Some spin-offs never really find their own authentic voice (cough, cough, Joey,
cough, cough…), while others establish their own roots so quickly and
effortlessly that you virtually forget about their offshoot status. The
latter is certainly the case with The King of Queens, a genial, well-worn comedy that took its leading cues from fellow CBS laffer Everybody Loves Raymond and eventually worked its own comfortable groove into couches all around America.

Created by Michael Weithorn and David Litt, The King of Queens
centers around parcel delivery truck driver Doug Heffernan (Kevin
James) and his wife Carrie (Leah Remini). In place of a brood of
precocious and/or ankle-biting kids, however, is Carrie’s father Arthur
(Jerry Stiller), who lives with the couple. As is typical of these
“oafish patriarch” shows, Doug spends plenty of time raging against
Carrie’s attempts to get him to lead a healthier lifestyle, and many
jokes come from the mindset and canted point of view of a
sports-obsessed guy’s guy. (“Great, I screwed up and ate all the
franks,” says Doug mournfully at one point. “Now all I have left is a
stupid bowl of beans.”) The regular addition of Mad TV’s Nicole
Sullivan as Arthur’s part-time caregiver Holly is an inspired touch,
and Victor Williams scores subtle points for his work as Doug’s
recently divorced best friend, Deacon Palmer.

Several of the episodes this season dip back into overly familiar
terrain, like Doug and Carrie’s nervousness and competitiveness with
their new, white-collar neighbors. But there’s some legitimate fun to
be had too. “Mentalo” works in a few flashbacks to Christmases past in
telling the mixed-up story of how the anticipation of others’ holiday
gifts leads to a chain of escalating spending wherein no one really
gets what they want. “Loaner Car” is amusing; Doug and Carrie attempt
to boost Deacon’s holiday spirits, leading one of his little kids to
pen a ruminative school paper in which he states, “Now we have no
family, so we’re having Thanksgiving with a white family.” Another
highlight is “Attention Deficit,” wherein Doug becomes obsessed with
having the best Super Bowl party, even getting decks of playing cards
with himself on the back printed up (“Look what happens when you flip
through them — they don’t move, just like me!”). Guest stars over the
course of the fifth season’s 25 episodes include Marcia Cross, Dave
Foley, Ted Lange, Anne Meara (co-star Stiller’s real-life wife) and Lou
Ferrigno as a sad-sack neighbor.

The King of Queens: 5th Season is presented on three discs
stored in attractive gatefold packaging that is in turn housed in a
cardboard slipcase. Episodes come in 1.33:1 full frame transfers, with
English Dolby surround sound audio. As is unfortunately too frequently
the case with later seasons of current day sitcoms, there are no
supplemental bonus features contained here. While there might not be a
lot for James or Remini at this point to say about their characters,
surely some of the series’ writers could offer up a handful of
interesting audio commentaries or interviews about the plotting out of
seasonal arcs or other such tidbits, which would be a nice morsel for
longtime fans. B- (Show) D (Disc)