Blog DVD Review: Route 66 - Season Three, Volume Two

Welcome to our weekly Saturday Blog DVD Review. Today we take a look at Infinity Entertainment's Route 66 - Season Three, Volume Two. Route 66 ran from 1960-1964 and starred Martin Milner, George Maharis (1960-1963) and Glenn Corbett (1963-1964). See skees53's Blog DVD Review of Route 66 - Season Three, Volume Two:

Route 66 - Season Three, Volume Two (Infinity, $29.98) brings the final 15 episodes of season three together in a four disc DVD set. The series stars Martin Milner and George Maharis as Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock, two guys that come from different sides of the railroad track but are united in their desire to travel America. Along the way, they meet many people, some good and others not so good, and find odd jobs along the way to survive. Sometimes they get in trouble and struggle to find their way out in the midst of hostile citizens of the towns to which they travel. In any event, they always find a way out in each and every episode.

In the earlier part of the third season, Buz began to disappear from the series as George Maharis became ill and was unable to work on the series on a regular basis. By this part of the season, the character of Buz is completely written out, but no need to worry, because Tod still has a partner to travel the nation with. Glenn Corbett joins the cast as Lincoln Case, an Army veteran who just left Vietnam (a few years before Vietnam became such a political controversy) after a six years of duty. It doesn't change the show much, though. It is still two guys getting into different adventures every week as they travel down Route 66 (as well as numerous other highways and byways of America).

The set begins with "A Gift From a Warrior," where a German man (James Whitmore) is looking for his American father and also happens to have a gun by his side. Why would he be so violent? Robert Duvall and Lois Nettleton guest star in "Suppose I Said I Was the Queen of Spain," where a woman (Nettleton) is able to take advantage of Tod by romancing him. In "Somehow It Gets to Be Tomorrow," two orphans want help in escaping their foster family, and who else would they turn to besides Tod? In "In The Closing of a Trunk," Tod somehow gets in the middle of a dispute between a woman and her uncle who isn't too happy about the fact that his niece killed her own father (his brother). Glenn Corbett joins the cast as Lincoln Case in "Fifty Miles From Home."
Have Linc and Tod met a real, live mermaid? Perhaps, in "The Cruelest Sea of All." The series becomes involved in the politics of Fidel Castro when Linc and Tod meet up with two Cubans who aren't happy with their brother's ties to him in "Peace, Pity, Pardon." Dick York guest stars in "What a Shining Young Man Was Our Gallant Lieutenant," where Linc meets up with one of his Army officers from Vietnam and finds that a brain injury has left him with the mentality of a young child. Linc drives a getaway car for a robbery (by accident) in "Who Will Cheer My Bonnie Bride." A small Florida town wants to hang Linc after he is accused of killing a dog in "Shadows of an Afternoon." Alan Alda and Tom Bosley guest star in the season finale, "Soda Pop and Paper Flags."

Just like Volume 1 of the third season, the packaging is a double-thick keepcase with a cardboard sleeve. Both the sleeve and the case have the exact same artwork, which just has a Route 66 road sign on the highway. The back of the packaging just has the basic series information. Inside, we have the four discs, all of which have the same Route 66 road sign as on the cover art and the road on them. Discs 1-3 all contain four episodes each, while Disc 4 contains three episodes as well as the special features. Once again, there are no episode titles to be found anywhere in this set. Even a sheet that just lists the disc breakdown would have been nice, but instead, we have nothing! This was not a problem at all with the first two seasons.

The menus on the set are very basic, with the theme song playing and options of Play All, Episodes, and Extras (Disc 4 only) on the main menu. When you select Episodes, you go to a menu that lists all of the episodes as text, and it plays as soon as you choose it. There are no scene selection menus, but chapters are placed within each episode.

Despite how old the series is, the video and audio quality on the set seems to be great. There have been some compression issues on past sets, as well as some pixelation and other issues, but this one seems to be the best so far. The video is clean and crisp, with a little bit of the expected issues with grain and debris. I didn't find any issues with the audio at all except for some crackle. Other than that, the audio is loud and clear and presented in mono. Each episode is closed-captioned. All of the episodes appear to be taken from original source material this time (as opposed to syndicated Colex prints from the '80s that have OCCASIONALLY appeared on previous sets), running at about 50 minutes per episode. It was nice to not see any episodes that appeared to have any issues this time!

The only special features on the set are a bunch of commercials, specifically commercials from the series sponsors, bumpers from the series, and promos from the series. They can all be found on Disc 4. We have 12 minutes worth of these, which includes spots from Philips Milk of Magnesia, Bayer Aspirin, and Chevrolet. Which is really amazing is that all of these look and sound great, and have clearly been remastered for the DVD set. Still, it would have been even nicer to have all of these original commercials inserted back into the episodes, as is the case on one of the previous "best of" collections of the series on DVD. But I suppose that just having them is nice enough. As was noted in the Season Three, Volume 1 review, there are no guest star biographies on this set as there were on the first two seasons. Those were nice to have, and I wish that the DVD producers would have continued these for the final two seasons.

I always find myself enjoying this show every time I get a new release of it, and can't wait to go through the episodes. But, this is a volume release, and it is important to note that early next year, Infinity intends to release a set with both volumes of season 3 as one big set, so unless you already have volume 1, it is somewhat hard to justify owning THIS set. That doesn't mean that it is a bad set. In fact, it is a pretty good set, but the full season model works better in collections than the half seasons. If you REALLY can't wait to own the whole third season, Best Buy (as well as a few online retailers) already have that set available. I think that the important thing for Infinity to do for the remaining season (it is hard to believe there is only one season left) is to stay focused on video and audio quality, because they really did pretty good with that on this set, but a few nice special features would be good too. Until then, you'll probably want to wait to get your kicks on Route 66 until you are able to get the entire third season.

Reviewed by skees53
(4/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: Battlestar Galactica - The Plan

Happy Halloween from all of us here at SitcomsOnline! Today's blog of course is "all-boo"!

Welcome to our weekly Blog DVD Review. Today we take a look at Universal Home Video's Battlestar Galactica: The Plan. Battlestar Galactica is a current remake of the '70s sci-fi series. See Seth's Blog DVD Review of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan :

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (Universal, $26.98)) is a direct-to-DVD follow-up of the acclaimed Sci-Fi Channel original series, whose run concluded this year. The movie follows the action of the Cylons - robots (both mechanical and human-appearing) bent on the genocide of humanity - through the course of events of the first two seasons. If you're not already a fan of the show, you can stop reading right here: This one's strictly for the existing fans.

