The very funny ABC friendcom "Happy Endings" is the latest show in which my interest was resparked watching it on DVD.
The DVD set of "Endings'" sophomore season is being released on October 23, 2012. This coincides with the premiere, which will be Tivo-worthy, of the show's third (but hardly junior) season. This show will follow up on the significant changes in the friends' lives in last April's season finale.
"Endings" is the version of "Friends" that "South Park" and "Book of Mormon" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker would have created. Picturing Joey as a gleefully chubby sloppy gay man helps understand this concept.
Like "Friends," "Endings" revolves around a group of childhood friends and their college buddies hanging out at their favorite hotspot and each others' Chicago homes. Like their "Friends" counterparts, they also are roommates or spouses.
The "Friends" similarities began with the mid-season series premiere of "Endings" that revolved around the after-math of Alex, played by "24's" Elisha Cuthbert being a literal runaway bride during her wedding to Dave, played by "Flashforward's" Zachary Knighton.
Despite Alex being at least as flighty and fashion oriented as "Friends'" Rachel, no one would root for the mountain lion as we did when Cuthbert's character Kim Bauer on "24" faced becoming puma chow. Alex is simply an amusingly impulsive woman who regularly sabotages herself.
One of Alex's shining moments during "Endings'" second season was reverting to her high school self when a group of popular "Heathers" teen girls began frequenting her boutique because Alex sold baby t-shirts that the girls wore as tube tops. The "Daddy's Girl" and "I Have to Poop" shirts were the funniest.
Like "Friends'" Chandler, Dave is a nice guy with bad luck. During the second season, he films a painfully horrible advertisement for his barely viable food truck called "Steak Me Home Tonight" and sabotages his chance for a threesome with two hotties.
However, Dave does look much better cooking steak in just his boxers than Matthew Perry would have even during his "Friends" days.
Damon Wayans, Jr., who plays Brad, who is the Ross of the "Endings" crew, definitely got great comedy genes and lessons from his dad and uncles, who could be considered the black Marx Brothers of the '90s. Like the earlier generation of Wayans, Damon Jr. has enough self-confidence to be the brunt of black jokes and make them himself.
The elder Wayans would have likely done better with Damon Jrs. effort at "Blackass," which was a black version of the moronic stunt show "Jackass," but the idea was a good one.
Brad's second season highlights include trying to follow through on romantic Valentine's Day plans despite being under the influence of strong pain killers. This hilarious episode included having Brad play with toy dinosaurs and referring to his buddies as their "Friends" counterparts.
Eliza Coupe is perhaps the creepiest of the group only in that she is the Monica of the gang but married the Ross of the group. She is best known as mean blonde girl "Jo" on "Scrubs" and plays Jane, a more neurotic and nicer version of that character on "Endings."
Jane provides some of the best humor of the second season in an episode that has her hunting down the daughter who she believes was conceived with an egg that she donated while in college. Seeing Jane trying to lure the middle-school girl into a creepy old van was hilarious.
That episode also had Adam Pally's Max, who is the group's gay Joey, begin the preliminary steps of producing his sperm bank deposit in a video that he did not realize was just designed to let potential clients learn about him.
The wonderfully lack of self-conscious nature of Pally allowed us to see Max rock skin-tight white pants with an even tighter Lady Di t-shirt and trying to seduce a firefighter while wearing just tighty whiteys.
Just as "Friends'" Phoebe was often in the background, Casey Wilson's Penny is the last friend featured in this review. A second season episode in which cats invading her apartment and episodes of "The View" mysteriously appearing on her Tivo make 29 year-old Penny concerned about spinsterhood had very funny moments.
Many other hilariously twisted moments from this great season involved noteworthy guest stars. Penny and her mother, played by Megan "Karen" Mullally, sing out their feelings regarding childhood trauma that included becoming homeless. Ed Begley, Jr. plays a more fanatical and hostile version of his eco-oriented self in another Mullally episode.
Despite these great moments, the best guest-star episode has "Veronica Mars'" and "Party Down's" Ryan Hansen. He plays a guy who has not matured since college who Penny not-so-subtlely manipulates into growing up.
A scene in which Penny "accidentally" spills coffee on Hansen's hockey jersey and gives him the choice of the two men's dress shirts that she "happens" to have in her purse is a great moment. Hansen fans may be disappointed to not see him parade around in an American flag speedo.
The bottom line is that fans of wonderfully dark and cynical, but good natured humor, or anyone who ever wondered what a marriage between siblings Ross and Monica Geller would look like should buy the season two DVD of "Happy Endings."
Anyone with questions or thoughts regarding "Happy Endings" is encouraged to email me.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
'All in the Family' CS: Arguably TV's All-Time Top SItcom
Shout Factory's awesome track record with complete series DVD sets of classic shows continues with its above-average even for Shout collection of every episode from "All in the Family's" nine seasons.
Aside from the terrific accompanying booklet and special features that are discussed below, the DVD set earns an A+ for including the original broadcast versions of the episodes.
The syndicated episodes always seemed oddly short and missing something. I also did not understand why I liked the DVD episodes so much better than the TV Land presentations until learning that the syndicated versions cut between four and five minutes from the original broadcasts. Well done Shout!
The set is available for pre-order and will be released on October 30, 2012. It would make the bestest ever Halloween treat for any fan of classic sitcoms and/or political humor.
The premise of "Family" is highly original and has not been repeated since its mid-season 1971 premiere. It centers around the Queens, NY home that blue-collar working stiff Archie Bunker, played by Carroll O'Connor, shares with his textbook adoring and long-suffering wife with a breaking point Edith, played by Jean Stapleton.
The Bunkers' naive but slowly evolving 20-something daughter Gloria, played by Sally Struthers, and her liberal college student husband Mike Stivic, played by later film director/producer Rob Reiner, reside with the 'rents for the first few seasons but stay close-by for a few more years.
Anyone who is familiar with "Family" is aware that father rarely, if ever, knew best in that household and that the post-adolescent kids were hardly the freshly-scrubbed clean-cut Disneyfied Kurt Russell et al college student type of the early 1970s.
Additionally, Edith probably did not own a real pearl necklace and seemed dazed and confused much more frequently than wise and motherly.
This realism extended to the characters bickering and facing serious health and financial difficulties much more often than outwardly expressing their love for each other and planning elaborate surprise parties or fretting over a dinner for the boss going awry.
It is especially noteworthy that "Family" premiered roughly 15 years before Roseanne asserted to all within earshot of her boisterous bellowing that she had created the first show that accurately depicted blue-collar (and American) life.
With the appropriate degree of respect to Ms. Arnold, I have had relatives and close family friends deal with the "Family" issues of rape, substance abuse, miscarriages, housing and job discrimination, marital fidelity, homophobia, and many other challenges.
I have never known of anyone to deal with the "Roseanne" issues of one daughter barking in class, another daughter being humiliated because she broke wind in front of the entire school, or a husband and wife pulling elaborate Halloween pranks on each other. I additionally could never imagine the "Family" cast ever agreeing to perform a parody of a classic sitcom as the "Roseanne" gang did a few times.
"Family's" impact also extended to providing the American viewing public almost as jarring a wake up call as the footage from Vietnam that aired on the evening news during the same era.
CBS went directly from its rural comedies, such as the "The Beverly Hillbillies/"Hooterville series and "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Gomer Pyle: USMC," and other wacky sitcoms such as "The Doris Day Show" and "Here's Lucy" to the grittier and all around darker (but still hilarious) "Family."
"Family" being the first series to depict a flushing toilet is an oft-cited example of how that show put the mirror on us as much as the depiction of the Louds in the PBS 1973 documentary "An American Life." In fact, the Louds could have been the Bunkers if they belonged to a much lower economic class.
It is further doubtful that CBS would have aired the thinly disguised Vietnam War comedy "M*A*S*H" in September 1972 if "Family" had not succeeded.
On a lighter note, purely comedic elements of "Family" made it as a memorable as Archie's ignorance-based prejudicial views, the heated Watergate-era political discussions, and the frank depictions of the ups and regular downs following those happy days that most of us experience.
Archie calling Edith "Dingbat" and telling her to stifle as regularly as he called Mike "Meathead" still makes every fan smile.
A personal favorite schtick involves Edith telling a story as long and rambling as this review of the "Family" complete series set. Archie would soon perfectly pantomime setting up an ultimately executed suicide while suffering through Edith's tale. A faux lynching that ended up with Archie's head rolling to the side and his tongue hanging out his mouth was the best of the lot.
Because most of "Family's" more than 200 episodes were excellent, and even some not-so-great ones from later seasons were not so bad, picking a standout one is tough.
The two-parter in which Gloria gives birth is one of the more memorable ones for being particularly good at combining physical humor in the form of her getting stuck in a telephone booth, social issues in the form of controversy regarding Archie performing in a minstrel show, and one fall on the floor funny sight gag at the hospital that is too good to ruin with advance notice.
The aforementioned booklet, which includes great episode synopses, has essays by "Family" expert Marty Kaplan and legendary veteran TV critic Tom Shales on the history and impact of "Family." The struggle to fine tune the show just right, get a network to air it, and the impact that it had make that topic a very worthy feature film topic. Perhaps Rob Reiner will produce one.
The best of a wonderful gaggle of DVD extras is a brand-new interview with "Family" creator and producer Norman "TV God" Lear. I had always admired Lear, but this interview earned him a place on my list of people with whom I would like to share a corned beef on rye at a Brooklyn deli.
Lear clearly, eloquently, and candidly spoke of every aspect of creating the show. The insights that he shared included basing Archie on Lear's father and O'Connor basing his depiction of that character on a cab driver that O'Connor knew.
Lear further made my day in verifying my theory that each "Family" episode was produced as a two-act theatrical presentation. Although Lear kept most of the action in the Bunkers' living room, he was a genius at having the world enter that space.
Other "behind-the-scenes" features included segments from the show and clips of prior interviews with cast members. The contrast between a tiny and adorable Sally Struthers from "Family's" early days and her horrible mug shot of shame regarding her recent DUI arrest in Maine was genuinely sad.
Readers know that I am often the first to mock aging sitcom stars who face public disgrace. In this case, Struthers has shown me great kindness during her summers in Maine. I hope that things work out for her and that the public cuts this genuinely nice lady a break.
The three cherries on the addictive treat that is the "Family" complete series set are the pilot episodes of the "Family" spinoffs "Gloria," "Archie Bunker's Place," and "704 Hauser Street." Of the three, only "Place" achieved any success.
I liked "Gloria" better as a kid than I did the other night. The elderly rural vet, played by Burgess "The Penguin" Meredith, for whom Gloria went to work was the only character who displayed much personality. It was also odd to see a "Family" inspired show be more "Green Acres" than "Meet the Press."
"Archie Bunker's Place" was a decent show that ran for a few years, and had an episode that is incredibly sad for "Family" fans. The problem was that the show was more "The Ropers" than "Frasier." Like "The Ropers," the main character did not work as well when taken even slightly out of his element.
As Lear and legions of fans have realized, the "Family" cast understood their characters and those characters' relationships with each other better than virtually any other cast.
"704 Hauser Street" was a short-lived series in which Lear had a black family live in the Bunkers' former house and have the same type of political discussions. Unfortunately, lightning did not strike twice.
At the same time, the three pilots are interesting nostalgia that are worth watching.
Anyone with thoughts or questions regarding "Family" is encouraged to email me.
Aside from the terrific accompanying booklet and special features that are discussed below, the DVD set earns an A+ for including the original broadcast versions of the episodes.
The syndicated episodes always seemed oddly short and missing something. I also did not understand why I liked the DVD episodes so much better than the TV Land presentations until learning that the syndicated versions cut between four and five minutes from the original broadcasts. Well done Shout!
The set is available for pre-order and will be released on October 30, 2012. It would make the bestest ever Halloween treat for any fan of classic sitcoms and/or political humor.
The premise of "Family" is highly original and has not been repeated since its mid-season 1971 premiere. It centers around the Queens, NY home that blue-collar working stiff Archie Bunker, played by Carroll O'Connor, shares with his textbook adoring and long-suffering wife with a breaking point Edith, played by Jean Stapleton.
The Bunkers' naive but slowly evolving 20-something daughter Gloria, played by Sally Struthers, and her liberal college student husband Mike Stivic, played by later film director/producer Rob Reiner, reside with the 'rents for the first few seasons but stay close-by for a few more years.
Anyone who is familiar with "Family" is aware that father rarely, if ever, knew best in that household and that the post-adolescent kids were hardly the freshly-scrubbed clean-cut Disneyfied Kurt Russell et al college student type of the early 1970s.
Additionally, Edith probably did not own a real pearl necklace and seemed dazed and confused much more frequently than wise and motherly.
This realism extended to the characters bickering and facing serious health and financial difficulties much more often than outwardly expressing their love for each other and planning elaborate surprise parties or fretting over a dinner for the boss going awry.
It is especially noteworthy that "Family" premiered roughly 15 years before Roseanne asserted to all within earshot of her boisterous bellowing that she had created the first show that accurately depicted blue-collar (and American) life.
With the appropriate degree of respect to Ms. Arnold, I have had relatives and close family friends deal with the "Family" issues of rape, substance abuse, miscarriages, housing and job discrimination, marital fidelity, homophobia, and many other challenges.
I have never known of anyone to deal with the "Roseanne" issues of one daughter barking in class, another daughter being humiliated because she broke wind in front of the entire school, or a husband and wife pulling elaborate Halloween pranks on each other. I additionally could never imagine the "Family" cast ever agreeing to perform a parody of a classic sitcom as the "Roseanne" gang did a few times.
"Family's" impact also extended to providing the American viewing public almost as jarring a wake up call as the footage from Vietnam that aired on the evening news during the same era.
