Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 4th, 2015
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. We've now reached the second season of these efforts, and it is absolutely worth a look.
Even if you are not a particular fan of the show, it would be a mistake to dismiss the impact the series had both on the situation comedy and the television industry itself. The show's pioneering use of the three-camera format and shooting on film allows the material to be in a position to be restored at all. That setup has remained a staple of the television comedy since that time. Desi was also a marketing genius who was the first to take advantage of the promotional value of putting the show's name on everything from lunch boxes to sleepwear. It's an innovation that is exaggerated in a Red Skelton skit provided in the extras here. Desi changed the way television crew did their jobs and created the modern production methods still used today.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2014
"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. I think the most likely has to do with Rick Berman. He had moved his attention over to Deep Space 9 and had left the day-to-day running of Next Generation to others. Most notable of the others was Jerri Taylor, who moved up to take control of both the writer's room and casting choices. Both showed remarkable improvement under her leadership. She's credited with the "graying" of Starfleet, insisting that there be more guest stars over 30. She also insisted that stories stop using some of the same gimmicks. As a result, this is the only year in Star Trek history where a starship malfunction did not lead to the crises of the week. She would hold brainstorming sessions at her home on Sundays and was more open to tie-ins with the original series. This, of course, led to Relics, in which James Doohan returns as Scotty, and it became the third highest rated episode of Star Trek in franchise history. The season was so successful in the ratings that it beat that year's World Series, which led to a two-page spread in the trades from Paramount with the tag line: "Baseball's World Series lost to our worlds series". The truth was Trek didn't just beat it. It was a blowout. Trek brought in 23% more viewers during that time period than the games. Trek was at an all-time high in popularity. The merchandising had just crossed the $2 billion mark, and the sky was literally the limit.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 15th, 2014
“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. The ship is very much like the cramped spaces of today's submarines. It adds an even greater sense of reality to the show. The crew is composed of Captain Jonathan Archer (Bakula), First Officer and Vulcan High Command liaison, T’Pol (Blalock), Chief Engineer Charles (Trip) Tucker (Trinneer), Tactical Officer Malcolm Reed (Keating), Denobulan Dr. Phlox (Billingsly), Pilot Travis Mayweather (Montgomery) and Linguist/Communications Officer Hoshi Sato (Park).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 22nd, 2013
"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."
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.
