Customer Reviews

Soap : Season 3

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Continuing to break new ground, Soap dived right into a number of new issues for this comedy series. The plot lines continued to be "out there" as Burt (Richard Mulligan) is abducted by aliens and tries to escape. On Earth Burt has been replaced by an alien who acts even stranger than before. The only one to notice is, of course, his wife Mary. Benson (Robert Guillaume who would soon star in his own spin-off playing his popular character) saves Billy (Jimmy Baio) from a cult and finally Jodie the first gay character portrayed positively on TV finds out he has a baby daughter from an affair Jodie had with a woman. In other words, all's wrong in the world of Soap which is exactly as it should be.

Improving on the first two sets Soap: The Complete Third Season looks positively robust by comparison to the first two sets. With better clarity, image quality, sharper and better color reproduction, this set shows that Columbia Tristar spend the bulk of the marketing funds to make the series look as rich as possible for this DVD release. While there are still analog imperfections (and what could you expect of a series videotaped over twenty years ago?), the show looks the best it ever has on DVD. Likewise, the sound also comes across with better presence than the previous set although it is muffled on a couple of episodes throughout this three disc set. Overall, CTHE have done an exceptional job of improving the video and audio quality of this series over seasons one and two.

As I said, it's clear that most of the budget went to improving the video and audio of the series which would explain the complete lack of extras. The only extras we get here are previews for other CTHE releases. My memory isn't always the best but it does appear as if the episodes presented here are (for the most part) uncut when compared to the syndicated episodes. What about vintage interviews that CTHE might have in the vaults for future sets?

This is the one area where Columbia could have improved the series. Having Susan Harris, Katherine Helmond or Billy Crystal do a commentary track would have boosted the sales of this set for fans that have recorded it off TV over the years. Again, I'm sure it was a budget issue.

Overall, a fine job from Columbia on preparing this release for DVD. Sure it could always be better but keep in mind that the studio has to work with the budget for each set their given. It's clear that most of that budget went to improving the video and audio of the series. Does it look stellar? No but it would be difficult to improve this beyond what we see here.

Season three became even more loony then the second season and also more poignant. Absolutely hilarious storylines with Burt dominated the season for the highlights (anyone remember dancing alien Burt???) Richard Mulligan managed to show a fantastic range of human emotion when called upon to do so.

Billy Crystal's comedic escapades took a back seat this season to showcase his dramatic acting abilities. In this season, he went from being the comedian to a true comedic actor with serious acting chops tackling, for the day, the tough issue of gay parent rights... wait... isn't congress not supporting gay marriage???

Even racial undertones were tackled this season with Danny and Polly. As ever, inspired lunacy ensued in this wonderful season that became even more socially and politically charged while maintaining great comic foils. Who can forget Chester sobbing at the door after being kick out of the house "Please Please Jessica... BAW HAW HAW..." and Dutch finding out about Jessica's sickness "...OH GOD... WHY HER??? WHAT ARE WE GONNA DOOOO!!!!" (Sounding like the cowardly lion) and Bob's comments to Polly's parents, "So I hear your negros..." and I could go on and on but then you wouldn't be confused following this next episode of soap!

After starting off with two uproarious seasons, "Soap" continued to bring in the laughs with the third season. However after the first few episodes of season three, the show lost one of their main cast members. Robert Guillaume, who stole scene after scene in the first two seasons as Benson, left "Soap" to star in his own spin-off series titled (appropriately enough) "Benson". Certainly it was great to see Guillaume get his own show (and deservedly so), but in the process "Soap" lost a little of its comic touch without him. Nevertheless, the show for the most part continued to be very funny throughout season three. I just thought that the first two seasons were much funnier. Most of the other regular cast members returned, and two of the actors were honored with Emmy Awards for their work. Richard Mulligan and Cathryn Damon (as Burt and Mary Campbell) won lead acting Emmys in 1980 for their roles on the show. It was nice that "Soap" got a little bit of Emmy recognition in the four years that it aired. The year before in 1979, Robert Guillaume won a supporting Emmy for his role as Benson on "Soap" just as he was departing for "Benson" (Guillaume would eventually win another Emmy as a lead actor for "Benson" in 1985). "Soap" deserved the awards it got. It's too bad it didn't win more awards. This is a very funny and very entertaining sitcom.

