Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 15th, 2012
"...So when I walked into the hair cutting place, I was taking a leap. But I wasn't doing it for a guy — I was doing it for me."
Season 2 of Felicity features Keri Russell getting one of the most infamous haircuts in TV history. When people think of super-producer J.J. Abrams and his television projects, images from Alias, Fringe and a little show called Lost probably spring to mind. On the other hand, a significantly smaller portion of weirdos the TV-watching population may think of the relationship dramedies Abrams has produced, such as What About Brian, Six Degrees and Felicity, by far the best of this latter group. (Then again, Felicity — co-created by Abrams and Matt Reeves — resorted to time travel towards the end of its run, so it probably has more in common with the producer's genre shows than you think.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 9th, 2012
This series from Comedy Central began as a low-budget film hosting show in a small television station in Minnesota. It was the brainchild of Joel Hodgson. It ended up running for 11 years and a feature film version. Mystery Science Theatre is an acquired taste. For me, I’ve really got to be in that certain mood to watch it. That’s the beauty of these DVDs. You pop them in when you’re ready. The idea is pretty whacked. Depending on the season you’ve got, Joel or Mike is trapped in space on the “Satellite of Love”. Doomed to spend his life watching very bad films, our hero makes the best of a bad situation. He uses his resources to construct a couple of robot pals. There's Crow T. Robot (Beaulieu), Tom Servo (Murphy), and Gypsy (Mallon). Part of an experiment together, they watch the films from the front row, constantly ranting throughout. If you’re like me, you’ve invited a few friends over to watch a schlock festival. The movies weren’t as important as the banter you created while watching. That’s exactly what you see here. The silhouettes of our host and his robots dominate the lower portion of the screen, where they provide alternative dialog and sometimes witty commentary on the action. The two evil station owners/mad scientists send them a new bad film each week to observe their reactions to the bombs. The films are broken up by off-the-wall skits and fake commercials to alleviate the tedium. The collection includes two Mike and two Joel episodes.
If there is a theme to the set it is that three of the four films are from Robert L. Lippert.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 9th, 2012
The 2012 baseball season has started and this might be what we call a rough year. My team, the Phillies are 14-16 and 5 games out of first. What is worse is that going up and down the roster, I do not see too many familiar faces. Sure, there are injuries and sure there are over 130 games left, but I do not see it improving any time soon. But today is not about the Phillies, today is about a team that has been around for 50 years and is full of history. I present to you, the Houston Astros.
October 19th, 2005. The Houston Astros are one batter away from doing something for the first time, entering the World Series. But opposite them is the St. Louis Cardinals, and they are in Busch Stadium. However, fate would be with the Stros on this date as they get the final out and go on to the World Series. Then they got swept by the Chicago White Sox in four games. Whoops, but let us not dwell on that and concentrate on the good memories of Astros baseball.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on May 7th, 2012
When people think of super-producer J.J. Abrams and his television projects, images from Alias, Fringe and a little show called Lost probably spring to mind. On the other hand, a significantly smaller portion of weirdos the TV-watching population may think of the relationship dramedies Abrams has produced, such as What About Brian, Six Degrees and Felicity, by far the best of this latter group. (Then again, Felicity — co-created by Abrams and Matt Reeves — resorted to time travel towards the end of its run, so it probably has more in common with the producer's genre shows than you think.)
Anyway, we're here to talk about season 1. Felicity Porter (Keri Russell, in her star-making performance) is a smart, responsible California teen who suddenly decides to follow high school crush Ben Covington (Scott Speedman) to college at the fictional University of New York, despite the fact that Ben barely seemed to be aware of her existence prior to a brief exchange at their graduation. Season 1 follows Felicity throughout her freshman year as she tries to establish her independence.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 1st, 2012
When I was a kid there was one summer when all of the radio stations were playing a song called Billy Don't Be A Hero. Somehow I don't think that Billy Bretherton was quite what they had in mind. Sure, Billy goes where most of us would be afraid to tread, but he's also got to be the biggest crybaby sometimes. Hero or not, Billy and his brother Ricky have put in a fourth season of Billy The Exterminator, and it's now available on DVD.
