Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6081 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-11-17
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Number of discs: 5
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 5
• Running time: 755 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Sometimes a show cancelled prematurely can still put its competitors to shame. Boomtown was a radical and inventive approach to the ensemble cop show that added up to so much more than just its central gimmick of telling different stories from different perspectives. In fact, after the first few episodes in which the breakneck jumps of viewpoint and the time-frame demanded real attention, it de-emphasised them, while still forcing us to pay attention, making the viewer guess which story we were being told.

Devised by award-winning screenwriter Graham Yost and director Jon Avnet, the first series of Boomtown covered a wide variety of cases: everything from baby-stealing to run-ins with the Russian Mafia, from hostage situations in suburban sports stores to rich kids having justice bought for them whether they wanted it or not. It was also the story of its seven central characters: Deputy DA David (Neil McDonough), for example, failing to cope with his growing alcoholism and sense of disillusion, and detective Joel Stevens (Donnie Wahlberg) endlessly reliving the cot-death of his daughter and his wife's attempted suicide.

If the show had flaws, they were the slight marginalisation of the central female characters--a crime reporter and a paramedic--and the presence of too many storylines that were as much about teaching the characters a Valuable Lesson as credible crime stories. Nonetheless, it was a stunning show, which deserved a longer life. This complete Series 1 box set at least offers a readily available record of it for those of us who liked it too late.

On the DVD: Boomtown, Series 1 DVD box set presents all 18 episodes (a further six were made for Series 2 before the show's cancellation) presented in widescreen 16:9 with the choice of Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0 Pro Logic. The only special features are a trailer and the original series pitch video. --Roz Kaveney

DVD Description
A stylish and gritty multi-angled drama about crime in Los Angeles, the highly acclaimed Boomtown is unlike any other cop show on TV. Intelligent and sophisticated, the series uses fast-paced Pulp Fiction-style narrative to uncover crime stories from the viewpoint of everyone involved. Crimes are seen from the diverse perspectives of the city's unsung and less than perfect heroes - the cops, paramedics, reporters and members of the D.A.'s office and city officials whose stories overlap and intertwine. Starring Donnie Wahlberg and Band of Brothers' Neal McDonough, this DVD box set contains all 18 episodes from the first series.

Episodes:

• The Pilot
  
• Possession
  
• The Squeeze
  
• Reelin' In The Years
  
• All Hallow's Eve
  
• The Freak
  
• Insured By Smith And Wesson
  
• Crash
  
• The David McNorris Show
  
• Coyote
  
• Monster's Brawl
  
• Sinaloa Cowboys
  
• Home Invasion
  
• Execution
  
• Storm Watch
  
• Fearless
  
• Blackout
  
• Lost Child

Special Features

• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  
• PAL
  
• Region Code: 2
  
• Disc Format: 4 x DVD-9, 1 x DVD-5
  
• Running Time: 4 hours 23 mins approx
  
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 2.0 Pro Logic Surround Sound
  
• Subtitles: None

Customer Reviews

What A TV Show!
Brilliant TV show which begs the question why didn't it last? Superb cast with gripping stories. Ranks as one of the best US cop shows in the last decade. Be sure to pick the box set before it disappears as it will become very collectible.

Top cop show!
"Boomtown" is an instantly addictive cop show. Its original gimmick is in telling the story as a jigsaw, each piece being the viewpoint of a different character. This initially eye-catching device is used less as the series progresses, as the programme-makers seem to have realised that they had a strong show without this contrivance.

The real hook is the show's bunch of magnetic characters: you just can't help liking them and wanting to know what they'll do next, and they're positioned to interact and conflict with each other frequently. (It's a bit of a stretch that the same paramedic turns up at every crime scene, but I'd forgive this show a lot worse than that.)

With strong dialogue, purposeful plotting, ongoing narrative, stylish and zippy direction and immediately convincing performances, the biggest crime in the series is that it was cancelled after one season!

Arrest whoever axed this!
This is an excellent police drama with great characters and gripping storylines. Shame they only made one season! If you enjoy this you must check out 'The Wire' too!