Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 11th, 2005
First let me begin by admitting a bias. I have always loved this show dearly. Carl Kolchak is partly responsible for you reading these very words. When I was young and The Night Stalker first appeared I was enthralled with it. My father had already introduced me to the Universal Monsters so this was great fodder for my young and developing brain. I immediately knew I wanted to BE Kolchak. I decided I wanted to be a journalist and so began to write. Not only has that passion lasted through the decades since, but thanks to this job I often get to write about monsters and things that go bump in the night. Come to think of it, I am Kolchak, or at least I’m closer than the one ABC has put on Thursday nights this season. Enough about me and Carl.
The Night Stalker began as a TV Movie of the Week. Kolchak was a down on his luck reporter in Vegas looking for that one big story that would put him back in the game. Instead he discovered a real vampire killing women and demolishing police cars. Of course, no one believes him, and Kolchak must stalk the beast himself. The film’s success quickly led to another film, The Night Strangler. Now Kolchak’s in Seattle and this time the Boston Strangler is still alive and killing young girls to keep himself young. Once again Kolchak must take matters into his own hands, and once again he’s run out of town for his troubles.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 7th, 2005
Law and Order SVU really began to create an identity for itself in its second year. The addition of Ice T as Finn is one of the best casting decisions Wolf’s made since Jerry Orbach. I would have liked to see the combination of Munch and Finn used more often. Maybe I’m in the minority, but they are so much more interesting than Benson and Stabler. I think the show was bold and more edgy in year two. Part of the problem in year one was the inevitable comparisons to the original. Unlike the CSI franchise, Law and Order has created a unique vision for each of its shows. It’s not just “same stuff, new faces”. Except for location, any story on CSI Miami could be done exactly word for word on CSI: NY or the original. I applaud Law and Order’s attempt to deliver something else. Of course, the subject matter on SVU has far more potential for controversy, and so far the writers have handled the material with care and class. Don’t look for the series to ever reinvent itself within each show. Law and Order is the poster child for formula, but isn’t that what keeps us coming back for more?
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 5th, 2005
Not to be confused with the current film of the same name, Taxi was one of the funniest shows in television history. There simply hasn’t been a sitcom to feature so many cast members who would go on to bigger but perhaps not better things. Christopher Lloyd’s Reverend Jim has to be one of the best characters television has known. In its third year Jim would finally be around for an entire season. The show simply swept the Emmys in its third year with statues going to Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Lloyd (oddly enough, for a script he penned for the series). This is the year Andy Kaufman delivered Vic Ferrari to the show’s mythology. Taxi was hitting its stride on all fronts in season three. This is the show at its peak.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 5th, 2005
Nothing much changes in the second season of Las Vegas. Of course, Danny comes home from his secret and apparently tragic tour of duty. Mike is a full fledged member of the security team. Otherwise it’s business as usual for the workers at the Montecito. The show works well as an ensemble piece, but the relationship between Danny and Big Ed is more fully developed here and is beginning to dominate the series. James Caan continues to impress with work most of his peers would consider beneath him. The flashy fast paced camera work continues to offer a dizzying ride through the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas. All in all the show probably improved in year two, if for nothing else the characters have been fleshed out more in season two. Sometimes the interrelationships get a little too complicated and I could certainly do with less of the cliché of everyone hooking up with everyone else. All in all, this is a unique series with plenty of laughs, glitter, action, and hormones to please almost anyone.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 4th, 2005
For the first time in Star Trek history it was decided to dedicate an entire season to tell a single story. Following a recent trend started by hits like Alias and 24, Enterprise boldly went where many had gone before. The problem with this grand idea is that character development and Trek lore were all given a back seat. Rick Berman felt the need for Trek to become more epic. Unfortunately what Enterprise really needed to do was return to its character and socially driven roots. The show did finally start in that direction, but not before losing a legion of fans. On DVD, however, this story plays out much better. Now you don’t need to worry about missing an episode and spending the rest of the entire year feeling like you’re the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on.
Season Two ended with a shocking attack on Earth that destroyed much of my home area, Florida. The Enterprise embarks on its single mission to find and stop the mysterious Xindi. Along the way we are treated to plenty of stories that are in some way interrelated to this new big picture. The season is much darker in tone, both in script and cinematically.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 28th, 2005
Synopsis
It’s the Brady Bunch. What, exactly, by way of synopsis are you hoping for? At any rate, among the notable episodes is one with guest star Davy Jones of the Monkees. Plus, there’s the epic start to the season: a three-parter that has the family hitting the road with a tent trailer and running into misadventures on the way to the Grand Canyon (such as encountering a hostile prospector or Cindy and Bobby getting lost). The other ongoing thread is Jan’s inferiority complex with regards to Marci..., and her attempts to crawl out from her sister’s shadow. The show is what it is. Nostalgia for Gen X viewers, I suppose, though it does have value as something of a pop culture icon. In purely objective terms, this is television at its most innocuous and disposable.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 27th, 2005
Synopsis
And here we go again with some 37 stories of inspired stupidity. Among the crazed storylines we find the classic sitcom scenario of Plankton swapping lives with Mr. Krabs and discovering he can’t take the heat, Squidward being drawn willy-nilly into a plastic conch shell-worshipping club of SpongeBob and Patrick, the non-swimmer SpongeBob becoming a lifeguard with disastrous consequences, and so on. It’s all bright, cheerful, unobtrusively self-aware, and refreshingly silly in a way that har...ens back to classic cartoons of yore. A vital part of this generation’s cultural heritage.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 24th, 2005
All good things must come to an end, and so it is with Kung Fu. It is always better for a show to go out at the top of its game than to overstay its welcome, fizzle, and fade away. Season One of this show was excellent in its storytelling, as the characters and themes were firmly established. Season Two was mostly about maintaining the themes that were set forth in the first year. Season Three, however, is where the whole thing comes together. Without giving too much away, it is safe to say that this season en...s with Caine completing his quest in the west, and finally locating his ever-elusive brother; a brother who's intentions for his brother are a surprise to everyone.
I have said it about previous seasons, and I will say it again here; this is an excellent show that may have come along ahead of its time. Why this series is not more widely regarded as one of the better hour long dramas to ever air on network television, I will never understand. Carradine's supurb acting, compelling storylines and an intriguing mix of western and eastern cultures make this a must-watch show.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 23rd, 2005
I Love Lucy changed the fledgling television industry in the 1950’s. This was a time when network television was less than a decade old. Most folks had never heard of television just 15 years earlier. I Love Lucy defined the concept of a sitcom. The show was driven by the very strong personalities of the cast. Desi Arnaz was considered a charismatic Latin lover by American women. Lucy played the perfect foil and found a mountain of gold to mine in strong physical comedy. So many modern shows owe their roots to this classic that it would be impossible to mention them all here. With that said, the fifth season was a letdown. The simple truth is they were running out of ideas in the simplistic environment of this once very funny comedy. All of this season is spent taking the cast on a whirlwind tour of Europe with its forced situations. The lack of perceived spontaneity was gone. Lucy was no longer the fly in Ricky’s ointment. Oddly enough, the season does begin with one of the funniest stories of the series: Lucy stealing John Wayne’s footprints, and of course, his feet. If only that quality could have been maintained instead of a hokey tour of the Old Country.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 14th, 2005
Synopsis
There was a huge amount of anticipation over the American adaptation of the British sitcom hit of the same name. The original version, with Ricky Gervais as the office manager David Brent, won a series of Emmy equivalents in England and Gervais even won a Golden Globe for his work on the show. And with Steve Carell (Anchorman) appearing in the American version as Brent’s counterpart, expectations were high from more than a few people.
