Scandal - The Complete First Season

Created by Shonda Rhimes, Scandal stars Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, a former White House communications director turned professional fixer. Over the course of the season Oliva and her associates (Henry Ian Cusick, Darby Stanchfield, Columbus Short, Katie Lowes, Guillermo Díaz) will save the President's Supreme Court nominee from a sex scandal (John Getz), defend a millionaire’s son (Michael Cassidy) accused of rape, try to save the wife of a South American dictator (José Zúñiga), and deal with a White House aide's (Liza Weil) affair with the President of the United States (Tony Goldwyn).

The First Season also fills in Olivia's past relationship with the President and the drama involving the mysterious disappearance of Amanda Tanner (Weil). Washington is terrific as the strong, decisive woman out for justice, and the show has several great supporting performances, my favorite being Joshua Malina as Olivia's contentious frenemy US Attorney David Rosen.

Olivia's personal life and the Amanda Tanner case take over the season's second half a little more than I'd like, but the writing is consistent and leaves plenty of threads hanging involving the truth about Quinn's past that should provide strong ongoing stories in the upcoming season. The two-disc collection includes all seven episodes from the First Season along with featurettes on the show's cast (including audition tapes), the creation of the series, and a look at the writing and scripting of the First Season episodes.