Disc Reviews

It’s been quite some time since The Chappelle Show went off the air, and it would appear Comedy Central has finally found its replacement.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say the show is on the same par, but what Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele bring to the small screen is something that has piqued my interest and shows some potential.  Both Key and Peele got their big break from working on the sketch comedy show MADtv, and it would seem they are taking their talents and what they learned to bring us something that is a little familiar but still fresh and keeps its audience laughing.

"Prisoners of the ARC, hear me now. You've been given a second chance, and as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us, indeed for mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better, we would've sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable."

It's 97 years ago and nuclear holocaust has made life on Earth unlivable... at least that's what most people believed.

Politics, backstabbing, murder...just another day at French court.”

The creators of Reign — the CW's campy, compulsively-watchable adaptation of the Mary, Queen of Scots saga — seem to be perfectly aware of their audience. I don't think I'm talking out of school when I say no one turns to the CW — home of DC heroes, vampires, and other Supernatural beings — for gritty realism or historical accuracy. So it really shouldn't be a surprise to find the monarch's life has been turned into a handsome, soapy, frequently ridiculous drama that will nevertheless make European History teachers around the world facepalm in unison.

"And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, "Come and see." Then, behold, a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him."

No, this is not a Johnny Cash song or a bible study post. Believe it or not, we're talking Ichabod Crane from Washington Irving's famous story The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow. Fans of the tale will recall that Ichabod came to encounter the headless horseman in one of the first American horror tales ever written.

"There is a town in Maine where every storybook character you've ever known is trapped between two worlds, victims of a powerful curse. Only one knows the truth, and only one can break her spell."

ABC has had a very important asset going for it for years. It's one that the network has seldom taken any advantage of. That asset is its parent company. You see, ABC is part of the Walt Disney family. With the rich history of stories the studio has in its arsenal going back to the 1920's, it was only a matter of time before some clever people decided to find a way to use that rich history into a television series.

- "Let's never say the words 'Carrion' or 'Initiative' ever again."

- "Amen to that."

"Carrion" was a tedious MacGuffin of a computer program. "The Initiative" was the shadowy, faceless organization responsible for the terrorist attack pinned on the father of Revenge heroine Emily Thorne. Together, they combined to make the sophomore season of ABC's formerly scorching-hot nighttime soap a tiresome chore.

Special Agent Gibbs (Harmon) heads up this group of criminal investigators. Harmon has always been good, but I dare you to find a character he’s played better. He just eats up the part. You won’t have any trouble believing that Gibbs is the seasoned veteran investigator leading this team. Special Agent DiNozzo (Weatherly) is a former Baltimore homicide detective who often lets his determination run his investigation into trouble. He’ll bend a rule or throw a punch, whatever it takes to bring down the bad guy. Pauley Perrette plays the goth chick/forensic specialist Abby Sciuto.

There's certainly an interesting movie to be made about cultural assimilation and the ensuing racial conflicts within the black community. Those topics have been explored in everything from a classic, brilliantly profane Chris Rock routine to the just-premiered ABC sitcom Black-ish. They're also ostensibly tackled in Rise Up Black Man, a total mess of a micro-budget drama that tries to do way too much and accomplishes little beyond leaving viewers scratching their heads.

"The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths, in particular Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother, Franklin. It is all the more tragic in that they were young. But, had they lived very, very long lives, they could not have expected nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day. For them an idyllic summer afternoon drive became a nightmare. The events of that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre."

Marilyn Burns, Paul Partain, Allen Danziger, Teri McMinn, William Vail and Gunnar Hansen individually may not be that well known.

"The waiting will kill you."

For the fans of Grey's Anatomy, the summer-long wait is finally over. You have the season premiere of season 11 upon you, and you get to relive all 24 episodes of season 9 with this DVD collection. Hopefully you'll find it was worth the wait.