Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman: TV Series Volume One DVD Set Review

"Mary Hartman! Mary Hartman!" blares out a woman's voice. So began each off kilter, quirky trip into the heart of the American suburbs featuring the surreal adventures of housewife Mary Hartman (Louise Lasser) and her weird family, friends and neighbors.

Enter a world of garish colored polyester clothing, yellow waxy build-up on kitchen floors and grandpa flashers - if you dare. It's not a planet of alien oddities - it's the 1970's. Welcome to the wacky world of soap opera spoof Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. The groundbreaking TV serial from sitcom sultan Normal Lear is now on DVD and though this first volume has no extras, it's still a value.

After mega sitcom success All In The Family and Maude, Norman Lear developed one of the most unusual serialized TV series then - or arguably now. True, a lot of the then shocking topics of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman seem somewhat tame now in comparison, however as with any good television show, characters matter most. With Mary Hartman, her sexually incapable mate, indecent exposing grandpa and oversexed country singer friend not only entertain, but slowly find their way into your heart.

Conceived as a soap opera parody, the show openly discussed the then still heavyweight issues of male impotence, the onset of teenage puberty, a women's menstrual cycle and the temptation of infidelity, focused on a woman trapped in a world where her grandfather is the town pervert and her floor's waxy build-up remains defiantly in evidence, despite her best efforts to do away with the cursed affliction.

As with any soap - spoof or not - watching episodes sequentially is a must. The DVD set allows convenient viewing anytime and the increased complexity of this soap spoof demands careful viewing. Is the police officer that arrested Mary's flasher grandpa flirting with her? Who is the mass murderer who may be stalking Mary's daughter Heather for knowing too much? Just why can't Mary's husband perform in the bedroom?