Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 20th, 2004
It is nearly impossible to escape the common comparisons between Monk and Columbo. But don’t get this show expecting it to be at all like the well-loved bumbling detective played for decades by Peter Falk. The two characters are nothing alike. The comparisons are made because we haven’t had a detective show since Columbo where the quirks and personality of the character himself were more important than the cases he solved.
Tony Shalhoub’s Adrian Monk suffers from a long list of phobias from germs to drink...ng milk. He also suffers from O.C.D. (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). This means that Monk can’t stand disorder of any kind. This, of course, doesn’t help when you consider how few “neat” crime scenes there are. The series uses different writers to bring out the comedy and the mystery elements of the show. Shalhoub is what really makes everything fly. Expect that the show does go way over the top. But it’s all in good fun. On of the big surprises here is Ted Levine as the police captain. Levine, of course, is best known as the killer from Silence of the Lambs.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 18th, 2004
Everyone’s favorite television psychiatrist is back for his third go around. Frasier and his emmy award winning cast return for one of the better seasons that the series produced. The third season sees more wackiness, more Eddie jokes, and more shenanigans at the radio station. The biggest story shift this year is Niles' (David Hyde Pierce) separation from the still unseen Maris, leaving him more free time to moon over Daphne (Jane Leeves). In a half-season arc, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) finds himself at odds with, an... then in the arms of new station manager Kate Costas (Mercedes Ruehl). And along the way we meet gangsters, Diane Chambers returns (having written a hilarious play with a very familiar Boston setting), and the season finale gives us a look at Frasier's first week on the air - something we didn't get a good look at before, even in the pilot.
The outstanding writing that introduced us to these characters in the first 2 seasons returns with all guns a blazing for the third season, particularly showing some fine wit in the stories that centre around Nile’s separation from the mysterious Maris.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 16th, 2004
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 15th, 2004
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 9th, 2004
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 8th, 2004
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Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon are Sean McNamara and Christian Troy, plastic surgeons.Sean is the suave ladies’ man, who has ethics only when convenient and/or profitable. Christianis the better surgeon and the (by no means perfect) family man. Neither man is a prize (they areplastic surgeons, after all), but Christian at least tries to be better than he is. Models, gangsters,porn stars, and transsexuals are but a few of the characters whose live intersect with thesurgeons.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 2nd, 2004
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 2nd, 2004
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Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 1st, 2004
Star Trek Voyager came into its own during season two. This was the first full season of the Star Trek spin-off. Superior to its sister show Deep Space Nine, Voyager once again brought the concept of exploration to the Star Trek universe.
The season was very uneven. There is the absolutely terrible and contrived episode “The 37’s” which start off with an old pickup truck floating in space. For the first time a starship lands, and I think that was an unwise development. This is the episode where the crew fi...ds Amelia Earhart.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 1st, 2004
In season 2, The West Wing was still superior to almost anything on television at the time. The problems began to surface, however. Season 2 concentrated far too much time on the whole MS deal. I missed the powerful insider political stories. Still, there is little question that the writing and production style of the show continued to shine. Up to this point only Hill Street Blues had more Emmy nominations in one season.
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