Soap: The Complete Third Season

The furor over this groundbreaking sitcom had pretty much died down by the third season (1979-80), but that didn't stop creator Susan Harris and writing partner Stu Silver from inventing wacky subplots involving infidelity, racism, and sexual dysfunction (all fair game for lampooning here) in the lives of the upper-crust Tates and working-class Campbells. The opener finds Burt Campbell (Richard Mulligan) aboard a spaceship after being kidnapped by aliens, who replace him with an exact duplicate who turns out to be better in bed. The Tate family butler Benson (Robert Guillaume) departs in the third episode--because Guillaume was starring in a spin-off series--after a moving farewell from Jessica (Katherine Helmond), who takes center stage later in the year when she contracts a terminal illness. The formerly vicious gangster Dutch (Donnelly Rhodes) turns mushy after his sweetheart, Eunice (Jennifer Salt), begins cheating on him, and he turns to her sister Corinne (Diana Canova) for comfort. Meanwhile, Tate scion Billy (Jimmy Baio) evades brainwashing by a cult and plunges into an affair with one of his teachers, and Billy Crystal--continuing his role as the formerly gay Jodie Dallas--confronts social-service professionals when his suitability as a parent comes into question. Presenting all 22 episodes, this extra-less three-disc set finds this daring sitcom to be an ongoing delight that holds up well. Highly recommended. (E. Hulse)