DVD Review: “’Til Death Do Us Part (Complete First Season)”
Released By: BCI
Release Date: July 1, 2008
Number of Discs: 3
Approximate Running Time: 286 Minutes
Special Features: Interviews with the show’s creators and host John Waters. New introductions by John Waters.
Suggested Price: $29.98
The Source:
Imagine Tales from the Crypt as done by CourtTV (now TruTV) and featuring a wedding theme and you have a pretty good idea of what ‘Til Death Do Us Part (presented on these DVDs under its less interesting original British title – Love You to Death) is all about. The half hour anthology episodes are all centered around marriages gone wrong and the violent lengths to which some people will go to get out of them. The tales are punctuated with enough dark humor to keep the pace moving and audience interested. John Waters hosts each episode as a character called the “Groom Reaper” (groan as needed) who comments on the story at various intervals much like the Crypt Keeper.
The Fanboy Factor: Two words, John Waters. While the episodes in this series are fairly mundane (perhaps due to their basis in real life events), John Waters raises them up several notches as the hilarious host. Where other anthology hosts tend to be either over the top or completely superfluous, Waters comes off like a black sheep relative or bitchy neighbor who just can’t mind his own business! It doesn’t hurt that his character is integrated into the actual stories in a very tertiary capacity, always popping up in the back of a crowd or outside on the street. Waters is firmly in his element here making snide remarks and innuendos about the less than upstanding characters in his stories.
The Product:
This three-disc set from BCI contains all thirteen episodes of the first (and so far only) season of this 2007 series. The discs come packaged in a tri-fold case that includes an episode synopsis guide cleverly designed to look like a wedding photo album. The picture and sound quality is excellent on all three discs and each episode is presented uncut with footage not previously seen in the US cable broadcasts on CourtTV. According to the packaging, new introductions were filmed by John Waters for the DVD release but not having watched the original broadcasts I cannot comment on the differences. The extras consist of three interviews with members of the production crew and one with John Waters. Needles to say, the Waters interview is the standout segment and highly recommended viewing.
The Bottom Line:
This is an amusing series thanks mainly to John Waters’ participation. The central theme of matrimonial murder is limited and can wear thin quickly. These shows are best viewed two to three at a time and not in a marathon. At roughly $2.30 an episode, the set is priced right and John Waters fans will find this hard to pass up.