CBS went directly from its rural comedies, such as the "The Beverly Hillbillies/"Hooterville series and "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Gomer Pyle: USMC," and other wacky sitcoms such as "The Doris Day Show" and "Here's Lucy" to the grittier and all around darker (but still hilarious) "Family."
"Family" being the first series to depict a flushing toilet is an oft-cited example of how that show put the mirror on us as much as the depiction of the Louds in the PBS 1973 documentary "An American Life." In fact, the Louds could have been the Bunkers if they belonged to a much lower economic class.
It is further doubtful that CBS would have aired the thinly disguised Vietnam War comedy "M*A*S*H" in September 1972 if "Family" had not succeeded.
On a lighter note, purely comedic elements of "Family" made it as a memorable as Archie's ignorance-based prejudicial views, the heated Watergate-era political discussions, and the frank depictions of the ups and regular downs following those happy days that most of us experience.
Archie calling Edith "Dingbat" and telling her to stifle as regularly as he called Mike "Meathead" still makes every fan smile.
A personal favorite schtick involves Edith telling a story as long and rambling as this review of the "Family" complete series set. Archie would soon perfectly pantomime setting up an ultimately executed suicide while suffering through Edith's tale. A faux lynching that ended up with Archie's head rolling to the side and his tongue hanging out his mouth was the best of the lot.
Because most of "Family's" more than 200 episodes were excellent, and even some not-so-great ones from later seasons were not so bad, picking a standout one is tough.
The two-parter in which Gloria gives birth is one of the more memorable ones for being particularly good at combining physical humor in the form of her getting stuck in a telephone booth, social issues in the form of controversy regarding Archie performing in a minstrel show, and one fall on the floor funny sight gag at the hospital that is too good to ruin with advance notice.
The aforementioned booklet, which includes great episode synopses, has essays by "Family" expert Marty Kaplan and legendary veteran TV critic Tom Shales on the history and impact of "Family." The struggle to fine tune the show just right, get a network to air it, and the impact that it had make that topic a very worthy feature film topic. Perhaps Rob Reiner will produce one.
The best of a wonderful gaggle of DVD extras is a brand-new interview with "Family" creator and producer Norman "TV God" Lear. I had always admired Lear, but this interview earned him a place on my list of people with whom I would like to share a corned beef on rye at a Brooklyn deli.
Lear clearly, eloquently, and candidly spoke of every aspect of creating the show. The insights that he shared included basing Archie on Lear's father and O'Connor basing his depiction of that character on a cab driver that O'Connor knew.
Lear further made my day in verifying my theory that each "Family" episode was produced as a two-act theatrical presentation. Although Lear kept most of the action in the Bunkers' living room, he was a genius at having the world enter that space.
Other "behind-the-scenes" features included segments from the show and clips of prior interviews with cast members. The contrast between a tiny and adorable Sally Struthers from "Family's" early days and her horrible mug shot of shame regarding her recent DUI arrest in Maine was genuinely sad.
Readers know that I am often the first to mock aging sitcom stars who face public disgrace. In this case, Struthers has shown me great kindness during her summers in Maine. I hope that things work out for her and that the public cuts this genuinely nice lady a break.
The three cherries on the addictive treat that is the "Family" complete series set are the pilot episodes of the "Family" spinoffs "Gloria," "Archie Bunker's Place," and "704 Hauser Street." Of the three, only "Place" achieved any success.
I liked "Gloria" better as a kid than I did the other night. The elderly rural vet, played by Burgess "The Penguin" Meredith, for whom Gloria went to work was the only character who displayed much personality. It was also odd to see a "Family" inspired show be more "Green Acres" than "Meet the Press."
"Archie Bunker's Place" was a decent show that ran for a few years, and had an episode that is incredibly sad for "Family" fans. The problem was that the show was more "The Ropers" than "Frasier." Like "The Ropers," the main character did not work as well when taken even slightly out of his element.
As Lear and legions of fans have realized, the "Family" cast understood their characters and those characters' relationships with each other better than virtually any other cast.
"704 Hauser Street" was a short-lived series in which Lear had a black family live in the Bunkers' former house and have the same type of political discussions. Unfortunately, lightning did not strike twice.
At the same time, the three pilots are interesting nostalgia that are worth watching.
Anyone with thoughts or questions regarding "Family" is encouraged to email me.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
'CSI: NY' S8: 'NYPD Blue' Meets 'Bill Nye'
This review of the recently released DVD set of the eighth season of "CSI:NY" is the third in a trilogy of reviews of releases of the most recent seasons of the three "CSI" series. "CSI:NY" comes in a close second to "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" as the best of the trio.
Each "CSI" crime drama typically follows the procedure of the (often not) innocent of the week either being discovered dead or buying the farm in the opening scenes. This prompts the titular forensics team to collect and analyze crime scene evidence, grill a wrongfully accused suspect, reanalyze the existing evidence or collect new clues, and collar the correct malfeasor.
The "CSI:NY" Scoobies ply their trade in New York City and are tougher and grittier than their Las Vegas and Miami counterparts in the other "CSI:" series.
As someone who has lamented "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's" Greg Sanders transitioning from a wonderfully goofy lab tech. to a serious field agent, I LOVED "CSI:NY's" hysterically quirky lab tech. Adam Ross and hope that the writers do not change his character.
Adam's first scene of the eighth season had him hilariously carry on both sides of an imagined conversation between a job applicant and temporary team head Jo Danville, played by the highly talented Sela Ward. Similar schtick in most of the eight episodes that I watched was equally entertaining.
However, the series itself did not really grab me until it cut back a little on the grit and drama in favor of more action and humor. I confess that I almost gave up after four episodes, am happy that I watched four more, and look forward to seeing the remaining ten after catching up with the pile of review DVDs on my desk.
I particularly look forward the "Flash Pop" episode, which includes a flashback to the '50s but probably does not involve any nuclear-powered vehicles outfitted with flux capacitors.
The Halloween episode, which was the sixth of the season, in which it appeared that unduly hazed wannabe frat boys had taken appropriate revenge on their brutal pledge master had the humor, quirks, and twists that make the "CSI" franchise special.
The eighth episode, which revolved around a mobster who had killed 12 people being the most likely suspect in a fatal shooting of a judge in front of a bakery had a classic "CSI" pre-opening credits quip. Gary "Lieutenant Dan" Sinise made the wonderful comment that the suspected killer had reached his baker's dozen.
Like the other "CSI" sets that were released September 25, 2012, the DVD set of "CSI:NY" included some interesting special features. These extras included a look at the series' eighth season, a behind-the-scenes look at filming the Halloween episode, and cast reflections on the season premiere episode that included flashbacks that depicted their characters' actions on the day of the September 11 attacks.
Anyone with thoughts or questions regarding any "CSI" series is encouraged to email me.
Each "CSI" crime drama typically follows the procedure of the (often not) innocent of the week either being discovered dead or buying the farm in the opening scenes. This prompts the titular forensics team to collect and analyze crime scene evidence, grill a wrongfully accused suspect, reanalyze the existing evidence or collect new clues, and collar the correct malfeasor.
The "CSI:NY" Scoobies ply their trade in New York City and are tougher and grittier than their Las Vegas and Miami counterparts in the other "CSI:" series.
As someone who has lamented "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's" Greg Sanders transitioning from a wonderfully goofy lab tech. to a serious field agent, I LOVED "CSI:NY's" hysterically quirky lab tech. Adam Ross and hope that the writers do not change his character.
Adam's first scene of the eighth season had him hilariously carry on both sides of an imagined conversation between a job applicant and temporary team head Jo Danville, played by the highly talented Sela Ward. Similar schtick in most of the eight episodes that I watched was equally entertaining.
However, the series itself did not really grab me until it cut back a little on the grit and drama in favor of more action and humor. I confess that I almost gave up after four episodes, am happy that I watched four more, and look forward to seeing the remaining ten after catching up with the pile of review DVDs on my desk.
I particularly look forward the "Flash Pop" episode, which includes a flashback to the '50s but probably does not involve any nuclear-powered vehicles outfitted with flux capacitors.
The Halloween episode, which was the sixth of the season, in which it appeared that unduly hazed wannabe frat boys had taken appropriate revenge on their brutal pledge master had the humor, quirks, and twists that make the "CSI" franchise special.
The eighth episode, which revolved around a mobster who had killed 12 people being the most likely suspect in a fatal shooting of a judge in front of a bakery had a classic "CSI" pre-opening credits quip. Gary "Lieutenant Dan" Sinise made the wonderful comment that the suspected killer had reached his baker's dozen.
Like the other "CSI" sets that were released September 25, 2012, the DVD set of "CSI:NY" included some interesting special features. These extras included a look at the series' eighth season, a behind-the-scenes look at filming the Halloween episode, and cast reflections on the season premiere episode that included flashbacks that depicted their characters' actions on the day of the September 11 attacks.
Anyone with thoughts or questions regarding any "CSI" series is encouraged to email me.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
'CSI: MIami' S10: Ending on a Key Note
This review of the recently released DVD set of the 10th and Final Season of "CSI: Miami" is the second in a trilogy of reviews of the sets of the three "CSI" series that were released on September 25. I reviewed "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" S12 a few days ago and will review "CSI: NY" in a few days.
Before sharing my thoughts regarding "CSI: Miami's" 10th season, I want to thank Paramount for including good extras on the DVD set. These include a review of the 10th season and behind-the-scenes look at creating a tornado for an episode.
The "CSI" series tell the tales of dedicated and (generally) photogenic "squints" who catch bad guys by collecting and analyzing forensic evidence.
I am a bit handicapped in reviewing "CSI: Miami" S10 because I only watched a few episodes before viewing 15 of the 19 S10 episodes for this review. However, I did not find this perfectly respectable series particularly compelling or entertaining.
I confess as well that "CSI: Crime Scene Investigations" is geared more to me and my fellow Gen Xers and that "CSI: Miami" is intended for our younger brothers and sisters in the same manner that I prefer "Star Trek: The Next Generation" to the original series.
At the outset, the lack of the anticipated dark witty comment by team leader Horatio Caine, played by David Caruso, at the end of each "CSI: Miami" pre-credits opening segment was disappointing.
I had also understood that Horatio was a coffee junkie, but "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's" newcomer D.B. Russell seemed much more java obsessed than his Miami counterpart.
I additionally did not feel that the city of Miami played a particularly large role in the series. It seemed that San Diego, Malibu, or any other bright sunny ocean side community could have filled the bill. On a related note, having the "CSI: Miami" team fully decked out in business casual wear while conducting surveillance on a bright sunny beach (unintentionally) provided one of the funniest moments of the season.
"CSI: Miami" did do an excellent job with "Law and Order" style "ripped from the headlines" storylines. A multi-episode arc about a horribly botched Fast and Furious style U.S. government program that provided Mexican drug cartels with automatic weapons was one of the season's best. There was no mention of whether Attorney General Eric Holder's fictional counterpart was subject to contempt for his role in the effort.
A more predictable episode had a Jerry Sandusky like tennis coach having a long history of "horsing around" with young boys in the shower. "CSI: Miami" told this story with appropriate sensitivity without the melodrama and had an outcome that many would have liked in Sandusky's case.
The series finale was also one of the season's best and wrapped this up on a nice note. It had the type of interesting twist that makes police procedurals interesting.
I would love to see Horatio visit Las Vegas to help Russell and his team during "CSI's" 13th season. Caruso and Russell portrayor Ted Danson would play nicely off each other.
Anyone kind enough to provide more insight into "CSI: Miami" or just has questions or comments is encouraged to email me. As I would hope that Horatio would say, flamers always get burned.
Before sharing my thoughts regarding "CSI: Miami's" 10th season, I want to thank Paramount for including good extras on the DVD set. These include a review of the 10th season and behind-the-scenes look at creating a tornado for an episode.
The "CSI" series tell the tales of dedicated and (generally) photogenic "squints" who catch bad guys by collecting and analyzing forensic evidence.
I am a bit handicapped in reviewing "CSI: Miami" S10 because I only watched a few episodes before viewing 15 of the 19 S10 episodes for this review. However, I did not find this perfectly respectable series particularly compelling or entertaining.
I confess as well that "CSI: Crime Scene Investigations" is geared more to me and my fellow Gen Xers and that "CSI: Miami" is intended for our younger brothers and sisters in the same manner that I prefer "Star Trek: The Next Generation" to the original series.
At the outset, the lack of the anticipated dark witty comment by team leader Horatio Caine, played by David Caruso, at the end of each "CSI: Miami" pre-credits opening segment was disappointing.
I had also understood that Horatio was a coffee junkie, but "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's" newcomer D.B. Russell seemed much more java obsessed than his Miami counterpart.
I additionally did not feel that the city of Miami played a particularly large role in the series. It seemed that San Diego, Malibu, or any other bright sunny ocean side community could have filled the bill. On a related note, having the "CSI: Miami" team fully decked out in business casual wear while conducting surveillance on a bright sunny beach (unintentionally) provided one of the funniest moments of the season.
"CSI: Miami" did do an excellent job with "Law and Order" style "ripped from the headlines" storylines. A multi-episode arc about a horribly botched Fast and Furious style U.S. government program that provided Mexican drug cartels with automatic weapons was one of the season's best. There was no mention of whether Attorney General Eric Holder's fictional counterpart was subject to contempt for his role in the effort.
A more predictable episode had a Jerry Sandusky like tennis coach having a long history of "horsing around" with young boys in the shower. "CSI: Miami" told this story with appropriate sensitivity without the melodrama and had an outcome that many would have liked in Sandusky's case.
The series finale was also one of the season's best and wrapped this up on a nice note. It had the type of interesting twist that makes police procedurals interesting.