Warning: All remaining parts of the review will assume at least a passing familiarity with the plot of the show through its four seasons. I'll try to avoid excessive spoilers of both the feature and the TV run, but if you have no clue what I'm even writing about you're going to be doubly confused watching this feature.

Really, this feature - directed by show star Edward James Olmos - isn't even a follow-up so much as a clean-up. The show left several plot issues not entirely explained or even in a position to be left to the imagination, and so this feature goes back to fill in the gaps. The timeline of The Plan spans the events of the miniseries and first two seasons of the show. There's nothing from New Caprica or beyond, but as I happen to dislike the events after that arc was resolved anyway, it's perfectly fine by me to exclude that part.

In the process you get a major amount of new material for two characters, Anders (Michael Trucco) and Cavil (the amazing Dean Stockwell). You also get a flushing out and rehabilitation for one of the least-discussed models, Simon (Rick Worthy) plus some explanation for the conflicting nature of the Cylon model Eight known as Boomer. (Grace Park). Really, the entire thing is a two hour back-story info-dump. Really, that's the problem. There's no cohesive narrative. If you're not a BSG fan there's absolutely zero appeal to watch the movie, and nothing to hold you riveted if you choose to anyway. It's for fans only.
Though unrated, the DVD presentation is clearly for mature audiences only though the packaging doesn't state this. Aside from the near-genocide of the human species and militaristic violence, there's also a particularly disturbing act of violence by one of the two Cavils towards the end, plus some nudity and sexual situations. Without having to clean the show up for cable, things get slightly dirtier. The aforementioned adult situations are for the most part done fairly well contextually, but still, if just for the violence alone you'd have to be insane to let a small child watch this, and the packaging probably needed a better warning. Universal backed down from a plan to include an edited down "for-broadcast" version of the episode, leaving only the unrated full cut on the set. This was probably a mistake, in hindsight.

There's one disc in the set - the full feature being a movie running just short of two hours. The artwork is similar for the set as with the season releases, with lots of dark colors and silver tones, Because the film focuses so much on the Cylons, all characters depicted on the front cover are Cylons. The disc is blue, and in general fits in with the design scheme of the show's previous releases. Solid job by the artwork folks - it's appreciated. Video quality is an interesting issue: The movie features a combination of new footage interspersed with occasional old footage. The old footage looks just *slightly* out of place. More out of place is suddenly watching characters age forward or backwards five years in some scenes. Audio is a wonderful 5.1 surround track. The show has always made wonderful use of music, and it really shines on the multi-channel audio format. Obviously you can skip ahead via chapter stops - otherwise it'd be quite maddening to navigate a two hour feature.

The set also comes with loads of bonus features (otherwise it wouldn't be a Galactica set). Spanning the full length of the movie is a commentary by the feature's main writer Jane Espenson alongside the movie's director (and series star) Edward James Olmos. You get to hear their respective takes on why they did what they did in this movie's production. The episode is directed beautifully, though the writing does have one or two issues with scene flow. Overall it's quite a nice listen.
You also get a feature talking about Olmos' path from show star to show director, the social relevancy of the show (particularly in its first two-plus seasons), and interview with the cast. Also included are deleted scenes, plus features on creating the destruction of the Twelve Colonies, a lengthy one about the visual effects that went into the film, as well as one that talks about the Cylons and their portrayals. One of the main things to watch in this and the other features is the unrestrained praise for Dean Stockwell.

Dean (who I've been a huge fan of ever since the Quantum Leap days) slowly has all of the evil intents and purposes of the Cylons placed onto his shoulders, so that by the time we get to this feature he's easily the overwhelming source of the evil of the Cylon race. Add in to that having to portray a second, nicer, version of himself in this same movie, and you get a phenomenal performance by an exceptional actors. This one theme - that Dean Stockwell IS awesome - is hammered home more than just about any other single point it seemed to me, and I have to concur.

As much as I loved the first two-and-change years of the show, as much as I happen to love the acting of Dean Stockwell, and as much as I'm happy to see some depth added to the second-tier Cylons (Simon in particular), there's something about this movie that just doesn't feel right. Really, it's not a stand-alone feature at all so much as a companion piece to the first two seasons. If anything, the idea order for watching the series would be to watch the miniseries and seasons 1 and 2 plus Razor. When you get to the point where they want to airlock the dual Cavils, stop and watch this DVD. Once done, finish the series. That's really the idea viewing order, and the one that makes the most sense chronologically, thanks in part to the way the opening and closing scenes frame the film.

But as a stand-alone feature, based solely on its merits and without the cushioning of the TV show itself? It's incoherent, and there's too much going on with too little exposition. This, more than just about any other film release of a TV show I've ever seen, really is just for the fans. If you're a fan (with no inhibitions towards violence or moderate sexual content, pick this up NOW. If you're not a fan, or those two content issues are deal-breakers? Avoid it like the plague; you'll only get a headache. I personally liked it, but only because I already knew what was going on. If you're a fan? It is 4/5 Stars. If you're not? It is 2/5 stars. Hence, my final score below...

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(3/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: Peanuts - 1970's Collection, Vol. 1

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Reviews. Today week we take a look at Warner Home Video's Peanuts 1970's Collection, Vol. 1. We get the first six remastered TV specials from the '70s on DVD including a few for the first time ever! See my Blog DVD Review of Peanuts 1970's Collection, Vol. 1:

Peanuts - 1970's Collection, Vol. 1 (Warner, $29.98) brings us the first six 1970's TV specials on DVD digitally remastered...and it is really worth it! These are the first six TV specials from the '70s, as we still have another half dozen or so still left from the '70s. On this set we get Play it Again, Charlie Brown; You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown; There's No Time For Love, Charlie Brown; A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving; It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown; and It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. Play it Again and It's a Mystery specials are being released for the first time ever on DVD! There's No Time for Lovewasn't released digitally remastered previously, so it looks much better here.
Among the stories on these six specials are: Lucy trying to win Schroeder's affections by persuading him to perform; Charlie Brown runs for Student Body President; Peppermint Patty and Marcie admire Charlie Brown; the classic Thanksgiving feast; Snoopy turns into a detective to find Woodstock's missing next; and the Easter "Beagle" is coming to town.

Let's now move on to the packaging. Like all the previous Peanuts sets, we have a thin outer box that holds a very thin case, that is movie style. I never understood the reason for the thin box that holds a thin case...again what's the point? It doesn't need protection really. Also, both the back and front of each are exactly the same, except the box is shinier. The cover art is white in color, and has a shot of Charlie Brown and Lucy at a booth with the wording "the doctor is in." The title of the special is on the roof of the book, with a mention that the six specials are remastered on the top with a Snoopy Peanuts logo! To the back we go, we get a nice shot of Lucy holding a football as Charlie Brown misses the kick and the wording "Outta Sight Collection, Charlie Brown." The back also has a disc-by-disc breakdown on what specials to expect. When we open the case, we get nice artwork and details on each special on each side. The first disc is in a plastic holder, that we can flip back and forth like a page on a book. Disc two is actually on the right panel. Disc art has a white background, with artwork of Snoopy & Woodstock on disc one and Marcie and Peppermint Patty on disc two. Inside the case there is also an insert for two free songs from "Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits" soundtrack that you can redeem at iTunes.

