British-American TV DVDs

LAVERNE & SHIRLEY SEASON 4 DVD REVIEW

2008-04-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

Laverne & Shirley start their fourth season still in Milwaukee working for the brewery. This season consists of 24 episodes. The show was a spin-off of Happy Days. The series lasted for eight seasons. Quite a few guest stars dropped by to visit the girls such as Hans Conreid, Toni Basil, Robert Alda, Anne Ramsey and Jay Leno. There are no special features on this set.

VIDEO

The video quality is very good! All discs have a Play All feature. All episodes are approx 22 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono.

Disc 1- 1. "The Festival" Pt. 1
"The Festival" Pt. 2
"Playing The Roxy"
"The Robbery"
"The Quiz Show"
"Laverne & Shirley Go To Night School"-with Hans Conreid

Disc 2- 6. "A Date with Eraserhead"
7. "The Bully Show"
8. "A Visit to the Cemetery"
9. "A Chorus Line"-with Toni Basil
10. "Laverne & Shirley Move In"
11. "Dinner for Four"

Disc 3- 12. "It’s A Dog’s Life"
13. "Oh, Come All Ye Bums"
14. "Who’s Papa?"-with Ed Begley Jr.
15. "The Third Annual Shotz Talent Show"
16. "Supermarket Sweep"
17. "Lenny’s Crush"

Disc 4-18. "The Fire Show"-with Anne Ramsey
19. "Squiggy’s In Love"
20. "The Feminine Mistake"-with Jay Leno
21. "Tenants Are Revolting"
"There’s A Spy In My Beer"-with G.W. Bailey
"Shirley and The Older Man"-with Robert Alda

Extras

Disc 1: None
Disc 2: None
Disc 3: None
Disc 4: None

Verdict

Season 5 should be out soon. Paramount has done a good job on this set!

I REMEMBER NELSON TV DVD REVIEW

2008-04-09T21:41:00.001-07:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about I Remember Nelson- Worshipped as a national savior, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson masterminded the naval victories that thwarted Napoleon’s plans to invade Britain. Yet, in the midst of public adulation, rumors swirled about his private life. Nelson took a friend’s wife as a mistress and even fathered a child by her in secret.

Most British costume dramas can sometimes be a little boring, but I found that this series “I Remember Nelson” enjoyable in the fact that it is told in 4 different perspectives from 4 different people in Nelson’s life. The series originally aired on Masterpiece Theatre in 1982 starring Kenneth Colley as Horatio Nelson made famous among other things the saying “Kiss Me Hardy” referring to his Captain on ship when Nelson was hit by cannon fire and was dying down below deck. This 2-disc set has the 4 episodes from the mini series with Cast Filmographies and a Photo Gallery.

VIDEO

The video quality is good considering the age of the video! Each episode runs approx 52 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Is also in Mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “Love”-with Laurence Naismith, John Gill and John Forbes-Robertson
2. “Passion”-with Tim Pigott-Smith

Disc 2- 1. “Duty”-with Daniel Massey
2. “Battle”

Extras

Disc 1: Cast Filmographies

Disc 2: Photo Gallery-26 pictures

Verdict

An engaging mini-series! If you are a sea-faring fan and like British Naval history, then you will like this!

THE SEA HUNTERS SET 2 DVD REVIEW

2008-04-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

Clive Cussler, best known for his Dirk Pitt novels, comes “The Sea Hunters”, a documentary series that focuses on shipwrecks, maritime disasters and relic from World War 2. This set consists of the second 6 episodes that track things such as the Carpathia, the ship that saved the survivors of the Titanic which sank 6 years later due to German U-Boats and the Andrea Gail the story that became the movie “The Perfect Storm” among others! The team is led by renowned maritime Archaeologist James Delgado, which searches for these relics with submarines, 3-D imaging sonar and the latest mixed-gas dive equipment. The Sea Hunters is currently airing on the National Geographic Channel. This set includes extra footage from each episodes and a Clive Cussler Biography.

VIDEO

The video quality is great. The episodes run approx 48 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono.

Disc 1-
1. “The Search for Carpathia”
2. “The Search for Andrea Gail”
3. “Catherine The Great’s Treasure Ship”

Disc 2-
4. “Russalka: The Czar’s Lost Ironclad”
5. “Lost At Sea: The Great US Navy Airships: Akron and Macon”
6. “The Search for the SS Alabama”

Extras

Disc 1- Bonus Footage from first three episodes
Clive Cusslar’s Biography- (Text Only)

Disc 2- Bonus Footage from last 3 episodes

Verdict

If you’re a fan of Shipwrecks and Diving, you’ll enjoy this show.

MATLOCK-SEASON 1 DVD REVIEW

2008-04-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

A blurb from Paramount about Matlock Season 1: This 7-disc set contains all 24 Season One episodes of the immensely popular series, including the 2 hour TV movie “Diary of a Perfect Murder”, that introduced the character of Ben Matlock. Matlock is back, serving justice country-style!

My second favorite courtroom drama series has to be “Matlock”! This series was also a long running series lasting over 10 years! Matlock was a cross between Perry Mason and Columbo, where he would throw the guilty party off guard and then close the case. This 7 disc set covers the first 24 episodes with such luminaries as Dick Van Dyke, Piper Laurie, John Beck, William Conrad, Joe Penny, Jonathan Frakes, Pat Hingle and Roddy McDowell to name a few! The 2-part episode “The Don” has Joe Penny and William Conrad, which would later spin off in their own series “Jake and the Fatman”. Apart from some beginning episode teasers, there are no special features on this set. Thank God they came out with a full season set!

VIDEO

The video quality is fantastic! Episodes are also mostly uncut. There is also a Play All feature on each disc. Each episode runs approx 48 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “Diary of a Perfect Murder”(Pilot) (91 Mins)
2. “The Judge”-with Dick Van Dyke, Piper Laurie and Bobbie Eakes
3. “The Stripper”

Disc 2- 1. “The Affair”-with Jeff Conaway and Carolyn Seymour
2. “The Seduction”-with John Beck and Alex Hyde White
3. “The Don” Part 1-with William Conrad, Joe Penny and Jose Ferrer
4. “The Don” Part 2-with William Conrad, Joe Penny and Jose Ferrer

Disc 3- 1. “The Sisters”-with Gail O’Grady and Conchata Ferrell
2. “The Cop”-with Hector Elanzio
3. “The Angel”-with Jonathan Frakes
4. “The Professor”-with Christopher McDonald and Don Porter

Disc 4- 1. “Santa Claus”-with Pat Hingle
2. “The Chef”-with Roddy McDowell
3. “The Author”-with Parker Stevenson and John Schuck
4. “The Rat Pack”-with Desi Arnez Jr and Greg Evigan

Disc 5- 1. “The Nurse”-with Billy Zane
2. “The Convict”-with Robert Pine and Larry Wilcox
3. “The Court-Martial” Part 1-with Barry Corbin, Dana Elcar and Tim Reid
4. “The Court-Martial” Part 2- with Barry Corbin, Dana Elcar and Tim Reid

Disc 6-1. “The Therapist”-with Kevin Hagen
2. “The People Vs Matlock”
3. “The Photographer”-with Billy Bob Thorton

Disc 7- 1. “The Reporter”
2. ”The Doctors”-with Norman Fell and Daniel Roebuck

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: None

Disc 5: None

Disc 6: None

Disc 7: None

Verdict

I’m a big fan of Matlock and I am looking forward to Season 2! I also hope that they keep at least the Matlock episodes as full season sets!

PERRY MASON 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION DVD REVIEW

2008-04-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

One of the longest running Courtroom dramas was one of my favorites, “Perry Mason” played flawlessly by the great late Raymond Burr! This 50th Anniversary set is a treasure trove of episodes over the course of its 9-year run. In this 4 disc set there are 12 classic episodes some of which are the ones where Mason loses the case and where Burr plays a dual role and the only color episode and the final episode of the series. There is also on the special features disc (Disc 4) the first Reunion movie “Perry Mason Returns” as well as audition tapes where Burr played the Hamilton Burger part while William Hopper played Perry Mason! There is also audio commentary on the episode “The Dead Ringer” with Barbara Hale and Producer Arthur Marks. A good spread of episodes to keep you interested!

VIDEO

The video quality is superb! Digitally Remastered. There is a Play All feature. Barbara Hale optionally introduces every episode. Each episode runs approx 52 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1-
1. “The Case of the Wary Wildcatter”-with Barbara Bain
2. “The Case of the Treacherous Toupee”-with Robert Redford
3. “The Case of the Envious Editor”-with James Coburn
4. “The Case of the Barefaced Witness”-with Adam West and Paul Fix

Disc 2-
1. “The Case of the Counterfeit Crank”-with Burt Reynolds
2. “The Case of the Shoplifter’s Shoe”-with Leonard Nimoy
3. “The Case of the Constant Doyle”-with Bette Davis
4. “The Case of the Deadly Verdict”-with Julie Adams (Mason loses case)

Disc 3-
1. “The Case of the Bountiful Beauty”-with Ryan O’Neal
2. “The Case of the Twice Told Twist”-with Victor Buono (Only Color Episode)
3. “The Case of the Dead Ringer”-Burr plays a dual role
4. “The Case of the Final Fadeout”-with Dick Clark and Denver Pyle (Last Episode of the Series)

Disc 4- Special Features Disc-See Extras

Extras

Disc 1 : None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: Audio Commentary on Dead Ringer with Barbara Hale and Arthur Marks

Disc 4: Perry Mason Returns-Reunion Movie- (95 Mins)
Perry Mason Talent Tests- (19:16)
The Case of Erie Stanley Gardner featurette- (11:32)
Syndication Promos- (01:03)
Raymond Burr Charlie Rose Interviews- (12:09)
Raymond Burr on “Person To Person”-(11:39)
New Barbara Hale Interview (19:55)
New Arthur Marks Interview- (18:33)
Photo Gallery-61 pictures
“Stump the Stars-Perry Mason Cast- (11:05)
William Talman anti-smoking message- (07:13)
CBS Executive Anne Nelson Interview- (04:31)

Verdict

A very well done set! I would highly recommend this set for anyone to buy!

THE LAST DETECTIVE SERIES 4 DVD REVIEW

2008-04-05T06:46:00.001-07:00

A blurb from Acorn Media about The Last Detective Series 4: Beleaguered by life and belittled by his colleagues, “Dangerous” Davies (Peter Davison, DOCTOR WHO, ALL CREATURES GREAT & SMALL) cracks five all-new cases in the detective series that has delighted legions of loyal fans.

This box set is the final five episodes from Dangerous Davies. This time around his wife actually takes him back and also lets Mod live with them. Five more great stories arrive in this set for series 4. Davies still gets the least promising cases and his colleagues still mock him but he also solves some pretty good cases too. These episodes also has a few really good guest stars such as the Who’s Roger Daltrey, Leslie Phillips and New Doctor Who’s Camille Cordi and comedienne, Josie Lawrence. The special features are the same as series 1 & 2 and 3 with the exception of a really interesting video interview with the star himself, Peter Davison!

VIDEO

The video quality is great! Episodes run approx 69 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Is also in Mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “Once Upon a Time on the Westway” with Camille Cordi, Roger Daltrey and Anthony Valentine
2. “Dangerous Liaisons”
3. “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Willesden”

Disc 2- 1. “The Man From Montevideo”-with Josie Lawrence
2. “Dead Peasants Society”-with Leslie Phillips and Owen Teale

Extras

Disc 1: Cast filmographies
Leslie Thomas Biography

Disc 2: Peter Davison Video Interview (23:07)

Verdict

I really enjoyed this series. Peter Davison consistently puts out great performances! Well worth the buy!

FORTYSOMETHING-COMPLETE SERIES DVD REVIEW

2008-04-05T06:44:00.000-07:00

A rather strange but funny series starring Hugh Laurie who also directed the first 3 episodes is about a middle-aged man hence the title “Fortysomething” who is a Doctor that is having a mid-life crisis and a affair or two. The series also stars Anne Chancellor from “Suburban Shootout” as his wife who also may be having affairs as well. By sheer coincidence or irony, the very next project for Laurie was to go to America to star in a TV series about a strange Doctor in the series “House”! This series had a few well-known British actors such as Sheila Hancock, Clive Mantle and Laurie’s comedy buddy for 10 years, Stephen Fry. Special Features include a text only Biography on Hugh Laurie and Cast Filmographies.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! All the episodes are on film. Film quality is quite good with little to no dirt or specks Each episode runs approx 49 mins each. There is also a Play All feature.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “Episode 1”-with Sheila Hancock and Clive Mantle
2. “Episode 2”-with Stephen Fry
3. “Episode 3”

Disc 2- 1. “Episode 4”
2. “Episode 5”
3. “Episode 6”

Extras

Disc 1: Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)
Hugh Laurie Biography- (Text Only)

Disc 2: None

Verdict

A very good series. If you are a fan of Hugh Laurie, pick this one up!

TRIPPING THE RIFT-THE MOVIE DVD REVIEW

2008-04-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed the series of “Tripping the Rift” and when I heard there was a movie version coming out I was happy to hear it. The movie like the “Uncensored” versions of the TV episodes have the sexual innuendo and language that are free for the taking but there is no nudity in the film at all! The movie also gives nods to Young Frankenstein in the Black & White sequence, The Terminator and Desperate Housewives. The thin plot for the movie is about an upset princess being protected by the group from another group of clown assassins. Jenny McCarthy voices this time the sexual android “Six of Nine” for the movie. The original voice cast also returns. A funny film but felt like a few episodes were thrown together. A movie defiantly not for kids! The disc comes with a making of featurette about the movie and a trailer to the film.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! The performance is 75 minutes long. The movie is in Widescreen.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also in 5.1 Dolby Surround sound.

Disc 1- 1. “Tripping the Rift-The Movie”

Extras

Disc 1: Captain’s Log: The Making of Tripping the Rift-The Movie- (07:00)
Trailer- (02:06)

Verdict

I would recommend this movie if you are a fan of the TV series!

TORCHWOOD-SEASON 1 DVD REVIEW

2008-04-02T21:09:00.001-07:00

A blurb from BBC Warner about Torchwood-Season 1: “Separate from the government, outside the police, beyond the United Nations: Torchwood sets its own rules. Led by the enigmatic, ever watchful Captain Jack Harkness, the Torchwood team delves into the unknown and fights the impossible.

Torchwood is a spin-off series of the revamped Doctor Who TV series. It deals with a covert and highly secret team of scientists that work at the Torchwood Institute that deal with alien intelligence and hardware that fall from the skies and invade Earth on a regular basis. The leader of the team is Captain Jack Harkness an alien from the future that was first introduced in the Doctor Who story “The Empty Child”. He is indestructible and has regenerative powers thanks to Rose in the story “The Parting of the Ways”. The show is more mature in content. There are stories about Cannibalism, Love affairs both Heterosexual and Homosexual and Bisexual, Time Rifts, and possible ending of the World. I personally like the stories but sometime the Adult content and profanity is thrown in your face for no other reason that shock value. Apart from that there were some good stories. The show is now in its second season and is popular now enough for a possible third season. The first season set includes Audio commentaries on every episode along with Deleted scenes, Outtakes, featurettes on every episode, a making of feature of the series and Torchwood: Declassified which are short takes on each episode by the cast and crew.

VIDEO

The video quality is fantastic! Episodes were shot in HD but shown on the discs as Standard. Episodes are also uncut. There is also a Play All feature on each disc. Each episode runs approx 50 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in 5.1. It is presented on this set as 5.1.

Disc 1- 1. “Everything Changes”
2. “Day One”

Disc 2- 1. “Ghost Machine”-with Gareth Thomas
2. “Cyberwoman”
3. “Small Worlds”

Disc 3- 1. “Countrycide”
2. “Greeks Bearing Gifts”

Disc 4- 1. “They Keep Killing Suzie”
2. “Random Shoes”

Disc 5- 1. “Out of Time”
2. “Combat”

Disc 6-1. “Captain Jack Harkness”
2. “End Of Days”

Disc 7- 1. Torchwood Declassified

1. “Welcome to Torchwood” (10:36)
2. “Bad Day at the Office” (09:05)
3. “Girl Trouble” (10:06)
4. “The Country Club” (10:25)
5. “Beyond The Grave” (10:41)
6. “Time Flies” (10:31)
7. “Blast From The Past” (10:05)
8. “Jack’s Back” (08:00)
9. “Loving History” (09:04)
10. “Away With The Faries” (10:06)
11. “There’s Something About Mary” (10:23)
12. “Dead Man Walking” (10:18)
13. “Weevil Fight Club” (10:23)
14. “To The End” (10:24)

Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentaries on “Everything Changes” and “Day One”
Welcome To Torchwood (14:30)
Torchwood on the Scene (15:40)
Torchwood Out of This World (10:32)
Deleted Scenes (11:02)

Disc 2: Audio Commentaries on “Ghost Machine”, “Cyberwoman” and “Small Worlds”
Torchwood Out of This World-“Ghost Machine” (05:15)
“Cyberwoman” (04:17)
“Small Worlds” (05:14)

Disc 3: Audio Commentaries on “Countrycide” and “Greeks Bearing Gifts”
Torchwood-Sex, Violence Blood and Gore (15:40)
Torchwood-The Team and Their Troubles (10:26)

Disc 4: Audio Commentaries on “They Keep Killing Suzie” and “Random Shoes”
Torchwood on the Road (09:07)
Torchwood The Team and their Troubles (11:43)
Deleted Scenes (06:49)

Disc 5: Audio Commentaries on “Out of Time” and “Combat”
Torchwood Moments in the Making (10:38)
The Captain’s Log (10:24)

Disc 6: Audio Commentaries on “Captain Jack Harkness” and “End Of Days”
Torchwood Moments in the Making (10:35)
Torchwood on Time (10:08)
Deleted Scenes (14:17)
Outtakes (05:36)

Disc 7: Bonus Disc-Torchwood Declassified-See above

Verdict

A defiantly different series to Doctor Who! If you can get past the Adult content, it’s a pretty good series! Will look forward to Season 2 when it comes out.

DOCTOR WHO-ARC OF INFINITY DVD REVIEW

2008-04-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

A blurb from BBC Warner about Doctor Who-Arc of Infinity: Traveling with Nyssa in the Tardis, the Doctor is attacked by a malign entity-a being of pure anti-matter seeking to cross the dimensions. Although the invader is successfully repelled, the Tardis is immediately recalled to Gallifrey, where the High Council of the Time Lords sentence the Doctor to be executed to prevent any further attempts at bonding.

The first story from the second season of Peter Davison’s reign as the doctor is also the 20th Anniversary season of the series. This story in many ways is a sequel to “The Three Doctors” where Omega finally crosses over to the real world of matter and someone on Gallifrey is helping him but is setting up the Doctor to take the fall and be bonded with Omega so he can cross from the anti-matter universe. The story played pretty well with the future Doctor, Colin Baker playing a minor role as the Captain of the guards. It also showed the return of Tegan back to the series. Why they filmed in Amsterdam is beyond me, more than likely having something to do with the producer’s choice of location. The story also had a wonderful character actor in it being Michael Gough. This story and “Time-Flight” is presented in a 2 Disc set but I am reviewing them separately. This disc also includes an Audio Commentary with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Colin Baker, two featurettes, one about the making of this story and the other about the character of Omega, behind the scenes footage of the story, deleted and extended scenes, original on-air continuity announcements and a new feature with new CGI effects option to watch the story that way or the original way it was presented.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! There is a Play all feature. The total story is approx 98 minutes long.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Arc of Infinity”-with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Colin Baker (98 mins)
Part One (24:37)
Part Two (24:43)
Part Three (24:39)
Part Four (24:29)

Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentary by Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton and Colin Baker
Anti-Matter from Amsterdam (34:53)
The Omega Factor (14:56)
Deleted and Extended Scenes (2:55)
Under Arc Lights (11:32)
Photo Gallery (07:43)
New CGI Effects
Original Continuity Announcements (03:12)
Music Only Option
Radio Times Listing and 1983 Dr Who Annual on DVD Rom
Production text notes
Coming Soon Trailer (01:01)

Verdict

A much better story to kick off the 20th Anniversary season! I had also the pleasure of meeting Peter Davison on a few occasions at Dr Who Conventions over the years and found him to be very nice and approachable!

DOCTOR WHO-TIME-FLIGHT DVD REVIEW

2008-04-02T21:06:00.001-07:00

A blurb from BBC Warner about Doctor Who-Time-Flight: The Tardis arrives by accident in the middle of Terminal One at Heathrow Airport. One of the supersonic Concordes has disappeared midair, and the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa soon become involved in a hunt for the missing airplane.

The last story from the first season of Peter Davison’s reign as the doctor takes place at London’s Heathrow Airport for there are missing Concordes that takes the Doctor back in time to the prehistoric era to find a deadly foe that is trying to seize control of the ancient powers of the Xeraphin. The group is still reeling over the death of Adric from the previous story “Earthshock”. They find two Concordes that they eventually get back to present day but with no help from the Deadly foe, which is none other than the Master! The story itself was pretty good but played way over the top by Anthony Ainley. The character of Tegan left the Doctor at the end of this story only to come back one story later in “Arc of Infinity”. Doctor Who was the first TV series to film at Heathrow Airport. This story and “Arc of Infinity is presented in a 2 Disc set but I am reviewing them separately. This disc also includes an Audio Commentary with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Script Editor Eric Saward, a short featurette about the character of Tegan, behind the scenes footage of the story, deleted and extended scenes, outtakes and an interview with the director of the story, the late Peter Grimwade.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! There is a Play all feature. The total story is approx 98 minutes long.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Time-Flight”-with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton (98 mins)
Part One (24:57)
Part Two (24:01)
Part Three (24:30)
Part Four (24:32)

Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentary by Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton
Mouth on Legs! (13:38)
Deleted and Extended Scenes (3:46)
Jurassic Larks (19:32)
Outtakes (13:53)
Interview with Peter Grimwade (4:12)
Photo Gallery (08:12)
Radio Times Listing and Dr Who Annual on DVD Rom
Production text notes
Coming Soon Trailer (01:01)

Verdict

A fairly good story to end Davison’s first season. I had also the pleasure of meeting Peter Davison on a few occasions at Dr Who Conventions over the years and found him to be very nice and approachable!

SUBURBAN SHOOTOUT-THE SERIES DVD REVIEW

2008-03-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

This short series is extremely odd yet infectious in the sense that it is best described quoted rightly as a cross between “Desperate Housewives meets the Sopranos”, could not have put it better myself! It is basically about a mild mannered woman that her and her husband has moved into a quite town that is not so quiet! There is death, Guns, Shootouts, Blackmail you name it! Defiantly a “Black Comedy”. The series aired on the Oxygen Channel in 2006. For a single disc, it is crammed full with features such as audio commentaries, behind the scenes documentary and Cast Filmographies .

VIDEO

The video quality is good! Each episode runs 20 minutes in length. There is also a play all feature.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Hot Flush”
2. “Super Sex Me”
3. “Kill Bill”
4. “Botox Rox”
5. “Dance Chill”
6. “Throw Mama From The Train”
7. “Let the Binging Commence”
8. “What Do I Hear For Rod Stewart’s Thong?”

Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentaries on Every Episode
Behind The Scenes- (17:56)
Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Rating: ****!

MIDSOMER MURDERS SET 10 DVD REVIEW

2008-03-25T15:40:00.000-07:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about Midsomer Murders Set 10: What Evil Lurks Beyond the Well-Trimmed Hedges of Midsomer… The cozy villages of Midsomer County reveal their most sinister secrets in these contemporary British television mysteries.

Midsomer Murders is a British TV Drama about murders that take place in the English countryside of Midsomer. The show focuses on the main character Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby, played by John Nettles (Bergerac, Dickens of London) and his way of solving crimes that afflict Midsomer. This set is the next four feature-length stories that are tremendously popular and which to this day are making new episodes. This set is Series 10. Also on this set is a Caroline Graham biography and Cast Filmographies.

VIDEO

The video quality is good! All episodes are on film. All episodes are approx 94 minutes each. Episodes are in Widescreen.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono.

Disc 1- 1. “Second Sight”-with Wanda Ventham

Disc 2- 1. “Hidden Depths” with Oliver Ford Davies

Disc 3- 1. “Sauce For The Goose”

Disc 4-1. “Midsomer Rhapsody”-with Trevor Peacock and Christopher Benjamin

Extras

Disc 1: Caroline Graham Biography- (Text Only)
Cast Fimographies

Disc 2: Cast Fimographies

Disc 3: Cast Fimographies

Disc 4: Cast Fimographies

Verdict

Intriguing Crime Series. Looking forward to more sets!

MIDSOMER MURDERS-THE EARLY CASES DVD REVIEW

2008-03-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

At first I didn’t get the Midsomer Murder series but the more I watched, I was hooked and to have the first 18 feature length episodes of the series that fleshes out the main characters and the extraordinary villains of each show makes you want to keep watching! This collection is also in original UK broadcast order. The series is still in production with more than 60 episodes! This set also includes a text essay by actor John Nettles, A midsomer map, production notes, a behind the scenes featurette with a Caroline Graham text biography and Cast Filmographies. There is also a 19th disc with a 47-minute documentary called Super Sleuths.

VIDEO

The video quality is very good! All episodes are shot on film. Each episode runs approx 101 mins

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1- “The Killing at Badger’s Drift”-with Julian Glover

Disc 2- 2- “Written In Blood”-with Una Stubbs and David Troughton

Disc 3- 3- “Death of a Hollow Man”-with Angela Pleasance

Disc 4- 4- “Faithful Unto Death”

Disc 5- 5- “Death In Disguise”-with Geoffrey Beevers

Disc 6- 6- “Death’s Shadow”-with Richard Briers

Disc 7- 7- “Strangler’s Wood”-with Frank Windsor and Phyllis Logan

Disc 8- 8-“Dead Man’s Eleven”-with Robert Hardy

Disc 9- 9- “Blood Will Out”-with Phyllida Law

Disc 10- 10-“ Death of a Stranger”-with Richard Johnson

Disc 11- 11- “Blue Herrings”-with Geoffrey Bayldon, Cyril Shaps and Caroline John

Disc 12- 12- “Judgment Day”-with Hannah Gordon, Orlando Bloom and Timothy West

Disc 13- 13- “Beyond the Grave”-with Prunella Scales

Disc 14- 14- “Garden of Death”

Disc 15 15- “Destroying Angel”-with Samantha Bond and Robert Lang

Disc 16 16- “The Electric Vendetta”-with John Woodvine

Disc 17-17- “Who Killed Cock Robin?-with Ian McNeice and George Innes

Disc 18-18- “Dark Autumn”

Disc 19-Bonus Disc-Super Sleuths-Documentary-(47 Mins)

Extras

Disc 1- Production Notes-Text Only
Map of Midsomer Country
Caroline Graham Biography and Book List
Cast Filmographies

Disc 2- Map of Midsomer Country
Cast Filmographies

Disc 3- Map of Midsomer Country
Cast Filmographies

Disc 4- Map of Midsomer Country
Cast Filmographies

Disc 5- Map of Midsomer Country
Cast Filmographies

Disc 6- Map of Midsomer Country
Caroline Graham Biography and Book List
Cast Filmographies

Disc 7- Map of Midsomer Country
Caroline Graham Biography and Book List
Cast Filmographies

Disc 8- Map of Midsomer Country
Caroline Graham Biography and Book List
Cast Filmographies
Production Notes-Text Only

Disc 9- Map of Midsomer Country
Caroline Graham Biography and Book List
Cast Filmographies

Disc 10- Map of Midsomer Country
Caroline Graham Biography and Book List
Cast Filmographies
Production Notes-Text Only

Disc 11- Map of Midsomer Country
Caroline Graham Biography and Book List
Cast Filmographies

Disc 12- Map of Midsomer Country
Caroline Graham Biography and Book List
Cast Filmographies

Disc 13- Map of Midsomer Country
Caroline Graham Biography
Cast Biographies

Disc 14- “The Inside Story-Midsomer Murders”-(8:23)
Map of Midsomer Country
Caroline Graham Biography
Cast Filmographies
Production Notes-Text Only

Disc 15- Map of Midsomer Country
Cast Filmographies

Disc 16- Map of Midsomer Country
Cast Filmographies

Disc 17- Map of Midsomer Country
Cast Filmographies

Disc 18- Map of Midsomer Country
Cast Filmographies

Verdict

I greatly enjoyed this set! My only disappointment with the set is the packaging. With most big sets, the DVD holders make it almost impossible to remove the discs easily.

WILD WILD WEST SEASON 4 TV DVD REVIEW

2008-03-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

A blurb from Paramount about The Wild, Wild West Season 4: U.S. Secert Agents James West and Artemus Gordon are back in action in the fourth and final season of the Wild Wild West.

