Soap: The Complete Third Season DVD: Review By Dodd

It's crazy the things that we can and cannot get away with on television these days. Janet Jackson's breast briefly flops out on television and the world has a heart attack. Yet at the same time, thanks to the power of cable network television, shows like Nip/Tuck provide a full hour of slicing and sexing every week. What is acceptable on television has certainly changed over the years.

One thing that the airwaves do not permit is political incorrectness. A person can't even say the words "Black and Decker" on TV without Jesse Jackson showing up and accusing that someone of being a racist. There was once a time when the world was a little more lax, and that time is called the 70's. Take a look at

Blazing Saddles. City streets would break into riots if that film came out today, but it still remains a cult classic thanks to its balls out, daring jokes about blacks, gays, animal cruelty, and flatulence.

Starting in the late 70's and crossing over into the 80's, the sitcom Soap ran on network TV. Right along with the bigoted jokes from All in the Family, Soap got away with things that could never be done on television today. Once again, thanks to DVD technology, the third season of this classic series is now available.

The title Soap refers to the way the show comically reenacts the soap opera genre. The show focuses on the Tate and Campbell families that are forced to socialize thanks to their matriarchs, Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) and Mary Campbell (Cathryn Damon), being siblings. Mary is married to the zany, working class Burt (Richard Mulligan), while Jessica is married into an upper-class lifestyle. Included in the family circle is a cynical African American butler Benson (Robert Guillaume), Jessica's insane war veteran father (Arthur Peterson), and a homosexual son played by a young Billy Crystal.

While hard to get into at first due to a lot of old-fashioned cheesiness, Soap eventually pulled me in. The third season dives into the realm of the ridiculous with subplots involving UFO abductions and cult brainwashing, but these absurd shots at soap opera plot twists are hard not to enjoy. The ensemble cast is extremely winning, and the controversial episode content is so wrong that it's right!

The heart of the show is clearly Benson the butler who participates in the program's funniest gags. One gag in particular involves Benson and three white men in black face paint throwing down dance moves while disguised as minstrel performers. Once again: so wrong, yet so undeniably funny. Unfortunately, the third season in particular says goodbye to Benson's character after only three episodes in. His character was so popular at the time the Robert Guillaume signed on for his own spin-off series, Benson. Soap still pushes forward with clever gags, but leaves a sense of emptiness due to Benson's absence.

There are no extras here with the exception of bonus previews, but I am not one to count previews as "bonus" material. With such a talented cast, I would like to see a reunion doc*mentary. Perhaps this was already done on one of the previous seasons.

1.33 Full Screen. The picture quality is behind on the times, but I can't fault it too much. There is only so much restoration that can be done on a 1970's television show.

There is no surround sound setup available here, which, once again, I can't fault too much. The horrid opening theme song, obnoxious laugh track, and muffled sound do not need to be amplified in 5.1. The best way to enjoy old-fashioned TV is through old-fashioned sound.

Three discs are kept on a fold out keep case, which fits into a box slip sleeve. The fold out contains a list and description of the episodes. Colorful pictures of the cast engulfed in soap bubbles are displayed all over the casing.

Soap is a solid piece of old-school comedy that is worth checking out. Some of its jokes may offend viewers attuned to the contemporary standards of "big no-no's" on television, but this show is guaranteed to bring out laughs in those with an open mind to politically incorrect jokes. Unfortunately, the special features are dry, but the show is worth a gander. This is definitely worth a rental for a look at the unrestricted humor of the 1970's.

Questions? Comments? Drop me a line at dodd@movieweb.com