Eliza Dushku

TVonDVD: Tru Calling - Intermittently Good Series Saved By Star!

When Eliza Dushku chose to follow up her seventh-season guest stint on ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ with ‘Tru Calling’, hopes for the new series were high. Unfortunately, after a slow start and some compelling episodes in mid-season, ‘Tru’ became a predictable, if slick hour that never quite managed to put it together. The DVD set of what may be the only season of ‘Tru Calling’ [apparently the sets have been struck, six eps into season two] is an equally slick production that warrants a look by Dushku fans.

From the beginning, ‘Tru Calling’ was a combination of elements we had seen before, most prominently in ‘Early Edition’, where the lead character got tomorrow’s newspaper and had to prevent bad things from happening. In ‘Tru’, Tru Davies [Ms Dushku] took a job in the city morgue - to discover that certain dead people were imploring her to save them. Once a corpse had asked for her help, Tru’s day completely rewound and she got the opportunity to save lives.

In the pilot, we met Tru’s family, her professor boyfriend, her soon-to-be employer, and her first assignment. We also learn that her mother was murdered before her very eyes. The pilot seemed rushed and overcrowded, but as the series progressed, things got streamlined enough that our sensory overload was gone. Before long, the show’s creative team began playing with series formula, and the characters began to come alive. Then, in mid-season, we learned a shattering revelation about Tru’s father and mother.

After about six eps, ‘Tru’ was starting to cook. The revelation about her father looked to make things very interesting, and the eleven middle eps actually got quite good. Then Jack Harper [Jason Priestly] arrived as the ‘anti-Tru’, and reduced the rest of the season to a ho-hum exercise in paint-by-numbers predictability. By the season finale, anyone who hadn’t figured out the connection between Jack and Tru’s father just wasn’t paying attention...

‘Tru’s’ cast was actually quite excellent: Ms Dushku dominated the screen as she brought genuine complexity to Tru Davies; Shawn Reaves was spot on as Harrison Davies, the hustler brother who meant well, but seldom got it right; Zack Galifiankis played Davis, Tru’s boss, with the just the right mix of comedy, drama and mystery; Jessica Collins made us believe that Meredith Davies was a successful but stressed out businesswoman who had a cocaine problem; and A.J. Cook made the most of her limited screen time as Tru’s best friend, Lindsay.

In a recurring role, Matthew Bomer was excellent as Tru’s constantly befuddled, or bemused, boyfriend, as he tried to cope with Tru’s eccentric habit of vanishing at a moment’s notice. Cotter Smith did as better job with Richard Davies [Tru’s dad] than the writing might’ve allowed. And finally, Jason Priestly certain gave Jack his best shot - the character was just too obvious from the start, and his connection with Richard was less of a shock than the concept that water is wet.

Thanks to some interesting commentary tracks and featurettes, we learn that Jack was actually the network’s idea - the anti-Tru might have been introduced in a far more original way, and been genuinely unexpected. I won’t go into details, but the original premise might have had Tru unaware of anti-Tru for more than just a single season - heightening suspense, and allowing a great deal more character development. As things stand, ‘Tru Calling’ - The Complete First Season’ stands a prime example of a fine cast being hung out to dry.

Some other features are: deleted scenes, with optional commentary; ‘Finding the Calling: The Pilot’ a detailed look at what went into creating the series pilot and getting it made; ‘The Tru Path: Season’, an overview of the first season, with a few revelations that suggest how much better the series could have been; ‘Evil Comes Calling: A Late Season Twist’, which delves into the Jack Harper character and, again alludes to another [better, in my opinion] possibility that the network vetoed; and the music video for ‘Somebody Help Me’, by Full Blown Rose.

Grade: Tru Calling - The Complete First Season: C

Grade: Special Features: B+

Final Grade: B-