The fourth and final season of Wild, Wild West is now on DVD! The digitally remastered episodes are just as sharp and clear as the first, second and third seasons except for the episode “Night of the Plague” which for some reason was a bad film print. The fourth season was pitted with the severe health of actor Ross Martin suffering a major heart attack which made quite a few episodes from the last season filled with fill in guests to cover Martin’s absence. Michael Dunn’s health was also getting worse and was again only in 1 episode that season. Ross Martin came back within the last six episodes of the series looking slimmer and better than he did before. This season also has 24 episodes that are uncut. There are quite a few guest stars such as Kevin McCarthy, Jay Robinson, Simon Oakland, Sorrell Booke, William Marshall, Khigh Dhiegh, Barry Atwater, Harold Gould, Alan Hale and Jim Backus to name more than a few. I did enjoy most of the stories this season. Again, there are no extras to this set as the previous season set.

VIDEO

The video quality is fantastic! Episodes are also uncut. Each episode runs approx 51 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “The Night Of The Big Blackmail”-with Harvey Korman
2. “The Night of the Doomsday Formula”-with Kevin McCarthy
3. “The Night Of The Juggernaut”
4. “The Night Of the Sedgwick Curse”-with Jay Robinson

Disc 2- 1. “The Night of the Gruesome Games”-with William Schallert
2. “The Night Of The Kraken”-with Jason Evers, Ted Knight and Anthony Caruso
3. “The Night Of The Fugitives”-with Simon Oakland and Mickey Hargitay
4. “The Night Of the Egyptian Queen”-with Sorrell Booke and William Marshall

Disc 3- 1. “The Night Of Fire and Brimstone”-with Dabbs Greer
2. “The Night of the Camera”-with Pat Paulsen and Barry Atwater
3. “The Night Of The Avaricious Actuary”-with Harold Gould and Fritz Feld
4. “The Night Of Miguelito’s Revenge”-with Michael Dunn and Charles Aidman

Disc 4- 1. “The Night Of The Pelican”-with Khigh Dheigh and Vincent Beck
2. “The Night Of The Spanish Curse”-with Thayer David
3. “The Night Of The Winged Terror Part 1”-with Jackie Coogan and Bernard Fox
4. “The Night Of The Winged Terror Part 2”-with Vic Perrin and Lisa Todd

Disc 5- 1. “The Night of the Sabatini’s Death”-with Alan Hale and Jim Backus
2. “The Night Of The Janus”-with Jack Carter and Charles Aidman
3. “The Night Of The Pistoleros”-with Robert Pine and Perry Lopez
4. “The Night Of The Diva”

Disc 6- 1. “The Night Of The Bleak Island”-with John Williams and Beverly Garland
2. “The Night Of The Cossacks”-with John Van Dreelen
3. “The Night Of The Plague”-with John Hoyt and Lana Wood
4. “The Night Of The Tycoons”-with Jo Van Fleet

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: None

Disc 5: None

Disc 6: None

Verdict

End of a great series, End of an Era. Great Stuff!

Rating: *****!

THE MOD SQUAD SEASON 1 VOLUME 2

2008-03-17T21:28:00.001-07:00

The second volume of the Aaron Spelling’s first prime time series is now out with the 1969-1970 season. The series starred Michael Cole as Pete Cochran, Clarence Williams III as Linc Hayes and Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes. This volume consists of the last 13 episodes of Season 1 in crystal clear quality. There is also a featurette about Peggy Lipton’s Style of clothing for the series. Such up and coming guest stars were Russ Conway, Monte Markham, Louis Gossett Jr., Leslie Ann Warren, Bo Hopkins, Robert Duvall and John Beck along side such greats as Sammy Davis Jr, Ida Lupino and William Windom.

VIDEO

All 13 episodes have been Digitally Remastered. Each episode runs approx 51 mins. There is also a Play All feature

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is good to very good.

Disc 1- 1. “Hello Mother, My Name is Julie”-with William Windom and Leonard Stone
2. “Flight Five Doesn’t Answer”-with Whit Bissell and Russ Conway
3. “Shell Game”
4. “Fear is the Bucking Horse”-with Ed Begley and Monte Markham

Disc 2- 5. “A Hint of Darkness, A Hint of Light”
6. “The Uptight Town”-with Jason Evers, Cliff Osmond and Lou Gossett Jr.
7. “A Reign of Guns”-with J D Cannon

Disc 3- 8. “A Run for the Money”-with Leslie Ann Warren and Tom Bosley
9. “Child of Sorrow, Child of Light”-with Ida Lupino and Foster Brooks
10. “Keep The Faith, Baby”-with Sammy David Jr. and Robert Duvall

Disc 4-11. “Captain Greer, Call Surgery”-with Edward Andrews and Army Archard
12. “Peace Now-Arly Blau!”-with Christopher Connelly and Ross Hagan
13. “A Seat By The Window”-with Bo Hopkins and John Beck

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: Hello, My Name is Julie: The Mod Look- (10:15)

Verdict

A great series and Season 2 should be on the way soon! Go buy it!

Rating: ****!

LOVE AMERICAN STYLE SEASON 1 VOLUME 2 TV DVD REVIEW

2008-03-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

The next volume of the comedy classic series is now available! The show was an anthology of comedic short stories with an ever-changing cast all to do with “Love” in one way or another. Also between stories are very quick vignettes that play like a “Laugh-In” sketch which at times, were funnier than the stories themselves! There are lots of noticeable names that graced the show as well as newcomers to the world of entertainment, such as George Gobel, Vivian Vance, Dorothy Lamour, Wally Cox, Steve Allen, Darren McGavin and Forrest Tucker to name a few as well as a very young Penny Marshall, Mike Farrell, Kurt Russell and Burt Reynolds! This volume is considered a “Vanilla” release meaning there are no extras except the episodes being unedited. This volume also consists of the final 12 episodes from the first season.

VIDEO

I don’t think the episodes are Digitally Remastered but the film prints are quite crisp and in very good shape. The episodes are approx 51 mins each and are shown in Airdate order.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono. Very strong sound.

Disc 1- Episode 16 (51:53)
1. “Love and the Medium”-with George Gobel and Vivian Vance
2. “Love and the Bed”-with Roger Perry and George Tobias
3. “Love and the High School Flopout”

Episode 8 (52:00)
1. “Love and the Pickup”-with Dorothy Lamour, Penny Marshall and Mike Farrell
2. “Love and the Proposal”-with Joan Hackett and Joan Van Ark
3. “Love and the Fighting Couple”-with Dick Sargent and Mariette Hartly

Episode 15 (51:55)
1. “Love and the Boss’ Ex”-with Ray Walston and Pat Harrington
2. “Love and Mr. Nice Guy”-with Wally Cox and Ray Danton
3. “Love and the Gangster”-with Nehemiah Persoff and Jerry Van Dyke

Episode 18 (51:53)
1. “Love and the Poor Crusader’s Wives”-with Monte Markham and Woodrow Parfrey
2. “Love and the Big Night”-with Julie Newmar and Tony Randall
3. “Love and the VIP Restaurant”-with Shelly Berman and Kaye Ballard

Disc 2- Episode 19 (51:55)
1. “Love and the Nervous Executive”-with Carol Wayne and Paul Lynde
2. “Love and the Hitchhiker”-with Bob Denver and Joey Heatherton
4. “Love and the Great Catch”-with Pat Carroll, George Lindsey and Adam West

Episode 20 (52:02)
1. “Love and the Banned Book”-with Elizabeth Ashley and Burt Reynolds
2. “Love and the First Nighters”-with Jackie Coogan and Kurt Russell
3. “Love and the King”-with Ron Masak and Herb Vigan

Episode 21 (51:54)
1. “Love and The Coed Dorm”-with Karen Valentine
2. “Love and the Optimist”-with Jo Anne Worley and David Ketchum
3. “Love and the Teacher”-with Orson Bean and Clint Howard

Episode 10 (51:56)
1. “Love and Safely Married Man”
2. “Love and the Uncoupled Couple”-with Tom Bosley, Darryl Hickman and Greg Morris
3. “Love and the Many Married Couple”-with Steve Allen, Jack Cassidy and Joyce Meadows

Disc 3- Episode 22 (51:41)
1. “Love and Las Vegas”-with Bill Dana and Edward Everett Horton
2. “Love and the Good Samaritans”-with Kenneth Mars and Jack Riley
3. “Love and the Marriage Counselor”-with Jim Backus and Bernie Kopell

Episode 12 (51:54)
1. “Love and The Other Guy”-with Donna Douglas and Gary Collins
2. “Love and the Grandma”-with Meredith MacRae and Patrick Wayne

Episode 23 (51:54)
1. “Love and the Fly”-with Darren McGavin and Suzanne Pleshette
2. “Love and the Millionaires”-with Jonathan Harris and Forrest Tucker
3. “Love and the Double Trouble”-with Phyllis Davis and Malachi Thorne

Episode 24 (51:54)
1. “Love and the Minister”-with Richard Long and Van Williams
2. “Love and the Geisha”-with Carolyn Jones and Red Buttons
3. “Love and the Single’s Apartment”-with Joyce Van Patten and Mel Torme

Extras

Disc 1- None

Disc 2- None

Disc 3-None

Verdict

Season 2 should be on its way hopefully soon!

Rating: ****!

THE LOAVE BOAT SEASON 1 VOLUME 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2008-03-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite sitcoms from the 1970’s was “The Love Boat”! The show had a fairly now typical way of showing 3 different stories arcing into the same episode as a theme with some other show of that time. It was another in a long line of very popular TV series created by Aaron Spelling that ran for an amazing 10 seasons and 249 episodes. There were 2 90-minute pilots for the series that are not on this set and probably wont be on any future sets. This set consists of the first 12 episodes of the 1977 season. What I really enjoyed about this series was that it let a lot of stars of the Golden and bygone eras of film to have a chance of still acting and some their final performances! The only special feature on this set is the original episode promos that started each episode.

VIDEO

I don’t think the episodes are Digitally Remastered but the film prints are quite crisp and in pretty good shape considering the age. The episodes are approx 51 mins each and are shown in Airdate order.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono. Very strong sound.

Disc 1-
1. “Captain and the Lady/One if By Land/Centerfold”-with Bonnie Franklin and Suzanne Summers
2. “Oh Dale/The Main Event/A Tasteful Affair”-with John Ritter and Jaclyn Smith
3. “Ex Plus Y/Graham & Kelly/Golden Agers”-with Edward Andrews, Scott Baio, Robert Reed and Loretta Swit
4. “Message for Maureen”/Acapulco Connection/Gotcha!”-with Milton Berle, Bill Bixby and Charo

Disc 2-
5. “Help! Murder! /Isaac the Groupie/ Mr. Popularity”-with Dianne Carroll, Michelle Lee and Jim Nabors
6. “The Joker is Mild/First Time Out/Take My Granddaughter, Please!”-with Patty Duke Astin, Tab Hunter and Maureen McCormick
7. “The Identical Problem/Julie’s Old Flame/The Jinx”-with Ray Bolger, David Hedison
8. “The Understudy/Married Singles/ Lost & Found”-with Steve Allen and Loni Anderson

Disc 3-
9. “Romance Roulette/The Captain’s Captain/Hounded (A Dog’s Life)”-with Gary Burgoff and Phil Silvers and Jane Curtin
10. “Dear Beverly/The Strike/ Special Delivery”-with Pamela Franklin, Eva Gabor and Leslie Nielsen
11. “Lonely At The Top/Divorce Me, Please/Silent Night”-with John Gavin Donna Mills and Dick Sargent
12. “The Old Man and The Runaway/A Fine Romance/ The Painters”-with Will Geer, Arte Johnson, Pat Morita, Tom Poston and Anson Williams

Extras

Disc 1- Original Episode Promos

Disc 2- Original Episode Promos

Disc 3- Original Episode Promos

Verdict

I really looking forward to the next volume to come out!

HOUSEWIFE, 49-TV DVD REVIEW

2008-02-27T20:12:00.000-08:00

A blurb from Acorn Media about Housewife, 49: Written and starring beloved British actress Victoria Wood, Housewife, 49 presents a moving glimpse into life on the home front through the eyes of a resolute woman gradually awakening to life.

This TV movie was based on the World War II diaries of one Nella Last. The Mass Observation project was started in 1939 to examine the lives of ordinary people asking them to start a diary about their feeling on politics and everyday things. During wartime, Nella wrote about her life and struggles, which were poignant and moving. She continued writing her diaries until her death in 1968. Victoria Wood won a BAFTA Award for her portrayal of Nella. The movie has not been broadcast as of yet here in the States. This disc also features a text interview with Victoria Wood and Cast Filmographies.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! The TV movie is 92 minutes long.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Housewife, 49”-Movie

Extras

Disc 1: Victoria Wood Interview- (Text Only)
Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Verdict

An interesting look at life in Britain during World War II. Well Done!

Rating: ****!

VISIONS OF IRELAND DVD REVIEW

2008-02-27T20:10:00.000-08:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about Visions Of Ireland- From Galway to Dublin, savor spectacular scenery from the perspective of the faeries.

The newest documentary in the “Visions Of” series is the “Visions Of Ireland”! Ireland is rich with history and it castles and this program sure shows that! See where the Blarney Stone came from and the rolling countryside with “40 shades of Green”. Again filmed by Roy Hammond, with a high-definition camera mounted on the bottom of a helicopter, shows views of countrysides and cities that are absolutely breathtaking!! This disc like the one on Scotland has bonus footage as well.

VIDEO

The video quality is fantastic! The documentary is done on videotape but is stunning! Excellent quality. The documentary runs approx 75 mins

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. Opening, Croagh Patrick, Galway
2. Clonmacnoise, Sligo, Classiebawn, Giant’s Causeway
3. Belfast
4. Lough Neagh, Armagh, Mount Stewart, Bru Na Boinne, Kells, Wicklow Mountains, Glendalbugh
5. Cashel, Blarney Castle, Cork, Killaruey National Park
6. Skellig Islands, Galley Head
7. Cliffs of Moher, Inishaan, Inishmore, Insheer, Lough Corrib, The Burren and Limerick
8. Dublin
9. Credits

Extras

Disc 1: Bonus footage not shown on TV (18:27)

Verdict

I really loved these programs! Buying this program would perfectly make a trilogy of the British Isles and make a great gift for any anglophile! Fantastic!

Rating; *****!

BL STRYKER SEASON 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2008-02-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

BL Stryker were made for TV movies for the ABC network from February 1989 to May 1990. They starred Burt Reynolds as BL (Buddy Lee) Stryker, a retired New Orleans Police officer that moved back to his home state of Florida and became a private investigator. Reynolds’s character builds from movie to movie. The series was produced by Magnum himself, Tom Selleck! I had the opportunity to work with Burt Reynolds on the set of Cop & ½ in Tampa, Florida in the summer of 1992. This set comprises of the first 5 TV movies that made up the first season. Guest stars that graced the movies were Ossie Davis, Kristy Swanson, Rita Moreno, Peter Palmer to name a few. The extras in this set are 3 scripts from the series on PDF format on DVD Rom. The scripts are from the episodes: Blind Chess, Auntie Sue and Blues for Buder.

VIDEO

The video quality is slightly washed out but still very clear!
All movies are approx. 94 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Is also in Mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “The Dancer’s Touch”-with Ossie Davis, Kristy Swanson and Rita Moreno
2. “Caroleann”-with Deborah Raffin

Disc 2- 1. “Blind Chess”-with Peter Palmer
2. “Auntie Sue”-with Maureen Stapleton, Jack Gilford and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Disc 3- 1. “Blues For Buder”-with Neil Patrick Harris and Michael Chiklis

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: Scripts in PDF format on DVD Rom-“Blind Chess’, “Auntie Sue” and “Blues for Buder”

Verdict

A fun series set in Florida, What could be better!

Rating: *****!

ROUGH DIAMOND-TV DVD REVIEW

2008-02-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

I was quite impressed with Rough Diamond, which was actually called “Diamond Geezer” in the U.K. Rough Diamond is about a master thief that in the pilot is a prison inmate that escapes to steal diamonds from a boxing bully in prison. Acting legend Sir David Jason best known for “Only Fools and Horses” and the voice of “Dangermouse” wonderfully plays the master thief. The pilot was shot in 2005 and 3 more episodes followed in 2007. The series for me is a cross between “The Saint” and “The Persuaders”. David Jason is such a great actor; you’re watching every subtle gesture he makes! There are some great guest stars that are in the series such as Jenny Agutter, George Cole, Mary Tamm, Don Warrington and Simon Williams. The set includes Cast Filmographies and text interviews with the stars.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! The pilot runs 93 mins and each episode is approx. 68 mins each. It is presented in Widescreen.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Is also in Mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “Rough Diamond” (93 mins)
2. “A Royal Affair”-with Mary Tamm, George Cole, Jenny Agutter and David Troughton

Disc 2- 1. “Old Gold”-with Roy Marsden
2. “Old School Lies”-with Don Warrington and Simon Williams

Extras

Disc 1: David Jason Interview- (Text Only)
Jenny Agutter Interview- (Text Only)
Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Disc 2: Don Warrington Interview- (Text Only)
Simon Williams Interview- (Text Only)
Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Verdict

An enjoyable TV Series! Check it out!

Rating: ****!

RED GREEN 1999 SEASON-TV DVD REVIEW

2008-02-27T17:04:00.000-08:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about “The Red Green Show-1999 Season”: The complete ninth season of the public television hit’s 15-year run also sees Harold leave the Lodge for corporate life in the big city (with frequent visits from his uncle, of course).

Join Red, Harold, and all the guys at Possum Lodge for a year’s worth of doing what men do when women aren’t around-and some things that are even worse.

This set is from the 1999 season, 9 years into the run of the show. There are 16 episodes on 3 discs and I loved every minute of it. Harold now works in the big city and Red visits him from time to time and Red build a hot-air balloon that is made from a bus! Ranger Gord now is begins his series of educational cartoons. The set also includes Red and Harold character biographies and production notes written by Red Green’s alter ego, Steve Smith.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! There is also a Play All feature.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono.

Disc 1-
1. “Harold’s Job”
2. “The Fishing Derby”
3. “Lady In Red”
4. “The Bachelor Auction”
5. “Angel”
6. “School Bus Blimp”

Disc 2-
7. “Coup De Grass”
8. “Rent A Wreck”
9. “Curse of the Mummy”
10. “Roll Out The Barrels”
11. “No Retreat”

Disc 3-
12. “The Battle Call”
13. “Hurricane Doug”
14. “Guinness World Records”
15. “The Auto Club”
16. “Too Much Information”

Extras

Disc 1- Character Biographies (Text Only)
Production Notes from Steve Smith (Text Only)

Disc 2- None

Disc 3- None

Verdict

A very funny Canadian TV series. One of the best! I highly recommend it!

Rating: *****!

DALLAS SEASON 8 TV DVD REVIEW

2008-02-20T20:40:00.001-08:00

If you don’t count the miniseries as season 1, then this is actually season 7, the supposed last season for Patrick Duffy when he left the series the following season to seek other opportunities. This season was defiantly packed with an attempted murder, weddings, a kidnapping sudden wealth and a death! Barbara Bel Geddes was having medical problems so she left for a while and was replaced by actress Donna Reed as Miss Ellie. This role was Donna Reed’s final TV performance before her death a year later. This season set contains 30 episodes from the 8th season and the extra on the set is a featurette about Dallas’ costume designer, Travilla.

VIDEO

The video quality is fairly good; There are a few specks and film dirt but not much. The episodes were not remastered. Episodes are also uncut.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono.

Disc 1- Side A
1. “Killer At Large”-with Martin E Brooks and Dennis Haysbert
2. “Battle Lines”-with Mitch Ryan
3. “If At First You Don’t Succeed”
Side B
4. “Jamie”-with Jenilee Harrison and Randolph ManTooth
5. “Family”-with William Smithers
6. “Shadow of A Doubt”

Disc 2- Side A
7. “Homecoming”-with Donna Reed
8. “Oil Barron’s Ball III”-with Morgan Woodward
9. “Shadows”
Side B
10. “Charlie”
11. “Barbeque Five”
12. “Do You Take This Woman”

Disc 3- Side A
13. “DeJa Vu”-with James Cromwell
14. “Odd Man Out”
15. “Lock Up In Laredo”

Side B
16. “Winds of War”
17. “Bail Out”
18. “Legacy Of Hate”

Disc 4-Side A

19. “Sins of the Fathers”
20. “The Brothers Ewing”
21. “Shattered Dreams”
Side B
22. “Dead Ends”
23. “Trial and Error”
24. “The Verdict”

Disc 5-Side A
25. “Sentences”
26. “Terms of Estrangement”-with Dack Rambo
27. “The Ewing Connection”-with John Zaremba
Side B
28. “Deeds and Misdeeds”-with John Larch
29. “Deliverance”
30. “Swan Song”-with Morgan Brittany, Jared Martin and David White

Extras

Disc 1-4: None

Disc 5-: Dallas Makeover-Travilla Style- (09:50)

Verdict

I watched this series from the get go and this season had some really good and strong stories. Defiantly pick up this season!

Rating: ****!

GET SMART-THE COMPLETE SERIES DVD REVIEW

2008-02-18T21:25:00.000-08:00

The iconic TV show legend Don Adams and crew are finally available for the first time on DVD with the complete series of “Get Smart”! The show lasted for 5 seasons from 1965-1970 with 138 episodes. Time-Life and HBO Video have done an astoundingly fantastic job with this Megaset. All the episodes have been digitally remastered and care and love for the show was taken with the interviews, clips, bloopers and personal material partly by Don Adam’s widow, Dorothy Adams-Ferrante.

Two comedy-writing legends created the series, Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. The show was first pitched to ABC, which turned them down, but Grant Tinker from NBC took it on with a contract actor, Don Adams. The star of the show was originally supposed to be actor Tom Poston, but found Adams to be a better fit. The show also starred Barbara Feldon as Agent 99 and character actor Edward Platt as their boss, Chief. A pilot episode was made in Black & White and was a complete success. The show has a wonderful array of supporting characters and villains.

The secondary characters that were the core of the series were Bernie Kopell as Sigfried from K.A.O.S., Dick Gautier as Hymie the robot, with David Ketchum and Robert Karvelas as Agent 13 and Larabee respectively. There have been some big name guest stars that have been on the show over its 5 year run such as Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, James Caan, Ernest Borgnine, Don Rickles and Milton Berle to name a few. The show ran for 4 seasons on NBC and the last season was shown on CBS.

This complete series set is phenomenal! There are audio commentaries on 8 episodes with a treasure trove of extras from the Andy Williams Show, to classic commercials to a Playboy 75th Birthday celebration and reunion at the Museum of Television and Radio as well as Don Adams’ memorial service and many more! Agent 99 herself, Barbara Feldon, introduces each episode and extra!

VIDEO

The video quality is excellent! Each episode has been digitally remastered.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- “Mr. Big”-with Michael Dunn and Vito Scotti
“Diplomat’s Daughter”-with Leonard Strong
“School Days”-with Ben Wright and Leo Gordon
“Our Man In Toyland”-with John Hoyt and Helen Kleeb
“Now You See Him, Now You Don’t”
“Washington 4, Indians 3”-with Anthony Caruso
“K.A.O.S in Control”-with Barbara Bain and Ed Peck
“The Day Smart Turned Chicken”-with Simon Oakland

Disc 2- “Satan Place”-with Len Lesser
“Our Man In Leotards”-with Michael Pate
“Too Many Chiefs”-with Victor French
“My Nephew The Spy”-with Conrad Janis
“Aboard The Orient Express”-with Johnny Carson and Theo Marcuse
“Weekend Vampire”-with Ford Rainey
“Survival Of The Fattest”-with Karen Steele and Milton Selzer
“Double Agent”

Disc 3- “Kisses For K.A.O.S.”-with John Abbott
“The Dead Spy Scrawls”-with Leonard Nimoy
“Back To The Old Drawing Board”-with Dick Gautier
“All In The Mind”-with Torin Thatcher
“Dear Diary”-with Ellen Corby
“Smart The Assassin”-with Tony Lo Bianco
“I’m Only Human”-with Oscar Beregi

Disc 4- “Stakeout on Blue Mist Mountain”-with Ted Knight
“The Amazing Harry Hoo”-with Leonard Strong and Joey Forman
“Hubert’s Unfinished Symphony”-with Richard Webb
“Ship of Spies Part 1”-with Harold J Stone
“Ship of Spies Part 2”-with Harold J Stone
“Shipment To Beirut”-with Lee Bergere
“The Last One Is A Rotten Spy”-with Alice Ghostley

Disc 5- Bonus Disc-See Extras

Disc 6- “Anatomy of a Lover”-with King Moody
“Strike Will The Agent Is Hot”
“A Spy For A Spy”-with Stacy Keach and Bernie Kopell
“The Only Way To Die”-with Gordon Jump
“Maxwell Smart, Alias Jimmy Ballentine”-with Vic Tayback
“Casablanca”
“The Decoy”-with Len Lesser
“Hoo Done It”-with Joey Forman

Disc 7- “Rub-A-Dub-Dub…Three Spies In A Tub”
“The Greatest Spy On Earth”-with Paul Dooley and Victor Lundin
“Island of the Darned”-with Harold Gould
“Bronzefinger”
“Perils In A Petshop”-with Dick Wilson
“The Whole Tooth and…”-with Robert Strauss
“Kiss Of Death”
“It Takes One To Know One”-with Woodrow Palfrey and Gayle Hunnicutt

Disc 8- “Someone Down Here Hates Me”
“Cutback At Control”
“The Man From Yenta”-with Alan Oppenheimer
“The Mummy”
“The Girls From K.A.O.S.”-with Tisha Sterling
“Smart Fit The Battle Of Jericho”-with Angeline PettyJohn
“Where-What-How-Who Am I?”

