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Osbournes: Season One (Uncensored)
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // Unrated // March 4, 2003
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Although I'll be the first to admit that I find the show amusing and occasionally hilarious, "The Osbournes" continues to remind me of the "Simpsons" episode where the animated family wished for fame and found that their audience eventually became tired of them once they released their fifth "theme" album.
Although ratings have slid in the second season, this first seasons reminds what made the show so entertaining in the first place - when nobody really had a clue if a reality show featuring an older heavy metal star and his family would have any potential of becoming a hit. Of course, the show features Ozzy Ozbourne, wife Sharon and two offspring, Jack and Kelly. Underneath all of the insults and endless requests to "F--- off!", it's obvious that all of them really love each other. A dysfunctional and normal (Ozzy can't figure out how to use the TV) family like many are, "The Osbournes" have appealed to many.
Most fascinating is Ozzy himself, who slurrs his speech (there's an Ozzy translator subtitle track on the DVD), can't figure out his television or his family ("I love you all, but you're all f---ing mad!") and yet, remembers a show he played decades ago when a fan confronts him in the pilot. There's Jack, who seems calm at times and out-of-control and troubled at others. There's Sharon, the calm one who rules over the Ozzy empire and the household and Kelly, who seems a bit bratty at times and pleasantly confident in herself and who she is at others. Nanny Melinda is certainly the most sympathetic of all, trying - mostly with surprising success - to get control over the kids and try to get them to school. There's a bit too much focus on the Osbournes' pets (they essentially get their own entire episode in "Bark at the Moon"), who are constantly going on things or vomiting.
There's some decent long-term potential in the show, as the family members are moderately interesting (although I've begun to feel the constant swearing has gotten tiring). However - whether by fault of the family or network - the show is beginning to become overplayed and the family overexposed (although it's not as bad now as it was last year, when the Osbournes seemed to be everywhere). The first season is enjoyable not only because of the obvious family bond, but for the occasional absurdity - in one early episode, Sharon hires a dog therapist and we get to hear Ozzy's hilarious observations about the situation. When not mumbling, Ozzy actually provides the occasional witty remark about the situations. I still feel that the last episode of the season, "A Dinner With Ozzy", where he summarizes his thoughts about his situation and life, is the best of the 10.
This two-disc DVD set includes all ten episodes of the first season, as well as plenty of supplements, including commentary and unaired footage. There's certainly better television being aired ("Scrubs", which is the best thing NBC has come up with since "Seinfeld" - it's occasionally even better than that. "Seinfeld" creator Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm is wonderful, too.), but in terms of this "reality" genre that continues, "The Osbournes", while inconsistent, is about as entertaining as it gets.
Note: There are "censored" and "uncensored" versions of the set. The "uncensored" version actually offers both "censored" (bleeped) and "uncensored" audio.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Osbournes" is presented in 1.33:1 full-frame, as it was when it was broadcast. The picture quality is fine, and generally is about equal to how the show looked on MTV. Sharpness and detail are only standard, while the picture can occasionally appear soft, especially in some dimly-lit scenes.
The picture usually appears free of faults, but scenes with some minor compression artifacts (maybe due to the fact that 9 episodes out of the 10 are on the first disc, which seems unnecessary) and an "edgy" appearance are occasionally present. Colors are generally well-rendered, as they appeared clean and bright, with no smearing or other concerns.
SOUND: "Osbournes" is presented in Dolby 2.0. The show's soundtrack covers the bare basics (music and dialogue) well, but doesn't offer anything unexpected.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from Sharon Osbourne and Jack Osbourne. Kelly and Ozzy, from what I've listened to, don't seem to be involved at all. These tracks (available on episodes 1-9) are occasionally hilarious, but mostly, they're somewhat sparse, with some decent-sized gaps between comments.
Unaired Footage: There's actually some entertaining footage within this section, which seems to have been made up of decent stuff that couldn't make it in simply because of running time. The section offers the scenes separated by episode.
Too Oz For TV: This is a five-minute blooper reel, which offers some pretty hilarious moments as cameramen are bumped into and people fall.
Featurettes: "Stories of Season 1" is actually a terrific set of interviews from the family. With surprisingly few curse words, the different family members actually provide an insightful and intelligent overview of everything from the original concepts behind the show, the show's success, having their lives on TV and more. This 18-minute piece is definitely worth a look. There's also "Life on the Road", "Family Values" (both of which are about 10-minutes) and "The Untold Story of Michael the Security Guard" (about a minute).
Also: "Top Moments" (Sharon's motherly advice, Ozzy's fatherly advice, Kelly's top moments, Jack's top moments, Lola's top moments); "Ozzy's 10 Commandments" featurette and DVD-ROM features, including weblinks and more.
Set-top games: Name that dookie (disgusting - you are asked to match the crap with which one of the Osbournes' pets made it), Edit a scene, Osbourne's Bingo Game. The only one of the three worth exploring is the "edit a scene" feature.
Final Thoughts: I'm not as much of a fan as many seem to be, but this first season of "The Osbournes" certainly does have a lot of amusing moments and occasionally absurd situations. Miramax's DVD edition provides the first season episodes with fine audio/video quality and there's a lot of supplements to look through. Fans should certainly consider picking up the set, especially given the reasonable $29.99 (and lower at most stores) price.
