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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Party Down-Season One (2009)

Party Down-Season One (2009) (NTSC)

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Released 6-Apr-2010

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Audio Commentary-for 2 episodes
Featurette-Behind the Scenes
Featurette-What is Party Down?
Outtakes
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 2009
Running Time 275:53 (Case: 280)
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered
Dual Disc Set
Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Bryan Gordon
Fred Savage
Rob Thomas
Studio
Distributor
Starz Encore Ent.
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Starring None Given
Case Amaray-Opaque-Dual
RPI ? Music None Given


Video (NTSC) Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement Yes
Action In or After Credits Yes

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    After the demise of their cult show, Veronica Mars show-runners Rob Thomas, Jon Enblom and Dan Etheridge, teamed up with Paul Rudd to create an improv-heavy half hour comedy set in the LA party catering industry. This low-budget gem follows a group of hopefuls, wash-outs and never-was actors, comedians and screenwriters as they begrudgingly make ends meet as minimum-wage wait-staff working for party catering company "Party Down". Each episode follows the events of one of the events they are catering.

    The "Party Down" crew comprise:

    The cast comprises a well-rounded assortment of actors that normally pop up in supporting roles, many of whom have some connection to Veronica Mars, all of whom are given time to shine. Whilst it is good to see these also-rans get a better run than they are usually afforded, this approach led to a few casting issues. The most notable being the sudden disappearance of Jane Lynch late in the season as she was snapped up by (the likely much higher paying) Glee.

    The show's format also allows plenty of room for choice guest stars, most of whom are recognisable TV actors and many of whom were tied to Veronica Mars in some way. This roll-call includes The Hangover scene stealer Ken Jeong, JK Simmons, Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Rick Fox, Joey Lauren Adams, Ed Begley, Jr., Enrico Colantoni and George Takei. Furthermore, half the series was directed by Fred Savage.

    This set collates the ten episodes that comprise the show's first season.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The show is presented in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio, 16x9 enhanced, in NTSC video. The NTSC video will mean that the video will be unplayable on some older televisions.

    The show looks to have been recorded digitally and transferred flawlessly to DVD. Whilst the picture is not as stylish or carefully composed as many of its peers, the video looks quite natural and is easy to watch. The image is sharp. The colours palette is bright and quite eye catching. There is a good level of shadow detail in the image.

    There is no sign of compression artefacts or aliasing in the image and no sign of film artefacts at any point.

    Both discs in the set are dual layer disc, with layer breaks only occurring between episodes.

    There are no subtitles available on this disc.

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

Audio

    The show is presented with a single English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 Kbps) stereo audio track.

    The audio is pretty basic but effective enough. The dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times. The dialogue is at a good level in the mix and is well synchronized to the video.

    There is not much in the way of music in the show save for jazzy between scenes filler.

    There is no surround or subwoofer usage.

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

Extras

Audio commentary

    Two of the episodes feature commentary from creators/producers John Enbom and Dan Etheridge and actor Adam Scott. The commentaries are reasonably amusing, but in bursts. Worth a background listen, but only a dedicated listen for die-hard fans

Party Down: A Look Behind the Scenes Featurette

    A very short press-kit style featurette that acts more as a sales pitch for the show than a look at the show's production.

What Is Party Down? Featurette

    Another very brief press-kit featurette that explains the setup of the show. Pass.

Outtakes and Gag Reel

    A mildly amusing string of line fluffs and on-set practical jokes. Worth a look for fans.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The Region 1 and Region 4 editions are virtually identical, right down to NTSC formatting.

Summary

    A low key sitcom that takes a few episodes to find its feet, but is consistently hilarious after a couple of episodes.

    The video and audio are decent. The extras are fairly token, but generally worth a look.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Adam Gould (Totally Biolicious!)
Monday, May 31, 2010
Review Equipment
DVDSony Playstation 3, using HDMI output
DisplayOptoma HD20 Projector. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderPioneer VSX2016AVS. Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials.
AmplificationPioneer VSX2016AVS
Speakers150W DTX front speakers, 100W centre and 4 surround/rear speakers, 12 inch PSB Image 6i powered sub

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