Cybill-Best of Series 3 (1995)

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General		Extras
Category	TV COMEDY SERIES	Main Menu Audio & Animation-Music audio and title animation.
Rating
Year Of Production	1995
Running Time	394:03
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (22:00) Multi Disc Set (3)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Andrew D. Weyman David Trainer Jonathan Weiss Robert Berlinger
Studio Distributor	Carsey Werner Beyond Home Entertainment	Starring	Cybill Shepherd Christine Baranski Alicia Witt Alan Rosenberg Tom Wopat Peter Krause Jane Kaczmarek Dedee Pfeiffer Danny Masterson
Case	Amaray Variant
RPI	$39.95	Music	Bobby Martin

    Confounding her critics, and there've been many, Cybill Shepherd has been a "star" for almost forty years. Winning a real-life Miss Congeniality crown when only sixteen, Shepherd became the young muse of wonder boy director Peter Bogdanovich, starring in his The Last Picture Show (1971), Daisy Miller (1974) and At Long Last Love (1975). When no longer lovers, actress and director were reunited for the sequel to The Last Picture Show, Texasville (1990). Shepherd had earlier switched to TV and brought glamour, sophistication and sex to the small screen with Moonlighting (1985-89), creating, with her newcomer co-star Bruce Willis, a chemistry akin to the legendary Loy/Powell and Tracy/Hepburn pairings. After a break of six years, Shepherd returned to television with Cybill, a sitcom which, like Moonlighting, every week was compulsory viewing in our home. It is good news, then, that Beyond have released eighteen of the episodes from Season Three under the title Cybill - Best of Series 3. (I do wish people actually in the industry would learn the distinction between "series" and "season". Cybill was a series, and it ran for four seasons.)

    The premise here is that Cybill Sheridan (Cybill Shepherd) is an LA actress, still "struggling" after many years trying to make it big. Though not quite yet "over the hill", Cybill is at the very least at the top of that geographic feature, and the view isn't too promising. The twice divorced Cybill struggles to maintain home and daughters Zoey (Alicia Witt) and Rachel (Deedee Pfeiffer - Michelle's sister), juggle two clingy exes, Ira (The Guardian's Alan Rosenberg) and Jeff (Tom Wopat, The Dukes of Hazzard) and save a house which threatens to slide down an infamous LA slope. The over-forty actress is forced to take any acting job that comes her way. Many of the episodes open pre-title with usually very funny depictions of Cybill's career "choices", either as a movie extra, or a very minor bit player in a film or play, or some demeaning TV commercial. After these amusing openings we follow Cybill through the situation for the week, which somehow always involves her best friend Maryann (Christine Baranski), an acid tongued, alcoholic divorcee, whose main aim in life is to avenge herself on her ex-spouse, "Doctor Dick". Also featured are Rachel's husband Kevin (Six Feet Under's Peter Krause) and Maryanne's son Justin (Danny Masterson from That 70s Show). There are also  appearances from  Jane Kaczmarek, John Michael Higgins and Eileen Heckart amongst many others. Obviously this is a brilliant cast. Cybill Shepherd herself may be an acquired taste, but I have always enjoyed her work - including her 1974 vinyl album Cybill Does It ... to Cole Porter, which has a secure place in my library. Stealing possibly every episode is the magnificent Christine Baranski. The best thing in Mama Mia, she was hilarious in Steve Martin's Bowfinger, and recently played Mrs Lovett in Sondheim's Sweeney Todd at The Kennedy Centre in Washington. Here Baranski has a gloriously juicy role, and she wrings every last drop from it. With echoes of  Mame's "bosom buddy", Vera Charles, and foreshadowing Will & Grace's "Karen", Baranski is superb. Shining in the supporting cast is Alicia Witt, an accomplished young actress (The Upside of Anger, Law and Order Criminal Intent) who frequently gets the chance to show her concert piano skills.

    There is talent behind the camera here as well, with names in the credits popping out, such as director David Trainer (That 70s Show) and  producers of the same show, Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner plus executive producer Alan Ball (Six Feet Under / True Blood).. The writing is slick, fast and funny while production standards are exemplary. Filmed more like a movie than a TV sitcom, there are many scenes outside Cybill's apartment and there is no studio audience. Unfortunately a "laugh track" was added, and the hilarious uproar that greets even the slightest hint of humour can, at times, become annoying.