Disc 9- “The Expendable Agent”
“How To Succeed In The Spy Business Without Really Trying”
“Appointment In Sahara”-with Vic Tayback
“Pussycats Galore”-with Ted Knight and Angeline PettyJohn
“A Man Called Smart Part 1”-with Kenneth Mars
“A Man Called Smart Part 2”
“A Man Called Smart Part 3”

Disc 10- Bonus Disc-See Extras

Disc 11- “The Spy Who Met Himself”
“Viva Smart”
“Witness For The Persecution”
“The Spirit Is Willing”-with Ina Balin and Len Lesser
“Maxwell Smart, Private Eye”
“Supersonic Boom”-with Farley Grainger and Alex Rocco
“One Of Our Olives Is Missing”-with Carol Burnett

Disc 12- “When Good Fellows Get Together”
“Dr Yes”
“That Old Gang of Mind”-with Sid Haig
“The Mild Ones”
“Classification: Dead”
“The Mysterious Dr T.”
“The King Lives?”-with Michael Forest

Disc 13- “The Groovy Guru”-with Larry Storch and Barry Newman
“The Little Black Book, Part 1”-with Don Rickles
“The Little Black Book, Part 2”-with Joey Forman
“Don’t Look Back”-with Bruce Gordon
“99 Loses Control”-with Jacques Bergerac
“The Wax Max”

Disc 14- “Run, Robot Run”
“Operation Ridiculous”-with George Macready
“Spy, Spy Birdie”
“The Hot Line”-with Regis Philbin and John Byner
“Die, Spy”
“The Reluctant Redhead”-with Cesar Romero

Disc 15 Bonus Disc-See Extras

Disc 16 “The Impossible Mission”-with Jamie Farr
“Snoopy Smart Vs The Red Baron”-with Mary Frann
“Closely Watched Planes”-with Pete Barbutti
“The Secret Of Sam Vittoro”-with J.Carrol Naish
“Diamonds Are A Spy’s Best Friend”-with Dick Wilson
“The Worst Best Man”-with Ron Masak and Avery Schreiber
“A Tale of Two Tails”-with Victor Sen Yung and Fred Willard

Disc 17- “The Return of the Ancient Mariner”-with Jack Cassidy
“With Love and Twitches”-with Alan Oppenheimer
“The Laser Blazer”-with Julie Newmar and Leonard Strong
“The Farkas Fracas”-with Tom Bosley and Alice Ghostley
“Temporarily Out of Control”
“Schwartz’s Island”
“One Nation Invisible”

Disc 18- “Hurray for Hollywood”
“The Day They Raided The Knights”-with Nancy Kovack
“Tequila Mockingbird”-with Oscar Beregi
“I Shot 86 Today”-with Sharon Acker
“Absorb the Greek”
“To Sire, With Love Part 1”-with John Doucette

Disc 19- “To Sire, With Love Part 2”-with John Doucette
“Shock It To Me”-with Tom Poston and Sid Haig
“Leadside”-with Ronald Long and Paul Carr
“Greer Window”
“The Not So Great Escape Part 1”
“The Not So Great Escape Part 2”

Disc 20- Bonus Disc-See Extras

Disc 21- “Pheasant Under Glass”-with Peter Brocco
“Ironhand”-with Billy Barty
“Valerie of the Dolls”-with Antoinette Bower
“Widow Often Annie”-with Dana Wynter
“The Treasure of C. Errol Madre”-with Broderick Crawford
“Smart Fell On Alabama”-with John Dehner
“And Baby Makes Four Part 1”-with Jack Gilford and Dana Elcar

Disc 22- “And Baby makes Four Part 2”-with Jack Gilford and Dana Elcar
“Physician Impossible”
“The Apes of Rath”
“Age Before Duty”
“Is This Trip Necessary?”-with Vincent Price
“Ice Station Siegfried”-with Bill Dana
“Moonlighting Becomes You”-with Victor Buono and Sid Haig

Disc 23- “House of Max Part 1”-with Ian Abercrombie
“House of Max Part 2”-with Ian Abercrombie
“Rebecca of Funny Folk Farm”-with Gale Sondergaard
“The Mess of Adrian Listenger”-with Pat Paulsen
“Witness for the Execution”
“How Green Was My Valet”-with Jonathan Harris

Disc 24- “And Only Two Ninety-Nine”
“Smartacus”-with John Zaremba
“What’s It All About Algie?”-with John Van Dreelsen
“Hello Columbus, Goodbye America”-with Vito Scotti and Billy Barty
“Do I Hear The Vaults?”
“I Am Curiously Yellow”-with Victor Sen Yeng

Disc 25- Bonus Disc-See Extras

Extras

Disc 1- Audio Commentary on Mr. Big with Buck Henry
Audio Commentary for Mr. Big with Mel Brooks

Disc 2- None

Disc 3- Audio Commentary on Kisses for K.A.O.S by Barbara Feldon

Disc 4- None

Disc 5- Interview with Buck Henry- (22:37)
Featurette-The Secret History of Get Smart- (16:56)
Clips-The Bill Dana Show-1964- (06:48)
Clips-The Andy Williams Show-1965- (05:06)
Clips-Top Brass Hair Care Commercial with Barbara Feldon-(01:02)
Clips-NBC Fall Season Preview-1965- (10:06)
Clips-Get Smart-Promo-Part 1-(1965)-(00:23)
Clips-Get Smart Promo-Part 2-(1965)-(00:11)
Bloopers- (02:13)
Get Smart Reunion Seminar 2003-(1 Hour)
Interactive Feature-The Chief’s Office

Disc 6- None

Disc 7- None

Disc 8- None

Disc 9- Audio Commentary on How To Succeed…By Bernie Kopell
Audio Commentary on A Man Called Smart Part 1 by Leonard Stern

Disc 10- Interview with Leonard Stern- (31:56)
Featurette-Barbara Feldon-Real Model to Role Model- (14:38)
Clip from the 1967 Emmys- (03:03)
Bloopers- (02:39)
Get Smart Reunion Seminar Part 2-(04:53)
Don Adam’s 75th Birthday Celebration-1999- (53:01)
NBC Broadcast Standers Memos-Pictures
Interactive Bonus-Agent’s 99 Purse

Disc 11- None

Disc 12- None

Disc 13- Audio Commentary on Little Black Book Part 2 with Don Rickles
Audio Commentary on 99 Loses Control by Barbara Feldon
Audio Commentary on 99 Loses Control by Buck Henry

Disc 14- None

Disc 15- Interview with Bruce Bilson- (Director)-(31:01)
Featurette-Spooks, Spies, Gadgets and Gizmos- (13:33)
Clip form the 1968 Emmys- (04:44)
Get Smart Syndication Promo- (03:21)
Milton Berle’s Mad, Mad World of Comedy- (04:44)
Clip from the Andy Williams Show-1966- (06:31)
Bloopers- (01:42)
Don Rickles Bloopers-Little Black Book- (01:25)
Get Smart Reunion Seminar Part 3-(04:41)
NBC Broadcast and Standers Memo-Pictures
Interactive Bonus-Max’s Sunbeam Tiger Car

Disc 16- None

Disc 17- Audio Commentary on For Love and Twitches by Barbara Feldon
Audio Commentary on For Love and Twitches by Buck Henry

Disc 18-None

Disc 19- Audio Commentary on To Sire With Love Part 2 by James Caan

Disc 20-Interview with Bernie Kopell- (22:29)
Interview with Barbara Feldon- (24:44)
Featurette-Code Words and Catch Phrases- (14:11)
Clip-Rose Parade with Don and Barbara 1969-(00:52)
Clip-The Any Williams Show- (05:46)
Syndication Promo- (02:12)
Clip from 1969 Emmys- (03:10)
Pepsodent Commerical-1967- (00:56)
White Castle Commerical-1990- (01:19)
Chief Auto Parts Commercial-1983- (00:37)
Bloopers- (02:22)
Interactive Bonus-Max’s Apartment

Disc 21- None

Disc 22- Audio Commentary on Ice Station Sigfried by Bill Dana

Disc 23-None

Disc 24-None

Disc 25-Featurette-The Fans Of Get Smart- (14:38)
Don Adam’s Memorial-2005- (81 Mins)
TV Land Awards 2003-(00:46)
Clip-The Andy Williams Show- (00:50)
Chief Auto Parts Commercial 1981 and 1983-(01:12)
White Castle Commercial 1-1990-(00:39)
White Castle Commercial 2-1990-(00:39)
Choice Hotels Commercial 1991-(00:40)
Buck A Call Commercial 1999-(00:34)
Bloopers- (01:21)
Ultimate Get Smart Clip Reel- (20:33)
Interactive Bonus-Spy Aptitude Test

Verdict

You absolutely have to get this set for your collection! Its well worth the money even if you not a true fan of the series. This is a true Classic! Go to www.timelife.com for more information!

Rating; *****!

TONY ROBINSON'S CUNNING NIGHT OUT! REVIEW

2008-02-16T06:25:00.001-08:00

Tony Robinson has had a wide and diverse life and shares his experiences with wit and history in “Tony Robinson’s Cunning Night Out!” Robinson offers hilarious tales, family stories with acting and historical anecdotes. He has also ran for public office in Britain, has written 19 children’s books and is most famously known the world over as “Baldrick” the hapless servant through the centuries in the comedy series “Blackadder” with always a “Cunning” plan which never seems to work! It is a very funny one-man stage show! It is for more of a mature audience with the language that is presented. The disc also includes extra footage of the stage show.

VIDEO

The performance was done on video and there are no dropouts of picture and sound. The performance is 82 minutes long.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “A Cunning Night Out”-Performance

Extras

Disc 1: Extra Footage- (10:12)

Verdict

If you like to hear some good stories and laugh out loud, then you’ll love this performance! Visit www.acornmeadia.com or www.acornonline.com for more information. I would recommend it!

Rating: *****!

LILLIE-THE MINISERIES TV DVD REVIEW

2008-02-16T06:23:00.001-08:00

The acclaimed 13 part miniseries that starred Francesca Annis as Lillie Langtry, the theater darling of England around the turn of the last century. Francesca Annis also played the same character in the miniseries, Edward the Seventh 3 years prior. The story takes place in an unhappy marriage in the 1870’s to her death in 1929, played wonderfully by Annis and the make up in the last few episodes are very believable. Shot on videotape and film was shown on London Weekend Television for the ITV channel back in 1978. The series also stars Anton Rogers, Peter Egan, Dennis Lil, Jeannie Linden, Anthony Ainley, John Bennett and “Q” himself, Desmond Llewelyn among others. This set includes Cast filmographies on all discs.

VIDEO

The video quality is quite good! All the episodes are on videotape with filmed outdoor scenes. There is a Play All feature. All episodes run approx 51 mins.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “Emille”
2. “Mrs. Langtry”
3. “The Jersey Lillie”-with Jennie Linden and Desmond Llewelyn
4. “The New Helen”-with Dennis Lil

Disc 2- 5. “Bertie”
6. “Let Them Say”
7. “The Sailor Prince”-with John Castle and Anthony Ainley

Disc 3- 8. “Going on the Stage’
9. “America”
10. “Home on the Range”-with John Bennett and David Healy

Disc 4-11. “Mr. Jersey”-with James Warwick
12. “Sunset and Evening Star”-with Deborah Watling
13. “Fifty Cents A Dance”

Extras

Disc 1: Cast filmographies

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: None

Verdict

A well done miniseries. To learn more about the show visit www. acornmedia.com.

Rating; ****!

MONARCH OF THE GLEN-THE COMPLETE COLLECTION DVD REVIEW

2008-02-03T13:58:00.001-08:00

If you love Scotland or the Scottish Highlands, which have been called “As close to Heaven on Earth” and enjoy great acting, then you will love “Monarch of the Glen”! The series premiered in 2000 and lasted 7 seasons with 64 episodes. The show was loosely based on a set of novels written in the 1930’s and 1940’s called simply “The Highland Novels”. The first book in the series was entitled “Monarch of the Glen”. The first 5 seasons starred Alistair Mackenzie as Archie, one of the sons of Hector MacDonald, owner of the castle and land of Glenbogle. Archie gave up a restaurant business in London and left for Scotland to take care of the land that once was home.

The well-known British actor, Richard Briers, plays the father and Susan Hampshire plays the Mother. The show was very close to a “Soap Opera” with the storylines it had. The home and land went through ups and downs with almost losing it all to the bank. At the end of the 3rd season, Richard Briers left the show and at the end of the series, he came back briefly, from the dead! In the beginning of the 6th season until the end of the series, Hectors brother comes to stay at Glenbogle, played by my 2nd favorite Doctor Who, Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee being my first choice! A new Laird comes in and takes over the problems of the family who is the illegitimate brother of Archie’s, Paul, played by Lloyd Owen.

This complete set has a nice bit of extras such as an interview with Susan Hampshire, a tour of the estate, a documentary of the Scottish Highlands from Bill Oddie from “The Goodies”, a Christmas special and the behind the scenes look at the show with Cast Filmographies and Biographies

VIDEO

The video quality is very good! All episodes are shot on film. There is a Play All feature.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- Series 1-Episode 1
Series 1-Episode 2
Series 1-Episode 3
Series 1-Episode 4

Disc 2-Series 1-Episode 5
Series 1-Episode 6
Series 1-Episode 7
Series 1-Episode 8

Disc 3-Series 2-Episode 1
Series 2-Episode 2
Series 2-Episode 3
Series 2-Episode 4

Disc 4-Series 2-Episode 5
Series 2-Episode 6
Series 2-Episode 7
Series 2-Episode 8

Disc 5-Series 3-Episode 1
Series 3-Episode 2
Series 3-Episode 3
Series 3-Episode 4

Disc 6-Series 3-Episode 5
Series 3-Episode 6
Series 3-Episode 7
Series 3-Episode 8

Disc 7-Series 3-Episode 9
Series 3-Episode 10
Series 3-Episode 11

Disc 8-Series 4-Episode 1
Series 4-Episode 2-with Phyllida Law
Series 4-Episode 3-with Leslie Phillips
Series 4-Episode 4

Disc 9-Series 4-Episode 5
Series 4-Episode 6
Series 4-Episode 7

Disc 10-Series 4-Episode 8
Series 4-Episode 9
Series 4-Episode 10

Disc 11-Series 5-Episode 1
Series 5-Episode 2
Series 5-Episode 3
Series 5-Episode 4

Disc 12-Series 5-Episode 5
Series 5-Episode 6
Series 5-Episode 7
Series 5-Episode 8

Disc 13-Series 5-Episode 9
Series 5-Episode 10

Disc 14-Series 6-Episode 1
Series 6-Episode 2-with Tom Baker
Series 6-Episode 3
Series 6-Episode 4

Disc 15-Series 6-Episode 5
Series 6-Episode 6
Series 6-Episode 7-with Anthony Head
Series 6-Epiosde 8

Disc 16-Series 6-Episode 9
Series 6-Episode 10

Disc 17-Series 7-Episode 1
Series 7-Episode 2
Series 7-Episode 3

Disc 18-Series 7-Episode 4
Series 7-Episode 5
Series 7-Episode 6-with Richard Briers

Extras

Disc 1- None

Disc 2- Holiday-A tour of Glenbogle Estate- (06:14)
Cast Biographies- (Text Only)
Trailer

Disc 3- None

Disc 4- Cast Biographies- (Text Only)
Trailers

Disc 5- None

Disc 6- None

Disc 7- Interview with Susan Hampshire- (09:04)
Cast Biographies- (Text Only)
Trailers

Disc 8- None

Disc 9- None

Disc 10- Wildlife in the Scottish Highlands- (29:15) with Bill Oddie
Cast Biographies
Trailers

Disc 11- None

Disc 12- None

Disc 13- Hogmany Special- (59:18)
Cast Biographies
Trailers

Disc 14- None

Disc 15- None

Disc 16- Cast Biographies
Trailers

Disc 17- None

Disc 18-The Last Monarch- (29:11)
Cast Biographies
Trailer

Verdict

What a breathtaking series this is! Without a doubt, worth the buy!

Rating; *****!

SLINGS & ARROWS-COMPLETE SERIES REVIEW

2008-02-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

Slings & Arrows is a Canadian TV series set in a Shakespearian festival loosely based on the Stratford festival that I once attended in 1974 when visiting relatives in Canada. The Series star is Paul Gross, once star of the CBS series “Due South”. The show is about a troubled Shakespeare company. Geoffrey Tennant (Paul Gross) was in a production of “Hamlet” a number of years ago and had a nervous breakdown on stage and was sent to a mental facility. Years later, he is running a small bankrupt theater company and is asked to take over for the New Burbage Festival when the artistic Director is killed by an oncoming truck. The series ran for 3 seasons and 18 episodes. Created by on of the Kids In The Hall alumni Mark McKinney. The set also includes cast interviews, bloopers, deleted and extended scenes, photo galleries and production notes.

VIDEO

The video quality is excellent! Each episode runs approx 50 mins.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Oliver’s Dream”
2. “Geoffrey’s Return”
3. “Madness in Great Ones”

Disc 2- 4. “Outrageous Fortune”
5. “A Mirror Up to Nature”
6. “Playing the Swan”

Disc 3- 7. “Season’s End”
8. “Fallow Time”-with Geraint Wyn Davies
9. “Rarer Monsters”

Disc 4-10. “Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair”
11. “Steeped In Blood”
12. “Birnam Wood

Disc 5- 13. “Divided Kingdom”-with William Hutt
14. “Vex Not His Ghost”
15. “That Way Madness Lies”

Disc 6- 16. “Every Inch a King”
17. “All Blessed Secrets”
18. “The Promised End”

Disc 7- Bonus Disc-See Extras

Extras

Disc 1- Trailer- (04:23)
Bloopers- (06:35)
Deleted & Extended Scenes- (03:39)
Production Notes- (Text Only)
Character Filmographies-Text Only
Lyrics to Cheer Up Hamlet & Call The Understudy

Disc 2- None

Disc 3- Cast Interview with Martha Burns and Stephen Ouimette- (14:10)
Trailer- (03:58)
Deleted & Extended Scenes- (14:20)
Production Notes- (Text Only)
Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Disc 4- Cast Interview-Michael Polley and Graham Harley- (07:55)
Bloopers- (09:54)
Photo Gallery-23 pictures
Lyrics to Mackers and Call the Understudy

Disc 5- Interview with Paul Gross- (17:02)
Trailer- (04:35)
Deleted & Extended Scenes- (19:44)
Cast Filmographies-(Text Only)
Production Notes- (Text Only)

Disc 6- Interview with Susan Coyne- (09:26)
Bloopers- (08:51)
Extended scenes of King Lear- (11:00)
Photo Gallery-39 pictures
Song Lyrics

Disc 7- A Look Behind The Scenes Featurette- (08:58)
Interview with Martha Burns- (08:50)
Interview with Stephen Ouimette- (09:34)
Interview with Graham Harley- (04:06)
William Hutt on the Set- (02:35)
Cast & Crew on the Set- (05:32)
Director on the Set Pt 1-(06:30)
Director on the Set Pt 2-(09:32)
Director on the Set-Pt 3-(11:24)

Verdict

An interesting take on a Shakespearian festival it also marked the last performance of Strafford Actor William Hutt.

Rating; *****!

ROSEMARY AND THYME-COMPLETE COLLECTION REVIEW

2008-02-01T21:32:00.000-08:00

Another great mystery series that stars Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris, green-thumbed sleuths that solved crimes in Britain and around the world. They played Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme respectively. They are in the gardening business together. 23 episodes were produced over 3 seasons and the production company went to Spain and Italy, which the scenes were breathtaking. Some of the guest stars were Anthony Andrews, John Bennett, Jan Chappell and Christopher Benjamin. This set includes and interview with Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris with Cast Filmographies, photo galleries and production notes.

VIDEO

The video quality is wonderful! Most episodes run approx 48 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “And No Birds Sing”
2. “Arabica and the Early Spider”

Disc 2- 3. “The Language of Flowers”
4. “Sweet Angelica”

Disc 3- 5. “A Simple Pet”
6. “The Tree of Death”

Disc 4-7. “The Memory of Water Pt 1”
8. “The Memory of Water Pt 2”
9. “Orpheus in the Undergrowth”-with Phylleda Law and John Bennett

Disc 5- 10. “They Understand Me In Paris”
11. “The Invisible Worm”-with Anthony Andrews
12. “The Gongoozlers”

Disc 6- 13. “The Italian Rapscallion”-with Oliver Ford Davies
14. “Swords into Ploughshares”
15. “Up The Garden Path”

Disc 7- 16. “In a Monastery Garden”-with Jan Chappell
17. “Seeds of Time”-with Christopher Benjamin
18. “Agua Cadaver”

Disc 8- 19. “Three Legs Good”
20. “The Gooseberry Bush”
21. “Racquet Espanol”

Disc 9- 22. “Enter Two Gardeners”
23. “The Cup of Silence”

Extras

Disc 1- Interview with Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris (07:54)
Production Notes- (Text Only)
Photo Gallery- (21 Pictures)
Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Disc 2- None

Disc 3- None

Disc 4- Production Notes- (Text Only)
Photo Gallery- (30 Pictures)
Trivia Quiz
Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Disc 5- None

Disc 6- None

Disc 7- Photo Gallery- (30 Pictures)
Production Notes- (Text Only)
Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Disc 8- None

Disc 9- None

Verdict

A wonderful mystery series with twists and turns and gardening! My only complaint about the set is the DVD sleeve packaging. The release buttons are not that friendly with almost breaking the DVD to get them out!

Rating; *****!

PIONEERS OF TELEVISION DVD REVIEW

2008-01-28T21:52:00.000-08:00

A blurb from PBS Home Video about Pioneers of Television: This 4-part series champions the entertainers who launched an industry. Packed with hilarious clips and nearly 100 new interviews, this series offers television at its finest.

This four part documentary from PBS was fascinating with tons of memories from many living stars from the bygone days of the golden years of television with such greats as Jonathan Winters, Betty White, Merv Griffin, Steve Allen, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Jim Nabors and Andy Griffin to name a few. The 4 parts of the series are Late Night, Sitcom, Variety and Game Shows. Bob Barker was interviewed the very day that he announced his retirement and the interviews were filmed in high definition, which gives a nice touch to the shows.

VIDEO

Shot in high definition, vintage clips are as clear as possible. Each part runs approx 55 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Late Night”-Interviews with Jay Leno/Tim Conway/Jonathan Winters/Dick Cavett/Betty White/Merv Griffin/Regis Phillbin/Tommy Smothers/Doc Severison/Ed McMahon/Arsenio Hall/Steve Allen/Hugh Downs/Sigourney Weaver/Pat Harrington/Andy Williams/Phyllis Diller/Florence Henderson/Barbara Eden/Jack Narz and Bob Ucker.

“Sitcom”-Interviews with Mary Tyler Moore/Joyce Randolph/Marlo Thomas/Art Linkletter/Tony Orlando and Rose Marie.

“Variety”-Interviews with Sid Caesar/George Slattler/Pat Boone/Peter Marshall/Jerry Stiller/Milton Berle/Red Skelton and Vicki Lawrence.

“Game Shows”-Interviews with Bob Barker/Tom Kennedy/Bob Eubanks/Chuck Woolery/Wink Martindale and Bob Stewart.

Extras

Disc 1: More Interviews with the Pioneers of Television- (15:00)

Verdict

Defiantly worth to have for the clips and interviews. If you are a fan of Classic Television, then you will totally enjoy this!

Rating: *****!

KISSOLOGY VOLUME 3-DVD REVIEW

2008-01-28T20:41:00.001-08:00

This volume is supposedly the last volume in the “trilogy” but possibly not if Gene Simmons has anything to do with it! This set consists of the Kiss years on these discs from 1992-2000 and has on a fourth disc, there earliest recorded footage of one of their concerts in Queens New York on December 22, 1973 with makeup but no elaborate costumes and there is a special fifth disc that has a special concert for a radio station in California back in 1996. I have been a fan of the group since the late 1970’s. Not a huge fan, but one that respects what music they did. There are concerts on these discs from the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan in 1992, a MTV Unplugged special from 1995, Tiger Stadium in 1996, a mini concert of the MTV Video Awards on the Brooklyn Bridge, Dodger Stadium on Halloween 1998, a special mini concert for the movie Detroit Rock City and their “Last” concert for Pay Per View in 2000. The set also includes “Easter Eggs” which are footage from “Carnival of Souls” album, sound check footage and a performance of 2,000 Man at midnight during the Millennium concert.

VIDEO

Some footage is crisp and clear and some footage is somewhat grainy but that is due to the only available footage that could be found.

Audio

Is available in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. Some low audio on the Coventry 1973 concert.

Disc 1- 1. Revenge Tour-The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit Michigan 11/27/1992 (180 Mins)
2. MTV Unplugged-Behind the Scenes- (99 Mins)
3. MTV Unplugged-Sony Studios, New York City 08/09/1995-(91 mins)

Disc 2- 1. Revenge Tour-Tiger Stadium, Detroit Michigan 06/28/1996 –(173 Mins)
2. MTV VMA Performance-09/04/1996-(78 Mins)
3. Psycho Circus Tour-Dodgers Stadium, Los Angeles, California 10/31/1998 Pt 1-(57:56)

Disc 3- 1. Psycho Circus Tour-Dodgers Stadium, Los Angeles, California 10/31/1998 Pt 2-(167 Mins)
2. Detroit Rock City Premiere 08/09/1999-(98 Mins)
3. The Last Kiss-06/27/2000-(67 Mins)

Disc 4-1. Coventry-Queens, New York 12/22/1973-(43:37)“Captain Cook”

Disc 5- KROQ Weenie Roast-06/15/1996-(58:38)

Verdict

Defiantly pick this set up if you are a fan of KISS. The 1973 concert is worth the buy alone!

Rating; ****!

SWAMP THING-THE SERIES VOLUME 1

2008-01-26T06:40:00.000-08:00

I really liked Swamp Thing when it was on TV back in the early 1990’s. It was based on the comic book of the same name. The series is closer to the comic book as to the serious nature of the episodes as opposed to the over the top tone in the first 2 movies. The star of course is Swamp Thing played very well by Dick Durock who played the character in the 2 films and all 72 episodes of the TV series. Mark Lindsey Chapman played Dr. Arcane, the constant thorn in Swamp Thing’s side. The first season was very dark in tone but had some wonderful episodes. The show was filmed in Orlando, Florida at Universal Orlando with some really good guests such as Peter Mark Richman, Roscoe Lee Browne, Sandahl Bergman and my personal favorite, Peter Palmer that the part of Orvile in “The Watchers” was specifically written for him. I had worked with Mr. Palmer in Temple Terrace and a local theater production of Lil’ Abner which at the time he was filming that very episode! This 4-disc set comprises of the first 22 episodes in order of story, which flows a little better. The set also has interviews with the co-creator of the series Len Wein and Swamp Thing himself, Dick Durock!

VIDEO

The film quality is great! Little to no specks or dirt. Each episode is approx. 23 mins each. There is a Play all feature but does not have any chapters.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Is also in Mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “The Emerald Heart”
2. “Falco”-with Peter Mark Richman
3. “Treasure”
4. “From Beyond The Grave”
5. “Blood Wind”
6. “Grotesquery”
7. “New Acquaintance”-with Summer Phoenix

Disc 2- 1. “Natural Enemy”
2. “Spirit of the Swamp”-with Roscoe Lee Browne
3. “Legend of the Swamp Maiden”
4. “The Death of Dr Arcane”
5. “The Living Image”
6. “The Shipment”

Disc 3- 1. “Birthmarks”
2. “The Dark Side of the Mirror”
3. “Silent Screams”
4. “Walk A Mile In My Shoots”
5. “The Watcher”-with Peter Palmer

Disc 4- 1. “The Hunt”
2. “Touch of Death”
3. “Tremors of the Heart”-with Sandahl Bergman
4. “The Prometheus Parabola”-with Terry Funk

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: Interview with Co-Creator Len Wein (08:07)
Interview with Dick Durock (10:58)

Verdict

A great show with a great cast! Defiantly worth buying!

Rating: ****!

THUNDERBIRDS 40TH ANNIVERSARY MEGASET TV DVD REVIEW

2008-01-20T21:37:00.000-08:00

One of the most popular of the Gerry Anderson Marionette series and my personal favorite is of course, “Thunderbirds”! The series premiered in 1964 as originally a 30-minute program. When producer Sir Lew Grade saw the show and how good it was he demanded that the episodes were to be made as a 1-hour program, which was somewhat of a problem with 9 30-minute episodes already made. The series was created after Anderson watched a news program about a German Mine disaster and how they were rescued in 1963.

The show is about the Tracy family living on a secret island in the Pacific. The patriarch of the family is Jeff Tracy, father of 5 sons and a former Astronaut. Now a little bit about each son. Scott Tracy is pilot of Thunderbird 1-a rocket plane that would normally get to a disaster scene first and set up a mobile base for the other vehicles. Brother Virgil Tracy piloted Thunderbird 2-a cargo ship and overall workhorse. Thunderbird 3 was a rocket for space missions and for maintenance for the orbiting space station, Thunderbird 5 which monitored all broadcasts for rescue missions and piloting Thunderbird 3 was Alan Tracy and Thunderbird 5 was John Tracy which left the mini submarine Thunderbird 4 that was driven by Gordon Tracy.

All the sons were named after real-life astronauts at the time. The other intrepid team member was Lady Penelope, a British agent that helped the Tracy family on many mission along with her trusty butler and bodyguard, Parker a ex prize fighter. There was a recurring villain in the series by the name of “The Hood” which is a half brother of the Tracy’s house helper, Kyrano. The most noticeable voice on the show was Canadian actor Shane Rimmer, the voice of Scott Tracy whose is most notable as the captain of the American submarine on the James Bond movie “The Spy Who Loved Me” as well as the Star Wars films. The best thing about the TV series to me was the fantastic and realistic special effects done by the legendary Derek Meddings who also worked on the Bond films and Superman films. Barry Gray who also composed many of Anderson’s series composed the music for this show.

Over the years, the series has spawned 3 motion pictures-“Thunderbirds Are Go” in 1966 and “Thunderbird 6” in 1968 and most recently “Thunderbirds” in 2004. This megaset includes all 32 digitally remastered episodes in glorious 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. For prints that are over 40 years old, they look and sound superb. Also in the set are a behind the scenes featurette, a making of featurette and a Tech TV episode version with pop up info and a 40 minutes retrospective with Gerry Anderson about his TV series and much more.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! All episodes are shot on 35 mm film with little to no dirt or specks. Each episode runs apporx 51 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also available in 5.1 Dolby Surround sound.

