Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 6th, 2006
Proof that HBO was gutsy before The Soprano's comes with season five of Tales from the Crypt. By this point, the series had become a well-respected cult favorite, and these 13 episodes, spread over three discs, are some of the series' best. The show, based on a classic comic book series, really became my generation's version of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone. It was a half-hour series that told twisted tales of mystery and horror, and was hosted by a very decomposed Crypt Keeper.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 6th, 2006
Synopsis
More half-hour tales of horror from back when the letters “HBO” didn’t yet necessarily imply envelope-pushing TV. A bit of cod-philosophising from our host, the obligatory female nudity, and some okay-but-nuthin’-special horror, only slightly edgier than what was passing for terror material on network TV at the time. Among the familiar faces this time around: Michael Madsen (playing an abusive husband), Bill Paxton, Kelly Lynch, Lauren Hutton, and Michael Ironside. Guest directors include th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 2nd, 2006
Conviction: The Complete Series ran thirteen episodes, a run of such brevity that one might ask as he looks at the tag, “From the Creator of Law and Order,” why Dick Wolf finds it necessary to add one more courtroom-based show to his laundry list of similarly themed projects. I was prepared for another simulation of the basic L&O format, and that did not excite me. And who knows? Perhaps Conviction is a needless clone of Wolf’s other more successful ventures. As someone, who has never...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 1st, 2006
Another long running series finally comes to an end … almost. The 7th and Final Season of MacGyver does not include the tele-films that really closed out the series. Unfortunately this is an abbreviated season with about half as many episodes. This is also another one of those running out of gas years that many quality shows end up doing before the series is mercifully put to rest. One never tires of seeing Richard Dean Anderson come up with his home brewed innovations, but by now it is clear that Anderson has tire...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 31st, 2006
NBC pulled the plug on The Book of Daniel after just four episodes. That explains why this 2006 mid-season replacement show came and went so fast I never even knew it existed. Now that I’ve watched all eight episodes, I’m disappointed that there won’t be more.
Apparently, the show was canceled for being too controversial. Christian organizations like Focus on the Family protested the series’ portrayal of Jesus, the church and homosexuality, and yet more groups were offended by such things as perceivednegative Catholic and Italian stereotypes (one of the supporting characters is a Catholic priest with ties to the mob).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 30th, 2006
Synopsis
Bill Paxton is a polygamist. He and his three wives (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin) and their children live in three adjoined houses, and must constantly be careful not to let the secret of their lifestyle be revealed. That might be stress enough, but Paxton is having trouble keeping up on the sexual front, there is tension and competition between the wives (Tripplehorn is the alpha, Sevigny is manipulative and a shopaholic, Goodwin is insecure), and one of his fathe...
Posted in: 1.78:1 Widescreen, Box Set, Disc Reviews, Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), DVD, Paramount, Television by Archive Authors on October 28th, 2006
”My name is Melinda Gordon. I just got married, just moved to a small town, just opened up an antique shop. I might be just like you…except from the time that I was a little girl I knew that I could talk to the dead. ‘Earthbound spirits’, my Grandmother called them. The ones who’ve not crossed over because they have unfinished business with the living, and they come to me for help. To tell you my story, I have to tell you theirs.”
So goes the opening for each episode of this first season of Ghost Whisperer, a series that blends drama, horror and comedy to carry its audience to an emotional place.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 27th, 2006
The networks finally achieved what drug lords, mobsters and even zombies could not. Year four meant the end of Starsky and Hutch. Unfortunately the show was running out of gas quickly, so this was not near the quality of the previous years. It looks too much like David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser were pretty much ready to move on to other things. Neither of the men would make the impact again they made with Starsky and Hutch. Huggy Bear is not to be found near as often as he had been, so a ton of the humor was mis...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 25th, 2006
Written By Jeff Mardo
I never got into La Femme Nikita, but I can certainly appreciate it. This was a breakthrough series that defined the modern spy and con genres for both television and film. The show was just a bit too 80's for me. It sometimes took itself too seriously, like a rerun of Airwolf. When you really stop and think about what is going on in some of these episodes, the whole thing is just a bit silly.
However, there are people who love this show, and I can respect that. Season five was the show's last, ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 18th, 2006
After one year of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, television had been forever changed. Hitch proved beyond any doubt that film quality production was practical in the fledgling television format. Nothing changed as the show returned for its second season. Hitch had a remarkable eye for good stories, and he often found them in the most unlikely of places. Take two of this season’s episodes. In The Three Dreams Of Mr. Findlater, a man fantasizes about his nagging wife’s death. In A Man greatly Beloved, we find a small tow...
