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Rating: Country: USA Release Date: October 21, 2008 Distributor: Lions Gate Cast: · Jim Belushi · Courtney Thorne-Smith · Larry Joe Campbell · Kimberly Williams-Paisley · Billi Bruno · Taylor Atelian Related Sites: · IMDb: According to Jim Grade: A+

Since its premiere, Jim Belushi's family sitcom According to Jim has been must-watch television in the Carter household, albeit for entirely different reasons. Sure, it's hilarious stuff that's anchored in reality... except, of course, for figuring out how the same gene pool that supposedly birthed Jim's wife, Cheryl (Courtney Thorne_Smith) and her sister Dana (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) -- yes, Brad Paisley's wife) managed to also produce their brother and Jim's business partner, Andy (Larry Joe Campbell.

This first season DVD release takes the viewer back to the show's brilliant beginnings, wasting no time in setting up the dynamics between the characters. Jim is the quintessential Chicago everyman; his milieus consists of the Bears, the Cubs, beer, bratwurst and the blues. In short, he's a guy, and unapologetically so. Sure, he makes mistakes -- guy mistakes, like forgetting anniversaries, blaming his wife for his misplacing things, creating games with his girls that are designed to let him watch more television. But he also loves his family, and doesn't purposefully do anything wrong -- at least, not in his worldview.

Examples of Jim's often insensitive behavior include putting Cheryl's dead cat in the deep freezer instead of burying it because he's already running late for the football game, or missing Thanksgiving dinner because he's one frame away from bowling a perfect 300 game -- as soon as the power comes back on. Sometimes he makes up for things (not only does the cat get a proper burial, but a solemn one) and sometimes the family comes around to his way of thinking (Cheryl brings the food to the bowling alley and illuminates the lane by lining the gutters with candles). Regardless of how the resolution comes about, it's guaranteed to be one that shows the family bonds that lie beneath any of the preceding twenty-nine minutes of turmoil.

Jim's not the only character with foibles, however. Cheryl is a neurotic queen of perfection who begins to melt down if she learns someone doesn't like her, like Andy's new girlfriend (Rita Rocks' Nicole Sullivan). When her mother comes for Christmas (played by Kathleen Noone), Cheryl is reduced to an obedient ten-year-old -- until mom gives the heirloom pearls to younger sister Dana instead of her, breaking a tradition of generations. Dana is perpetually dating somebody new every episode, hanging around Jim's house far more than he'd like, and Andy gets to deliver some of the more off-the-wall humor with a Pillsbury Doughboy kind of lovableness.

Guest stars in the first season include Belushi's band, The Sacred Hearts (who also perform the show's theme seven-second theme song), and Saturday Night Live alums Garrett Morris and Dan Aykroyd. Belushi's son Robert also makes a cameo debut as a pizza delivery guy.

The bonus features are the kind you'd expect with a DVD release, and yet they seem to be somehow better, owing perhaps to Belushi's affable hosting. You don't get the impression that a star is showing you the set, but rather that a guy like you is showing you where he works. In the seven-minute "Season One According to Jim," Belushi offers insights into the behind-the-scenes process, the inside jokes, and avoiding certain contemporary topics so as not to date an episode when viewed later. According to Jim (no pun intended), long-married couples have the same four fights all the time, just done different ways, and that's what he impresses upon his writers to keep the stories grounded.

Belushi then gives viewers an eleven minute tour of the set, pointing out changes that were made from early episodes, letting us see the personal photographs, the backdrop photograph of the house across the street, and even drawing our attention to the inconsistent porch swing that changes its orientation from long shots to close-ups.

With the twelve minute featurette, "Comedy Begins at Home," Belushi is joined by writer David Feeney as well as Courtney Thorne-Smith and Larry Joe Campbell as they talk individually about the concept of the series. Belushi very strongly pushed for a show different from the norm, where guys are always apologizing for who they are and what they do. We learn that Belushi and Campbell both share Second City backgrounds (from different cities), and then Belushi and Thorne-Smith talk about the effort to keep the show kid-friendly while managing to have some sly adult content. Finally, the cast talks about the first season's reception by the panning critics, thwarted by an overwhelming acceptance by the viewers.

The bonus features then wrap up with the ubiquitous outtakes reel. Additionally, the pilot episode and "Old Friends" (which features Aykroyd's appearance) feature optional commentary from Belushi and Campbell.

Fans of this ABC series will not want to bypass adding this high-quality four-disc set to their DVD collection, and will, soon after purchase, begin counting down the days until the release of the next season. Production values for the first season boxed set surpass many other television collections I have seen, and I wholeheartedly recommend According to Jim - The Complete First Series to anyone.

Audio is in 5.1 Dolby Digital, and can be set to either English or Spanish.