Mr. Mayor: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Mr. Mayor: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 6, 2023

Politics have become a strange hybrid of side-splitting comedy, head-scratching idiocy, cumbersome repetitiveness, and dangerous detail. All of that, and so much more, is encapsulated in the funny, timely, and frighteningly realistic Mr. Mayor, a quickly canceled NBC Comedy show about a newly elected mayor of Los Angeles who is in no way the quintessential politician but who is also, in every way, the quintessential politician. He is aloof and unprincipled, but the difference is that his public persona and his private persona are the same; he has no filter, no sense of direction, and no solid platform on which to stand. In other words, he’s a politician through and through, waiting to see where the wind blows but, sometimes, not caring, either, and just going with the flow with no regard for optics, purpose, platform, or legacy.

Official synopsis: Mayor Neil Bremer (Ted Danson) serves the great city of Los Angeles in 'Mr. Mayor,' the hit workplace comedy from executive producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. In this complete series set, Mayor Bremer has his work cut out for him at city hall as he tries to do right by the city that elected him and be a good father to his teenage daughter Orly (Kyla Kenedy). Luckily for Neil, he has a dedicated team of witty civil servants to keep him on track, including Deputy Mayor Arpi Meskimen (Holly Hunter), Chief of Staff Mikaela Shaw (Vella Lovell), Chief Strategist Tommy Tomás (Mike Cabellon) and Communications Director Jayden Kwapis (Bobby Moynihan).

Mr. Mayor was cancelled after two seasons. The show was not well received, either, earning very middling review scores, but there's a lot of off the cuff wit and political shenanigans here that might be wayward and not well connected, but that seemed to be the point. Danson captures that essence of the aloof and carefree politician quite well, playing politics more to himself than to his constituents. The point seems to be that he is every politician; he just doesn't hide who he really is, though that seems to be because he doesn't realize that he should be hiding. So, he's the best and worst of the political world wrapped into one, and the show is pretty funny for this stance and Danson's embace thereof.

The following episodes comprise season one. Summaries are courtesy of the Blu-ray packaging.

Season One, Disc One:

• Pilot: In the series premiere, Neil Bremer (Ted Danson) starts his first day as mayor of Los Angeles, where he faces new challenges on the job and at home.
• Feature title: After visiting a marijuana dispensary in support of his legalization plan, things go awry for Mayor Neil Bremer. Neil puts Mikaela in charge of the mayor's office for the day.
• Brentwood Trash: Jayden interviews candidates for an opening on the team. Neil gets sidetracked during a town hall and Orly has a shocking realization.
• The Sac: A special assignment forces Jayden and Arpi to get to know each other. Neil sets out on a mission to reconnect with Orly after she gets into a little trouble.
• Dodger Day: Mayor Neil rolls out a new safety initiative as Arpi trains him for his most challenging task yet. Mikaela and Tommy realize the clock is ticking for them to find love.
• Respect in the Workplace: A mandatory staff meeting derails plans for the team's favorite day of the month.
• Avocado Crisis: An avocado shortage brings the city of L.A. to its knees. An exhausted Mikaela discovers the only thing that can put her to sleep is one of Arpi's boring presentations.
• Hearts Before Parts: Neil tries to convince Orly that a casual fling is more serious than it is. A trivia competition threatens to tear the staff apart.
• #palmtreereform: Neil's plan to save the city money on palm tree maintenance meets unexpected resistance. Tommy and Mikaela don't believe Jayden when he announces he's going to be a father.

Season Two, Disc One:

• Mr. Mayor's Magical L.A. Christmas: Neil serves his love of gift-giving by forcing his disgruntled staff to work on "L.A. Christmas Eve" as they wait for his "perfect gift" to arrive.
• Move Fast and Break Things: Neil is excited to work with his new Innovation Team but gets sidetracked when he has to take Orly (and Arpi) to the DMV for her permit test. Tommy and Mikaela become increasingly concerned about the I-Team's new presence and fight to keep Jayden off the chopping block.
• Mayor Daddy: Mikaela learns that her award for flattening the homelessness curve is based on a lie, and, with James and Arpi's help, grows determined to make a change for real. Neil realizes that his excitement about the I-Team has caused his original staff to act out like children, o he attempt to appease them.
• Trampage: In the midst of a heat wave, Neil has a fling with Angelica, a prominent commercial actress (Fran Drescher). Tommy accidentally ruins the joy of Arpi's scratch-off lottery habit, but helps her by revealing a secret hobby of his own.
• The Illusion of Choice: Mikaela and Tommy help Jayden transform into a Scorpio after he learns that his dream apartment has astrological sign requirements. Neil's attempt to raise mayoral awareness takes a turn when James nudges him to put his face on trash cans all over the city. suggestion.
• Sister Cities: Neil can't wait to show off his dealmaking skills with the visiting mayors of L.A.'s sister cities, but chaos ensues when he mistakes a group of film extras for the real mayors. Mikaela, with Arpi's encouragement, decides to ask out James.
• Venus on the Moon: Neil is forced to burst Orly's bubble about her "perfect mother." Arpi uses the office's high school interns to help get a bill passed. A freshly rejected Mikaela tries to prove that she has plenty of time in her life for things besides work.
• Murder in the Old West: Jayden hosts a Western-themed murder mystery party where Mikaela tries to figure out what's going on between her and James. Arpi and Neil clash over how to spend the city's newly acquired budget surplus.
• Titi B.: Neil accidentally angers mega-influencer Titi B. and must apologize or deal with the wrath of her followers. Jayden coaches Arpi on how to be less abrasive at personal appearances.
• The Recall: Tensions rise as Titi B.'s petition to recall Mayor Bremer gains traction. Jayden panics over having to side with Arpi against Neil. Mikaela and James' first kiss leaves something to be desired.
• The Debate: Arpi and Neil square off in the televised mayoral recall debate. James reveals information that may change the course of his and Mikaela's relationship.

Mr. Mayor: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Universal has crammed 20 episodes onto two discs, Mill Creek-style. However, Universal's encode does not leave the show looking like a compression nightmare. On the contrary, compression is handled quite nicely. While light macroblocking is occasionally evident, as is a little bit of noise, the encode is very clean and efficient overall, revealing exquisite detail and clarity. Viewers will never be left wanting additional definition and textural grace. The Blu-ray capably reveals every clothing fabric, facial feature, and environmental element with easy command and confidence. Colors are bold and stable. Primaries are elegantly neutral with plenty of pop and depth. Black levels are solid, whites are bright, and skin tones are healthy and natural. This is a great looking TV series from Universal.

Mr. Mayor: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mr. Mayor's shenanigans are now on Blu-ray with a well-rounded, if not front-heavy, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This is a political Sitcom, so there's not much expected of the audio beyond the basics. The basics are delivered just fine, including score and dialogue, which are front heavy. The former stretches nicely to the sides while the latter is pleasantly grounded in the center. Both of these primary elements are well detailed and precise. Surrounds are kept mostly inactive, as is the subwoofer, but that's OK. The show's needs are met, and the little bit of expansion -- various bustling locales like a school hallway early in episode two -- open up just enough to draw the listener in. There is a serious lip sync problem in episode one. Listen around the 7:30 mark. I attempted to eject the disc, restart the player, and so on and so forth and the problem persisted every time. Otherwise, the track appears to be in fine shape.

Mr. Mayor: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are included. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Mr. Mayor: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is a fun show that was cancelled too early. The Blu-ray release is bare bones, but the video and audio presentations are solid. Recommended!