Featured TV on DVD Review: Army Wives: Season Three

February 6, 2010

Army Wives - Season Three - Buy from Amazon

I reviewed the first season of Army Wives and thought it was great. It was much better than I expected and great mix of drama and emotionally weighty material that never slipped into soap opera territory. On the other hand, season two did just that and was disappointing as a result. So which way did Season Three go? Does it continue to slide, or does it get back to its first season strengths?

As season three begins, we catch up on the five families that are still dealing with the events of the past two seasons. Roxy LeBlanc is dealing with her new ownership of The Hump bar, which was willed to her by the previous owner, but it turns out bar's financial situation is worse than expected. Claudia Joy and Michael Holden are still trying to cope with the death of their eldest daughter and their youngest daughter is not taking it well either. Denise and Frank Sherwood's marriage is on the rocks. Pamela and Chase have difficulty with his extended duty, and with his struggles when he returns. Finally, after Joan gave birth last season, she has to deal with going back to Iraq this season while her husband, Roland, considers what would have happened had he stayed in civilian life.

Many of these stories are well done and quite interesting, while a few do miss their mark. Denise and Frank Sherwood's marriage troubles were never interesting to me. But Emmalin's survivor's guilt was much more engaging.

Extras on the five-disc set are a real disappointment, as there are no audio commentaries this time around. There are deleted scenes with audio commentary, but that's not the same. Other extras include bloopers, and apparently, "I can get more coffee" is a really heard line to say. Stationed in the South has the cast going to different parts of Charleston, South Carolina and talking about what they like about filming there. There are six webisodes, each about two-and-a-half minutes long. Finally, there are three Army Wives Give Back segments with some of the cast helping out members of the armed forces. The last two special features are too short to have real replay value.

The Verdict

Army Wives did show real signs of improvement during Season Three and while it is not as good as it was during the first season, it is still worth checking out. Fans will be disappointed by the lack of audio commentary tracks, but the five-disc set is still a solid rental, leaning toward a purchase.

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