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Jeremy Butler Reviews Creed III

Jeremy Butler Reviews Creed III

Brent Lorentson Reviews Cocaine Bear

Brent Lorentson Reviews Cocaine Bear

Death Wish (1974) (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 24th, 2023

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“What about the old American social custom of self-defense? If the police don’t defend us, maybe we should do it ourselves.”

Vigilante justice has always been a popular subject in our movies, television shows, literature, and even comic books. Batman is nothing more than Bruce Wayne out to get back at criminals like the ones who murdered his parents when he was a kid. Batman is the ultimate vigilante. And let’s be honest. Haven’t you ever once fantasized that you could cross that line and punish some injustice or another that crossed your path? The subject has been around since stories have been told. There are those landmark tales, however, that for some reason or another reach the soul of the masses.
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No Mercy (Blu-ray)

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on January 19th, 2023

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The 1980’s saw a resurgence of the themes and styles of the earlier film noir genre but with more modern themes and situations. Films like Alan Parker’s DeNiro/ Rourke Angel Heart and Paul Schrader’s Richard Gere/Laura Hutton American Gigolo are two of the finest examples of what has become known as neo noir. The genre has existed since the 1960’s, but there was a certain style to these 1980’s films that brought us the peak of this style of filmmaking. It crossed other genres as well. Ridley Scott’s Bladerunner is absolutely the best science fiction representative of the style, and that film’s impact on sci-fi going forward still has a huge impact today. It’s all about style: lighting, cinematography, and themes that often blur the line between good and bad. No Mercy returned Richard Gere to the genre, and while No Mercy was a box office flop, it has endured more than some from the era, and now Kino Lorber gives us a chance to revisit one of the better examples of neo noir on Blu-ray. It’s worth a look, and I’m going to tell you why.
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M3GAN

Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on January 6th, 2023

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“She doesn’t look confused. She just looks demented.”

One of the problems about this job is that we spend so much of our time at the end of the year watching so many serious films for awards considerations and the like that by the time the year is over it starts to get a little too heavy. I always look to try to start my new year with something fun and entertaining. I just want to sit down and have a good time while watching a movie. Akela Cooper and James Wan have written the perfect prescription for that critic malady, and director Gerald Johnstone delivered the proper dose. There’s nothing great or grandiose about M3GAN, but if you’re in need of a good time at the movies, this will cure what ails you.
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Black Adam (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on January 6th, 2023

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“My son dreamt of a better world. That’s why he saved me. But the world was only a better place with him in it. Khandaq needed a hero. Instead, it got me. All this power. And the only thing I can do with it is hurt people. I will speak the word my son gave me, and I will give up my power. And when I do, you must ensure I never speak it again. Shazam.”

Black Adam was a unique experience. It was an occasion where a being who kills without hesitation is viewed as more of a hero than those who exercise restraint while fighting for justice. This is a principle that was leaned into during the film’s marketing campaign, which for me generated a great deal of intrigue, and I was glad that it was not just a marketing ploy. The fact is that Black Adam is very much an anti-hero. However, he did not start out that way. He was initially just a supervillain, one that was and likely still is intended to serve as the primary antagonist to Zachary Levi’s Shazam.
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Warner Brothers Christmas Classics – A Christmas Story / Elf / The Polar Express / Christmas Vacation

Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 22nd, 2022

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I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. With conditions as they are, shopping won’t be easy this season. The nice thing about discs is that they’re so easy to get from places like Amazon that you can give a great gift and stay perfectly safe while you do it. Warner Brothers Home Entertainment has released four classic Christmas movies on UHD Blu-ray and in 4K for the very first time. These will not only make great gift ideas but you might want to pick up some copies for yourself. They’ll provide great holiday family time
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South Park: Post Covid (Blu-ray)

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on December 22nd, 2022

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“From the green hills of Vermont to the verdant canyons of Arizona, people all over the country are beginning to realize it’s nearly over. We have almost beaten COVID, and the best news of all? Things are finally getting back to normal. Infection rates are at an all-time low. New stronger vaccinations have ebbed the tide. And we humans are cleaning up the mess and finally getting on with our lives But as we start to get back to our jobs and schools, one question remains: What lingering effect will the pandemic have on our children?”

