Cybill, The Collector's Edition Criticized

Do you remember Christine Baranski's luxuriantly outrageous over-the-top Los Angeles socialite Maryanne Thorpe? Unfortunately, you won't find much of her in the ill-conceived "Cybill, The Collector's Edition, Voilume 1." The episodes in this collection disappointingly focus mainly on the adventures of Cybill, a good-looking and likeable but self-involved actress, who resists the overtures of implausibly good-looking men while wearing a series of unflattering pants suits.

Omitted from this "collector's edition" are those episodes in which the marvelous Christine Baranski dazzles with lines like: "Cybill, it's worse than we thought. Wine from a box. Run like the wind," and "Do you want my advice? Jump that boy and ride him until there's nothing left but an empty husk." Remember when Maryanne ruins a dinner party by getting drunk (Episode 1-3, "As the World Turns...")? Not included in this collection. When Maryanne befriends her ex-husband Dr. Dick's new girlfriend Sharon (Episode 1-4, "Look Who's Stalking")? Not included. Falls in love with a lounge magician -- with Cybill's trip through the airport, passing though an endless series of poorly labeled gates, an entertaining trope on air travel -- (Episode 1-12, "The Big Sleep-Over")? Also not included. Stages a rival party to sabotage Dr. Dick's party, (Episode 1-13, "The Cheese Stands Alone") with the unforgettable line, "It is not enough for my party to succeed, his must fail"? Not included, either.

What is included are episodes in which the focus is kept, rather relentlessly, on the main character, Cybill. Cybill rekindles a relationship with her whiny ex-husband Ira, Cybill gets her car towed, Cybill goes to couples counseling, Cybil enrolls in a sculpture class, Cybill lets her other one-dimensional ex-husband Jeff give her a kiss, Cybill delivers a love letter, Cybill hires a contractor. Who cares? Cybill Shepherd gives an interview at the end of the disk in which she describes how challenging it was for her to play a character named after herself, based on herself, in a show about herself, and giving short shrift to the other characters who made the show entertaining.

So if you miss this witty and occasionally wonderful 1990's sitcom, look elsewhere, perhaps for the complete first season, available in the UK but not in the US (as a Region 2 DVD that won't play in most American-made DVD players), before this promising show so quickly jumped the shark.