Box Set

Addams Family, The (Volume 2)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 22nd, 2007

Synopsis

The first thing that surprised me when I did some minor research on The Addams Family was that as a show, it was barely on for a cup of coffee, lasting two seasons. Maybe because it was on around the same time as The Munsters shortened its shelf life. However three decades later, the film (and its sequel) helped propel it into fan appreciation.

At least as part of the preservation effort, the shows themselves are starting to appear on DVD shelves, and Volume 2 is the latest …
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Planet Earth – The Complete Series

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 18th, 2007

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Planet Earth – The Complete Series presents the original U.K. broadcast version with narration by David Attenborough, not the version airing on Discovery narrated by Sigourney Weaver.

Have you ever sat back and wondered about the sheer size and shape of our world, its diversity of habitats or the incredible variety of life we share it with? It’s hard to get your head around it all, especially when most of us are living out our existences in one tiny slice of the place, with the only the odd vacation …
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Season Four

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 16th, 2007

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Synopsis

When the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series came out on DVD, they decided to go the 12 episodes on one disk Volume approach. Sure it was only $10, but when you are looking at near 200 episodes and realized that it would 16+ volumes to make it complete, it was a bit overwhelming. Add that to the fact they were only releasing a new volume every 4-6 months, you were looking at well over 5 years to get all of the episodes. Plus some major shelf space. Thank …
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Michael Shayne Mysteries Volume 1

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 12th, 2007

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Synopsis

Lloyd Nolan stars in this quartet of films about Michael Shayne. Less hard-boiled than he was in other media, here he’s an inveterate wisecracker and the films are sometimes more comedies than thrillers. Our boy takes his first bow in <>i>Michael Shayne, Private Detective (1941), where he’s hired to keep an heiress (Marjorie Weaver) out of trouble. But when one of the dubious people she’s been hanging out with turns up killed, apparently by Shayne’s gun, the detective must stay one step …
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Scooby Doo, Where Are You! – The Complete Third Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 11th, 2007

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It seems unbelievable to me that Scooby Doo was just on for three seasons. Undoubtedly there were individual cartoon tie-ins created all along the way, and there are new episodes being created even today. No, I’m talking about the original classic program. Just three short seasons were produced, the final one of which is now available on DVD.

What is there to say about this series, these cartoons that were such an integral part of my childhood? You would have to be living in the mountain caves of Afgha…
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Twin Peaks – The Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 4th, 2007

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David Lynch’s twisted horror/crime/comedy/grotesque/soap opera came to a close with this season, wherein we learn who killed Laura Palmer, who shot Agent Cooper, and what at least some of the secrets of the Black Lodge are (the Lodge being a threatening, supernatural space). Viewers coming into this series without having seen the first season (got 120 bucks to buy it used on Amazon?) will be hopelessly confused, and we can only hope that a reissue of where it all began is not far down the road.
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The Odd Couple – Season One

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 31st, 2007

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The Odd Couple on DVD was something that admittedly was a long time coming out on DVD. The set was previously available as a Time Life exclusive, and now Paramount has come to the rescue, releasing this as a standalone set. From the Neil Simon play (not to mention inspired by the 1968 film with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau), the show chronicles the lives of roommates Felix Unger (Tony Randall, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?) and Oscar Madison (Jack Klugman, 12 Angry Men), one’s a neat freak, the other lives like a slob, and they live in New York.
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Inside the Actors Studio: Icons

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 25th, 2007

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Since its premiere in 1994, Inside the Actors Studio has been a fascinating talk show for film fans and aspiring actors, writers and directors alike. Each episode a famous guest ï¿½ usually an actor ï¿½ is interviewed one-on-one by host James Lipton, followed by questions from the student audience.

If youï¿½ve never seen the show, this three-disc set would make a fine introduction. Inside the Actors Studio: Icons features episodes with four towering entertainment personalities. In chronological order, star…
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The Hannibal Lecter Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 24th, 2007

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He’s one of the most compelling villains of modern fiction. Disturbing, disgusting and absolutely captivating at the same time, Hannibal Lecter can really get inside your head.

