The Seventh Season

The King of Queens is a sitcom about the daily interactions of married New York couple, Doug (Kevin James) and Carrie (Leah Remini) Heffernan, whose lives were disrupted when Carrie's father Arthur Spooner (Jerry Stiller) moved in with them. The series follows a basic format where Doug, Carrie, and Arthur manage to turn some everyday thing into some kind of sticky situation that is a bundle of laughs. Joining them for the ride are a variety of supporting characters, Danny Heffernan (Gary Valentine), Spence Olchin (Patton Oswalt), Holly Shumpert (Nicole Sullivan), and Deacon Palmer (Victor Williams). For more details about this series refer to my reviews of season one, season two, season three, season four, season five, and season six.

In season seven, the hilarity continues with Doug, Carrie, Arthur, and friends getting into one sticky situation after another. The format and general approach to comedy is the same as found in previous seasons. For those who enjoy The King of Queens, this season should be a blast. But if you want more than what past seasons have offered, season seven is not for you. Some of the great storylines this season include life at the workplace, a silly ski trip with some salesmen, Doug attending a support group, Arthur's relationship with Spence's mother Veronica, and other general goofiness.

"Lost Vegas" is the season premiere episode and it sets a solid tone for the season. In the episode, Doug decides to build up credit with Carrie, so that he can do what he wants. He takes her out to a lovely weekend at the spa. In exchange, he hopes to go to Las Vegas with the boys. Unfortunately, Danny ruins the trip and Doug is left without anything to cash in on for all his kindness. He begins to plot how to use up the good husband credit he has developed from spending time with Carrie at the spa. It is a silly and fun episode with James at the top of his game with Remini.

The next episode "Dugan Groupie" offers one of several storylines this season about the workplace. Doug gets jealous of Carrie, who enjoys her job. It is not the strongest episode, but how James applies his over-the-top attitude makes it work. Other stories involving the workplace include "Entertainment Weakly", Doug loses his place as the funny man at work and does something very very very bad, "Name Dropper", Doug fakes a heart attack at a work function because he can't remember the names of Carrie's co-workers, "Pour Judgment", Doug realizes his dream which is to become a bartender, and "Catching Hell", Spence has to pretend to be Doug and schmooze with Carrie's client. James is also what makes these episodes great, as well as his chemistry with the rest of the cast.

"Furious George" is an over-the-top episode, where Carrie sends Doug to an overeaters support group. By chance, Doug finds himself in the support group for husbands in abusive relationships. The group convinces him that his eating problem is due to Carrie's anger. Both Remini and James perform fantastically and make the situation a lot of fun. The couple also gets into some fun trouble in episodes like "Buy Curious", the season finale where the Heffernans try their hand in real estate, "Slippery Slope", Doug takes Carrie on a romantic weekend with a team of timeshare salesmen, "Gym Neighbors", Doug uses Lou to get Carrie to exercise, and others.

Arthur has a couple romantic affairs this season. In "Offtrack... Bedding", when Doug's parents Joe and Janet come into to town, Janet feels neglected after Joe spends all his time with his model trains. Arthur to the rescue; he takes Janet out and slowly a relationship blooms. Sort of. "Domestic Disturbance" has a great kick to it. Arthur and Spence's mother Veronica hook up and their "passion" continues throughout the season with minor jokes about how Veronica is head over heels for Arthur.

Overall, season seven of The King of Queens continues to offer content that is very similar to past seasons. Fans of the series should appreciate having the entire seventh season on DVD. There are twenty-two episodes that should amuse anyone who likes slapstick style sitcoms.

