Product Details

• Actors: Paul Gross, Don McKellar, Martha Burns
• Directors: Peter Wellington
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: ACORN MEDIA
• DVD Release Date: June 27, 2006
• Run Time: 276 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000FBFYKU
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,308 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Comedy > Television > Slings & Arrows

• For more information about "Slings & Arrows - Season 1" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 1 in The Slings & Arrows Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The title of Slings and Arrows, like many of the themes and characters in this show, comes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It refers to "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" that the Danish prince suffers, leading him to question whether he is to be or not... you know. It’s a clever title for an inspired show about--what else?--the theatre. Set in the New Burbage Theatre Festival, a fictional Canadian Provincial theatre, a jaded, burnt-out artistic director, Oliver Welles (Stephen Ouimette), dies suddenly, and is replaced by a potential genius, his visionary protégé Geoffrey Tennant (Due South's Paul Gross). Geoffrey is legendary at the New Burbage for his awe-inspiring performance of Hamlet there years before, and also because he went mad and now his sanity seems to be hanging by a thread. And oh, by the way, Oliver’s still hanging around as a ghost, but Geoffrey’s the only one who can see him (sound familiar?), and his impulsive reactions and out-loud arguments with Oliver--including one captured while being interviewed for a news program--besides being hilarious, convince the cast and crews he’s really lost it. The show details the daily activities at the festival as they attempt to mount a new production of Hamlet (starring a movie star who’s all face and no talent), and in doing so it employs a huge cast of peripheral characters, including the dysfunctional acting company (rising star Rachel McAdams has a key part), scheming board members, and a neurotic theatre staff, each with their own little subplots interweaving to make one big drama.

This first-season set of the Sundance Channel program contains only six episodes, which is too bad because the series is so excellent it’ll leave you wanting more. The fact that shows of this caliber are rare makes it stand out all the more. The writing is topnotch, with memorable dialogue, biting dark humor, and clever situations that continually point out how absurd real life can get. This one is a real gem, a show that demonstrates ‘tis nobler in the mind to laugh at the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, rather than suffer them. --Daniel Vancini

Product Description
Showered with awards and critical acclaim, this darkly comic Canadian series follows the fortunes of a dysfunctional Shakespearean theatre troupe, exposing the high drama, scorching battles, and artistic miracles that happen behind the scenes.

Paul Gross (Due South) stars as washed-up actor Geoffrey Tennant, who returns to the New Burbage Theatre—the site of his acting triumph and his career-ending meltdown—to assume the artistic directorship after the sudden death of his mentor, Oliver Welles. Believing that theatre is meant to provoke not anesthetize, Geoffrey takes on the suits who want to turn the festival into a theme park, a director who runs amuck with Hamlet, and his own demons, including Oliver—who returns to haunt him. Also starring Rachel McAdams (Wedding Crashers, The Notebook), Stephen Ouimette (Mentors), and Mark McKinney (Kids in the Hall).

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's "Outrageous Fortune" to See This Show, April 19, 2006

By	Susan Eisenberg (Silver Spring, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A friend of mine taped this Canadian show off the Sundance Channel and mailed it to me. I have never loved a TV series more. It's hilarious and touching and features Canada's top actors in a backstage satire of a company that resembles Ontario's Stratford Festival. Don't miss "Slings and Arrows" if you're a theater buff. It's going to be a cult hit as soon as the DVD hits America.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy It! Watch It! Love It!, April 19, 2006

By	Diane Gross "auntknits" (Sylmar (Los Angeles) CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I wore out the "On Demand" button on my cable TV remote because i watched Slings & Arrows season one over and over. And loved every minute. It's funny, sad, wry, intelligent, wonderfully written and acted....every time I watched I saw something new. Treat yourself to this gem. (Season two just ended its U.S. run on the Sundance channel, season three will be show within the year. I'm looking forward to them on DVD as well.)

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem!, May 14, 2006

By	MJT (Devon, UK) - See all my reviews

This was one of the best series to come out of North America in recent years. Engaging and intelligent, witty and at times surreal, this comic drama will have you wishing for an enocre every time.