Tales of the City

In celebration of its 20th Anniversary, the landmark miniseries Tales of the City gets a brand new DVD release.  The British production first aired stateside on PBS in 1994 and caused quite a bit of controversy with its depiction of sex and drug use.  Looking back, that sort of controversy seems laughable compared to what we can currently watch on premium cable.  In spite of the archaic controversy, Tales of the City is an enjoyable window into the personal freedoms of 1970's San Francisco.

Based on a series of novels by Armistead Maupin, Tales of the City follows Ohio native Mary Ann (Laura Linney, The Truman Show) on her vacation in San Francisco.  Falling in love with the town and its people, Mary Ann decides to stay permanently.  After a short stay with her friend Connie (Parker Posey, The House of Yes), Mary Ann finds an apartment at 28 Barbary Lane and meets her landlord Mrs. Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis, Moonstruck).  Over time, Mary Ann eventually meets some of her neighbors including Mona (Chloe Webb, Sid & Nancy) - a lonely woman very open about her drug use, Brian (Paul Gross, Due South) - a man only capable of meaningless one night stands, and Michael (Marcus D'Amico, Full Metal Jacket) - the free spirited gay friend of Mona. 

Through the help of Mona, Mary Ann finds a job working as a secretary for Edgar Halcyon (Donald Moffat, The Thing).  Edgar doesn't have much of a relationship with his wife Frannie (Nina Foch, Spartacus) and viewers learn that he's hiding a serious medical condition from both family and friends.  Edgar's daughter DeDe (Barbara Gerrick, One Life to Live) has a relationship tattered beyond repair due to accusations of infidelity with Edgar's co-worker Beauchamp (Thomas Gibson, Criminal Minds).  Not suprisingly, Beauchamp seems to have his eye on the new secretary.

At first glance, storylines might seem a bit complicated or muddled but rest assured that most of the characters will become connected at some point.  Tales of the City was ahead of its time featuring homosexual characters long before programs like Queer as Folk or Will & Grace even existed.  Sexual situations, drug use, and the like are all discussed openly and frank without the slightest bit of hesitation.  As a result, characters feel real and genuine instead of being portrayed as caricatures.  Linney gives an excellent performance as Mary Ann - an innocent, shy young woman swept up in the sexual revolution.  The pace of the show is addictive and viewers should find themselves zipping through the six episodes in no time flat. 

The packaging boasts a 36 minute behind-the-scenes feature, but this bonus is ported over from the 2003 DVD release of Tales of the City.  Besides a small insert with some introductory notes, the only new special features are commentaries on three of the six episodes.  Author Armistead Maupin, director Alastair Reid, Olympia Dukakis, Barbara Garrick, and Laura Linney all participate.  The commentaries are a nice addition, but folks who already own the 2003 release will have a difficult time justifying another purchase.  I should also note that the picture is pretty grainy for being only 20 years old and feels much older as a result.  Tales of the City is hailed as one of the top miniseries of all time, so anyone who hasn't seen it really owes it to themselves to check it out.  Highly recommended.