This has been a tough year for everyone. Productions all around the world have been uprooted because of the pandemic. I guess I thought there might have been one place on this planet that was safe. OK, I made that last part up. We always knew that South Park was going to have a field day with COVID. Let’s be honest; the amount of material for the irreverent show is simply off the scales.
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Paranorman (UHD Blu-Ray) (4k)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 21st, 2022

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I am not usually into serious zombie movies or television series. I am not a particular fan of The Walking Dead or The Night of the Living Dead.  I do allow exceptions for, say, the Resident Evil series, or perhaps something funny like Shaun of the Dead.  So the first time I saw Paranorman probably about half a dozen years ago, I wasn’t expecting much.  Thankfully I did not let my biases creep in, and to be honest, quite enjoyed myself.  So I was very excited when I saw the 4K slide across my desk.  Let’s dive in.

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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Warner Brothers UHD/4K Releases

Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 20th, 2022

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I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. With conditions as they are, shopping won’t be easy this season. The nice thing about discs is that they’re so easy to get from places like Amazon that you can give a great gift and stay perfectly safe while you do it. Warner Brothers 4K releases
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Fancy Pants (Blu-ray)

Posted in No Huddle by Jeremy Butler on December 20th, 2022

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I grew up hearing about Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. It was more about his television credits and hosting accomplishment. I’d say hosting the Academy Awards 19 times, which to my understanding is a record that still holds up to this day, is something to be proud of. Hell, his next closest competitor is Billy Crystal, who is still ten behind him. Then there is Lucille Ball, who is obviously most notable for her popular television series, I Love Lucy. I hear about these comedic icons all my life and now through Fancy Pants, the second of four films that these two collaborated on. I got to see them in action. And while there is much about the film’s brand of comedy that went over my head, it was easy to see the appeal of these two, as individuals and as a comedic pairing. Based on a musical by the name of Ruggles of Red Gap, Hope stars as Humphrey, real name Arthur Humphry, a struggling American actor masquerading as British to be part of a British acting troupe. When another British actor enlists the cast to pose as an aristocratic family in order to impress visiting Americans, Effie and Agatha Floud (Ball), Humphrey, pretending to be the family butler
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Avatar: The Way of Water

Posted in The Reel World by Gino Sassani on December 16th, 2022

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“The way of water has no beginning and no end.”

We all know better than that, don’t we? It’s been 13 years since James Cameron first brought us to the moon planet of Pandora. What I remember most from that 2009 experience was the milestone breakthroughs in filmmaking that Cameron brought to the screen. Avatar reinvented 3D for theaters and created a new wave of 3D releases thanks to a technology that made the experience smoother and allowed us to enjoy the spectacle in a whole new light. Cameron also brought us some wonderful innovations in cinematography, motion capture performance, and the nearly seamless blend with the computer-generated artificial and live-action photography. It was a marvel, to be sure. What I didn’t walk away from that experience with was a strong emotional connection to the story or characters. I’ve often called it The Smurfs version of Dances With Wolves.
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Coraline (UHD Blu-Ray) (4k)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on December 16th, 2022

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LAIKA Films has produced some amazing movies which have elevated the wonderful world of stop motion animation.  Paranorman, Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Missing Link (all underappreciated by mainstream movie audiences).  But one movie stands above those fine films and is the one for LAIKA that started it all.  Coraline.  Today, I received the Steelbook edition (along with Paranorman) in brilliant 4K.  I can hardly contain myself.  Let’s take a look.

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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Kino Studio Classics UHD/4K Releases

Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 16th, 2022

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I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. With conditions as they are, shopping won’t be easy this season. The nice thing about discs is that they’re so easy to get from places like Amazon that you can give a great gift and stay perfectly safe while you do it. Kino Studio Classics has put out some great classical films on UHD/4K. Here is a great selection
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Paramount UHD/4K Releases

Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 16th, 2022

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I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. With conditions as they are, shopping won’t be easy this season. The nice thing about discs is that they’re so easy to get from places like Amazon that you can give a great gift and stay perfectly safe while you do it. Paramount has released some great 4K films this year
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Creepshow: Season 3 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 16th, 2022

