DVD Review: Forget the Movie Version; Catch Up With Original ‘Fame’ TV Series

BrianTT — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:01:30 -0400

CHICAGO – The 2009 movie version of “Fame” is getting almost nothing but pans from critics this weekend, so why not go back to the most popular incarnation of the concept, the TV series, recently released in a two-season box set that fans of classic television should consider a must-add to their collections.

DVD Rating: 3.0/5.0

Starring Emmy-award winning choreographer Debbie Allen, the TV series “Fame” was based on the original Oscar-winning film. In fact, I would wager that most people of a certain generation remember the show more than the film. It has a mid-’80s nostalgic charm that should speak to a generation raised believing they were gonna live forever.

Fame: The Complete Seasons 1 and 2 was released on DVD on September 15th, 2009.
Photo credit: MGM Home Video

“Fame” takes place at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts and features a class of gifted students as they face discouragement and disappointment trying to make a name for themselves in the entertainment industry. It’s a classic “follow your dreams” slice of escapist television that won the Golden Globe for Best TV Series Comedy/Musical in 1983 and 1984.

“Fame: Seasons One & Two” is a nine-disc set with 38 episodes, including the Emmy-award winning installments “Tomorrow’s Farwell,” “Alone in a Crowd,” “Class Act,” “To Soar and Never Falter,” “The Strike,” and “Come One, Come All”. The episodes are presented in full screen format with a standard English audio track. The picture hasn’t exactly been pristinely remastered and the sound is a bit disappointing.

Also disappointing is the inclusion of one lonely featurette, “Fame: Then and Now,” but this is clearly a set designed to time with the release of the new version of “Fame” and, for many young fans enraptured by the new movie, every episode of the show will be new. Learn how to fly with “Fame: The Complete Seasons 1 & 2”.

‘Fame: The Complete Seasons 1 & 2’ is released by MGM Home Video and stars Debbie Allen, Albert Hague, Carol Mayo Jenkins, P.R. Paul. Lori Singer, Lee Curreri, Erica Gimpel, Valerie Landsburg, Carlo Imperato, and Gene Anthony Ray. It was created by Christopher Gore. It was released on September 15th, 2009. It is not rated.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com