| Reviews & Columns |
|
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
 DVD Talk Forum |
|
|
|
Columns
  
 
|
|
|
Lateline: Complete Series
Paramount // Unrated // August 17, 2004
List Price: $38.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
LateLine is not the first television news comedy, of course: The Mary Tyler Moore Show was the beginning of behind-the-scenes television comedy and, more recently, Murphy Brown and SportsNight mined the same territory and the same character traits, albeit in different configurations.
How does LateLine stack up to those two programs?
Is it unfair to compare LateLine, a show that managed only 19 episodes, to a television giant and a critical darling? No, not really. The promise was there for LateLine. This was a show written by one of the funniest satirists in TV history in Franken. It had a path blazed before it by other shows in the same genre. It had connections to seemingly every big name in politics (and some in entertainment as well, of course). Simply put, this should have been more.
That's not to say that there aren't some great moments; with 19 half-hours, you'd hope something stood out. There are some great guest appearances throughout the series, for instance. Bob Ueker and Michael Dukakis are guests on an episode of "LateLine" the fictitious show entitled "Losing in America," while Sen. John Kerry brings Franken a nut roll in the series finale, "Eine Kleine Office Problem." Allison Janney is a really, really big "LateLine" fan in "The Minister of Television." Martin Sheen and Rob Reiner take over an episode called "The Seventh Plague that details Al Freundlich's (Al Franken) destruction of a major motion picture.
Special mention should also go to Ferrer. As Vic Karp, the short-tempered managing editor, not only is he a walking cliché of television news, but he is also saddled with one of the lamest attempted catch-phrases on television ("that was a kick-ass show."). Shrugging that off, he did all he could with the role.
But the material can't match the inherent advantages. There are relatively few truly laugh out loud moments on this show, the aspects of television news shown range from unlikely to impossible and the characters are flat.
One surprising problem is Franken himself. He is funny when recreating bits from "Saturday Night Live," mostly involving him being beat up or otherwise abused in the field (not unlike his reports on Weekend Update). But the rest of the time he doesn't seem to fit in, unable to adapt his acting style to a situation comedy.
The DVD
How does LateLine stack up to those two programs?
- Pompous Anchor: Charles Kimbrough (Murphy Brown) v. Peter Krause (SportsNight) v. Robert Foxworth (LateLine). Foxworth came on too strong, Kimbrough often disappeared. Krause found a balance between ego-driven anchor and likeable character the best. Winner: SportsNight.
- Hard-Hitting Investigative Reporter: Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown) v. Al Franken (LateLine). One drew the ire of the vice president of the United States, the other spent more time hopping around in his office, flailing his arms at a phone call from his wife. Winner: Murphy Brown.
- The Boss: Grant Shaud (Murphy Brown) v. Robert Guillame (SportsNight) v. Miguel Ferrer (LateLine). Ferrer has the most interesting character on LateLine, Shaud may go down as television's proto-dork, and Guillame was Benson. We're all winners here. Winner: Draw.
- The Producer: Grant Shaud (Murphy Brown) v. Felicity Huffman (SportsNight) v. Megyn Price (LateLine). Shaud pulls double-duty here. My bias will show here, but Huffman is a tremendous actress, had the best material to work with and made the biggest impression as part of the show. Winner: SportsNight.
- Assorted Others: Faith Ford, Joe Regalbuto (Murphy Brown) v. Josh Charles, Joshua Malina and Sabrina Lloyd (SportsNight) v. Sanaa Lathan, Ajay Naidu and Catherine Lloyd Burns (LateLine). With all apologies to Lathan, who is a great actress in her own right and was criminally underused on LateLine, this one isn't very close. Winner: SportsNight.
Is it unfair to compare LateLine, a show that managed only 19 episodes, to a television giant and a critical darling? No, not really. The promise was there for LateLine. This was a show written by one of the funniest satirists in TV history in Franken. It had a path blazed before it by other shows in the same genre. It had connections to seemingly every big name in politics (and some in entertainment as well, of course). Simply put, this should have been more.
That's not to say that there aren't some great moments; with 19 half-hours, you'd hope something stood out. There are some great guest appearances throughout the series, for instance. Bob Ueker and Michael Dukakis are guests on an episode of "LateLine" the fictitious show entitled "Losing in America," while Sen. John Kerry brings Franken a nut roll in the series finale, "Eine Kleine Office Problem." Allison Janney is a really, really big "LateLine" fan in "The Minister of Television." Martin Sheen and Rob Reiner take over an episode called "The Seventh Plague that details Al Freundlich's (Al Franken) destruction of a major motion picture.
Special mention should also go to Ferrer. As Vic Karp, the short-tempered managing editor, not only is he a walking cliché of television news, but he is also saddled with one of the lamest attempted catch-phrases on television ("that was a kick-ass show."). Shrugging that off, he did all he could with the role.
But the material can't match the inherent advantages. There are relatively few truly laugh out loud moments on this show, the aspects of television news shown range from unlikely to impossible and the characters are flat.
One surprising problem is Franken himself. He is funny when recreating bits from "Saturday Night Live," mostly involving him being beat up or otherwise abused in the field (not unlike his reports on Weekend Update). But the rest of the time he doesn't seem to fit in, unable to adapt his acting style to a situation comedy.
The DVD
Video:
LateLine is presented in full screen and looks relatively sharp. White backgrounds do not work well on the transfer, with some zebra-striping and other noise. Also, there is a picture-sound sync issue on occasion when resuming play after pausing the disc.
Sound:
A Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is included, and it sounds like a television show should – nothing spectacular, but always clear and with good dialogue separation.
Extras:
Nope.
Final Thoughts:
As both a news junkie and an Al Franken fan, LateLine was a huge disappointment to me. He is de-fanged, only sporadically funny and can't adapt his writing or acting style to the sitcom format. There's a reason that this show didn't make it all the way through its first and only season.
|
| Popular Reviews |
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Release List | Reviews | Forum | Blu-Ray | Advertise | |||
|
Copyright 2026 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices 
| |||||||