In Focus: Before Carrie, There Was Ally

Before Sex and the City became my bible, there was Ally McBeal. I was addicted to her in the '90s. Not it was only fun to watch, super-relate ako sa woes ni Ally of being single. Every end of the episode 'ata where she revealed her realization about life eh naiyak ako. Of course, the series is not something na kailangang seryosohin. Compared to The Practice (fave ko rin, which had the same creator as Ally, David E. Kelley), mostly light and fun lang ang treatment sa mga court scenes dito. Ni hindi ka nga masyado mag-iisip kung mananalo ba sila o hindi sa trial. Hindi kasi kina-career ang writing ng prosecution o 'yung kabilang party na kalaban ng Cage & Fish (where Ally worked).

By Season 4, medyo sumadsad na ang ratings ng Ally McBeal. Hindi lamang dahil sa pagpalya ng writing, but also because after three seasons, Ally's antics became tiring. OA na ang pagka-neurotic niya at sobrang desperate sa love. Aside from that, characters came and went without any explanation. By Season 5, her best friend Renee was nowhere to be found. (However, the eye candy James Marsden was added to the said season, showing his charming self and his vocal prowess. Yum!)

Kaya naman papalampasin ko ba naman ang hindi magkaru'n ng collector's edition ng Ally McBeal? Only available in the UK, I instantly grabbed the chance of purchasing a copy when I learned that Ivy's (Biboy's sister) friend was going to London, a few months back. Pinakiusap ko sa kanya na siya na ang mag-uwi ng series box set na o-orderin ko online. Kaya heto na siya:





The box set is consists of five seasons with 6 discs each. Not much audio commentaries or special features, almost barebones. Inside though is a booklet with episode summaries on it.

During the late '90s, Viva Video, which is Fox Video's distributor here in the Philippines, released the first 12 episodes of Season 1 on VCDs.

Each disc has one episode. They only released six volumes which was quite a lot already compared to the ones released in the US. More on compilations of certain episodes lang ang inilabas sa US.

I don't know why Viva Video didn't continue with releasing the rest of the episodes in Season 1. Kahit man lang sana Season 1 ay nabuo. (Poor sales, perhaps? 'Di naman kasi click ibenta ang mga TV Series dito that time.)

Anyway,US DVD version wasn't released due to music rights. Fox couldn't get all rights to the songs they've used in the show (or perhaps it'd be so expensive to get them all), thus the lack of release.

According to the ones who bought Beverly Hills 90210 DVDs (I gotta get this one also!) released by Fox, too, the music was butchered. I guess it was easy for Fox to do such a thing to the series since the music served as background only. But with Ally, it's a different case. The music was very crucial since it served as the window to Ally's thoughts or became her conscience every now and then. It wasn't just important to her, but to other characters, as well, particularly John Cage, who was as quirky and unique as Ally.

The series spawned four original soundtracks during its run.

But lo and behold! After my recent purchase of the UK edition, this has been announced to come out on October 6, 2009!

Pootek! I didn't see it coming! Di ko tuloy alam kung magsasaya ako o hindi.

The said box set comes in 32 discs. Complete episodes are on 30 discs (the same with the UK ed.) while the two extra discs boast of a few special features not included in the UK version.

Extras will include featurettes ("Season 2: Fox Behind The Scenes", "Season 2 TV Special: Life And Trials Of Ally McBeal", "Season 3 Featurette", "Behind The Scenes Of Season 5", "Season 5: Goodbye, Ally", "The Practice” Season 2 – Axe Murderer"), and a Best of Ally McBeal Soundtrack feature.

However, no word yet as to whether the original soundtrack has been retained. Fox is keeping mum about it.

Buset!

P.S.
I also have the companion guide book of Ally McBeal. I'd post it here, but I don't know where I'd kept it. Hindi naman siya nawawala. Na-misplaced lang.