Reviewed by Alice Chapman Newgen

TV comedy sitcoms in general have been a mainstay weekly phenomenon for many years. "The King of Queens" has entertained viewers for nine seasons. The Emmy nominated actor Kevin James stars as Doug Heffernan, and Leah Remini is Carrie, Doug's wife on the show. Seasons 1-7 are already available on DVD for fans that can't get enough of the series. The 8^th complete season on DVD is scheduled for release on May 1, 2007. One of the episodes on Disc-One in the boxed collection begins with "Pole Lox" where Carrie tries to perfect the craft of pole dancing for her man in the bedroom. She doesn't quite pull it off and Doug decides to show her how it should be done. He definitely has all the right moves and Carrie takes the bait. Her dad, Arthur Spooner (Jerry Stiller), believes he has failed as a father when he learns of his daughter's antics in the bedroom. He feels responsible for her "loose ways" and tries to make up for it by taking her to the park and circus in an attempt to remind her of the innocent pleasures of childhood. Things get even crazier after Doug takes up pole dancing and Arthur takes him to the park like he did Carrie.

"Raygin' Bulls" brings on the laughs when Doug and his buddy Ray Barone (Ray Romano) get together for a night of fun when their wives are out of town. The guys, much to their dismay, discover they don't exactly turn heads with the ladies. It's amazing what these friends go through in order to impress the opposite sex to win a bet. Of course, the guys have no intention of cheating on their wives. It's just an ego thing. In the same episode on Disc-Two Arthur and Carrie visit her mother's grave in New Jersey. Carrie finds out a shocking secret when she sees the name Simone etched on the tombstone as the daughter instead of hers. 

On Disc-3 Doug turns forty in "Emotional Rollercoaster." Doug starts reminiscing about his childhood and remembers an unfortunate event that he wishes he could rectify. As a boy he stood in line for over two hours with his dad to get on an amusement park ride called "Goliath." Just as he got up to the front of the line, he chickened out. Doug decides its time to face his old fear and attempts to get on the wild ride again. Carrie goes with him to the park, but things don't quite work out as Doug planned when he takes the ride of a lifetime by himself.  

Audio/Video

Dolby Digital • Mastered in High Definition • Closed Captioned • Color • 1.78: 1 Anamorphic Wide Screen • Language is in English Stereo

Bonus Features

There are no special features included in this collection.

Final Words

There are twenty-three episodes on this 3-Disc DVD boxed collection. Each gives the viewer a peek inside the sometimes wacky home of Doug and Carrie Heffernan. The blue collar working couple lives in Rego Park, Queens, N.Y. Doug wears shorts to work every day delivering packages for a living. There are times when his silly thoughts and ideas don't quite match up with his chronological age. He loves his wife and job, but every now and then he fantasizes about the days when he was free to do whatever he wanted—like going out with the guys and occasionally hitting the club scene as he did with Ray Barone in "Raygin' Bulls." Deep down inside Doug is a pretty good husband who wants to please Carrie. Of course he hopes to get something in return for his thoughtfulness.

Carrie works as a secretary in a law firm. She is happy in her marriage and tends to be the more responsible partner in the relationship. She is more methodical and thinks out her plans before acting out on them. Doug is the only man she wants and realizes he can be very immature at times. Carrie can be tough when it comes to decision making and keeping Doug in line. After all, somebody has to do it.

Jerry Stiller as Arthur is what keeps the show interesting. Arthur became a widower twenty years ago and lives with his daughter and son-in-law in their basement that was turned into an apartment. Life is never dull when he is around, which is a good bit of the time. He can be gruff and stubborn and downright embarrassing to his daughter, but they have a strong bond and care about each other very much.

The series began with a pilot on September 21, 1998. Ray Romano made his first guest appearance as Ray Barone on the sitcom during its first season on November 16, 1998. Guest appearances in the 8th Complete Season on DVD include Ray Romano, Kirstie Alley and Huey Lewis. For all of you faithful watchers of the show, this is definitely one to buy for your collection.