Episode Guide

1. Lost Vegas: Doug takes Carrie to a spa so that she'll let him go to Vegas with the boys. But when his trip falls through, he has no way to cash in on his kindness.
2. Dugan Groupie: Doug has trouble relating to Carrie when she starts enjoying her job, causing her to hide her glee, and causing him to find a way to excel at IPS.
3. Furious Gorge: Doug inadvertently joins an abusive relationship support group, who then convinces him that his overeating is a coping mechanism for Carrie's anger.
4. Entertainment Weakly: Doug's position as the funnyman at IPS is threatened by a new guy. Carrie gets an assistant at work and learns how hard it is to be the boss.
5. Name Dropper: Doug fakes cardiac arrest at Carrie's work event to cover up his inability to remember her co-worker's names.
6. Off-Track... Bedding: When Doug's parents, Joe and Janet, come to town so Joe can enter a model train competition, Arthur is more than happy to entertain a bored Janet.
7. Silent Mite: Doug is convinced a guy who hit on Carrie during their holiday shopping also may have stolen Doug's wallet. It's up to Arthur and Doug to find the culprit.
8. Awed Couple: When their good friends Deacon and Kelly stop hanging out with them, Doug and Carrie go to desperate lengths to impress a new set of friends.
9. Cologne Ranger: Carrie can't stand Doug's new favorite designer cologne, and Arthur teaches Spence and Holly the finer points of movie-hopping.
10. Domestic Disturbance: After Carrie hires a maid, Doug decides to hire one too - Spence's mom, Veronica - which soon causes a huge mess with Arthur.
11. Pour Judgment: A job aptitude test at IPS reignites an old dream of Doug's to be a bartender, leading him to enroll in bartending school despite Carrie's protests.

12. Gym Neighbors: Doug figures out how to avoid the neighbor's personal training services, while Arthur tries to settle a decades-old vendetta with $25,000 Pyramid.
13. Gorilla Warfare: As Valentine's Day nears, Carrie finds out the most romantic words Doug ever said were taken from a move, and Danny mistakes Holly's friendship for love.
14. Hi School: A delivery to his old high school leaves Doug aching for the glory days, leading him to some juvenile fun and a reality check fro his old football coach.
15. Deconstructing Carrie: As Carrie's mood darkens with the approach of her 35th Birthday, Doug Hatches a plan to boost her self esteem and Arthur learns the power of photo editing.
16. Black List: When Deacon starts hanging out with an African-American friend, Doug searches his own roots to win him back.
17. Wish Boned: Carrie finds out that Doug's been lying in order to avoid hanging out with Arthur, and Doug's own father stops by unexpectedly.
18. Van Go: A day of errands finds Doug in a wrestling federation smackdown at the DMV and Carrie repaying a grudge with a high school boyfriend.
19. Ice Cubed: While out to buy an iPod Carrie faces a moral dilemma when stranded on a cold street, and Doug overstays his welcome when he's invited in from the cold.
20. Catching Hell: During Carrie's work event in a ballpark luxury skybox, Spence has to step in as the devoted husband when her client finds fault with Doug.
21. Slippery Slope: Doug lures Carrie to a timeshare sales ski weekend, where the strength of their relationship is tested under the intense sales pressure.
22. Buy Curious: When Doug and Carrie's neighbor passes away, grief is replaced with hope when they realize his empty house could be a profitable investment.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in its original television format of 1.78:1 ratio widescreen color. The picture quality is generally good. There are occasional compression artifacts and traces of edge enhancement. But overall it is a solid picture.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is given in English Dolby digital stereo sound. The audio sounds pretty clean and is very flat. It is as basic as TV on DVD releases get. This release also supports closed captioning.

Extras:
There are no extras included with this season set.

Final Thoughts:
The King of Queens's seventh season has twenty-two fun-filled episodes with Doug, Carrie, Arthur, and friends getting into one sticky situation after another. The content is very similar to past seasons, but if you enjoy it (I most certainly do) then season seven should be a blast for you. I especially enjoy the great chemistry the primary cast has together, as well as with the supporting cast. I was also very happy that this season set has been released in its widescreen format. In the end, I think this season set is worth picking up and it comes recommended.