The menu screen has options of Features, Trailers, Special Features, and Languages. We get that white background again, with the theme song playing in the background. We also have the same artwork as the cover art of Lucy and Charlie Brown on disc one, but disc two has Snoopy on the roof of his red dog house acting like he is a pilot. Anyway back to the menu, Trailers is just on disc one and we get some for the Miser Brothers Christmas and Scooby-Doo Mystery Begins DVD. We also get auto-trailers on each disc before the main menu for items like Peanuts '60s Collection, I Want a Dog for Christmas Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown Holiday Collection, and Saturday Morning 60s/70s DVD. For Languages, we can have either have English, Espanol, Portuguese or Japanese. For subtitles we have those four again and also French and Thai! The Features section has the specials listed, we can also select Play All to play them consecutively. Finally, Special Features is on disc two only and lists the featurette and a trailer for Harry Potter.

The video and audio is tremendous once again. These specials are all so good ever since they stated the Remastered Collection sets. They have never looked better or sounded better ever. I am very impressed yet again; what more can I continue to say about these digitally remastered sets? Warner continues to do a great job on this remastering of all these classic specials. Each special has 5 chapter stops and runtimes are all between 25:00-25:15-ish. So, yes of course it is unedited! These sets are must buys for the video quality alone!

As for special features, we get a nice featurette! It is titled "Woodstock: Creating Snoopy's Sidekick" and runs 12:42. Find out how the little yellow Woodstock was born and more on the loveable non-speaking character. Interviewed are Lee Mendelson (executive producer), Phil Cousineau (author), Alexis Fajardo (cartoonist), Derek Bary (Peanuts Historian), and Jean Schulz (Charles' wife).

I once again highly do recommend this set for any Charlie Brown-Peanuts fan and classic animation in general. Continue your collection, because we get another two specials we never had on DVD before and one remastered for the first time on DVD. This is worth it! It is now safe to say we have the first 6 specials from the '70s remastered! We have 6 more to go from the '70s still, and I'm sure Warner will do a good job on that set as well, but let's hope they announce a street date for that soon. Warner continues to do a wonderful job with the remastering and the behind the scenes extras for each set. Let's hope they continue to release more Peanuts specials and eventually we get them all remastered in our personal libraries! So head back to the grooving '70s and relive the first six classic specials from that decade all over again! The doctor is certainly in on this DVD!

-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: Saturday Night Live - The Best of Amy Poehler (10/20)

It is Saturday so it must mean it is time for the weekly "Blog DVD Review." Today we we take a look at Universal Home Entertainment's Saturday Night Live - The Best of Amy Poehler. SNL of course is the long running Saturday late night sketch comedy series. This set features Amy Poehler themed episodes. See Seth Thrasher's blog DVD review of Saturday Night Live - The Best of Amy Poehler and:

Saturday Night Live - The Best of Amy Poehler (Universal, $19.98) is now on DVD with a best of special featuring Amy Poehler. This has aired on NBC already this past April. If you're a fan of the work of SNL alumnus and star of NBC's Parks and Recreation, then Universal has a new DVD set coming out you might well be interested in - it's a "best of" compilation from her years at SNL. Classic bits such as the Clinton & Palin opening gag from last year's election segment to the various recurring original characters and one-off bits (such as "Adventures of a Dollar," an underrated bit from the show's recent past). Highlights of her SNL career spanning much of this decade (2001-2008) are featured.

The set includes miscellaneous sketches from Poehler's run on the show, spread fairly well across the run. This presents an interesting scenario when you get into the technical nuts and bolts of the set, as the show switched from 4:3 SD to 16:9 HD roughly halfway into her tenure on the show. This causes a bit of a problem with regards to the video if you're watching this set on some older television sets (more on that in a bit). If you noticed earlier, I was a bit light on details of the sketches. This is for a decent reason...unfortunately, I'm not that big a fan of much of Amy's work on SNL. While I can appreciate that others find her funny, her humor style doesn't mesh well with what I consider funny. It's just an issue of personal tastes, but as a consequence there's not much on this set to hold my interest.

In addition to the two sketches I mentioned earlier, there's also a Live with Regis & Kelly parody, with guest Queen Latifah that was fairly decent. Other sketches included include a Kaitlin sketch, one staging of the recurring "Dakota Fanning Show" bit, two miscellaneous compilations of short bits - one from Weekend Update, one from sketches, plus more. With regards to guests, aside from the myriad of regular cast members you also get the various guest hosts from those episodes, including Alec Baldwin, Drew Barrymore, Justin Timberlake, Hugh Jackman, Josh Brolin, and Christopher Walken, plus more.

There is one disc in the set - the full feature is a single one hour twenty minute compilation episode. The artwork is a white background, with miscellaneous green splotches and dark scribbles. The disc has the same artwork. With regards to the content on the set, earlier I mentioned the video early in the review because of an important problem this WILL cause for some buyers: For this set, the show is presented in anamorphic widescreen, with the non-widescreen segments being pillarboxed into the native widescreen of the DVD. If you're watching this set on an older square television set with your DVD player in Letterbox, this will mean the unenviable presence of twin boxes - both letterboxed (horizontal bars) and pillarboxed (vertical bars) on some sketches. You poor, poor souls.

The video quality itself falls into two categories. The HD-era video is flawless, with absolutely no deterioration or noise. The SD-era video shows slight color issues. One sketch in the set is made to look deliberately poor - a video designed to parody 1980s workout tapes. The video is deliberately set up to look like a 3rd-generation VHS tape. This is part of the gag, and as such isn't an issue. The audio is Dolby Digital 5.1, with the extra channels getting used more on the more recent skits. Chapter stops are placed at the end of EVERY sketch, as you can select individual sketches from the main menu and it's important to access those easily.

Every now and then, SNL puts out a compilation DVD of various cast members. Given the slow release in season sets, I suppose it's better than nothing. I suppose here that's my opinion of this set - it's better than nothing. Of the *primary* cast members from SNL from the 2000s, there are quite a few I'd rather see DVD sets of - but again, that's really personal taste at work. What bothers me, those tastes aside, is the price point for this set. $20 for what amounts to a single episode of SNL and no bonus material? Really? That's absolutely ridiculous - I wouldn't pay for a 90 minute compilation set for ANY cast member at that price - luckily they eventually come down.
If you're an Amy Poehler fan, go ahead and pick this set up. Otherwise, there are other ways to spend your $10-$20 than this. A $20 MSRP for 90 minutes of a TV show is just ridiculous. Recommendation to avoid.