Disc 1- 1. “Trapped In The Sky”
2. “Pit of Peril”
3. “City Of Fire”

Disc 2- 1. “Sun Probe”
2. “The Uninvited”
3. “The Mighty Atom”

Disc 3- 1. “Vault of Death”
2. “Operation Crash Dive”
3. “Move and Your Dead”

Disc 4-1. “Martian Invasion”
2. “Brink Of Disaster”
3. “The Perils of Penelope”

Disc 5- 1. “Terror In New York City”
2. “End of the Road”
3. “Day Of Disaster”

Disc 6- 1. “Edge of Impact”
2. “Desperate Intruder”
3. “30 Minutes After Noon”

Disc 7- 1. “The Imposters”
2. “The Man From MI5”
3. “Cry Wolf”

Disc 8- 1. “Danger At Ocean Deep”
2. “The Duchess Assignment”
3. “Attack of the Alligators”

Disc 9- 1. “The Cham Cham”
2. “Security Hazard”
4. “Atlantic Inferno”

Disc 10-1. “Path of Destruction”
2. “Alias Mr. Hackenbaker”

Disc 11- 1. “Lord Parker’s “Oliday”
2. “Ricochet”
3. “Give of Take a Million”

Disc 12- Bonus Disc

The Brains Behind the Thunderbirds-featurette- (54:18)
The Making of the Thunderbirds- (09:21) in B/W
Pit of Peril-pop up episode form Tech TV- (44:09)
Gerry speaks: An Inside look at Anderson’s 7 fantastic series- (40:57)

Extras

Disc 1- Behind the Scenes featurette –(03:24)

Disc 2- Photo Gallery

Disc 3- Behind the Scenes featurette –(03:24)
Photo Gallery

Disc 4- Photo Gallery

Disc 5- Photo Gallery

Disc 6- Photo Gallery

Disc 7- Photo Gallery

Disc 8- Photo Gallery

Disc 9- Photo Gallery

Disc 10- Gerry Anderson-The Creator –Nowhere on the disc.
Photo Gallery

Disc 11- Photo Gallery

Disc 12- See Above

Verdict

A well-done production! Defiantly get this one for your collection!

Rating; *****!

CHANCER SERIES 2-TV DVD REVIEW

2008-01-19T20:38:00.000-08:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about Chancer Series 2: He’s back! In the complete second series of this British TV hit, Clive Owen turns on his megawatt charm as an irresistible rogue with a taste for scams, swindles, and romance.

The second and final series of the show are on this 2-disc set. The season is much darker in feel and tone from the first series. Chancer confesses and goes to prison and come back out and tries to the get his life back together. Again the music is by Jan Hammer from Miami Vice fame. This series also boasted 2 people that when on to bigger things, Louise Lombard who went onto the CSI TV series and Christopher Eccleston that went on to play the 9th Doctor in the newly re-vamped Doctor Who series. This set has Cast filmograpies. This set also comprises the final 7 episodes of the series.

VIDEO

The video quality is very good! All the episodes are on film. Film quality is quite good with little to no dirt or specks All discs have a Play All feature.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “Jo” with Louise Lombard and Christopher Eccleston
2. “Ashes”
3. “Secrets”
4. “Remembrance”

Disc 2- 5. “Blood”
6. “Fall” with Michael Kitchen and Terry Molloy
7. “Sacrifices”

Extras

Disc 1: Cast Filmogrphies- (Text Only)

Disc 2: None

Verdict

Again a darker look for series 2 but very well done! I would recommend it!

Rating; ****!

BLUE MURDER SET 2-TV DVD REVIEW

2008-01-19T20:36:00.000-08:00

This second set comprises the final 4 episodes of the series. Like other British Crime shows, this show relies on “Fine Tooth Comb” attention to Police rules to solve the murders. These stories are as good and riveting as the first set. If I am not mistaken Blue Murder has been shown on BBC America but not on any PBS stations. The set includes the last 4 episodes with cast filmographies and texted interviews form stars Caroline Quentin and Ian Kelsey.

VIDEO

The video quality is very good! All the episodes are on film. Film quality is quite good with little to no dirt or specks Each episode runs approx 69 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “The Spartacus thing”
2. “Make Believe”

Disc 2- 1. “In Deep”
2. “Steady Eddie” with Jack Ellis

Extras

Disc 1: Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Disc 2: Caroline Quentin Interview- (Text Only)
Ian Kelsey Interview- (Text Only)

Verdict

A very good series. Caroline Quentin is superb!

Rating; ****!

BLUE MURDER SET 1-TV DVD REVIEW

2008-01-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

This was an interesting take on a cop show with a female Detective Chief Inspector that has to juggle Police work, being a single mom, having to deal with her wayward husband and go against a system that do not like women in charge. That’s a handful! If you are a fan of British TV, you’ll be able to handle the accents, if not you might have a slightly tough time understanding some of the dialog. I have no problem with it. The show is not fast paced, more relying on character development. The show is a little graphic at times when they come to a crime scene, but other than that, well done. The set includes the first 6 episodes with cast filmographies.

VIDEO

The video quality is very good! All the episodes are on film. Film quality is quite good with little to no dirt or specks Each episode runs approx 69 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “Cry Me A River” Part 1
2. “Cry Me A River” Part 2

Disc 2- 1. “Hit & Run”
2. “Up In Smoke”

Disc 3- 1. “Fragile Relations”
2. “Lonely”

Extras

Disc 1: Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Verdict

A very good series. Caroline Quentin is surprisingly good! Looking forward for set 2!

Rating; ****!

BANACEK-SEASON 2 TV DVD REVIEW

2008-01-19T20:31:00.000-08:00

One of the better NBC Mystery Movie Series is back for a second season 3 DVD set! Banacek! Played by the late George Peppard. This set comprises the last 8 episodes and with a special bonus the original 96 minute pilot! These episodes ran during the 1973-74 TV season. The show was about a Boston-based freelance investigator who solved crimes for insurance companies for usually a fee of 10% of the value of the insured’s property. As usual for the Mystery movies there were a huge amount of guest stars such as Cesar Romero, Gary Lockwood, Jim Davis, Eric Braeden, John Saxon to name a few. This 3-disc set has no other extras other than the Pilot movie.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! Digitally remastered and restored for the first time on DVD.
All episodes are approx. 73 minutes long. The movie is 96 minutes long. There is also a Play All feature.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Is also in Mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “No Stone Unturned”-with Gary Lockwood and Don Stroud
2. “If Max is so smart, Why Doesn’t he tell us where he is?”-with Anne Baxter, Richard Jordan and Jim Davis
3. “The Three Million Dollar Piracy”-with Dick Gautier and Tito Vandis

Disc 2- 1. “The Vanishing Chalice”-with Cesar Romero, Eric Braeden and John Saxon
2. “Horse of a Slightly Different Color”-with Tim O’Connor and Anne Francis
3. “Rocket to Oblivion”-with Linda Evans, Andrew Prine and Dick Van Patten

Disc 3- 1. “Fly Me-If You Can Find Me”-with Sterling Hayden and Victoria Principal
2. “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t-with Pat Harrington and Peter Marshall

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: Missing Pilot Movie-“Banacek”-(96 Minutes)-with Ed Nelson and J Pat O’Malley

Verdict

Defiantly a set to own and with the Pilot Movie on the set, it is now complete!

Rating: ****!

DOCTOR WHO-NEW SERIES 3 TV DVD REVIEW

2008-01-14T20:06:00.001-08:00

The third season starts off with a whole new companion! The series stars David Tennant as the doctor with Freema Agyeman as Dr. Martha Jones. It was nice not to see Rose in this series. Her character was getting all too mighty and the character needed a rest, although I hear that she will be in the last few episodes of the upcoming fourth season.

This season also had the yearly Christmas special entitled “The Runaway Bride” with Catherine Tate as the bride. The season itself was up and down this year with some fantastic episodes such as Human Nature/The Family of Blood, Blink and Utopia to the downright disappointing Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks and the Last of the Timelords. This set has quite a few extras such as audio commentaries on all 14 episodes and there are also outtakes, deleted scenes with Freema Agyeman’s and David Tennant’s video diaries and the confidential cut-down documentaries and Dr Who BBC trailers.

VIDEO

The video quality is quite good being filmed on Digibeta! Excellent quality. There is also a Play All feature for every disc.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also able to hear it in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound.

Disc 1- 1. “The Runaway Bride”-with Catherine Tate (60 mins)
2. “Music & Monsters”-Confidential Documentary” (58:29)

Disc 2- 1. “Smith & Jones”-with Roy Marsden (44:27)
2. “The Shakespeare Code”-with Angela Pleasance (45:43)
3. “Gridlock” (44:59)

Disc 3- 1. “Daleks In Manhattan” (46:53)
2. “Evolution of the Daleks” (46:26)
3. “The Lazarus Experiment”-with Mark Gatiss (43:05)
4. “42” (45:29)

Disc 4-1. “Human Nature” (45:00)
2. “The Family of Blood” (42:56)
3. “Blink” (43:42)

Disc 5-
1. “Utopia”-with Derek Jacobi (45:53)
2. “The Sound Of Drums”- with John Sims (46:12)
3. “The Last of the Timelords” (51:24)

Disc 6- Doctor Who Confidential (Cutdown Versions)

1. “Meet Martha Jones”-(13:09)
2. “Stage Fright”-(11:55)
3. “Are We There Yet”-(11:47)
4. “A New York Story”-(11:26)
5. “Making Manhattan” –(11:44)
6. “Monsters, Inc” –(12:09)
7. “Spacecraft” –(11:57)
8. “Alter Ego” –(11:59)
9. “Bad Blood” –(12:03)
10. “Do You Remember the First Time?”-(12:36)
11. “Ello, Ello, Ello”-(12:13)
12. “The Saxon Mystery”-(12:28)
13. “The Valiant Quest”-(07:03)

Extras

Disc 1: David Tennant’s Video Diary-The Runaway Bride (09:16)
Audio Commentaries on Runaway Bride
Freema Agyeman’s Studio Tour (18:15)
Deleted Scenes- (18:01)
Outtakes- (05:27)
BBC Trailers- (02:52)

Disc 2: Audio Commentaries on Smith & Jones, The Shakespeare Code and Gridlock
David Tennant’s Video Diaries on the first 3 stories (28:51)
Trailers- (0:52)

Disc 3: Audio Commentaries on Daleks in Manhattan, Evolution of the Daleks, The Lazarus Experiment and 42
David Tennant’s Video Diaries on the next 4 stories (28:56)
BBC Trailers (01:11)

Disc 4: Audio Commentaries on Human Nature, The Family of Blood and Blink
David Tennant’s Video Diaries on the next 3 stories (40:02)

Disc 5: Audio Commentaries on Utopia, The Sound of Drums and The Last of the Timelords
David Tennant’s Video Diaries on the last 3 stories (27:03)
BBC Trailers-(01:28)

Disc 6: None

Verdict

A good season with ups and downs and a new companion. Season 4 is going to be very interesting! Get this season for your collection!

Rating; *****!

HAWAII FIVE-O SEASON 3 TV DVD REVIEW

2008-01-09T14:55:00.001-08:00

A blurb from Paramount about Hawaii Five-O Season 1: Join Steve McGarrett and his heroic Five-O force as they solve crimes, unmask villains and “Book’em” in 24 episodes from the legendary show’s third season.

Hawaii Five-O is back for a third season on DVD! McGarrett and the crew are back to fight crime and international threats to Hawaii. Again like the first 2 seasons, this season has quite a few guest stars such as Eric Braeden before he was on The Young and the Restless and with Diane Muldaur, Martin Sheen, Edward Andrews, Joan Van Ark, Sorrell Booke and Academy Award winning actress Anne Archer in one of her first TV productions. This season also shows the return of McGarrett’s arch nemesis-Wo Fat played wonderfully by Khigh Dhiegh who shows up twice this season and throughout the run of the series and the final episode. There are 24 episodes to this season and some of them are syndication prints and are not uncut. The only “Special Feature” for this set are the original episode promos for the next week’s show except the episodes “Over Fifty?-Steal” and the two 2 part episodes “FOB Honolulu” and “The Grandstand Play”.

VIDEO

The episodes are digitally remastered. Most episodes are uncut. Each episode runs approx 50 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “And Time to Die”-with Gerald S O’Loughlin and Khigh Dhiegh
2. “Trouble in Mind”-with Milton Selzer and Harry Guardino
3. “The Second Shot”-with Eric Braeden
4. “Time and Memories”- with Diane Muldaur, Martin Sheen and Edward Andrews

Disc 2- 1. “The Guarnerius Caper”-with Albert Paulsen and Ed Flanders
2. “The Ransom”-with Andrew Duggan and Peter Bonerz
3. “Force of Waves”-with John Vernon and Dewey Martin
4. “Reunion”-with Simon Oakland and Barry Atwater

Disc 3- 1. “The Late John Louisiana”-with Don Stroud and Alfred Ryder
2. “The Last Eden”-with Ray Danton and Paul Stevens
3. “Over Fifty?-Steal”-with Hume Cronyn
4. “Beautiful Screamer”-with Lloyd Bochner and Anne Archer

Disc 4- 1. “The Payoff”-with Albert Salmi, Paul Carr and Madlyn Rhue
2. “The Double Wall”-with Monte Markham, Sorrell Booke and Joan Van Ark
3. “Paniolo”-with Royal Dano
4. “Ten Thousand Diamonds and a Heart”-with Tim O’Connor and Logan Ramsey

Disc 5- 1. “To Kill or Be Killed”-with John Anderson
2. “F.O.B Honolulu” Pt 1-with Khigh Dhiegh and Roger C Carmel
3. “F.O.B Honolulu” Pt 2-with Khigh Dhiegh and Roger C Carmel
4. “The Gunrunner”-with Paul Burke and George Murdock

Disc 6-1. “Dear Enemy” -with Vera Miles and Gary Collins
2. “The Bomber and Mrs Moroney”
3. “The Grandstand Play” Pt 1-with Pernell Roberts and Barry Atwater
4. “The Grandstand Play” Pt 2-with Pernell Roberts and Barry Atwater

Extras

Disc 1: Episode Promos

Disc 2: Episode Promos

Disc 3: Episode Promos

Disc 4: Episode Promos

Disc 5: Episode Promos

Disc 6: Episode Promos

Verdict

Great to have the next season of Hawaii Five-O. The picture quality is stunning! Come on Season 4!

Rating: *****!

CRIME TRAVELLER-COMPLETE SERIES DVD REVIEW

2008-01-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

This series I really enjoyed which was a cross between Doctor Who and Time Trax about two detectives that have a time machine from the other detectives father that they can go back but not forward in time to stop or solve a crime. They also have to get back to the time machine when they are supposed to or they will be permanently locked in a loop of infinity. The series stars Michael French as Jeff Slade and Chloe Annett as Holly Turner whose father built the time machine is now in a loop of infinity. The series lasted only 8 episodes and was not commissioned for a 2nd series due to a change in management at the BBC. There are no extras in this set.

VIDEO

The video quality is very good! All the episodes are on film. Film quality is quite good with little to no dirt or specks

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “Jeff Slade and the Loop of Infinity”
2. “A Death In The Family”-with Mary Tamm
3. “Fashion Shoot”

Disc 2- 1. “Revenge of the Chronology Protection Hypotheses”-with John Gill
2. “Sins of the Father” with Stephen Greif
3. “Death Minister”

Disc 3- 1. “The Lottery Experiment”-with Zienia Merton
2. “The Broken Crystal” with Angela Pleasence

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Verdict

A very good enjoyable series. A shame there were not anymore episodes made. I recommend it!

Rating; *****!

RISING DAMP-THE MOVIE DVD REVIEW

2008-01-06T20:35:00.001-08:00

After 4 very successful seasons and countless awards, Rising Damp becomes a movie! This film premiered in 1980, two years after it went off the air with all the original cast members came back except Richard Beckinsale who sadly passed away before the film was made so a new character was introduced to take place of Beckinsale. His name was Christopher Strauli as John. The movie’s plot was ideas from 8 episodes of the series for Leonard Rossiter did not want to do anything new but to retell the story. The new tenant in the building and vying for Miss Jones’s affections was none other than Denholm Elliott of Indiana Jones fame. The movie also received awards for its comedy. It made back its 120,000 pound budget. This disc also contains the original theatrical trailer and cast filmographies.

VIDEO

The movie was done on film. From a very good film print. The movie is 94 minutes long.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Rising Damp-The Movie”-Movie-with Leonard Rossiter, Frances De La Tour, Denholm Elliott, Christopher Strauli and Don Warrington

Extras

Disc 1: Original Theatrical Trailer- (2:26)
Photo Gallery-25 pictures
Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Verdict

I would recommend this movie if you are a fan of the show or British Comedy get the movie!

Rating: ***!

MELISSA-TV DVD REVIEW

2008-01-06T20:33:00.001-08:00

A blurb from Acorn Media about Melissa: Written by famed English crime writer and dramatist Francis Dunbridge, this PBS Mystery classic stars Peter Barkworth, Ronald Fraser and Moira Redmond.

A classic BBC murder mystery has premiered on DVD with the miniseries called “Melissa” staring Peter Barkworth as Guy Foster an unemployed Fleet Street reporter that has a new career as a novelist. Everything changes when his wife Melissa is murdered and all the clues point to Guy and he goes on a journey to clear his name. The movie also stars Ronald Fraser. The movie was based on the works of Francis Durbridge who wrote many episodes of the Paul Temple TV series. The miniseries spans 3 episodes. The disc also includes cast filmographies and a biography of the author Francis Dunbridge. The episodes were filmed the standard BBC way where all inside shots were shot on videotape and the outdoor shots were done on grainy 16 mm film. No fault of Acorn.

VIDEO

The video quality is not that bad! The performance is 150 minutes long. There is also a Play All Feature.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Melissa”-with Peter Barkworth and Ronald Fraser

Extras

Disc 1: Francis Dunbridge Biography- (Text Only)
Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Verdict

An entertaining whodunit with a good supporting cast. I would recommend it!

Rating: ***!

MCHALE'S NAVY SEASON 2-TV DVD REVIEW

2008-01-02T19:57:00.000-08:00

McHale’s Navy second season is on this 5 disc with the next 36 episodes. Again starring Tim Conway in one of his first TV roles playing Ensign Parker and the Commander of the PT boat base, Captain Binghamton played by the late Joe Flynn. More guest stars were in this season most notably Bernie Kopell, Joyce Bulifant and George Kennedy. This second season set special features has reminiscing of the series by its star, Ernest Borgnine.

VIDEO

The video quality is superb! Digitally Remastered. There is a Play All feature. Excellent quality. Each episode runs approx 23 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1-
1. “The Day The War Stood Still”
2. “The Binghamton Murder Plot”
3. “McHale and His Schweinhunds”-with Mako
4. “Is There A Doctor In The Hut?”-with Bernie Kopell
5. “To Binghamton with Love”
6. “Have Kimono, will Travel”-with Mako
7. “Today I am a Man”-with Joyce Bulifant

Disc 2-
1. “Jolly Wally”
2. “Scuttlebutt”
3. “The August Teahouse of Quint Mchale”
4. “French Leave for McHale”-with George Kennedy
5. “The Happy Sleepwalker”
6. “A Letter for Fuji”-with Mako and John Zaremba
7. “My Ensign, The Lawyer”

Disc 3-
1. “Orange Blossom for McHale”
2. “Creature from McHale’s Lagoon”
3. “A Medal for Parker”-with Herb Virgan
4. “The Balloon Goes Up”-with Mako
5. “Who’ll Buy My Sarongs?”
6. “Evil-Eye Parker”
7. “The Great Impersonation”
8. “Urulu’s Paradise West”

Disc 4-
1. “Dear Diary”
2. “Babette Go Home”
3. “The Novocain Muntiny”
4. “Stars Over Taratupa”
5. “Comrades of PT 73”-with Sue Ann Langden
6. “Return of Big Frenchy”-with George Kennedy
7. “Alias PT 73”

Disc 5-
1. “The Rage Of Taratupa”
2. “Ensign Parker ESP”
3. “The McHale Mob”
4. “Carpenter in Command”
5. “Marryin’ Chuck”-with John Zaremba
6. “The Dart Gun Wedding”
7. “A Da-Da for Christy”

Extras

Disc 1 : Ernest Borgnine Remembers- (08:00)

Disc 2: Tim Conway Remembers-(09:25)

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: None

Disc 5: None

Verdict

More great episodes from a TV classic! Season 3 is on its way shortly!

Rating; *****!

MCHALE'S NAVY SEASON 1-TV DVD REVIEW

2008-01-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

McHale’s Navy actually started out as a Drama called “Seven Against The Sea” which was an episode in the Alcoa Presents anthology series which Ernest Borgnine playing the same part in the TV series, Lt Commander Quinton McHale. The series was changed into a comedy and was very popular in its 4-year run. Also starring is Tim Conway in one of his first TV roles playing Ensign Parker and the Commander of the PT boat base, Captain Binghamton played by the late Joe Flynn. The show ran 4 seasons and 138 half-hour episodes. This season set consists of the first 36 episodes and also for special features has a crew reunion with some of the original cast.

VIDEO

The video quality is superb! Digitally Remastered. There is a Play All feature. Excellent quality. Each episode runs approx 23 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1-
1. “An Ensign for McHale”
2. “A Purple Heart for Gruber”
3. “McHale And His Seven Cupids”
4. “PT 73, Where Are You?”
5. “Movies Are Your Best Diversion”-with Mako
6. “Operation Wedding Party”-with Don Matheson
7. “Who Do The Voodoo”

Disc 2-
1. “Three Girls On An Island”
2. “McHale’s Paradise Motel”
3. “The Battle of McHale’s Island”
4. “The Day That Captured Santa Claus”
5. “Beauty and the Beast”
6. “The Captain’s Mission”-with Walter Brooke and Mako
7. “Send Us A Hero”

Disc 3-
1. “The Captain Steals A Cook”
2. “The Ensign Gets A Zero”-with Don “Red” Berry
3. “The Big Raffle”
4. “One Of Our Engines is Missing”-with Ted Knight
5. “The Natives Get Restless”
6. “The Confidence Game”
7. “Six Pounds From Paradise”

Disc 4-
1. “Washing Machine Charlie”-with Mike Farrell
2. “Nippon Nancy Calling”
3. “One Enchanted Weekend”-with Mako
4. “The Mothers of PT73”
5. “HMS 73”-with Ben Wright
6. “A Wreath for McHale”
7. “Portrait of a Peerless Leader”-with Herb Vigran

Disc 5-
1. “Instant Democracy”
2. “Camera, Action, Panic”-with Arte Johnson
3. “Alias Captain Binghamton”
4. “Parents Anonymous”
5. “McHale’s Millions”
6. “The Hillbillies of PT73”
7. “The Monster of McHale’s Island”
8. “Uncle Admiral”

Extras

Disc 1 : Cast Reunion with some of the original cast- (19:19)

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: None

Disc 5: None

Verdict

If you’re a fan of classic TV, you’ll love this show! The picture and audio quality are great! I can’t wait for Season 2!

Rating; *****!

GUNSMOKE SEASON 2 VOLUME 1-TV DVD REVIEW

2008-01-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

A blurb from Paramount about “Gunsmoke” Season 2 Volume 1- Saddle up for 20 more episodes of trailblazing action, Drama and excitement as the greatest Western in TV history returns in season Two of Gunsmoke!

The first half of the second season of one of the longest running Drama TV series ever is “Gunsmoke”. I grew up watching Gunsmoke when it was in first run but towards the end of the series. This is the first time that I have seen these episodes for I did not at the time have Encore Westerns. The cast is the same apart from Dennis Weaver who was in it the first 9 years of the show until Ken Curtis came in to play Festus. This season also started a writing affair with the now well-known director and writer, Sam Peckinpah. I have notice that the tag for the first few minutes of the show used the same footage in numerous episodes. This set consists of the first 20 episodes and the special feature here is some classic sponsor spots from the L & M cigarette company.

VIDEO

I don’t think the episodes are Digitally Remastered but the film prints are quite crisp and in very good shape. The episodes are approx 26 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono. Very strong sound.

Disc 1-
1. “Cow Doctor”-with Tommy Kirk
2. “Brush At Elkader”-with Paul Lambert
3. “Custer”
4. “The Round Up”
5. “Young Man With A Gun”
6. “Indian White”-with Stanley Adams
7. “How To Cure A Friend”-Phillip Abbot

Disc 2-
1. “Legal Revenge”-with Cloris Leachman
2. “The Mistake”-with Mike “Touch” Connors
3. “Greater Love”-with Claude Akins
4. “No Indians”
5. “Spring Term”-with Harry Townes and Stanley Adams
6. “Poor Pearl”-with Denver Pyle and Constance Ford
7. “Cholera”-with Paul Fix and Stuart Whitman

Disc 3-
1. “Pucket’s New Year”-with Richard Deacon
2. “The Cover Up”
3. “Sins of the Fathers”-with Angie Dickinson
4. “Kick Me”
5. “Executioner”
6. “Gone Straight”-with Carl Betz and Tige Andrews

Extras

Disc 1- None

Disc 2- None

Disc 3-Classic Sponsor Spots (02:44)

Verdict

These episodes were solid good Western tales. I’m looking forward to volume 2!

Rating: ****!

ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES-COMPLETE SERIES TV DVD REVIEW

2007-12-30T21:06:00.000-08:00

One of the most beloved British sitcoms of all time is now out on DVD in a complete series collection. “Only Fools & Horses” is a show about a fast talking Cockney market trader living in an low rent apartment building in south London with his younger brother and their grandfather and later their Uncle while selling low quality & illegal goods. They also have a questionable company that sells on the black market, and most famously they drive a grubby three-wheeled van known as a “Reliant Regal”.

The trio also hangs out at a pub called “The Nag’s Head”. The show lasted solidly from 1981 to 1991 and had Christmas specials off & on until 2003 with 64 episodes produced. They finally became millionaires by the series end and lost it all only to get some of it back before the show finally stopped in 2003. Some well-known actors & actresses graced the show such as Tony Anholt, Jim Broadbent, Roy Marsden, Christopher Ryan, Richard Branson, Barry Gibb and Joan Sims.

The show also won countless Bafta and Comedy awards over the years there has also been a spin off show called “The Green, Green Grass” in 2005 without David Jason & Nicolas Lyndhurst. This set includes all 64 episodes with all the Christmas specials with a making of documentary with photo galleries and trailers for other BBC series.

VIDEO

The video quality is very good! All episodes are shot on videotape with filmed outdoor shots. All episodes run approx 32 mins each except Christmas specials.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1- “Big Brother”-with Roger Lloyd Pack
2- “Go West Young Man”-with Caroline Ellis
3- “Cash & Curry”
4- “The Second Time Around”
5- “A Slow Bus To Chingford”
6- “The Russians Are Coming”-with Derek Newark

Disc 2- 7- “The Long Legs of the Law”
8- “Ashes to Ashes”
9- “A Losing Streak”
10- “No Greater Love”
11- “The Yellow Peril”
12- “It Never Rains”
13- “A Touch of Glass”-with Geoffrey Toome

Disc 3- 14- “Homesick”-with Gilly Flower and Renee Roberts
15- “Healthy Competition”
16- “Friday The 14th”
17- “Yesterday Never Comes”
18- “May The Force Be With You”-with Jim Broadbent
19- “Wanted”
20- “Who’s A Pretty Boy”-with David Jackson

Disc 4- 21- “Christmas Crackers” (58:00)
22- “Diamonds Are For Heather” (58:00)
23- “Thicker Than Water” (58:00)

Disc 5- 24- “Happy Returns”
25- “Strained Relations”
26- “Hole In One”-with Colin Jeavons
27- “Its Only Rock and Roll”
28- “Sleeping Dogs Lie”
29- “Watching The Girls Go By”
30- “As One Door Closes”

Disc 6- 31- “From Prussia with Love”
32- “The Miracle Of Peckham”-with Carol Cleveland
33- “The Longest Night”
34- “Tea For Three”
35- “Video Nasty”
36- “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”

Disc 7- 37- “To Hull & Back”-with Tony Anholt and Jim Broadbent-1985 Christmas Special (90 mins)
38- “A Royal Flush”-with Peter Tuddenham-1986 Christmas Special (76 mins)

Disc 8- 39- “The Frog’s Legacy”-with Joan Sims-1987 Christmas Special (59 mins)
40- “Dates”-with Nicholas Courtney (79 mins)

Disc 9- 41- “Yuppy Love”
42- “Danger UXD”
43- “Chain Gang”

Disc 10- 44- “The Unlikely Winner Is….”
45- “Sickness & Wealth”
46- “Little Problems”-with Roy Marsden, Christopher Ryan

Disc 11- 47- “The Jolly Boy’s Outing”-with Wanda Ventham-1989 Christmas Special (79 mins)

Disc 12- 48- “Rodney Come Home”-1989 Christmas Special (73 mins)

Disc 13- 49- “The Sky’s The Limit”
50- “The Chance of a Lunchtime”
51- “Stage Fright”

Disc 14- 52- “Class Of ‘62”-with Jim Broadbent
53- “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Uncle”
54- “Three Men, A Woman and a Baby”

Disc 15- 55 & 56- “Miami Twice-The Movie”-with Richard Branson and Barry Gibb-1991 Christmas Special (139 mins)

Disc 16-57- “Mother Nature’s Son-1992 Christmas Special (64 mins)
58- “Fatal Extraction”-1993 Christmas Special (82 mins)

Disc 17-59- “Heroes and Villians”-1996 Christmas Special (58 mins)
60- “Modern Men”-1996 Christmas Special (58 mins)
61- “Time On Our Hands”-with Michael Jayston-1996 Christmas Special (58 mi)

Disc 18- 62- “If They Could See Us Now!”-2001 Christmas Special (70 mins)
63- “Strangers On The Shore”-with James Ellis-2002 Christmas Special (73 mi)
64- “Sleepless In Peckham”-2003 Christmas Special (73 mins)

Extras

Disc 1- None

Disc 2- None

Disc 3- None

Disc 4- Making of “Only Fools… (67 mins)
Cast Biographies- (Text Only)
Photo Gallery
Peckham Concise Trotter Dictionary- (Text Only)

Disc 5- None

Disc 6- None

Disc 7- None

Disc 8- Cast Biographies- (Text Only)
Photo Gallery
Trailers for other BBC Shows

Disc 9- None

Disc 10- None

Disc 11- Cast Biographies- (Text Only)
Trailers for other BBC Shows

Disc 12- Trailers for other BBC Shows

Disc 13- None

Disc 14- None

Disc 15- None

Disc 16- None

Disc 17- None

Disc 18-None

Verdict

An infectious series, when you watch it, you’ll get hooked! Lovely Jubbly!