I would love to see Horatio visit Las Vegas to help Russell and his team during "CSI's" 13th season. Caruso and Russell portrayor Ted Danson would play nicely off each other.
Anyone kind enough to provide more insight into "CSI: Miami" or just has questions or comments is encouraged to email me. As I would hope that Horatio would say, flamers always get burned.
Monday, September 24, 2012
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Season 12 Rates A Weighted 10
The best thing that can be said about the excellent DVD set of the very good twelfth season of the police procedural series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigations" is that it prompted adding the upcoming thirteenth season to my Tivo's Season Pass list.
This review of that set is the first in a trilogy of the DVD sets of the most recent seasons of the three "CSI" series. Each set is being released on September 25, 2012.
Please look for a review of "CSI: Miami's" tenth and final season later this week and a review of "CSI: NY" S8 early next week.
I was a loyal CSI fan during the Grissom years and LOVED the era of series veteran Greg Sanders being a hilariously goofy lab rat. I deserted the ship when Laurence Fishburne's Ray Langston failed to grab me.
Langston simply was not quirky enough to interest me and lacked the same rapport with the cast that William Petersen achieved as Grissom.
Being won over while watching the DVDs, all of which I viewed over a five-day period, of the twelfth season makes me want to revisit the Langston years.
I really really wanted to like "CSI" again when Ted Danson, who I loved as "Cheer's" Sam Malone, came on board at the beginning of the twelfth season. Unfortunately, the writers made the (correctable) mistake of making Danson's D.B. "Moonbeam" Russell too odd right in the opening scene of his first episode. Throwing in a somewhat complex murder aboard an inter-casino tram only added to the negativity that prompted deleting both that episode and my season pass halfway through the season premiere.
I am genuinely glad that the DVD release provided an opportunity for a second chance to watch this season.
The "CSI" writers quickly toned down Russell's oddities to interesting quirks and did a better job crafting the few of the season's twenty-two episodes that required a scorecard to keep the victims and/or suspects straight.
I also liked the touch of adding the oft-mentioned but rarely seen character of Russell's wife. This was a nice homage to Norm Peterson's wife Vera on "Cheers."
S12 is notable as well for being the last one for Marg Helgenberger's Catherine Willows, who was with the show from the start. The copious special features on the DVD set include Helgenberger's reflections on her 12 years in the role. I look forward to watching it after catching up with the other "CSI" DVD sets.
The writers did a good job with Helgenberger's anticipated departure. Earlier episodes in the season hinted at it and other indications that Willows' story would end on a sappy modern fairy tale note turned out to be inaccurate.
Having "Cheers'" Kirstie Alley replace Helgenberger would have been a nice touch; bringing in Elisabeth Shue as a Dexter-style blood splatter expert with a slowly revealed history with Russell overall worked well.
Shue did a good job as Julie Finlay, but suddenly having blood splatter play a significant role in many cases after she came on board was somewhat forced.
The elements described above and other aspects of "CSI" S12 earned it a weighted, rather than outright, 10 because it was not perfect but was very good on its own merits and deserved an aged-based handicap. This ranking also reflected that this season would have made an excellent final season if, as speculated, "CSI" was not renewed for the upcoming thirteenth season.
Each S12 episode held my interest and many had interesting twists. Even the few "Scooby Doo" style ones in which it was obvious that the least obvious suspect was guilty were good.
The "Tressed to Kill" episode that involved a serial killer with a real retro sensibility was one of the more suspenseful and creative of the season; a multi-story arc involving the head of a Blackwater-style private security firm maintained a good pace; and separate episodes about robbers targeting weddings and a murder in a mob museum tied in nicely with the series' Las Vegas setting.
The only disappointments, which were excusably after well over 200 episodes, were the absences of bodies located in highly improbable locations or truly baffling evidence found. A middle-aged hunter found with grossly wrinkled skin came the closest and included a nice payoff regarding the cause of that condition.
Former "Charlie's Angels" star Jaclyn Smith earned the most noteworthy guest star of the season award. She did an awesome job as the flighty and doting mother of highly disliked lab rat David Hodges.
Current dreamy teen heartthrob Justin Bieber playing against type in "CSI's" eleventh season apparently inspired having dreamy former teen heartthrob Jesse McCartney play a 20-something rich boy with Daddy issues.
The only real weak point of the season was an improbable plot that involved a suspect leaving the ultimate victim alone for just over fifteen minutes and staying close by but remaining oblivious during a relatively elaborate staged murder.
The bottom line is that "CSI" received a good makeover in its twelfth season and deserves a second look. The good treatment of the episodes and the rare inclusion of multiple interesting features in a twelfth season set make the DVD collection worth buying.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "CSI" in general or goofy Greg in particular is encouraged to email me.
This review of that set is the first in a trilogy of the DVD sets of the most recent seasons of the three "CSI" series. Each set is being released on September 25, 2012.
Please look for a review of "CSI: Miami's" tenth and final season later this week and a review of "CSI: NY" S8 early next week.
I was a loyal CSI fan during the Grissom years and LOVED the era of series veteran Greg Sanders being a hilariously goofy lab rat. I deserted the ship when Laurence Fishburne's Ray Langston failed to grab me.
Langston simply was not quirky enough to interest me and lacked the same rapport with the cast that William Petersen achieved as Grissom.
Being won over while watching the DVDs, all of which I viewed over a five-day period, of the twelfth season makes me want to revisit the Langston years.
I really really wanted to like "CSI" again when Ted Danson, who I loved as "Cheer's" Sam Malone, came on board at the beginning of the twelfth season. Unfortunately, the writers made the (correctable) mistake of making Danson's D.B. "Moonbeam" Russell too odd right in the opening scene of his first episode. Throwing in a somewhat complex murder aboard an inter-casino tram only added to the negativity that prompted deleting both that episode and my season pass halfway through the season premiere.
I am genuinely glad that the DVD release provided an opportunity for a second chance to watch this season.
The "CSI" writers quickly toned down Russell's oddities to interesting quirks and did a better job crafting the few of the season's twenty-two episodes that required a scorecard to keep the victims and/or suspects straight.
I also liked the touch of adding the oft-mentioned but rarely seen character of Russell's wife. This was a nice homage to Norm Peterson's wife Vera on "Cheers."
S12 is notable as well for being the last one for Marg Helgenberger's Catherine Willows, who was with the show from the start. The copious special features on the DVD set include Helgenberger's reflections on her 12 years in the role. I look forward to watching it after catching up with the other "CSI" DVD sets.
The writers did a good job with Helgenberger's anticipated departure. Earlier episodes in the season hinted at it and other indications that Willows' story would end on a sappy modern fairy tale note turned out to be inaccurate.
Having "Cheers'" Kirstie Alley replace Helgenberger would have been a nice touch; bringing in Elisabeth Shue as a Dexter-style blood splatter expert with a slowly revealed history with Russell overall worked well.
Shue did a good job as Julie Finlay, but suddenly having blood splatter play a significant role in many cases after she came on board was somewhat forced.
The elements described above and other aspects of "CSI" S12 earned it a weighted, rather than outright, 10 because it was not perfect but was very good on its own merits and deserved an aged-based handicap. This ranking also reflected that this season would have made an excellent final season if, as speculated, "CSI" was not renewed for the upcoming thirteenth season.
Each S12 episode held my interest and many had interesting twists. Even the few "Scooby Doo" style ones in which it was obvious that the least obvious suspect was guilty were good.
The "Tressed to Kill" episode that involved a serial killer with a real retro sensibility was one of the more suspenseful and creative of the season; a multi-story arc involving the head of a Blackwater-style private security firm maintained a good pace; and separate episodes about robbers targeting weddings and a murder in a mob museum tied in nicely with the series' Las Vegas setting.
The only disappointments, which were excusably after well over 200 episodes, were the absences of bodies located in highly improbable locations or truly baffling evidence found. A middle-aged hunter found with grossly wrinkled skin came the closest and included a nice payoff regarding the cause of that condition.
Former "Charlie's Angels" star Jaclyn Smith earned the most noteworthy guest star of the season award. She did an awesome job as the flighty and doting mother of highly disliked lab rat David Hodges.
Current dreamy teen heartthrob Justin Bieber playing against type in "CSI's" eleventh season apparently inspired having dreamy former teen heartthrob Jesse McCartney play a 20-something rich boy with Daddy issues.
The only real weak point of the season was an improbable plot that involved a suspect leaving the ultimate victim alone for just over fifteen minutes and staying close by but remaining oblivious during a relatively elaborate staged murder.
The bottom line is that "CSI" received a good makeover in its twelfth season and deserves a second look. The good treatment of the episodes and the rare inclusion of multiple interesting features in a twelfth season set make the DVD collection worth buying.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "CSI" in general or goofy Greg in particular is encouraged to email me.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
'The Lieutenant:' Roddenberry's 'Before They Were Stars' Series
Warner Archives' recent release of the "Must Buy" two volume DVD set of "Star Trek" creator and god Gene Roddenberry's first television series the 1963-1964 drama/quasi-anthology series "The Lieutenant" is another example of how Archives is slowly catching up with the awesome Shout Factory as the provider of wonderful (and sometimes obscure) TV shows.
The WB Shop's description of "The Lieutenant" as a "A young Marine Corp lieutenant struggles to carry out his duties while under the guidance of a by-the-book captain during cold war peacetime" summarizes the show very well.
It is worth mentioning that this overall serious series has a hilarious moment in which a general who is leading the titular lieutenant around the Pentagon comments that they are entering the only place in Washington where every man knows what he is doing. The next shot shows that the officers entered a restroom.
Fans of classic TV can also consider "The Lieutenant" a mash-up of "Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C." and "Star Trek."
Like Enterprise Captain James Tiberius Kirk, Marine Lieutenant William Tiberius (no joke) Rice, who is played by "2001: A Space Odyssey's" Gary Lockwood, is a human mullet in that he is all business in front and all party in the back. Both intelligent and dedicated military officers enjoy the ladies and latent homoerotic bonding with fellow officers. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Kirk and Rice were also Starfleet's and the Marine's "go guy" when the Klingons or other hostile aliens or an earth-bound challenge required a tough officer with a cool head and dedication to his federation or country. The similarity continued with Kirk being from Iowa and only working in outer space and Rice being from Indiana and only working at the California Marine base Camp Pendleton.
While Kirk commanded Starfleet's flagship, Rice commanded a platoon of infantry soldiers. Many episodes required that both men step out of that role to serve as a diplomat/goodwill ambassador or investigate an internal or external threat to good order.
Additionally, both Kirk's William Shatner and Rice's Lockwood were well-known for egos that greatly exceeded their looks and abilities. Apparently Larry Hagman had already committed to playing Air Force Captain (later Major) on "I Dream of Jeannie."
Rice and Kirk additionally also often faced the same dilemma when doing the right thing conflicted with the Prime Directive, which prohibited interfering with a planet's domestic policies, or other regulations. The fact that the bad guy on both series often was not really evil complicated things and was another reason that Gene Roddenberry is still so revered nearly 50 years after "The Lieutenant" premiered. He is at the top of my list of celebrities with whom I would have enjoyed sharing a Romulan ale.
An early episode of "The Lieutenant" titled "The Proud and the Angry" illustrates the above concepts well and also channels many elements of "Pyle" and the novel/film "The Great Santini." The plot has Rice going undercover as a recruit to investigate claims that a drill sergeant is brutalizing the marines that he is training.
The drill sergeant setting high standards on the obstacle course, repeatedly shouting "I can't hear you," and yelling at recruits to stop smiling is Pyle's Sergeant Carter on the worst day of his life.
As a side note, an unrecognizable Rip Torn plays "The Lieutenant's" sergeant. This character is light years in appearance and demeanor from Artie on "The Larry Sanders Show" and Agent Zed on "Men in Black."
"Angry" requires Rice, and "The Lieutenant's" audience, to decide how tough is too tough. A directly referenced element of this is the fact that the newly minted marines will likely need to survive in Vietnam. Further, the sergeant lacks ill intent and has trouble not bringing his work home with him.
Roddenberry also addresses racism in "The Lieutenant" before presenting the highly controversial interracial kiss in "Star Trek." "The Lieutenant's" episode "To Set it Right," which the DVD sets includes but Wikipedia reported never aired during the series' network run, depicts the racism that a black marine faced. Nichelle Nichols, whose Uhara locked lips with Kirk in the aforementioned kiss, played the marine's fiancee.
"The Lieutenant" also has some of the range in tone that distinguished "Star Trek." It did not go from an invasion of small furry creatures to godlike aliens threatening utter destruction. However, the first episode has the typically charming Bill Bixby as a new marine conning his way out of unpleasant assignments and the final episode has Rice battling an enemy army in a Southeast Asia jungle after his helicopter is shot down.
The DVD set includes the extended version of the final episode that was released in movie theaters as a film. See a topless sexually aggressive woman and Rice using the term "bitch" in that 1964 movie based on a television series is surprising.
These episodes (and many others) illustrate many elements that made the series, and "Star Trek," so good but also contributed to "The Lieutenant" not lasting beyond one season. It's portrayal of all elements of military life is very consistent with my limited knowledge of that element of American society, the issues described above and many others that include false accusations of sexual assault and a subordinate taking advantage of a decades-long friendship are relevant today, and the Vietnam War was on everyone's mind.
One problem was that the American public did not want the Vietnam War invading their entertainment television, particularly during "The Lieutenant's" Saturday night time slot. They may not also have been quite ready to see accurate depictions of racism or be reminded that school teachers have some similarities to marines in being overworked and underpaid while being held to very high moral standards.
"The Lieutenant" probably would have done better in the '70s, particularly if it had followed Roddenberry's initial limited success with "Star Trek."