You may not have read the novels by Thomas Harris, or even seen all of the films, but I’m willing to bet you’re familiar with The Silence of the Lambs. One of the greatest thrillers in film history, the film in which Sir Anthony Hopkins became Dr. Lecter is the cornerstone of this three-movie set.
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The Mr. Moto Collection – Volume Two

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 16th, 2007

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These are the other four films featuring Peter Lorre as the mysterious detective Mr. Moto. All but the first are from 1939.

1938’s Mr. Moto’s Gamble began life as a Charlie Chan film, but difficulties with that franchise’s star (Warner Oland) led to Fox putting the Chan films on hiatus. Keye Luke, Chan’s Number One Son, is here anyway, as is plenty of footage shot for the Chan film. Luke and comic relief ex-boxer Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom do their best to help Moto solve a case of murder in a boxing ring.

Pinky and The Brain – Volume 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 15th, 2007

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Two lab mice, one world to conquer. When the ACME Labs shut down each night, Pinky and the Brain set out for world domination, armed only with Brain’s genetically enhanced, um, brain, and Pinky’s good-natured insanity.

We have here 22 episodes of this high quality animated series, picking up near the end of season two – where the vol. 1 release left off – and continuing in broadcast order to about the mid-point of season three.
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Mad About You – The Complete Third Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 7th, 2007

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Boy, this title really came out of left field. I am one of those DVD collectors who picks out their favorite television shows and collects all the full DVD season sets. I did this with Wonder Woman, with Kung Fu and with The West Wing. I also started collecting full season sets of Mad About You just a couple of months after I started with Friends. I finished all ten seasons of Friends in late 2005, yet I was only two seasons in to Mad About You‘s seven season run. What…
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Martin – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 3rd, 2007

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All, the early ’90s! I spent my time counting the days until my military service ended by drinking as much beer as possible until I got to the bright red circle on my calendar. But when Martin Lawrence (House Party) pitched an idea for a sitcom with an African American cast, Fox picked up the show and added it to a then-fledging group of shows that balanced themselves between evening soap operas and raunchy family comedies.

Martin tells the story of Martin Payne (Lawrence), successful host of an urban radio station program in Detroit.
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Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Film Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 28th, 2007

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The relationship between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor appeared to blossom when they were both on the set of Cleopatra. The epic film was famous, not for the success of the film but more for the near bankruptcy of the studio and for the romance that blossomed between the two. Warner Brothers has recently been releasing groups of films surrounding various film icons, and this set of four titles focuses on the two acting giants.
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SpongeBob SquarePants – Season 4, Volume 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 15th, 2007

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The zaniness continues in Bikini Bottom, and the series shows no sign of losing its appeal or its lunatic creativity. Wonderful little example: “Whale of a Birthday” is about Mr. Krabbs’ daughter’s sixteenth birthday. The highlight: a performance by “Boys Who Cry” singing “It’s All About You.” Perfect. There are twenty episodes here to keep your funny and whimsy bones tickled. (What, you don’t think you have a whimsy bone? Of course you do.)

Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law – Volume 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2006

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I’d never seen, nor heard of, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law before I received my review copy of this second volume of the series, which aired as part of Adult Swim. What a bizarre show! Not since Ren and Stimpy have I seen such a strange, adult-oriented cartoon.

Harvey Birdman was a shoddy superhero who has become a substandard Attorney. His firm handles cases for well-known animated Hanna-Barbara characters like The Jetsons, with each of the 13 episodes in this second volume presenting a new case.
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Full House – The Complete Fifth Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 15th, 2006

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Why is it that kids watch so much bad programming? When I was a child I watched a lot of Full House, even though I knew at the time that it was a poorly-crafted program. I really don’t remember ever laughing during an episode, and I knew how cheesy the whole thing was, yet if I was at home changing channels, and the show came on, I would inexplicably stop and watch. At first, I think it was confusing for me that Dave Coulier was on the show, as up until that point I was used to seeing him as the host of Nickel…
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Dukes of Hazzard, The – The Complete Seventh Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 13th, 2006

