These sets include the MUST SEE (reviewed) SB, BD, and DVD releases of "Picard" S3 and the (reviewed) BD and DVD combined releases of "Dexter" OS and the true-to-form "New Blood." CBSHE also released a (reviewed) CS DVD set of the Jordan Peele recent true-to-form reboot of "The Twilight Zone."
CBSHE keeps the hits coming with the October 25, 2022 CS DVD release of the Showtime series "Ray Donovan," which includes the (reviewed) wrap-up movie. A post on that epic release hopefully will be timely.
Our discussion of "Melrose" commences with noting the compatible time-and-place for marathon (rather than binge) viewings of television series. The silver-living regarding the imminent twindemic winter is that this series is tailor-made for Sunday afternoons and massive climate-change fueled storms ala the escapism of fellow Aaron Spelling classic "The Love Boat" on frigid Saturday nights throughout the '80s. A personal winter of comfortable isolation will include copious "Melrose" sessions complete with enjoying my stash of '90s-era Clearly Canadian fruit-flavored sparkling water.
"Melrrose" is pure Spelling. This spin-off of "Beverly Hills 90210," which also has a fabulous CBSHE CS DVD release, tells the tales of beautiful people in a beautiful setting leading exciting lives in which the beat-down of a lifetime does not require more than a night in the hospital. Further, a "new romance" almost as quickly mends a broken heart.
The initial central concept of "Melrose" is that a group of early-to-late 20-somethings in the titular Los Angeles apartment complex intertwine their lives to varying degrees while learning to "adult." This evokes strong thoughts of the similarly themed cult-classic film "Reality Bites," which revolves around the quarter-life crises of its '90s brat pack stars.
An aspect of this is the desire of many recent college graduates to extend that lifestyle. They want to hang out with a close group of friends and drink several times a week.
"Melrose" creator Darren Star of "Sex and the City" explains in one of the plethora of insightful and entertaining special features that "Melrose" is based on reality. Star notes that he spent his 20s living in an apartment complex in which everyone was friends.
A brief detour into Blogland supports the Star-stated real-life basis for "Melrose." Your not-so-humble reviewer was a recent college graduate living in what was unPC known as the "student ghetto" behind American University in Washington, DC. This was two blocks of two-story four-unit apartment buildings largely inhabited by graduate students.
"Melrose" experiences included drama ensuing when the guy downstairs moved in on my first roommate moving out. Additionally, the neighbor across the hall claiming to be locked out only had a comically aggressive come-on fail due to my fear of my roommate coming home. My lesson there was that even wearing long t-shirts while wearing tights for runs was not much of a deterrent.
Unlike "Melrose," your not-so-humble reviewer and the other males in the buildings did not walk around shirtless even during the hot-and-humid DC summers. Further, we did not share our trauma-and-drama with our neighbors. Also, none of our triumphs prompted impromptu celebrations with the gang.
Ala "90210," "Melrose" succeeds because it is populated with relatable stock characters that largely have counterparts a few zip codes over. This begins with "older brother" type loner/family-friendly biker Jake (Grant Show). Ala Dylan (Luke Perry) of "90210," Jake tries to emulate the cool of James Dean.
We also get initially sweet-and-perky Wisconsin native Allison (Courtney Thorne-Smith), who soon learns that living in the big city requires a thicker skin and a harder heart. Her travails commence with having to find a roommate and get the money to either fix her clunker of a car or find a "new" one in her price range. Her S1 "adulting" involves advancing her career in a sometimes toxic work environment, knowingly being "the other woman," and contending with an "its complicated" relationship with new male roommate Billy.
Speaking of Billy, this aspiring novelist is the least likable member of the group. This may be due to not-so-talented Andrew Shue being an 11th-hour replacement when the originally cast Stephen Fanning apparently has a Tim Hortons doughnuts binge while in his Canadian hometown a few days before shooting commences.
The curly haired boy-next-door and uneven Valley Boy accent of soccer stud Shue make him a goofy Willie Aames sidekick type. However, Billy is an angsty easy frustrated guy who only is charming when he is not trying to score at work or in the bedroom.
Billy also has one of the most absurd storylines of S1, which is notable for amping up the campy drama for which Spelling is known. Our go-getter uses his "charm" and a completely fabricated resume to land a job on a magazine. This quickly leads to an "outing" and amusingly clumsy "Mrs. Robinson" style sexual harassment only to have things work out within two episodes.
Speaking of Alison and Billy, Spelling calls on his "fixer" Heather Locklear (apparently Ted McGinley was unavailable) to spice up "Melrose" roughly halfway through the first season. Locklear plays advertising executive Amanda, who makes everyday like survival for underling Allison. Much of this relates to Billy being a lover and Allison being a rival. Locklear also makes a classic S1 cliffhanger move that brings all this much closer to home.
The "and the rest" include openly gay social worker Matt, who gets shorted both in terms of screen time and storylines in S1. He mostly is on the sidelines except for being BFFs with "hag" aerobics instructor/arguably token black character Rhonda. Rhonda also was entitled to a more prominent S1 role.
We also get tough New Yorker/recent divorcee Jo, who has overnight success as a photographer. Of course, she connects with the even more damaged Jake.
Young married couple Michael and Jane round out the S1 gang. Medical intern Michael playing doctor fully ends the waning honeymoon period for this husband and wife around the time of their second anniversary. The realistic aspects of this relationship include the challenge of marrying young, the stress associated with trying to maintain a marriage while contending with the demands of a medical internship, and Jane giving up her old life to stand by her man.
The evolution of all this from a fairly light look at transitioning from college to the rest of your life commences with the issues of the week that dominate S1. We get gay bashing, an inner-city attack that leads to claims of racism, abortion, and other "ripped-from-the-headlines" topics.
The bottom line this time is that "Melrose" is an entertaining 90s-era time capsule in which The Gap is the hot store and white t-shirts with sweater vests are everywhere. Those of us who lived in that era will feel wonderful nostalgia, and "kids" will get a better sense of the lives of their 'rents while they were figuring out what they wanted to do and the lifestyle that they desired when they grew up.
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