Anyone with thoughts regarding "The Lieutenant," or "Star Trek" jokes that do not involve Uranus, is welcome to email me. Live long and prosper.
The WB Shop's description of "The Lieutenant" as a "A young Marine Corp lieutenant struggles to carry out his duties while under the guidance of a by-the-book captain during cold war peacetime" summarizes the show very well.
It is worth mentioning that this overall serious series has a hilarious moment in which a general who is leading the titular lieutenant around the Pentagon comments that they are entering the only place in Washington where every man knows what he is doing. The next shot shows that the officers entered a restroom.
Fans of classic TV can also consider "The Lieutenant" a mash-up of "Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C." and "Star Trek."
Like Enterprise Captain James Tiberius Kirk, Marine Lieutenant William Tiberius (no joke) Rice, who is played by "2001: A Space Odyssey's" Gary Lockwood, is a human mullet in that he is all business in front and all party in the back. Both intelligent and dedicated military officers enjoy the ladies and latent homoerotic bonding with fellow officers. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Kirk and Rice were also Starfleet's and the Marine's "go guy" when the Klingons or other hostile aliens or an earth-bound challenge required a tough officer with a cool head and dedication to his federation or country. The similarity continued with Kirk being from Iowa and only working in outer space and Rice being from Indiana and only working at the California Marine base Camp Pendleton.
While Kirk commanded Starfleet's flagship, Rice commanded a platoon of infantry soldiers. Many episodes required that both men step out of that role to serve as a diplomat/goodwill ambassador or investigate an internal or external threat to good order.
Additionally, both Kirk's William Shatner and Rice's Lockwood were well-known for egos that greatly exceeded their looks and abilities. Apparently Larry Hagman had already committed to playing Air Force Captain (later Major) on "I Dream of Jeannie."
Rice and Kirk additionally also often faced the same dilemma when doing the right thing conflicted with the Prime Directive, which prohibited interfering with a planet's domestic policies, or other regulations. The fact that the bad guy on both series often was not really evil complicated things and was another reason that Gene Roddenberry is still so revered nearly 50 years after "The Lieutenant" premiered. He is at the top of my list of celebrities with whom I would have enjoyed sharing a Romulan ale.
An early episode of "The Lieutenant" titled "The Proud and the Angry" illustrates the above concepts well and also channels many elements of "Pyle" and the novel/film "The Great Santini." The plot has Rice going undercover as a recruit to investigate claims that a drill sergeant is brutalizing the marines that he is training.
The drill sergeant setting high standards on the obstacle course, repeatedly shouting "I can't hear you," and yelling at recruits to stop smiling is Pyle's Sergeant Carter on the worst day of his life.
As a side note, an unrecognizable Rip Torn plays "The Lieutenant's" sergeant. This character is light years in appearance and demeanor from Artie on "The Larry Sanders Show" and Agent Zed on "Men in Black."
"Angry" requires Rice, and "The Lieutenant's" audience, to decide how tough is too tough. A directly referenced element of this is the fact that the newly minted marines will likely need to survive in Vietnam. Further, the sergeant lacks ill intent and has trouble not bringing his work home with him.
Roddenberry also addresses racism in "The Lieutenant" before presenting the highly controversial interracial kiss in "Star Trek." "The Lieutenant's" episode "To Set it Right," which the DVD sets includes but Wikipedia reported never aired during the series' network run, depicts the racism that a black marine faced. Nichelle Nichols, whose Uhara locked lips with Kirk in the aforementioned kiss, played the marine's fiancee.
"The Lieutenant" also has some of the range in tone that distinguished "Star Trek." It did not go from an invasion of small furry creatures to godlike aliens threatening utter destruction. However, the first episode has the typically charming Bill Bixby as a new marine conning his way out of unpleasant assignments and the final episode has Rice battling an enemy army in a Southeast Asia jungle after his helicopter is shot down.
The DVD set includes the extended version of the final episode that was released in movie theaters as a film. See a topless sexually aggressive woman and Rice using the term "bitch" in that 1964 movie based on a television series is surprising.
These episodes (and many others) illustrate many elements that made the series, and "Star Trek," so good but also contributed to "The Lieutenant" not lasting beyond one season. It's portrayal of all elements of military life is very consistent with my limited knowledge of that element of American society, the issues described above and many others that include false accusations of sexual assault and a subordinate taking advantage of a decades-long friendship are relevant today, and the Vietnam War was on everyone's mind.
One problem was that the American public did not want the Vietnam War invading their entertainment television, particularly during "The Lieutenant's" Saturday night time slot. They may not also have been quite ready to see accurate depictions of racism or be reminded that school teachers have some similarities to marines in being overworked and underpaid while being held to very high moral standards.
"The Lieutenant" probably would have done better in the '70s, particularly if it had followed Roddenberry's initial limited success with "Star Trek."
Anyone with thoughts regarding "The Lieutenant," or "Star Trek" jokes that do not involve Uranus, is welcome to email me. Live long and prosper.
Monday, August 13, 2012
'The Forsyte Saga:' The Carringtons of 'Downton Abbey'
American fans of good period British dramas arguably would have been deprived of current PBS "Masterpiece Theater" megahit "Downton Abbey" if the 2003-2004 "Masterpiece Theater" powerhouse "The Forsyte Saga" had not been such a hit. A poll showed that "Forsyte" was the number two favorite of PBS viewers at the time.
Acorn Media, which is to high-quality classic British television what Shout Factory is to comparable classic American programs, will release both series, my people call them seasons, of the mid-Victorian to early Modern Era "Forsyte" in one DVD collection on August 14, 2012. As a bonus, the collection includes the original UK versions of this 2002-2003 production.
This "Forsyte" was a remake of the classic 1960s version of that epic, which was also a huge "Masterpiece Theater" hit. Fresh memories of the not-so-amazing "The Amazing Spider-Man" and less recent memories of bombs such as the "Bewitched" movie had me in a cynical frame of mind regarding "Forsyte."
I confess as well that the frantic melodramatic pace and bombardment of numerous characters in the opening scenes of the first episode of "Forsyte" added to my skepticism. However, the series won me over within 15 minutes and never lost me.
The action quickly slowed to an appropriate pace for a costume drama, and there were several moments of wonderful humor. My favorite had an elder Forsyte ranting on and on about the ruthlessness of debt collectors who had descended on his daughter's household only to quickly remark that his firm used the same collectors.
The first series revolved around the fortunes and (mostly lost) loves of the 30-something Forsyte generation who could be considered the equivalents of JFK and his siblings minus the political activity and touch football.
The many inter-class romances of the Forsytes, who often recycled significant others among themselves, added a touch of 80s primetime soap "Dynasty," which had its own Forsythe, to the "Downton Abbey" manor house vibe of "Forsyte."
However, the comparison with "Dynasty" ends there. The quality of the acting, writing, and directing of "Forsyte" is much more comparable to "Downton Abbey" than "Dynasty."
Seeing Damian Lewis, who currently plays "Homeland's" earnest but tortured Marine Nicholas Brody, playing arrogant and largely inadequate Soames Forsyte is great fun. The show also has personal favorite Rupert Graves doing a great job as Soames' cousin (and governess romancer) Jolyon Forsyte.
The second series of Forstye, which the Acorn DVD set includes, has the offspring of Soames' and Jolyon's generation contending with their heritage and seeking their own happiness in the era of manor houses giving way to a more egalitarian and urban-based society.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Forsyte" is encouraged to email me.
Acorn Media, which is to high-quality classic British television what Shout Factory is to comparable classic American programs, will release both series, my people call them seasons, of the mid-Victorian to early Modern Era "Forsyte" in one DVD collection on August 14, 2012. As a bonus, the collection includes the original UK versions of this 2002-2003 production.
This "Forsyte" was a remake of the classic 1960s version of that epic, which was also a huge "Masterpiece Theater" hit. Fresh memories of the not-so-amazing "The Amazing Spider-Man" and less recent memories of bombs such as the "Bewitched" movie had me in a cynical frame of mind regarding "Forsyte."
I confess as well that the frantic melodramatic pace and bombardment of numerous characters in the opening scenes of the first episode of "Forsyte" added to my skepticism. However, the series won me over within 15 minutes and never lost me.
The action quickly slowed to an appropriate pace for a costume drama, and there were several moments of wonderful humor. My favorite had an elder Forsyte ranting on and on about the ruthlessness of debt collectors who had descended on his daughter's household only to quickly remark that his firm used the same collectors.
The first series revolved around the fortunes and (mostly lost) loves of the 30-something Forsyte generation who could be considered the equivalents of JFK and his siblings minus the political activity and touch football.
The many inter-class romances of the Forsytes, who often recycled significant others among themselves, added a touch of 80s primetime soap "Dynasty," which had its own Forsythe, to the "Downton Abbey" manor house vibe of "Forsyte."
However, the comparison with "Dynasty" ends there. The quality of the acting, writing, and directing of "Forsyte" is much more comparable to "Downton Abbey" than "Dynasty."
Seeing Damian Lewis, who currently plays "Homeland's" earnest but tortured Marine Nicholas Brody, playing arrogant and largely inadequate Soames Forsyte is great fun. The show also has personal favorite Rupert Graves doing a great job as Soames' cousin (and governess romancer) Jolyon Forsyte.
The second series of Forstye, which the Acorn DVD set includes, has the offspring of Soames' and Jolyon's generation contending with their heritage and seeking their own happiness in the era of manor houses giving way to a more egalitarian and urban-based society.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Forsyte" is encouraged to email me.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
'Are You Being Served' Celebrates 40th Anniversary
A trifecta of
anniversaries makes 2012 the year of the Brit. The Olympics returned to London
after 64 years, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated 60 years of ruling the British
Empire, and the classic Britcom (and
public television mainstay) “Are You Being Served” premiered 40 years ago this
September.
The vital statistics
are that “Served” aired 69 episodes over 10 series (my people call them
seasons), spawned a movie and a spin-off series, and likely will continue
airing on public television for the next 40 years.
“Served” had the same
perfect recipe that transformed the similar ‘70s workplace comedy “The Mary
Tyler Show” into a classic that is still hilarious several decades later. Both
shows had excellent writing, a talented ensemble that clearly enjoyed
performing together, and actors who deeply understood their characters.
John Inman and Molly
Sugden owned the parts of the effervescent and flamboyant Mr. Humphries and the
blustery Mrs. Slocombe as much as Ted Knight and Ed Asner owned the roles of buffoonish
anchorman Ted Baxter and gruff news producer Lou Grant. Also, thinking of
Harold Bennett’s dirty old man Young Mr. Grace evokes as much of a smile as
thinking of Moore’s spunky Mary Richards.
“Served” substituted “Moore’s”
WJM newsroom for the sales floor of London’s Grace Brothers department store.
“Served” also created slightly more of an edge by working amusing and gentle
conflict directly into the program’s underlying concepts.
The gentlemen’s and
ladies’ department battled for space in their shared environment, the clerks in
both departments competed for commissioned sales, and employees on every tier
conflicted with their immediate supervisors.
Much of the humor
revolved around how each distinct character responded to the conflict. One
could expect Mrs. Slocombe to utter the phrase “I am unanimous in that” in
response to virtually every harsh decision from above or other “mistreatment”
around which an episode revolved. Mr. Humphries would keep his toothy grin
intact. Floor overseer Captain Peacock would defend his dignity and try to
maintain discipline, and junior men’s clerk Mr. Lucas would play the role of
the bratty little brother.
The aforementioned
writing and acting were what kept that formula entertaining for an entire
decade and has had me and my friends asking each other “are you free” for much
longer.
Friday, August 3, 2012
2012 Summer Olympics Show Value of International DVD Players
The 2012 Summer Olympics, and a dearth of new TV on DVD releases, prompted thoughts on the numerous virtues of multi-region DVDs players. Buying one a few years ago is one of my best ever investments.
My most recent purchase of a DVD series from across the pond is the first series, my people call them seasons, of the Britcom "Twenty Twelve" about the challenges of organizing said 2012 Summer Olympics. This one stars "Downton Abbey's" Hugh Bonneville as the UK's answer to Mitt Romney sans enchanted undergarments.
Readers who followed me from my stints at other sites know that I believe that British programs kick the arse of what America offers. This is largely due to each British series, my people call them seasons, having six episodes compare to 20-22 episodes of most American offerings.
A genuinely multi-region DVD player allows watching Region 1 DVDs from the US and Region 2 DVDs from the United Kingdom, as well as DVDS from any other place in the world, in the comfort of your own living room.
I more than made up the $70 for my Pioneer DV-120K with my first purchase from Amazon.Co.UK.
I am a HUGE fan of the modern Doctor Who series but balked at paying the $45 or more per series. I paid roughly $60 US, including shipping, for a truly great Region 2 box set of the first four series of this era of "Doctor Who." That order included a $45 set of the first three series of the "Who" companion series "Torchwood."
I subsequently have bought numerous other TV on DVD sets of British shows for at least one-half, again including shipping, of what they cost in the US. A recent example is buying series two of "Sherlock" for roughly $8 US. This set of three episodes costs around $20 in the US.
I additionally have bought many UK series that I do not believe have been shown in the US and have not been released on DVD here. One of the best examples is a hilarious hour-long dramedy "Monday Monday" about the administrative staff of a grocery store chain that relocate to a new area. This workplace comedy has the same stereotypes as the US version of "The Office" but is a much better and quirkier show.
Another of the many great UK programs that have not aired in the US is "FM." This one, which is similar to "WKRP in Cincinnati" and the lesser-known Carl Reiner '60s sitcom "Good Morning World," depicts the world of a group of "wild and crazy" British DJs.
"FM" stars "IT Crowd's" highly talented and wonderfully odd Chris O'Dowd. The program also introduced me to the adorable and hilarious British comedian Kevin Bishop.