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I can’t believe this show ran for seven seasons. Sure, I enjoyed it as a child, but I was a child, and didn’t know any better. Seeing it today, it is shocking how bad it really is. The acting is pathetic and the storylines are lame and predictable. Every episode for seven straight seasons had the same basic skeleton. The boys are having a good time, the corrupt county commissioner does something for personal gain, the half-retarded Sheriff blames it on the innocent Duke boys, car chase, short shorts, car flies throug…
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NCIS – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 8th, 2006

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Synopsis

Hooray for Donald Bellisario and his decision to create prime time television shows with various branches of the armed forces! But in this case, NCIS takes advantage of the craze of all the CSI related shows that have sprouted up over the last several years. But with various jump cuts and clips of music that are interspersed with it, it’s still hard to make the distinction.

And to make things even more confusing, the show features a grouchy leader who utters the occasional g…
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The Irving Klaw Classics

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 4th, 2006

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Four discs of Irving Klaw’s 8mm films from the fifties: 270 minutes of material, which is astounding, given that all this was supposed to have been destroyed. The discs are distinguished by theme: “The Bettie Page Films,” “The Wrestling Films,””The Fetish Films,” and “The Dance Films.” The titles are self-explanatory, and a synopsis is, of course, utterly beside the point. These are short films featuring women parading around in heels and hose, fetish gear, and wrestling while got up in sam.
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Beverly Hills, 90210 – The Complete First Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 1st, 2006

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Ah, good old 1990 ï¿½ such an important year in our history. The Soviet Union was in a state of social and political upheaval, David Robinson had just taken the professional basketball world by storm, and I was hatching plans for my first double-digits birthday.

Oh yeah, and Beverly Hills, 90210 hit the airwaves for its inaugural season. Obviously, at the time I was a bit young to have been interested in this teen soap opera, so watching this first season DVD set has not be full of reminiscence for me.
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JAG – The Complete Second Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 25th, 2006

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Synopsis

The concept of JAG is pretty simple, I mean, it’s A Few Good Men on the small screen, using sets and footage from other recent armed forces films and hopefully enough pretty people that viewers will enjoy it. However, that wasn’t the case initially, but JAG is one of those shows that helps prove how sometimes you’ve got to give enough time for people to catch onto it before it takes hold.

From week to week in Season One, the creators kept trying to find a female offic…
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Pen & Teller: Bullsh*t! – The Complete Third Season

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 22nd, 2006

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I thought Pen & Teller were magician-comedians. When did they get a T.V. show? Call me out of touch, but I hadnï¿½t heard of Pen & Teller: Bullsh*t! until this third season set was sent my way to review.

Obviously, Iï¿½m in no position to make comments like, ï¿½season three of Bullsh*t! (for short) is by far the best yet.ï¿½ I can say itï¿½s the finest season of Bullsh*t! Iï¿½ve ever seen in my entire life, but that means jack-all since Iï¿½ve already explained that itï¿½s the only season of Bullsh*t! Iï¿½ve watched.
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Humphrey Bogart – Signature Collection, Vol. 1

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 21st, 2006

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Humphrey Bogart, screen legend. Before I got my hands on this collection, Iï¿½d never seen a Bogart picture in its entirety. And yet, I knew his name as well as anyone, and was aware of his status as one of classic Hollywoodï¿½s biggest stars.

Humphrey Bogart ï¿½ The Signature Collection, Volume 1 presents four Bogart films: Casablanca ï¿½ 2-disc Special Edition, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre ï¿½ 2-disc Special Edition, High Sierra and They Drive By Night. Iï¿½d always meant to wat…h these films, but I just never got around to it, partly because I can barely keep up with all of the new ones released every year, and partly because of ï¿½ I admit it ï¿½ a slight prejudice toward ï¿½oldï¿½ movies.
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Sopranos, The — Season Six, Part 1

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 17th, 2006

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Synopsis

I’m not even going to try to summarize this, as that would mean pretending I had the faintest idea what was going on, and who was who. I know, I know, I’m revealing my cultural deprivation – I haven’t been following the series. What I will say, though, is that even with that ignorance, the quality of this chronicle of the ups and downs of a New Jersey mob’s lives, loves and deaths, is undeniable. But then, you knew that, or you wouldn’t be reading this. Do note, of course, that this is only …
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