Writer: Tanya Biank, Katherine Fugate, Rama Stagner
Director: Ben Younger, Perry Lang, Patrick Norris, Michael Lange, and Others
Cast: Catherine Bell, Drew Fuller, Wendy Davis, Sterling K. Brown, Brian McNamara, Kim Delaney, Sally Pressman, Brigid Brannagh
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Disney
Release Date: June 10, 2008

I am not quite sure why, but when I first heard about the show Army Wives I immediately thought that the show was reality television. I suppose with all the war talk and experiences that are going on, it was a natural thought. However, I never turned it on for that reason. It wasn’t that I don’t support the troops, because I do, but rather that I didn’t feel the exploitation of the families of servicemen was the right way to go. Boy was I glad to learn that I was completely wrong.

This DVD box set showed up on my doorstep and my first thought was to cringe. I turned the box over to read the description and was pleasantly surprised to find that this show is fictional. The description led to my being curious, though I was still hesitant as it is a Lifetime show and I am not a huge fan of the Woman’s Network. Regardless, the DVDs were placed in the player and I set out to watch them with the most unbiased viewpoint possible, now that I finally knew what the show was actually about.

Release Information:
Army Wives may be fictional, though it is actually based on a non-fiction book, The Unwritten Code of Military Marriage by Tanya Biank. Biank is also a writer on the show, so I imagine that she offers a sense of reality to the show’s themes. The first season of Army Wives ran for 13 episodes. Apparently, it was popular enough to warrant a second season, as this 19 episode season began airing right before the June 10th DVD release of the first season, on June 8, 2008.

Army Wives: The Complete First Season contains all 13 episodes and an array of special features on three discs. The DVD was made available for purchase on June 10th, 2008 and is currently available at a wide variety of retailers. You can pick up Army Wives: The Complete First Season at Amazon for $32.99.

The Army Wives: The Complete First Season Plot
Army Wives is an hour long drama that ends up being between 40-42 minutes per episode when commercials have been cut. The series tells the tale of four women and a man that are forced to cope with being married to someone in the military, specifically the Army. Each of the spouses on the show is affected by this lifestyle differently, so the show works to show the differences in women (and man) while overlapping the storylines whenever possible.

The group includes Denise Sherwood (Catherine Bell), Roxy LeBlanc (Sally Pressman), Pamela Moran (Brigid Brannagh), Claudia Joy Holden (Kim Delaney), and the solitary man of the group Roland Burton (Sterling K. Brown). Denise struggles with being the wife of a controlling husband and a son that is completely disrespectful. One of the quieter wives, it seems the thing that Denise wants more than anything is just to have a voice of her own. Roxy is the new wife in town and as a carefree girl. It seems she has a rough time handling the organization that is around every corner.

Meanwhile, Pamela works so hard to keep things normal at home that she cannot even seem to settle down and enjoy time with her family. Claudia is often seen as the voice of reason. Her husband is a colonel, so she is no stranger to Army living, though her biggest challenge often includes keeping her personal matters separate from her husband’s job. Finally, we have the lone male of the group, Roland. Roland is the base psychiatrist and he has not been with his wife in two years. Unfortunately, she comes home a changed woman and connecting with her is not as sweet as he thought it would be in his dreams.

The first few episodes tend to be a little bit shaky because there is just so much going on. While you are trying to figure out who is who and what their point is on the show, everything seems to just be mushed in together awkwardly. This doesn’t last too long, but the first few episodes tend to feel incredibly touch and go. My favorite episodes deal with morality vs. duty. There are a few episodes that touch on this, and they always end up being more interesting than the re-hashed storylines that we have seen on other shows before.

The thing that really sets this show apart is the wonderful performances from each of the actors. At times, the writing can seem forced or indecisive, but the actors seem to find a way to make things work out in the end. They are by far, the most memorable part of this series. Thanks to them, the characters come out with a grace and memorability that would not have been present had the cast included actors with less skill.

