Archive for the ‘ABC Studios’ Category
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 3rd, 2012
“It’s funny. Some people never get to know the folks next door. They share a fence and nothing else. And we’ve shared everything. How did we get to be so lucky?”
Fans of Desperate Housewives have considered themselves lucky to have shared many a night with their television neighbors on Wisteria Lane. But like all good things, the ride has come to an end, and it’s time to take up residence somewhere else.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 19th, 2012
“There’s always a story. You just have to find it.”
What happens when you’re a popular murder-mystery writer and someone starts to use your stories and ideas to kill people in the real world? At first you become the prime suspect, particularly if you’re found to be completely self-centered and annoyingly arrogant. That’s where a pretty good alibi might come in handy. Is playing poker with the Mayor and the Chief of Police good enough? So, you’re no longer a suspect. Now what do you do?
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 14th, 2012
Shonda Rhimes had a big hit on her hands with Grey’s Anatomy, so after five years she did what comes naturally in her situation. You spin the success off in the hope that the fans can’t get enough in just one night. At first it appeared to me she had chosen the wrong character to put out on her own. I mean, I never considered Kate Walsh as Addison to be one of the show’s more compelling characters. The show was presented as what the business calls an imbedded episode on Grey’s.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 5th, 2012
“There is a town in Maine, where every storybook character you’ve ever known is trapped between two worlds, victims of a powerful curse. Only one knows the truth, and only one can break her spell.”
ABC has had a very important asset going for it for years. It’s one that the network has seldom taken any advantage of. That asset is its parent company. You see, ABC is part of the Walt Disney family. With the rich history of stories the studio has in its arsenal going back to the 1920′s, it was only a matter of time before some clever people decided to find a way to use that rich history in a television series.
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Disc Reviews by John Ceballos on August 20th, 2012
“When I was a child, my father was framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Before he died, he left a road map for revenge that led me to the people who destroyed our lives.”
Daytime sudsers may be going the way of the dodo and video stores, but the nighttime soap is alive and well. TNT’s successful revival of Dallas this past summer reminded us that something old could be new again. However, ABC’s excellent Revenge first began scratching our soap opera itch last fall, providing all the deliciously devious drama —
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 27th, 2011
“There’s always a story. You just have to find it.”
What happens when you’re a popular murder-mystery writer and someone starts to use your stories and ideas to kill people in the real world? At first you become the prime suspect, particularly if you’re found to be completely self-centered and annoyingly arrogant. That’s where a pretty good alibi might come in handy. Is playing poker with the Mayor and the Chief of Police good enough? So, you’re no longer a suspect. Now what do you do?
Read the rest of this entry »
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 22nd, 2011
“The body is the proof. It will tell you everything you need to know if you just have the patience to look.”
And patience is exactly what you’re going to need with this new ABC drama. Body Of Proof was a mid-season entry by the network; it debuted at the end of March and ran for only 9 episodes so far. It has been renewed, so it will have the opportunity to develop into something better than what it is. So far I see a ton of potential, but these first 9 episodes didn’t exactly leave me on the edge of my seat.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 21st, 2011
For the second year in a row Private Practice has decided to tackle a huge and emotional issue for the characters at Oceanside Wellness Group. Last season began when Violet had been brutally attacked. A crazy woman believed Violet was carrying her baby, so she showed up and cut the baby out leaving her to die on the floor. Of course, she survived, but the season was all about the scars left from the attack in her mind. It was quite an intense storyline and one the show decided to try and top in season 4. Charlotte King, played by Kadee Strickland, suffers an equally brutal attack and is sexually assaulted
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 16th, 2011
Grey’s Anatomy had one heck of a year in its seventh season. The season begins with the aftermath of the shooting in the hospital that closed out the previous year. It’s taken a toll, particularly on Dr. Webber who is catching a ton of heat for the incident. But it isn’t that story arc that dominated the talk of the 2010-11 season over at ABC. It was the long anticipated and critically acclaimed musical episode that stole the spotlight this year.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2011
In many ways Cougar Town appears to be Friends 20 or more years later. It’s not just the fact that the former Friends star Courtney Cox heads the call sheet on the new situation comedy. There are a ton of other elements that appear to tie the shows together. Like the old NBC show, the core of this show is a tight group of friends. They have a lot of the same kinds of adventures and conversations as the old gang used to have. The big difference here is that the adventures and the talk come from an older, if not more mature,
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2011
“It’s a question we all ask ourselves. Do I trust the people who live next door? Will that couple across the street be there when I need them? Can I count on the woman who lives down the block? Yes, good neighbors are people we can rely on. But if we discover our neighbor can’t be trusted, then it may be time to move.”
What you can count on from the neighbors of Wisteria Lane is another season of secrets, betrayals, and fashionable housewives.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 24th, 2011
“I never thought we’d get back to this table. I can’t tell you how good it felt to have dinner together again. We hadn’t done that since the accident. To be honest, sometimes it felt like we’d never get over it. But somehow we did.”
But will we ever get over the Walker family? This was to be the final season of the series, and the network wasn’t exactly kind in its last days. The budget was slashed so that most of the characters appear in limited episodes. You won’t find near so many of the Walker family gatherings as you did in previous years.
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Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 10th, 2011
My dislike of romantic comedies has been well documented on this site time and time again. At times, I even try to enlist the help of my loving wife who doesn’t really care for them either but is willing to lend a hand. Unfortunately, my next three reviews will all involve the curse of the romantic comedy. So let’s take a look inside and see if we can last through this trilogy of terror.