Rating; *****!

HAMISH MACBETH-COMPLETE SERIES TV DVD REVIEW

2007-12-29T08:27:00.001-08:00

Hamish Macbeth is a series of mystery novels by M.C. Beaton that was turned into a TV series that ran from 1995 to 1997, starring Robert Carlyle. The series takes place in a small fishing village in the Northern part of Scotland, just like where my grandmother was born. Robert Carlyle plays a policeman that is the Constable of the village where interesting and weird things happen. Some actors in this series went on to bigger things. Shirley Henderson who played Isobel went on to portray Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films as well as Carlyle himself with Trainspotting and The Full Monty and Alistair Mackenzie that went on to star in the TV series Monarch of the Glen. This set includes all 3 seasons minus one episode “West Coast Story” presumably because of the extensive use of excerpts from the movie “West Side Story” and could not get the clearance to have it on DVD. The set also includes cast biographies and a behind the scenes featurette.

VIDEO

Excellent quality. There is also a Play All feature for every disc. Each episode runs approx 50 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also in Mono on the set.

Disc 1- 1. “The Great Lochdubh Salt Robbery”
2. “A Pillar of the Community”-with Phyllida Law
3. “The Big Freeze”

Disc 2- 1. “Wee Jock’s Lament”
2. “A Bit of an Epic”

Disc 3- 1. “A Perfectly Simple Explanation”
2. “In Search of a Rose”-with Alistair Mackenzie
3. “Isobel Pulls it Off”

Disc 4- 1. “Radio Lochdubh”
2. “No Man Is An Island”-with Michael Mackenzie
3. “The Lochdubh Deluxe”-with Andrew Keir

Disc 5- 1. “The Honorable Policeman”
2. “Deferred Sentence”
3. “Lochdubh Assassin”
4. “The Good Thief”

Disc 6- 1. “The Trouble with Rory”
2. “More Than A Game”
3. “Destiny Pt 1”
4. “Destiny Pt 2”

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: Cast Biographies- (Text Only)

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: Cast Biographies- (Text Only)
Good Morning with Anne and Nick-Hamish Macbeth- (04:54) 03/22/1996
Trailers to other BBC Shows

Disc 5: None

Disc 6: Cast Biographies- (Text Only)
Trailers to other BBC Shows

Verdict

I enjoyed watching this series very much and would love to actually visit the location sometime!

Rating; *****!

IRONSIDE-SEASON 2 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-12-27T21:24:00.000-08:00

A blurb from Shout Factory about “Ironside Season 2”- With superb story lines dealing with socially important topics like racism, drugs, abortion and terror on a college campus, Ironside’s second season continued the tradition of attracting special guest stars-including Milton Berle, Anne Baxter, Bill Bixby, Ricardo Montalban, Burgess Meredith, Ed Asner and many more.

All 26 episodes from the second season are on this set. This show continued to springboard actors and actresses that have gone on to bigger things such as Sorrell Booke, Paul Winfield, Chad Everett and Ed Asner to name a few. The film quality is still very impressive. Returning for a second season was Don Galloway, Barbara Anderson and Don Mitchell with Galloway and Mitchell along with Burr were the only three actors that were in every episode in its 8-year run.

VIDEO

The video quality is superb! It seems that the episodes are not digitally remastered; however the video quality is excellent. There is a Play All feature.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Shell Game” with Sorrell Booke, Charles Aidman and Lisa Todd
2. “Split Second To An Epitaph Pt 1” with Joseph Cotton, Troy Donahue and Andrew Prine
3. “Split Second To An Epitaph Pt 2” with Joseph Cotton and Troy Donahue
4. “The Sacrifice” with Ricardo Montalban, Robert Alda and Phillip Pine

Disc 2- 1. “Robert Phillips Vs The Man” with Paul Winfield and Diane Ladd
2. “Desperate Encounter” with Gene Raymond
3. “I, The People” with Milton Berle, Julie Adams and George Murdock
4. “Price Tag: Death” with Ralph Meeker and Clu Gulager

Disc 3- 1. “An Obvious Case of Guilt” with Anne Baxter and Warren Stevens
2. “Reprise” with Eddie Firestone
3. “The Macabre Mr. Micawber” with Burgess Meredith
4. “Side Pocket” with Jack Albertson

Disc 4-1. “Sergeant Mike” with Bill Bixby, John Dehner and Robert Cornthwaite
2. “In Search Of An Artist” with Broderick Crawford
3. “Up, Down and Even” with Alfred Ryder and Richard Anderson
4. “Why The Tuesday Afternoon Bridge Club Met On Thursday” with Arthur O’Connell and Ellen Corby

Disc 5- 1. “Rundown On A Bum Rap” with James Gregory and Clifton James
2. “The Prophecy”
3. “A World Of Jackals” with William Smithers and Charles Dierkop
4. “And Be My Love” with Chad Everett

Disc 6- 1. “Moonlight Means Money” with Skip Homeier
2. “A Drug On The Market” with Ray Danton and Alan Caillou
3. “Puzzlelock” with Simon Oakland and Dabbs Greer

Disc 7- 1. “The Tormentor” with Cary Collins and Mary Ann Mobley
2. “A Matter Of Love & Death”
3. “Not A Whimper, But A Bang” with Ed Asner and John Zaremba

Extras

Disc 1-7 : None

Verdict

Again, a great season of episodes! Come on Season 3!

Rating; *****!

YOUNG INDIANA JONES-THE WAR YEARS-VOLUME 2 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-12-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

A blurb from Paramount Home Video about “Adventures of Young Indiana Jones Volume 2: From the creative mind of George Lucas comes a must-own action-packed, 9 disc DVD collection. This second set in a three volume series includes more than 13 hours of special features that explore the history behind the adventures of one of cinema’s greatest heroes: Indiana Jones.

This next set is the War Years mainly around World War I. The journeys of this show started in 1908 to 1920. This volume covers 1916 to 1917. This time, Young Indy meets up with such Historical figures as Lenin, Frank Kafka, Mata Hari, Albert Schweitzer, Baron Von Richtofen to name a few. There are also some well known stars as well such as Jacqueline Pearce, Jon Pertwee, Anthony Daniels, Christopher Lee, Terry Jones, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Daniel Craig and Colin Baker. This set also is crammed full of documentaries, some which are about World War I and the Middle East with a Timeline and much, much more!

VIDEO

The video quality is great! All episodes are shot on 16mm film but have been Digitally Remastered.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Trenches of Hell”-with Sean Pertwee (88 mins)

Disc 2- 1. “Demons of Deception”-with Jacqueline Pearce (92 mins)

Disc 3- 1. “Phantom Train Of Doom” (93 Mins)

Disc 4-1. “Oganga The Giver and Taker of Life” (88 mins)

Disc 5- 1. “Attack of The Hawkmen”-with Jon Pertwee and Anthony Daniels (96 Mins)

Disc 6- 1. “Adventures in the Secret Service”-with Christopher Lee and Joss Ackland (91 mins)

Disc 7- 1. “Espionage Escapades”-with Tim McInnerny and Terry Jones (95 mins)

Disc 8- 1. “Daredevils of the Desert”-with Catherine Zeta Jones, Daniel Craig and Colin Baker (81 Mins)

Disc 9- 1. Bonus Disc
Interactive Timeline-DVD Rom
Historical Lecture-War & Revolution-(62 Mins)
Special Delivery Interactive Game-DVD Rom

Extras

Disc 1- The Somme: Storm of Steel- (26:48)
Siegfried Sassoon-A War Poet’s Journey (30:08)
Robert Graves and The White Goddess (30:17)
I Am France-The Myth of Charles De Gaulle (30:07)

Disc 2- Into the Furnace-The Battle of Verdun (28:45)
Marshal Petain’s Fall From Grace (30:41)
Flirting with Danger: The Fantasy of Mata Hari (29:53)
Reading the Enemy’s Mind-Espionage in World War I (24:20)

Disc 3- Chasing The Phantom-Paul Von Lettow-Vorbeck (24:53)
Dreaming of Africa-The life of Frederick Selous (25:06)
At Home & Abroad-The Two Faces of Jan Smuts (32:16)

Disc 4- Albert Schweitzer-Reverence For Life (29:47)
Congo-A Curse of Riches (32:39)
Waging Peace-The Rise of Pacifism (26:02)

Disc 5- War in the Third Dimension: Aerial Warfare in World War I (26:43)
Blood Red-The Life & Death of Manfred Von Richthofen (24:34)
Flying High for France-The Lafayette Escadrille (26:13)
Anthony Fokker- The Flying Dutchman (27:30)

Disc 6- Karl: The Last Habsburg Emperor (29:49)
The Russian Revolution-All Power to the Soviets! (33:35)
V.I Lenin-History Will Not Forgive Us (33:53)

Disc 7- Impresario-Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes (28:13)
Ballet-The Art of Dance (32:15)
From Kafka’s Dark Truth (31:21)

Disc 8- Lines In The Sand-The Middle East and the Great War (34:29)
Colonel Lawrence’s War-T. E. Lawrence and Arabia (36:05)

Verdict

I highly recommend this set and the last volume should be out in the spring!

Rating; *****!

UNDERDOG-ULTIMATE COLLECTION TV DVD REVIEW

2007-12-17T19:47:00.000-08:00

A blurb from Genius Entertainment/Sony Classic Media about “Underdog-The Ultimate Collection” – Now you can enjoy the 1960’s classic cartoon superhero in a whole new way! Eighteen complete episodes, all digitally re-mastered!

When I was 4 years old, I would put a towel around my neck and become “Underdog”! My aunt was “Sweet Polly Purebread”. I watched Underdog every time it was on and then in syndication. The Underdog Ultimate Collection set is out. I personally would not call the collection “Ultimate” more like “Best Of” because there are only 18 full episodes in the 3-DVD set. This 3 disc set comprises of full shows from episodes 7 thru 12, 19 thru 22 41, 42, 47, 48, 51, 52, 55 and 56. An “ultimate” collection to me would be all 62 full episodes with a ton of extras. Don’t get me wrong; there is nothing wrong about this set! The episodes are digitally re-mastered and look light years better than they did in syndication. The special features are nice with an interview with the show’s co-creator Joe Harris and some original promos from the series as well as a sing-a-long to the theme music and more.

VIDEO

The episodes are Digitally Re-mastered. The episodes are approx 53 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono. Very strong sound.

Disc 1-
1. “The Big Dipper” Parts 1 & 2 (53 Mins)
2. “The Gold Bricks” Parts 1 & 2 (53 Mins)
3. “Fearo the Ferocius” Parts 1 & 2 (53 Mins)

With Go Go Gophers, Klondike Kat and Commander McBragg

Disc 2-
1. “The Great Road Robbery” Parts 1 & 2 (53 Mins)
2. “The Big Shrink” Parts 1 & 2 (53 Mins)
1. “The Marbleheads” Part 1 & 2 (53 Mins)

With Go Go Gophers, Klondike Kat and Commander McBragg

Disc 3-
1. “Weathering the Storm” Parts 1 & 2 (53 Mins)
2. “Riffraffville” Parts 1 & 2 (53 Mins)
3. “Round and Round” Parts 1 & 2 (53 Mins)

With Go Go Gophers, Klondike Kat and Commander McBragg

Extras

Disc 1- Interview with Co-Creator Joe Harris (08:40)
The Underdog Show’s Family of Characters
Original Opening of Short Subjects (03:53)

Disc 2- Underdog Theme song sing-a-long (01:10)
Archival Broadcast Promos (01:24)

Disc 3-Underdog Show Trivia Challenge
Storyboard: The Nut of Nog (06:11)

Verdict

If you are truly a fan of Underdog as I am, you will greatly enjoy this set! Get it for Christmas!

Rating: ****!

THE MOD SQUAD-SEASON 1 VOLUME 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-12-15T16:24:00.000-08:00

Another great trip down memory lane! The Mod Squad was a very popular series for its time and was Aaron Spelling’s first prime time series when it premiered on 1968. The co-creator of the series was Danny Thomas. The basic plot for the series was 3 young people on the wrong side of the law that was given a chance by the police to work for them instead of a life in prison. The series starred Michael Cole as Pete Cochran, Clarence Williams III as Linc Hayes and Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes. The person who changed their lives was Captain Greer played by the late Tige Andrews. The show lasted 5 seasons and 123 episodes. This volume consists of the first 13 episodes in crystal clear quality. There are also 3 featurettes about the series with Michael Cole and Peggy Lipton.

VIDEO

All 13 episodes have been Digitally Remastered. Each episode runs approx 51 mins. There is also a Play All feature

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is good to very good.

Disc 1- 1. “The Teeth of the Barracuda”-with Brooke Bundy
2. “Bad Man On Campus”-with J Pat O’Malley
3. “My, What a Pretty Bus”-with Henry Jones

Disc 2- 4. “When Smiley Comes Marching Home”-with Lou Gosett Jr
5. “You Can’t Tell the Players without a Programmer”-with Julie Adams
6. “A Time to Love, A Time To Cry”-with Robert Lansing and Rex Holman
7. “Find Tara Chapman”-with Yvonne Craig and Sid Melton

Disc 3- 8. “The Price of Terror”-with James Best and Herb Vigran
9. “A Quiet Weekend in the Country”-with James Gregory
10. “Love”-with Arthur Franz and Isabell Sanford

Disc 4-11. “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Starlet”-with William Smithers and Joan Van Ark
12. “The Guru”-with Dabney Coleman and Adam Roarke
13. “The Sunday Drivers”-with Paul Carr and Woodrow Parfrey

Extras

Disc 1: Forming the Squad- (15:00)
Inside “The Teeth of the Barracuda”-(09:34)

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: Friends of the Mod Squad- (16:10)

Disc 4: None

Verdict

A great series and waiting on Volume 2 to come out! Go buy it!

Rating: ****!

P.S. Today is the 1st Anniversary of this blogsite! I want to thank everybody that has helped me with this site and my regular website and it hard to believe this is review 142!

David

SONIC UNDERGROUND-VOLUME 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-12-11T20:41:00.001-08:00

A short blurb from Shout Factory about “Sonic Underground Volume 1: In the third animated series based on the popular SEGA videogame character, Sonic The Hedgehog along with his siblings Sonia and Maniac-battles the evil Dr. Robotnik, while making time for his real passion…their rock band, Sonic Underground.

This Sonic series is the last in a long line of Sonic: The Hedgehog shows. This show premiered in the summer of 1999. It was also the last time that Jaleel White was the voice of Sonic. This time the plot for the series is that Sonic with his siblings, Sonia and Maniac fight Robotnik on a Global scale on Sonic’s home planet of Morbius. Sonic’s mother, Queen Aleena Hedgehog is prominent throughout the series. One of the most popular characters, Tails does not show up this time. Another character is introduced in the form of “Knuckles”. Jaleel White provides the voices of all 3 siblings. Each episode has a “Music Video” pertaining to their adventures. On an interesting note, the voice of Knuckle’s great-grandfather is none other than 007 himself, Sean Connery! The show was believed to have ran for 65 episodes, but actually only 40 episodes were produced. This set comprises of the first 20 episodes. The set also includes a bonus CD of some of the more popular songs on the series and some special features!

VIDEO

The video quality is great! The episodes were digitally remastered. There is also a Play All feature. Each episode runs approx 22 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono.

Disc 1-
1. “Beginnings” -song “Someday”
2. “Getting to know you” -song “Working Together In Harmony”
3. “Harmony or Something”-song “We’re All In This Together”
4. “To Catch A Queen”-song “Have You Got The 411”
5. “Mobodoon”-song “I’ve Found My Home”
6. “The Price of Freedom”-song “Money Can’t Buy”
7. “Underground Masquerade”-song “Let The Good Times Roll”
8. “Tangled Webs”-song “The Children Light The Way”

Disc 2-
9. “The Deepest Fear”-song “Face Your Fear”
10. “Who Do You Think You Are?”-song “We Need To Be Free”
11. “Last Resort”-song “Listen To Your Heart”
12. “Come Out Wherever You Are”-song “Society Girl”
13. “Winner Fakes All”-song “Built For Speed”
14. “A Hedgehog’s Home is Her Castle”-song “Let’s Do It To It”
15. “Artifact”-song “You Can’t Own Everything”
16. “Bug”-song “Never Give Up”

Disc 3-
17. “Sonic Tonic”-song “I Wish I Was The Fastest Thing Alive”
18. “Friend or Foe”-song “Not Always What They Seem”
19. “Head Games”-song “Take A Chance”
20. “When in Rome…”-song “When There’s A Will, There’s A Way”

Disc 4-Audio CD

1. “Sonic Underground Main Title”
2. “Lets Do it to it”
3. “I wish I could go faster”
4. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”
5. “Mummy Wrap”
6. “The Morbius Stomp”
7. “We’re the Sonic Underground”
8. “Lady Liberty”

Extras

Disc 1- Music Videos from the first 8 episodes

Disc 2- Music Videos from the next 8 episodes

Disc 3- Developing the Underground- (07:20)
Songs from the Underground (08:54)
Storyboard to Screen: Opening Titles (01:04)
Original Conceptual Art- (Heroes, Villains and Vehicles)
The Art of Morbius- (0:58)

Verdict

A fun little show to watch. Volume 2 will eventually comprise of the final 20 episodes.

Rating: ****!

KING OF KENSINGTON SEASON 1-TV DVD REVIEW

2007-12-10T21:22:00.000-08:00

I remember watching this show on my local CBS station late night in the late 1970’s in Tampa, Florida. The show was great! It was one of the first Canadian sitcoms and one of the most popular and loved series in Canada. The series starred Al Waxmen as Larry King, a mom & pop grocery store owner that has a huge heart and helped people out. Larry also had a group of friends that he would hang out with. Many now well-known stars had their break on this show. A 12-year old Mike Myers (Austin Powers) was in an episode of this series. Up until Al Waxmen’s death in 2001, Myers kept in touch with Waxmen. Myers also name the heroine of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery by the last name of Kensington, in honor of the show. Other guests include Andrea Martin, Eugene Levy and Dave Thomas from the TV series: Second City Television”. This 2-disc set consists of the first 16 episodes and also has 2 Audio Commentaries from the creator of the series as well as a vintage “60 Minutes” type news program that interviewed Waxmen in 1978.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! Outdoor scenes for the opening theme music is grainy, but that was the practice with programs in the 70’s. Each episode runs approx 22 mins long.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Is also in Mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “Variety Store”
2. “Hot Line Host”
3. “Mr. Help & The Tax Audit”
4. “Save Old George”
5. “Where’s Cathy?”
6. “Half Way Home”-with Eugene Levy
7. “Lady Who Came To Dinner”
8. “The Gambler”

Disc 2- 1. “Joy Of Kensington”-with Andrea Martin
2. “The Real Mrs. King”
3. “Scouts Honor”-with Mike Myers
4. “The Christmas Show”
5. “The Detroit Story”-with Dave Thomas
6. “Cathy’s Hobby”
7. “Duke’s Dilemma”
8. “Delma’s Decision”

Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentary by the show’s creator for “Half Way Home”

Disc 2: Audio Commentary by the show’s creator for “Scouts Honor”
Interview with Al Waxmen- (1978) (18:15)

Verdict

By all means, get this show on DVD! It’s worth the buy! Bring on Season 2!

Rating: *****!

DOCTOR WHO COMPLETE NEW SERIES 2- TV DVD REVIEW

2007-12-05T20:53:00.000-08:00

I was just getting use to Christopher Eccleston and then he goes and quits the show after one season! The second season starts off with a whole new doctor! The new series stars David Tennant as the doctor with Billie Piper as Rose for another season. Again I was skeptical about a new doctor but was quickly pleased with the new pick. This season also started the yearly Christmas special. In this season it is called appropriately “The Christmas Invasion. Mickey and Rose’s mom joins the cast in more episode than in the previous season and the season has some really good and not so good episodes but defiantly my favorite is the 2-part season finale, the “Army of Ghosts” and “Doomsday”. This set has quite a few extras such as audio commentaries on all 14 episodes and what is called “In-Vision commentaries with the actors and you can actually watch them as they watch the episode! There are also outtakes, deleted scenes Billie Piper’s and David Tennant video diaries and the Children in Need Special that links the 9th doctor to the 10th.

VIDEO

The video quality is quite good being filmed on Digibeta! Excellent quality. There is also a Play All feature for every disc.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also able to hear it in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound.

Disc 1- 1. “Christmas Invasion” (58:50)
2. “New Earth”-with Zoe Wanamaker (44:03)

Disc 2- 1. “Tooth & Claw” (44:33)
2. “School Reunion” (44:14)
3. “The Girl In The Fireplace” (44:42)

Disc 3- 1. “Rise Of The Cybermen”-with Roger Lloyd Pack (46:04)
2. “Age Of Steel” (45:42)
3. “Idiot’s Lantern” (45:10)

Disc 4-1. “The Impossible Planet” (45:19)
2. “The Satan’s Pit” (47:12)
3. “Love & Monsters” (45:08)

Disc 5-
1. “Fear Her”-(43:52)
2. “Army Of Ghosts”-(43:21)
3. “Doomsday”-(46:24)

Disc 6- Doctor Who Confidential (Cutdown Versions)

1. “New, New Doctor”-(12:34)
2. “Fear Factor”-(12:08)
3. “Friends Reunited”-(12:21)
4. “Script to Screen”-(12:36)
5. “Cybermen” –(10:30)
6. “From Zero To Hero” –(10:20)
7. “The Writer’s Tale” –(11:07)
8. “You’ve Got The Look” –(10:35)
9. “Myths & Legends” –(09:11)
10. “The New World of Who”-(11:39)
11. “The Fright Stuff”-(12:25)
12. “Welcome To Torchwood”-(12:43)
13. “Finale”-(10:03)

David’s Video Diaries- (85 mins)

Extras

Disc 1: In Vision Commentary on Christmas Invasion
Audio Commentaries on New Earth
Outtakes- (08:18)
Deleted Scenes- (16:05)
Billie’s Video Diaries- (04:18)
Children In Need Special- (07:14)

Disc 2: Audio Commentaries on Tooth & Claw and School Reunion
In-Vision Commentary on The Girl In The Fireplace
Deconstructing Big Ben (04:51)
On Set with Billie Piper (19:03)
Trailers- (1:02)

Disc 3: Audio Commentaries on all Rise of the Cybermen and Idiot’s Lantern
In-Vision Commentary on Age Of Steel

Disc 4: Audio Commentaries for The Satan’s Pit and Love & Monsters
In-Vision Commentary for The Impossible Planet
Designing Doctor Who (20:50)
The Adventures of Captain Jack (08:30)
Trailers- (02:27)

Disc 5: Backstage At Christmas: Behind The Scenes footage from the Christmas Invasion

Disc 6: None

Verdict

A very good start to the new incarnation of Doctor Who. Get it for your collection!

Rating; *****!

WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE SEASON 3-TV DVD REVIEW

2007-12-02T22:11:00.001-08:00

A short blurb from BCI/New Line about Wanted: Dead or Alive Season 3: For the first time on DVD, comes the final 26 episodes of the complete third season of the hit television series “WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE”. The show that launched the career of big-screen legend Steve McQueen.

This DVD set wraps up this underrated and extremely well done western series. This set consists of the final 26 episodes of the series with such guest stars as James Coburn, Mary Tyler Moore, Cloris Leachman, Richard Anderson and Warren Oates. This set also includes short features about Steve McQueen’s character and about his famous rifle. McQueen’s movie career was heating up and was purposely making it difficult for everyone until the network canceled the series and let him go.

VIDEO

The video quality is very good! All the episodes are on film. Film quality is quite good with little to no dirt or specks All discs have a Play All feature.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 69. “The Trial”-with James Coburn and Paul Burke
70. “The Healing Woman” with Harold J Stone
71. “Journey For Josh”
72. “The Looters” with Dennis Patrick
73. “The Twain Shall Meet” with Mary Tyler Moore
74. “The Showdown”
75. “Surprise Witness” with Lee Bergere

Disc 2- 76. “To the Victor” with Richard Farnsworth
77. “Criss-Cross” with Mark Rydell
78. “The Medicine Man”-with Cloris Leachman and J. Pat O’Malley
79. “One Mother Too Many” with Joyce Meadows
80. “The Choice”
81. “Three For One” with Terry Becker and Richard Anderson
82. “Witch Woman” with Jeanette Nolan
83. “Baa-Baa”

Disc 3- 84. “The Last Retreat” with Warren Oates
85. “Bounty For Josh”
86. “Hero In The Dust”
87. “Epitaph” with Richard Anderson
88. “The Voice of Silence” with Roy Barcroft
89. “El Gato” with Noah Berry
90. “Detour” with Howard Morris
91. “Monday Morning”

Disc 4- 92. “The Long Search”
93. “Dead Reckoning”
94. “Barney’s Bounty” with Noah Berry

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: Featurettes- “The Art of the Replica” (04:11)
“The Mare’s Leg” (08:36)
“The Women of the Series” (09:54)
“Reckless” (08:38)
“Winchester: A Weapon of Legend” (08:15)
“The Autry National Center” (17:50)
“The Matchmaker” (07:46)

Verdict

A fitting end to a series. Well worth the buy!

Rating; *****!

THE STRANGE CASE OF THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT DVD REVIEW

2007-12-02T22:08:00.000-08:00

In between Fawlty Towers Series 1 and Series 2, John Cleese made a strange but funny short film entitled “The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It!” Basically the plot is that the grandson of Sherlock Holmes and his trusty companion, Dr Watson with his Bionic Nose, tracks down the only living descendant of Professor Moriarity. This is a low budget spoof on Sherlock Holmes and the mystery genre as well! The film also stars Arthur Lowe as Dr Watson, Connie Booth, Delholm Elliott, Joss Ackland and Nick Tate to name a few.

VIDEO

Lots of scratches and film dirt and it also looks like that it has been taken from a VHS Master because there is dropout during the titles and the first part of the film.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It”-with John Cleese, Arthur Lowe, Connie Booth, Delholm Elliott, Joss Ackland and Nick Tate

Extras

Disc 1: None

Verdict

Very funny in parts but uneven. Get it if you’re a fan of John Cleese.

Rating: ***!

THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF SPIKE MILLIGAN DVD REVIEW

2007-12-02T22:02:00.000-08:00

This documentary is a intimate and person portrait of the comic genius of Spike Milligan, done through the eyes of his brother, three daughters and his third wife. Spike trotted the thin line between genius and debilitating depression. The celebrities who discuss his career are Joanna Lumley, Michael Palin amoung others. The documentary is possible through video, audio and photographic archives. This film was a co-production with Film Finance Corporation Australia, RTE-Ireland among others. This disc includes 2 audio commentaries by the director and Spike himself and also with Spike’s three daughters and 6 featurettes about different aspects of Spike’s life and home movies.

VIDEO

The video quality great! The documentary is 134 minutes long.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “The Life & Legacy of Spike Milligan: I told you I was Ill”

Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentary with the Director and Spike himself!
Audio Commentary by Spike’s Three Daughters
Spike: The Godfather of Alternative Comedy- (04:05)
Spike and Monty Python- (03:47)
Spike The Soldier- (07:15)
Spike The Activist- (04:27)
The Milligans of Sligo- (04:02)
The Daffodil Story- (02:41)
Spikes’ Home Movies- (09:28)

Verdict

A wonderfully well done and sometimes haunting documentary about the life of Spike Milligan. I would highly recommend it!

Rating: ****!

