Cold Feet The Complete 1st Series
March 2005 Reviewed by: Anthony Di Marco Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

My wife is an intelligent woman who has little tolerance for cliché and worn-out satire. If she laughs out loud during a television show, you know the jokes are funny. She doesn’t do this often, which rendered her fondness for Friends baffling. Although I too did find some of that television show funny, I reasoned her affection a guilty pleasure.

I accepted the assignment to review Cold Feet with my wife in mind. I presumed that she would enjoy a show dubbed "the British Friends" because of what I assumed would be apparent similarities. I was wrong. During the third episode my wife turned to me and said, "Why can’t American shows be this good?" To which I sarcastically answered, "What about Friends?" She looked at me with the sort of playful scowl that indicated her forfeit of reply.

While the softball plot lines of Friends have no basis in reality, those for Cold Feet are immersed in it. Each couple has serious character flaws, not superficial annoyances that can be dispelled by the playful banter of Joey and an overused laugh track. The lives of Adam, Rachel, Pete and Jenny Gifford and their nouveau riche friends David and Karen Marsden were not developed in committee. The conflicts and humor stem purely from life’s contradictions and gaffes in communication.

The pilot had my wife and me laughing out loud at Adam’s approach to courtship and his choice of where to place a rose for Rachel. As the series opens Pete and Jenny take on parenthood while Karen Marsden struggles with her aloof, work-obsessed husband. Having two children ourselves, we especially enjoyed Pete and Jenny’s progression as new parents. Without the subtle "wink-winks" of American television, the producers of Cold Feet reveal the stresses of parenthood in graphic, yet non-exploitive detail.

When Pete grapples with diaper changing, the audience witnesses what every parent knows as fact: behind every diaper change are poop and pee to reckon with, while behind every baby is a marriage that struggles for balance. The results aren’t forced or sensationalized; they are depicted with unflinching honesty. Another refreshing facet of Cold Feet is how both its writing and actors effortlessly segue between comedy and drama.

Cold Feet earns big points for its widescreen presentation. It possesses an image that is a step or two above most sitcom-to-DVD transfers. Pictures are colorful with very good clarity. And while audio quality is good throughout it is best on the music that drives each episode. The producers don’t settle for just canned themes or repetitive pratfall cues. Music for each episode ranges from bubbling synthesizer pop to the sweet despair of strings. American sitcoms are no match against such beautiful production values. This DVD package may not come with extras but there’s no questioning the filmmaker’s attention to every detail.

We’ll be looking forward to the second series.

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