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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
Like other Spin City fans i waited what seemed to be an interminable length of time for the series to come out on DVD. This is my favourite series because the superb ensemble cast really got going in this series, ably added to by the sassy character of Stacy Paterno (Jennifer Esposito). I was disappointed at the lack of cast commentaries but this DVD still gets 5 stars from me because it is just consistently superb.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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9 reviews
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Just one of the best (most underrated) sitcoms of all time
15 Jan 2009
I'm a BIG Spin City fan from the U.K.
Unfortunately when it was in syndication over here, it got bumped to something like a Tuesday night at the commencement of the third season and thus never really enjoyed the demographic that, in my lay opinion, it richly deserved.
It was, during the the first two seasons, on channel 4 Friday nights after Friends. A lot of people may have switched off after Friends; I myself stuck around and watched Spin City and found it thoroughly enjoyable and, dare I say it, a better standard of comedy than the former.
It is, for those new to the show and considering purchasing it, from Bill Lawrence, the creative talent behind Scrubs which of course has now been in syndication a lot longer than Spin City was. The latter show however is really funny and the second season in particular is a step-up in quality if I may say. (I think I should be given some sort of commission for this review Mr. Lawrence!)
I don't have an episode list but I can remember some of the highlights which tickled, for me at least:
There's an episode where Mike is dating a female magician who becomes really obsessive and clingy, after only one date. Mike is chatting to his friends in Stuart and Carter's Bar (The quiet alternative to fun, HAHA!)about this new relationship and it goes something like this:
Carter:"Didn't Corrie tell you? we booked her as this evening's entertainment."
Mike:"Carter no! Corrie is a psycho okay...after she pulls the rabbit out of the hat, she boils it!"
The season is full of funny moments and great one-liners. A lesson in great comic timing and, I think, a great template for contemporary writers who are attempting the multi-camera, studio audience genre of comedy (of which we don't have many current greats).
Hope this hasn't been too long-winded and that it is helpful to both age-old fans and anybody considering buying it. To the latter I say, give it a go, you'll laugh a lot!
Cheers.
Unfortunately when it was in syndication over here, it got bumped to something like a Tuesday night at the commencement of the third season and thus never really enjoyed the demographic that, in my lay opinion, it richly deserved.
It was, during the the first two seasons, on channel 4 Friday nights after Friends. A lot of people may have switched off after Friends; I myself stuck around and watched Spin City and found it thoroughly enjoyable and, dare I say it, a better standard of comedy than the former.
It is, for those new to the show and considering purchasing it, from Bill Lawrence, the creative talent behind Scrubs which of course has now been in syndication a lot longer than Spin City was. The latter show however is really funny and the second season in particular is a step-up in quality if I may say. (I think I should be given some sort of commission for this review Mr. Lawrence!)
I don't have an episode list but I can remember some of the highlights which tickled, for me at least:
There's an episode where Mike is dating a female magician who becomes really obsessive and clingy, after only one date. Mike is chatting to his friends in Stuart and Carter's Bar (The quiet alternative to fun, HAHA!)about this new relationship and it goes something like this:
Carter:"Didn't Corrie tell you? we booked her as this evening's entertainment."
Mike:"Carter no! Corrie is a psycho okay...after she pulls the rabbit out of the hat, she boils it!"
The season is full of funny moments and great one-liners. A lesson in great comic timing and, I think, a great template for contemporary writers who are attempting the multi-camera, studio audience genre of comedy (of which we don't have many current greats).
Hope this hasn't been too long-winded and that it is helpful to both age-old fans and anybody considering buying it. To the latter I say, give it a go, you'll laugh a lot!
Cheers.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Winston-Flaherty's reelected for a second term of laughs!
29 April 2009
New York City's most lovable (if not always savvy) deputy mayor returns to City Hall for more laughs in this 24-episode season two.
Getting divorced from Helen, the Mayor then prowls for female companionship. And in an urbane and cosmopolitan city such as New York, the development would not present a problem. After all, elected officials need companionship too!
Except in "Paul Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". The Mayor's initial attempts at forging new relationships do not go smooth. It's hard to just get out and date when you are an elected official.
And in "Gentleman's Agreement" he must quickly learn the taboos of having joined a social club which excludes membership from women.
Himself the caring father of a daughter ("They Shoot Horses Don't They") the Mayor does not hate women, he just did not grow up socializing with them as equals. Uh-oh! Not the best move to navigate the `gender gap' during election time.
His good-natured cluelessness again gets deliciously illustrated in the two-parter "Family Affair".
On a visit to her son the deputy Mayor, Macy Flaherty (a very cleverly-cast Meredith Baxter Birney) and the Mayor start up an innocent but flirty relationship. It REALLY creeps Mike out.
This good-hearted but socially naïve mayor initially and honestly does not notice Mike's blatant discomfort with their relationship. It's up to his mother to make this all-critical connection...and things right again. She breaks off the relationship.
A different kind of uncomfortable social arrangement unfolds when Stuart, the office womanizer becomes Carter Heywood's roommate ("Single White Male"). Their ensuing `out of office' scripts consequently provide reliable hijinks for the rest of this series.
