Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2005
This show the bomb diggity yo! Seriously though, Jonny Quest in a way revolutionized cartoons in the sense of realism that they tried to convey. Some of the cartoons that have come out since have done a pretty good job of it, but not too many shows were touching on topics such as laser technology, rockets and other concepts then looked at as “futuristic.” And put up against other shows of that era, the animation on Jonny Quest had an almost comic-book like feel to it, and it was a nice change of pace from the ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 13th, 2005
Synopsis
Welcome to the Lower East Side, where the high-rise apartments of the super-rich abut thetenements on the riverside. Here Joel McCrea, a poor would-be architect, is infatuated with richgirl Wendy Barrie, while poor girl Sylvia Sidney pines for him, all the while trying to save heryounger brother from a life of crime on the streets. Into the scene strides Humphrey Bogart as awanted killer, coming home to try to reconnect with his mother and an old flame. Intersectingwith the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 13th, 2005
Synopsis
The set-up for Green Acres is that we have a city couple (Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor) whohave forsaken the big city sophistication of New York for the titular verdant acres near the townof Hooterville. So there’s plenty of fish-out-of-water humour (Albert dressing in a suit in thecountry, Gabor a completely incapable housfrau), not to mention numerous slack-jawed yokels.This is pretty standard late-60s sitcom humour, so we’re not talking enormous sophisticationhere, and the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 12th, 2005
Synopsis
Incorrigible and not altogether competent small-time crook Richard Pryor has pulled one fastone too many. His exasperated parole officer threatens him with a long jail term unless he agreesto drive a group of special education students in a rickety bus from Philadelphia to Seattle, wherethey will find a new home. All sorts of misadventures await along the road trip.
There’s a vaguely gritty atmosphere, which helps defuse some of the sentimentality, and thekids are h...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 6th, 2005
There are two kinds of men on the planet; those that are fans of Gilligan‘s Island, and those that are not. Now, every man will gladly participate in the Ginger vs. Mary Ann debate, but as for actually liking the show for it’s intended purpose, that‘s something different altogether. I must admit, I am not a fan. I find the show unbearably lame, and have a hard time putting aside my desire for quality programming to enjoy the campy and carefree nature of the classic series.
There are a whopping 32 epi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 2nd, 2005
Synopsis
Do you really need an introduction? If you’re reading this review, you know the series, don’tyou? You know this is the story of Stalag 13, where the unfortunate Colonel Klink and the idioticSergeant Schultz are the straight men to the madcap antics of Colonel Hogan (Bob Crane) andhis men. Hogan and company are prisoners in name only, constantly ferrying out other POWsand otherwise creating chaos for the German war machine.
As a war sitcom (the premise is, of course,...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 1st, 2005
Synopsis
Crusty city editor Lee J. Cobb assigns reporter James Stewart to the story of a mother whohas scrubbed floors for eleven years, saving $5000 to offer as a reward for any information thatmight lead to the exoneration of her son, imprisoned in 1932 for shooting a police officer.Initially skeptical, Steward gradually comes to believe that the poor man was, indeed, the victimof a miscarriage of justice. Writing up a storm for the newspaper, he digs deeper and deeper intothe cas...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 27th, 2005
Synopsis
Reluctant scandal-mag reporter James Stewart and photographer Ruth Hussey are sent toinfiltrate and report on the upcoming marriage of New England aristocrat Katharine Hepburn.They are brought into the house by Hepburn’s first husband, Cary Grant. Sparks, friendly andnot, fly in all directions, and Hepburn’s relationships with the men in her life becomeincreasingly complex. She is also taught to have, as her father puts it, “an understandingheart.”
There’s an echo...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 26th, 2005
Synopsis
Cary Grant is a straightlaced paleontologist about to be married to a woman even morestraightlaced than he. His life flies into pieces when he runs into the flighty socialite KatharineHepburn. Falling instantly in love, Hepburn does all she can to keep Grant nearby, no matter theconsequences, and she embroils him in the task of bringing a leopard named Baby to heraunt’s country estate.
What follows is every conceivable (and even some inconceivable) sort of misunders...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 25th, 2005
In the midst of Hollywood rehashing old TV shows from the 70s and 80s, they’ve been working on a big screen version of The Dukes of Hazzard. I will repeat that because I think that it bears repeating. Somebody in Hollywood greenlit a movie with Stifler and Johnny Knoxville as Bo and Luke Duke, and Jessica Simpson as their cousin Daisy, as they taunt and evade Boss Hogg played by, wait for it….Burt Reynolds. Someone should be brought up on charges for this, because that sound you’re hearing is Hollywood scrapin...
