Resurrection Blvd - The First Complete Season (2000)

Showtime's Resurrection Blvd. is an engrossing series about the fortunes and fate of the Santiago family, who take pride in their deep, East L.A. roots and have, for generations, pinned their hopes for success on developing a boxing champion from among their male kin. The 20 first-season episodes included here focus on patriarch Roberto Santiago (Tony Plana), confident of eldest son Carlos's chances of winning a middleweight crown until the latter (Michael DeLorenzo) is seriously wounded by an angry ex-boyfriend of his sister Victoria (Marisol Nichols). In Carlos's place steps youngest brother Alex (Nicholas Gonzalez), a bookish, affable student who takes to boxing rigorously and alienates Roberto by signing with a crooked promoter (Ray Wise).

Around the edges of the central story, other Santiagos navigate love lives, ethics, and ambitions as grand as the American Dream. Middle brother Miguel (Maricio Mendoza) disappears for a while, uncertain of his place in the family. Sister Yolanda (Ruth Livier), a dedicated paralegal with her eye on law school, discovers a serious act of negligence at her firm and isn't sure what to do. Aunt Bibi (Elizabeth Pena), lively and strong, finds her hopes crashing when she can't buy the building housing her beauty shop. Watching all this and understanding more than he lets on is Uncle Ruben (Daniel Zacapa), an ex-fighter made mute by brain damage.

The pacing of events is fairly glacial, and individual episodes could certainly be tighter. But the leisurely programs allow for lots of pleasant frills, including a cameo by Cheech Marin and a nice, recurring role for Paul Rodriguez as a business manager. Certainly the strongest element of Resurrection Blvd. is the cast, which clearly thrives on 20 hours of breathing room and really shines in the season finale's 12-round showdown. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com

Smart and entertaining

This series is as deep as it is entertaining. The cast is amazing, and the plot lines relevant and engaging. Themes of love, family, and conflict are woven throughout in a way that everyone can understand and relate to. June 18, 2008

Resurrection Blvd

On reading the reviews on this show I decided to purchase this series on DVD. As I am from New Zealand it had not been shown here, and even though I am not into boxing personally, I liked that it was based on a different American culture so I brought it. I am so pleased I did. I thoroughly enjoyed it even though there were no chaptering (so I knew I had to watch the whole 60mins before I could stop it) and that there was a bits of spanish in parts that indeed needed subtitles to help me follow the script. Apart from that, it was fast moving and very dramatic. What a pity that it was cancelled! I was so looking forward to seeing what happened next. June 4, 2008

Great Show

Resurrection Blvd. was a great show on Showtime...I have season 1 but I would love for seson 2/3 to come out soon. July 26, 2007

One of the best series about a typical American family

This outstanding series gives PBS's "American Family" a run for its money as the finest series about a typical, all-American family. Superbly acted across the board, from proud, tough-love Patriarch Roberto (the excellent Tony Plana), struggling sister-in-law Bibi (Elizabeth Pena - why isn't this woman a star?) and her loving son Tommy (the underrated Douglas Spain) to always-reliable veterans Rita Moreno and Glynn Turman... this series strikes gold on all counts, from the fine acting and directing to the smart scripts and warm designs. Let's hope Paramount resurrects seasons two and three on DVD in the not-too-distant-future. It's impossible not to fall in love with these characters. Bravo! March 16, 2006

This is better then Soul Food

I can't believe that Showtime canceled this show after the third season maybe their just racist against latino television shows. About this show in the first season Carlos is a boxer he got shot by some guy who he pick a fight with who was trying to hit on his sister. Theirs lots of drama and sex in ther series. December 25, 2005

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