THE SANDBAGGERS SET 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-12-02T22:00:00.001-08:00

The Sandbaggers series has been best described as the “Best drama show that most people never saw”. The show was a Cold War drama set at the same time that the shows were produced. The show also delved into the lives of British and American Intelligence specialists. This show was wonderfully complex in the storylines and was grim but very realistic in the way the British had to deal with defectors, assassinations and going behind the Iron Curtain. The series stars Roy Marsden as Neil Burnside who is Head of Operations of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Services (SIS) or otherwise known as MI6. The show was a one point vetoed by the sensors to an episode where it dealt with sensitive information that the Second series of episodes were one short. This set comprises of the first 6 episodes with a never before released episode on DVD. The series was shot in the usual fashion prevalent in the 70’s that all outside scenes were shot on usually grainy 16 mm film and all indoor shots were done on videotape.

VIDEO

Videotape portions are just fine. Outdoor scenes were somewhat speckled and dirt on the film portions. No fault of BFS!

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono.

Disc 1-
1. “First Principles”-with Olaf Pooley
2. “A Proper Function of Government”-with Stephen Grief

Disc 2-
3. “Is Your Journey Really Necessary?”
4. “The Most Suitable Person”-with Stephen Grief and Christopher Benjamin

Disc 3-
5. “Always Glad To Help”-with Peter Miles
6. “A Feasible Solution”
7. “Special Relationship”-Previously Missing Episode

Extras

Disc 1- None

Disc 2- None

Disc 3-A Guide To Sandbaggers’ Abbreviations- (Text Only)

Verdict

If you love multi-layered complex stories, then this is the show for you! I really enjoyed it!

Rating: *****!

THE VICAR OF DIBLEY-THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION-TV DVD REVIEW

2007-11-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

This absolutely hilarious British comedy “The Vicar of Dibley” premiered in 1994 and has been off and on the air and finished this year 2007. Vicar of Dibley is set in a small Oxfordshire village called Dibley, which is assigned a female vicar or Pastor following the 1994 Church of England’s stance on female Vicars in the priesthood. The show stars Dawn French, half of the French & Saunders comedy team. The characters in the show are so funny and no doubt based on real people. The opening of each shows something funny happening and after the closing credits, the Vicar and her assistant are sitting in the side room where the Vicar tells a joke which is usually off color and either doesn’t get the joke or takes it literally which is just as funny. The series ran 20 episodes and 4 Comic Relief mini-episodes, which are on this 5 DVD box set.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! All episodes are done on videotape and have no problems with it.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Arrival” with Roger Lloyd Pack
2. “Songs Of Praise”
3. “Community Spirit”-with Kylie Minogue
4. “The Window and the Weather”
5. “Election”
6. “Animals”

Disc 2- 1. “The Easter Bunny”
2. “The Christmas Lunch Incident”
3. “Engagement”
4. “Dibley Live”
5. “Celebrity Vicar” with Terry Wogan
6. “Love & Marriage” –with Clive Mantle

Disc 3- 1. “Autumn”-with Clive Mantle
2. “Winter”
3. “Spring”
4. “Summer”

Disc 4-1. “Merry Christmas”-with Rachael Hunter (53:58)
2. “Happy New Year” (47:42)

Disc 5- “Handsome Stranger (53:17)
“The Vicar in White” (55:29)

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: Ballykissdibley (11:35)
Behind the scenes of 1999 Comic Relief Red Nose Day (04:11)
1999 Red Nose Day Special (13:43)
The Real Vicars of Diblry (13:43)
Photo Gallery 32 pictures
Cast Biographies-(Text Only)
Trailers

Disc 4: Dibley Defrocked-Documentary (10:56)
2005 Comic Relief Sketch (14:07)
Cast Biographies
Trailers

Disc 5: The Vicar Of Dibley Story-Documentary (59:06)

Verdict

Please go and get this set!!! A very funny look at country life and religion in general.

Rating; *****!

INSPECTOR MORSE COLLECTION 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-11-28T19:25:00.001-08:00

A blurb from BFS Video about Inspector Morse Collection 1: “Award winning actor John Thaw stars as the melancholy, enigmatic and romantic Inspector Morse, a man who never uses his first name and who finds solace in real ale, classical music and difficult crosswords. Together with his able Sergeant Lewis (Kevin Whately), Morse uses his considerable intellect and passion for truth and justice to investigate death and murder in the English university town of Oxford.

One of the best mystery shows to come out of England in quite sometime! John Thaw plays Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, A CID officer or (Criminal Investigation Department) with the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. The TV series comprises of 33 two-hour episodes, this set has the first 6 episodes. The TV series ran from 1987 to 2000. The show also had some noticeable guest stars such as Patrick Troughton, Michael Gough, Elspet Gray, Michael Hordern, Simon Callow and Elizabeth Hurley.

VIDEO

The video quality is very good. Slightly grainy in places but otherwise good! Episodes are also uncut.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “The Dead Of Jericho”-with Patrick Troughton

Disc 2- 1. “The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn”-with Michael Gough and Clive Swift

Disc 3- 1. “Service of All the Dead”-with Michael Hordern

Disc 4- 1. “The Wolvercote Tongue”-with Simon Callow

Disc 5- 1. “Last Seen Wearing”-with Elizabeth Hurley

Disc 6-1. “Bonus Specials”

Extras

Disc 1: Biographies-Text Only
Filmographies-Text Only
Trivia-Text Only

Disc 2: Biographies-Text Only
Filmographies-Text Only
Trivia-Text Only

Disc 3: Biographies-Text Only
Filmographies-Text Only
Trivia-Text Only

Disc 4: Biographies-Text Only
Filmographies-Text Only
Trivia-Text Only

Disc 5: Biographies-Text Only
Filmographies-Text Only
Trivia-Text Only

Disc 6: “The Mystery of Morse”-Documentary (50:41)

Verdict

I have been a fan of Inspector Morse for sometime and these first episodes were a joy to watch. If you are a fan of mystery shows, this series is one of the best! Defiantly worth the buy!

Rating: *****!

WILD WILD WEST-SEASON 3 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-11-18T19:48:00.000-08:00

A blurb from Paramount about The Wild, Wild West Season 3: The explosive Third season contains all 24 action-packed episodes on 6 discs-digitally re-mastered in FULL COLOR. Take another ride into THE WILD WILD WEST.

The third season of Wild, Wild West now on DVD! The digitally remastered episodes are just as sharp and clear as the first and second seasons and this season went back to more of a western storyline and started going away from the wild “Batman” type stories. Michael Dunn’s health was deteriorating and was only in 1 episode that season. Robert Conrad as James West and Ross Martin as Artemus Gordon return for the third season. This season also has 24 episodes that are uncut. There are quite a few guest stars such as Robert Duvall, Susan Oliver, Ray Walston, Jack Elam, Khigh Dhiegh, Paul Fix, Beverly Garland, Mark Lenard and Nick Adams to name more than a few. An on-the-set mishap from a fall from a chandelier caused a concussion to Robert Conrad’s head and halted production to the point that the last three episodes from the season had to be pushed to the fourth season. I did enjoy the stories this season. Again, there are no extras to this set as the previous season set.

VIDEO

The video quality is fantastic! Episodes are also uncut. Each episode runs approx 51 mins each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “The Night Of The Bubbling Death”-with Madlyn Rhue and Harold Gould
2. “The Night of the Firebrand”-with Pernell Roberts and Lana Wood
3. “The Night Of The Assassin”-with Robert Loggia
4. “The Night Of Dr Loveless Died”-with Michael Dunn and Susan Oliver

Disc 2- 1. “The Night of the Jack O’ Diamonds”
2. “The Night Of The Samurai”-with Thayer David and Khigh Dhiegh
3. “The Night Of The Hangman”-with Martin E Brooks and Paul Fix
4. “The Night Of Montezuma’s Hordes”-with Ray Walston and Jack Elam

Disc 3- 1. “The Night Of The Circus of Death”
2. “The Night of the Falcon”-with Robert Duvall
3. “The Night Of The Cut-Throats”-with Brad Dillman and Jackie Coogan
4. “The Night Of The Legion of Death”-with Anthony Zerbe and Donnelly Rhodes

Disc 4- 1. “The Night Of The Turncoat”-with John Mcgiver
2. “The Night Of The Iron Fist”-with Mark Lenard, Bo Hopkins and Red West
3. “The Night Of The Running Death”-with Oscar Beregi
4. “The Night Of The Arrow”-with Frank Marth

Disc 5- 1. “The Night The Headless Woman”-with Richard Anderson and Dawn Wells
2. “The Night Of The Vipers”-with Nick Adams and Red West
3. “The Night Of The Underground Terror”-with Nehemiah Persoff and Jeff Corey
4. “The Night Of The Death Masks”-with Milton Selzer

Disc 6- 1. “The Night Of The Amnesiac”-with Ed Asner and Kevin Hagen
2. “The Night Of The Undead”-with John Zaremba
3. “The Night Of The Simian Terror”-with John Abbott and Richard Kiel
4. “The Night Of The Death Maker”-with Wendell Corey and J Pat O’Malley

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: None

Disc 5: None

Disc 6: None

Verdict

Great show and great picture quality. No extras. One more season to go!

Rating: *****!

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE-SEASON 3 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-11-16T20:57:00.001-08:00

A short blurb from Paramount about Mission: Impossible Season 3: “From behind the Iron Curtain to the jungles of Central America, Mission: Impossible really amps up the action as the international phenomenon returns for its third season on DVD, with 25 digitally restored and remastered episodes on 7 discs!

The third season is where the show started to peak. Some of the show’s best episodes were produced in the third season. The show was also going through a lot of behind-the- scenes problems such as the show going over budget every episode and problems with the writers. The creator of the show Bruce Geller, and Desilu studios were also butting heads over everything and was almost canceled. Most if not all of the season’s episodes were top notch, but not all was well with the cast. Martin Landau and Barbara Bain were unhappy and wanted more money, which they were not given. They left at the end of the season. The video quality as usual is stunning considering the age of the episodes and as with seasons 1 & 2, the audio has a 5.1 Dolby Surround mix. This set also comprises the next 25 episodes of the series.

VIDEO

The video quality is fantastic! Episodes are also uncut. I’ve not seen the show this crystal clear! There is also a Play All feature on each disc.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. But you can switch it to 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound!

Disc 1- 1. “The Heir Apparent”-with Charles Aidman and Torin Thatcher
2. “The Contender” (Part 1)-with Robert Conrad and Sugar Ray Robinson
3. “The Contender” (Part 2)-with John Dehner
4. “The Mercenaries”-with Pernell Roberts, Skip Homier and Vic Tayback

Disc 2- 1. “The Execution”-with Victor Gardenia
2. “The Cardinal”-with Theodore Bikel and Barbara Babcock
3. “The Elixir”-with Ruth Roman and George Gaynes
4. “The Diplomat”-with Alfred Ryder, Fernando Lamas and Sid Haig

Disc 3- 1. “The Play”-with John Colicos, Michael Tolan and Barry Atwater
2. “The Bargain”-with Albert Paulsen, Robert Pine and Warren Stevens
3. “The Freeze”-with Donnelly Rhodes and John Zaremba
4. “The Exchange”-with John Vernon and Will Kuluva

Disc 4- 1. “The Mind of Stefan Miklos”-with Steve Ihnat, Ed Asner and Vic Perrin
2. “The Test Case”-with Richard Bull and Paul Carr
3. “The System”
4. “The Glass Cage”-with Lloyd Bochner and Larry Linville

Disc 5- 1. “Doomsday”-with Khigh Dhiegh and Sid Haig
2. “Live Bait”-with Martin Sheen, John Crawford and Anthony Zerbe
3. “The Bunker” (Part 1)-with Lee Meriwether and Milton Selzer

Disc 6-1. “The Bunker” (Part 2) -with Lee Meriwether and Milton Selzer
2. “Nitro” - with Titos Vandis and Mark Lenard
3. “Nicole”-with Joan Collins and Logan Ramsey

Disc 7- 1. “The Vault”-with Nehemiah Persoff
2. ”Illusion”-with Fritz Weaver, Martin E Brooks and Kevin Hagen
3. “The Interrogator”-with Henry Silva and Gunner Hellstrom

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: None

Disc 5: None

Disc 6: None

Disc 7: None

Verdict

There are no special features or Extras on this set. The episodes this season are not totally uncut. Some are edited, more likely they are syndication prints and not the original uncut prints.

Rating: *****!

MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.-COMPLETE SERIES DVD REVIEW

2007-11-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

I was one of the unfortunate ones who did not receive a review copy of the complete series of the Man From U.N.C.L.E.; instead I received 2 episodes with a few extras promo disc. It is hard to give a review with just 1 disc, having said that, I can tell that having the complete collection in your collection is a must. The packaging what I have seen is very neat with an attaché case and if the rest of the episodes are like the ones on the promo disc, then they are in very good condition. All 105 episodes are on 41 discs with loads of extras with interviews and mini documentaries and the 3rd movie made from the 2-part episode “The Alexander The Greater Affair” with introductions to the episodes by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum. Not a definitive collection, but very close. What would have made it a truly definitive collection would have been the rest of the movies made from the 2 part episodes and the 1983 reunion film. All and all, a very good collection.

VIDEO

Although not digitally remastered, the episodes come from very good film prints.

Audio

What I have heard on the disc, it sounds very strong and clear.

Verdict

Time Life and Warner Home Video have done a really good job and took proper time to make this collection worthy of buying. I would recommend it!

Rating: ****!

DOCTOR WHO-NEW SERIES 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-11-12T21:58:00.001-08:00

I was very skeptical when I heard that after 16 years, they were going to relaunch Doctor Who again. It was tried briefly in 1996 with the TV movie but did not take for it being too “Americanized” by critics. The BBC took the new show on and instead of being filmed in England as it always has been; it is being filmed in Cardiff, Wales! Christopher Eccleston stars as the Ninth Doctor and his companion for his adventures is Billie Piper as Rose Tyler. There are 13 episodes at 45 minutes each as opposed to the traditional 25 minutes 4 to 6 part stories. My personal favorite stories from this season are-“Dalek”, “Father’s Day”, “The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances” and The Parting of the Ways”. This set has quite a few extras such as Interviews with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper and audio commentaries on all 13 episodes by the cast and crew, Featurettes and trailers.

VIDEO

The video quality is quite good being filmed on Digibeta! Excellent quality. There is also a Play All feature for every disc.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also able to hear it in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound.

Disc 1- 1. “Rose” (44:12)
2. “End of the World”-with Zoe Wanamaker (44:45)
3. “The Unquiet Dead” (44:49)

Disc 2- 1. “Aliens Of London” (45:02)
2. “World War Three” (42:57)
3. “Dalek” (45:19)

Disc 3- 1. “The Long Game”-with Simon Pegg (44:28)
2. “Father’s Day” (42:56)
3. “The Empty Child” (41:46)
4. “The Doctor Dances” (42:51)

Disc 4-1. “Boom Town” (43:19)
2. “Bad Wolf” (42:51)
3. “The Parting Of The Ways” (45:31)

Disc 5- Doctor Who Confidential-Cut Down Versions
1. “Bring Back The Doctor”-(11:56)
2. “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly”-(11:06)
3. “Tardis Tales”-(11:03)
4. “I Get A Sidekick Out of You”-(10:48)
5. “Why On Earth”-(13:03)
6. “Dalek”-(10:45)
7. “The Dark Side”-(11:29)
8. “Time Trouble”-(12:46)
9. “Special Effects”-(14:03)
10. “Weird Science” –(13:11)
11. “Unsung Heroes and Violent Death” –(12:31)
12. “The World Of Who” –(13:19)
13. “The Last Battle”-(09:32)
14. “Backstage ATC Headlights (09:18)

Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentaries on all 3 episodes on this disc
BBC Breakfast interview with Christopher Eccleston (11:43)
Destroying the Lair (03:24)
Making of Doctor Who with Russell T Davies. (15:33)
Waking the Dead- (18:09)
Laying Ghosts”-(08:24)
Launch Trailers –(02:45) pm
Storyboard of Opening Sequence (0:48)

Disc 2: Audio Commentaries on All 3 Episodes
Deconstructing Big Ben (04:51)
On Set with Billie Piper (19:03)
Trailers- (1:02)

Disc 3: Audio Commentaries on all 4 Episodes
Mike Turner’s Mocks of Balloons (05:32)

Disc 4: Audio Commentaries on all 3 Episodes
Designing Doctor Who (20:50)
The Adventures of Captain Jack (08:30)
Trailers- (02:27)

Disc 5: Backstage At Christmas: Behind The Scenes footage from the Christmas Invasion

Verdict

A very good start to the new incarnation of Doctor Who. Get it for your collection!

Rating; *****!

LOVE AMERICAN STYLE-SEASON 1 VOLUME 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-11-12T21:56:00.001-08:00

A blurb from Paramount about “Love American Style” Season 1 Volume 1- This season One, Volume One collection boasts an unprecedented lineup of celebrity guest stars in 12 episodes on 3 discs who will keep you roaring with laughter from start to finish.

I grew up watching “Love American Style” when it was first shown briefly and then watched it when it was in syndication. The show was an anthology of comedic short stories with an ever changing cast all to do with “Love” in one way or another. In one story, which is not in this volume, is the pilot to the legendary TV series “Happy Days”! Also between stories are very quick vignettes that play like a “Laugh-In” sketch which at times, were funnier than the stories themselves! There are lots of noticeable names that graced the show as well as newcomers to the world of entertainment, such as Jane Wyatt, Estelle Winwood, Gary Lockwood, Bill Bixby, Sid Casear, Peter Palmer and Regis Philbin to name a few as well as a very young Lesley Warren and Harrison Ford! This volume is considered a “Vanilla” release meaning there are no extras except the episodes being unedited.

VIDEO

I don’t think the episodes are Digitally Remastered but the film prints are quite crisp and in very good shape. The episodes are approx 51 mins each and are shown in Airdate order.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono. Very strong sound.

Disc 1- Episode 1 (50:56)
1. “Love and a Couple of Couples”-with Yvonne Craig
2. “Love and the Hustler”-with Flip Wilson
3. “Love and the Pill”-with Jane Wyatt

Episode 2 (50:57)
1. “Love and the Living Doll”-with Estelle Winwood and Arte Johnson
2. “Love and the Letter”-with Robert Clay
3. “Love and the Joker”-with Larry Storch
4. “Love and the Unlikely Couple”-with Barbara Rhoades

Episode 3 (50:55)
1. “Love and the Phone Booth”-with Dwayne Hickman
2. “Love and the Doorknob”-with Gary Lockwood and Stephanie Powers

Episode 4 (50:56)
1. “Love and the Legal Agreement”-with Bill Bixby and Denny Miller
2. “Love and the Militant”-with Barry Nelson
3. “Love and Who?”-with Sid Caesar

Disc 2- Episode 5 (51:55)
1. “Love and the Modern Wife”-with Bob Crane and Angelique Pettyjohn
2. “Love and the Phonies”-with Richard Deacon and Phyllis Diller
4. “Love and the Single Couple”

Episode 11 (52:02)
1. “Love and the Dating Computer”-with Broderick Crawford
2. “Love and the Busy Husband”
3. “Love and the Watchdog”-with Patsy Kelly

Episode 7 (51:54)
1. “Love and Take Me Along”-with Ozzie Harriet and Harriet Nelson
2. “Love and the Advice”-with Tina Louise and Avery Schreiber
3. “Love and the Geisha”-with Carolyn Jones and Red Buttons

Episode 13 (51:56)
1. “Love and the Burglar”-with Noel Harrison and Judy Crane
2. “Love and the Roommate”-with John Beck and Ted Bessell
3. “Love and the Wild Party”-with Peter Palmer and Robert Reed

Disc 3- Episode 14 (51:41)
1. “Love and the Big Leap”-with Rich Little and Jessica Walter
2. “Love and the Good Deal”-with Hans Conreid, Norman Fell and Jane Wyatt
3. “Love and the Former Marriage”-with Harrison Ford and Carl Betz

Episode 6 (51:54)
1. “Love and Mother”-with Morey Amsterdam and Tom Smothers
2. “Love and the Dummies”-with Scatman Crothers
3. “Love and the Athlete”-with Marty Allen
4. “Love and the Shower”-with Carl Ballentine and Joe Flynn

Episode 9 (51:54)
1. “Love and the Mountain Cabin”-with Peter Marshall, Leslie Parrish
2. “Love and the Divorce Sale”-with Andrew Prine, Lesley Warren
3. “Love and the Comedy Team”-with Jack Carter and Regis Philbin

Episode 17 (51:54)
1. “Love and the Positive Man”-with Hamilton Camp
2. “Love and the Other Love”-with David Hedison
3. “Love and the Bachelor”-with Ann Southern

Extras

Disc 1- None

Disc 2- None

Disc 3-None

Verdict

My only question is, I wonder the logic of some series being put out as full seasons or complete series and for others, volumes in between seasons. I am sure there is a very good reason for it.

Rating: ****!

DAVINCI'S INQUEST SEASON 2-TV DVD REVIEW

2007-11-06T20:35:00.000-08:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about Da Vinci’s Inquest Season 2: Combining the intricate realism of Law & Order with the high-tech forensics of CSI, Da Vinci’s Inquest has a social and moral resonance that makes it truly unique. In this complete season, you’ll see why Da Vinci’s Inquest has earned international acclaim and devoted fans.

The continuing stories of Dominic Davinci are in this next set of 13 episodes from the award winning series ‘Davinci’s Inquest”. In this season sees the genius of Davinci’s red light district and safe injection site for sex workers and drug addicts and other stories include a story about bodies turning up in the backyard of a senior boarding house. This series has won countless awards including the Gemini award for Best Dramatic Series for nearly all the seasons it was on the air as well as Best Performer in a Series for Nicolas Campbell. This set also includes an interview with series creator Chris Haddock and a photo gallery, a Chris Haddock Bio and Cast Filmographies.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! All discs have a Play All feature. All episodes are approx 47 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono.

Disc 1- 1. “A Cinderella Story” Pt 1
2. “A Cinderella Story” Pt 2
3. “The Hanged Man”
4. “Tommy’s on the Corner”

Disc 2- 5. “His Wife”
6. “Sister’s Light”
7. “A Nice Home in the Country”

Disc 3- 8. “Blues In A Minor”
9. “The Looking Glass”
10. “The Lottery”

Disc 4-11. “Bang Like That”
12. “Fantasy”
13. “Reality”

Extras

Disc 1: Interview with Creator Chris Haddock (05:10)
Photo Gallery (20) pictures
Chris Haddock Biography
Cast Fimographies

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: None

Verdict

One of the better crime shows from the North Country! Season 3 will hopefully be out soon.

Rating; ****!

DAVINCI'S INQUEST SEASON 1-TV DVD REVIEW

2007-11-06T20:33:00.000-08:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about Da Vinci’s Inquest Season 1: A richly talented ensemble cast joins award-winning actor Nicholas Campbell in this critically acclaimed crime series. With this complete first season comprising 13 thrilling episodes, you can savor the delicately nuance drama of Da Vinci’s Inquest from the very beginning.

Da vinci’s Inquest is a Canadian Drama Series in the vein of Quincy ME and CSI about a Coroner in Vancouver, British Columbia. The show stars Nicolas Campbell as Dominic Davinci, a crusading Doctor who seeks the justice in the cases that he investigated. This set includes the first 13 episodes of the series. What I like about this show is the plots and problems that they deal with and the style of the show is not your typical flashy CSI style but straight storytelling. The series ran from 1998 to 2005. Also in this set are a trailer for the series and Cast Filmographies.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! All discs have a Play All feature. All episodes are approx 47 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono.

Disc 1- 1. “Little Sister” Pt 1
2. “Little Sister” Pt 2
3. “Little Sister” Pt 3
4. “The Quality of Mercy”

Disc 2- 5. “Known to the Ministry”
6. “We All Fall Down”
7. “The Stranger Inside”

Disc 3- 8. “Gabriel”
9. “The Most Dangerous Time”
10. “The Bridge”

Disc 4-11. “Final Chapter”
12. “The Hunt”
13. “The Capture”

Extras

Disc 1: Trailer for series-(02:17)
Cast Filmographies

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: None

Verdict

Defiantly a cross between CSI and Quincy M.E. Very stylish and made before CSI. Season 2 should be just as good!

Rating; ****!

DAY ONE-TV MOVIE DVD REVIEW

2007-11-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

A blurb from Acorn Media about Day One: This Emmy-winning historically accurate tells the complex and moving story of the Manhattan Project. Racing against the Nazi war machine and enduring intense military and political pressure, allied scientists wrestle with the challenge of creating the ultimate weapon.

Day One is a historically accurate, TV drama shown in 1989 that shows the story behind the development of the atomic bomb in WWII that was eventually used on the Japanese in 1945. This movie was based on the non-fiction book written by Peter Wyden and produced by Aaron Spelling for CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame. The movie also featured an all-star cast including Brian Dennehy, Michael Tucker, Hume Cronyn, Hal Holbrook, Barnard Hughes, David Ogden Stiers and in one of his first roles, Tony Shalhoub (Monk). This disc also includes Cast Filmographies.

VIDEO

The video quality is fair due to the original condition of the film when it was gotten by Acorn Media. Not fault of theirs! The TV Movie 140 minutes long.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Day One”-Movie

Extras

Disc 1: Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Verdict

A well-done production about the Atomic Bomb. Also well acted. I would recommend it!

Rating: ****!

DOCTOR WHO CLASSIC-SURVIVAL TV DVD REVIEW

2007-11-01T21:41:00.001-07:00

A blurb from BBC Warner about Doctor Who-Survival: The Doctor takes Ace back to her hometown of Perivale, only to find that something is very, very wrong. Many of Ace’s old friends and neighbors have disappeared while domestic pets become victims of unseen killers. Will the hunter become the hunted when only the fittest survive?

Survival was the last story from the Original run of the series. Not necessary a fitting end to a series, but not a bad story either. Starring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace, they face the Cheetah People and the last story to feature Anthony Ainley as the Master, well sort of. Ainley was not asked to return as the Master in the 1996 TV movie but was asked to film links for a new computer game called “Destiny of the Doctors”. This would be the absolute last time that he would play the Master. This 2-disc set is jam-packed full of extras! There were so much that they had to use a second disc with deleted and extended scenes, bloopers and 3 documentaries on the making of Survival and beyond with an audio commentary with McCoy, Aldred and Andrew Cartmel with an optional commentary for episode 3 by a fan who won a Dr Who competition and much more.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! The performance was done on videotape. The total story is performance is 72 minutes long.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also available in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound.

Disc 1- 1. “Survival”-with Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred and Anthony Ainley (72 mins)
Part One (24:16)
Part Two (24:14)
Part Three (24:22)

Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentary by Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred and Andrew Cartmel
Fan Commentary on Episode 3
Isolated Music
Cat Flap-Pt 1 (28:05)-Documentary
Cat Flap-Pt 2 (33:56)-Documentary
Deleted and Extended scenes (09:17)
Outtakes (16:25)
Continuities (03:04)
Photo Gallery (54) pictures
Radio Times Listing on DVD Rom
Production text notes

Disc 2: Endgame (44:18)-a what if Dr Who Continuation
Search for Science (19:19)-Children’s program
Little Girl Lost (16:33)-A look back at Ace
Destiny of the Doctors (13:49)-Anthony Ainley as the Master, one more time!

Verdict

A very nice 2-disc set to close the original series after 26 years. Another Dr Who sighting. In 1985 at a convention in Miami, Florida, I also met Anthony Ainley while he was being an MC at the costume contest there. Go out and get it!

Rating: ****!

BENNY HILL-THE COMPLETE MEGASET DVD REVIEW

2007-10-31T17:09:00.000-07:00

A blurb from A & E Home Video about “Benny Hill-The Complete Megaset” Never aired in the US in full-length form, this complete collection of the Thames episode of The Benny Hill Show.

Ah, Benny Hill! What can I say about him…Comic Genius! The Benny Hill Show ran for 20 years from 1969 to 1989 for a total of 58 50-minute shows that were produced roughly 3 to 5 a year. He had done over 585 sketches with some of his most famous roles with the likes of Fred Scuttle, Chow Mein, A Clown and Tex Cymbal to name a few.

What is show and humor Politically Incorrect? Yes, but for its time, it was generally accepted. Toward the end of the shows run, it became not accepted and the show was eventually cancelled. In all of the sketches that he did about 5% of them was Benny chasing the women, but for the remaining 95% of the time HE was being chased or rejected by the women. That seems to be the misconception for a lot of people that he is the "Dirty Old Man". Was he a comic genius? I think so because he comedy and his timing were excellent! Some of the sketches and his humor fell flat, but so do quite a lot of the Saturday Night Live shows! Benny Hill once visited the home of Charlie Chaplin-THE comic Genius and in his TV room on a very long shelf, there were an entire row of videotapes with the words Benny Hill on them. For THE comic genius to consider Benny to be a comic genius is a high honor indeed!

This megaset includes all 58 episodes with all of the sketches and songs he did along with two documentaries about him and a rare 30 minute short called “Eddie In August” and 3 Interview shorts with the Hill’s Angels dancers reminiscing about the times on the show. For time constraints I will not be able to list every thing on every episode. What I will do is list the most well known sketches and how long each show ran. In the near future, I will list all of the sketches and songs on the show in a different section of the site.

VIDEO

The video quality is very good! All episodes are shot on videotape with filmed outdoor shots.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- Show # 1-Ye Olde Wishing Well, Sound Delay Interview (52:19)
Show # 2- The Short Happy Life Of Maurice Dribble (50:58)
Show # 3-Tommy Tupper in Tupper Time (50:30)
Show # 4- The Hitchhiker, Rouge Nudist, Sound Of Frankenstein (51:26)

Disc 2- Show # 5- Underworld Water of Jacques Custard, Chow Mein (50:42)
Show # 6- A Tribute to the Lower Tidmarsh Volunteer Fire Brigade (48:17)
Show # 7- Crime Doesn’t Pay and Top of the Pops (51:22)
Show # 8- Undercover Sanitary Inspector, Revered Gray (47:56)

Disc 3- Show # 9- French For Starters, Chow Mein & Cookie (50:24)
Show # 10- Chow Mein: At Home with Henry McGee (50:22)
Show # 11- The Dimpton Drinking Club & The Great Pretender (50:08)

Disc 4- Show # 12- Pierre De Tierre, Chow Mein At Customs (50:31)
Show # 13- Undercover Nazis, Chow Mein Meets Nicolas Parsons (51:08)
Show # 14- Woodstick and Autumn Fashion Parade (50:51)
Show # 15- Christmas Booze Up and Yackanory (49:27)

Disc 5- Show # 16- Chow Mein: At Home with Henry McGee II, Jackie Wright’s Holiday (50:42)
Show # 17- The Deputy and The Dalton Abbott Railway Choir (48:33)
Show # 18- Spot Black and Band At The Park (50:16)
Show # 19- The Great British Dancing Finals (50:28)

Disc 6- Show # 20- Film Time and The Minstrel Boy (48:35)
Show # 21- Coalpits and Short Unhappy Life of Ted Tingle (48:52)

Disc 7- Show # 22- Beach of Waikiki and A Long Dry Summer (50:17)
Show # 23- The Art Of Rolf Harris and J Arthur Mein (51:19)
Show # 24- The Stamp Collector ad Tex Cymbal: Golden Boy (49:23)
Show # 25- Jack & Jill and Sports Day (50:16)

Disc 8- Show # 26-Strangers in the Night and Transistor Radio (49:57)
Show # 27-Murder on the Oregon Express (50:58)
Show # 28- Getting to know you and Supersonic (50:01)
Show # 29- Sun Awards-The New Avengers and Bionic Baby (49:09)

Disc 9- Show # 30- Villain of the Year and Scouts and Guides Fete (49:37)
Show # 31- Husky and Starch, Casanova and Deep In My Heart (49:41)

Disc 10-1 Show # 32-Digger Blue Private Eye and The Widow (51:28)
Show # 33- Telephone Exchange and Friday Night Fever (50:50)
Show # 34- Leprechaun TV and Wondergran Meets Dracula (50:33)
Show # 35- Carmen, O’Jack and The Race (49:35)

Disc 11- Show # 36- The Scarlet Pimple and Women’s Lib TV (50:53)
Show # 37- The Medieval Jester and The Fudpuckers (50:11)
Show # 38- The Tree Musketeers (51:32)

Disc 12- 1. Show # 39- Michael Caine and Wondergran Meets Dr Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde (51:13)
2. Show # 40- Channel Surfing and Undercover Sanitary Inspector (50:26)
3. Show # 41- Big Poppa and Man Wanted (50:45)

Disc 13- Show # 42- School Teacher and the Monte Carbolic Show (50:44)
Show # 43- The Video Machine and Cops & Robbers (50:38)
Show # 44- Me & My Shadow and Super Teech (50:47)

Disc 14- Show # 45- Holiday and Saucy Boy (50:09)
Show #46- Scuttlevision and Club Bizarre (51:38)
Show #47- The Vagabond and the Hot Shoe Show (50:15)

Disc 15 Show #48- School Teacher, Brand Names and the B-Team (51:06)
Show # 49- Foe Ever Love and School Mistress (51:17)
Show #50- The Weather Hut and Dibbles Health Fun (50:15)

Disc 16 Show #51- The Love Ship, The Bucket and The Handyman (50:40)
Show # 52- Living the Dream and European TV (51:12)
Show # 53- The New York Slob and Cagney and Lacy (50:53)

Disc 17- Show # 54- Brooklyn Benny and The Halitosis Kid (50:42)
Show # 55- Bronco Benny and Joggers (50:36)
Show # 56- The Birthday Party and The Crook Report (50:39)

Disc 18- Show # 57- Heroes Through the Ages Chow Mein-Home Catering (50:36)
Show 58- Pepy’s Diary, The Good Guys and Gone Fishing (50:35)

Extras

Disc 1- None

Disc 2- None

Disc 3- Documentary-Benny Hill-The World’s Favorite Clown (52:11)
Benny Hill Trivia Quiz # 1

Disc 4- None

Disc 5- None

Disc 6- Biography-A & E-Humor and Controversary-Benny Hill (45:14)
Benny Hill Trivia Games # 2

Disc 7- None

Disc 8- None

Disc 9- Rare Short-“Eddie In August” (25:07)
Benny Hill Trivia Games # 3

Disc 10- None

Disc 11- None

Disc 12- Interviews-I was a Hill’s Angel- (16:06)
Benny Hill Trivia Games # 4

Disc 13- None

Disc 14- None

Disc 15- Hills Angels-Off The Record (11:57)
Benny Hill Trivia Games # 5

Disc 16- None

Disc 17- None

Disc 18-Hill’s Angels in Conversation (10:04)
Benny Hill Trivia Games # 6

Verdict

If you are a fan of Benny Hill, you’ve got to get this set! By all means, it is well worth the price!

Rating; *****!

FUTTOCKS END-TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-27T00:29:00.000-07:00

A blurb from SRO about Futtock’s End: Futtock’s End is a classic British ‘sound effect’ comedy that stands in illustrious company alongside Peter Sellers’ Running Jumping and Standing Still, Eric Sykes’ The Plank and Ronnie Barker’s A Home of One Own, The Picnic and By The Sea.

I have always been a big fan of the Two Ronnies and with the Silent Comedy shorts they have done together and separate including this one. They did two together that were “The Picnic” and “By The Sea”. This story is about a weekend gathering at a decaying country home called “Futtock’s End” while having saucy mishaps going on between the staff and his guests. This short film stars Ronnie Barker as General Futtock and Michael Horden as his trusty butler with Richard O’ Sullivan (Man About The House). This disc also includes an audio commentary by the director of the film, Bob Kellett.

VIDEO

The video quality is not that bad! There are a few specks and dirt but not bad. The film is 47 minutes long. The film was released in 1969.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Futtock’s End”-with Ronnie Barker, Michael Horden and Richard O’Sullivan

Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentary by Director Bob Kellett

Verdict

A laugh out loud film! With lots of slapstick! I would recommend it!

Rating: ****!

THE AMAZING MRS PRITCHARD-TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-26T19:47:00.001-07:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard- “She’s got people talking!” That’s what everyone says about Ros Pritchard, the successful supermarket manager and mother who ignites a political firestorm when she stands for Parliament and ends up winning the general election.

The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard is about a manager of a big grocery store that has had enough of the politics of England and thinks she could do better. She becomes the 2nd female Prime Minister in England’s History. The show is best described as West Wing with an Anti-establishment slant. Ros Pritchard succeeds Tony Blair as Prime Minister. A scandal erupts and Ros has a choice of either resigning or staying with the job. You’ll have to watch to find out! This set includes a Cast Fimography.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! Each episode is approx. 59 mins each. It is presented in Widescreen.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Is also in Mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “Episode 1”
2. “Episode 2”
3. “Episode 3”

Disc 2- 1. “Episode 4”
2. “Episode 5”
3. “Episode 6”

Extras

Disc 1: Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Disc 2: None

Verdict

A Sleeper of a show. Defiantly watch & and then buy it! It is showing on Masterpiece Theater.

Rating: ****!

MONARCHY-SET 2 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about Monarchy Set 2- With a deft blend of disciplined scholarship and dramatic flair, Dr David Starkey continues his epic documentary on English royal rule.

The documentary series continues from the 1660’s to 1789, going through the plague that swept across Europe with millions of people dead, to the madness of King George III. The set also includes a biography of Dr David Starkey.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! Each episode is approx 48 miss each. The show is presented in Wide screen.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Is also in Mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “Return Of The King”
2. “The Glorious Revolution”
3. “Rule Britannia”

Disc 2- 1. “Empire”
2. “Survival”

Extras

Disc 1: Dr David Starkey Biography- (Text Only)

Disc 2: None

Verdict

Lavishly produced and painstaking researched! Well Done!!!

Rating: *****!

MONARCHY-SET 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-26T19:42:00.001-07:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about Monarchy Srt 1- Eminent scholar and entergetic storyteller Dr David Starkey serves as your guide through nearly 10 centuries of royal rule in England.

Renowned British Academic David Starkey begins the history of the Royal Rule of England from the Dark Ages to 1644. The storytelling is in a way that is not boring to watch. The series has been shown on PBS. This set includes a David Starkey biography.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! Each episode is approx. 52 mins. The show is presented in Widescreen.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Is also in Mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “The Early Kings”
2. “Medieval Monarchs”
3. “A New Dynasty”

Disc 2- 1. “The Imperial King”
2. “A Question Of Succession”
3. “Revolution And The Republic”

Extras

Disc 1: David Starkey Biography-(Text Only)

Disc 2: None

Verdict

A very likable Documentary series. Set 2 is on the way!

Rating: ****!

DOCTOR WHO-ROBOT TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-25T20:02:00.001-07:00

A blurb from BBC Warner about Doctor Who-Robot: Mortally weakened by the Spider Queen on Metebelis 3, the Doctor is forced to regenerate. His recuperation is cut short as UNIT investigates a spate of robberies involving components for a top-secret disintegrator gun.

The first story for the fourth Doctor sets off the first of one of the longest running Doctors in the history of the series. Tom Baker played the Doctor from 1974 to 1981. This story was the first story to totally be done on Videotape instead of the tried but true BBC way, which was to have all exterior shots, be done on film and all interior shots be done on videotape. The story in a way plays like King Kong. Plans of a new disintegrator gun has been stolen and it all points to a think tank that has created an Robot to protect the group that are wanting the launch keys for the nuclear weapons they can start World War III. With all of this going on the doctor has ”regenerated” from the 3rd to the fourth doctor, and his facilities are not all there. The Restoration team has done a wonderful job restoring the Video and Audio of this story. The disc also includes an Audio Commentary with Tom Baker and Elizabeth Sladen and Terrance Dicks, a documentary about Tom Baker among other things a photo gallery with production notes on the story.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! The performance was done on videotape and there are a few dropouts of picture and sound. The total story is performance is 98 minutes long.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Robot”-with Tom Baker, Elizabeth Sladen and Ian Marter (98 mins)
Part One (24:12)
Part Two (24:59)
Part Three (24:32)
Part Four (24:28)

Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentary by Tom Baker, Elizabeth Sladen and Terrance Dicks
Are Friends Electric? (38:56)
The Tunnel Effect (13:47)
Blue Peter (02:14) in the Dr who set
Photo Gallery (51) pictures
Radio Times Listing on DVD Rom
Production text notes

Verdict

A great first story for Tom Baker! I had the pleasure of Meeting Elizabeth Sladen back in 1983 at a Dr Who convention in Tampa, Florida and she said that she really liked this story. I would recommend it!

Rating: ***!

YOUNG INDIANA JONES-VOLUME 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

A blurb from Paramount Home Video about “Adventures of Young Indiana Jones Volume 1: From George Lucas comes an all-new, must see 12 disc DVD collection. This first volume of a three volume series contains more than 20 hours of Interactive entertainment that combines real-world history with the boyhood adventures if one of cinema’s greatest heroes: Indiana Jones.

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles was a great TV series that ran from 1992 to 1996. The show entertained as well as educated. The TV series started out as a prequel to the raiders of the Lost Ark series that was done with River Phoenix in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The journeys of this show started in 1908 to 1920. This volume covers 1908 to 0000. Harrison Ford actually showed up in on of the later episodes as a 50-year-old Indiana Jones. The show was originally shot on 16mm but for this release the video and audio was distally reasserted. What is also great about the series is that all of the Historical figures that Indy Jr meets such as Adolf Hitler, Al Capone, Eliot Ness, Ernest Hemmingway, George Patton and Theodore Roosevelt to name a few. This set also is crammed full of documentaries, some which are about Archeology and Slavery with a Timeline and much, much more!

VIDEO

The video quality is great! All episodes are shot on 16mm film but have been Digitally Remastered.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. Egypt 1908-“My First Adventure”-with Tony Robinson (85 mins)

Disc 2- 1. Paris-Kenya 1908-1909-“Passion For Life”-with Lukas Haas (94 mins)

Disc 3- 1. “Passion For Life”-Special Features Disc

Disc 4-1. Florence-Vienna-“Perils of Cupid”-with Max Von Sydow (93 mins)

Disc 5- 1. “Perils of Cupid”-Special Features Disc

Disc 6- 1. Russia-Greece 1910-“Travels With Father-with Michael Gough (92 mins)

Disc 7- 1. Indian-China 1910-“Journey to Radiance” (95 mins)

Disc 8- 1. Princeton-Mexico 1916-“Spring Break Adventure_-with Ed Bishop (95 Mins)

Disc 9- 1. “Spring Break Adventure”-Special Features Disc

Disc 10-1. Ireland-England 1916-“Love’s Sweet Song”-with Vanessa Redgrave (92 Mins)

Disc 11- 1. “Love’s Sweet Song”-Special Features Disc

Disc 12- 1. Bonus Disc

Extras

Disc 1- Archaeology-Unearthing Or Past- (19:17)
Howard Carter and the Tomb of Tutankhamun (36:05)
Colonel Lawrence’s War-T.E. Lawrence and Arabia (24:00)
From Slavery to Freedom (30:07)

Disc 2- None

Disc 3- Theodore Roosevelt & and The American Century (30:51)
Ecology-Pulse of the Planet (24:12)
American Dreams-Norman Rockwell & The Saturday Evening Post (24:16)
Art Rebellion-The Making of the Modern (26:06)?
Edgar Degas-Reluctant Rebel (22:53)
Braque and Picasso-A Collaboration (23:14)

Disc 4- None

Disc 5- Giacomo Puccini-Music of the Heart (25:32)
It’s Opera- (29:02)
The Archduke’s Last Journey-End of an Era (20:56)
Powder Keg-Europe 1900 to 1914 (26:06)
Sigmund Freud-Exploring the Unconscious (21:57)
Carl Jung and the Journey to Self Discovery (19:30)
Psychology-Charting the Human Mind (26:33)

Disc 6- Seeking the Truth-The Life of Leo Tolstoy (31:14)
Unquiet Voices-Russian Writers and the State (26:00)
Aristotle- Creating Foundations- (21:37)
Ancient Questions-Philosophy and our Search for Meaning (23:52)

Disc 7- Jiddu Krishnaruiti-The Reluctant Survivor (26:50)
Annie Besant-An Unlikely Rebel (26:56)
Medicine in the Middle Kingdom (26:49)
Eastern Spirituality-The Road to Enlightenment (29:06)

Disc 8- None

Disc 9- Thomas Edison-Lighting Up the World (26:51)
Invention and Innovation-What’s Behind a Good Idea (22:54)
The Mystery of Edward Stratemeyer (26:15)
Wanted Dead or Alive-Pancho Villa and the American Invasion of Mexico (28:10)
General John J Pershing and his American Army (28:25)
George S Patton-American Achilles (29:34)

Disc 10- None

Disc 11- Easter Rising-The Poet’s Rebellion (25:54)
The Passion of William Butler Yates (27:42)
Sean O’Casey vs. Ireland (25:18)
Ireland-The Power of the Poets (26:53)
Winston Churchill-The Lion’s Roar (33:47)
Demanding The Vote-The Pankhursts and British Sufferage (27:06)
Fighting for the Vote-Women’s Sufferage in America (31:28)

Disc 12- Interactive Timeline (DVD Rom)
Historical Lecture: The Promise of Progress (41:26)
Revolution-Interactive Game (DVD Rom)

Verdict

I highly recommend this set and the other two she liked remainder of the other two!

Rating; *****!

TRAPPED-A COMEDY TRILOGY TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

A blurb from BFS Video about “Trapped”: From three first-class comedy writers, Jonathan Harvey, Simon Nye and Tim Firth comes this comic trilogy in which obsessive characters-desperate to break free from their self-imposed prisons-face their moments of truth.

Trapped-a comedy trilogy. When I first saw the paperwork for this, I thought this could be fun, and it was! The premise of “Trapped” is 3 stories that find their situations, “Trapped”. One is trapped in an obsessive world of “The Sound Of Music”. The next is trapped in an old family mansion that the occupant just wants to be loved and finally, my personal favorite, trapped on a roof of an appliance store and trying to get away without being electrocuted. The cast is just as good with Caroline Quentin, Martin Clunes, Mark Benton and Richard Wilson. Produced by Granada Television in 2004.

VIDEO

The video quality is great. The trilogy runs approx 150 minutes.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono.

Disc 1-
1. “Von Trapped”-with Caroline Quentin, Una Stubbs and Jim Carter

Disc 2-
2. “Beauty”-with Martin Clunes and Peter Vaughn

Disc 3-
3. “King Of Fridges”-with Richard Wilson and Mark Benton

Extras

Disc 1- None

Disc 2- None

Disc 3-None

Verdict

Well-written and out loud funny in places!

Rating: ****!

MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE-SEASON 2 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

A short blurb from Paramount about Mission: Impossible Season 2: “Spoken on a tape that self destructs, these classic words introduce each episode of Mission: Impossible, the highly dramatic adventure series that returns to DVD in a set that includes all 25 second-season episodes.

This season was really the first season I started to watch the show when I was a young kid because in syndication, they usually did not repeat the Steven Hill first season episodes. Peter Graves was my favorite. Nothing was said in the show to explain Dan Briggs departure. Peter Graves seemed to me to be better suited to the series rather than Hill. The formula was set for the series, where Phelps would listen to the recording, then pick his team and then go on the mission. The video quality is stunning considering the age of the episodes and as with season 1 the audio has a 5.1 Dolby Surround mix. This set also comprises the next 25 episodes of the series.

VIDEO

The video quality is fantastic! Episodes are also uncut. I’ve not seen the show this crystal clear! There is also a Play All feature on each disc.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. But you can switch it to 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound!

Disc 1- 1. “The Widow”-with William Windom
2. “Trek”-with Daniel O’Herlihy, Mark Lenard and Michael Pate
3. “The Survivors”-with Albert Paulsen
4. “The Bank”-with James Daly and Gene Dynarski

Disc 2- 1. “The Slave Part 1”-with Percy Rodriguez, Sid Haig and Warren Stevens
2. “The Slave Part 2”-with Percy Rodriguez, Sid Haig and Warren Stevens
3. “Operation Heart”-with Pernell Roberts and Michael Strong
4. “The Money Machine”-with Brock Peters

Disc 3- 1. “The Seal”-with Darren McGavin and Mort Mills
2. “Sweet Charity”-with Fritz Weaver and Hazel Court
3. “The Council Part 1”-with Vincent Gardenia and Vic Perrin
4. “The Council Part 2”-with Vincent Gardinia and Vic Perrin

Disc 4- 1. “The Astrologer”-with Steve Itlant
2. “The Echo of Yesteryear”-with Eric Braeden and Wilfred Hyde White
3. “The Photographer”-with Anthony Zerbe and John Randolph
4. “The Spy”-with Joseph Campanella and Kate Woodvine

Disc 5- 1. “A Game Of Chess”
2. “The Emerald”-with William Smithers and Michael Strong
3. “The Condemned”-with Peter Donat, Kevin Hagen and Will Kuluva

Disc 6-1. “The Counterfeiter” -with Edmond O’Brien
2. “The Town” - with Will Geer
3. “The Killing”-with Gerald S O’Loughlin

Disc 7- 1. “The Phoenix”-with Mills Watson
2. ”Trial By Fury”-with Victor French, Sid Haig and Paul Winfield
3. “Recovery”

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: None

Disc 5: None

Disc 6: None

Disc 7: None

Verdict

There are no special features or Extras on this set. Hopefully, there will be on future releases.

Rating: *****!

THE SEA HUNTERS SET 1-TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

A blurb from Acorn Media about “Clive Cussler’s The Sea Hunters”: Join the bestselling action-adventure author Clive Cussler, renowned maritime archaeologist James Delgado, and their crack team of divers to explore some of the most significant shipwrecks of World War II.

Clive Cussler, best known for his Dirk Pitt novels, comes “The Sea Hunters”, a documentary series that focuses on shipwrecks, maritime disasters and relic from World War 2. This set consists of the first 8 episodes that track things such as an enormous Aircraft carrier made entirely of ice! The team is led by renowned maritime Archaeologist James Delgado, which searches for these relics with submarines, 3-D imaging sonar and the latest mixed-gas dive equipment. The Sea Hunters is currently airing on the National Geographic Channel. This set includes extra footage from each episodes and a Clive Cussler Biography.

VIDEO

The video quality is great. The episodes run approx 48 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono.

Disc 1-
1. “Ship Of Ice”
2. “Diving the V2 Rocket Caves”
3. “Leopoldville/Clayoquot: Death on Christmas Eve”

Disc 2-
4. “Minesweeper Eddy, Heroes of the Night”
5. “The Sinking of the Wilheim Gustloff”
6. “Force Z”

Disc 3-
7. “Juno Beach: D-Day Underwater”
8. “Still on Patrol: The Hunt for Hitler’s U-Boat 215”

Extras

Disc 1- None

Disc 2- None

Disc 3-Extra Footage from Each Episode
Clive Cussler Biography-Text Only

Verdict

If you’re a fan of WWII and Diving, you’ll enjoy this show.

Rating: ****!

RUTH RENDELL MYSTERIES SET 2-TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-17T17:19:00.001-07:00

A blurb from Acorn Media about “Ruth Rendell Mysteries Set 2”: In six tales of suspense, award-winning writer Ruth Rendell examines the jealousies, betrayals, and resentments that lead to tragedy.

The next 6 episodes of the long running mystery series that was based on Ruth Rendell’s mystery novels is on this 3-disc box set of the second set of stories from the series. This time around we have some really good stories and some really good performances with such luminaries as Richard Johnson, Edward Hardwicke, Don Henderson and Susannah York to name a few. The set also includes Cast Filmographies and a Ruth Rendell Biography.

VIDEO

The video quality is great. The episodes runs approx 77 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono.

Disc 1-
1. “Bribery and Corruption”
2. “Front Seat”-with Richard Johnson and Edward Hardwicke

Disc 2-
3. “A Case Of Coincidence”-with Keith Barron and Don Henderson
4. “A Dark Blue Perfume”-with Susannah York and John Castle

Disc 3-
5. “My & June”
6. “The Orchard Walls”

Extras

Disc 1- Cast Filmographies-Text Only
Ruth Rendell’s Biography-Text Only

Disc 2- Cast Filmographies

Disc 3-Cast Filmographies

Verdict

A good series. More episodes to come.

Rating: ****!

RUTH RENDELL MYSTERIES SET 1-TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-16T22:04:00.001-07:00

A blurb from Acorn Media about “Ruth Rendell Mysteries Set 1”: From cold, rock-strewn moors to comfortable suburban estates, award-winning writer Ruth Rendell explores the dark fissures between friends and family members that motivate murder.

The long running TV series that was based on Ruth Rendell’s mystery novels is on this 3-disc box set of the first stories of the series. The Ruth Rendell mysteries play like a Lifetime movie, which is usually geared towards women but better made. Some of the stars also plays like an episode of “Tales of the Unexpected”! “Master of the Moor” with Colin Firth is fantastically creepy and well acted and the “Secret House of Death” is also creepy and seductive. Some known British actors and actresses and in these episodes such as Robert Urquhart, Leslie Phillips, John Gill and Patricia Haynes. The set also includes Cast Filmographies and a Ruth Rendell Biography.

VIDEO

The video quality is great. The episodes runs approx 115 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is also in Mono.

Disc 1-
1. “Master of the Moor”-with Colin Firth, Robert Urquhart and Patricia Haynes

Disc 2-
2. “Vanity Dies Hard”-with Leslie Phillips and John Gill

Disc 3-
3. “The Secret House Of Death”
4. “The Double”

Extras

Disc 1- Cast Filmographies-Text Only
Ruth Rendell’s Biography-Text Only

Disc 2- Cast Filmographies

Disc 3-Cast Filmographies

Verdict

A good series. England’s answer to “The Lifetime Movies”.

Rating: ****!

JERICHO-SEASON 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-09T21:31:00.001-07:00

A blurb from Paramount about Jericho-Season 1: Jericho is a drama about what happens when a nuclear mushroom cloud suddenly appears on the horizon, plunging the residents of a small, peaceful Kansas town into chaos, leaving them completely isolated and wondering if they’re the only Americans left alive.

I must admit, I did not watch this show when it first came on and now watching it on DVD, I am now hooked! This show is right up my ally. The series is about a small Kansas town that gets its world turned upside down when a nuclear attack starts and the way they will have to live and deal with humanity when everything is taken away from them. What is neat about the show is that the stories are layered to find out why there is a man that is able to communicate with the outside world when nobody else can. You also see when the US retaliates with missile and the aftermath of that. The first season comprises of 22 episodes and which was nice what they did with this is that there are Extras! There are audio commentaries on 5 episodes and deleted scenes from quite a few episodes with commentary on them as well as behind the scenes footage and a featurette. The stars of the show are Skeet Ulrich (Scream films) with Gerald McRaney (Simon & Simon) plus a lot of new faces.

VIDEO

The episodes are in Widescreen format. Episodes are also uncut.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound!

Disc 1- 1. “Pilot-The First Seventeen Hours”
2. “Fallout”
3. “Four Horseman”
4. “Walls Of Jericho”

Disc 2- 5. “Federal Response”
6. “9:02”
7. “Long Live The Mayor”
8. “Rogue River”-with D. B. Sweeney

Disc 3- 9. “Crossroads”
10. “Red Flag”
11. “Vox Populi”
12. “The Day Before”

Disc 4- 13. “Blackjack”
14. “Heart Of Winter”
15. “Semper Fidelis”
16. “Winters’ End”

Disc 5- 17. “One Man’s Terrorist”
18. “AKA”
19. “Casus Belli”
20. “One If By Land”

Disc 6-21. “Coalition of the Willing”
22. “Why We Fight” -with David Huddleston

Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentary on “The First Seventeen Days” by Executive Producers Jon Turteltaub & Carol Barbee
Audio Commentary on “Fallout” by Executive Producers Jon Turteltaub & Carol Barbee
Deleted Scenes with commentary on “The First Seventeen Hours” by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik (05:02)
Deleted Scenes with commentary on “Four Horsemen” by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik (1:48)
Deleted Scenes with commentary on “Walls of Jericho” by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik (0:45)

Disc 2: Audio Commentary on “Rogue River” by Executive Producers Jon Turteltaub & Skeet Ulrich
Deleted Scenes with commentary on “9:02” by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik (1:14)
Deleted Scenes with commentary on “Long Live The Mayor” by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik (1:19)
Deleted Scenes with commentary on “Rogue River” by Jon Turteltaub and Skeet Ulrich (1:00)

Disc 3: Deleted Scenes with commentary on “Crossroads” by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik (0:50)
Audio Commentary on “Red Flag” by Carol Barbee & Lennie James
Audio Commentary on “Vox Populi” by Carol Barbee, Skeet Ulrich & Lennie James
Deleted Scenes with commentary on “Vox Populi” by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik (1:49)

Disc 4: Deleted Scenes with commentary on “Black Jack” by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik (0:58)

Disc 5: Deleted Scenes with commentary on “One Man’s Terrorist” by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik (0:25)
Deleted Scenes with commentary on “A.K.A.” by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik (1:34)
Deleted Scenes with commentary on “Casus Belli” by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik (0:57)

Disc 6: Deleted Scenes with commentary on “Coalition Of The Willing” by Dan Shotz and Karim Zreik (0:49)
Building of Jericho Documentary (24:00)
What If? …(09:12)

Verdict

I am hooked! The response to the show from fans that wanted this show to continue is a lot like Star Trek was in the sixties. The show will be back for a second season. I can wait! This set is worth it to buy.

Rating: *****!

MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE SEASON 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-06T22:37:00.000-07:00

A short blurb from Paramount about Mission: Impossible Season 1: “Be there for the mission that started it all! The original, Emmy-winning series debuts on DVD in a 7-disc set that includes all 28 first season episodes.

A cultural phenomenon started with the landmark TV series “Mission: Impossible”. It has had it imitators, a sequel series and 3 major motion pictures starring Tom Cruise. Mission: Impossible was the dream child of Bruce Geller. He created a series that was innovative and extremely popular. The show started with the Impossible Missions Force or IMF, a group of secret agents employed by the US Government to go on missions that were impossible for any other arm for the government to handle. In the first season, the head of the IMF group was Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill. He was only on the show for the first season. Also in the cast were Martin Landau as Rollin Hand, master of disguise and Barbara Bain as Cinnamon Carter the Femme Fatale and Greg Morris the tech expert Barney and the muscle Willy Armitage played by Peter Lupus. The show had a lot of guest stars over the years, quite a few from the Star Trek series, which was filmed at the same studios. This set comprises of the first 28 episodes and is in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. The audio is first rate and the video has been digitally remastered in crystal clear quality.

VIDEO

The video quality is fantastic! Episodes are also uncut. I’ve not seen the show this crystal clear! There is also a Play All feature on each disc.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. But you can switch it to 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound!

Disc 1- 1. “Pilot”-with Wally Cox
2. “Memory”-with Leonard Stone and Albert Paulsen
3. “Operation Rogosh”-with Fritz Weaver
4. “Old Man Out Part 1”-with Mary Ann Mobley and Monte Markham

Disc 2- 1. “Old Man Out Part 2”-with Oscar Beregi
2. “Odds on Evil”-with Nehemiah Persoff
3. “Wheels”-with Mark Lenard and Percy Rodriguez
4. “The Ransom”-with William Smithers and Don Marshall

Disc 3- 1. “A Spool There Was”
2. “The Carriers”-with George Takei and Arthur Hill
3. “Zubrovnic’s Ghost”
4. “Fake Out”-with Lloyd Bridges and Sid Haig

Disc 4- 1. “Elena”-with Barry Atwater and Barbara Luna
2. “The Short Tail Spy”-with Eric Braeden
3. “The Legacy”-with Lee Bergere and John Crawford
4. “The Reluctant Dragon”-with Joseph Campanella and John Colicos

Disc 5- 1. “The Frame”-with Simon Oakland
2. “The Trial”-with Carroll O’Connor and Michael Strong
3. “The Diamond”-with John Van Dreelen and Woodrow Parfrey
4. “The Legend”-with Gunnar Hellstrom and Ben Wright

Disc 6-1. “Snowball In Hell” -with Ricardo Montalban
2. “The Confession” - with Pat Hingle
3. “Action”-with J.D.Cannon
4. “The Train”- with William Windom, William Schallert and Richard Bull

Disc 7- 1. “Shock”-with James Daly, Sorrell Booke and Vic Perrin
2. ”A Cube Of Sugar”
3. “The Traitor”- with Eartha Kitt, Malachi Throne and Frank Marth
4. “The Psychic”- with Milton Selzer, Richard Anderson and Paul Mantee

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: None

Disc 5: None

Disc 6: None

Disc 7: None

Verdict

There are no special features or Extras on this set. Hopefully, there will be on future releases.

Rating: *****!

BANACEK-SEASON 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-10-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

A short blurb from Hart Sharp Video about Banacek: Season 1- George Peppard is Thomas Banacek, Boston’s leading freelance investigator. When a crime proves too difficult for insurance investigators to solve, Banacek is called on in this classic TV show form the early 1970s.

One of the better NBC Mystery Movie Series was Banacek! Played by the late George Peppard. It ran on NBC as one of the shows in the rotating umbrella Wednesday Night At The Movies from 1972 to 1974. This show was on in a few that lasted more than one season. The show was well received by critics but never had a great audience. The show was about a Boston-based freelance investigator who solved crimes for insurance companies for usually a fee of 10% of the value of the insured’s property. The series lasted 17 episodes including the pilot movie, which is not in this set. The show was going to go into a third series but at the last minute, Peppard quit the show in order that his ex-wife Elizabeth Ashley would not receive a larger percentage of his earnings to go to their divorce settlement. This 2-disc set also includes a photo gallery and a DVD-Rom feature for TV Guide Crossword Puzzles.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! Digitally remastered and restored for the first time on DVD.
All episodes are approx. 73 minutes long,

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Is also in Mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “Let’s Hear it from A Living Legend”-with Stephanie Powers
2. “Project Phoenix”-with William Windom and Stafford Repp
3. “No Sign of the Cross”-with Broderick Crawford and Victor Jory
4. “A Million the Hard Way”-with Margot Kidder

Disc 2- 1. “To Steal A King”-with Kevin McCarthy and Pernell Roberts
2. “Ten Thousand Dollars A Page”-with Stella Stevens and David Wayne
3. “The Greatest Collection of Them All”-with Mike Farrell and John Hoyt
4. “The Two Million Clams of Cap’n Jack”-with Jessica Walter and David White

Extras

Disc 1: Photo Gallery (29) pictures

Disc 2: DVD-Rom TV Guide Crossword Puzzles

Verdict

A nice series to have. Season Two should be out in January with the pilot movie on the set.

Rating: ****!

WILD WILD WEST SEASON 2-TV DVD REVIEW

2007-09-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

A blurb from Paramount about The Wild, Wild West Season 2: THE WILD WILD WEST takes you on death-defying, top-secret assignments alongside the country’s best Secret Agents, under direct orders to protect the security of President Grant and the U.S. from all manner of threats.

The second season is here for Wild, Wild West now in Blazing Color! The production designers went all out to put as much color into each episode. The digitally remastered episodes are just as sharp and clear as the first season and the villains are as wild as ever! Four episodes throughout the season sees the return of the duo’s evil archenemy Dr. Migilito Loveless played brilliantly by the late Michael Dunn and the late Victor Buono shows up in 2 episodes as the evil Count Manzeppi, unfortunately not to be used again. The actor does return in the reunion film, “More Wild, Wild West”. Robert Conrad as James West and Ross Martin as Artemus Gordon return in the second season. This season also has 28 episodes that are uncut. There are quite a few guest stars such as Richard Pryor, Boris Karloff, Ida Lupino, Sammy Davis Jr and Peter Lawford, William Windom, Carroll O’Connor, Ricardo Montalban and Agnes Moorehead to name more than a few. The only disappointing part to this box set is that there is absolutely no Special Features or Extras at all! Hopefully they will have more extras in the final 2 sets.

VIDEO

The video quality is fantastic! Episodes are also uncut.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “The Night Of The Eccentrics”-with Victor Buono and Richard Pryor
2. “The Night of the Golden Cobra”-with Boris Karloff
3. “The Night Of The Raven”-with Michael Dunn and Phyllis Newman
4. “The Night Of The Big Blast”-with Ida Lupino

Disc 2- 1. “The Night of the Returning Dead”-with Sammy Davis Jr and Peter Lawford
2. “The Night Of The Flying Pie Plate”-with William Windom and Leslie Parrish
3. “The Night Of The Poisonous Posey”-with Peter Rodriguez
4. “The Night Of The Bottomless Pit”-with Theo Marcuse

Disc 3- 1. “The Night Of The Watery Death”-with John Van Dreelen
2. “The Night of the Green Terror”-with Michael Dunn and Paul Fix
3. “The Night Of The Ready-made Corpse”-with Carroll O’Connor
4. “The Night Of The Man Eating House”-with Hurd Hatfield

Disc 4- 1. “The Night Of The Skulls”
2. “The Night Of The Infernal Machine”-with Will Kuluva and Vitto Scotti
3. “The Night Of The Lord Of Limbo”-with Ricardo Montalban
4. “The Night Of The Tottering Tontine”-with Harry Townes and Henry Darrow

Disc 5- 1. “The Night The Feathered Fury”-with Victor Buono
2. “The Night Of The Gypsy Peril”-with Ruta Lee and Ronald Long
3. “The Night Of The Tartar”-with John Astin and Malachi Thorne
4. “The Night Of The Vicious Valentine”-with Agnes Moorehead and Sherry Jackson

Disc 6- 1. “The Night Of The Brain”-with Edward Andrews
2. “The Night Of The Deadly Bubble”-with Alfred Ryder
3. “The Night Of The Surreal McCoy”-with Michael Dunn
4. “The Night Of The Colonel’s Ghost”-with Lee Bergere

Disc 7- 1. “The Night Of The Deadly Blossom”-with Nehemiah Persoff
2. “The Night Of The Cadre”-with Don Gordon and Richael Jaeckel
3. “The Night Of The Wolf”-with Joseph Campnella
4. “The Night Of The Bogus Bandits”-with Michael Dunn

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: None

Disc 5: None

Disc 6: None

Disc 7: None

Verdict

Great show and great picture quality. No extras. Hopefully they will have at least the 2 Reunion films on the next two sets!

Rating: *****!

MISS MARPLE-SERIES 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-09-28T21:46:00.001-07:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about Miss Marple Series 1: She’s back! Proper, demure, and sharp as a tack, Agatha Christie’s beloved Miss Marple returns to the limelight in sparkling new adaptations of four classic Christie novels.

I have been an Agatha Christie fan for many years and the first series of 4 stories are with a new Miss Marple (Geraldine McEwan). These stories are slightly different than their predecessors and controversy prevails in the very first story, “The Body In The Library” which they changed the identity of the killer from the original and introduced Lesbianism to the plot where it has been a subtle hint. “The Murder In The Vicarage” delved into Miss Marple’s earlier life and in “A Murder is Announced” several characters were cut and added affairs into the story and another lesbian subplot that was minor in the original novel. There are many big names in this first series as guest stars such as Joanna Lumley (AbFab), Derek Jacobi (I Claudius), Ian Richardson (Gormangast) to name a few. This set has a behind-the-scenes featurette on the first series, a Photo Gallery and Cast Filmographies.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! All the episodes are on film. All stories are approx 94 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono.

Disc 1- 1. “Murder In The Vicarage”-with Tim McInnerny, Mark Gatiss, Robert Powell, Derek Jacobi, Miriam Margolyes and Herbert Lom.

Disc 2- 1. “The Body In The Library”-with Ian Richardson, Joanna Lumley and Simon Callow.

Disc 3- 1. “A Murder Is Announced”-with Zoë Wanamaker and Catherine Tate

Disc 4-1. “4:50 From Paddington” with David Warner and Griff Rhys Jones

Extras

Disc 1: Behind The Scenes Featurette (10:51)
Miss Marple On TV and Film (Text Only)
Agatha Christie Biography (Text Only)
Photo Gallery (20) pictures
Cast Fimographies

Disc 2: Photo Gallery (20) pictures
Cast Fimographies

Disc 3: Photo Gallery (19) pictures
Cast Fimographies

Disc 4: Photo Gallery (19) pictures
Cast Fimographies

Verdict

A very good first series! A good cast and guest stars! How can you miss?

Rating; ****!

MISS MARPLE-SERIES 2 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-09-28T21:43:00.001-07:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about Miss Marple Series 2: Four all new, full-length mysteries bring you a Miss Marple like no other. Geraldine McEwan returns as the spinster sleuth, as shrewd and sagacious as ever.

Miss Marple is back for a Second series of stories from Agatha Christie’s best-known sleuth. Four more mysteries for Miss Marple with 2 of them not really Marple stories. The story “By the Pricking of My Thumbs” was originally a Tommy & Tuppence story while “The Sittsford Mystery” was also not a Marple story and the identity of the killer was changed. More big names show up in this series with Sophia Myles (Thunderbirds), Paul McGann (Doctor Who), Dawn French (Vicar of Dibley) and Bonnie Langford (Doctor Who). This set has a behind-the-scenes featurette on the second series, a Photo Gallery and Cast Filmographies.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! All the episodes are on film. All stories are approx 94 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono.

Disc 1- 1. “Sleeping Murder”-with Sophia Myles, Una Stubbs, Paul McGann, Dawn French, and Geraldine Chaplin.

Disc 2- 1. “By The Pricking Of My Thumbs”-with Anthony Andrews, Clair Bloom, Charles Dance and Bonnie Langford.

Disc 3- 1. “The Moving Finger”-with Frances De La Tour, Sean Pertwee, Harry Enfiled and John Sessions

Disc 4-1. “The Sittaford Mystery” with Timothy Dalton, Robert Hardy, Mel Smith, Rita Tushingham, Patricia Hodge and Michael Brandon

Extras

Disc 1: Behind The Scenes Featurette (16171)
Agatha Christie Biography (Text Only)
Photo Gallery (14) pictures
Cast Fimographies

Disc 2: Behind The Scenes Featurette (16:32)
Photo Gallery (19) pictures
Cast Fimographies

Disc 3: Behind The Scenes Featurette (13:42)
Photo Gallery (15) pictures
Cast Fimographies

Disc 4: Behind The Scenes Featurette (11:41)
Photo Gallery (14) pictures
Cast Fimographies

Verdict

An equally good second series! A good cast and guest stars! The third series is on its way.

Rating; ****!

MISS MARPLE-SERIES 3 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-09-28T21:41:00.001-07:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about Miss Marple Series 3: Though they might be fooled by her delicate exterior, criminals underestimate Agatha Christie’s mild-mannered spinster sleuth at their peril!

The final set of 4 stories is in Series 3 of Miss Marple. These four stories have been or soon will be on PBS’s “Mystery” program! What is different in this series is that 2 of the stories are not original Marple stories at all. The two stories are “Towards Zero and “Ordeal by Innocence”. There are quite a few well-known names in this Third series as guest stars such as Tom Baker (Doctor Who), Richard E Grant (Dr Who-Scream Of Shalka), Peter Davison (Doctor Who) and Jane Seymour to name a few. This set has a behind-the-scenes featurette on the Third series, a Photo Gallery and Cast Filmographies.

VIDEO

The video quality is great! All the episodes are on film. All stories are approx 94 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono.

Disc 1- 1. “Towards Zero”-with Tom Baker and Julian Sands.

Disc 2- 1. “Nemesis”-with Richard E Grant, Graeme Garden and Anne Reid.

Disc 3- 1. “At Bertram’s Hotel”-with Peter Davison and Francesca Annis.

Disc 4-1. “Ordeal By Innocence” with Jane Seymour and Camille Coduri

Extras

Disc 1: Agatha Christie Biography (Text Only)
Photo Gallery (12) pictures
Cast Fimographies

Disc 2: Photo Gallery (15) pictures
Cast Fimographies

Disc 3: Photo Gallery (15) pictures
Cast Fimographies

Disc 4: Photo Gallery (13) pictures
Cast Fimographies

Verdict

A good third series with good stories! For now, this is the last of the series.

Rating; ****!

THE GRAVY TRAIN TV DVD REVIEW

2007-09-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

A short blurb from BFS Video about The Gravy Train-The Complete Series: Like fish bait cast into a pool of sharks, idealistic Dorfmann (Christoph Waltz) arrives in Brussels with visions of a untied Europe to serve an ambitious British Director of the European Economic Community, Michael Spearpoint Ian Richardson).

A funny British miniseries premiered in 1990 on Channel 4 in Britain called “The Gravy Train”. It was a 4-hour miniseries about the economics of Eastern Europe after the Berlin Wall fell and the subsequent exploitation of unknowing eastern block countries to an ambitious British Economic director bent on making himself very rich! The miniseries stars the great late Ian Richarson and equally great Francesca Annis. Christoph Waltz plays the bumbling pawn in Spearpoint’s (Ian Richarson) plan for Eastern Europe. In 1991 followed a sequel series called “The Gravy Train Goes East” which continues where the last series left off. A total of 8 episodes were produced between the two series. This set has Cast Profiles and Credits for the DVD.

VIDEO

The video quality is fair! All the episodes are on film but look a little grainy and there are film dirt and some specks but overall, good quality. All episodes are approx 51 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono.

Disc 1- 1. “Episode 1”-with Alexei Sayle
2. “Episode 2”

Disc 2- 1. “Episode 3”-with Stephen Greif
2. “Episode 4”

The next 2 disc comprise of the sequel series-The Gravy Train Goes East

Disc 3- 1. “Episode 1”-with Roger Lloyd Pack and James Villars
2. “Episode 2”

Disc 4-1. “Episode 3”
2. “Episode 4”

Extras

Disc 1: Cast Profiles-(Text Only)
Credits

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: None

Verdict

Not a bad Series. Ian Richardson plays the part of Spearpoint effortlessly.

Rating; ****!

HAWAII FIVE-O SEASON 2 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-09-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

A blurb from Paramount about Hawaii Five-O Season 1: McGarrett, Danno and the rest of the Five-O squad are back in action in this captivating collection of 24 episodes from the legendary show’s second season.

Hawaii Five-O is back for a second season on DVD! McGarrett is back with Danno and the special group of Five-O members. This season has quite a few guest stars such as Loretta Swit before she was on MASH and Marion Ross from Happy Days, Martin Sheen, Tom Skerritt and Academy Award winning actor Christopher Walken in one of his first adult TV productions. This season also has more of a Thriller/Sci-Fi aspect to the stories. There is the return of McGarrett’s arch nemesis-Wo Fat played wonderfully by Khigh Dhiegh. An interesting tidbit. - When Hawaii Five O ceased production, Magnum PI took over the equipment and studios and filmed some of the shows there for a while. Unfortunately, the omission of one episode from this season is not on the box set. The episode in question is “Bored, She Hung Herself”. Originally shown only once in 1970, it has never been reshown either in the original run or syndication. Someone actually hung himself or herself using the same technique that was done on the episode. The only “Special Feature” for this set is the episode promos for the next week for each episode.

VIDEO

The episodes are digitally remastered. Episodes are also uncut.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is mono but very clear!

Disc 1- 1. “A Thousand Pardons, Your Dead”-with Harry Guardino and Loretta Swit
2. “To Hell with Babe Ruth”-with Mark Lenard and Will Kulva
3. “Forty Feet High and It Kills”-with Will Geer and Khigh Dhiegh
4. “Just Luck I Guess”- with Albert Paulsen and John Randolph

Disc 2- 1. “Savage Sunday”-with Henry Silva
2. “A Bullet for McGarrett”-with Eric Braeden and Khigh Dhiegh
3. “Sweet Terror”-with Theodore Bikel and Soon Taik Oh
4. “King Kamehameha Blues”-with Brandon De Wilde

Disc 3- 1. “The Singapore File”-with Marj Dusay
2. “All The King’s Horses”-with James Gregory and Keye Luke
3. “Leopard On The Rock”
4. “The Devil and Mr. Frog”-with Frank Marth and James Hong

Disc 4- 1. “The Jokers, Wild Man Wild!”-with Eddie Firestone
2. “Which Way Did They Go?”-with William Windom and Jackie Coogan
3. “Blind Tiger”-with Marion Ross
4. “Run, Johnny Run”-with Christopher Walken

Disc 5- 1. “Killer Bee”
2. “The One With The Gun”-with John Colicos, Jack Soo and Arthur Franz
3. “Cry, Lie”-with Martin Sheen
4. “Most Likely To Murder”-with Tom Skerritt

Disc 6-1. “Nightmare Road” -with Charles Aidman and Ronald Long
2. “Three Dead Cows At Makapuu” Pt 1-with Ed Flanders and Dana Elcar
3. “Three Dead Cows At Makapuu” Pt 2-with Loretta Swit
4. “Kiss The Queen Goodbye”-with Joanne Linville and George Gaynes

Extras

Disc 1: Episode Promos

Disc 2: Episode Promos

Disc 3: Episode Promos

Disc 4: Episode Promos

Disc 5: Episode Promos

Disc 6: Episode Promos

Verdict

Good to have the next season of Hawaii Five-O. The picture quality is stunning! Come on Season 3!

Rating: *****!

ROBIN OF SHERWOOD SET 2 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-09-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

A blurb from Acorn Media about “Robin Of Sherwood-Set 2”- Connoisseurs of the Robin Hood legend call this action-packed British series the standard by which all other adaptations are measured.

This set covers Robin Of Sherwood’s third season and final 13 episodes with Jason Connery as the new leader of the merry group taking over from Michael Praed since he went on to be in the Dynasty TV series. The whole shape of the show changed somewhat when Connery took over and ran rather well to the end of the series. The season kept the mysticism and authentic feel of the time as the first two seasons. The episodes have been digitally remastered. Like the first set, the 13 episodes are on four discs with the 5th a bonus disc, chalked full of extras. There are commentaries for 9 of the episodes with 2 documentaries and behind the scenes footage and outtakes with much more.

VIDEO

The video quality is superb! Digitally Remastered.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- 1. “Herne’s Son” Part 1 with Richard O’Brien and George Baker*
2. “Herne’s Son” Part 2 with same as above*
3. “The Power Of Albion” with Max Faulkner
4. “The Inheritance” with Cyril Cusack and David Rappaport*

Disc 2- 1. “The Sheriff Of Nottingham” with Lewis Collins*
2. “The Cross Of St Ciricus”
3. “Cromim Cruac” with Richard O’Brien*

Disc 3- 1. “The Betrayal” with Matt Frewer
2. “Adam Bell” **
3. “The Pretender” with Russell Enoch and Patricia Hodge

Disc 4-1. “Rutterkin” with Ian Ogilvy
2. “The Time Of The Wolf” Part 1 with Richard O’Brien*
3. “The Time Of The Wolf” Part 2 with Richard O’Brien*

Disc 5- Special Features Disc

Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentary on Herne’s Son Pts 1 & 2 by Jason Connery and Mark Ryan
Audio Commentary on The Inheritance by Jason Connery and Clive Mantle

Disc 2- Audio Commentary for The Sheriff Of Nottingham by Jason Connery and Mark Ryan
Audio Commentary for Cromin Cruac by Jason Connery and Mark Ryan

Disc 3-Audio Commentary for Adam Bell by Jason Connery and Mark Ryan

Disc 4-Audio Commentary on The Time of the Wolf Pts 1 & 2 by Esta Charkham

Disc 5 : The Making Of Series 3 Pt 1 (39:26)
The Making Of Series 3 Pt 2 (36:04)
Clannad: Scoring Robin Of Sherwood (12:18)
It’s Showtime Series Promo (04:36)
Robin Hood 1, 2 3 Screen Swordplay (08:08)
Series 3 Outtakes (13:14)
Us Title Sequence (00:37)
TV-AM Morning Show Feature (04:03)
Cast Filmographies

Verdict

A very good set, well worth buying! What a fitting end to the series.

Rating; *****!

ADVENTURES OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG VOLUME 1 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-09-13T20:32:00.001-07:00

A short blurb from Shout Factory about Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog Volume 1: The fastest thing alive is back! Join Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails as they defend Mobius from the evil Dr Ivo Robotnik and his notorious gang of robots.

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is an American Animated Series that started in 1993, based on the extremely popular Sega Sonic the Hedgehog game. The show is about the escapades of Sonic and his friend Miles “Tails” Prower as they do their best to stop the evil Dr Ivo Robotnik and his minion from taking over the planet of Morbius. This volume is the first 22 episodes of the first incarnation of the series that had a total of 65 episodes. Jaleel White of “Family Matters” fame was the voice of Sonic and Christopher Evan Welch voices his friend “Tails”. The special features of this set are two featurettes How to Draw Sonic and an interview called “Storyboard To Screen” with animator Milton Knight.

VIDEO

The video quality is fairly good! All discs have a Play All feature. All episodes are approx 22 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono.

Disc 1- 1. “Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad”
2. “Subterranean Sonic”
3. “Lovesick Sonic”
4. “Slowwww Going”
5. “High Stakes Sonic”

Disc 2- 6. “Sonic Breakfast”
7. “Trail of the Missing Tails”
8. “Close Encounters of the Sonic Kind”
9. “Momma Robotnik’s Birthday”
10. “Big Daddy”
11. “Sonic Song”

Disc 3- 12. “Birth of a Salesman”
13. “Best Hedgehog”
14. “The Robotnik Express”
15. “Too Tail Tales”
16. “Tail’s New Home”
17. “Over The Hill Hero”

Disc 4-18. “Blank Headed Eagle”
19. “The Mystery of the High Tops”
20. “So Long Sucker”
21. “Sonic Gets Thrashed”
22. “Pseudo Sonic”

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Disc 3: None

Disc 4: A Conversation with Artist Milton Knight (08:07)
How To Draw Sonic The Hedgehog (02:00)

Verdict

If you like The Sonic game, then you will like these episodes. More to come.

Rating; ***!

CRACKER-A NEW TERROR TV DVD REVIEW

2007-09-10T22:17:00.001-07:00

A blurb from Acorn Media about Cracker-A New Terror: A New Terror deftly depicts a world held hostage to violence, both personal and political, it blares from omnipresent TV screens, crops up in casual conversations and casts its shadow on everyday life.

One of my favorite British cop dramas, a thinking man’s kind of show is “Cracker”. The series started in 1993. It shows a forensic psychologist called Dr. Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald played by well-known Scottish actor-Robbie Coltrane (Harry Potter, Goldeneye). After living in Australia for the past 10 years he came back to Manchester to find that England has changed immensely since 9/11.

The movie was actually titled “Cracker-9/11” but changed to a New Terror here in the States. Fitz’s daughter is married and he is giving the bride away reflects on his past. To make the plot more interesting, a murderer at first has no apparent motive. Later it is found out that a former British soldier that fought in Northern Ireland has been haunted by it and is irritated over the US response to 9/11 and the “War on Terror” has caused the ex-soldier to go over the edge. The plot is thinly veiled from the writer of the movie about the lack of foreign policy from the US and the emotional response to 9/11. Also included on the disc is a 45-minute retrospective documentary with interviews with Coltrane and cast and crew and Cast Filmographies.

VIDEO

The video quality is quite good! The episodes total 108 minutes long.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this set.

Disc 1- Cracker-A New Terror (108 Mins)

Extras

Disc 1: Cracker-Behind the Scenes-45 minute Documentary
Cast Filmographies- (Text Only)

Verdict

A thought provoking look at how 9/11 changed Europe’s thoughts about that day in September 2001.

This review also is the 100th review for this site! Thanks to all that have helped me get this far.

Rating: *****!

MAN ABOUT THE HOUSE-SERIES 1 AND 2 TV DVD REVIEW

2007-09-04T21:45:00.001-07:00

A short blurb from Acorn Media about Two’s Company-The Complete Series: Serving as the inspiration for the widely popular American hit series, Three’s Company, Man About the House was a phenomenally successful comedy, running for six series in total, spinning off two further series.

The original “Three’s Company” came from this British TV show called “Man About The House”. The same story goes that after throwing out a third roommate, Chrissy and Jo found Robin Tripp in their bathroom, hung over. The girls were needing a third person to split the rent, so they had Robin stay. The only way that he could stay and the landlord to let him was to tell him that he was gay. The landlord’s wife knew better but kept that a secret. Man About The House premiered in 1973 and ran for six series in a three-year period ending in 1976. A movie produced by Hammer Films in 1974 and 2 spin-offs, George & Mildred and Robin’s Nest followed.
In 1977, ABC TV in the United States made a show, called Three’s Company based on Man About the House, right down to Robin’s last name. Tripp was Robin’s last name and Jack’s was Tripper. This series also spawned 2 spin-offs The Ropers and Three’s A Crowd. This set has the first 2 seasons with such people as Dennis Waterman (The Sweeney) and Bella Emberg (Benny Hill).

VIDEO

The video quality is pretty good! All the episodes are on videotape with all outside scenes on grainy 16 mm film, which was typical for the time the shows were made. All episodes are approx 24 minutes each.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Also here in mono.

Disc 1- 1. “Three’s A Crowd”
2. “And Mother Makes Four”
3. “Some Enchanted Evening”
4. “And Then There Were Two”
5. “Its Only Money”
6. “Match of the Day”
7. “No Children, No Dogs”

Disc 2- 1. “While The Cats Away”
2. “Colour Me Yellow”
3. “In Praise Of Older Men”
4. “Did you ever meet Rommel?” with Dennis Waterman
5. “Two foot Two, Eyes of Blue” with Bella Emberg
6. “Carry Me Back to Old Southampton”

Extras

Disc 1: None

Disc 2: None

Verdict

A very funny series. Hope Seasons 3 and 4 are out soon!

Rating; ****!