SAMANTHA WHO? (TV SERIES) - DVD review

His name is Earl. Her name is Samantha. Or so they tell her.

ABC's answer to the popular "My Name is Earl" is "Samantha Who?", a situation comedy about a young woman who wakes from an eight-day coma to discover that she has absolutely no recollection of who she is or how many people she's trod upon in her thirty-some years. Every day is a revelation, and what she discovers about herself isn't pretty. "I did that?" becomes a refrain that ends up driving Samantha to see her amnesia as a positive thing, a chance for a "do-over," like Earl. Only instead of a list of those she's wronged that she has to make good on, it's a gradual revealing of her past and the people from her past that gives her the chance to make amends . . . or not. Traces of the old Sam slip out, which raises the question, can a leopard really change its spots? Can the new Samantha be the good person inside that she would rather be?

Christina Applegate ("Married, with Children") takes her acting to a whole new level as the title character, displaying a maturity and range that's just plain fun to watch. Her facial expressions, her body language, and the modulation of her voice provide nuances of character that I hadn't seen before.

Applegate received an Emmy nomination for her role, but she's got some pretty stiff competition for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Tina Fey ("30 Rock"), America Ferrera ("Ugly Betty"), Mary-Louise Parker ("Weeds"), and Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("The New Adventures of Old Christine"). I can't predict who will win tonight, but I can tell you with confidence that Applegate belongs in this company and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if she won. That she was able to shed the broad comedic style she developed during the "Married with Children" years (1987-97) is nothing short of miraculous. In a way, "Samantha Who?" is her second chance, and she makes the most of it.

A hit-and-run victim, Samantha snaps out of her coma to find her sarcastic mother, Regina (Jean Smart), hovering over her for the first time in years--though, of course, Samantha assumes they have a normal, loving relationship. Her wisecracking dad, Howard (Kevin Dunn), never gave her the attention she craved, but she doesn't know that either. She's surprised to learn that she had a live-in photographer boyfriend named Todd (Barry Watson), whom she cheated on with a married man (Timothy Olyphant as Winston Funk). Though she assumes they're going to live together still, it turns out that they're estranged now, because Sam led quite the life before that nasty whack on the head. She finds out that she was also having an off-again-on-again thing with a guy named Rene (William Abadie)--well, at least she's not bisexual.

Like the old cartoon that had poor confused Pluto influenced by a good angel whispering in one ear and a little devil trying to get his other ear, Samantha finds herself befriended by two women. One of them was her best friend from childhood whom Samantha jettisoned after Dena (Melissa McCarthy) gained weight and wasn't nearly as "cool." Though she hasn't seen her since then, Dena's wanting to reconnect, and she turns up at the hospital after hearing about Samantha's accident. Dena is a "good girl" who, of course, can only reconnect with her old friend if her old friend turns over a new leaf. Rasping away at her other ear is Andrea (Jennifer Esposito), a colleague from the real-estate firm she works at who loves to party as much as she does . . . did . . . might still. Andrea just wants her friend to snap out of it and get back to her old, trendy, lascivious self. What makes the show fascinating, apart from Applegate's winning performance and the "do-over" chance that she gets, is the whole underlying idea that drives this premise: nature versus nurture. Can a leopard change its spots? Anyone who's ever had friends try to influence them will identify with this show.

There are certainly elements to suggest that Samantha is a better person than she's been in the past, and it all starts with her instinctual treatment of "the help," as was the case with Goldie Hawn's character in "Overboard." At first doorman Frank (Tim Russ) is skeptical, but as an unlikely friendship develops from her suddenly civil treatment of him, viewers come to understand that Samantha has a darned good chance of becoming the kind of person she wants. "Samantha Who?" is a smartly written show, with writers Donald Todd ("Dave's World," "Ugly Betty") and newcomer Cecelia Ahern leading the way.

All 15 episodes from Season 1 are included here: Pilot, The Job, The Wedding, The Virgin, The Restraining Order, The Hypnotherapist, The Hockey Date, The Car, The Break-Up, The Girlfriend, The Boss, The Butterflies, The Gallery Show, The Affair, and The Birthday. Unlike shows like "Desperate Housewives," there's no great secret or mystery to provide the first-season narrative arc. This is a character-driven show about self-discovery, and the episodes, while they feel "small," are still awfully fun to watch. In fact, some of the funniest moments come not from Sam's moral dilemmas, but from her "forgetting" basic things about life, things that adults would know after 30 years.

The episodes and bonus features are contained on two single-sided discs that are housed in a single-width plastic keep-case with a single plastic "page" to hold the second disc.

Video:
"Samantha Who?" is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, and the colors are bright and near-fully saturated, while there's a decent amount of detail. But this is standard def, and there's a slight graininess throughout.

Audio:
The soundtrack is an English or French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, with French and Spanish subtitles. It's a solid soundtrack that delivers the dialogue with forceful clarity, though there's surprisingly little in the way of ambient sound.

Extras:
ABC has been into printed materials lately, and included here is a six-page full-color booklet, "The Good & Bad of Love, Life & Career," written by Samantha, Andrea, and Dena, the "women of Samantha Who?" It's basically in-character musings on those three topics--mildly amusing.

Applegate and executive producers Donald Todd and Peter Traugott deliver an entertaining commentary track for "The Pilot" episode on Disc 1, but fans had better enjoy it, because that's it for the bonus feature. Sure there's a blooper reel and seven deleted scenes with optional intros from Todd, but this is your Applegate fix. You get the feeling, though, listening to their commentary that they think this show is going to be around for a while.

Bottom Line:
Christina Applegate turns in an Emmy-worthy performance as a lovable amnesiac out to reclaim her life. Tonight, we'll see if I can change that adjective to "Emmy-winning."