Tru Calling: The Complete First Season

Tru Davies (Eliza Dushku) is a med student who has the power to relive days, and since she works in a morgue where the corpses frequently ask for help, this power comes in very handy. Such is the concept driving Tru Calling, whose first (and as it turns out, only) season is a mixed bag of interesting conceits and ham-fisted execution. The ghost of Buffy the Vampire Slayer hangs over this bid to recycle one of its peripheral players, but it's not up to that show's high standards: the replay-sleuthing gimmick dominates to the point of thinning out the background characters (gambling-addict brother; ambitious cokehead sister; bubbly best friend; geeky-but-understanding morgue attendant) to name-tags and smiles. But though you'll roll your eyes at the clockwork introduction of false leads and obvious twists, the later episodes do manage to tear away from the Dead Zone 90210 device long enough to ponder the ramifications of Tru's gift and introduce an evil monkey-wrench, in the form of Jason Priestly. Get past the first several episodes, which are admittedly pretty bad, and you might find yourself surprised at how you get drawn in at the end — not enough to see it as more than an agreeable time killer, but you'll be safe in the knowledge that there are worse ways to kill time. If there are any rabid fans (or Buffy completists, or Eliza Dushku stalkers), be advised that there are plenty of extras, including selected episode commentaries by creator Jon Harmon Feldman and the cast; three "making of" featurettes, which are entirely too brief and without much in the line of juicy tidbits; a slapped-together video for the theme song by Full Blown Rose; and more deleted scenes than previously thought possible, some with commentary by Harmon. (Fox)