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(2.5/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Reviews: The Very First Alvin Show and The Chipmunks Go to the Movies: Star Wreck

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Reviews. This week we take a look at Paramount Home Entertainment's Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Very First Alvin Show and Alvin & the Chipmunks Go to the Movies: Star Wreck. It is so cool to have an episode of the '60s series The Alvin Show on DVD! See my Blog DVD Reviews of Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Very First Alvin Show and Alvin & the Chipmunks Go to the Movies: Star Wreck:

Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Very First Alvin Show (Paramount, $16.99) brings the very first episode of the '60s classic The Alvin Show on DVD along with A Chipmunk Reunion from 1985 and a 1991 retrospective. In the '60s series' first episode, "Stanlet the Eagle," Alvin, Simon, and Theodore get a "pet" eagle, and they have to teach it how to fly. Each episode of the series had two episodes and two musical segments. The second mini-episode features the scientist Clyde Crashup who tries to invent the sport "Baseball" in his own way. The two musical segments are Alvin and the Chipmunks singing "Oh, Gondaliero!" and "I Wish I Could Speak French."

We have had many Chipmunk sets, some even re-released. Basically, we have had Chipmunks Go To The Movies sets (which featured episodes like "Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom," "Robomunk," "Star Wreck," "Batmunk," and "Funny...We Shrunk the Adults"). We have also had holiday themed sets such as Valentine's, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas specials releases. Paramount has also released the Chipmunk Adventure feature film from 1987. We also had episodes featuring The Chipettes from the original series 1983-87 series. And my personal favorite was the Alvinnn! Edition, which was the first set to have episodes from the original 1983-87 series.

This set has the first episode of the 1961 series. The first episode runs 25:36 with six chapter stops. We also get a 1985 episode from Alvin & the Chipmunks era titled "A Chipmunk Reunion." In "A Chipmunk Reunion," the Chipmunks search for their long lost mother. The episode is from the 1983-87 series and runs around 24:00 with seven chapter stops available. The next is an NBC special from 1991 titled "The Chipmunks Present Rockin' Through the Decades." This is a 1991 special hosted by Will Smith with many special guests like Markie Post. This special runs 23:21 with seven chapter stops.

Packaging is simple and in the same line as the previous Chipmunks sets--a nice simple case with the discs inside. Cover art features the original Alvin, Simon, & Theodore from The Alvin Show with Clyde Crashcup and Leonardo lurking in a flying cup. Back of the case we have info on the set and the episodes, with all three Chipmunks with Dave Seville. There are also four little episodic photos. We get a red box listing the episode titles for the set. Disc art has the same artwork as the cover art, but we don't see Clyde Crashcup & Leonardo this time. And finally there is an insert inside that is a comic strip style featuring Clyde and Leonardo. All the artwork is from the '60s series!

The menu screen has the same artwork has cover art. We have an option to Play All, but the episodes are listed right on the menu screen. We do have a Previews option, but that is the same thing as the auto-trailer for Chipmunk sets before the main menu begins. At least we don't get any other trailers. This is very basic, but it works. I wish we had some music at least playing in the background!
The video and audio are GREAT for The Alvin Show first episode. Paramount transferred this from 35mm to HD! A Chipmunk Reunion and the retrospective are similar to previous sets. They are certainly not remastered or anything, but are watchable, though. So it is worth the buy, just because The Alvin Show is so rare. Even Alvin & The Chipmunks is not on TV anymore in reruns, so it is nice to see those, too!

I highly do recommend any fan to pick up this set. It is so nice that they FINALLY released an episode of The Alvin Show on DVD. Since they remastered the pilot episode to HD, I hope that means we get the entire series soon? I am more familiar (and a big fan) with the '80s series, but I hope to see more of the '60s series! I never watched the '60s series in repeats on Nickelodeon in the early '90s, but I wish I did. It is also nice we get the 1991 retrospective on DVD as well. But come on Paramount let's release a complete series set of The Alvin Show and start releasing Alvin & The Chipmunks in season sets as well! Fans want this! So anyway, first let's get the episode that started it all!

-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Alvin & the Chipmunks Go to the Movies: Star Wreck (Paramount, $16.99) brings the gang spoofing Star Trek along with Dick Tracy and Sherlock Holmes. Funny things are happening where no Chipmunk has dared to go! Alvin stars as Captain Dirk, commander of the S.S. Boobyprize; Simon is Mr. Speck, and Brittany is Uhaha. Together, they must rescue fellow crewmember Dr. McRoy (Theodore) after he gets abducted by a weird extraterrestrial family! This high-flying spoof of the box office smash will leave you beaming with laughter!
We have had many Chipmunk sets, some even re-released. Basically, we have had Chipmunks Go To The Movies sets (which featured episodes like "Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom," "Robomunk," "Star Wreck," "Chip Tracy," "Batmunk," and "Funny...We Shrunk the Adults"). We have also had holiday themed sets such as Valentine's, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas specials releases. Paramount has also released the Chipmunk Adventure feature film from 1987. We also had episodes featuring The Chipettes from the original series 1983-87 series. We even got the old 1961 pilot of The Alvin Show. And my personal favorite was the Alvinnn! Edition, which was the first set to have episodes from the original 1983-87 series.

This set has two episodes from The Chipmunks Go to the Movies (1990) and an episode from The Chipmunks years (1988-89). The "Star Wreck" episode runs 22:33 with five chapter stops, but the closing credits are missing. Next we have the episode "Chip Tracy," from the Movies season. In "Chip Tracy," we follow the only clean cop in a city awash in crime. The episode runs 23:07 with five chapter stops. The final episode is from The Chipmunks years. In "Elementary, My Dear Simon," we find the Chipmunks on the trail of the infamous Moriarty. This episode runs 23:35 with five chapter stops.

Packaging is simple and in the same line as the previous Chipmunks sets--a nice simple case with the discs inside. Cover art features Alvin, Simon, & Theodore in their Star Wreck characters. Back of the case we have info on the set and the episodes, with the trio sitting inside the spaceship. We get a little light blue/greyish box listing the episode titles for the set. Disc art has the same artwork as the cover art. Inside the case we also have an insert for Chipmunks sets on DVD and Chipmunks.com.

