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The year 2004 marked the end of Sex and the City, Friends, and Frasier, leaving Will & Grace to carry the torch as TV's reigning urbane sitcom, deftly balancing physical comedy with a sparkling wit that made even the crudest oral-sex double entendres sound like Oscar Wilde. But it's always a red flag when a long-running series flirts with the meta side. In the episode, "No Sex 'N' the City," Karen (Megan Mullally) and Jack (Sean Hayes) encounter Frasier's Bebe Neuwirth. "Talk like Lilith," Karen beseeches her. "We hate your real voice." "I will if you will," Neuwirth replies, to "ooohs" from the studio audience. On the whole, the A-list guest stars that appeared as themselves this season (Jennifer Lopez, James Earl Jones, Barry Manilow, and medium John Edwards) do not fare as well as those who portrayed characters. John Cleese received an Emmy nomination as Lyle Finster, the father of Karen's former rival, Lorraine (a saucy Minnie Driver). Their loony courtship provides the season with one of its most rewarding story arcs. Edie Falco (The Sopranos) and Chloe Sevigny (Boys Don't Cry) appear in "East Side Story" as intimidating lesbians who engage in a turf war with budding "apartment flippers" Will (Eric McCormack) and Grace (Debra Messing). Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) appears in "Last Ex to Brooklyn" as the only girl with whom gay Will had sex. Geena Davis (A League of Their Own is at her endearing best as Grace's flaky, free-loading sister in "The Accidental Tsuris." But the Emmy-winning, lightning-in-a-bottle ensemble need no reflected star power to shine. "Strangers with Candice," which unfolds during an eventful evening out, is Will & Grace's version of the classic Seinfeld episode "The Chinese Restaurant." Over the course of a dinner, a stood-up Will has a "date" with an unsuspecting female patron, Grace hooks up with a former fling, and Karen engages in a prank war with her "nemesis/best friend," Candice Bergen (Boston Legal). The sixth season is something of a Grace-less one, as Messing was pregnant and missing in action in several episodes. But the remaining trio picks up the slack with rich storylines of their own. In addition to Karen's courtship, Jack becomes a student nurse and gets a new boyfriend (Dave Foley of NewsRadio and Kids in the Hall), and Will meets his future life partner, Vince (Bobby Cannavale), a policeman. As for Grace, her rocky marriage to Leo (odd man out Harry Connick Jr.) gets the season-finale-cliffhanger treatment. Will & Grace's ensemble got along famously, which makes their outtakes, included here as a special feature, particularly fun. Also included with this set is just over a half-hour of themed montages ranging from "Fashion Quips" to "Pop Goes the Culture." --Donald Liebenson
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