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Over the past decade we’ve seen a resurgence in reboots, remakes, and anthologies, so it isn’t much of a surprise that the beloved horror anthology Creepshow would get the reboot treatment. To be fair, this is an extension from what the first films set out to be, though the big difference is instead of just being a film with a few stories, it is now a TV series, each episode containing two tales to horrify and entertain. When I first heard about the series, I was cautiously optimistic. The first two films I consider classics, as do many other fans of the horror genre.  Then there was that third Creepshow that I feel we all just want to forget and pretend never really happened. Without George Romero being around, I just wasn’t even sure I’d want to see a show that could possibly just water down everything that was great about the films and simply turn out to be a cheap imitation.  The first two seasons of the series I enjoyed, and they offered plenty of promise for things to come. How do Greg Nicotero and his creative team deliver on their third season endeavor?
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: Warner Brothers Television On Blu-ray

Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 9th, 2022

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I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. With conditions as they are, shopping won’t be easy this season. The nice thing about discs is that they’re so easy to get from places like Amazon that you can give a great gift and stay perfectly safe while you do it. Now we look at the best Warner Brothers Blu-ray Television shows
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Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight: CBS/Paramount Television On Blu-ray

Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 9th, 2022

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I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too kinky to talk about. Fortunately, Upcomingdiscs has come to the rescue every Christmas with our Gift Guide Spotlights. Keep checking back to see more recommendations for your holiday shopping. These gift guides ARE NOT paid advertisements. We take no money to publish them. This time we turn our attention to CBS. We’ve got you covered some seasons of television on Blu-ray from CBS
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Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XI A Woman’s Vengeance / I Was a Shoplifter / Behind the High Wall

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on December 9th, 2022

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“In the 1940’s, a new genre – film noir – emerged from the world of hard-boiled pulp magazines, paperback thrillers, and sensational crime movies. These films, tough and unsentimental, depicted a black and white universe at once brutal, erotic, and morally ambiguous.”

Film Noir officially started in the 40’s, but the movement was well underway by the early 30’s. You can trace its roots to the Great Depression and the arrival of the dime pulp magazines. These were highly stylized, mostly mystery stories that provided cheap escapism for the masses who were not having a good time of it. Writers like Raymond Chandler crafted the mold that was easily transferred to the silver screen. These were low-budget films that were intended to be second billing with the more mainstream releases. They were shot quickly. Many have a very flat look, created intentionally. The lighting was often minimal, crafting odd shadows and unusual textures.
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Miracle

Posted in No Huddle by Michael Durr on December 6th, 2022

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Hopefully, most of you have enjoyed my review of Unidentified, the first in a series of three films directed by Bogdan George Apetri set in a small town in Northern Romania.  It is a nontraditional trilogy, as all three stories share the same universe but do not require the viewer to watch them together or in a certain order.  Well, today I have received the second film in this series, entitled Miracle.  Since they were filmed at the same time, one would hope that it is just as good and just as brilliant as the first film.  Let’s take a look and see what it has to offer.


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Violent Night (2022)

Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on December 3rd, 2022

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With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, that can mean only one thing; that Christmas is just around the corner. Normally this time of year the theaters are filled with movies that are either A) jockeying for awards consideration or B) are big-budget blockbusters, and then if you are lucky there are a few holiday films sprinkled in for good measure. It has been a while since there has been a holiday film that has appealed to me. Some of the best ones in recent memory are Better Watch Out (2016) and Krampus (2015), so I think it is fair to say we are long overdue for a great Christmas film.  At first glimpse, Violent Night doesn’t look the part of what you’d traditionally call a Christmas film, but even the trailers for the film market this as a mash-up of Die Hard meets Home Alone, and that’s exactly what you get, and it is gloriously violent and heartwarming.
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French Noir Collection: Le rouge est mis / Le dos au mur / Un témoin dans la ville (Blu-ray)

Posted in No Huddle by Dan Holland on December 3rd, 2022

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France is a country that is absolutely saturated by a rich cinematic history. Beginning in the late 1890’s with the Lumière Brothers and their Cinématographe, traveling to the middle of the century with Cahiers du Cinéma, the French New Wave, and Cinéma Vérité; all the way to more contemporary French cinema. The country still makes incredible waves that influence the film industry. Interestingly, the term “film noir” came directly from French film critics, commenting on the low-key lighting used in many of the gangster films of that time period, calling them “black films” or “dark films.” It wasn’t until the 1970’s that Auteurs began to intentionally make film noir, however, the characteristics of classic film noir were not lost on French filmmakers who consumed these “dark films” as means of inspiration
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Detective Story (Blu-ray)

