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My So-Called Life (Complete Series)
Director: Scott Winant
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Retail Price (not our price): $89.99
Release Date: 2002-11-19
Theatrical Release Date: 1994-08-25
Studio: Bmg Special Product
Run Time: 904 minutes
Format: Array
Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Discs: 5


Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):

1) Amazon.com
One of the most acclaimed series on TV during its brief run from 1994-1995, My So-Called Life pioneered the modern teen drama and made a star out of 15-year-old Claire Danes. Ostensibly centering around the trials and tribulations of high schooler Angela Chase, My So-Called Life actually expanded to include everyone in its protagonist's orbit, from school friends to extended family, and gave its stellar ensemble cast ripe material to work with during its too-short life. Produced by thirtysomething creators Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, MSCL evoked that yuppie-friendly show with its emphasis on finding extraordinary drama within ordinary situations, but was far more heartfelt and heart-wrenching, echoing the dizzying highs and lows of adolescence. As such, it developed a cult following among young viewers who identified strongly with Angela's high school traumas and followed her every move with rapt attention. (After cancellation, the show enjoyed a popular reprise on MTV.) Avoiding the sensational, My So-Called Life tackled every teen hot-button issue imaginable (and pioneered the then-controversial topic of teen homosexuality), but with a clear-eyed perspective, never dissolving into soap opera--even when Angela mooned over heartthrob Jordan Catalano (dreamy Jared Leto). Even as it mined adolescent angst, though, My So-Called Life never lost sight of its adults, with Bess Armstrong and Tom Irwin both phenomenal as Angela's parents, whose marriage was one of the most complex seen on TV since... well, thirtysomething. Through it all, Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Danes was a neurotic, touching, and funny center, whether obsessing over a zit or negotiating the rocky terrain of first love. Her funny, sobering, and empathetic portrait of teendom reminded us that in some ways, life was just an extended version of high school. --Mark Englehart

2) Description
For the first time ever, all 19 episodes of the critically-acclaimed television show My So-Called Life, starring Claire Danes, are available in one 5 disc DVD box set. Her portrayal of Angela Chase, the angst-ridden, introspective teen earned Clare Danes a Golden Globe. Even today, after being off the air since early 1995, the show has thousands of fans all around the world.

Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5

1) You feel the joys and pain as though you were one of the characters   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This show was able to bring me to tears, laughter and anger, right along with the characters. It is true I related to Angela when this show came out, and that may have prompted me to like it all the more. I think the adolescent years are full of confusion and doubt, and this show captures that beautifully. The lessons Angela and her peers learned, are lessons we all must learn, over and over again. Now I am 26 and I still wish they'd continued this show for many seasons. Also, someone mentioned the way Claire Danes would cry as being annoying. I feel it is moving that she cries in a real way, not all pretty and fake. Claire Danes is still an amazing actress and one thing she is exceptionally good at is maintaining balance in her portrayal of characters. The deep sadness also gives way to pure joy. That is what life is all about.

2) Not NEARLY As Good As I Remembered It---And I Didn't Remember It As Being All That Great To Begin With   [Rating: 3 out of 5]
Ah, a trip back in time to those charming, innocent days of yesteryear as via the miracle of the DVD boxed set we can take in one of the most over-rated, over-promoted, most underwhelming let-downs in television history. I remember how throughout the summer of 1994 ABC touted this show as the second coming of all things great, and since I was in the target demographic, I fell for it. I remember thinking it was sort of neat that here was a show that featured a thoughtful girl my age who was set to graduate the same year as I was, but then as episode after episode came and went even I began to lose faith that this show the critics kept telling me was so great really was all that culturally important. Week after week, though, I tuned in and watched Angela emote about this and that, be the subject teen drinking, drugs, eating disorders, homosexuality, her questionable infatuation with Jordan Catellano (a pretty darn good-looking Jared Leto, I admit) her declining relationship with her parents ("Dad and I used to be pretty tight, but the fact is my breasts have come between us.") the out of control life course of her new BFF Rayanne (a girl who could eat anything and stay SO thin!), or the loss of touch that had come up so confusingly regarding her one-time number one girlfriend Sharon Cherski. (And what a name!) All that might've been tolerable but the simple fact is the quality of the series seemed to wane and wax with the moon and I and most others from school noticed that this program, supposedly rooted in its realism, lost all touch with reality during its holiday episodes, be it with the appearance of the ghost of a long dead high school student making the rounds on Halloween, or a Christmas angel who imparts life lessons in community spirit. Come on! And lest I let it go unmentioned, Clare Danes, who has since grown up to be so beautiful, was back then simply irritating. Her habit of shedding tears on seemingly everrrrry episode, and the way she'd pucker her face all up to do it, that became a mannerism frequently parodied among those of us who watched. By the beginning of spring I finally lost patience with My So Called Life, and based on the ratings, I wasn't alone. Well, sentimentality forgives much and on impulse I ordered the complete series and you know what? Except for the memories it brings and its jaunt back to the mid-1990's with its fashion nightmares and cultural references, My So Called Life sucks. I'm giving it three stars because of its ties to my own adolescence, but in my honest opinion, that's sort of like a pity kiss on a last date.

