Ally McBeal, Series 5 Box Set 2 [1998]

Granted that Ally McBeal was never intended to be realistic drama, but when the programme spirals entirely off into the realms of the surreal, any possibility of the sort of identification with the characters on which the programme once relied is lost. Though not without its moments, the sudden redemption of Fish, always the best-written character, is deftly handled. Season Five will be of chief interest to adherents who stuck with it through the first four and so wanted to see how it all ends; in keeping with the central character's defining motifs of solipsism and self-pity, it does so with a whimper.

On the DVD:Ally McBeal has episode selector on each disc, and a scene selector within each of those. The final disc contains two short and desultory documentaries on the series billed, somewhat hopefully, as "Special Features". A French audio soundtrack is available, as are subtitles in English, French and Dutch. –-Andrew Mueller

Customer reviews:

The Best Season Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, 2005-11-29
This was the best season ever. Ally had responsibility and had to think about her choices. It was fun to see her interact with a daughter. She move into a more grown up part of life that most do how are around their early thirty’s so it was about time. It would have been interesting to see more of the mother thing carried out further than it was. The casting and script was amazing . This Season was the best ever!

It got better a little too late, 2005-01-23
After an extremely dismal first half, thankfully the show gains some of whatever credibility it once had. Sadly, by the time these set of episodes aired, the show's cancellation was set in stone. Some episodes misfire (mainly because of the insipid Victor) but there is enough good stuff to make this set worthwhile. Kicking off things is an episode up there with the vintage years (ala Seasons 1 and 2) called The New Day. Easily the best episode on this set, it's about a woman who is fired for having AIDS. Other highlights are: Woman (Ling!), Love is All Around (Liza!), Reality Bites (for Elaine and Nelle), All of Me (for Kyra Sedgewick's fantastic portrayal as Helen/Helena) and the teary Bygones (because it's the last-ever ep after all). After watching this set, you probably won't think twice about labelling the first half dismal and proclaim that this was the best series ever because it clearly wasn't. But it had it's moments, many of which are contained here.