Posted in No Huddle by Brent Lorentson on December 3rd, 2022

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Director William Wyler is a bit of an icon when you look back in Hollywood history. He’s a director with such classics under his belt as Roman Holiday, Funny Girl, and then of course Ben-Hur. But before he filmed those, he did a smaller and more intimate film called Detective Story. This isn’t a big spectacle, but instead it is a gritty drama that takes place over a single day in a New York police station. The film is so simplistic in scope that it’s no surprise that it was originally a stage play, but it’s Wyler’s direction that elevates this film to something bigger. Then there are the remarkable performances from Kirk Douglas and the rest of the cast that make this film better than the potential snore-fest this could have been. Jim McLeod (Douglas) is a hard-nosed cop who likes nothing more than to take the criminals down in his city, to the point that he doesn’t realize it’s been days since he’s been home and seen his wife.  He’s about to head out when he has an encounter with a criminal that sets McLeod off, and he attacks then criminal in custody. The altercation is bad enough to send the criminal to the hospital and jeopardize McLeod’s career. This is just one of the stories going on in the police station.
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The Offer

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on December 1st, 2022

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“I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”

Everybody loves an origin story. The comic book films are loaded with them. Fans have this unquenchable curiosity. We want to know how our heroes became what they are. The same can be said for our favorite movies. I recently read It’s Alive. It was a look at the making of Frankenstein through the eyes of the various principals. But it was also a story of the studio system at the time of the early 1930’s. I spoke to the author, Julian David Stone, and we talked about how much that story is an integral part of the story of that one particular film. You can listen to that chat here. Now Paramount + has given us a limited series event that takes us back to the late 1960’s and early 1970’s and takes a dramatic look at the making of The Godfather. Appropriately enough, it’s called The Offer, and it just might be the best season of television I’ve seen in at least a decade.
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Bones and All

Posted in The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on November 30th, 2022

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I’ve seen Bones and All twice now, and I have to say this is certainly one of the standout films of 2022. A road film that plays out as a romance between two young cannibals trying to find their place in the Reagan era America, well, it’s just the strange mix that works.  Horror isn’t supposed to be this sweet, and romance isn’t supposed to be so gruesome, but director Luca Guadagnino manages to put together a film that is so good that I believe it has a real shot at winning some prestigious awards, and it is so well deserved. I’m going to recommend going into this knowing as little as possible. Just simply allow the film to expose its dark and bloody underbelly to you, and just let yourself care for these monsters that are simply trying to find their place in the world and in the process even fall in love.
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Exclusive Interview With Bruce McAllister: Author Of Stealing God And Other Stories

Posted in Podcasts by Gino Sassani on November 30th, 2022

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If you have been coming to the site for any length of time you know we also pay tribute, from time to time, to the written word. I’ll often share the title of a good book when I find them. We also interview these writers when chance sends them our way. We scored 2 for 2 with Bruce McAllister. He’s compiled a wonderfully enjoyable collection of some of his best short stories called Stealing God And Other Stories. He’s the kind of writer you might find at your local university giving a master class on the craft. I had the opportunity to speak with him just after Thanksgiving, and the conversation was rewarding. His commentary on writing is insightful and compelling. You should give his collection a read. You won’t regret it. I think you’ll want to hear what he has to say on the subject of writing and Stealing God And Other Stories. Just bang it here to listen in on my chat with Bruce McAllister.

You can also explore the world of Bruce McAllister by going to his website Here

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet: Seasons 7 & 8

Posted in No Huddle by Gino Sassani on November 30th, 2022

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“There is an old saying that blood is thicker than water.”

We’ve had Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Gene Simmons with his Family Jewels, and even Snoop Dog’s Father Hood. It’s become a bit of a trend to follow these celebrity families around and watch the drama of their privileged lives unfold on our television screens. You might think it’s a relatively recent phenomenon, but would you believe they were doing it back in the infant days of television when we followed around a musician named Ozzie and his wife way back in 1952? No, we’re not talking about Ozzie Osbourne and his family. I’m talking about Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. They were television’s darling family before we ever heard about Lucy and Desi. The show actually started on radio like many of the fledgling industry’s early hits including the likes of Gunsmoke. Four years after the radio brought us The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet, they moved to television.
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