Set in the offices of Blush fashion magazine in New York City, "Just Shoot Me!" has a remarkably simple yet versatile premise for a sitcom: it won't revolutionize TV, but it all fits together nicely, especially the device where episode's plot threads are built around an issue's cover and the headlines for the articles inside. One of the problems I had with "Scrubs" (a show I otherwise enjoyed) was its insistence upon pounding each episode's message into the audience's head via character voiceover. This works much more smoothly: it isn't subtle, but it doesn't spell things out quite as loudly.

The same can't be said for all of the show. There are a lot of sitcom cliches in "Just Shoot Me!": goofy faces held while the laugh track plays or when the show goes to commercial, telegraphed setups and punchlines (actors often sound like they're yelling the lines), and more than a fair share of easy jokes. While the show's writing has a few highlights ("Puppetmaster" is a fairly demented concept) the charm is in the well-chosen cast. As Maya Gallo, the daughter of magazine owner Jack Gallo (George Segal), Laura San Giacomo carries nearly every one of the set's 25 episodes on her shoulders with ease. She remains a charismatic anchor: funny, charming and smart. An episode such as "Maya's Nude Photos" lives and dies on the strength of her performance, and she knocks it out of the park.

As the biggest "name" in the cast, David Spade should attract more than a fair share of viewers. His character of Dennis Finch is best when he's trying to scheme something up; the desperate glee on his face when he tries to get Maya to hook up with a lesbian model in "Two Girls For Every Boy" helps acquit Spade for the numerous times he's forced to mug shamelessly for the camera. Enrico Colantoni and Wendie Malick both fare better with the middling material, injecting enough goofiness and zest into Elliott DiMauro and Nina Van Horn to save more than a handful of jokes (you'll hear shades of Colantoni's ridiculous Galaxy Quest character more than once). Sadly, despite being a pro, George Segal is wasted. I've seen him do good work before, but between his character's more-than-tired punchlines ("And the Femmy Goes to..."), his wildly uneven performance ("Shaking Private Trainer"), and poor arcs for his character (multiple episodes), Segal is left looking like the squarest character in the room.

A parade of familiar faces drop in. "Funny Girl" is a season highlight that uses the whole cast to good effect (Giacomo gets a chance to go frighteningly over the top) and notably includes a pre-fame Steve Carell as Finch's cousin, while Brian Dennehy appears in a two-parter as his father. Mark Hamill plays himself in an ep, as does the late, great, Robert Goulet and the far-less-great Tyra Banks. Both David Cross and Bob Odenkirk pop up in separate episodes. The best, the worst and the most baffling, respectively, are Rebecca Romijn, in the two-part season finale, Neal McDonough as a trainer in the most over-the-top performance I've ever seen, and George Del Hoyo as a cop -- Del Hoyo is the unmistakable announcer for Fox television promos, and while he's just playing the role, not making a cameo, his famous voice is instantly recognizable (curiously, Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob, has a recurring role, and Billy West impersonates Charlton Heston's voice for an ep as well).

As someone who isn't a huge fan of sitcoms (especially today's sitcoms, like the abhorrent "Two and a Half Men"), I'm happy to say that "Just Shoot Me!" is still an amusing experience. Despite an occasional pop-culture reference here and there, the shows haven't become dated, and even TV comedy snobs who only like single-camera shows with no laugh track (not that I'm making fun, I'm one of them) should find a couple of gags in any episode worth a laugh.

The episodes break down as follows:

Disc 1: "What the Teddy Bear Saw", "Steamed", "The Mask", "Funny Girl", "Two Girls For Every Boy", "The Withholder", "Puppet Master", "The List" and "How Nina Got Her Groove Back".

Disc 2: "How the Finch Stole Christmas", "Slow Donnie", "A Spy in the House of Me", "Lies & Dolls", "Nina Sees Red" Part 1 and 2, "Hostess to Murder" and "Toy Story".

Disc 3: "Miss Pretty", "Maya's Nude Photos", "And the Femmy Goes to...", "Softball", "Shaking Private Trainer", "Nina's Choice" and "The Odd Couple" Part 1 and 2.

The DVD
"Just Shoot Me!" Season 3 comes in a regular-DVD-sized slipcover with two slimline cases inside. The front cover is designed similarly to the first and second season set, while the inside front covers are made up like magazine covers (although the fonts make them look kinda cheap. The backsides feature bland-looking episode summaries, while the inside has more cast photos, as do the discs. A catalog of other Sony TV shows is included.

The Video and Audio
Sony presents "Just Shoot Me!" in its original 1.33:1 full-frame broadcast form. Softness abounds in almost every episode, and I detected just the slightest bit of edge enhancement during the show's few-and-far between outdoor scenes, which run a little hot. I spied some jagged edges on the magazine covers as well, and occasionally color turns to mush, like McDonough's bright blue gym outfit. Strangely, the image quality takes a noticeable jump near the end of the season, with colors appearing less washed out and detail and contrast solidifying. Either way, it's all very watchable, about as good as you'd expect an 11-year-old TV show to look. The sound is the same story, with a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track that gets the job done. "Just Shoot Me!" is closed captioned for the hearing impaired but no subtitles are included on the discs.

The Extras
Despite the five-year gap, and the fact that the first set had a featurette, gallery, and commentary on selected episodes, "Just Shoot Me!" Season 3 arrives on DVD with no special features, unless you count the auto-play Blu-Ray promo on Disc 3, or the trailers for Jessica Simpson's Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous, Center Stage: Turn it Up, and a promo for other Sony shows entitled "Dynamic Duos".

Conclusion
Fans of "Just Shoot Me!" should be pleased to finally have more of the show on DVD, and they'll also be glad to see that as far as sitcoms go it's aged pretty darn well. Unfortunately, that's all she wrote: the episodes look and sound adequate, but the package is otherwise as trim as a fashion model. I'd recommend it, especially if you've been waiting, but the truly patient can probably wait a little longer or Netflix these discs until the price drops under twenty bucks.