Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2005
Note: the following synopsis contains spoilers. Only read this first section if you know have happens in season four.
I shall first give a bit of the background of the show for any readers who are a bit interested in the background of the show. The show debuted in the fall of 1985 during an era of non-violent and very-feel good nature type television shows. Even though a show like Macgyver did follow this standard 80’s television show rule, the show manages to distance itself from the standard cop sh...w/soap opera show solely because of the lead character Macgyer. Instead of using brute force to overcome his adversaries, Macgyver simply stops and takes a moment to use his head to decide what to do next. Since Macgyer he has an astounding mind (most specifically in the science field), he is able to always get the upper edge over his foes with his ability to make easy use of any of the materials surrounding him to create solutions to the numerous problems he encounters. While I must say this is a bit different from your average show, this routine does get a bit tiring after awhile.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 24th, 2005
Season Four of The West Wing was the series' final season with the show's creator, Aaron Sorkin. This left quite a bit of trepidation among the show's faithful followers. What would happen with the series left in the hands of new writers, and without Rob Lowe's portrayal of Sam Seaborn? After all, Sorkin's original plans for the show were for it to focus on Sam, and now everything seems to be falling apart.
With one notable exception, I am proud to announce that the show is still rolling along at a s...rong pace in Season Five. It is hard to write about the show without giving away any spoilers, but I can pretty safely say that the cliffhanger from the end of Season Four is resolved within the first few episodes, some appointments are made, some decisions from the President's past come back to haunt him, and in the end, yet another White House staffer's life hangs in the balance.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 23rd, 2005
Synopsis
So after a somewhat shaky 4 episode run for Season 1 and a 6 episode showing of Season 2, the powers that be at HBO, apparently in between editing sessions of "Real Taxicab Divas," or whatever, answered Bob and David’s pleas for an increased budget for Season 3. But they also wanted a 10 episode season, something that brought them to new heights of stardom, neuroses and some real good comedy. Saturday Night Live had started to see their stars leave for TV shows, movies, or they were just tir...d of the weekly grind of the show. Their then-new cast members (Will Ferrell, Tracy Morgan and Darrell Hammond, to name a few) were still pretty hit or miss at that time. I’d started to watch Mr. Show during Season 2, and was hooked in Season 3. For my money, they arguably put together some of the funniest sketches in recent memory in Season 3. Every episode comes up with a gem, the Oh, You Men episode being the funniest of the series’ run, in my opinion. The East Coast/West Coast Ventriloquist Feud is required viewing, along with the Sid and Marty Krofft parody Druggachusettes, two of the funniest comedy sketches in awhile. As funny as Christopher Walken demanding a cowbell may be, the sketches on Mr. Show were smarter, more inventive, and yes, didn’t have the restriction of being on network TV. This was the comedy show to watch in the late 90’s. Here’s the listing for Season 3 (with help from the book “Mr. Show, What Happened?!”) with major sketches included:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 21st, 2005
The kick in the nuts that was Fame the television series is now the kick in the nuts that is Fame - The Complete First Season on DVD. And let me tell you, it hasn't become any better over the course of time. Based off a film of the same name, this mess of a TV show follows the lives of students at New York's High School for the Arts. Most of the dialogue and situations are beyond predictable, and the cheesy early eighties soundtrack is as green and moldy as a block of Colby left out in the sun too long. As far as the students themselves are concerned, there's Danny the comedian; Julie the cellist; Bruno the composer; Coco the singer; and Leroy the dancer... and all lack the talent these shoddy scripts want you to believe they have.
The teachers fare no better. Led by Debbie Allen, who also handles choreography for the series, these educational gurus mostly seem like they're doing their best Mr. Chips impersonation after watching that far superior film a couple of times in preparation for the roles. In all fairness, neither students nor teachers have much to work with. The scripts are as inspired as a high school kid sacking groceries at the local supermarket. Given the time period in which it was created and the poor results of a limited budget, I kept hoping Fame would turn into a slasher movie somewhere along the way. It certainly has the characterization of one. But instead of seeing these obnoxious actors knocked off one-by-one in gory and satisfying fashion, their runaway personalities just go on and on and on for nearly sixteen hours, making for one of the worst shows in the history of television.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 20th, 2005
Note: the following synopsis contains spoilers. Only read this first section if you know have happens in season four.
