Black. White.: The Complete Series

“Provocative” was the word most frequently used to describe this short-lived reality series developed by producer R.J. Cutler and rapper-turned-film-star Ice Cube, but despite glowing reviews and impressively high initial ratings, Black. White. quickly became predictable and tedious, its six episodes ending up being about three more than were needed. The premise involved using skillful makeup and dialect coaches to turn a white family black and vice versa. Here, the Caucasian Wurgel family and the African-American Sparks family purportedly learn what it's like to “live in somebody else's skin,” but the situations the two families are plunged into never carry the ring of conviction; instead, they seem suspiciously contrived for dramatic effect, while the eventual conflicts and conclusions appear to be foreordained. Granted, there are a few worthwhile insights here, but not enough to justify the praise this series received. DVD extras include audio commentaries on each episode, a featurette on makeup application, original casting videos, a “Rose's Poetry Slam” featurette on Rose Wurgel's poetry, the Ice Cube music video “Black. White.”, and DVD-ROM accessible study guides. Not a necessary purchase. (E. Hulse)