THE PLOT THUS FAR
Andie MacDowell stars as Judge Olivia Lockhart who is considered the community s guiding light in the picturesque, coastal town of Cedar Cove, Washington. But like everyone else, Olivia fights the uphill battle of balancing career with family and finding love, all while doing her best to care for the township she calls home. Based on the best-selling author Debbie Macomber’s beloved book series.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Cedar Cove” is a nice vehicle for Andie MacDowell to show off her talents. She gets to lord over others in a realistic down-to-earth drama about the simple things in life. If you’re a fan of the Macomber books, this is a pretty straight adaptation. The problem with this adaptation is why it was novel in a book, everything about it feels like every other show made for older ladies on TV. What is there to set it apart?
The Hallmark Channel plays their material, as far more emotional than newer Lifetime fare. That being said, the push for split branding between the networks has created an odd double-headed beast that wants to fight for supremacy in terms of female entertainment. The WE Channel and Oxygen battle it out on a smaller playing field, but let’s not kick people while they’re down. The first season of Cedar Cove blasts by pretty quickly and the majority of each episode is super focused on MacDowell. I would’ve liked to have seen some world building, but I guess we’re not going to get that. Instead, I’ll take what I can get and enjoy it.
The DVD comes with no special features. The A/V Quality is on par with recent TV on DVD. The transfer works enough. Plus, you have a Dolby track that breaks apart the audio channels when people start talking over each other. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase to the curious.
RELEASE DATE: 07/15/2014