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... stories began to get considerably more campy. Season 2 brings us such memorable characters like the green skinned Athena, the Space Circus master Dr. Marvello, Arab Chieftans, and who can forget that rascal cousin Jeremiah Smith?For better or worse, this is what Lost In Space would forever be identified with. The first season was eventually cut out of future syndication packages.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 24th, 2004
Synopsis
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...es. The interplay between characters is fantastic too – the division between the police on the street and the prosecuting attorneys makes for great characterizations, and interesting interactions when the two halves are bought together. The other thing that struck me about the series was relevance - issues in each episode coincide with events actually taking place in the real-world (SARS, for instance, in the episode “Patient Zero”), which lends the entire series credibility and ratchets the interest level up one notch higher.
One thing that struck me while watching a few episodes was how different shows can have an impact on society, or not. Consider the original Star Trek for instance – a three year run with horrible production values that somehow spawned a subculture, many movies, and however many spin off series. Law & Order, despite all of its general greatness (11 Emmy nominations and one win) hasn’t quite penetrated society to the same degree – no one attends Law & Order conventions, and there aren’t any Law & Order fanzines. Perhaps is the day-to-day nature of the subject matter (culled from newspaper headlines) doesn’t lend itself to cult followings, or perhaps the fact that there isn’t much soap-opera to the show keeps the characters at arms length – hard to say. Or maybe I’m just off-base here – if you’re a member of a Law & Order fan club, by all means post a comment and correct me.
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...es. The interplay between characters is fantastic too – the division between the police on the street and the prosecuting attorneys makes for great characterizations, and interesting interactions when the two halves are bought together. The other thing that struck me about the series was relevance - issues in each episode coincide with events actually taking place in the real-world (SARS, for instance, in the episode “Patient Zero”), which lends the entire series credibility and ratchets the interest level up one notch higher.
One thing that struck me while watching a few episodes was how different shows can have an impact on society, or not. Consider the original Star Trek for instance – a three year run with horrible production values that somehow spawned a subculture, many movies, and however many spin off series. Law & Order, despite all of its general greatness (11 Emmy nominations and one win) hasn’t quite penetrated society to the same degree – no one attends Law & Order conventions, and there aren’t any Law & Order fanzines. Perhaps is the day-to-day nature of the subject matter (culled from newspaper headlines) doesn’t lend itself to cult followings, or perhaps the fact that there isn’t much soap-opera to the show keeps the characters at arms length – hard to say. Or maybe I’m just off-base here – if you’re a member of a Law & Order fan club, by all means post a comment and correct me.
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...andard "monster of the week" formula that was used prior.
If you’ve never watched season four when it aired on television than be prepared to have your social life vanish as you can’t help but watch every episode as quickly as possible. With a show that involves one major cliffhanger after another, you can’t help but be drawn to watching just "one" more episode. Next thing you know 3 hours have passed and you’ve watched 4 episodes back to back.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 20th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 19th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 7th, 2004
Synopsis
Let’s start with the two biggest titles in the collection, which have a life outside thiscollection. North by Northwest is arguably Hitchcock’s greatest exercise in sheer roller-coaster thriller entertainment. As in so many of the director’s films, an insane chain of eventsis set in motion by the smallest of actions, in this case Cary Grant signalling a bell boy just asthe latter is calling out a name. Grant is thus misidentified by the villains, and he is suddenlyrunning fo... his life with no idea why people are trying to kill him. The crop-duster scene is oneof the most famous in all of Hitchcock’s oeuvre.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 2nd, 2004
The fifth season of Babylon 5 would prove to be the show’s last. Fans had clamored at the end of the third season for a fourth, and they succeeded. At the end of the fourth, the clamoring began again, and they earned the show yet another reprieve. The fifth try finally sounded the death knell on this show, however. It’s really all for the best, though, since the series had unquestionably been driving toward this conclusion for some time. To go on any longer would have been unfair to the integrity of the show i...self.
The final season was a bit of a rocky one by comparison, filled with new and departing cast members, guest spots and the always-unpopular series finale. Luckily, this show avoided the last-show curse, and created a series finale that was well received by critics and fans alike. Even going back now, after all the hype, it is easy to see why this episode was liked so well. It is a surprisingly moving piece on what it means for life to move on, no matter your species.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 2nd, 2004
If you think about it, it’s a little surprising that Wonder Woman lasted for three full seasons. To my knowledge, there really hadn’t been any popular female super heroes before this show. Obviously there were a couple peppered around here and there in comics, but as far as movies and television go, it was pretty hard to find any kind of super female hero. Of course, Lynda Carter and that tiny patriotic costume may have had something to do with it.
Almost 40 years later, it’s a little more understandable wh... this show can still move some units. It’s a bit Austin Powers, and a bit Indiana Jones. A show about the 40’s, created in the 70’s, and now available on DVD in the new millennium. It’s about as retro hip as the time that Sammy Davis Jr. guest-starred on Bewitched. Too cool to miss.
