The Affair – Season One – DVD Review

Showtime

By Johna Autencio

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This year’s Golden Globe-winning SHOWTIME drama series The Affair stars Dominic West (The Wire) and Ruth Wilson (The Lone Ranger) about a love story that cannot be resisted.

When Noah Solloway (West) and Alison Bailey (Wilson) meet for the first time, a passionate and emotional relationship sparks. These two characters share a special connection that keeps them wanting each other more. The only problem they face in their relationship is that both are married to different people. Thus, the affair begins.

Noah is a teacher and father of four living in New York City, while Alison works several waitressing jobs in her small town of Montauk. She is also trying to recover from an unfortunate tragedy, which takes its toll on her marriage with husband Cole, played by Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek).

The affair starts when Noah and his family are in Montauk for the summer with his wife Helen, played by Maura Tierney (ER), and her very wealthy parents. Alison and Noah lock eyes when the Solloway family arrive at the diner where Alison works. Over the summer, they coincidentally meet several times, to the point that they simply cannot stay away from each other.

It may sound like a typical drama, but the series is uniquely told from two perspectives: Noah and Alison’s. We see what we assume is Noah’s picture-perfect life with his family and his viewpoint of a seductive Alison; whereas Alison’s perspective of Noah is that he provides the light at the end of the tunnel because her life is already so dark and broken.

Half of an episode is committed to one character’s side of the story, which is connected in the next character’s side. To make the show even more interesting, their perspectives are being told from the past because present day Noah and Alison are retelling their affair to Detective Jeffries, played by Victor Williams (The King of Queens), after being brought in for questioning concerning a murder.

West and Wilson’s intense chemistry brings heat to the show, which leaves the viewers wanting more (just like an actual affair) at the end of each episode. The story is wonderfully written that it not only includes lots of drama, but a mystery aspect as well. It’s no surprise the series has been renewed for a second season; this time it will focus on Cole and Helen’s perspective, while viewers are still able to focus on Noah and Alison’s relationship.

In the meantime, you’ll be able to catch up with the series when it makes its four-disc DVD debut on August 4, 2015.  The 10-episode series is featured in the first three discs of the package that includes bonus features of five character profiles and interviews from the show’s costume designer, Caroline Duncan. The fourth disc features two full-length episodes of the network’s original series HAPPYish, one episode of Ray Donovan, and one episode of CBS’s smash hit series, Madam Secretary.

The Affair will return for season two on October 4, 2015.