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Star Trek: Discovery – Season One (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 20th, 2018

“Some say that in life, there are no second chances. Experience tells me that this is true. But we can only look forward. We have to be torchbearers, casting the light so we may see our path to lasting peace. We will continue exploring, discovering new worlds, new civilizations. Yes – that is the United Federation of Planets. Yes, that is Starfleet. Yes, that is who we are. And who we will always be.”

I should confess from the beginning that I am a very dedicated Star Trek fan.
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MacGyver: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 12th, 2018

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MacGyver (v) to act in an extremely resourceful manner. To utilize everyday items in unconventional ways to achieve a difficult task. I predict it will not be long before you can open your trusty copy of Webster’s and find this character has officially entered our lexicon. There is little doubt but that it is an unofficial part of it now. Crossing over from the realm of pop culture and into our language is a phenomenal achievement for a television show.
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Charmed: The Complete First Season (1999) (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 12th, 2018

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“We are the protectors of the innocent. We are The Charmed Ones.”

It’s no coincidence that both the original shows of Charmed and MacGyver are starting to be released on the Blu-ray format. Both shows have been rebooted for television, and that means they’re counting on fans of the original to become the foundation for a new base of fans. The best way to do that is to remind you why it is that you loved the shows in the first place. The best way to remind you is to dangle a little bait. That bait is the release of both shows on Blu-ray starting with their first seasons. Will it last? I don’t know.
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Girlfriends: The Complete Series

Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on March 15th, 2018

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Girlfriends was a sitcom that ran from 2000 to 2008 back when The CW was known as UPN. It will also probably surprise people to learn that the series was executive produced by Kelsey Grammar, as the show is quite different from Frasier. Girlfriends was not the best comedy around, but it was a very important one for several reasons; every so often it tackled real world issues such as HIV, mental illness, miscarriages, and same-sex relationships. The series, as the title suggests, also featured a predominantly female-oriented cast.
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John Wayne Double Feature Rio Lobo/Big Jake (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 15th, 2017

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“It is, I think, going to be a very harsh and unpleasant kind of business and will, I think, require an extremely harsh and unpleasant kind of man to see to it.”

That man, of course, is John Wayne. They called him The Duke, and he was indeed western cinema royalty for six decades. He represented the American ideal of the tough guy who stood up for the weak and didn’t shy away from a fight. His characters usually worked hard, and they played just as hard. He had a unique way of turning a phrase and has been one of the most widely impersonated Hollywood voices. By the time the 1970’s rolled around, Wayne was coming to the end of a long career.
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Love the Coopers (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Dan Holland on February 11th, 2016

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“Ah, the holidays. The most wonderful time of the year. And so begins my tale…”

Love the Coopers seems to be a holiday title that arrived a little later than expected at the Upcoming Discs hub. Within the first five to ten minutes, you come to realize that it is a family-oriented holiday film with a rather impressive A-list cast, consisting of Steve Martin, John Goodman, Diane Keaton, Alan Arkin, Ed Helms, and Olivia Wilde. If you aren’t already a fan of any of these actors and actresses, the film’s story is endearing, as are most holiday films. However, what sets this film apart from other holiday titles (for me, anyway) is the hauntingly accurate idea of a “family” being a bleak entity, as well as atmosphere, that we all must learn to love in our own ways.
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Scorpion: Season 1 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 14th, 2015

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“My name is Walter O’Brien. I have the fourth highest IQ ever recorded: 197. Einstein’s was 160. When I was 11 the FBI arrested me for hacking into NASA to get their blueprints for my bedroom wall. Now I run a team of geniuses, tackling worldwide threats only we can solve…”

By now you are used to the geeky technical expert that is a requisite part of many television crime-solving teams. It’s become such a stereotype that it’s more formula than character by this point. So what if you had an entire team of these super-intellects, and there was only one normal person in the line-up.
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NCIS: Season 12 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 19th, 2015

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CBS has finally decided to release the number-one-rated show in the world on high-definition Blu-ray. It’s a milestone event for the network and for fans of the show, and it only took 12 years to get it done. To be fair, Blu-ray hasn’t quite been around for 12 years, but many networks have gotten us caught up with popular shows in high definition by this time. It’s remarkable that it did take this long to get a season of NCIS on Blu-ray. Let’s hope the numbers warrant that future seasons be given the same treatment and that we’ll then be able to get the previous 11. It’s an experiment CBS has tried with both CSI and NCIS: LA. Unfortunately, numbers must not have supported that move.
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The Dovekeepers (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by J C on August 14th, 2015

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“You will remain my prisoners until you’ve told me what really happened in Masada.”

Those words are spoken by Flavius Josephus, the real-life historian for the Romans who chronicled the Siege of Masada. In The Dovekeepers, Josephus is talking to two iron-willed female prisoners who also happen to be among the few people who survived the attack. Their story is told in flashback, and this two-part miniseries brushes up against some interesting points about who gets to write humanity’s history. But in telling the story from a female perspective — an admirable, out-of-the-box idea — this miniseries reduces a complex, fascinating historical event into a stiff, protracted soap opera.
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The Affair: Season One

Posted in No Huddle by J C on August 5th, 2015

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The notion that there are two sides to every story is at the center of The Affair. Almost every episode depicts the same events related to the titular adulterous relationship from two different perspectives. It’s an ingenious and inclusive storytelling tool because TV viewers are encouraged to spot the differences in each character’s account of events. (Along with inconsistencies in hairstyles, wardrobe, wallpaper, etc.) That’s why I was somewhat disheartened by the latter portion of the season veering away from what made the show great.
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I Love Lucy: The Ultimate Season 2 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 4th, 2015

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I Love Lucy changed the fledgling television industry in the 1950’s. This was a time when network television was less than a decade old. Most folks had never heard of television just 15 years earlier. I Love Lucy defined the concept of a sitcom. The show was driven by the very strong personalities of the cast. Desi Arnaz was considered a charismatic Latin lover by American women. Lucy played the perfect foil and found a mountain of gold to mine in strong physical comedy. So many modern shows owe their roots to this classic that it would be impossible to mention them all here. Now CBS and Paramount are bringing the show back in brand-new high-definition restored image that will delight even the pickiest fans of the show.
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Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season 6 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2014

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“Space… the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before.”

The sixth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation is arguable one of the best seasons in the history of the franchise. There are likely many reasons for this.
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Star Trek: Enterprise – Complete Third Season (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 15th, 2014

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“It’s been a long time getting from there to here.”

Thirty-five years to be exact. Enterprise is the fourth spinoff from the original 1960’s hopeful series. The Earth is finally ready to send its first starship to explore the vast galaxy. This first starship Enterprise is smaller than the ships we’ve become used to. There are no shields or photon torpedoes. The transporter has only been cleared for inanimate objects. Not that this stands in the way of its occasional “emergency” use.
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Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season 5 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 22nd, 2013

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Quality shows only get better with time, and by the time Star Trek: The Next Generation entered its 5th season it was already beating out most network shows in the ratings. First-run syndication was still quite new, and it was almost unheard of to expect to go up against the networks and survive…let alone win. The Next Generation went where no series had gone before, and it was just getting better all the time.
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