Other examples of great shows to which I have been exposed are the Jennifer "Absolutely Fabulous" Saunders and Dawn "Vicar of Dibley" French small-town sitcom "Wild West," and the "It's Garry Shandling's Show" clone "Sean's Show."
The virtues of being able to watch Region 2 DVDs extends beyond being good access to great British shows. Some DVD sets of US shows are less expensive there, and I have discovered great bargains on DVD releases of US shows that have never come out here.
My finds have included well-priced Region 2 sets of the '90s sitcoms "Caroline in the City" and "Cybill." It seems that only the first two seasons of "Caroline" were released in the US and only a 13-episode "best of" set of "Cybill" was released.
The rest of this post is intended for readers who I convinced to buy a multi-region DVD player. This portion will discuss the homework that I did in avoiding pitfalls experienced by others who made the same purchase.
I read numerous reports of folks who experienced frustration regarding programming their multi-region DVD players to play the desired discs and separately finding an adapter for that player.
I cannot stress enough that I bought my Pioneer DV-120K a few years ago and cannot comment regarding whether anything has changed in the interim. My player immediately played my Region 1 and Region 2 discs (I have not tried DVDs from any other region.) just fine.
My player also included an adapter that perfectly fit in my outlet. The only minor annoyance regarding that is that the player's plug falls out of the adapter somewhat easily if the cord is jostled. That has only happened a few times and not for several months.
The other problem about which I read online was that manufacturers would not honor any warranty for multi-region DVD players. I understand that that was because DVD players became multi-region by having resellers open them up and make adjustments to allow that benefit.
I bought my Pioneer player from World-Import.com because they offer a warranty, have a customer-service line, and have a brick-and-mortar location. My DVD player has never required service, so I cannot remark on the quality of any necessary repair.
Every dealing that I have had with World-Import.com suggests that they would honor the warranty and do a good job.
I am eager to hear from anyone else with a multi-region DVD player or who buys one after reading this posting. Please also feel free to email any questions or concerns regarding this.
My most recent purchase of a DVD series from across the pond is the first series, my people call them seasons, of the Britcom "Twenty Twelve" about the challenges of organizing said 2012 Summer Olympics. This one stars "Downton Abbey's" Hugh Bonneville as the UK's answer to Mitt Romney sans enchanted undergarments.
Readers who followed me from my stints at other sites know that I believe that British programs kick the arse of what America offers. This is largely due to each British series, my people call them seasons, having six episodes compare to 20-22 episodes of most American offerings.
A genuinely multi-region DVD player allows watching Region 1 DVDs from the US and Region 2 DVDs from the United Kingdom, as well as DVDS from any other place in the world, in the comfort of your own living room.
I more than made up the $70 for my Pioneer DV-120K with my first purchase from Amazon.Co.UK.
I am a HUGE fan of the modern Doctor Who series but balked at paying the $45 or more per series. I paid roughly $60 US, including shipping, for a truly great Region 2 box set of the first four series of this era of "Doctor Who." That order included a $45 set of the first three series of the "Who" companion series "Torchwood."
I subsequently have bought numerous other TV on DVD sets of British shows for at least one-half, again including shipping, of what they cost in the US. A recent example is buying series two of "Sherlock" for roughly $8 US. This set of three episodes costs around $20 in the US.
I additionally have bought many UK series that I do not believe have been shown in the US and have not been released on DVD here. One of the best examples is a hilarious hour-long dramedy "Monday Monday" about the administrative staff of a grocery store chain that relocate to a new area. This workplace comedy has the same stereotypes as the US version of "The Office" but is a much better and quirkier show.
Another of the many great UK programs that have not aired in the US is "FM." This one, which is similar to "WKRP in Cincinnati" and the lesser-known Carl Reiner '60s sitcom "Good Morning World," depicts the world of a group of "wild and crazy" British DJs.
"FM" stars "IT Crowd's" highly talented and wonderfully odd Chris O'Dowd. The program also introduced me to the adorable and hilarious British comedian Kevin Bishop.
Other examples of great shows to which I have been exposed are the Jennifer "Absolutely Fabulous" Saunders and Dawn "Vicar of Dibley" French small-town sitcom "Wild West," and the "It's Garry Shandling's Show" clone "Sean's Show."
The virtues of being able to watch Region 2 DVDs extends beyond being good access to great British shows. Some DVD sets of US shows are less expensive there, and I have discovered great bargains on DVD releases of US shows that have never come out here.
My finds have included well-priced Region 2 sets of the '90s sitcoms "Caroline in the City" and "Cybill." It seems that only the first two seasons of "Caroline" were released in the US and only a 13-episode "best of" set of "Cybill" was released.
The rest of this post is intended for readers who I convinced to buy a multi-region DVD player. This portion will discuss the homework that I did in avoiding pitfalls experienced by others who made the same purchase.
I read numerous reports of folks who experienced frustration regarding programming their multi-region DVD players to play the desired discs and separately finding an adapter for that player.
I cannot stress enough that I bought my Pioneer DV-120K a few years ago and cannot comment regarding whether anything has changed in the interim. My player immediately played my Region 1 and Region 2 discs (I have not tried DVDs from any other region.) just fine.
My player also included an adapter that perfectly fit in my outlet. The only minor annoyance regarding that is that the player's plug falls out of the adapter somewhat easily if the cord is jostled. That has only happened a few times and not for several months.
The other problem about which I read online was that manufacturers would not honor any warranty for multi-region DVD players. I understand that that was because DVD players became multi-region by having resellers open them up and make adjustments to allow that benefit.
I bought my Pioneer player from World-Import.com because they offer a warranty, have a customer-service line, and have a brick-and-mortar location. My DVD player has never required service, so I cannot remark on the quality of any necessary repair.
Every dealing that I have had with World-Import.com suggests that they would honor the warranty and do a good job.
I am eager to hear from anyone else with a multi-region DVD player or who buys one after reading this posting. Please also feel free to email any questions or concerns regarding this.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
'Magic Mike:' The Decline and Fall of Soderbergh
My incredible disappointment regarding summer blockbuster "Magic Mike" was intense enough to deviate from reviewing classic sitcoms and great old cartoons to provide a public service warning about the completely unmet potential of this film.
I admit that stating that I went to the film because I have been a HUGE Steven Soderbergh fan since he directed "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," because the New York Times gave "Magic Mike" a better-than-expected review, and because the prospect of sitting in an air-conditioned theater watching what I expected would be well-choreographed dance numbers to upbeat music from my youth was appealing can be compared to a man asserting that he reads Playboy for the articles.
Further, I did not need to go to a movie theater if I wanted to see manscaped attractive twinks thrust their moneymakers; the Internet has plenty of videos of guys who fill out g-strings better than Channing Tatum and the rest of the "Mike" cast.
The "Magic Mike" dance routines were true junk male in both senses of that term because their appeal was limited and merely a scam to most of us. Further, the packages did not fill the envelopes particularly well.
I also want to mention that it is sad that it seems that most men who, like myself, go to this film by themselves feel compelled to sit in the back row as if they were at a '70s era Times Square porn theater.
Living in the second decade of the 21st century, men have no reason for any insecurity about even perceptions regarding their sexuality. I sat center row center eating my contraband turkey sandwich and guzzling my gazillion-ounce Diet Coke, which will also soon be contraband in New York City, while stuffing my grocery bag sized of lukewarm popcorn coated with vegetable oil down my pie hole.
On a related note, ogling quarterbacks Tom Brady or the Peyton brothers every weekend, crying into your beer when your "boyfriend" on your baseball team is traded, and missing work to mourn a super bowl loss is far more gay than seeing a movie about 20 and 30-something men who realize that showing off their wares to a crowd of horny sorority girls and desperate housewives is a good way to keep the fridge stocked with Bud.
Getting down to business, Tatum had the looks, body, and charm to play a male stripper. He simply lacked the talent to star in what was intended to be an honest look at the world of men in that "profession."
I never have, and never will, seen a "Twilight" movie but wonder if one of the boys from that series would have done a better job.
First, I did not buy Tatum's 30 year-old character with six years of stripping experience as the Yoda of the group and the mentor of the 19 year-old "kid" played by Alex Pettyfer. He, and Tatum, simply lacked the intelligence and hard knocks to pull it off.
Mike merely seemed like a decent middle-class kid who realized that utilizing his good looks and rockin' bod were the fastest way to raise the money needed to start his furniture design business. His recognition that he did not want to be a pathetic 40 year-old stripper like the sleazy club owner played by the perpetually bare-chested and insufferable Matthew McConaughy was one of the rare real moments in the film.
Additionally, we learn very little about any of the characters. Mike is very one-dimensional, and we never learn why the kid is living with his understanding older sister or really why she feels the need to be strict with him.
Every other character, including the usually much more appealing Matt Bomer of "White Collar," is little more than scenery for our modern-day Butch and Sundance who literally jump into the abyss together.
The shame is that Soderbergh's past work shows that he easily could have made this film much better. The unofficial tagline could have been "Come for the six packs and hot naked butts, stay for the compelling drama."
A bromance version of "A Star is Bared" or a more homoerotic take of "All About Steve" would have been soooo much better. These approaches would have had added substance to the elements of the Kid giving into the easy money, casual sex, and drugs of the world of male stripping while he pushed the older Mike out the spotlight.
Despite the incredible risk to his career, it also would have been great to see the dreamy Justin Bieber show up at the end to remind the Kid that someone younger and cuter is always waiting in the wings. "Baby, baby, baby" indeed.
I imagine that many readers will have their own thoughts regarding my take on "Magic Mike" and the latent homoerotic thoughts of sports fans. Please feel free to email me.
My blanket responses to unduly hostile messages are "I'm rubber and you're glue; what you say bounces off me and sticks to you." and "I know you are, but what am I?"
I admit that stating that I went to the film because I have been a HUGE Steven Soderbergh fan since he directed "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," because the New York Times gave "Magic Mike" a better-than-expected review, and because the prospect of sitting in an air-conditioned theater watching what I expected would be well-choreographed dance numbers to upbeat music from my youth was appealing can be compared to a man asserting that he reads Playboy for the articles.
Further, I did not need to go to a movie theater if I wanted to see manscaped attractive twinks thrust their moneymakers; the Internet has plenty of videos of guys who fill out g-strings better than Channing Tatum and the rest of the "Mike" cast.
The "Magic Mike" dance routines were true junk male in both senses of that term because their appeal was limited and merely a scam to most of us. Further, the packages did not fill the envelopes particularly well.
I also want to mention that it is sad that it seems that most men who, like myself, go to this film by themselves feel compelled to sit in the back row as if they were at a '70s era Times Square porn theater.
Living in the second decade of the 21st century, men have no reason for any insecurity about even perceptions regarding their sexuality. I sat center row center eating my contraband turkey sandwich and guzzling my gazillion-ounce Diet Coke, which will also soon be contraband in New York City, while stuffing my grocery bag sized of lukewarm popcorn coated with vegetable oil down my pie hole.
On a related note, ogling quarterbacks Tom Brady or the Peyton brothers every weekend, crying into your beer when your "boyfriend" on your baseball team is traded, and missing work to mourn a super bowl loss is far more gay than seeing a movie about 20 and 30-something men who realize that showing off their wares to a crowd of horny sorority girls and desperate housewives is a good way to keep the fridge stocked with Bud.
Getting down to business, Tatum had the looks, body, and charm to play a male stripper. He simply lacked the talent to star in what was intended to be an honest look at the world of men in that "profession."
I never have, and never will, seen a "Twilight" movie but wonder if one of the boys from that series would have done a better job.
First, I did not buy Tatum's 30 year-old character with six years of stripping experience as the Yoda of the group and the mentor of the 19 year-old "kid" played by Alex Pettyfer. He, and Tatum, simply lacked the intelligence and hard knocks to pull it off.
Mike merely seemed like a decent middle-class kid who realized that utilizing his good looks and rockin' bod were the fastest way to raise the money needed to start his furniture design business. His recognition that he did not want to be a pathetic 40 year-old stripper like the sleazy club owner played by the perpetually bare-chested and insufferable Matthew McConaughy was one of the rare real moments in the film.
Additionally, we learn very little about any of the characters. Mike is very one-dimensional, and we never learn why the kid is living with his understanding older sister or really why she feels the need to be strict with him.
Every other character, including the usually much more appealing Matt Bomer of "White Collar," is little more than scenery for our modern-day Butch and Sundance who literally jump into the abyss together.
The shame is that Soderbergh's past work shows that he easily could have made this film much better. The unofficial tagline could have been "Come for the six packs and hot naked butts, stay for the compelling drama."
A bromance version of "A Star is Bared" or a more homoerotic take of "All About Steve" would have been soooo much better. These approaches would have had added substance to the elements of the Kid giving into the easy money, casual sex, and drugs of the world of male stripping while he pushed the older Mike out the spotlight.
Despite the incredible risk to his career, it also would have been great to see the dreamy Justin Bieber show up at the end to remind the Kid that someone younger and cuter is always waiting in the wings. "Baby, baby, baby" indeed.
I imagine that many readers will have their own thoughts regarding my take on "Magic Mike" and the latent homoerotic thoughts of sports fans. Please feel free to email me.
My blanket responses to unduly hostile messages are "I'm rubber and you're glue; what you say bounces off me and sticks to you." and "I know you are, but what am I?"
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
'The Jetsons' S2: A '60s Show Set in the 21st Century Updated for the '80s
The many fans of "Jericho," "Family Guy," and "Futurama" who waited up to a few years for new episodes of those shows should consider themselves lucky compared to those of us who liked "The Jetsons." The first season of that early example of a prime time Sunday night animated network show aired in 1962-63. The second season premiered in syndication in 1985.
