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SIGNIFICANT OTHERS
Review by Chastity Campbell
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Scott Bairstow, Eion Bailey,
Michael Weatherly, Elizabeth Mitchell
Director: Various
Video: 1.33:1 Standard Fullscreen
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
Studio: Columbia Tri Star
Features: See Review
Length: 274 Minutes
Release Date: August 3, 2004
Shows **
When you have a significant other in your life, more often
than not things become a bit easier. Too bad this one wasn’t able to stick
around for the long haul!
Henry, Nell, and Campbell (no relation) are three twenty
somethings trying to find their respective places in life.
Nell can’t commit to anything, Henry is just too passionate about
everything, and Campbell thinks the world owes him something, but he just
can’t figure out what that might be!
The first three episodes of this series, deal mainly with the personality of each character. The last three episodes flesh things out a bit more, and begins to explore potential continuous story lines. It would have been these storylines that allowed the show to grow and develop over time.
Significant Others was a good idea with great
possibility. Unfortunately, it was
put on the air when Party Of Five went on hiatus in 1998.
Fans of the San Francisco family drama were so busy being angry at FOX
for taking Party Of Five off the air that they didn’t even give Significant
Others a chance.
This lack of interest led to only three out of the six
completed episodes hitting the air. This
was very unfortunate because by the fourth episode this group of actors had
really found their footing. When I
got down to the sixth and final episode it saddened me to realized that a great
show with awesome potential never got the chance to go further.
Aside from the fact that FOX fans were irate with the
prospect of losing Party Of Five, this show did suffer in the first few
episodes from bad writing. It
could also have benefited by better direction, and more attention to detail in
the post, production phase.
Before she was a butt kicking bombshell, Jennifer Garner
was given leading lady status as Nell in Significant Others.
Nell would have been a wonderful character for Garner to use as a
platform for her acting abilities. I
think she would have been able to show a wider range of emotion, and character
development with Nell than she has by playing CIA double agent Sidney Bristow on
ABC’s hit drama Alias. However,
I have to admit to being a rabid Alias fan, even going so far as to hit
the internet chatrooms in order to get the latest gossip. So in one respect,
thank goodness this short-lived series didn’t work out.
Because I can’t image tuning in to ABC on Sunday nights and not seeing
my favorite gal kicking somebody’s behind!
Scott Bairstow may not have found his place as a
significant other. However, he did
wow the FOX casting directors enough to land a recurring role on, yes that’s
right Party Of Five. Bairstow
was good looking, with a lot of deep emotions easily visible on his face.
I think his problem in the beginning of this show, was the fact that his
character was so confused and lost that Bairstow didn’t know what direction to
go with it.
Finally we have Eion Bailey, gorgeous Eion Bailey!
If there were a list somewhere of men with dreamy eyes and sexy smiles,
Bailey would definitely be high on it. Despite
the fact that this was a three, person drama, Bailey was set to be the
heartthrob and centerpiece of the trio. His
character was so flawed, nothing on Melrose place could have compared even in
its heyday! However, therein
lies the problem…just like Bairstow, I think Bailey had trouble finding a good
direction to take his character.
It really is a shame that this show wasn’t given a better
shot at making it. FOX could have
easily found a new timeslot on a different night. However, they chose to bow to the fan’s wishes, and get rid
of their Significant Others.
The fact that this series only had six episodes, and no
real story resolutions might be a turn off for some people.
However, if you take the time to sit down and watch this show, it might
help you identify shows in the future that have the same potential, but may be
being looked over.
If you need a significant other, grab this two-disc set,
and take them home tonight. They
are entertaining, and it’s fun afterwards to try and figure out what might
have been.
Video **
The 1.33:1 Standard Fullscreen presentation of these two
DVDs was nice, but not flawless. Surprising
to me was the amount of graininess visible during most of the evening sequences.
The pilot episode stood out for me especially.
There were what appeared to be color balance issues almost from the
start. Combine that with a little
bit of dirt in the print and it provided a less than perfect visual experience.
Audio ***
The Dolby Digital Stereo on these two discs was quite good.
The levels were even and balanced throughout with no dips or drop-outs
that could be heard. A mix of
oldies and late 90’s releases are the sounds to be found on these discs.
This combination worked extremely well with the style of filming used on
this TV show.
Features *
The only extras this two disc set had to offer was a small
featurette titled, “Jennifer Garner remembers Significant Others,” and some
previews.
Summary:
