Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 21st, 2010
“Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality. But there is, unseen by most, an underworld, a place that is just as real, but not so brightly lit, a darkside.”
Not since the likes of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits has there been a really good sci-fi/horror anthology until 1984’s Tales. Not to say that each episode was a winner. In fact, most were pretty weak and relatively lame, but when this show was good, it was very good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 21st, 2010
Erle Stanley Gardner wrote crime fiction, and while many of his 100 or so works are unknown to most of us, he created a character that has become as identified with criminal lawyers as any other in fiction. It was in these crime novels that Perry Mason first faced a courtroom. He developed a style where he would investigate these terrible crimes his clients were on trial for. He would find the real killer, and in what has become a Hollywood cliché, reveal his findings in a crucial moment during the trial.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 16th, 2010
In many ways Barnaby Jones was seen as the Matlock of private Detectives. The title character's age alone gave him a similar, elderly fan-base that sustained the program for eight seasons. As a spin-off from Cannon, producer Quinn Martin offered us yet another protagonist who is designed to be perpetually underestimated (Cannon because of his obesity, and Jones for his age). Buddy Ebsen (who most know best as Jed Clampett from the original Beverly Hillbillies) is Barnaby Jones, who is always accepting a cold glass of milk over a hard drink, and always asking “a lot of questions” to catch the bad guy.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 15th, 2010
I’ve been a fan of South Park ever since a friend introduced me to the internet Christmas card that started it all. It was Santa versus Jesus and these short potty-mouthed kids that somehow wormed their way under your skin. Pretty soon I was downloading the episodes and watching them on my computer. For some reason I can’t quite explain, I’ve very rarely watched an episode on Comedy Central. By the time things were getting tighter and riskier downloading the shorts, the single disc, 4 episode DVDs began to arrive in stores. So my South Park viewing moved from the PC to the DVD player. In a short time season sets began to arrive,
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 11th, 2010
There was a new Cowboy in Dallas, and he wasn’t throwing touchdown passes. But Walker was almost gone before he could really get started. After just four episodes the show’s production company suffered financial collapse, and the show was rescued at the last minute by CBS Productions, who would continue to run the show for its nearly decade-long run. For nine years Chuck Norris brought us the ultimate Texas Ranger in a formula cops and robbers show. The show often became a parody of itself, but maintained a solid viewer ship throughout
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 11th, 2010
The fourth season of Matlock brought more of the same. If you’re a fan, that’s very good news indeed. What is that, you ask? Imagine Sheriff Andy Taylor older and now an attorney, and you pretty much have the setup for Matlock. Forget for a second that both characters were played by Andy Griffith. That’s not all they have in common. Matlock is every bit the “southern gentleman” that Taylor was. He might be a little smarter, but he walks and talks like Andy Taylor.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 27th, 2010
Several years ago, I went through my divorce. We were clearly not made for each other and spent many nights arguing over the simplest things. Despite our constant bickering, our divorce went reasonably smooth and we were able to agree on most things. Thankfully, we did not have kids to further complicate the proceedings. However, if we did have kids and had arranged dual custody, I wonder if it would have turned out like Gary Unmarried: Season One.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on February 25th, 2010
Oh how the rich can get into mischief. This DVD set is smack dab in the middle of Dynasty's successful nine season run. The mud slinging, both literal and figurative, was at its height in this fourth season, and no $200 haircut or $1000 outfit was left unruffled by the various scandals and plots set into the web of these wealthy Denver residents. In fact, this season was the one and only time this series won a Golden Globe for best TV Drama.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 23rd, 2010
William Conrad was no stranger to audiences when Cannon joined the Quinn Martin stable of television dramas. In fact, most folks knew his voice before they got to know his trademark girth. Conrad was the original Matt Dillon when Gunsmoke was a radio drama. When the drama entered the visual medium of television, even Conrad admitted later that the audience, who thought of him as tall and handsome, would have been disappointed. His voice lent authority to any role he played, and on radio his size was never an issue. He was famous as the voice of the stern narrator in the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons who often crossed the laws of the trade and interacted with the title characters.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 23rd, 2010
Just to look at it you would think that My 3 Sons was a Disney production. Its star Fred MacMurray had appeared in many Disney films of the 50’s and 60’s and is most likely recognizable from those appearances. Two of the three boys were also known for work with Disney. The eldest boy, Mike, was played by Tim Considine, who starred with MacMurray in Disney’s The Shaggy Dog. Middle son Robbie was played by a former Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer, Don Grady. The youngest son, Chip, was played by Stanley Livingston, the only non Disney alum in that group.
![South Park: The Complete Thirteenth Season [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/south-park-the-complete-thirteenth-large.jpg)