Before further discussing "The Jetsons," it is worth mentioning that current prime time animation leader Fox may break the record in the lag between seasons of a show. That network's resident perpetual ninth grader Seth MacFarlane is developing a new "The Flintsones" series.
One can only hope that MacFarlane's creation is more of an homage to the original '60s "The Flintsones" than a "Family Guy" clone. I would hate to see MacFarlane mine humor from depicting Fred Flintstone as a raging alcoholic and his best buddy Barney Rubble as a closet homosexual.
As they said back in the era of first season of "The Jetsons," now back to our program.
The DVD set of the second-half of the 1985-86 second season of "The Jetsons" is another example of the terrific Warner Archive series making a cartoon series that enjoyed limited success available to its fans. I never thought that I would have a chance to revisit childhood favorites "The Funky Phantom" and "Goober and the Ghost Chasers."
Warner Brothers has also released the first season and the first-half of the second season of "The Jetsons" on DVD. Each set looks good and has nice special features.
"The Jetsons" tells the tales of computer engineer George Jetson and his nuclear family living a life of relative ease in the latter half of the 21st century from the perspective of writers and animators first living in the early '60s and then the Reagan-era mid-80s.
The '60s version was a little closer to "The Jetsons'" predecessor the stone-age "The Flintsones" in having more time-period puns and being delightfully corny. The '80s version of "The Jetsons" was totally new wave, totally.
Many of the fashions, including bold prints and skinny plastic space-age glasses, from the latter version of "The Jetsons" were very close to what the cool kids were wearing that year. Additionally, the "Hi-Tech Wreck" episode in S2 V2 in which George's boss Mr. Spacely was obsessed with living the lifestyle of the rich and famous was a perfect example of the "Me Generation."
The episode "One Strike, You're Out" also reflected the '80s very well. This one had humans and computers literally arguing about the threat that each posed to the other in the job market.
I was especially pleased to see "A Jetson Christmas Carol" in this set; I Tivo that program every year and had thought that it was only a special, rather than an episode of the series. Aside from being highly entertaining, this version of that story stands out by having the Scrooge character not really change at all.
All of this is not to say that the '80s version of "The Jetsons" was still not cartoon fun for the entire family. There were plenty of very amusing segments in which high-tech gadgets malfunctioned, Astro the talking dog was as cute and loving as ever, and the family continued facing the same entertaining dilemmas as television families have for the past 60 years.
It is worth mentioning that the somewhat outdated 21st century technology adds some unintentional humor to the show. As someone who is still semi-stuck in the "olden days" of the late 20th century and often embraces technology a little late, and only bought a GPS a few months ago, I laughed when I saw George Jetson reading an old-style fold-out map in an S2 V2 episode.
Anyone with thoughts or comments regarding "The Jetsons" is welcome to email me.
Before further discussing "The Jetsons," it is worth mentioning that current prime time animation leader Fox may break the record in the lag between seasons of a show. That network's resident perpetual ninth grader Seth MacFarlane is developing a new "The Flintsones" series.
One can only hope that MacFarlane's creation is more of an homage to the original '60s "The Flintsones" than a "Family Guy" clone. I would hate to see MacFarlane mine humor from depicting Fred Flintstone as a raging alcoholic and his best buddy Barney Rubble as a closet homosexual.
As they said back in the era of first season of "The Jetsons," now back to our program.
The DVD set of the second-half of the 1985-86 second season of "The Jetsons" is another example of the terrific Warner Archive series making a cartoon series that enjoyed limited success available to its fans. I never thought that I would have a chance to revisit childhood favorites "The Funky Phantom" and "Goober and the Ghost Chasers."
Warner Brothers has also released the first season and the first-half of the second season of "The Jetsons" on DVD. Each set looks good and has nice special features.
"The Jetsons" tells the tales of computer engineer George Jetson and his nuclear family living a life of relative ease in the latter half of the 21st century from the perspective of writers and animators first living in the early '60s and then the Reagan-era mid-80s.
The '60s version was a little closer to "The Jetsons'" predecessor the stone-age "The Flintsones" in having more time-period puns and being delightfully corny. The '80s version of "The Jetsons" was totally new wave, totally.
Many of the fashions, including bold prints and skinny plastic space-age glasses, from the latter version of "The Jetsons" were very close to what the cool kids were wearing that year. Additionally, the "Hi-Tech Wreck" episode in S2 V2 in which George's boss Mr. Spacely was obsessed with living the lifestyle of the rich and famous was a perfect example of the "Me Generation."
The episode "One Strike, You're Out" also reflected the '80s very well. This one had humans and computers literally arguing about the threat that each posed to the other in the job market.
I was especially pleased to see "A Jetson Christmas Carol" in this set; I Tivo that program every year and had thought that it was only a special, rather than an episode of the series. Aside from being highly entertaining, this version of that story stands out by having the Scrooge character not really change at all.
All of this is not to say that the '80s version of "The Jetsons" was still not cartoon fun for the entire family. There were plenty of very amusing segments in which high-tech gadgets malfunctioned, Astro the talking dog was as cute and loving as ever, and the family continued facing the same entertaining dilemmas as television families have for the past 60 years.
It is worth mentioning that the somewhat outdated 21st century technology adds some unintentional humor to the show. As someone who is still semi-stuck in the "olden days" of the late 20th century and often embraces technology a little late, and only bought a GPS a few months ago, I laughed when I saw George Jetson reading an old-style fold-out map in an S2 V2 episode.
Anyone with thoughts or comments regarding "The Jetsons" is welcome to email me.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume XXIV: Vampires, Folk Heroes, and Aliens Oh My
The '80s/'90s Comedy Central/SciFi Channel series "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (MST3K) is a brilliant show that prompted many of us to slap our foreheads and say "why didn't I think of that?" It also arguably is a much cooler cult show than the "Star Trek" or "Stargate" franchises.
Shout Factory has given me and my fellow Misties a great treat in the form of releasing DVD sets of MST 3K every few months. Volume XXIV is coming out at the end of July 2012. The theme of this collection is truly horrible foreign language films that have been inexpertly dubbed into English and inflicted on American audiences.
Knowing Shout, I predict that the 25th volume will be even more spectacular than the 20th Anniversary volume that was the first Shout Factory MST 3K release.
MST 3K used the concept of a mad scientist, replaced later in the series by his even more diabolical mother, trapping a human on the Satellite of Love that orbited earth before breaking free mid-series. The purpose of this evilness was to see how many truly horrible films from the 50s through the 80s that Joel, followed by Mike, could choke down before going insane. As I have written before, I would have been foaming at the mouth within a week.
In true Bugs Bunny fashion, the reluctant astronaut (with the help of his robot friends) turned things around. The trio mercilessly, and hilariously, heckled the film of the week with comments that literally referred to everything from Oedipus Rex to the '60s cartoon "The Flintstones." The riffs come so fast and furious and some are so subtle that you really need to pay attention.
The SOLers supplement their constant remarks with equally hilarious skits that often relate to the film. An example from "Fugitive Alien" in Volume XXIV was Joel helping his robot buddies understand the plot of this confusing low-budget Japanese scifi flick that was cobbled together from episodes of a Japanese television program and then very badly dubbed into English.
On a side note, our friends at Shout thoughtfully included the MST3K episode of "Star Force: Fugitive Alien II." I am saving that one as a tasty video dessert for Sunday evening.
Volume XXIV also has the hilariously awful "Samson vs. The Vampire Women," which Crow the robot stated was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case.
Samson was a silver-masked Mexican wrestler who apparently was the Batman without any cool gadgets of our neighbor to the south. The vampire women were a flock of undead hags who needed to capture their queen's descendant to restore the group's beauty and power.
The painfully bad plot, cheesy effects, and horrible acting provided Mike and the 'bots plenty of material, much of which was directed at the aging and tall and lanky raven-haired Cher.
"Samson" was also special because it was the last episode that had the Igor-like sidekick Frank after a five-year run. All that I will say regarding that storyline is that it seemed that it inspired the writers of "Stargate: SG1" when one of their actors wanted out after five years.
In typical Shout Factory style, a great extra on the "Samson" DVD was an interview with Frank's portrayor Frank Conniff, who discussed his post-MST3K career as a writer and cameo actor and his involvement with the MST3K like "Cinematic Titanic."
It is worth noting as well that the over-acted and horribly low-budget Russian folk tale "The Sword and the Dragon" in Volume XXIV came to the U.S. courtesy of Shout Factory's favorite schlockmaster Roger Corman. Corman is the Orson Welles of movies that failing UHF stations used to show at 3:00 a.m. if they could no longer afford the broadcast rights to "She's the Sheriff."
Recognizing the appeal of Corman's truly horrendous films, Shout Factory created its "Roger Corman's Cult Classics" line; Criterion Collection it ain't.
I knew that I had to get the latest member of the cult classic line "Black Oak Conspiracy" when I saw the cover art of the shirtless redneck covered in blood and wearing ripped jeans while holding a smoking shotgun. The tagline "Leaving Town Was Easy. Coming Home Was Murder!" cinched it for me.
The "plot" of "Black Oak" revolved around stuntman Jingo Johnson finding on returning to his small tow that there is "a hotbed of corruption and land swindlers abetted by a crooked redneck sheriff." There is no indication of a Duke boy anywhere in sight.
I am saving "Conspiracy" for a day that I really feel like an especially good bad film.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding MST 3K or Roger Corman is encouraged to email me.
Shout Factory has given me and my fellow Misties a great treat in the form of releasing DVD sets of MST 3K every few months. Volume XXIV is coming out at the end of July 2012. The theme of this collection is truly horrible foreign language films that have been inexpertly dubbed into English and inflicted on American audiences.
Knowing Shout, I predict that the 25th volume will be even more spectacular than the 20th Anniversary volume that was the first Shout Factory MST 3K release.
MST 3K used the concept of a mad scientist, replaced later in the series by his even more diabolical mother, trapping a human on the Satellite of Love that orbited earth before breaking free mid-series. The purpose of this evilness was to see how many truly horrible films from the 50s through the 80s that Joel, followed by Mike, could choke down before going insane. As I have written before, I would have been foaming at the mouth within a week.
In true Bugs Bunny fashion, the reluctant astronaut (with the help of his robot friends) turned things around. The trio mercilessly, and hilariously, heckled the film of the week with comments that literally referred to everything from Oedipus Rex to the '60s cartoon "The Flintstones." The riffs come so fast and furious and some are so subtle that you really need to pay attention.
The SOLers supplement their constant remarks with equally hilarious skits that often relate to the film. An example from "Fugitive Alien" in Volume XXIV was Joel helping his robot buddies understand the plot of this confusing low-budget Japanese scifi flick that was cobbled together from episodes of a Japanese television program and then very badly dubbed into English.
On a side note, our friends at Shout thoughtfully included the MST3K episode of "Star Force: Fugitive Alien II." I am saving that one as a tasty video dessert for Sunday evening.
Volume XXIV also has the hilariously awful "Samson vs. The Vampire Women," which Crow the robot stated was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case.
Samson was a silver-masked Mexican wrestler who apparently was the Batman without any cool gadgets of our neighbor to the south. The vampire women were a flock of undead hags who needed to capture their queen's descendant to restore the group's beauty and power.
The painfully bad plot, cheesy effects, and horrible acting provided Mike and the 'bots plenty of material, much of which was directed at the aging and tall and lanky raven-haired Cher.
"Samson" was also special because it was the last episode that had the Igor-like sidekick Frank after a five-year run. All that I will say regarding that storyline is that it seemed that it inspired the writers of "Stargate: SG1" when one of their actors wanted out after five years.
In typical Shout Factory style, a great extra on the "Samson" DVD was an interview with Frank's portrayor Frank Conniff, who discussed his post-MST3K career as a writer and cameo actor and his involvement with the MST3K like "Cinematic Titanic."
It is worth noting as well that the over-acted and horribly low-budget Russian folk tale "The Sword and the Dragon" in Volume XXIV came to the U.S. courtesy of Shout Factory's favorite schlockmaster Roger Corman. Corman is the Orson Welles of movies that failing UHF stations used to show at 3:00 a.m. if they could no longer afford the broadcast rights to "She's the Sheriff."
Recognizing the appeal of Corman's truly horrendous films, Shout Factory created its "Roger Corman's Cult Classics" line; Criterion Collection it ain't.
I knew that I had to get the latest member of the cult classic line "Black Oak Conspiracy" when I saw the cover art of the shirtless redneck covered in blood and wearing ripped jeans while holding a smoking shotgun. The tagline "Leaving Town Was Easy. Coming Home Was Murder!" cinched it for me.
The "plot" of "Black Oak" revolved around stuntman Jingo Johnson finding on returning to his small tow that there is "a hotbed of corruption and land swindlers abetted by a crooked redneck sheriff." There is no indication of a Duke boy anywhere in sight.
I am saving "Conspiracy" for a day that I really feel like an especially good bad film.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding MST 3K or Roger Corman is encouraged to email me.
Monday, July 2, 2012
'The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan:' 'Eight is Enough' Meets 'Scooby Doo'
The early '70s Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning series "The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan" falls in the Rodney Dangerfield of good cartoon programs that don't get no respect. Hopefully the recent DVD release of "Chan" as part of Warner Brothers Archive Collection will help rectify that injustice.
On the surface, "The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan" is simply a Hanna-Barbera clone of the highly popular "Scooby-Doo." One significant difference is that the villains in "Chan" are run-of-the-mill, albeit relatively clever, criminals whose ambitions are generally limited to one big heist.
Most of the rubber masks in "Chan" belong to "Number 2" teen son self-proclaimed master of disguise Stanley. Stanley is also well known for being the voice of the series' catch-phrase "wham-bam - we're in a jam."
