season are:

-The Christening (a great season opener, it was funny and cute and just a nice way to start the season)
-Hello, I must be Going (Julie's goodbye via videotape to the gang was beautiful, a nice farewell episode for Amy Jo Johnson)
-Greeks and Geeks (so many wonderful things, Megan's phone sex job, the ping pong match, the laptop fiasco, just a great episode)
-Surprise
-One Ball Two Strikes (Ben and Felicity reunited after the pingpong-Randy fiasco)
-And to all a Good Night (great Felicity-Ben episode especially ben's speech to her mother about how important Felicity is to him)
-Blackout
-The Breakup kit
-The Last Summer Ever

Season 3 is a strong season, with some very funny, romantic, dramatic, moving and at one point even suspenseful episodes.

Grade: A

With the 5 disc "Junior Year Collection" of "Felicity", one of the bonus features is the extremely insightful and entertaining "'Docuventary': A Look Back At Season 3" where director Lawrence Trilling says the third season added a lot more humor into the show. That's pretty ironic because the thing that's really striking about this 3rd season really isn't the humor as much as it is the incredible dramatic tension in episode after episode with the terrific writing that's often surprisingly imaginative, for instance the somewhat over-the-top 'revival' of the Avery character played by Kristin Lehman. No matter how over-the-top it gets, the show remains winningly human and realistic at its core, and as with the first two seasons, you get convincing, believable performances all around. The late John Ritter was nicely incorporated into the show during this season as Ben's extremely troubled alcoholic father, and Scott Speedman (Ben) and Scott Foley (Noel) are outstanding just like they were in the previous 2 seasons. Of course, the unlikely pairing of Sean (Greg Grunberg) and Meghan (Amanda Foreman) offer a lot of entertainment value, as do the pair of almost-impossible-to-take-seriously characters: Javier (Ian Gomez) and Richard Coad (Robert Patrick Benedict). Through it all, the show manages to stay remarkably down-to-earth, avoiding pomposity, and to call it addictive would be putting it lightly--this third season of "Felicity" is simply brilliant, and the enlightening bonus features take it that extra mile.

I love the Felicity series. Well worth the money for Felicity fans. Gotta have it!

I remember when Felicity first premiered on t.v. and I refused to watch it. I didn't like Dawsons Creek and I knew I wasn't going to like this show. However, recently one of my coworkers insisted that I watch a few episodes and I am hooked. The show is very good. The writing is very good. It's pretty close to real college life (for those who were in dorms).

Nominated for 2 Emmys and 2 Golden Globes, including Best TV Series - Drama, Felicity gathered a large cult following in its short four season stint. Premiering on the WB network in September 1998, the show (along with Dawson's Creek) helped ignite a firestorm of highly successful original series on behalf of the upstart network, with such hit shows as Angel (1999), Gilmore Girls (2000), and Smallville (2001). The brainchild of writer J.J. Abrams (creator of the two hit series Alias and Lost), Felicity follows the life of a recent high school graduate, not through seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4, but through Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years. Similar in genre to its contemporary, Dawson's Creek, Felicity's cast is of approximately the same age, but the setting is college instead of high school...

Felicity begins when the star of the series, Felicity Porter (Keri Russell), graduates from high school. Having harbored a four-year crush on classmate Ben Covington (Scott Speedman), despite the fact they've never talked, Felicity musters the courage in the aftermath of their commencement ceremony to ask him to sign her yearbook. When Ben writes some surprising comments, Felicity decides to follow him to fictional University of New York (UNY) instead of pursuing her goal of pre-med at Stanford. Against her parent's wishes, she enrolls in the school and moves cross country where she becomes roommates with Meghan Rotundi (Amanda Foreman), a girl whose lifestyle clashes with her own, and where she meets resident advisor Noel Crane (Scott Foley) who immediately develops a crush on her. When Ben learns of the true reason for Felicity's enrollment, he's both flattered and a little uncertain about Felicity's mental stability. In the ensuing four years, Felicity goes through the basic trials and travails of a maturing college student, experiencing the ups and downs of life, love, and adulthood...

The Felicity (Season 3) DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere "The Christening" in which Felicity learns from Javier that a man is giving away his furniture before moving to another state. When she visits his apartment, she falls in love with the place and agrees to rent it so that she and Ben can live there together. Ben, however, is out of town at the time and must live with Felicity's decision despite his belief that the place is a dump. Meanwhile, Noel has dropped out of school, eloped, and decided to become a full-time party animal... Other notable episodes from Season 3 include "Kissing Mr. Covington" in which Felicity's attempts to console Ben's estranged father result in him kissing her, much to her and Ben's dismay, and "Blackout" in which everyone gathers together to watch Sean's "Docuventary," only to have a storm knock out the power, prompting a series of interpersonal conflicts...

Below is a list of episodes included on the Felicity (Season 3) DVD:

Episode 46 (The Christening)
Episode 47 (The Anti-Natalie Intervention)
Episode 48 (Hello, I Must Be Going)
Episode 49 (Greeks and Geeks)
Episode 50 (Surprise)
Episode 51 (One Ball, Two Strikes)
Episode 52 (Kissing Mr. Covington)
Episode 53 (A Good Egg)
Episode 54 (James and the Giant Piece)
Episode 55 (Final Touches)
Episode 56 (And to All a Good Night)
Episode 57 (Girlfight)
Episode 58 (Blackout)
Episode 59 (The Break-Up Kit)
Episode 60 (Senioritis)
Episode 61 (It's Raining Men)
Episode 62 (The Last Summer Ever)

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