Lone Gunmen Comes to DVD

Mission: Impossible on Laughing Gas

This 3 disc set offers the complete series presented in 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with English and Spanish Dolby Surround and subtitle options. Extra features include commentaries, a "Making of" documentary and original TV Spots. You will also find an episode from Season 9 of The X-Files titled Jump The Shark complete with commentary.

So, I just picked up my copy of the new Lone Gunmen DVD set and I have to say I am relatively pleased with it. Even though I'm about to bitch a little bit I do want to say that the video transfer, the bonus features and the packaging are all nicely done as FOX proves, once again, that their Home Video division knows far more about what they're doing than the network does.

Now, all other fun stuff aside, I was a little disappointed with the two-sided disc set-up. Since there are only 13 episodes in the series I figured it was going to be reminiscient of the recent Harsh Realm or Wonderfalls sets. They're your basic double-layer DVDs with artwork and the like packaged in slipcased THINpak cases. Seeing as Wonderfalls managed to put all of its episodes on three discs without the double-sided format, I thought that The Lone Gunmen would probably follow suit. I will grant you that the LG video quality is probably better as a result and the two-sided discs do save me some money, so I can understand, I'm just more comfortable with the other format as a consumer, and feel safer with it as a collector.

Also, as a special features junkie, I wish the set included some outtakes or deleted scenes (which they claim exist in at least two of the audio commentaries) , but to be fair, they do include several more commentaries for this 13 episodes series than any of the other Ten Thirteen DVD collections (heck, even Rob Bowman found some time to come out and do a joint commentary with the other writers/exec. producers).

Still, what's done is done and we really are just damn lucky to even have this series on DVD at all so my quibbling stops there.

I totally recommend the set and the show to anyone willing to give it a try.
In an interview just before LG was first broadcast Chris carter referred to it as "Mission: Impossible on laughing gas," and he wasn't too far off - not as depressing as Millenium, longer than Harsh Realm, and funner than The X-Files.

mike