Stanley is joined by his nine siblings and their father, fictional detective Charlie Chan. Charlie Chan was created in 1919 and was the main character in a long series of light-hearted Depression-era mystery films.
Digging just below the surface shows that "Chan" is more than an example of what Warner Brothers describes as "Hanna-Barbera's winning formula" of "[meddling] kids, mysteries, [very cute] canine, van." It is the first depiction of Charlie Chan by an Asian-American. Keye Luke, who played "Number One Son" in earlier live-action "Chan" films.
Other great actors who provided voices included Jodie Foster and future "Quincy" star Roberto Ito.
Further, the Chan kids were typical American kids and lacked any of the horrible Asian stereotypes that survived even into '60s animation. They, and Charlie, dressed like everyone else. Everyone also had good teeth, and any accents were realistic.
The kids, who had a "Josie and the Pussycats" style bubblegum rock band, even loved to rock-and-roll and hot dogs made them lose control. What crazy groups of pairs.
The episodes themselves were good as well; a typical offering had a theft occurring within the first few minutes and the kids splitting up to engage in hi-jinks to capture the bad guys.
Almost inevitably, each group of Chan kids would separately pursue different suspects and ultimately foul up the efforts of their siblings. Charlie showed up to solve the mystery and apologize for the mayhem that his offspring caused.
The spoiler alert is that the meddling kids, and their little dog too, who were always willin' did help catch that villain.
The show's fatal flaw seemed to be its common characteristic with the much more successful live-action '70s show "Eight is Enough." There just were too many kids in both series.
Despite being a colossal sofa spud, I could only think of the names of three of the six Bradford girls from "Eight." I can also picture most of them but have no clue which one wanted to a doctor, which one wanted to be an actress, and who was the tomboy.
Even having just watched eight "Chan" episodes, I do not know every kids' name or which girl was Susie and which one was Nancy. I could not even begin to guess which boy was Flip and who was Alan. I do know that Diegoesque spunky six-year-old Scooter rocks.
Further, having ten "Chan" kids did not add much to the show. Six would have been fine.
It is even sadder that the folks at Hanna-Barbera did not develop a "Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space" style spinoff for Stanley and his slightly older brother Henry.
Stanley and Henry were the primary focus of "Chan" anyway and were enough of a Laurel and Hardy team that Henry should have been named Ollie. They were simply nice-looking typical suburban teen boys of the '70s minus the drug use.
Seeing Henry and Stanley go off to college and get involved in mystery and drama ala "Veronica Mars" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" would have kept me glued to my parents' ginormous two-ton 25" color console every Saturday morning.
Anyone with thoughts or questions regarding "Chan" is welcome to email me.
On the surface, "The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan" is simply a Hanna-Barbera clone of the highly popular "Scooby-Doo." One significant difference is that the villains in "Chan" are run-of-the-mill, albeit relatively clever, criminals whose ambitions are generally limited to one big heist.
Most of the rubber masks in "Chan" belong to "Number 2" teen son self-proclaimed master of disguise Stanley. Stanley is also well known for being the voice of the series' catch-phrase "wham-bam - we're in a jam."
Stanley is joined by his nine siblings and their father, fictional detective Charlie Chan. Charlie Chan was created in 1919 and was the main character in a long series of light-hearted Depression-era mystery films.
Digging just below the surface shows that "Chan" is more than an example of what Warner Brothers describes as "Hanna-Barbera's winning formula" of "[meddling] kids, mysteries, [very cute] canine, van." It is the first depiction of Charlie Chan by an Asian-American. Keye Luke, who played "Number One Son" in earlier live-action "Chan" films.
Other great actors who provided voices included Jodie Foster and future "Quincy" star Roberto Ito.
Further, the Chan kids were typical American kids and lacked any of the horrible Asian stereotypes that survived even into '60s animation. They, and Charlie, dressed like everyone else. Everyone also had good teeth, and any accents were realistic.
The kids, who had a "Josie and the Pussycats" style bubblegum rock band, even loved to rock-and-roll and hot dogs made them lose control. What crazy groups of pairs.
The episodes themselves were good as well; a typical offering had a theft occurring within the first few minutes and the kids splitting up to engage in hi-jinks to capture the bad guys.
Almost inevitably, each group of Chan kids would separately pursue different suspects and ultimately foul up the efforts of their siblings. Charlie showed up to solve the mystery and apologize for the mayhem that his offspring caused.
The spoiler alert is that the meddling kids, and their little dog too, who were always willin' did help catch that villain.
The show's fatal flaw seemed to be its common characteristic with the much more successful live-action '70s show "Eight is Enough." There just were too many kids in both series.
Despite being a colossal sofa spud, I could only think of the names of three of the six Bradford girls from "Eight." I can also picture most of them but have no clue which one wanted to a doctor, which one wanted to be an actress, and who was the tomboy.
Even having just watched eight "Chan" episodes, I do not know every kids' name or which girl was Susie and which one was Nancy. I could not even begin to guess which boy was Flip and who was Alan. I do know that Diegoesque spunky six-year-old Scooter rocks.
Further, having ten "Chan" kids did not add much to the show. Six would have been fine.
It is even sadder that the folks at Hanna-Barbera did not develop a "Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space" style spinoff for Stanley and his slightly older brother Henry.
Stanley and Henry were the primary focus of "Chan" anyway and were enough of a Laurel and Hardy team that Henry should have been named Ollie. They were simply nice-looking typical suburban teen boys of the '70s minus the drug use.
Seeing Henry and Stanley go off to college and get involved in mystery and drama ala "Veronica Mars" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" would have kept me glued to my parents' ginormous two-ton 25" color console every Saturday morning.
Anyone with thoughts or questions regarding "Chan" is welcome to email me.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Law and Order: Criminal Intent S7: Where the Elite Meet Their Defeat
Quirky Robert Goren's Holmesian technique of using close observation and obscure knowledge to make deductions sets "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" apart from both the other exceptional "Law and Order" series and run-of-the-mill police procedurals. Goren's angst and general alienation that are the price for seeing the world more clearly and for being smarter than the average detective is just icing on this very tasty cake.
Alicia Witt's Nola Falacci comes in a close second for favorite "Criminal Intent" character. That detective's dark sensibility and bulldog style remind me a great deal of Witt's wonderful character, the brilliant and Addams Family level dark late teen Zoey Woodbine in the unfairly maligned '90s CBS sitcom "Cybill."
Seeing Falacci interrogate Zoey for murdering Zoey's preppy upbeat brother-in-law Kevin, played by Peter Krause, would have been a dream come true.
Shout Factory's recent release of the seventh season of "Criminal Intent" was a dream come true; thank you Shout for once again releasing seasons of one of television's best shows after a studio stopped doing so.
The seventh season is the year that "Criminal Intent" moved from NBC to the USA network and experienced budget cuts that reflected the difference between a broadcast television show and one that aired on basic cable.
The good news is that "Criminal Intent's" quality survived the transition and that the show received impressive ratings on USA.
Aside from having great actors portraying wonderfully damaged characters, "Criminal Intent" offered the terrific twist of having its major case squad devote its resources to solving crimes that involved New York City's elite.
The brutality of the often rich-on-rich violence and the pride that goeth before the fall of the arrogant malfeasors who thought that their position justified their crime and/or that the police were too inferior to catch them made for good television. This well-written and directed series was definitely geared to the 99-percent with a taste for intelligent programs.
Two particularly noteworthy episodes come early in season. The season premiere had Goren both recovering from a tragedy that occurred at the end of the sixth season and furhter alienating himself from his brothers in blue by using his exceptional detection skills to discredit another police officer's credibility. Seeing Goren literally left out on the street was tough.
A second "must-see" episode involved a respcted couples therapist, who was married to a divorce court judge, getting killed. Falacci's particularly dark humor and Hitchcock caliber twists made this presentation feature-film quality.
One of the better seventh-season "ripped from the headlines" episodes for which "Law and Order" series are well known revolved around charging college jocks with raping strippers who the athletes hired for a party. Having '80s preppy Andrew McCarthy play a prosecutor out to get the privileged athletes was a nice touch.
Given Shout's consistent history of releasing seasons of a show within a few months of each other, I will chanel my inner-Goren in eagerly anticipating watching eighth season episodes of "Criminal Intent" this October.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Criminal Intent" is encouraged to email me.
Alicia Witt's Nola Falacci comes in a close second for favorite "Criminal Intent" character. That detective's dark sensibility and bulldog style remind me a great deal of Witt's wonderful character, the brilliant and Addams Family level dark late teen Zoey Woodbine in the unfairly maligned '90s CBS sitcom "Cybill."
Seeing Falacci interrogate Zoey for murdering Zoey's preppy upbeat brother-in-law Kevin, played by Peter Krause, would have been a dream come true.
Shout Factory's recent release of the seventh season of "Criminal Intent" was a dream come true; thank you Shout for once again releasing seasons of one of television's best shows after a studio stopped doing so.
The seventh season is the year that "Criminal Intent" moved from NBC to the USA network and experienced budget cuts that reflected the difference between a broadcast television show and one that aired on basic cable.
The good news is that "Criminal Intent's" quality survived the transition and that the show received impressive ratings on USA.
Aside from having great actors portraying wonderfully damaged characters, "Criminal Intent" offered the terrific twist of having its major case squad devote its resources to solving crimes that involved New York City's elite.
The brutality of the often rich-on-rich violence and the pride that goeth before the fall of the arrogant malfeasors who thought that their position justified their crime and/or that the police were too inferior to catch them made for good television. This well-written and directed series was definitely geared to the 99-percent with a taste for intelligent programs.
Two particularly noteworthy episodes come early in season. The season premiere had Goren both recovering from a tragedy that occurred at the end of the sixth season and furhter alienating himself from his brothers in blue by using his exceptional detection skills to discredit another police officer's credibility. Seeing Goren literally left out on the street was tough.
A second "must-see" episode involved a respcted couples therapist, who was married to a divorce court judge, getting killed. Falacci's particularly dark humor and Hitchcock caliber twists made this presentation feature-film quality.
One of the better seventh-season "ripped from the headlines" episodes for which "Law and Order" series are well known revolved around charging college jocks with raping strippers who the athletes hired for a party. Having '80s preppy Andrew McCarthy play a prosecutor out to get the privileged athletes was a nice touch.
Given Shout's consistent history of releasing seasons of a show within a few months of each other, I will chanel my inner-Goren in eagerly anticipating watching eighth season episodes of "Criminal Intent" this October.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Criminal Intent" is encouraged to email me.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Speed Buggy: Mel Blanc's Car Talk
My chance to watch the awesome Warner Archive Collection's DVD set of the complete '70s Hanna-Barbera cartoon series "Speed Buggy" is the second time that getting an "Archive" set coincided with a current reminder of the awesomeness of the archived show.
Seeing Linda Lavin, who starred in the '70s CBS sitcom "Alice," in the audience of the 2012 Tony Awards got me wishing for a DVD release of that series. Archive announcing the next day that it was releasing the first season of "Alice" was a dream come true. My review of "Alice" is in the archive section of my site.
My "Speed Buggy" moment occurred this weekend; I came across the wonderful 2008 documentary "Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices." Aside from voicing Bugs Bunny and numerous other Looney Tune characters, this cartoon voice god brought the lovable talking crime-fighting dune buggy/race car Speed Buggy to life.
The documentary was a wonderful tribute to this genuine American idol, and did not have a negative syllable to say about this man with whom I would have loved to meet for a carrot juice. The only sad moment for me was that the documentary did not include a clip of Speedy Buggy in the portion on Blanc's career with Hanna Barbera in the '60s and '70s.
I knew before watching the documentary that Blanc was a legend and that he had voiced Speed Buggy. I did not fully understand why I felt such a connection to a Saturday morning cartoon car until the documentary helped me realize that that character's voice and appearance reflected the sweet yet fiercely loyal nature of Blanc.
For the benefit of those of you who missed out on spending your Saturday mornings eating Quisp cereal and watching cartoons on your parents' massive console television that seemed to take forever to warm up, "Speed Buggy" essentially was "Scooby Doo" for the NASCAR set.
In addition to having an anthropomorphic star, the supporting characters in "Speed Buggy" greatly resembled the Mystery Inc. gang of meddling kids.
"Speed Buggy" team leader Mark was a handsome stud with a toned bod and limited intellect; cowardly odd looking and lanky mechanic/driver Tinker was Speedy's best bud; the extraneous tomboy Debbie always reminded me of "Mork and Mindy's" Pam Dawber in appearance and spunky personality.
Each "Speed Buggy" episode began with Speedy and his crew traveling to the site of the race or exhibition du jour. Within a few minutes, the gang would encounter the stereotypical big bad du jour and spend the next 20 minutes foiling that evil scientist's or run-of-the-mill criminal mastermind's plot to pull off a major heist or rule the world.
Each episode was highly entertaining and just darn cute. My favorite involved a plot to use the technology that created Speedy Buggy to build a fleet of robotic cars.
I also enjoyed an incredibly blatant rip-off of a plot from fellow '70s cartoon series "Josie and the Pussycats" that involved a mad scientist's acquiring an invisibility formula. I played wonderfully campy bubblegum music in my head during that episode's chase scenes.
Incidentally, that "Josie" episode is my favorite behind one involving an aging formula in which the truly brave and bold cat Sebastian really saved the day.
I expect my Archive Collection set of the other terrific '70s cartoon variation of "Scooby Doo" "The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan" today.
Anyone with memories of questions regarding "Speed Buggy" is encouraged to email me. I am especially interested in learning if I am the only one who is adorkable enough to use Speed Buggy's catchphrase "va room a zoom zoom" in reference to rushing someplace. I do regret that my horrible imitation of Blanc most likely has that exceptional and badly missed man turning over in his grave.