The Fourth Season of 24 begins with a deadly terrorist strike resulting in the kidnapping of Jack Bauer's new boss, the U.S. Secretary of Defense James Heller (William Devane). Even though Mr. Bauer was dismissed from his job at the Counter Terrorist Unit in Los Angeles at the end of Season Three, it comes as no real surprise that Robo-Jack is called back into action. We quickly l...arn that this kidnapping of Heller is just the beginning of trouble for Jack and CTU. The main villian is master-mind Habib Marwan (Arnold Vosloo) the middle eastern terrorist cell leader the US government has been trying to track down for years.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2005
It was an excitable time for this young 13 year old boy. No matter where you were in the house, the sound came to you. No matter what you were doing, it drew you to the living room television. No matter how bad things were going, that sound brought a smile to your face. Mike Post’s opening theme for The Rockford Files has to be one of the best in television history, and it lingers in my mind as a precious anthem of days gone by.
He was every young boy’s hero. How could you resist James Rockford? He had the toughness of Dirty Harry. Yet, beneath it all, he was terribly flawed and even a little naive. Why is it that after the hundreds of TV detectives that have crossed our paths a small handful endear themselves to the pop culture? The answer is simple. Every once in a while an actor combines with strong writers and creates a character with incredible heart and soul. We can’t imagine anyone else playing the part. Peter Falk accomplished it with Columbo. In recent years Tony Shalhoub has graced us with Monk. You can’t complete such a list without James Garner and his alter ego, Rockford.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 7th, 2005
I started my review of season four by remarking how little CSI had changed over its first four years. In its fifth year the powers that be decided to muck up the works a bit. The team is split between day and night shifts and Catherine is given the supervisor position on days. This actually leads to probably the show’s largest continuity flaw. It seems that the shifts overlap not just once in a while but almost all the time. I found myself really confused about this whole shift deal. Mostly I think the change takes away from the character interactions that I have come to love so much about this show. CSI has been able to find the perfect formula. There’s enough interaction and private life to make things interesting. Still, the relationships do not devolve into casual romances that tend to bog even quality dramas down. Season 5 created some serious challenges to that wonderful system. You’ll still find the same good quality procedural drama episodes. The look of the show remains untampered with. Perhaps the changes will appear fresh to many long-time fans. We’ll see.
I do like the use of the Greg character more as he becomes a full time member of the field team. A new team member, Sofia, also helps to make up for the changes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 5th, 2005
Synopsis
This series has a clever conceit, being a sequel to the 1953 version of H.G. Wells’ novel. In the present, a terrorist group breaks into the base where the Martian corpses and war machines are being held. Turns out the Martians aren’t dead after all, and they revive to re-embark on their quest to conquer the Earth. In a budget-conscious move, part of this plan of attack consists in possessing the minds of humans, thus hugely diminishing the effects budget. So new viewers shouldn’t expect any...hing like the recent theatrical film, or even too much like the 1953 film, either. There is plenty of action, and a number of other clever ideas in the episodes (stars of the original film showing up, plays on the Orson Welles radio program), but plenty of limitations, too.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 5th, 2005
Yes, I dreaded this one like the plague. Call it a pure hatred for reality television. But honestly, after starting these episodes, I found myself lending a begrudging respect to it all. If you're unfamiliar with this enormously popular program, here's a brief education. Home interior designers Ty Pennington, Michael Moloney, Constance Ramos, Paul DiMeo, Tracy Hutson, Preston Sharp, and a slew of others, who have made appearances here and there, get together and help some needy family realize their dream home in just seven days. As if the simple act of building a house in seven days isn't enough to get you watching, they usually pick some family that's been pushed to the limits of what ordinary people can take.
This season of thirteen episodes features quite a few heart-warmers spread across its two discs. The most memorable for me was "The Cadigan-Scott Family," which involved a family of eight children, who had lost their parents tragically. The mother died of complications from heart problems; the father followed shortly thereafter with a heart attack. The family would have been dispersed to foster care if not for the selfless act of the two oldest siblings. Jennifer, 23, and Janice, 21, became legal guardians for the other six children, so the family could stay together. Not even an iron-clad heart could fail to soften at the sight of over 3,000 Livermore, California, residents lining the streets at the show's end for the big unveiling. I'll briefly declare a peace treaty between myself and reality-TV to give this show its due. It certainly knows how to hit all the right buttons.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 4th, 2005
Written by Clayton Self
Long Way Round is a reality show/documentary in which two actors, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, trekked 20,000 miles around the world on their motorcycles. They started in London, and headed east through Russia and other countries, caught a short flight to Alaska, continued down through Canada and all the way to New York. It was an idea originally conceived by McGregor as a best friend road trip, but turned into an international spectacle, as millions of people shared their experience via television. A...series that spanned seven episodes, documented their journey via cameras attached to their helmets, bikes and a third motorcycle driven by their cameraman, Claudio. Two support vehicles stayed a few hundred miles behind on the main roads to meet up with the guys at each border they crossed to make sure their supplies and medical needs were met.
