Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 15th, 2004
Synopsis
The most enduring creation of Barry Humphries (recently the voice of the shark inFinding Nemo), Dame Edna is a "megastar housewife" and this series is "her" version ofa talk show. Guests include Jane Fonda, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Tony Curtis, Dolph Lundgren,Grace Jones, Princess Michael of Kent, Lauren Bacall and so on. An eclectic bunch, you'll admit.The interviews are really much more about Edna than they are about her guests: she barely letsthem get a word in edge...
Posted in: 1.33:1 Fullscreen, Box Set, Disc Reviews, Dolby Digital 2.0 (English), Dolby Digital 2.0 (French), Dolby Digital 2.0 (Spanish), Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), DVD, HBO, Television by David Annandale on October 13th, 2004
Synopsis
The setting is Baltimore, and the characters are on both sides of a battle between the cops anda drug-dealing ring. The narrative is that of one long mini-series, with the story spread over all 13episodes, rather than having self-contained units. The principles include Dominic West as thecop determined to bust the ring (though his reasons for wishing to do so are rather self-interested), and the prime target is Larry Gillard, Jr., a mid-level dealer who, after getting off a...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 7th, 2004
There were a lot of changes to Lost In Space in Season 2. The most significant was the decision to begin filming in color. There’s no question the show just looks so much better in color. The second drastic change was the overall mood of the show. Season 1 was much more serious and atmospheric. By the time the second year rolled around it became obvious that the trio of Smith, Will, and the Robot was what was drawing in the viewers. From that point onward most of the stories would revolve around that relationship. Th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 30th, 2004
Synopsis
Groucho Marx hosted this popular game show for 14 years, and this set collects 18 episodes.The way the game works is as follows: a paired set of contestants comes out, and Grouchobanters with them, having fun with whatever way these people are unusual (and they frequentlyare). Then they are asked a series of questions. If they get four right, they win a thousand dollars,and have the opportunity to return at the end of the show to risk the money for a bigger pr...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 24th, 2004
Synopsis
Season Three is the junior year for Felicity, and her initial plans to move in with twogirlfriends take a turn when, on the spur of the moment, she rents a run-down apartment for herand Ben. Other storylines revolve around Richard’s sexuality (is he gay or just very shy?) andSean’s medical condition (which reaches a climax in the episode titled, with macabre humour,“One Ball, Two Strikes”).
In retrospect, what with the flood of box sets hitting the market, a series ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2004
This box set has restored my faith in television. I actually don’t have cable or satellite or anything, and if you ask anyone that knows me, they’ll tell you that I’m a steadfast refusenik when it comes to watching TV. Law & Order, however, is intelligent, well-cast, and has very high production values – all the ingredients of a winning series, as its ridiculously long run (14+ years) is testament to. Each episode has a well thought-out plot, usually with some sort of twist – and generally without any glaring plot ho...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2004
This box set has restored my faith in television. I actually don’t have cable or satellite or anything, and if you ask anyone that knows me, they’ll tell you that I’m a steadfast refusenik when it comes to watching TV. Law & Order, however, is intelligent, well-cast, and has very high production values – all the ingredients of a winning series, as its ridiculously long run (14+ years) is testament to. Each episode has a well thought-out plot, usually with some sort of twist – and generally without any glaring plot ho...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 20th, 2004
Many fans of the series would agree that during Angel’s five-year run, season four was it’s strongest. It was the first, and only, time that the series made a drastic change in format. Nearly all episodes, 22 in total, ran along a single continuous plot. Not that different compared to Fox’s other hit series "24." Beginning at around the episode "The House Always Wins", each episode essentially hangs with a major cliffhanger and immediately continues at the beginning of the next. This was much more engaging than the s...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 20th, 2004
Synopsis
Treat Williams is Dr. Andrew Brown, a high-powered NYC neurosurgeon. When his wife iskilled in a traffic accident, Williams re-evaluates his life, and the fact that he had put his familyvery much on the backburner with reference to his career, and on the spur of the moment movesthe family to Everwood, Colorado, a small town he was once told was idyllic. So begins a newlife, an effort to avoid making the same mistakes, and an effort to re-connect with his alienatedteenaged s...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 20th, 2004
Synopsis
The scene is a middle-class apartment building in Washington, DC. Our characters are Mary(Marla Gibbs), hard-nosed mother; her best friend and gossip-buddy Rose (Alaina Reed); big-time flirt Sandra (Jackée Harry) and the relevant husbands and offspring. It’s the expectedcollection of wisecracks and Issues Moments in an utterly typical, and I would have thoughcompletely forgotten, sitcom.
Audio
The 2.0 sound may be stereo, but it has no surround pres...