Friday, June 22, 2012
'Alice' S1: Fans Not Being Shy Provides Reason to not be Sad
If asked a month ago when I thought that Warner Brothers (WB) would release the first season of the classic CBS '70s sitcom "Alice" on DVD, I would have channeled sassy break-out character Flo and replied "when donkeys fly."
If asked in a nasty tone, my response would have been Flo's better known catchphrase "kiss mah grits." This is despite my still not being sure more than 35 years after "Alice" premiered if boys have grits.
I am thrilled to be proven wrong regarding the DVD release; one day after watching "Alice" star Linda Lavin on the broadcast of the 2012 Tony Awards and once again hoping that the show would come out on DVD, I learned that the first season had been released as part of WB's stupendous Archive Collection.
I truly appreciate the good folks at WB responding positively to my unbridled, if not youthful, exuberance on learning of the release.
WB also tolerated my enthusiastic praise for my "Funky Phantom" DVDs and other sets from the Archive Collection's release of '70s Hanna-Barbera cartoons that did not achieve Scooby Doo's and other classic characters' success. An upcoming review of "The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan" will discuss that aspect of the Archive Collection. The spoiler alert is that the "Chan" set's cover art would make a great poster.
Returning to "Alice," this a rare case in which a childhood favorite is even better than remembered. For the sake of those of you who do not predate mood rings and earth shoes, "Alice" is like its fellow '70s CBS sitcom the Norman Lear classic "One Day at a Time."
Both series revolve around newly single moms in an era in which that was just starting to become common. Alice Hyatt and Ann Romano both struggled with keeping a roof over their kids' heads and dealing with discrimination and unwanted sexual advances in the workplace.
The similarities in the show also included both women focusing more on their careers than on finding a man; Alice was a waitress in the greasy spoon "Mel's Diner" but dreamed of a singing career, and Ann had a more pink collar career in public relations.
Both shows additionally owe a great deal to their fellow CBS sitcom "All in the Family," which truly was groundbreaking. I cannot imagine "Alice" addressing the issues of prostitution, sex education, and not being as enlightened about homosexuality as you would have liked if "Family" had not already addressed "taboo" topics.
Lighter episodes in "Alice's" first season include one of my all-time favorites in which a restaurant critic visits Mel's Diner.
"Alice" also stands alone as a great typical workplace comedy. The aforementioned Flo is a sassy waitress who earned her own short-lived sitcom "Flo" I am hopeful that the Archive Collection releases that series before hybrid equines sprout wings.
Alice's other co-waitress was nervous quiet Vera, who provided one of the funniest moments of the show in the rarely seen pilot that the first season DVD set includes. This classic moment of spilling straws all over the diner's counter was added to later seasons' opening credits.
Diner owner Mel rounded out the crew. Like "Day's" Schneider, Mel was a gruff self-proclaimed ladies' man with a very good heart.
I encourage anyone with questions or comments regarding "Alice" to email me. Any sent in bad faith will prompt an invitation to kiss mah grits.
If asked in a nasty tone, my response would have been Flo's better known catchphrase "kiss mah grits." This is despite my still not being sure more than 35 years after "Alice" premiered if boys have grits.
I am thrilled to be proven wrong regarding the DVD release; one day after watching "Alice" star Linda Lavin on the broadcast of the 2012 Tony Awards and once again hoping that the show would come out on DVD, I learned that the first season had been released as part of WB's stupendous Archive Collection.
I truly appreciate the good folks at WB responding positively to my unbridled, if not youthful, exuberance on learning of the release.
WB also tolerated my enthusiastic praise for my "Funky Phantom" DVDs and other sets from the Archive Collection's release of '70s Hanna-Barbera cartoons that did not achieve Scooby Doo's and other classic characters' success. An upcoming review of "The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan" will discuss that aspect of the Archive Collection. The spoiler alert is that the "Chan" set's cover art would make a great poster.
Returning to "Alice," this a rare case in which a childhood favorite is even better than remembered. For the sake of those of you who do not predate mood rings and earth shoes, "Alice" is like its fellow '70s CBS sitcom the Norman Lear classic "One Day at a Time."
Both series revolve around newly single moms in an era in which that was just starting to become common. Alice Hyatt and Ann Romano both struggled with keeping a roof over their kids' heads and dealing with discrimination and unwanted sexual advances in the workplace.
The similarities in the show also included both women focusing more on their careers than on finding a man; Alice was a waitress in the greasy spoon "Mel's Diner" but dreamed of a singing career, and Ann had a more pink collar career in public relations.
Both shows additionally owe a great deal to their fellow CBS sitcom "All in the Family," which truly was groundbreaking. I cannot imagine "Alice" addressing the issues of prostitution, sex education, and not being as enlightened about homosexuality as you would have liked if "Family" had not already addressed "taboo" topics.
Lighter episodes in "Alice's" first season include one of my all-time favorites in which a restaurant critic visits Mel's Diner.
"Alice" also stands alone as a great typical workplace comedy. The aforementioned Flo is a sassy waitress who earned her own short-lived sitcom "Flo" I am hopeful that the Archive Collection releases that series before hybrid equines sprout wings.
Alice's other co-waitress was nervous quiet Vera, who provided one of the funniest moments of the show in the rarely seen pilot that the first season DVD set includes. This classic moment of spilling straws all over the diner's counter was added to later seasons' opening credits.
Diner owner Mel rounded out the crew. Like "Day's" Schneider, Mel was a gruff self-proclaimed ladies' man with a very good heart.
I encourage anyone with questions or comments regarding "Alice" to email me. Any sent in bad faith will prompt an invitation to kiss mah grits.
Monday, June 4, 2012
'Desinging Women' S6: Transition 'Sarah Palin' Year
Like an exceptional restaurant that has an occasional off night, the early '90s sitcom "Designing Women" deserves a mulligan for its very well-intentioned but somewhat ill-conceived sixth season. The good news is that watching episodes from Shout Factory's April 2012 release of that season showed those presentations are much better than I remembered.
The better news is that Shout Factory is releasing the improved seventh season of "Designing Women" in July 2012. Adding the great actress Judith Ivey as a well-written character equal to Dixie Carter's designing diva Julia Sugarbaker allowed the series to end on a good note.
In many ways, "Designing Women" was a hybrid between "Sex in the City" and "The Golden Girls" in that the four women who owned an Atlanta design firm represented four standard types of women.
Julia, the leader, was a well-educated sophisticated woman who did not suffer fools glad. Suzanne, replaced by Julia Duffy's Alison in the sixth season, was an aging beauty queen with an active dating life.
Single mother Mary Jo reveled in adolescent hi-jinks and struggled with child rearing decisions. Moderately bright country gal Charlene, replaced in the sixth season by her less intelligent and sophisticated sister Carlene in the sixth season, was the most naive and trusting of the group.
Aside from generally good writing, "Designing Women" was notably for insightful candid analyses of current and evergreen issues. These included a classically hilarious episode about newsstands' right to display pornographic magazines and other episodes on domestic violence, religions barring women from serving as clergy, racism, and dead-beat dads.
The series' strongly feminist viewpoint further did not hold any punches regarding stereotypical bad male behavior. One of Julia Sugarbaker's best trademark rants commented on men who barge in on a quiet girls' night out was a highlight of the series. Having this outburst haunt Julia in a later episode made a hilarious storyline fall on the floor funny.
In other words, "Designing Women" hit the trifecta of taboo topics; sex, religion, and politics.
As my review of the fifth season of "Designing Women" stated, that series became more of a standard sitcom that year but still was quite funny and included "issues" episodes. It was also the year that presented challenges in the form of series stars' Delta Burke and Jean Smart leaving the show.
Returning to the topic of "Designing Women" deserving a mulligan for its sixth season, replacing Delta Burke's Suzanne with Julia Duffy's similar Alison Sugarbaker was akin to the McCain campaign choosing Sarah Palin. The idea looked good on paper but was a bad move in reality.
Duffy had just finished a long well-regarded run playing pampered insensitive Stephanie van der Kellen on "Newhart," which shared the CBS Monday night lineup with "Designing Women." Alison Sugarbaker is the character that Stephanie would have become if karma had caught up with her.
One difference, and flaw, was that Stephanie not-so-deep down had a better heart than Alison. "Newhart's" writers also humanized Stephanie by giving her a particularly soft-spot for the very caring and not-so-bright handyman George Utley. Additionally, all of "Newhart's" characters shared an affection for each other that was lacking between Alison and the other "Designing Women" characters.
Taking one more break from my review of "Designing Women's" sixth season, I want to get on my knees and ask Shout Factory to please, please 1,000 times please add "Newhart" to the list of "rescued" shows that it released.
On a larger level, "Designing Women's" sixth season suffered from the senioritis, or premature seven-year itch, that strikes many shows around their sixth season.
The Thomasons, who created the series, were not very actively involved; the veteran cast members seemed to be losing steam, and the departures of two original cast members did not help.
I consider this analogous to what occurred when Ron Howard and Don Most left "Happy Days;" I hate to think what would have happened if Henry Winkler had quit as well.
At the same time, the viewing public would have missed great moments in "Designing Women" if it had taken the common modern approach of deciding that having enough episodes for syndication justified calling it quits after five seasons.
The opening episodes of "Designing Women's" sixth season had hilarious moments; favorites included the veteran cast literally cutting Alison down to size and Julia cleverly turning Alison's "bird on your head" phrase against her.
Other good sixth season "situations" included episodes about a community theater production of "Mame" and Carlene moving into a seedy apartment in a dangerous neighborhood. An episode in which the cast traveled to Hollywood and invaded Charles Nelson Reilly's home is one of my favorite of the entire series.
"Issues" episodes from the sixth season included the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill controversy, racial profiling, and artificial insemination.
Anyone who wants to share thoughts or questions regarding "Designing Women's sixth season is encouraged to email me.
The better news is that Shout Factory is releasing the improved seventh season of "Designing Women" in July 2012. Adding the great actress Judith Ivey as a well-written character equal to Dixie Carter's designing diva Julia Sugarbaker allowed the series to end on a good note.
In many ways, "Designing Women" was a hybrid between "Sex in the City" and "The Golden Girls" in that the four women who owned an Atlanta design firm represented four standard types of women.
Julia, the leader, was a well-educated sophisticated woman who did not suffer fools glad. Suzanne, replaced by Julia Duffy's Alison in the sixth season, was an aging beauty queen with an active dating life.
Single mother Mary Jo reveled in adolescent hi-jinks and struggled with child rearing decisions. Moderately bright country gal Charlene, replaced in the sixth season by her less intelligent and sophisticated sister Carlene in the sixth season, was the most naive and trusting of the group.
Aside from generally good writing, "Designing Women" was notably for insightful candid analyses of current and evergreen issues. These included a classically hilarious episode about newsstands' right to display pornographic magazines and other episodes on domestic violence, religions barring women from serving as clergy, racism, and dead-beat dads.
The series' strongly feminist viewpoint further did not hold any punches regarding stereotypical bad male behavior. One of Julia Sugarbaker's best trademark rants commented on men who barge in on a quiet girls' night out was a highlight of the series. Having this outburst haunt Julia in a later episode made a hilarious storyline fall on the floor funny.
In other words, "Designing Women" hit the trifecta of taboo topics; sex, religion, and politics.
As my review of the fifth season of "Designing Women" stated, that series became more of a standard sitcom that year but still was quite funny and included "issues" episodes. It was also the year that presented challenges in the form of series stars' Delta Burke and Jean Smart leaving the show.
Returning to the topic of "Designing Women" deserving a mulligan for its sixth season, replacing Delta Burke's Suzanne with Julia Duffy's similar Alison Sugarbaker was akin to the McCain campaign choosing Sarah Palin. The idea looked good on paper but was a bad move in reality.
Duffy had just finished a long well-regarded run playing pampered insensitive Stephanie van der Kellen on "Newhart," which shared the CBS Monday night lineup with "Designing Women." Alison Sugarbaker is the character that Stephanie would have become if karma had caught up with her.
One difference, and flaw, was that Stephanie not-so-deep down had a better heart than Alison. "Newhart's" writers also humanized Stephanie by giving her a particularly soft-spot for the very caring and not-so-bright handyman George Utley. Additionally, all of "Newhart's" characters shared an affection for each other that was lacking between Alison and the other "Designing Women" characters.
Taking one more break from my review of "Designing Women's" sixth season, I want to get on my knees and ask Shout Factory to please, please 1,000 times please add "Newhart" to the list of "rescued" shows that it released.
On a larger level, "Designing Women's" sixth season suffered from the senioritis, or premature seven-year itch, that strikes many shows around their sixth season.
The Thomasons, who created the series, were not very actively involved; the veteran cast members seemed to be losing steam, and the departures of two original cast members did not help.
I consider this analogous to what occurred when Ron Howard and Don Most left "Happy Days;" I hate to think what would have happened if Henry Winkler had quit as well.
At the same time, the viewing public would have missed great moments in "Designing Women" if it had taken the common modern approach of deciding that having enough episodes for syndication justified calling it quits after five seasons.
The opening episodes of "Designing Women's" sixth season had hilarious moments; favorites included the veteran cast literally cutting Alison down to size and Julia cleverly turning Alison's "bird on your head" phrase against her.
Other good sixth season "situations" included episodes about a community theater production of "Mame" and Carlene moving into a seedy apartment in a dangerous neighborhood. An episode in which the cast traveled to Hollywood and invaded Charles Nelson Reilly's home is one of my favorite of the entire series.
"Issues" episodes from the sixth season included the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill controversy, racial profiling, and artificial insemination.
Anyone who wants to share thoughts or questions regarding "Designing Women's sixth season is encouraged to email me.
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