The menu screen has the same artwork has cover art. Options are Play All, but the episodes are listed right on the main menu. We also have a Previews option, but it the same as the auto-trailer for Chipmunks sets found before the main menu starts. At least we don't get any other trailers.
The video and audio are OK at best, some episodes look good (not great though), some don't. If you have any of the other sets, you'll know what I mean. They are certainly not remastered or anything, like I have mentioned before. They are watchable, though. So it is worth the buy, especially since this series is not on television anymore. The copies are a bit better than VHS that you may have recorded from the original run or 90s syndication. These episodes are from 1988-1990, so they aren't too bad. The audio is in stereo.

I highly do recommend any fan to pick up this set. Especially if you have all the Chipmunks Go to the Movies sets so far. It would have been better if all were released at once rather than all these sing disc sets, but what can we do?
These episodes are not as good as the 1983-87 seasons or even the 1988-89 season, but they are still good to see and collect! Spoofs are always cool to see. We get this Star Wreck episode for some reason a second time on DVD. They should have released "Kong!" at least, since that hasn't been released on DVD yet. Other episodes from this season not yet released are: "S.T.", "Irrational Buffoon's European Vacation," "Gremilonis," and "Sploosh." Give us that complete season set of this already! Anyway, it is time to boldly go where no Chipmunk has dared to go...again, but at least we get to solve crime with Chip Tracy and Sherlock Holmes!

-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: CSI: Miami - The Seventh Season

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Review. This week we travel south to sizzling and sunny Miami for CSI: Miami: The Seventh Season. CSI: Miami stars David Caruso, Emily Procter, Adam Rodriguez, Jonathan Tigo, Rex Linn and Eva La Rue. See my Blog DVD Review of CSI: Miami: The Seventh Season:



C.S.I.: Miami - The Seventh Season (CBS DVD/Paramount Home Video, $71.41)

The sizzling, sun-drenched action heats up in CSI: Miami's thrill-packed Seventh Season, as the team uncovers increasingly exotic and bizarre crimes within the worlds of air travel, reality television, and horse racing. Meanwhile, life takes a dangerous turn for lead criminologist Horatio Caine (David Caruso) as he races to protect his team, his family and even himself. All of which makes this spectacular 25-episode collection almost too hot to handle!

This 7-disc set contains all 25 episodes from the seventh (2008-09) season. The episodes are presented in Anamorphic Widescreen (16:9) with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio. It has a total running time of approximately 18 hours, 15 minutes. The attractive packaging features a holofoil photo of David Caruso wearing his trademark sunglasses on the cover. This is the third consecutive release where only David Caruso was on the cover. The holofoil background is used on the back and sides of the packaging as well. On the back cover, there are photos of Adam Rodriguez, Jonathan Tigo, Eva La Rue, Emily Procter, Rex Linn and David Caruso. A synopsis of the set, a listing of the special features and the DVD specs are provided. The four black slim cases slide out from the right of the outer cardboard box. The slim cases feature a large photo of David Caruso, with smaller photos of Rodriguez, Togo, La Rue, Procter and Linn in the background. A fire explosion is at the top of the case. There is a photo of a boat on fire on the back cover. The episode titles and special features are listed by disc. Inside the slim cases, there is just blank space. Some more photos or episode summaries would have been nice to see. The discs have the CSI: Miami logo and a silver background. Each slim case holds 2 discs, except for the fourth case which holds only 1 disc.

The menus are very simple and easy to navigate. They have a montage of video clips, with some instrumental music playing in the background that loops after about 45 seconds. Options are available for Episode Selection, Set Up and the Special Features (only on Discs 3, 6 and 7). There are some sound effects and instrumental music played during the transitions on the menus. You can choose either English 5.1 Surround or Español audio on the Set Up menu. Closed captioning is available for all of the episodes. The special features are not rated and some are not closed captioned. The video and audio quality is once again outstanding. Too bad these episodes aren't yet available on Blu-ray. All of the episodes are in their original broadcast order and appear to be unedited, with runnings times of 42-44 minutes. There is nothing on the packaging to indicate that any of the music had to be changed. I'm sure they have deals in place for DVD rights before they use any song on the show.

Special Features include 2 audio commentaries, 3 featurettes totaling about 65 minutes, and a pop-up information track on 1 episode. It seems like the amount has dropped off from previous seasons, although the featurettes are pretty detailed and offer a lot of interesting technical information. Here is the breakdown by disc:

Disc 2
Audio Commentary on "Wrecking Crew" by Director Joe Chappelle, Visual Effects Supervisor Larry Detwiler and Writer Corey Miller - Calleigh and Eric are going over a witness's testimony and getting him ready for transfer to the court building when a crane crashes into a building. One of the most ambitious episodes of the season. A lot of interesting technical information on how they shot the episode.

Wrecking Crew: Miami Classified - View the episode with pop-ups providing more background information or random facts about what appears on-screen - These pop-up type videos are interesting, but I think they should be on episodes which don't already have commentaries. The information tends to overlap a bit.

Audio Commentary on "Gone Baby Gone" by Producer Don Tardino, Writer/Producer Barry O'Brien and Director Carey Meyer - A baby is taken from her mother's arms in broad daylight, and the team must race against time to find her. Teri Polo guest stars.

Disc 3
The Miami Sound Machine (30:02) - An in-depth look at the sounds of CSI: Miami. This featurette includes interviews with Director Mario Black, Executive Producer Sunil Nayar, Co-Producer Melissa Black, Sound Supervisor Tim Kimmel, Co-Producer Bruce Davidson, Boom Operator John Bauman, Production Sound Mixer Donavan Dear, Adam Rodriguez, Boom Operator James Mase, Boom Operator Chris Walmer, Rex Linn, Music Supervisor PJ Bloom, Music Editor Skye Lewin, Composers Kevin Kiner and Jeff Cardoni, Dialogue Editor Todd Niesen, ADR Mixer Greg Steele, Loop Group Leader Joyce Kurtz, Sound Effects Editor Bradley Katona, Foley Artists James Bailey and Joseph Sabella, and Re-Recording Mixers Bill Smith and Yuri Reese. Not only do they have high definition video, they have high definition sound. They've basically had the same sound crew since season 1. This featurette is divided into two sections: Production Sound and Post Production Sound. Production Sound is the recording of the initial dialogue and sounds on location with the boom mics. The Post Production Sound is the final editing, music soundtrack and score, ADR/looped lines, sound effects, foley (re-recording of footsteps and props, and final mixing of the episode. This was quite an interesting feature. There are really a lot of behind-the-scenes people involved in the making of a finished episode.