Billy Bretherton is the owner of Vex Con Pest Control in Shreveport, Louisiana. It's a family-run business. Mom is the office manager and takes all of the service calls and then dispatches the technicians to their various jobs. Dad is the office mascot. He's had a heart attack along with a few other medical scares, so he's not really very hands-on. You might say his main job is to worry and complain. Mary is Billy's wife. She quits halfway through the first season, appearing only a couple of brief moments in the second season. Still, she's a part of the opening credits. Ricky is Billy's brother and often his partner on many of his two-man jobs. It's interesting that we're constantly told that Ricky is deathly allergic to wasp stings. One sting and it's an airlift ride to the ER, Billy is always reminding us. But when a wasp call comes in, who do you think Billy takes along to help? Of course, it's Ricky. Mom always reminds us of the allergy and admonishes Billy to be sure his brother doesn't get stung. It's things like this that make this the most frustrating A&E series I've ever watched.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 26th, 2012
"Contestants are experienced marksmen operating on a closed course. Do not attempt this at home."
So just in case you have access to all kinds of firearms and a few spare acres to set up a range, you might want to think twice before trying to reproduce the challenges you'll find in History's latest reality show Top Shot. It's part Survivor and part Big Brother with the added dimension of marksmanship. And, honestly, it's quite a bit more compelling than either of those shows.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 24th, 2012
At the very least, London River deserves credit for exposing audiences to a different side of English life beyond "upstairs, downstairs" period drama (Gosford Park, Downton Abbey), twee stories in a small-town setting (Waking Ned Devine, Calendar Girls) or the rich white people problems of Woody Allen's contemporary London (Match Point, Scoop).
Set against the backdrop of the 7/7 terrorist bombings that rocked London in 2005, London River follows the parallel stories of Elisabeth (Oscar nominee Brenda Blethyn) and Ousmane (the late Sotigui Kouyate) as they travel to the English capital and search for their respective children in the wake of the attacks. The two parents eventually meet and try to put aside their cultural differences and prejudices — though one of them clearly had more prejudices to put aside — so they can support each other in their journey.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 24th, 2012
"At the top of the world, there's a job only a few would dare. The Ice Road Truckers are back.."
It was the peak of the 1970's, and CW McCall was teaching ordinary people like us about Cabover Petes with reefers on and getting by those Smokeys. The man practically started a new genre of music with the hit song Convoy. The song was so popular that the backup band used their cut to start a little project of their own. They became Mannheim Steamroller and used the cash to cut their own music. The movies started giving us things like Smokey And The Bear. Truckin' was in fashion, and a good time was had by all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 18th, 2012
Egypt has always been known as paradise on earth to its people and the many visitors it gets each year. The land is often described as a strong, fertile land with an emphasis on history and rich tradition. Personally, I find myself in a general state of knowledge about the country but wished to know more. My curiosities peaked when I received a copy of “Planet Egypt” on DVD at my doorstep thanks to the History Channel. Let us see what rich history is held inside.
Disc One
Birth of an Empire:
Egypt has always had war and peace. Their technology was always ahead of its time and their legacy has stood the test of time. In 3000 BC, also known as Dynasty 0, a tablet is made to depict the adventures of what would be Egypt’s first pharaoh, Narmer. The tablet would become known as Narmer’s Palette. Supposedly, Narmer ruled the south and had asked the tribes of north to abide by his rule. According to legend, they opposed but eventually Narmer used force to usurp the area from the tribes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 11th, 2012
Bob Newhart may not have a ton of range as a comic actor, but the television personalities he created in both The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart were lovable enough to bring great success to both of the shows. One could safely admit that he was really playing the same character in both, and the final episode of Newhart pretty much acknowledged that fact with one of the more clever series finales in television history. So, with two pretty solid hits under his belt, it wasn't a complete surprise to see the comic enter our living rooms once again in 1992 just a couple of years after his last show finished its run. The name could have been just as predictable: Bob.
Bob McKay (Newhart) had once created a comic book hero named Mad Dog. It was about a vet who conducted experiments with the adrenal gland of a Doberman. The result was a new superhero with the enhanced senses of a dog. The comic lasted just 12 issues and quickly faded into obscurity. During that time Bob was putting his artistic talents to use with a greeting card company, a job he hated. Along comes Mr. Terhorst (Cumpsty) whom we never see. He's always just a voice over the speaker phone. He's bought ACE Comics and wants to hire Bob to bring back Mad Dog. It's the chance of a lifetime, except he's teamed with Harlan Stone (Cygan) who grew up a Mad Dog fan but now has some radical ideas for the new book. Bob has to constantly rein him in to save the integrity of the hero. The office also includes Albie (Bilgore) who is the office gofer. He's shy and completely inept in social situations. There's Chad (Fall) the comic's colorist who is a super geek. Iris (Kobart) is the old crotchety woman who letters the book. His daughter Trisha (Stevenson) comes to work for the team as well. At home is faithful wife Kaye (Watkins) and their lively cat Otto.
