DVD Review: My So Called Life – The Complete Series

By June L. Oct 30, 2007, 12:55 GMT

Called the first TV show to get adolescence right and a perfect portrayal of imperfect teen hood, this is the epic series that launched the superstar career of actress Claire Danes and served as a role model for many of the teen angst oriented shows on television today. Although the original series aired for less than six months, just 19 episodes, in the mid 90s, it has gone on to ...more

Way back in the mid 1990’s there was a television show that was different from all others, beloved by many, but sadly was cancelled.  Now in 2007, the complete series of My So Called Life is again available in a fine collectors set. 

Hooray, we can watch again those stories that made us laugh and cry, that captured so well the problems of growing up and the problems of growing older….in the SAME show! 

Claire Danes played fifteen year old Angela Chase, not quite grown up, but mature enough to feel love for the first time.  She falls for Jordan Catellano (Jay Leto) and the course of romance is never easy (“Boys are less afraid of being wrong.”).  Friends play an important role in Angela’s life, and there are good times and some times that are simply awful. 

These episodes are so well written, so adroitly acted, that the viewer cringes suffering with Angela and the others through memories of one’s own youth. 

As Angela faces the tribulations of high school (“My parents keep asking how school was.  It’s like saying ‘How was that drive-by shooting?’ You don’t care how it is.  You’re lucky to get out alive”) her parents are having trials of their own. 

Teenage angst pitched against mid-life crisis, and yet there is humor and much more truth than is often seen.  The young people are trying to find out who they are and where they are going, and the adults are looking at where they have been and who they are now becoming.  It is all about making choices.

My So Called Life - The Complete Series has all nineteen episodes presented on five discs with a bonus sixth disc of special features.  These discs are housed in a tri-fold case lavishly illustrated with stills from the show. 

This tri-fold is neatly packed in a luxurious box/case, along with a special forty page tribute book.  These goodies can be removed from the case by using the classy grosgrain ribbon pull.  NICE! 

Not to give all the goodie secrets away, but the book has special sections with tributes from Janeane Garofolo and Joss Whedon! 

Through the special features there is emphasis on telling the story behind the story about making My So Called Life.  The sixth disc includes Featurettes with cast and creators of the series, My so-called Life Story, specials on the characters, Angela, the Chase family and the friends. 

There is a featurette on the music used in the series by composer W. G. Snuffy Walden and commentaries on selected episodes by cast, creators and crew members.  It is a collector’s dream set, with all the trimmings. 

It is a fitting tribute to a show that focused on the real life emotions and stories of kids and their parents.  This is an excellent set for older kids and adults.

My So Called Life – The Complete Series is now available at Amazon. As of yet, it is not available in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.