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Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 8th, 2010
As mentioned before, reviewing television series can be very rewarding since I don’t watch as much television as I used too. I’ve found series that I never knew existed until the discs showed up in my mailbox. One of these great series is named Legend of the Seeker. I was fortunate enough to review the first season and it got great marks. So, I was even more delighted to see the second season hit my hands as well. This might be the final season for the show but let’s hope they saved the best for last.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 27th, 2010
The 9th and final year of Scrubs is called Scrubs 2.0 among the show’s cast and crew. The 13 episodes of this season have the torch being passed to a younger group of medical students on the show. JD returns to try to teach, but the focus here is on the next generation. Unfortunately, the idea didn’t really catch on, and the show has finally ended. So, it’s time to say goodbye to your friends at Sacred Heart Hospital.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 23rd, 2010
“There’s always a story. You just have to find it.”
What happens when you’re a popular murder-mystery writer and someone starts to use your stories and ideas to kill people in the real world? At first you become the prime suspect, particularly if you’re found to be completely self-centered and annoyingly arrogant. That’s where a pretty good alibi might come in handy. Is playing poker with the Mayor and the Chief of Police good enough? So, you’re no longer a suspect. Now what do you do?
Read the rest of this entry »
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 23rd, 2010
The residents of Wisteria Lane have become household staples in the last four years. Even after watching the show, I’m still not sure I understand what it’s about, but I’ll try to give my take on it anyway. It would appear to this reviewer that the show owes at least part of its genesis to the HBO hit Sex And The City. There is the same narrative angle, this time by a deceased member of the group. Still, that narrative contains many of the same kinds of observations as the HBO show and appears to imitate it as often as not. The show also deals with the exploits, often sexual, of a group of women. This time they are married, but that doesn’t seem to stop the flings
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 15th, 2010
Shonda Rhimes had a big hit on her hands with Grey’s Anatomy, so after five years she did what comes naturally in her situation. You spin the success off in the hope that the fans can’t get enough in just one night. At first it appeared to me she had chosen the wrong character to put out on her own. I mean, I never considered Kate Walsh as Addison to be one of the show’s more compelling characters. The show was presented as what the business calls an imbedded episode on Grey’s. What that means is that the situation is set up during one of the original show’s episodes.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 15th, 2010
Grey’s Anatomy follows the life and tribulations of a group of doctors and interns at Seattle Grace Hospital. There’s certainly nothing original about the premise, except that the story is told by one of the more unlikely characters, Dr. Meredith Grey (Pompeo). As a lead she’s really not all that remarkable, but the show doesn’t put everything on her narrow shoulders. The series is populated by a solid supporting cast, giving it all a far more ensemble feel despite the title. James Pickens, Jr. is perhaps the most extraordinary actor in the show. He’s underused, but steals every scene he’s in. His Dr. Webber is a powerfully serious voice in an otherwise often frivolous world.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2010
“On October 6, the planet blacked out for two minutes and seventeen seconds. The whole world saw the future…”
For all intents and purposes, it appears just like any routine fall day throughout the world. People are busying themselves about their normal concerns. Suddenly everyone on the planet blacks out for exactly 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Just think about that part for a moment. Every human being collapses at the same moment.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 30th, 2010
Ken Olin is truly a great talent that I’ve followed since back when he played the snotty detective Garibaldi on Hill Street Blues. Since then he’s done some wonderful work behind the camera, and Brothers & Sisters certainly shows his influence; however, this is not some of his best work. The show often leans on clichés and gets awfully lazy in moving forward at times. I do see the great family of characters they created here, but fail to find them interesting beyond the life breathed into them by their performers. This is a case of ego getting in the way of great potential.
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Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 21st, 2010
Have you ever walked into a 2 hour movie with only half an hour left to go? It is not a picnic. The same can be said of a television show that is entering its fourth (and final) season and you haven’t watched a single episode. That’s the situation that presented myself with Ugly Betty. However, I have always found myself up to the challenge and we’ll step into this adventure with our head held high.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 18th, 2010
In many ways Cougar Town appears to be Friends 20 or more years later. It’s not just the fact that the former Friends star Courtney Cox heads the call sheet on the new situation comedy. There are a ton of other elements that appear to tie the shows together. Like the old NBC show, the core of this show is a tight group of friends. They have a lot of the same kinds of adventures and conversations as the old gang used to have. The big difference here is that the adventures and the talk come from an older, if not more mature, perspective.
Read the rest of this entry »
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 11th, 2010
The concept would appear to be slightly misplaced on ABC’s Family Network. The prerequisite underage drinking and promiscuous sexual lives don’t appear to be the best “family” entertainment. We don’t get even halfway through the pilot episode before we’re already charting those waters. To be sure, Greek is no Animal House, and the atmosphere is toned down considerably, but the issues remain, and this is not a show for the kiddies. The story is very much like a soap opera. Casey (Grammer) is a sorority sister for Zeta Beta Zeta, and after two years is a woman on the rise.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 26th, 2010
For all intents and purposes, it appears just like any routine Fall day throughout the world. People are busying themselves about their normal concerns. Suddenly everyone on the planet blacks out for exactly 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Just think about that part for a moment. Every human being collapses at the same moment. Think about all of the things that people are doing at any given moment. Driving cars. Flying planes. Performing delicate surgical procedures, or just walking across the street. Pretty much any activity is going to become dangerous as the blackouts occur. 20 million people worldwide die in the event.
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