Although I'll be the first to admit that I find the show amusing and occasionally hilarious, "The Osbournes" continues to remind me of the "Simpsons" episode where the animated family wished for fame and found that their audience eventually became tired of them once they released their fifth "theme" album.
Although ratings have slid in the second season, this first seasons reminds what made the show so entertaining in the first place - when nobody really had a clue if a reality show featuring an older heavy metal star and his family would have any potential of becoming a hit. Of course, the show features Ozzy Ozbourne, wife Sharon and two offspring, Jack and Kelly. Underneath all of the insults and endless requests to "F--- off!", it's obvious that all of them really love each other. A dysfunctional and normal (Ozzy can't figure out how to use the TV) family like many are, "The Osbournes" have appealed to many.
Most fascinating is Ozzy himself, who slurrs his speech (there's an Ozzy translator subtitle track on the DVD), can't figure out his television or his family ("I love you all, but you're all f---ing mad!") and yet, remembers a show he played decades ago when a fan confronts him in the pilot. There's Jack, who seems calm at times and out-of-control and troubled at others. There's Sharon, the calm one who rules over the Ozzy empire and the household and Kelly, who seems a bit bratty at times and pleasantly confident in herself and who she is at others. Nanny Melinda is certainly the most sympathetic of all, trying - mostly with surprising success - to get control over the kids and try to get them to school. There's a bit too much focus on the Osbournes' pets (they essentially get their own entire episode in "Bark at the Moon"), who are constantly going on things or vomiting.
There's some decent long-term potential in the show, as the family members are moderately interesting (although I've begun to feel the constant swearing has gotten tiring). However - whether by fault of the family or network - the show is beginning to become overplayed and the family overexposed (although it's not as bad now as it was last year, when the Osbournes seemed to be everywhere). The first season is enjoyable not only because of the obvious family bond, but for the occasional absurdity - in one early episode, Sharon hires a dog therapist and we get to hear Ozzy's hilarious observations about the situation. When not mumbling, Ozzy actually provides the occasional witty remark about the situations. I still feel that the last episode of the season, "A Dinner With Ozzy", where he summarizes his thoughts about his situation and life, is the best of the 10.
This two-disc DVD set includes all ten episodes of the first season, as well as plenty of supplements, including commentary and unaired footage. There's certainly better television being aired ("Scrubs", which is the best thing NBC has come up with since "Seinfeld" - it's occasionally even better than that. "Seinfeld" creator Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm is wonderful, too.), but in terms of this "reality" genre that continues, "The Osbournes", while inconsistent, is about as entertaining as it gets.
Note: There are "censored" and "uncensored" versions of the set. The "uncensored" version actually offers both "censored" (bleeped) and "uncensored" audio.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Osbournes" is presented in 1.33:1 full-frame, as it was when it was broadcast. The picture quality is fine, and generally is about equal to how the show looked on MTV. Sharpness and detail are only standard, while the picture can occasionally appear soft, especially in some dimly-lit scenes.
The picture usually appears free of faults, but scenes with some minor compression artifacts (maybe due to the fact that 9 episodes out of the 10 are on the first disc, which seems unnecessary) and an "edgy" appearance are occasionally present. Colors are generally well-rendered, as they appeared clean and bright, with no smearing or other concerns.
SOUND: "Osbournes" is presented in Dolby 2.0. The show's soundtrack covers the bare basics (music and dialogue) well, but doesn't offer anything unexpected.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from Sharon Osbourne and Jack Osbourne. Kelly and Ozzy, from what I've listened to, don't seem to be involved at all. These tracks (available on episodes 1-9) are occasionally hilarious, but mostly, they're somewhat sparse, with some decent-sized gaps between comments.
Unaired Footage: There's actually some entertaining footage within this section, which seems to have been made up of decent stuff that couldn't make it in simply because of running time. The section offers the scenes separated by episode.
Too Oz For TV: This is a five-minute blooper reel, which offers some pretty hilarious moments as cameramen are bumped into and people fall.
Featurettes: "Stories of Season 1" is actually a terrific set of interviews from the family. With surprisingly few curse words, the different family members actually provide an insightful and intelligent overview of everything from the original concepts behind the show, the show's success, having their lives on TV and more. This 18-minute piece is definitely worth a look. There's also "Life on the Road", "Family Values" (both of which are about 10-minutes) and "The Untold Story of Michael the Security Guard" (about a minute).
Also: "Top Moments" (Sharon's motherly advice, Ozzy's fatherly advice, Kelly's top moments, Jack's top moments, Lola's top moments); "Ozzy's 10 Commandments" featurette and DVD-ROM features, including weblinks and more.
Set-top games: Name that dookie (disgusting - you are asked to match the crap with which one of the Osbournes' pets made it), Edit a scene, Osbourne's Bingo Game. The only one of the three worth exploring is the "edit a scene" feature.
Final Thoughts: I'm not as much of a fan as many seem to be, but this first season of "The Osbournes" certainly does have a lot of amusing moments and occasionally absurd situations. Miramax's DVD edition provides the first season episodes with fine audio/video quality and there's a lot of supplements to look through. Fans should certainly consider picking up the set, especially given the reasonable $29.99 (and lower at most stores) price.
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