Starring Denis Leary, Lenny Clarke, Bill Nunn, Diane Farr, Adam Ferrara, John Ortiz, Keith David, Karyn Parsons
Written By: Peter Tolan, Denis Leary
Directed By: Peter Tolan
Studio: Shout Factory
Buy on Amazon.com link

One of the biggest mistakes in TV history was taking this show off the air. It only lasted two years on ABC and then it was not renewed. Denis Leary seemed quite bitter for awhile until Rescue Me got off the ground and I don’t blame him. The Job was such a hilarious show that no one watched, but I watched it and happy to see it finally on DVD.

The Job is about a grumpy NYC policeman named Mike McNeil (Denis Leary) who self medicates, drinks heavily and smokes a whole lot! Plus he has a wife, kids and oh, yeah he has a girlfriend too. His fellow police officers are a variety of cops, with a lot of problems of their own but not as bad as Mike’s. Each episode is a scream because of all the situations they get in. On some cop shows, you see drug busts, and stakeouts but on the Job, you see the opposite. You see chases thru Manhattan with a guy in a wheelchair, or the cops “going undercover” at a yanky cranky massage parlor. Or Mike being stuck in the station’s bathroom desperately needing to take a massive dump and being held hostage at the same time. Won’t see that on the Shield!

The Job was a great show that was praised by critics, but no one watched it because everyone was in reality/game show mode. Stupid “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” overkill, where’s your precious game show now! I’m sure the Job could have been on longer if it was on a different station, or if it was on ABC now with non-reality hit shows on ABC like Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey Anatomy. I think by having the Job canceled, was a good thing for Denis Leary because he then went on to make Rescue Me and get nominated for an Golden Globe. Rescue Me is more or less the same show, but with firefighters instead. Plus it focuses on the drama more, where as the Job is pretty funny a comedy. But I’m glad the Job is finally on DVD because I’ve been looking forward to this for awhile now.

The show might have been canceled for many reasons, perhaps it was a show with an unlikable guy who drank, took lots of pills, cheated on his wife, and did other abnormal things. Maybe it was the way the show was done. For instance, there was no laugh track (thank god!), there was some shaky camera work/non-traditional sitcom camera work, and perhaps some of the subject matter was a bit dark at times. Like the police finding heads in soup, or severed feet on the street. You would think all those things would be great television and get great ratings. I bet if ABC aired the Shield when the Job aired, it would have gotten canceled too.

One of the reasons why I like the series was the terrific supporting cast as well as the star Denis Leary. Bill Nunn was innocent and funny in a subtle way. Comedians Adam Ferrera & Lenny Clarke were hilarious, Keith David is always funny as a hard ass, and Diane Farr is hot. I wish Adam Ferrera was in more things because he’s a funny guy, and he’s really funny on Opie and Anthony when he stops by there. The one complaint I had with the show during it’s initial run was how short it was. This type of show needed to be an hour long. On DVD, the episodes are about 20 minutes long and go by pretty quick. I guess it’s a good thing now; but you get upset when you’re done with the DVD and there aren’t any more episodes to watch. That happens to me all the time with canceled shows on DVD, like the canceled TV FOX series Firefly. I watch it on DVD and then get upset when it’s over, but thankfully there’s a movie coming out of the show. BUT ANYWAY, I think the main reason why I thought the job was great because of Denis Leary. He’s one of my favorite comedians, and just plays these hard-working characters perfectly. Well yeah, he’s Irish! I actually haven’t seen him in Rescue Me yet but I have the DVD to watch, and I heard he’s great on the show too.

The Job DVD has a few extras for fans to watch. The first thing I looked at was the interview with creators Denis Leary and Peter Tolan. Leary talks about how the show got started and how he came up with the idea..or well, stole the idea from a cop he knows. Tolan interviews Leary for about 25 minutes and is worth checking out. Besides the interviews, there’s a gag reel, some promo spots and some more interviews & behind the scenes stuff. The gag reel was good because everyone is just cursing at each other or at themselves for screwing up the line. Plus there’s some montages of Lenny Clarke eating lots of food! I didn’t listen to the commentaries because I haven’t seen this show in awhile and wanted to watch the episodes instead.

If you like cop shows, funny comedies, and Denis Leary, The Job DVD is something you need to buy! The Job also has a very funny supporting cast and plenty of hysterical episodes to watch! The extras are decent, so be sure to watch those after you watch the episodes. Get THIS NOW!

Features:
Interview with Creators Denis Leary and Peter Tolan
5 Commentaries with Denis Leary and Peter Tolan
Gag Reel
Series Premier Promo Spots
Behind-the-Scenes Footage
On-the-Set Cast Interviews
On Location Interview with Peter Tolan

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Stereo CC

Video:
Standard 1.33:1 Color

Subtitles:

Favorite Scenes: Pilot, Elizabeth, Massage, Gay, Soup, Telescope, Gina, Quitter, Barbeque
Rating: NR
Running Time: 480 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: