Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 30th, 2006
It’s true that MASH was winding down by year 10. Everyone involved already knew that the next year would be the last. This is what separates the true professionals from those in it for the money. Instead of dragging out the concept until there was virtually nothing of quality remaining, the entire cast and crew decided it was time to finish on top. A lot of folks would have simply gone through the motions once the end was in sight. Instead, these guys kept pouring it on. The stories and acting in this season are just as good as in any other.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2006
Tommy Lee Goes to College is a show that was really sort-of set-up to fail from the beginning. NBC used to be the #1 channel on television, but they slipped badly in the ratings once the big reality television boom hit. In a bid to catch up, they took a chance on this show, which would have been much more at home on MTV or even FOX. The end result was something that was surprisingly similar in tone and charm as another rock-and-roll reality show; The Osbourne's. The thing is, the NBC audience is just no...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 27th, 2006
The Adult Swim series of shows from Cartoon Network are sometimes amazingly hilarious, sometimes overly bizarre, but always creative. While some of the shows, such as Robot Chicken are roll-on-the-floor funny, others are just too strange for me. Lucky for me, The Venture Bros. falls into the first category. While not a constant source of laughter, this show is always clever and contains a few big laughs in each episode.
The Venture brothers are the sons of a moderately-successful scientis...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 25th, 2006
I've never met anybody who doesn't like Penn and Teller. I'm not saying that those people don't exist, I'm just saying that I have never met them. Penn is loquacious and amusing, Teller is the ultimate straight man, and their magic almost always catches the viewer off guard. Many times, the understood premise of the trick itself actually turns into something different by the time the performance is over.
Unfortunately, this disc has some problems that makes it one of their worst performances. The concept is a...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 25th, 2006
I've never met anybody who doesn't like Penn and Teller. I'm not saying that those people don't exist, I'm just saying that I have never met them. Penn is loquacious and amusing, Teller is the ultimate straight man, and their magic almost always catches the viewer off guard. Many times, the understood premise of the trick itself actually turns into something different by the time the performance is over.
Unfortunately, this disc has some problems that makes it one of their worst performances. The concept is a...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 25th, 2006
David Kelley’s hit series The Practice ran for 8 seasons. While it may have started slowly, the show was a huge hit for most of its run. This success led to other hits like Boston Public and Ally McBeal. Unfortunately, the end of this series was a rather tragic tale itself. The last year limped along with about half of the cast having been fired. There were public wars of words waged. As Warren Zevon used to say: “Ain’t that pretty at all”. That final season would have been a total failure if not for the introduction of James Spader’s Alan Shore.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 24th, 2006
Dave Chappelle and I are the same. Well, he's a year younger than me. And he's black. But we're both from Washington DC, but I live in the suburbs, and usually never go into the downtown area unless someone dared me. But he's a lot funnier than me, and Comedy Central decided to give him a 12 episode commitment on their network after seeing him in such films as Half Baked, Screwed and Undercover Brother.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 24th, 2006
There really was (and still is) no justice in the world when a show like NewsRadio was perennially ignored so often during the mid and late '90s. I mean seriously, get a comic mind from Canada's The Kids in the Hall (Dave Foley), another from the States Saturday Night Live (Phil Hartman), and yet another from the dark comedy Ben Stiller Show (Andy Dick) and give them some sitcom material to work with, and the result can be nothing but laughs.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 22nd, 2006
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 DVD’s. 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. Together they watch the films from the front row, constantly ranting throughout.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 19th, 2006
In the first season review of Hill Street Blues I talked about the Steven Bochco family tree of producers and show runners that got their start on this show. This season does a lot to remind us that a great many actors made their mark with this program. Such future stars as Danny Glover, David Caruso, Brent Spiner, and Dennis Dugan all made their first heavy mark on Hill Street Blues. Dugan’s Captain Freedom episodes are some of the most remembered shows of the series run. This particular arc is a great example of how the show could be funny, emotional, and action packed, and still have more heart than any show on at that time.