Nominated for 17 Emmys in its short four-year run, Soap premiered in the Fall of 1977 as one of the most controversial shows in American television history (and all before a single episode ever aired). The show was opposed by many groups who thought its subject matter would be too mature for a prime-time audience. But Soap never overstepped its bounds, and the show became an instant smash hit with its brilliant and satirical spoofs of classic daytime programming. Sporting an all-star cast and talented producers, the show spawned successful spin-off Benson in 1979, a series that launched Robert Guillaume's career to a whole new level...

Set in suburban Connecticut, Soap follows the lives of two sisters - Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond), a wealthy yet dim elitist, and Mary Campbell (Cathryn Damon), a housewife in a more traditional blue-collar atmosphere. But regardless of their social station in life, neither woman manages to escape the scandal and intrigue surrounding a typical soap opera family. Jessica's daughter Corrine (Diana Canova) is smitten with a priest, yet they are both having an affair with the same tennis pro. Meanwhile, Jessica and her husband Chester (Robert Mandan) incessantly cheat on one another. As for the other side of the family, Mary's husband Burt (Richard Mulligan) is certifiably insane, her son Danny (Ted Wass) is a mobster, stepson Jodie (Billy Crystal) is an out-of-the-closet homosexual, and all of them are caught up in a family filled with promiscuous infidelities and quite possibly murder! Throw in the insubordinate and sarcastic Tate butler Benson (Guillaume), and Soap holds its own as one of the funniest sitcoms in TV history...

The Soap (Season 3) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere in which Burt awakens in the hull of a spaceship. Eunice asks Dutch to strike a deal with the feds, and Benson organizes a posse to rescue Billy from the Sunnies while an alien clone of Burt takes the real Burt's place... Other notable episodes from Season 3 include Episode 52 in which the real Burt and his alien clone finally confront one another, and Episode 69 in which, with a guilty Chester by her bedside, Jessica dies, all while Jodie gives an impassioned courtroom defense of his right to be an openly gay single parent...

The DVD Report

I loved this show when it came out. I love it now. I can't believe how timely it still is now. It is just so funny. Burt (Richard Mulligan) and Danny (Ted Wass) together are just too much. We all laugh our heads off! I brought home the first set and my kids ages 8 and 13 sat down to watch the whole thing with me. The jokes for adults go over the kids heads and are funny to whole family. I got season two and now this. The color quality is much better on this season. I want the next season and hope it comes out soon.

When I was a pre-teen, I had to sneak this show into my watching line-up, but it was WELL worth it! I enjoyed all the little cracks and whips! Benson was the BEST! Though he exits here in the third season for his own show (he should have stayed.) Now, as an adult many years later, I find even MORE great humor in it. All the digs on real soaps with alien kidnapping, possessed babies and near death hospitalizations... How much more could you ask for?

I liked this sitcom because it gave a funny and great parody of soap operas on TV. I always hated soap operas on the tube and when Soap came along to make fun of them, I thought fantastic. Watching this would give some a great perspective on the TV shows.

This has to be one of the best spoofs ever of a tv soap opera. The puns and one liners are never ending and do require one to pay close attention in order to catch them all. You can't go wrong with this one if you love classic tv humor.

Soap was a classic in every definition of the word. Awesome cast, witty writing and plots that never failed to entertain. My only qualm with this Season Set is the lack of extras. One of the previous releases (Season 1, I believe) had a very nice "Making of" sort of featurette with interviews with the creators, cast, etc. They gave the audience the impression there would be more of the same in future season releases, but that doesn't appear to be the case. I'm hoping they rectify this when they release the fourth and final season on DVD. I don't know about you, but I'd love a featurette where creator Susan Harris goes ahead and ties up all the loose ends left when ABC abruptly canceled the show in 1981.

I LOVE Soap and have all three season. However, there were some extra episodes aired originally with retrospectives and the gave more background on Benson leaving the show. I would have liked to see these included in the seasons. Other than that, GREAT show!!!!