Product Details

• Actors: Ben Rappaport, Rizwan Manji, Sacha Dhawan, Rebecca Hazlewood, Parvesh Cheena
• Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: September 13, 2011
• Run Time: 466 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0055SNHQ6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,168 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

India...a diverse country of exotic cuisine, fascinating cultures, unique social customs...and the home of the Mid American Novelties call center. Unsuspecting management trainee Todd Dempsey is shocked when his job and department are relocated to the chaotic city of Mumbai. With no other career options, the Kansas native makes the jump himself and discovers that his most important work might just be teaching his eclectic group of Indian customer service reps what being American is all about.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 70 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and charming with heart June 17, 2011

By LJDB

NBC's Outsourced has had a bumpy roller coaster of a life. From premature assumptions before it even premiered to becoming NBC's highest rated new scripted series to getting stuck on the bubble awaiting its fate.

The comedy about an Indian call center for an American novelties company could be the biggest underdog story of the season outside of Dillon, Texas. Despite getting shuffled to a difficult timeslot (after doing very well in its original) and continuing to get unwarranted and baseless criticism from critics and some viewers alike, Outsourced forged ahead to grow into one of television's most charming series.

Outsourced doesn't drop a joke every other second like other shows may attempt to do, but you can't help but keep a smile on your face the entire half hour. Each episode always builds up to the satisfying punchline at the end and that is very refreshing.

The series is also relatable, a workplace comedy that uses its different and unique setting to its advantage.

Being set in India only adds to what makes the series so good. Outsourced puts a face behind those calls you make about products or support. They've managed to touch on how call centers are important and meaningful jobs for the locals in India (and the Philippines as well).

And those faces and personalities as just like you or me. They may have a different culture, faith, clothing, and food, but they go through the same things in everyday life; jobs, family, friends, romance. It's all there and with a talented, charming ensemble cast to bring it all to life.

Going against possibly what half of America thinks about the show (without even watching an episode), Outsourced is charming. The characters and cast are charming. You can't help but like these characters, each one of them contributing to the episode every week.

And maybe the most surprising, Outsourced has a lot of heart.

If you want a sample of just how good the series can be, look no further than the two episodes NBCU has submitted for Emmy consideration: Episode 11, "A Sitar is Born" and Episode 17, "Todd's Holi War."

Both are not only the funniest and most fun episodes of the season, but they are perfect showcases for the wonderfully talented cast. And one of the most refreshingly unique aspects of the series is that it isn't mean-spirited or cynical.

Outsourced is fresh, different, sweet, charming and one of the most enjoyable comedies on TV today

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars "Jolly Vindaloo Day! May your life be filled with flavor." June 21, 2011

By H. Bala TOP 500 REVIEWER

Well, they went and dropped the axe on another show I liked. I'm starting to think it's personal. Based on a romantic comedy pseudo-Bollywood film that flew under the radar in 2009, OUTSOURCED was a promising new show from NBC. It offers a smile-inducing glance at life in Mumbai, India. It's what happens when Todd Dempsy (Ben Rappaport) relocates there to keep his job at the Mid-America Novelties company. In Mumbai, Todd heads up a call center manned by rustic Hindi employees who are unanimously in the dark when it comes to the American way of life. East meets West in a culture clash, differing philosophies and world views collide, and all this brought into a sort of perspective by the presence of plastic vomit and whoopie cushions.

Todd Dempsy - stranger in a strange land - is our eyes and ears, our point of view character, and we go thru his acclimation period and his initial cluelessness regarding the do's and don'ts in India. He inadvertently violates pretty much all the social rules, and his misadventures are written well enough that they play for good laughs. Not that he comes off as a bumbly clown. He's more like a regular dude who skipped orientation day and is now paying for it.

I was wondering whether the cast would be able to maintain the funny. I was dreading that one-trick pony, which is the humor in the culture clash. But the writers have made these characters so quirky and appealing enough that what happens to them matters to the viewer. Todd's call center crew is comprised of oddballs, but personable oddballs, and so credit the very likable Indian actors. And they're not even as peculiar as Todd's new American pal, Charlie. Dietrick Bader, who is pretty terrific, injects some serious weird into "Charlie." Here's him expounding on how the locals try to fool foreigners about their holidays: "For Elephant Day, my workers tricked me into painting my face and walking around with the pockets pulled out of my pants. It was all fun and games 'til I whipped out the trunk." Charlie is kinda creepy, as well.

Any sitcom worth its salt would have to have a love story and the more unrequited, the better. In Mumbai, Todd becomes torn between two women: the carefree Australian babe, Tonya (Pippa Black), and the beautiful Indian girl, Asha (Rebecca Hazlewood), who is undergoing the process of an arranged marriage. At this point, this romantic thread can go anywhere. Todd initially falls for Asha, but Tonya is so winsome.

I love the constant shifts in perspective. One moment we look at a situation from Todd's viewpoint. The next, we're presented with his employees' side of things, and there's a jarring dissimilarity. One day Todd cautions his crew about Black Friday and how things can rapidly get out of hand with the pushing and the shoving and the rioting, and the crew laughs at him. One worker even scoffs: "You call that a riot?" And then, en route to a team building retreat, the workers are dismayed by Todd's sheer inability to muscle his way on board a train (mostly because they have to keep getting off to wait for the next one). And so we're reminded of India's vast population. It's tiny, throwaway touches like that that I relish. The western viewer gets an education AND some good laughs. Those uninitiated will get exposed to Bollywood, that movie industry woven into the very fabric of Indian culture (You'll hear the cast drop names like "Hrithik Roshan" and "Aishwarya Rai" and if you don't know who those are, you are missing out big). We pick up social cues such as that kissing in public is very frowned upon and that it's okay for dudes to dance with each other in a club, although I personally don't think it's ever okay for dudes to dance with each other anywhere (sorry, guess I'm not open-minded on everything). Each week explores that irresistible fish-out-of-water theme. Each week delivers offbeat dialogue and madcap scrapes and a stretching out of that "Is it Asha or is it Tonya?" thread. I was also waiting for the episode which never came, in which Charlie gets put in prison. He's funny. But way creepy.

Favorite episodes are "Jolly Windaloo Day" (fooled into thinking it's a national holiday, Todd gives his workers the day off), "Touched by an Angelo" (the call center receives a shipment of risque novelty items), "Bolloween" (Todd tries to explain the concept of Halloween and then throws a Halloween costume party), and "Training Day" (the staff go on a retreat while Tonya gives Charlie pointers on how to pick up chicks). Parvesh Cheena as the chubby, good-natured Gupta is damn lovable. And I'm sorry, but one of the characters - Manmeet - has a name that just makes me laugh out loud every time I hear it.

NBC, you guys rather suck.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Unfair July 19, 2011

By Mario A. Benitez

Pretty good show if a bit uneven and one that came in for some unfair treatment. Once they were done with the easy food jokes it settled down into a clever and warm groove. As a (non Indian) minority I can understand the need to avoid crude cultural stereotypes but clearly many people have a hard time with ethnic humor and I think many critics had made up their minds early to hate this show. Many seem to think that any form of ethnic humor borders on racism which is hardly the case, it all depends on context and application. I would be interested to know if anyone of Indian background found it offensive, I thought that after a shaky start they avoided the easy stuff and got down to a decent character driven show. Again, I'm not going to say that Outsourced was a masterpiece but I enjoyed it.