By the time this largely improvised TBS comedy series premiered in 2006, it was already old hat, as the glory days of “improvicoms” (as they were dubbed by industry insiders) had come and gone. It didn't help that 10 Items or Less bore a striking thematic resemblance to The Office, as both shows revolve around a tone-deaf, screw-up boss striving to be accepted by his eccentric employees. Series co-creator John Lehr, hailing from an improv background, plays perpetually clueless Leslie Pool, heir to the independently-owned Ohio grocery store Greens & Grains. While trying to improve the store's prospects, Leslie manages to alienate most members of his staff (including an Ice Capades wannabe cashier played by Christopher Liam Moore, and the butcher-cum-stock-car-driver played by Chris Payne Gilbert), while also facing threats from former classmate Amy Anderson (Jennifer Elise Cox), whose Wal-Mart-like chain is determined to either acquire or destroy Leslie's business. Compiling all 13 episodes from the first two seasons (2006 and 2008), 10 Items or Less never manages to rise above the level of a third-rate Saturday Night Live skit, offering banal workplace situations and decidedly uneven jokes. DVD extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, a blooper reel, and a pair of Internet viral videos. Not a necessary purchase. (E. Hulse)
10 Items or Less: The Complete First & Second Seasons
Sony, 2 discs, 288 min., not rated, DVD: $29.95 Volume 24, Issue 2
10 Items or Less: The Complete First & Second Seasons
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