Disc 6
The New AV Lab (14:10) - This new look was first introduced in Season 6 and further developed in Season 7. Interviews include Jonathan Tigo, Eva La Rue, Producer Don Tardino, Visual Effects Supervisor Larry Detwiler, Executive Proudcer Sunil Nayar, Co-Executive Producer Barry O'Brien, Director Joe Chappelle, Emily Procter, Adam Rodgriguez, Lead Compositor Robert Konuch, and Visual Effects Artists Jeffrey Olney and Russell Welch. They talk about designing the room, acting without having anything to interact with, adding the visual effects and graphics, and re-designing the AV Hummer. This show has become so much more high tech than the early seasons.

Disc 7
CSI: Miami - Heating Up Season 7 (21:35) - A general overview of the major storylines and new and returning characters of Season 7. Interviews include Co-Executive Producer Barry O'Brien, Executive Producer Sunil Nayar, Producer Don Tardino, Eva La Rue, Jonathan Tigo, Emily Procter, Rex Linn, Evan Ellington, Adam Rodriguez and Megalyn Echikunwoke. They talk about the major themes of season like the Russian mob, bringing back characters from the sixth season like Julia Winston (Elizabeth Berkley) and Horatio's son Kyle, the new character of medical examiner Tara Price, the character's personal lives, Frank's promotion and desire for a girlfriend, Natalya's background, Delko's father, and the relationship between Delko and Calleigh.

Final Comments: It was another explosive and action-packed season of the world's most watched television program. Some of my favorite episodes of the season were "Tipping Point," "And They're Offed," "Collateral Damage," and "Dissolved." The show always remains fresh and interesting, as they delve further into the character's personal lives and background. It's sad to see so many of the original cast members leave the show over the years, but I guess that is part of the business. The show has reached over 150 episodes, which is quite a feat these days. This DVD set has everything that you have come to expect with in-depth featurettes and commentaries. CSI: Miami has some great performances by the actors, but it's always nice when all of the behind-the-scenes people are recognized on the special features for all of the hard work they do with the look and sounds of the show.

-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller
(4/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: Life on Mars - The Complete Series (9/29)

Welcome to our weekly Blog DVD Review! This week we take a look at ABC Studios' Life on Mars: The Complete Series. Life on Mars is about a New York City police detective Sam Tyler (played by Jason O'Mara), who after being struck by a car in 2008, regains consciousness in 1973. See my Blog DVD Review of Life on Mars: The Complete Series:

Life on Mars: The Complete Series (ABC Studios, $39.99) brings all 17 episodes of this sci-fi crime drama starring an all-star cast on DVD for the first time! We head back in time to 1973, after Det. Sam Tyler is struck by a car in 2008. The series captivated fans and critics throughout the country, with an irresistible soundtrack and of the most celebrated casts on television including Jason O'Mara, Michael Imperioli, Gretchen Mol, and the legendary Harvey Keitel! Life on Mars is a smart, suspenseful drama with a finish that will just blow you away! So the series ends the way it wanted to!
The series was unfortunately canceled. The series started on Thursdays at 10pm in October and November of lats year before a hiatus took place and the series returned in late January on a new night of Wednesdays, and the ratings suffered big time. The series stars Jason O'Mara as Det. Sam Tyler, Michael Imperioli as Det. Ray Carling, Gretchen Mol as Policewoman Annie Norris, Jonathan Murphy as Det. Chris Skelton, and Harvey Keitel as Lt. Gene Hunt. Among the recurring stars are Lisa Bonet as Maya, Tanya Fischer as Windy, Jennifer Ferrin as Rose Tyler, Dean Winters as Vic Tyler, Caleb Wallace as Young Sam, and Maggie Siff as Maria Hunt Belanger. Among the guests this year are Peter Gerety, Edi Gathegi, Odette Yustman, Lenny Venito, Brad William Henke, Wallace Shawn, Kevin Kilner, Paige Turco, Gina Gershon, Mark Linn-Baker, and Whoopi Goldberg.

This series was an excellent show. I think the hiatus hurt the show and also when it returned in late January, it was aired out of order. The cliffhanger from episode 7 in November didn't have a resolution until the ninth one aired, as I think they were trying to start the series on its new night with an episode that was self-explanatory. However, on this DVD they do switch the episodes, so "Take a Look at the Lawmen" was the 8th one aired, is 9th on this DVD, while "The Dark Side Of The Mook" was the 9th one aired, is 8th on this DVD. That is much better! But since they did that, they should have reordered episodes 10-13 as well, as they aired out of order, too. The final four episodes were aired correctly and also are placed right on the DVD. Production order would have been the best thing for the DVD. Anyway, some memorable episodes include the series opener "Out Here in the Fields," when after an accident, NYPD detective Sam Tyler inexplicably finds himself back in 1973, where he must help solve a murder that is eerily similar to a case he was investigating in 2008. In "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadows?" Sam busts a guy for accosting his mother, only to find out he's a loan shark and she's into him for a thousand dollars, but when his mother doesn't want to prosecute, she, unknowingly, leads Sam down a road that puts him on the outs with Annie. In "Things to Do in New York When You Think You're Dead," Sam partners up with Fletcher, his future police mentor, in 1973 to find a Puerto Rican man accused of throwing a black girl off the roof of a building--a case that has the black community up in arms and demanding retribution. In the first half finale, "The Man Who Sold the World," while investigating a child's kidnapping, Sam discovers some disturbing information about his father, as well as the real reason he disappeared for good on the day of Sam's fourth birthday party. In the conclusion, "The Dark Side of the Mook," a mysterious phone call from a tipster leads Det. Sam Tyler to a headless body and a severed head is delivered to the precinct at the same time, thus leading to the discovery of a series of gruesome decapitations that might involve Det. Carling's brother, Eddie. In "Coffee, Tea, or Annie," when a Pan Atlantic air hostess turns up dead, Annie volunteers for a dangerous undercover mission posing as the murdered woman to help solve the second in a possible series of brutal homicides. In "All the Young Dudes," when Sam poses as a streetwise tough to infiltrate a vicious New York City gang suspected of truck hijackings, he's pushed to the limit not to blow his cover, and he reveals a much darker side. In the excellent series finale, "Life is a Rock," Sam wakes up after dreaming about his 2008 apartment with 1973 characters and is told he is most likely closer to going back and later on a mysterious caller offers Sam a chance to return to 2008...all he needs to do is complete three tasks, but a confusing set of circumstances inside and out of the 1-2-5 makes him think twice about whether he even wants to go back. When love, death, promise, hope, fear and mystery converge, will Sam decide to stay in 1973 or return to the future?

