Back in 2011, after Charlie Sheen’s meltdown led to his dismissal from Two and a Half Men, I naively thought he had finally done irreparable damage to his career. Surprisingly, a lot of people seem to enjoy his “tiger blood,” “winning” act, and it wasn’t long before it seemed as though he was more popular than ever. FX soon announced that Sheen would star in a television adaptation of the middling 2003 comedy, Anger Management. In a syndication gamble that had some shaking their heads, FX greenlit ten episodes with a built in backorder of an additional 90 should the ratings be good enough. With audience curiosity at a high point—even I wanted to see if the show would be a complete mess—the additional episodes were ordered, unfortunately making Anger Management eligible for syndication and Charlie a very rich man.

Anger Management is neither a bad show, nor a great one. Though there are some fairly talented people involved, the show is mediocre at best, happy to recycle the same gags repeatedly. This third volume picks things up partway through the series’ second season, but you could pick up this series at any point and not miss much. The show continues to try and find comic gold in the interactions between therapist Charlie Goodson (Sheen) and his ‘interesting’ array of patients including cantankerous old codger Ed (Barry Corbin); sexpot Lacey (Noureen DeWulf); passive Nolan (Derek Richardson), who has an unreciprocated crush on Lacey; and gay, disingenuous Patrick (Michael Arden).Since the characters haven’t been developed much beyond a surface level, generating any genuine, lasting laughs is near impossible.

This volume also has a handful of episodes continuing the “will they or won’t they” angle of Charlie’s relationship with Dr. Kate Wales (Selma Blair). It’s worth noting that Selma Blair look utterly uncomfortable in her appearances, making the storyline seem ridiculous. As many with an interest in entertainment news are aware, Blair complained that Sheen was a menace to work with…Charlie subsequently fired her, and she was soon replaced by eventually replaced by Laura Bell Bundy as Dr. Jordan Denby, a rather airheaded psychologist.

To be fair, even a mindless show like Anger Management can muster a laugh or two on occasion, and I always enjoy Martin Sheen’s appearances as Charlie’s father. By and large though, Anger Management has the feel of a show that’s put together on the fly, so as to not interfere with Charlie Sheen’s busy social schedule.

Anger Management: Volume Three is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The 1080p transfer is certainly fine, but nothing special. Colors are fairly vivid, and fine detail is quite good. Reasonably sharp and well defined, this  transfer doesn’t allow for major complaints.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix isn’t flashy, but does the job. Surrounds occasionally chime in, and dialogue is always clear. However, there’s no real heft to be found, making this a strictly workmanlike mix. Oh, the pumped up laugh track has to go!

English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles are included.

The following extras are available:

  • Gag Reel (HD, 5:13) Typical stuff.
  • Digital HD
  • UV Copy