The Good
I had forgotten just how good this show and cast were.
The Bad
No Special Features of any kind.
Alice: TV Favorites offers up 6 episodes of single mother Alex Hyatt (Linda Lavin) making her way with son Tommy (Philip McKeon). Initially, they were heading out west to enter the world of show business but they ended up at Mel's Diner and essentially never left. As this was a show from the 1970s (and it's based on Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore), it wasn't afraid to look at things like single motherhood, homosexuality and surviving in a world that is constantly changing.
There are many laughs to be had but like All in the Family when it's funny it's really funny, and when it's serious it transcends the medium.
Features
No extras came with this DVD.
Video
Standard Version presented in a format preserving the aspect ratio of it's original television exhibition. I have to be honest, Warner Bros. seems like they have just thrown these shows on here. From a distance everything looked desaturated but overall the picture was fine. As I looked closely at the screen it seemed as if the images were smudged against the camera's lens.
Audio
Dolby Digital - English: Mono. The audio on this show seems like it's been kept up decently. Sadly, the famous "Kiss my grits" line didn't have the same resonance as I remembered it having, but I am sure once Warner Bros. puts out more than 6 episodes I will find my "grits" groove all over again.
Package
The cast of Alice stands together in the diner on this front cover, with the picture itself photoshopped inside a tv. The back offers up two photos from different episodes, a description of the show, an episode listing and technical specs. I am so happy to own just these six episodes I can forgive this phoned in packaging job.
Final Word
I wonder how Martin Scorsese feels that his film with Ellen Burstyn was ported over into a sitcom? I am sure that at first the idea probably rankled him a bit, but I will bet that he looks at this show with a bit of pride. Examining similar themes as Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Alice the TV show remains relevant because of not only dealing with issues, but how it dealt with those issues.
Also, Vic Tayback (Mel), Polly Holliday (Flo) and Beth Howland (Vera) make Alice: TV Favorites have that old time feeling that should make TV on DVD fans happy.
Alice was released .