Packaging has a thin outer box that you can remove from the top or bottom to get to the case inside. Both the thin outer box and case have the same artwork for both the front and back. The cover has a nice orange background with the New York skyline along with shots of Keitel, Imperioli, Mol, and O'Mara. The show logo is on top in black lettering with the four main star names on top of that. A Modern Day Cop In A 1973 World is printed on the bottom. The back has that orange background with information on the set and one episodic photo and we also have a photo of an 8 Track that lists the bonus features. Technical specifications are listed below the episodic photo.
Opening the case, on the left side we see discs one & two. On the right side we see discs three and four. The discs are overlapping each other. There is also an insert for Blu-ray inside. Disc artwork is very nice, with each disc fitting that orange background. Disc one has episodes 1-4 with artwork of a 1970's style car and in the background we can see Radio City Hall. Disc two has episodes 5-9 and has artwork of that black phone that Sam gets the mysterious phone calls from. Disc three has episodes 10-13 and has artwork of two guns and the Brooklyn Bridge (it seems) in the background. And finally disc four has episodes 14-17 and has artwork of the NYPD police badge with the New York City skyline in the background. When you remove the discs, the panels have nice artwork, along with a disc-by-disc breakdown of episode titles and bonus features. It is nicely done!

The menu screen starts with a police car then we get to the main menu with '70s style graphics and music playing in the background. It is groovy! The options on the main menu are Play All, Episode Selection, Set Up, and Bonus Features. But before the main menu screen comes on disc one, we get some auto sneak peeks of other DVDs: ABC on DVD, Lost, The Proposal, Cheri and Blu-ray DVD. Set Up section has the option of subtitles in English, French or Spanish and how you can register your DVD. The Episodes option gives us the episode number, title and a screenshot. Bonus Features option has all the extras listed. All of the sub-menus have different background music from the show...very '70s style! This show had great music, didn't it?

The episodes run usually 41-43 minutes...unedited of course with all the great music intact. The lowest one is 40:10 and the highest is 43:12. There are about 8 chapter stops per episode. The video is digitally mastered and is in widescreen and looks very good! The audio is great and sounds very good, as it is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. This is 2008-2009, so it had better be good. There is nothing to complain at all here...it is perfect! The '70s never looked better on DVD!

Moving on the bonus features. We have a lot of audio commentaries! Disc one has audio commentary for the first episode "Out Here in the Fields" with creator/executive producers Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec. They give lots of details and cool facts...I'm sure many of the October Road fans noticed some references to that show, since they created that show also. On disc two we have audio commentary for the great episode ""Things To Do In New York When You Think You're Dead," with Jason O'Mara (Sam Tyler), co-executive producer Michael Katleman and executive producer Scott Rosenberg. Once again this is very fun and O'Mara is interesting to listen to. This was a great episode, too. We also have audio commentary for the fall finale "The Man Who Sold the World" with the same team from the pilot...creator/executive producers Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec. A lot of insight once again is given. And find out details on the cliffhanger at the end! The final audio commentary is on disc four and it is for the series finale, "Life is a Rock," with Jason O'Mara (Sam Tyler), co-executive producer Michael Katleman and executive producers Josh Applebaum & Scott Rosenberg. We learn a lot! Find out details on the last scene that was brilliant! Series finale endings usually go either way, you either love it or hate it.
All of the other extras are on disc four! We have an interview featurette titled "To Mars and Back" (15:34). This is a very good detailed extra that gives us the inside scoop on the cast, characters and the series....journey back to the '70s! Interviewed are Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg, Josh Applebaum, Jason O'Mara, Jane Raab (producer), Jonathan Murphy (Chris), Gretchen Mol (Annie), Michael Imperioli (Ray), Michael Katleman, Matthew Lamb (Location Manager), Joseph Zolfo (Unit Production Manager), Stephen Hendrickson (Production Designer), James Nuciforo (Police Consultant), Jim Lillis (Property Master), Wallace Lane (Costume Designer), and Harvey Keitel (Gene Hunt). Then we have another featurette titled "Sunrise to Sunset with Jason O'Mara" (9:33). We spend an entire day with Jason O'Mara on the set bright and early to the end of the day, which is around 9pm. That is a long day, and O'Mara says sometimes it goes even longer! Then we have a nice '70s style featurette titled "Flashback: Lee Majors Goes to Mars" (7:53). Jason O'Mara shows '70s icon Lee Majors around the set. This is a very good special feature. Lee Majors is a fan of the show it seems. Six Million Dollar Man, indeed! Then we have some "Spaced Out: Bloopers from the Set" (2:43)...yes, bloopers! See all the goofs and play on the set, but this is way too short. Finally, we have 10 Deleted Scenes that run 1:30, 0:50, 2:30, 3:35, 0:41, 0:23, 1:00, 1:36, 2:07, and 1:29. O'Mara said in one of the commentaries they deleted a lot scenes with Windy for time, and we see them on here! Gotta love Windy!

I highly recommend this series and set...it is an ABC Studios DVD (the show was co-produced by 20th Century Fox as well), so it is good and filled with special features. We have great episodes, great packaging, great menus, and groovy bonus features! If you forgot to watch the show when it moved to Wednesdays, now is your chance to see what you missed. If you have never watched the show, get this DVD! It has an actual ending, so you won't be disappointed. The cast is great! And the '70s clothing, sets, and setting is perfectly done. Get out your 8 Track and listen to David Bowie's Life on Mars song and you'll be ready for the Life on Mars DVD! Don't space out, Spaceman! Is there life on Maaaars?
View the Trailer.

-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4.5/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: Castle - The Complete First Season (9/22)

Welcome to our weekly Blog DVD Review! This week we take a look at ABC Studios' Castle: The Complete First Season. Castle is about a mystery writer working with the NYPD to solve cases as he tries to come up with ideas for his new book. This show has the same style of shows like The Rockford Files and Moonlighting. See my Blog DVD Review of Castle: The Complete First Season:

Castle: The Complete First Season (ABC Studios, $39.99) brings the first season of the witty crime series starring Nathan Fillion on DVD with all 10 episodes! Get on the beat with this great new show! It is loaded with provocative banter and a talented cast. Richard Castle is a world-famous crime novelist whose stories come to life in the pilot episode when a copycat killer follows his literary blueprint. He then enlists to help the NYPD stay a step ahead of the murderer. Castle realizes working with the police can also supply him with a new slew of ideas for his next book. The relationship gets a little more complicated -- and a whole lot more fun -- when he is paired with the attractive Detective Beckett, who doesn't appreciate Castle's unorthodox style. If you like Moonlighting and The Rockford Files, this show is in the same vein as those as the characters are the most important part of the show.
The series will return to its Mondays at 10PM timeslot on ABC this coming season following Dancing with the Stars. The series stars Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle, Stana Katic as Detective Kate Beckett, Jon Huertas as Detective Javier Esposito, Seamus Dever as Detective Kevin Ryan, Tamala Jones as Medical Examiner Dr. Lanie Parish, Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Captain Roy Montgomery, Molly Quinn as Alexis Castle, and Susan Sullivan as Martha Rodgers. Among the recurring stars are Stephen J. Cannell and James Patterson as themselves, and Bailey Chase as Will Sorrenson. Among the guests this year are Dan Castellaneta, Jayne Brook, Bill Smitrovich, K Callan, Darby Stanchfield and Judy Reyes.