My biggest problem with the writing often deals with the dialogue. In this area the writers seem to have the biggest problem. The character’s lines often come off as being forced. Not only that, but in most cases the thoughts of the characters are laid out for the viewer as if they are not able to catch what good writing and acting could have told them all on its own.

Despite the small flaws, Army Wives is more enjoyable than I thought it would be. The cast really does the show wonders, despite mediocre writing. Even with writing that it is not as good as needed, the storylines are handled with dignity and the respect necessary for a possibly delicate subject.

The episodes are available in the following order.

Disc 1
1. A Tribe is Born
2. After Birth
3. The Art of Separation
4. One of Our Own

Disc 2
5. Independence Day
6. Who We Are
7. Hail and Farewell
8. Only the Lonely
9. Nobody’s Perfect

Disc 3
10. Dirty Laundry
11. Truth Consequences
12. Rules of Engagement
13. Goodbye Stranger

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
The visual quality for Army Wives is presented with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in anamorphic widescreen. The transfer comes through quite well. The colors are strong and the visual quality overall is solid. There are the occasional bouts of blurriness and at times there are some noticeably soft moments, but there isn’t much here in the visual quality to complain about.

The audio is handled with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Things are pretty tame in this department. It doesn’t seem that all the advantages of the 5.1 have been used, but for a dialogue-centered show the sound is definitely passable. The speech sounds beautiful and the music is clear and strong, without taking over the scene. For a television drama, this works just fine.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
If you love this show you will be thrilled by the amount of special features that are available to you here. Things get started with a total of five audio commentaries. There are two audio commentaries on the pilot episode, one with the creators of the show, Marshall Persinger, and Deborah Spera. The second commentary is by director, Ben Younger, and the director of photography, Lloyd Ahern. Of the two, the first comes more recommended than the second.

The other episodes with commentaries include “Independence Day”, “Dirty Laundry”, and “Goodbye Stranger”. These all offer a little more depth, at times, because all of these commentaries include various actors from the show. Kim Delaney and Catherine Bell appear on the “Independence Day” commentary; Brian McNamara, Wendy Davis, and Sterling K. Brown appear on the “Dirty Laundry” track, and Brigid Brannagh, Sally Pressman, and Drew Fuller round things out on the “Goodbye Stranger” track. These aren’t going to be something that you will want to watch the first time you see these episodes, but if you’ve already watched them and enjoy the show you might enjoy them.

In addition to the audio commentaries there are a number of featurettes. The featurettes include “Army Wives Gone AWOL”, which provides a dose of outtakes. Some deleted scenes are included in “Missing in Action: Deleted Scenes”. There are eight scenes included. One gives away more than it needed to and the other seven were cut for time. A deleted storyline, or a longer deleted scene is included in “Hump for the Lump: Deleted Story Line”.

“Wives on the Homefront” is up next, serving as a featurette to explain Operation Homefront, a charity that helps Army Wives and their kids. The footage mixes cast interviews and time with real life Army wives. They show the real life wives meeting some of the cast and speaking about their husbands. A lot more could have been done with this one, but as far as special features I have certainly seen worse.

One of the longest special features in this set is “Have at it with Army Wives”. This serves as a Q&A session. Some of the questions prove to be pretty interesting, as they were submitted by fans of the show. The final stop on the special features trail is “Have at it with the Executive Producers”. This is a short interview with Deborah Spera and Mark Gordon. This is by far the worst of all the features because of the over-promotional tone that is involved.

Other than that, the only included extras are trailers for National Treasure: Book of Secrets, College Road Trip, and Enchanted.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Army Wives: The Complete First Season has its faults, though it’s much better than I thought it was going to be. The acting is definitely the best part of this show. Granted, it’s not going to be for everyone, but even if you think you won’t like it, you should give it a try as you might just surprise yourself. I recommend renting it or checking it out on television, if you’re not generally into female driven dramas. Otherwise, if this is something you love you should definitely pick this up on your next shopping trip.

Overall Rating:

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