Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 14th, 2005
Synopsis
Fred Astaire plays a song-and-dance man who has seen better days, and is past his prime asfar as Hollywood is concerned. He arrives in New York to star in a new show written by two oldfriends (Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant). The project is taken on by a pretentiousproducer/director/actor (Jack Buchanan), who brings in ballet dancer Cyd Charisse. Astaire andCharisse clash initially, and Buchanan is intent on turning the sprightly musical comedy into amodern version of Faus...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2005
Dave Chappelle and I are the same. Well, he’s a year younger than me. And he’s black. But we’re both from Washington DC, but I live in the suburbs, and usually never go into the downtown area unless someone dared me. But he’s a lot funnier than me, and Comedy Central decided to give him a 12 episode commitment on their network after seeing him in such films as Half Baked, Screwed and Undercover Brother.
And quietly, Dave has put together a smart, funny show that everyone instantly dismi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2005
This show the bomb diggity yo! Seriously though, Jonny Quest in a way revolutionized cartoons in the sense of realism that they tried to convey. Some of the cartoons that have come out since have done a pretty good job of it, but not too many shows were touching on topics such as laser technology, rockets and other concepts then looked at as “futuristic.” And put up against other shows of that era, the animation on Jonny Quest had an almost comic-book like feel to it, and it was a nice change of pace from the ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 13th, 2005
Synopsis
The set-up for Green Acres is that we have a city couple (Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor) whohave forsaken the big city sophistication of New York for the titular verdant acres near the townof Hooterville. So there’s plenty of fish-out-of-water humour (Albert dressing in a suit in thecountry, Gabor a completely incapable housfrau), not to mention numerous slack-jawed yokels.This is pretty standard late-60s sitcom humour, so we’re not talking enormous sophisticationhere, and the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 13th, 2005
I must admit that season 5 of South Park was not one of my favorites. I didn’t mind the more permanent death of Kenny. OK, I did mind losing Kenny, but that wasn’t what really brought the series down. It appears that the crudeness found in season 5 has no other purpose than for shock value which in itself is lost on South Park fans. You just can’t shock us anymore.
An episode with a running counter for how often SHIT appears is a perfect indication of how run down things had gotten. Don’t get me wrong. The...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 13th, 2005
Synopsis
Welcome to the Lower East Side, where the high-rise apartments of the super-rich abut thetenements on the riverside. Here Joel McCrea, a poor would-be architect, is infatuated with richgirl Wendy Barrie, while poor girl Sylvia Sidney pines for him, all the while trying to save heryounger brother from a life of crime on the streets. Into the scene strides Humphrey Bogart as awanted killer, coming home to try to reconnect with his mother and an old flame. Intersectingwith the...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 12th, 2005
No, this is not the NBC series from the mid-90’s starring Rob Schneider. This is the original UK show. All 12 episodes from the first two seasons are available here on 2 discs. In fact, it’s not just a two disc set, but two completely separate releases packaged together.
At first, I was a little surprised that this mediocre show lasted for six full seasons. I changed my mind, however, when I thought about such American staples as Family Matters and Boy Meets World. They are not great monuments...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 11th, 2005
It’s hard to imagine that just 10 years ago Steven Bochco stirred up a hornet’s nest with the introduction of NYPD Blue. I say hard to imagine because after just three seasons The Shield has taken commercial TV to heights unimagined by anyone 10 years ago. Vic Mackey doesn’t just rough up suspects. He controls the streets he patrols. He’s not even above killing another cop to keep his thumb on crime in the Barrio district of L.A. Michael Chiklis, once known as the fatherly kind cop on The Commish, has t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 9th, 2005
Synopsis
As with such other series as The X-Files, this is less about single-episode adventuresthan about a long, complex storyline. As a result, I can’t even pretend to understand what the hellis going on here, and so turn the synopsis over to the box copy: “‘You’re one of us now,’Nikita is told. But has she truly abandoned her compassionate nature and become anunquestioning member of the soulless covert organization called Section One? Or has shemastered the group’s knack f...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 9th, 2005
Alice Through the Looking Glass is a 1998 television version of the Lewis Carroll classic. Now this is NOT Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Looking Glassis Carroll's lesser known follow up. There's no mad hatter or chasing white rabbits. But there are white queens, talking insects, and discussions of the Jabberwocky. This is a fairly faithful adaptation.
The story is simple. Alice, through her magic mirror, enters Carroll's world of dream logic and nonsense. Kate Beckinsale (re...
