Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 29th, 2006
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. The episodes run about 11 minutes each, and they're all very odd and pretty darn funny. Since the episodes are so short, I'm not going to spoil any of the storylines here. If you're not familiar with the show or the adult-oriented cartoon genre, I suggest renting a disc from Harvey Birdman volume one to get a taste. If you enjoy that, you'll eat up this volume two release.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 15th, 2006
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...deon's Out of Control. I think that was the first time that it really sunk in for me that the people on TV were actors, and not real people.
Season Five catches the show's eight-season run during its "prime". The season starts off with Uncle Jessie and his wife Becky finding out that they are going to have twins. This is an event that really marks the beginning of the end of this show for me. The episodes leading up to this point put the focus on Bob Saget and his daughters, while this season starts the transition to spending much more time with the supporting characters. Subsequent seasons saw the characters growing in increasingly different directions, and the whole mess just became more and more disjointed. While this opened up new storytelling options for the writers, it also changed the show's core dynamic. The same could be said for the final couple of seasons of this show's thematic forerunner, Growing Pains. Once Mike Seaver became a responsible adult, the show had strayed too far from what made it appealing to audiences in the first place.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 13th, 2006
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... the air, sheriff's face in a mud puddle, phony laughing for no reason, credits. By the time The Dukes of Hazzard finally aired its final season in the mid-80's, it had actually sank to the point of bringing on guest stars with as much believability as the time that the Harlem Globetrotters visited Gilligan's Island.
This was truly a show aimed at America's lowest common denominator. I can respect the fact that it had eye candy and it was anti-establishment. The thing is, the show just beat the viewer over the head with it. The Sheriff is not just stupid, he is clearly such a colossal moron that I am truly amazed that he can dress himself in the mornings. The government was always wrong, and the innocent citizens were always right. Trust me, if you have seen one episode of this show, you have seen them all. There is no reason to purchase an entire season's worth, and there is absolutely no sane reason to collect the whole series. Do yourself a favor and pick up a complete season of The Andy Griffith Show instead.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 8th, 2006
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.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 4th, 2006
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. These are not great art, by any stretch of the imagination. But they DID stretch the popular imagination. The rating I've assigned reflects the cultural impact of Kaw's work, which continues to be felt to this day. This is an important collection.Audio
Cult epics has jazzed up the presentation by adding soundtracks of 1950's style music to the shorts: lounge, jazz swing and big band are the offerings, and they add a great deal of fun to the proceedings. The 2.0 mix treats the music well, and the bass lines are very solid. This is, of course, the only sound, and it is a very nice touch.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 1st, 2006
Ah, good old 1990 � 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.Instead, it�s been like discovering for the first time what 1990 could have been like, had I been a beautiful, spoiled-rich teen living in Beverly Hills, as opposed to a chubby, pre-pubescent boy residing in the Arctic � er, Canada.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 25th, 2006
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.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 22nd, 2006
I thought Pen & Teller were magician-comedians. When did they get a T.V. show? Call me out of touch, but I hadn�t heard of Pen & Teller: Bullsh*t! until this third season set was sent my way to review.
Obviously, I�m in no position to make comments like, �season three of Bullsh*t! (for short) is by far the best yet.� I can say it�s the finest season of Bullsh*t! I�ve ever seen in my entire life, but that means jack-all since I�ve already explained that it�s the only season of Bullsh*t! I�ve watched.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 22nd, 2006
I thought Pen & Teller were magician-comedians. When did they get a T.V. show? Call me out of touch, but I hadn�t heard of Pen & Teller: Bullsh*t! until this third season set was sent my way to review.
Obviously, I�m in no position to make comments like, �season three of Bullsh*t! (for short) is by far the best yet.� I can say it�s the finest season of Bullsh*t! I�ve ever seen in my entire life, but that means jack-all since I�ve already explained that it�s the only season of Bullsh*t! I�ve watched.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 21st, 2006
Humphrey Bogart, screen legend. Before I got my hands on this collection, I�d 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 Hollywood�s biggest stars.
Humphrey Bogart � The Signature Collection, Volume 1 presents four Bogart films: Casablanca � 2-disc Special Edition, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre � 2-disc Special Edition, High Sierra and They Drive By Night. I�d 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 � I admit it � a slight prejudice toward �old� movies. I have no idea why I avoid the classics, especially since each time I do sit down to experience one I�m always pleasantly surprised.