Carter gets a solo pivotal episode "In the Heat of the Day" when the city police, apparently unaware who the City's "Minority Liaison" personally is, apprehend him for a `mugger' during a city park jog.
While the police convince themselves they are `preventing crime' through this proactive monitoring, Carter realizes that they targeted him only because of skin color. A white jogger would have been left alone.
Having the resources to challenge this stereotyping, he also wants to ensure the police fight crime without unfairly harming law-abiding citizens, including those who cannot fight back with similar resources readily at their disposal.
Finally, we cannot forget "The Goodbye Girl". This episode is where Stacy Paterno (Jennifer Esposito) comes on board as Mike's wise-cracking, but wise secretary. She will remain with the rest of the series, providing strong chemistry
Extras include a featurette on Fox's foundation work.
This administration always works around the clock. They reliably deliver first-class comedy to their `constituents'--in New York--and Nationwide! Here's to subsequent releases on DVD.
Getting divorced from Helen, the Mayor then prowls for female companionship. And in an urbane and cosmopolitan city such as New York, the development would not present a problem. After all, elected officials need companionship too!
Except in "Paul Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". The Mayor's initial attempts at forging new relationships do not go smooth. It's hard to just get out and date when you are an elected official.
And in "Gentleman's Agreement" he must quickly learn the taboos of having joined a social club which excludes membership from women.
Himself the caring father of a daughter ("They Shoot Horses Don't They") the Mayor does not hate women, he just did not grow up socializing with them as equals. Uh-oh! Not the best move to navigate the `gender gap' during election time.
His good-natured cluelessness again gets deliciously illustrated in the two-parter "Family Affair".
On a visit to her son the deputy Mayor, Macy Flaherty (a very cleverly-cast Meredith Baxter Birney) and the Mayor start up an innocent but flirty relationship. It REALLY creeps Mike out.
This good-hearted but socially naïve mayor initially and honestly does not notice Mike's blatant discomfort with their relationship. It's up to his mother to make this all-critical connection...and things right again. She breaks off the relationship.
A different kind of uncomfortable social arrangement unfolds when Stuart, the office womanizer becomes Carter Heywood's roommate ("Single White Male"). Their ensuing `out of office' scripts consequently provide reliable hijinks for the rest of this series.
Carter gets a solo pivotal episode "In the Heat of the Day" when the city police, apparently unaware who the City's "Minority Liaison" personally is, apprehend him for a `mugger' during a city park jog.
While the police convince themselves they are `preventing crime' through this proactive monitoring, Carter realizes that they targeted him only because of skin color. A white jogger would have been left alone.
Having the resources to challenge this stereotyping, he also wants to ensure the police fight crime without unfairly harming law-abiding citizens, including those who cannot fight back with similar resources readily at their disposal.
Finally, we cannot forget "The Goodbye Girl". This episode is where Stacy Paterno (Jennifer Esposito) comes on board as Mike's wise-cracking, but wise secretary. She will remain with the rest of the series, providing strong chemistry
Extras include a featurette on Fox's foundation work.
This administration always works around the clock. They reliably deliver first-class comedy to their `constituents'--in New York--and Nationwide! Here's to subsequent releases on DVD.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
I love Spin City but......
21 Mar 2010
Amazon Verified Purchase
My husband and I are BIG fans of Michael J and the cast of Spin City. But having said that, I'm disappointed with the 2nd season so far. I'm not convinced that Stacey is a character with chemistry and merely provides the show with a "genuine Noo Yawker" and all the sterotypes that encompasses. We certainly laughed our way through the first season and for the first few episodes of the 2nd but we sat stony faced at the last two episodes and the double header with Meredith Birney Baxter. No chemistry there at all; was there a writers strike on at the time? It all seemed so forced and contrived. I'm all for heightened reality, (hey it's a comedy show after all) but it seems that whoever wrote these episodes had little idea of the characters. Everybody dancing and singing "Bahamas Bahamas" and doing the conga when Carter wanted to go to the Caribbean ?? That made no sense given what we knew about the characters and their quirks beforehand. Michael Flaherty riding tandem on a horse with the Mayor when everything the character had done up to that point was to try his best to preseve the dignity of the Mayor and the office?? It seems like Spin City suddenly took a drop in script quality for the moment. I'm sure it will come back. I hope so!
Edit April 2010 Well, luckily that was just a bad blip in quality on those few episodes. There is still the occasional clunker in there; some episodes work better than others, the whole Heidi Klum thing has been dreadfully overplayed and the Mayor is morphing from simply naive to the idiotic. But it's still entertaining, although I find that the Stuart character (Alan Ruck) is becoming more OTT and unlikeable.
Edit April 2010 Well, luckily that was just a bad blip in quality on those few episodes. There is still the occasional clunker in there; some episodes work better than others, the whole Heidi Klum thing has been dreadfully overplayed and the Mayor is morphing from simply naive to the idiotic. But it's still entertaining, although I find that the Stuart character (Alan Ruck) is becoming more OTT and unlikeable.
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