3) the pain of adolescence   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This DVD set is worth whatever you pay for it unless you are completely uninterested in the pain of adolescence, which is what this series is about, and not whether you are Angela or Angela is you.I first watched this show when I was in my forties and am seeing it again in my sixties. I find I remember every episode almost word for word, The writing is that good.Each character has his or her own pain. My favorite character, and I believe the second lead, is Brian, whose pain is loneliness. His parents, both psychologists, are absent. He spends his time alone riding his bike, studying, obsessing about Angela and doing everything he can to make her happy (often against his better judgement) while bad boy Jordan merely "needs" her. Brian is not, as has been posited in a pri or review, a selfish character,but a confused one who can do cruel things but is essentially decent and kind.The most upsetting thing about the series is that there is no ending episode to provide closure. It ends in the middle of various story arcs.My conclusion as to the ending for Angela (there is no clue as to what happens to Rayanne or Ricky or even Jordan)is based on the fact that Angela's teenage rebellion mirrors her mother's. Both surrounded themselves with unlikely friends--Patty's roommate was a lot like Rayanne, and died from an overdose. Her boyfriend Tony was a lot like Jordan (and, in the last episode, does not even show up when supposed to). Patty says "There comes a time to give up fantasy for reality." She therefore married Graham, whom she also knew in high school. The English teacher (introduced late in the series and left hanging) reads from Shakespeare about a beloved who is, according to answering student Brian "real" rather than beautiful or outstanding. Jordan silently concuAngela, like Cyrano's Roxanne, realizes that she "loves' the letter she has received from Jordan, and then realizes that Brian has written it. She almost swoons into a kiss with Brian but they are interrupted by Jordan. Whether or not she ends up sleeping with Jordan, as so many reviewers wonder, is unimportant. Just as her mother slept with four boys before marrying Graham, Angela will ultimately face reality and marry Brian, who is devoted to her, can have a converstion, will love her (and fight the temptation of affairs) despite her flaws, and be a stable, laid back man able to support her in her suburban lifestyle.This show is great because the characters, Angela, her parents, Rayanne, Ricky (a revelation to TV audiences at the time), Sharon, Brian, and Danielle, are so real that you KNOW them! What happens to them matters! Buy it!

4) Episodic gem of all '90s TV (... notes here about DVD release)   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This remains the one truly great and overlooked television creation of the 1990s. The ensemble acting, storytelling skills, production values, and emotional substance are as compelling for me now as when I first saw this series twelve years ago. That persistence, after what must now be ten viewings of each episode, is unique for me, as for thousands of others.Unfortunately, it didn't get a chance to be thus adopted by millions of others, when this first aired, and that (along with ABC's well-documented corporate cowardice) is why it didn't continue for even a full 24-to-26-episode season.I won't repeat the descriptive (and accurate) points brought out well by the editorial reviews above and many of the customers below. I'll note here one crucial aspect that is often under-mentioned: "MSCL" is not solely about the teenagers. It revolves around a group of friends of that age. Yet it puts the stories firmly in the settings of their families and their teachers, as well. One knows the context and hidden facets for all the characters' lives, even within only 900 minutes.This came from both serendipity and law. Claire Danes (Angela) and Devon Gummersall (Brian), portraying the two central threads of characterization, were 14 to 15 when this was made, and had strong legal restrictions on their work hours. That meant more scenes had to be written or rewritten to highlight and deepen their characters' friends. All of them were portrayed by actors with more liberal hours, but who were still all teenagers, rare both then and now.Most of all, it meant that the adults had to have substantial screen time. It shows most of all in the emotional dimensions opened up for, and by, Bess Armstrong (Patty Chase) and Tom Irwin (Graham Chase). That broadened scope is one of the strongest reasons why this series still resonates, especially for many in our 30s and 40s, when any number of sitcoms and formula dramas using pre-fab parental stereotypes have faded from cultural memory.Some notes on the state of release for these DVDs and, potentially, for others:~ The video quality of these discs is immaculate. The only added feature is, indeed, the English subtitles. You get the writing and acting, with menus (which do show scenes in the background), those made to shine in a nearly flawless transfer, but nothing else.~ The sound defaults to the Dolby 5.1 Surround track, but many have found this a bit hollow, and that the Dolby 2.0 track works better to punch up the nearly constant dialogue. The track choice can be set once to cover the full viewing of any one disc. (Also, a few moments on Disc 3 have the 5.1 Surround sound out of sync.)~ If you purchase this set from a non-U.S. seller, you won't be out of luck, as the discs are, in fact, region-free, not "region 1," as they are marked.~ This series' DVD rights are no longer held by BMG, the company that released these discs. All the rights to use the music, especially, have to be re-negotiated by Buena Vista (part of Disney) with the recording artists and their labels. This is being pursued, but can and does take years, and until then, these discs can't be re-released.If you like this series, if you think you might, if you were stunned with delight by it, don't wait. It's worth a premium to have a genuine set, which may not be available again in a new release for several years.(Bootlegs are bad news, especially with reports of their messing up the menus and visual quality on these discs. Make sure you get the original BMG releases, whether for this set or for individual discs.)

5) loved it!!!   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
I first started watching this show when I was like 10 because my older sister loved it and as I realize now so did I. For some reason the show really impacted me and I have always had a special place for it in my heart. I am fully sarisfied with the sereies and with the seller who was a joy to work with.