This sudsy drama from Aaron Spelling focuses on the lives and loves of young adults in an apartment complex in Los Angeles. From the complicated scheming of scandals to the murderous plots of lovers, the residents at Melrose Place are more messed up than average folk.
For thoughts on Melrose Place: The Complete Series, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Melrose Place: The Complete Series comes to DVD with all 226 episodes on 54 discs with a passable 480p transfer that is not beautiful but suits the series as well as can be expected with the format limitations. You can tell that these original episodes have not been significantly cleaned up or remastered, as there is quite a bit of softness and age related wear throughout. Colors are a bit lifeless and black levels are subject to some significant crush and compression artifacting. Skin tones are fine, but the presentation offers up little in the way of fine detail. As might be expected, the presentation gets stronger as the series goes along and has time working less against them. Thankfully, CBS Home Entertainment does not overstuff each disc with too many episodes so they at least have a little room to breathe. These episodes are not the most appealing from a modern HD perspective, but fans of the series will probably appreciate getting to have everything in one collection to watch as they please. If this series was ever remastered and released on Blu-Ray, it would be an instant purchase.
Audio Quality
These DVDs come with a Dolby Digital 2.0 track for all seven seasons that mostly does everything it needs to do just fine. The track does feature some favorable instances of environmental sound effects that are pleasant to hear, especially when venturing out into public spaces. Delineation is not as strong as it might be with uncompressed audio, but nothing sounds too rough or unpleasant. Dialogue is mostly clear throughout, with only occasional moments where things sound a bit fuzzy due to the quality of the source material. This is not a persistent issue, but it should be noted that these issues exist. This presentation is about as good as the source material will allow without a remaster and jump to Blu-Ray.
Special Features
Season One
- Beginnings: A nearly six-minute piece in which the cast and creative team discuss the motivation behind creating this show, how the show connects to Beverly Hills 90210, evolving the tone of the series of the first season, the characters and more.
- Friends & Neighbors: A nearly seven-minute featurette with the cast and creative team in which they delve into specific characters including Jane, Michael, Sandy, Matt, and Jake and how they fit into the series.
- Neighbors & Friends: Another six-minute piece with the cast and creative team in which they delve into specific characters including Billy, Alison, Kimberly, and Rhonda and how they fit into the series.
- Season One Episode Guide: A text guide to all the episodes in the season and a brief synopsis of each.
- Behind The Scenes: A five-minute promo which gives a broad overview of the series and its characters.
- Amanda: A two-minute look at the iconic character played by Heather Locklear and how she evolved from her first appearance.
- New Style Profile: A five-minute promo which puts a spotlight on these burgeoning stars from the show including many interviews with the main talent.
Season Two
- Audio Commentaries
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- Collision Course: Darren Star
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- The Bitch Is Back: Darren Star
- Meet The Neighbors: An option to click through some text screens featuring basic facts about the characters on the show.
- The Best Of The Worst Part 1: A 12-minute collection of clips from the season’s biggest shockers are provided here. This should go without saying, but please do not watch these before finishing the season.
- The Best Of The Worst Part 2: Nine more minutes of clips from the season’s biggest shockers are provided here.
- Melrose Place – Complex Relationships
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- Billy and Alison: A ten-minute narrated compilation of different major season two events in this relationship with clips from the events that caused so much drama.
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- Amanda, Jake, Jo and Reed: A ten-minute narrated compilation of different major season two events in this dynamic with clips from the events that caused so much drama.
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- Michael, Jane, Kimberly, Sydney and Matt: A 17-minute narrated compilation of different major season two events in this dynamic with clips from the events that caused so much drama.
Season Three
- Melrose Place According To Jake: A nearly 20-minute piece which begins with a recycled conversation from the season one supplements before going more specifically into the character of Jake, the casting of Grant Show, his impression of the series once he got the part, his personality in the show and more.
- Melrose Place – Seven Minutes In Hell: A seven-minute collection of clips from the season’s biggest shockers are provided here. This should go without saying, but please do not watch these before finishing the season.
- Everything You Need To Know About Melrose Place Season Three: A 15-minute piece hosted by John Aboud and Michael Colton in which the pair joke around and discuss the characters, the fashion, point out some easter eggs, provide some fun facts and more.
Season Four
There are no special features included for this season.
Season Five
There are no special features included for this season.
Season Six
There are no special features included for this season.
Season Seven
There are no special features included for this season.
Final Thoughts
Melrose Place is a major player in the primetime soap opera pantheon which offered a more adult bend to the antics of Beverly Hills 90210 while still delivering the delicious trash you expect from such an endeavor. The series will not be to all tastes, but those who love heightened drama are sure to both love and (lovingly) despise the various characters that weave in and out of this narrative. It is pure comfort viewing to the extreme. CBS Home Entertainment has released a massive box set that encompasses every episode of the original series with DVD-quality video and audio. Given the chance of a Blu-Ray set is extremely slim, this seems like the best bet for fans who want to have the show on their shelf.
Melrose Place: The Complete Series is currently available to purchase on DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the DVD.
Disclaimer: CBS Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.