I’ve never been a huge fan of country music, though there are a few performers whose work I enjoy. I do have several Reba McIntire CDs, but only because she has some great songs and a very recognizable voice. Her singing talent notwithstanding (or any singer’s for that matter), I always worry when a singer wants to make the crossover into acting. For the most part, it just doesn’t work. There have been a few exceptions, but very few. The first time I saw Reba act, I was sitting in a movie theatre with some friends checking out the horror comedy, “Tremors.” I rolled my eyes when I saw her name in the credits, but to my surprise, she was not only funny, but she darn near stole all of her scenes. A few years later, she turned heads on Broadway in “Annie Get Your Gun” (which I wish I had seen), and then spread the news that she was shootin’ for a sitcom. I initially thought she was biting off more than she could chew; after all doing a weekly TV series is hard work. In spite of her earlier proof of acting talent, I still stayed away from her TV series.

In part, because of my self-imposed bid to stop watching TV (except for DVDs), but also due to the uncreative title, “Reba.” In the past, TV shows named after the star generally spelled trouble. (Except in the case of series' from the 1950’s and 60’s, where it worked quite well.)

The premise was an unusual one with Reba starring as ‘Reba Hart’ a woman who has to deal with the fact that her husband of 20 years had divorced her for a younger woman, as well as the news that her daughter was pregnant and she was about to acquire a son-in-law. Adding to her woes was her ex-husband’s discovery that his new fling is pregnant as well. What would normally be considered fodder for “Jerry Springer” turns out to be a somewhat acceptable idea for a sitcom (especially in Texas, where family trees like this are the norm…)

While I found the episodes from the 1st season to be mildly amusing, it was quit obvious that the writers and the cast were trying to find their stride. A lot of the humor was rather pedestrian, and somewhat forced. Even the acting was a bit stilted. Everyone played it like a sitcom, as opposed to trying to create characters that people outside of Texas could relate to. The delivery was bit awkward, and while it was till pretty funny, I’m honestly surprised the series survived the 1st season. I could tell by the couple of episodes I had caught on TV prior to seeing the DVD set that the series did finally get it’s legs, and the show was definitely a keeper, but had I not had seen any of the later episodes I might not have guessed the direction it finally took.

The DVD release of the 2nd season showed a lot of improvement with the cast finally settling in to their roles, but still it was far from perfect. This month, Fox is releasing the 3rd season and it is here that the show finally seemed to catch its stride. Now that the actors were noticeably more comfortable with their roles, the writers had the opportunity to really open up the series and take it into stronger directions. Of the seasons I had watched, this was by far the best.

The 3rd season DVD set includes all 22 episodes from as well as commentaries on five of the episodes (see the list below). Reba shows up on two of these, while the rest feature an assortment of cast and crew. There is also a couple of featurettes, one on the series itself, the other more of a backstage diary by actress Melissa Peterman.

If you’re a fan of the show already, you’ll definitely want to grab these sets and add them to your collection, however if you’re new to the series you might want to catch a few newer episodes first, then you can go back and see where it all began.

Episodes:
She's Leaving Home, Bye, Bye
War and Peace
The Best and the Blondest
Spies Like Reba
Calling the Pot Brock
Encounters
The Ghost and Mrs. Hart
The Cat's Meow
Regarding Henry
The Great Race
All Growed Up
The United Front
To Tell the Truth
Brock's Mulligan
The Shirt Off My Back
Sister Act
Fight or Flight
The Big Fix-Up
The Good Girl
Happy Pills
Girl's Night Out
Core Focus

Starring: Reba McIntire, Christopher Rich, Melissa Peterman, Joanna Garcia, Steve Howey, Mitch Holleman, Scarlet Pomers
Extras: Selected Episode Commentary, "Matters of the Hart" Featurette, "Melissa's Backstage Diary" Featurette
Specifications: Full Screen, English Dolby Surround
Studio: Fox
Release Date: 4/25/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Reba: Season 3 a B-.