Slings & Arrows The Complete Collection
February 2008 Reviewed by: Mischa Hayek Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Slings & Arrows is a Canadian television series that tells the story of a troubled and dysfunctional Shakespearean acting troupe led by a charismatic but partly insane festival arts director, Geoffrey Tennant (Paul Gross). He is in love with the troupe’s leading actress, Ellen Fanshaw (Martha Burns), while at the same time being obsessed and tormented by his deceased mentor, Oliver Welles (Stephen Ouimette). The show was created and written by former Kids in the Hall member Mark McKinney, playwright Susan Coyne, and comedian Bob Martin -- all three of whom appear in the series. The cast is almost entirely Canadian, but American audiences will recognize several of the leading actors who have gone on to success south of the border.

Slings & Arrows ran for three seasons from 2003 to 2006. Each season details the events around the production of one of Shakespeare’s plays. The first season it's Hamlet, the second Macbeth, and the third and last King Lear. Despite its popularity, the series was only intended to last three seasons, and co-creators McKinney, Coyne, and Martin resisted the temptation to stretch the series out. The series contains lots of dark humor, but its comedy is subtle, with few, if any, belly laughs. The humor is understated, which I would say is quite Canadian. It took a long time to draw me in, but once I was there, I truly enjoyed each episode.

Each season consists of six one-hour episodes -- 47 minutes each without commercials -- approximately one quarter the length of a normal television season. This new shortened-season format has been adopted by HBO, Showtime and other television networks, and it ensures that a series never gets stale. Even the best television series (M*A*S*H comes to mind) go on at least one or two seasons too long. Slings & Arrows maintains its quality, wit and humor throughout all three seasons, and while we may wish for more, it is complete and strong to the end.

Acorn Media has decided to repackage the original series and add some bonus footage in this new seven-DVD complete collection. Bonus features scattered throughout the collection include season trailers, cast filmographies, many deleted and extended scenes, production notes for each season, and interviews with cast members. In addition, there are several featurettes: "A Look Behind the Scenes" and "Cast and Crew on the Set," as well as vignettes showing the director, Peter Wellington, at work.

The video and sound quality of the DVD transfer are good, but not spectacular. Although the image is reasonably clear, there is a lot of grain and at times it seems a little soft. Colors, particularly reds, seem overly contrasted, almost as if the creators of the DVDs are trying too hard to punch up the image. Compare what you see to a reference-grade video image such as that from the HBO Entourage series and you’ll see the shortfalls. The sound is clear and more than adequate for TV viewing, but it’s not going to blow your socks off. The play’s the thing here, and its production is well worth watching.

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