    On the three discs contained in this set you will find :

Disc 1 :
Episode  1 : Bring Home the Bacon
Episode  4 : It's for You, Mrs Lincoln
Episode  5 : Cybill, Get Your Gun
Episode  6 : Cybill Does Diary
Episode  7 : Sex, Drugs and Catholicism
Episode  8 : Going to Hell in a Limo : Part 1

Disc 2 :
Episode 11 : A Hell of a Christmas
Episode 14 : Little Bo Peep
Episode 16 : Valentine's Day
Episode 17 : Kiss Me, You Fool
Episode 18 : True Confessions
Episode 20 : From Boca, with Love

Disc 3 :
Episode 21 : All of Me
Episode 22 : The Wedding
Episode 23 : The Piano
Episode 24 : There Was an Old Lady
Episode 25 : Mother's Day
Episode 26 : Let's Stalk 

    Beyond Home Entertainment have advised that we have only eighteen of the season's twenty-six episodes because of problems regarding music clearance. A pity. This does explain the odd situation whereby we have the episode Going to Hell in a Limo, Part 1, but not the concluding Part 2. This is a particular shame as both Dinah Manoff (TV's Empty Nest) and Jon Tenney (The Stepfather and TV's The Closer) are excellent in Part 1, their characters continuing into the excluded Part 2. It would be interesting to know what piece, or pices, of music created this particular problem.

    Cybill was cancelled after four seasons, despite the continued high ratings. In her autobiography Cybill Disobedience, the star claims that the unexpected cancellation was due to backstage tensions between cast and crew, as well as the network's displeasure with the "feminist leanings" of the show. What would they have expected from their star? Moonlighting was famous for the on-set fireworks between Shepherd and Willis, on more than one occasion leaving the network with no complete new episode to put to air. Also, you'd think that the title of the very first episode of Cybill would have given them a clue : Virgin, Mother, Crone.

    Fifteen years ago Cybill Shepherd and Christine Baranski both won awards for Cybill, a Golden Globe and an Emmy respectively, and in 2009 the careers of both actresses continue under full steam. It is great fun to go back a few years and become reacquainted with the beautifully wacky Cybill and the gloriously b****y Maryann.

Video

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio slightly less than 1.33:1, the original being 1.33:1. There is no enhancement.

    The transfers are extremely clear and sharp, especially for a TV series. The photography of Cybill Shephered exhibits this constantly, with even medium shots revealing clearly the lines and creases on her face. Full marks to the actress for facing up to the camera and being prepared to be so revealed - and for a comedy series.

    As to be expected from a  TV sitcom, almost all scenes are brightly lit and colourful, with very few darker scenes, so shadow detail is not a concern. No low level noise was detected.

    Colours are bright and vibrant, without being cartoonish, with pleasingly natural skin tones.

    MPEG artefacts were at a minimum, and there was a complete lack of film artefacts.

    The discs are RSDL, with layer changes occurring between episodes.

    There are no subtitles.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio is sharp and clear, delivering the dialogue with one hundred per cent quality. Not a syllable is lost in the at times frenetic exchanges between the two lead actresses.

    There are no sync problems.

    Music is also sharp, clear and of very good quality - though at least stereo would have been a plus.

    There are no clicks, pops or dropouts - no flaws of any description.

    Good, solid mono sound.
                                                          

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    The only "animation" is the crawl as the show's title is drawn across the screen.

    The options presented are :
                                              Play All
                                              Episode Selection : Selecting this option brings up a new screen using a colour publicity shot of the major characters, plus a list of the six episode titles on that disc. The jazz continues.

    In Region 4 we have this three disc set of Series (sic) Three, plus a two disc set Best of Series (sic) 1 and 2. There was a complete Cybill : Season (Yeah!) 1 available locally, but this seems to have vanished.

    Region 1 has only a two disc "best of" set taken from the entire series. Fans have been very vocal about this.

    What you choose to buy depends on how seriously you take the series. I would opt for the Region 2 complete set.

    Here is a gem of a comedy series. Two classy, sexy dames batting great dialogue at one another. A terrific supporting cast and the highest production standards. I just wish it was the complete season - and that someone had contributed something "extra" to the release.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall