Without the dippy performance of Jenna Elfman “Dharma & Greg” despite its interesting premise could have degraded into just another sitcom (which is ultimately what happened during its final seasons) but with her performance and Thomas Gibson as the perfect straight man (he’s a conservative lawyer and her parents are liberal hippies so she’s…a bit of a flower child herself) “Dharma & Greg” was one of the few bright spots on ABC’s schedule during the late 90’s. Ably supporting the two stars were Alan Rachins & Mimi Kennedy as Dharma’s hippie parents and Susan Sullivan & Mitch Ryan as Greg’s uptight parents. The first season run of 23 episodes is included in their entirety ---

Image & Sound:

“Dharma & Greg” looks better than an LSD trip with plenty of bright vivid colors and amazing sharpness/clarity to the picture. The dialogue is clear and since this is a dialogue driven show that’s a good thing luckily there’s none of that weird distortion that you hear after you’ve smoked too much pot. Oh and it’s in stereo. Did I mention it’s in stereo? Yeah it’s in stereo. This show is much like a drug I keep forgetting that I’ve already said things before. Did I say that the show is in stereo? ---

We get trio commentary tracks with actresses Elfman, Kennedy and actor Rachins on “The Pilot”, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Father” (yes, the show used lots of punny titles based on songs and movies. My favorite is still “Instant Dharma” which borrows the title of a John Lennon hit single) and “The Offical Dharma and Greg Episode of the 1988 Winter Olympics”. The trio are having a good time…mmmm wonder what they’re smoking….and we get a pair of solid and entertaining commentary tracks. ***

Next up we get a featurette entitled “When Worlds Collide: The Dharma & Greg Story” that interjects plenty of clips to illustrate the on screen chemistry and comedy of the stars. on the series, a series of text screens that were written by creator/writer/producer Chuck Lorre that played at the conclusion of some episodes (these cards were usually on for only a couple of seconds and esposed Lorre’s “personal beliefs”, and an interactive game entitled “Reaching Your Inner Dharma” that’s actually pretty decent (better watch the episodes to play though). ---

Final Words: