thirtysomething: the complete first season (2009, Shout Factory)
purchase from Amazon: DVD
In the mid ’80s, Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick, a writing/producing team who had worked on the dramatic series Family and had success with a few made-for-TV movies, walked into ABC to pitch a new TV series. Neither wanted to be in television; both saw their future in motion pictures. In fact, Zwick had just directed the hit film About Last Night… and he was looking for his next film. However, the two men had struck a deal with ABC and were obligated to present an idea. Reluctantly, they entered their meeting and pitched a concept they anticipated would completely bomb with the television executives. Their idea was thirtysomething, a weekly drama about a group of friends coming to terms with their lives in their 30s, dealing with work and relationship issues, as well as coming to terms with the notion that their ideals of the ’60s didn’t pan out they way they had hoped. ABC loved the show and it began airing in the fall of 1987. It became a hit and established Herskovitz and Zwick as important new voices in television. More importantly, the cultural impact of this show is still felt today in the way shows are written and produced and how they are marketed. Shout Factory has just released thirtysomething: the complete first season on DVD, a wonderful new six-disc box set that not only includes all 21 episodes from season one, but hours of bonus material that looks back on the importance and impact of the series.
With its empathetic ensemble cast and its realistic look at life, thirtysomething struck a chord with viewers, particularly women, in the way it depicted the everyday occurrences that may seem trivial on paper, but in the real world could be difficult emotional issues. Things like finding a babysitter you trust, preparing for a housewarming party, a visit from you parents, trying to find love while your biological clock is ticking, and the effects your friends failed relationship can have on your own all were topics for episodes during the first season of thirtysomething. (more…)
