Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 2nd, 2005
Synopsis
Shannen Doherty, Holy Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano are three sisters who also happen to be witches. Very much in the vein of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, our heroines must battle supernatural monsters and evil cults, all the while dealing with love, heartbreak and other issues more connected with mere mortals. The season begins with Combs out of the picture, having eloped with Brian Krause. Their marriage is frowned upon by The Powers That Be, and this is one of the ongoing threads of t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 30th, 2005
Stargate Atlantis took a little getting used to. I wasn’t sure the characters had enough chemistry or were even dynamic enough to carry the high expectations for a Stargate series. When the show was first introduced it was likely that Atlantis would soon take over for the original series. Anderson had wanted to leave for years and it seemed the end was near for SG-1. Since that time SG-1 is about to enter a tenth season and the new format is working quite well. Now I can view Atlantis more as the companion show it really excels at being.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 19th, 2005
Dear Chris Farley, we har'ley knew ye.
What is it with SNL and untimely death? I am pretty surprised that I have never seen a "conspiracy theory" written out about this, like the Wheaties curse or the curse of the Sports Illustrated cover. Jim Belushi, Phil Hartman, Gilda Radner and even the lovable Chris Farley died way before their time.
Farley had an uncommon gift of successfully being portly, sweaty, clumsy and lovable all at the same time. The assortment of Saturday Night Live skits collected here drives this point home with ease.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 10th, 2005
It is tragic that the fourth year of Enterprise would be its last. More tragic is the fact that in the fall of 2005 for the first time in almost 20 years there would be no new Star Trek on the air. By far the worst tragedy, however, was the fact that year four of Enterprise was the year it all came together. This is by far the best overall season of Star Trek since The Next Generation. The addition of writer Many Cuto was the spark this fledgling franchise needed. With the exception of the final episode, these 2-4 eposode arcs were for the most part quite fresh and inspired.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 8th, 2005
The first episode of Season 8 is appropriately titled “New Order”. Changes are inevitable as this superior series goes where no American sci-fi show has gone before, a tenth season. Richard Dean Anderson has been slowly removing himself from the everyday appearances since Season 7. Here he is made base commander, and while his responsibilities have increased, his screen time has certainly tumbled. By year 9 Anderson is nothing more than a memory and occasional guest star. Still... the huge changes haven’t come yet, and season 8 is your last chance to visit this core team on a regular basis.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 7th, 2005
I actually picked this title up several months ago on DVD, so I was already aware of how funny this disc is. For some reason, Saturday Night Live is one of those shows that nobody finds funny until several years later, at which time its charm is rediscovered. I'm sure this has to do with the fact that the reruns and compilations cut out the majority of the filler and leave only the best bits, but I am, still surprised that the shows gets such little notariety during their initial run.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 30th, 2005
1955 was a very significant year in the life of filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. He received his American citizenship and he changed the face of the young television industry forever. Alfred Hitchcock Presents came before all of the other classic anthology shows. The show combined Hitch’s trademark gallows humor with his unerring instinct for suspenseful storytelling. The show was the first overnight success, drawing millions of viewers with its first episode, no small feat for 1955.
Hitchcock was ahead of his time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 25th, 2005
Wooden monologues, bad jokes, revolting fashions and way, way too much hair. I wish I could say that this means one thing... but it means a lot of things. In this case, however, I am talking about Tony Orlando and Dawn. Now, the quality of Orlando's rich voice is undeniable. My bone to pick is with virtually every other aspect of this cheese fest. At the time in the 70's, it seemed like everybody had their own variety show. Such a thing could be a big boon to a performer's career, so you certainly can't fault ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 25th, 2005
Wooden monologues, bad jokes, revolting fashions and way, way too much hair. I wish I could say that this means one thing... but it means a lot of things. In this case, however, I am talking about Tony Orlando and Dawn. Now, the quality of Orlando's rich voice is undeniable. My bone to pick is with virtually every other aspect of this cheese fest. At the time in the 70's, it seemed like everybody had their own variety show. Such a thing could be a big boon to a performer's career, so you certainly can't fault ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2005
Kenny’s gone and most of the season the boys are auditioning a new friend. While it looks like Butter has the inside track, you’ll have to watch the season to find out. Personally I miss the “They killed Kenny” jokes and was relieved that it eventually returned. South Park appeared to regain a bit of its lost creative energy in season 6. It can also be said that the show pushed its boundaries a little bit farther. There are times even I think the show goes too far. One of my favorite episodes can be found in this collection.
