I hadn't seen "The Bernie Mac Show" before watching it on the season one DVD set. Although, I'm not quite a fan yet, I can see the appeal of the series. The show at its best can be warm, funny, and entertaining. I found the humor was more of the smile and chuckle variety, and given how funny Bernie Mac has been in other things, take for example "The Original Kings of Comedy," I had expected more belly laughs. My biggest complaint was that at times the writing seemed a little heavy-handed and precious. But generally speaking the show's mix of family drama and comedy is a lot better than what is often found on television.
Some fans of the show might be disappointed that there aren't more special features in the DVD set. The pilot of the series on disc one includes an audio commentary that I quite frankly was bored by. But disc four has a featurette that I found was definitely worth watching. It is an A&E "TVography" where we learn more about Bernie Mac. Although some TV biographies tend to fall into a kind of self-parody, this was one that was entertaining. Bernie Mac is a comic actor that I've always admired, and it was interesting to learn more about him, his childhood, life, and career. The featurette will also be of interest to fans of the series because it goes into aspects of Bernie Mac's life that inspired some story points.
For a more detailed look at what's on the DVD set, just follow the link under "Suggested Reading" for a disc-by-disc breakdown.
