The Good
A great show from the 1980s that showcases extremely well crafted writing and acting.
The Bad
No commentary tracks? The Special Features aren’t clearly delineated out on the packaging.
Sent to help run the household of Governor Eugene Gatling (James Noble), Benson up basically running the state in Benson: The Complete First Season. Never one to simply let small problems get bigger, Benson takes charge of the Governor’s mansion staff, raises his daughter Katie (Missy Gold) and also finds time to help the Governor do his gubernatorial duties. It’s a tough job to be sure but one that Benson relishes. Whether he thinks he might lose his job because Katie has snuck out of the house (“Trust Me”), or Benson is asked to work damage control after someone besmirches the Governor with a remark (“Don’t Quote Me”), or visiting Russians threaten World War III when a Russian chess genius gets lost in the mansion (“Checkmate”), it soon becomes clear that Benson is always on hand to clean up any and all messes. That he does it with a sarcastic wit only highlights how necessary his character is.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Initially, a spin-off of the highly popular TV show Soap, Benson lasted longer than the show from which it spawned for a few reasons. First of all, the subject matter really spoke to the times (the 1980s). Secondly, it managed to have stories for adults and kids. And thirdly, it seemed to bring a different style of comedy to the small screen.
Features
Video Introduction
Robert Guillaume, relaxing in a chair, sits back and talks about how the character of Benson got his own show. He discusses Soap, his character, and then tells people that they should buy all 7 seasons of this show. Truthfully, there really isn’t much more to this segment than that. I had expected that it would be longer, mainly because Guillaume is so strongly identified in this role but that was not to be the case.
Favorites from the First Season
Photo Gallery
Presented here is a montage of photos that is set to music. It seems like it was created in a motion program of some sort. The photos fade and dissolve in and out of one another, and there is a mix of still photos from the set as well as promotional shots. I wish that I could say a bit more about this segment but as you can see there isn’t too much to talk about. If you pass up this section of the DVD, you really won’t be missing much.
Inside the Governor’s Mansion
In this segment we get an overview of what the First Season of this show was like. We hear from actors like Robert Guillaume and James Noble as they talk about their characters, the subject matter, and what they were trying to do in their roles. Guillaume talks about feeling liberated in the role, while Noble discussed what he liked about doing the show. It also seems like it was mutually agreed that politics would play an enormous role in this show, and that the creators really wanted to tackle social issues through Benson’s eyes. If you watched this show a lot in the 1980s, you owe it to yourself to sit through this featurette.
Video
Full Screen - 1.33:1. These shows looked okay. Sony did a very good job of compressing them so that, at the very least, they weren’t any worse than how these shows look when they play in syndication. The tones were pretty lifeless and since it seems like every scene was lit the same, that probably accounts for that. Also, this is a sitcom so it isn’t like you have people going out of their way to create some amazing lighting scheme.
Audio
Dolby Digital. Mastered in High Definition. Close Captioned. Language - English. Hearing the familiar strains of this show’s theme song was like music to my ears. I often say this but it really is true, Sony is really a leader when it comes to audio. I had the audio levels on my TV turned pretty low and I was quite impressed with the quality of the sound. However, since this is a sitcom the actors go out of their way to make sure that the words they say are heard as clearly as possible.
Package
Benson, clad in a blue sweater and orange slacks, sits in the “O” on this front cover (that spells Benson) with a blue background behind him. At the top are shots of the main cast members. A large picture of Benson is presented on the back cover with an image of the Governor’s mansion behind him. There are also some more pictures from the show, a description of what Benson: The Complete First Season is about, a Special Features listing and technical specs. All 24 episodes are stored on three discs in two slim cases. The front covers have different pictures of the cast members, while the backs provide more pictures as well as episode listings and descriptions. Sadly, nowhere on this packaging are we told where the Special Features are.
Final Word
I didn’t watch a lot of Benson when I was younger, but I watched enough of it to be familiar with the stories and the characters. While this show might play as light comedy today, for it’s time it dealt with some pretty heavy issues. It never shied away from examining how we look at race, the politics of the day, and even broached issues like World War III in way that melded comedy and drama as only the best television can. What I liked the most about this show was seeing Robert Guillaume in action. He was so deliberate in his thought process, and so focused on whatever issues came his way, it isn’t a surprise that so many of the characters on the show came to rely on him to get them through every situation.
Sure, things have changed drastically since this show was on TV. However, like the work of Norman Lear, Benson: The Complete First Season really touched on issues of the times. The fact that so many of those issues are still with us means the subject matter broached by this show will always be relevant.
