You didn’t have to tie me to a chair when the first episodes of “Tru Calling” started airing last year. After all, how could you go wrong with a series that starred Eliza Dushku, one the coolest young actresses in Hollywood today? Add to that the fact that it had a supernatural slant and I was so there. Though I had seen Dushku in a few films before (“True Lies” comes to mind…), little did I know that she was going to become a household name when she originated the role of ‘Faith’ on the series “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.” Her portrayal of the ‘psycho Slayer’ turned what could have been a couple of episode stint into a full-fledged, major character who crossed back and forth between “Buffy” and it’s spin-off, “Angel.” While fans of those series wanted Dushku to spin-off into her own series as Faith, she opted to try something a bit different. She landed the role in the supernatural drama, “Tru Calling”, where she starred as a medical student who takes a job at a morgue.

All seems well, until the first time that a corpse asks her for help, and her day rewinds to a time prior to the ‘death.’ She learns that it is her job to solve a mystery that will save that person’s life.

When I first heard of the premise, I thought it sounded intruging. Granted, on the surface it appeared to steal from elements of “Early Edition” with a little bit of “Groudhog Day” mixed in, but again I was compelled to watch in the hopes that I’d get to see Dushku kick some butt. I figured the ‘formula’ would get old really quickly, diuring those first few episodes it almost did. But soon the series started taking off into slightly different directions that were creative enough to keep the show fresh. In some case, the twists were so imaginative that I was even shocked a few times.

As part of the continued efrfort by the show’s creators to keep the show interesting, they wisely made the decision to focus some attention on Tru’s home life, which was less than stellar. Havng to deal with talking corpses and days running over again is bad enough, but add to the mix a sister with substance abuse problems and brother who has no idea what responsibility is, and you have a recipe for some real drama.

Late in the season, the creators opted to throw in another surprise with the addition of Jason Priestley to the cast. In the past I wouldn’t have found this to be much of an enticement to keep watching because I still remembered him as being one of those dreadful “Beverly Hills 90210” actors. Times had changed for me however, and I was instead reminded of Priestley’s memorable turn as a maniacal tyrant in an early episode of Showtime’s “Jeremiah” (which starred fellow “90210” alumni Luke Perry). His performance was downright chilling and he proved then and there that he was a much better actor than I had thought. His casting in “Tru Calling” was inspired, and his character helped to build a story arc that quickly elevated the series to my ‘favorites’ list.

Dushku was surrounded by a great cast and there was every reason for the series to last more than one season. Unfortunately, while it was able to finish out a full 1st season, it was decided at the last minute to pull the plug even after it was announced that it would return. As I found the series improving as the season went on, I was thrilled to learn a 2nd season was being prepared, only to be disappointed by the news to the contrary.

“Tru Calling” was on my list of ‘shows I had to tape’, so at least I knew I’d have access to it if I ever wanted to watch it again. Recently I got to reuse the tapes because Fox released the entire 1st (and perhaps only) season on DVD. All 20 episodes are now available in a 6-disc set. What’s even better is that there are way more extra features than I expected.

There are no less than 6 commentaries by various members of the cast and crew, and every one of them is worth a listen. Dushku shows up on four of them, but sadly Priestley is only on one. But he makes the most of it as he shares the microphone with series creator Jon Harmon Feldman. I’ve listed the commentaries below along with the episode titles. You’ll also find three featurettes, ranging from the initial concept of the series and casting to the production itself. The last featurette is the best as it focuses primarily on how the show changed over the course of the season, and more importantly… why. Finally, there is a music video by Full Blown Rose.

More and more the packaging for a lot of TV series are moving away from the bulky foldout cases, to the easier to handle ‘box set’ that holds individual super slim cases. These are becoming even more economical as the super slim cases are now being designed to hold two discs each, instead of just one.

Without a doubt, “Tru Calling” was a good enough to justify being allowed to build an audience, its just a same that it was pulled just as it was starting to.

Episodes:
Pilot - (Commentary by Series Creator/Executive Producer Jon Harmon Feldman, Executive Producer Dawn Parouse, and Actors Eliza Dushku and Shawn Reaves)
Putting Out Fires
Brother’s Keeper
Past Tense
Haunted
Star-Crossed -(Commentary by Series Creator/Executive Producer Jon Harmon Feldman)
Morning After
Closure
Murder in the Morgue
Reunion
The Longest Day - (Commentary by Series Creator/Executive Producer Jon Harmon Feldman, Executive Producer Dawn Parouse, and Actors Eliza Dushku and Shawn Reaves)
Valentine
Drop Dead Gorgeous
Daddy’s Girl - (Commentary by Series Creator/Executive Producer Jon Harmon Feldman and Actors Eliza Dushku and Zach Galifianakis)
The Getaway
Two Pair - (Commentary by Series Creator/Executive Producer Jon Harmon Feldman and Actor Jason Priestley)
Death Becomes Her
Rear Window
D.O.A.
Two Weddings and a Funeral - (Commentary by Series Creator/Executive Producer Jon Harmon Feldman and Actors Eliza Dushku and Zach Galifianakis)

Starring: Eliza Dushku, Jason Priestley, A.J. Cook, Zach Galifianakis
Extras: Selected Episode Commentary, Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Creator/Executive Producer Jon Harmon Feldman, “Finding the Calling: The Pilot”, “The True Path: Season 1”, “Evil Comes Calling: A Late Season Twist”, “Somebody Help Me” Music Video by Full Blown Rose
Specifications: Widescreen (1.78:1), Dolby Surround
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: 11/30/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Tru Calling: Season 1 an A.