Tuesday, April 26, 2005

The Pretender: Season 1

The Pretender, Season 1

I'm currently finishing up with disc 6 of the first season of Pretender, and I've got to say that I'm still extremly happy that this show was chosen to get to DVD. I know most shows are making it these days, but this was far and away one of my favorites.

One thing that's surprising me is how quickly the plot line moved along. So many things have already happened by this next to last disc that I'm trying to figure out what happens in the second season!

A few things about the navigation: I don't like it. While the graphics are pretty, the navigation is uselessly complicated. You have to click on an episode title, go to a second menu, and then chose to play episode, use the set up menu, choose chapters, or go back.

Personally, if I want to have set up something, I want to do it before I pick my episode. I didn't like this when the Stargate DVDs started doing it, though they are even worse. On those, you have to click episode, then the title, and then play. If I'm watching a tv show on dvd, chances are I just want to play it. The Friends box sets have this much better organized, though they don't offer chapter selection: a major negative.

Pretender is only better as a show that can be watched in long sittings rather than waiting each week for the next installment. You really see Jarod's versatility that way, and how quickly he moves from one thing to the next. On Disc 6 you also get treated to Jarod's first "love" (if you don't count Miss Parker), and I remembered thinking the episode wasn't as bad as I thought.

Now that I'm older, I like it even better. The woman wasn't a typical model, but a woman that was actually beautiful. Not to mention it's the episode where Jarod learns about Star Wars. Other episodes haven't stood the test of time, and every once in a while I'm starting to actually think Jarod goes a little too far.

The behind the scenes featurettes are great, and overall it's well worth watching, whether you've seen it or not.