Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 16th, 2007
Las Vegas made its most significant changes in the third season. The full time addition of Lara Flynn Boyle as the new rich owner of the Montecito made the show somewhat lighter overall. It was probably a good idea to shake things up a bit. The cast chemistry on this show is quite good but […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 8th, 2006
Synopsis Hooray for Donald Bellisario and his decision to create prime time television shows with various branches of the armed forces! But in this case, NCIS takes advantage of the craze of all the CSI related shows that have sprouted up over the last several years. But with various jump cuts and clips of music […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 21st, 2006
Humphrey Bogart, screen legend. Before I got my hands on this collection, I�d never seen a Bogart picture in its entirety. And yet, I knew his name as well as anyone, and was aware of his status as one of classic Hollywood�s biggest stars. Humphrey Bogart � The Signature Collection, Volume 1 presents four Bogart […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 17th, 2006
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Season 5 of CSI saw really the first shake-up of any kind on this CBS anchor series. While there weren’t any serious cast changes, the team was split up. It’s apparent that idea didn’t work out very well. Modest ratings decline and vocal dissatisfaction from […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 7th, 2006
Jean Harris made international headlines in 1980 for killing her on again off again lover and fiancée. Of course, such crimes are rather commonplace and would hardly merit all the attention let alone a feature film. The victim, however, in this case, was the famous Dr. Herman “Hi” Tarnower, better known to you and me […]
Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on July 5th, 2006
Ultimatiums, High Prices, and Barely Nothing to Show For Your Fourth of July weekend, welcome to the drunken firework spectacular known as Dare to Play the Game. Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your partially brain-dead host going through news and gaming features for your pleasure. That’s right for your […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 27th, 2006
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is, it seems, the poor cousin to the likes of the FBI and the Secret Service. It doesn’t have all the toys of these other organizations, and appears to have a staff of four (five by the end of the first episode). Mark Harmon heads up the investigative team that […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 9th, 2006
Synopsis FBI trainee and psychic Caterina Scorsone is suddenly graduated because her abilities are needed on a missing person case, and so begins her partnership with borderline rogue FBI agent Vivica A. Fox. And there’s the premise set up: each episode, someone else is missing, and CSI meets the X-Files, but with none of the […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 2nd, 2006
This short-lived series was based on the popular DC Comics character, The Flash. Barry Allen (Shipp) was a crime lab technician, long before CSI made the job trendy. When lightning interacted with an unknown chemical compound as only comic cosmic events can, Allen receives a powerful jolt. The injury results in a dramatic change in […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 27th, 2006
Synopsis Mission Hill was left with the unfortunate task of initially airing on a network that wasn’t capable enough to nature it (Arrested Development fans can empathize with that scenario). The good news for fans of the show was that after its short run of episodes on the WB network, the Cartoon Network picked up […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 25th, 2006
No single television show defined the 1980’s as did Miami Vice. Did Vice influence the 80’s culture, or did the 80’s culture create Miami Vice? The line appears blurred. This much is unmistakable. Miami Vice dominated the pop culture of the time. The biggest names in music, from Joe Walsh to Phil Collins, have lent […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 7th, 2005
I started my review of season four by remarking how little CSI had changed over its first four years. In its fifth year the powers that be decided to muck up the works a bit. The team is split between day and night shifts and Catherine is given the supervisor position on days. This actually […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 20th, 2005
If your first introduction to William L. Petersen is through CSI, then you’re missing some real treats with his short-lived film career, which burned brightest about fifteen years before he ever became Gil Grissom and investigated his way onto our small screens and, subsequently, into our hearts. Both of his cinematic outings never got the […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 7th, 2005
Law and Order SVU really began to create an identity for itself in its second year. The addition of Ice T as Finn is one of the best casting decisions Wolf’s made since Jerry Orbach. I would have liked to see the combination of Munch and Finn used more often. Maybe I’m in the minority, […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 28th, 2004
CSI hasn’t changed much in its first four years. Expect more of the same here. The unique photography and f/x material is pretty much as solid as it was in the first episode. I’m not sure I like the “scruffy” Grissom look, but the show is as good as it’s ever been. As in each […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 20th, 2004
Many fans of the series would agree that during Angel’s five-year run, season four was it’s strongest. It was the first, and only, time that the series made a drastic change in format. Nearly all episodes, 22 in total, ran along a single continuous plot. Not that different compared to Fox’s other hit series “24.” […]
Posted in Hardware Reviews by Archive Authors on April 11th, 2004
Introduction For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Harman/Kardon name they are one of the preeminent audio manufacturers. The company is owned by Harman International who also owns well known brand such as JBL and Infinity as well as ultra high-end brands Mark Levinson, Lexicon and Revel (never mind the professional audio companies […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 3rd, 2004
CSI continued to improve into its third season. The stories are as crisp and innovative as ever. Surprisingly, the show did not suffer from the addition of its fine but inferior Miami cousin. Minor characters like lab tech Greg are put to much better use. The f/x get better also, and a strong cast of […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 27th, 2004
Star Trek Voyager was the third spin-off from the original Star Trek following the Superior Next Generation and the inferior Deep Space Nine. While the idea was quite an original premise, the cast never seemed to gel. The obvious attempt at political correctness gives us the most diverse cast yet on Star Trek, including the […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 5th, 2003
TBS Superstation presents… When it comes to DVD, these are frightening words. They conjure up images of bad acting, bad sets, and terrible scripts. Unfortunately, all of this proves true in the “action” film “Counterstrike”, staring Rob Estes (Silk Stalkings) and Joe Lando (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman). The plot is tired and familiar; two bothers […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 9th, 2003
Make no mistake about it. CSI is not your father’s Quincy. The idea of forensic science on drama is not really a unique one. CSI makes its mark with an incredible style not seen before on TV or even in films. The cases are always engaging and the characters and writing remain strong. This second […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 27th, 2003
Jerry Bruckheimer becomes yet another A-List film producer to take a shot at the television drama. I have to admit that I never gave this show a prayer of success when I first saw it three years ago. It’s not that I thought it wasn’t good. I loved it. I thought it would be too […]