This first season got better and better as the season went a long. I don't like crime shows of today, but this one is a throwback to the ones of the past and focuses on characters than more about the case. I like that! The series airs Mondays at 10pm and had a Dancing with the Stars direct lead-in a few times in season one, but now in season two...it will get that lead-in each time! The more people find this show, the better...because it has something for everyone. The humor, the crime, the relationships, the action, and great characters! The second season premieres on Monday (Sept. 21) and I have seen the season premiere already and it is awesome. We are about two months later in the story when Castle has to "tell" Beckett something, which I won't give away if you haven't watched the first season finale yet. It is a great premiere you won't want to miss, for sure! Beckett looks even more stunning this coming season with longer hair! She has a very stunning scene near the end of the second season premiere. Anyway, as for season one, some memorable episodes include the premiere, "Flowers for Your Grave," where popular and famous mystery novelist Richard Castle, who is bored with his own success, learns that a real-world killer has begun staging murders based on scenes from his novels. In "Nanny McDead," the body of a young woman is found spinning inside the dryer in the laundry room of an upscale apartment building. In "A Chill Goes Through Her Veins," the body of a frozen woman found tangled in steel bars at a construction site leads Beckett and Castle to a years-old mystery and a long abandoned case...as the two uncover startling revelations about the victim's past, the investigation forces Beckett to face some difficult memories of her own family tragedy. In "Always Buy Retail," when an immigrant is found tortured and murdered in a ritualistic killing, Beckett navigates the uncharted territory of the mysterious Vodun religion with Castle along for the ride, meanwhile, Castle is confronted with the possible return of his first wife, Alexis' mother, whose dizzying personality threatens to upend the tranquility of the entire family. In "Little Girl Lost," when a two-year-old girl is discovered missing from her home, Beckett is called in to assist with the investigation only to discover that the FBI agent in charge is, in fact, her ex-boyfriend. Finally, in the outstanding season finale "A Death in the Family," Castle and Beckett investigate the murder of a missing plastic surgeon who is found dead in the front seat of his car after a week of being parked curbside. As they delve into the twisted world of surgery obsessed patients and secret operations, Castle experiences a fatherly rite of passage as Alexis attends her first prom. And by looking into Beckett's past, he digs into information that could end his relationship with her forever.

Packaging has a thin outer box that you can remove from the top or bottom to get to the case inside. Both the thin outer box and case have the same artwork for both the front and back. The cover has a nice full body photos of Castle and Beckett in the New York City night sky, with one of Castle's books below that as we see a dead body I guess below the book. The show logo is in the middle in white lettering. The back has that dark blue night background with information on the set and has some episodic screen shots from episodes and we also have a cast photo. There is also a section detailing the bonus features box with technical specifications also.
Opening the case, on the left side we see disc one. On the right side we see discs two and three, overlapping each other. There is also an insert for Blu-ray inside. Disc artwork is very nice. Disc one has episodes 1-4 with artwork of a pen with some blood. Disc two has episodes 5-8 and has artwork of two of Castle's books including "At Dusk We Die." And disc three has episodes 9-10 plus bonus features and has artwork of two more of Castle's books including "A Calm Before the Storm." When you remove the discs, the panels have a nice cast photo, along with a disc-by-disc breakdown of episode titles and bonus features.

The menu screen starts with the opening credits from the series with the theme music, then we get to the main menu where we see moving video images with the closing theme playing in the background. The options on the main menu are Play All, Episode Selection, Set Up, Bonus Features, and Sneak Peeks (disc three). But before the main menu screen comes on disc one, we get some auto sneak peeks of other DVDs: ABC on DVD, The Proposal, and Cheri. Sneak Peeks option is only found on disc three on the main menu and has previews of many titles like Ugly Betty, Life on Mars, Lost DVDs, and an ABC promo for Desperate Housewives. Set Up section has the option of subtitles in English, French or Spanish and how you can register your DVD. The Episodes option gives us the episode number, title and a screenshot. Bonus Features option has all the extras listed. All of the sub-menus have different background music from the show.

The episodes run usually 41-43 minutes...unedited of course with all the great music intact. There are about 9 chapter stops per episode. The video is digitally mastered and is in widescreen and looks very good! The audio is great and sounds very good, as it is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. This is from mid-season 2009, so it had better be good. There is nothing to complain at all here...it is perfect!

Moving on the bonus features. Discs one and two have audio commentaries, while the rest of the extras are on disc three. Disc one has audio commentary for the first episode "Flowers for Your Grave" with creator/executive producer Andrew Marlowe, executive producer Rob Bowman, Nathan Fillion (Castle), Stana Katic (Beckett), and Jon Huertas (Esposito). They give lots of details and are very fun to listen to. Fillion is very witty in real life, too. On disc two we have audio commentary for the great episode "A Chill Goes Through Her Veins," with creator/executive producer Andrew Marlowe, executive producer Rob Bowman, Nathan Fillion (Castle), Stana Katic (Beckett), Jon Huertas (Esposito), and also this time Molly Quinn (Alexis). Once again this is very fun and Molly Quinn is on it this time. She is a teenager but doesn't seem like it at all. She is very smart!
All of the other extras are on disc three! We have two more audio commentary tracks. They are for the same episode, the season finale "A Death in the Family." The first track is with creator/executive producer Andrew Marlowe, executive producer Rob Bowman, Nathan Fillion (Castle), Stana Katic (Beckett), Jon Huertas (Esposito), and Molly Quinn (Alexis) once again. This team is so good to listen to! And we also have a track with Seamus Dever (Ryan) and Jon Huertas (Esposito). So Huertas does commentary TWICE for this episode! We have an interview featurette titled "Whodunit: The Genesis of Castle" (6:14). This is a very good detailed extra that gives us the inside scoop on the cast, characters and the season. Interviewed are Andrew Marlowe, Stephen J. Cannell (writer/producer, novelist), Rob Bowman, Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Molly Quinn, Susan Sullivan, Jon Huertas, Seamus Dever, and Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Then we have another featurette titled "Castle's Godfather" (7:15). This has the trio of Stephen J. Cannell, Rob Bowman and Andrew Marlowe. We find out how Cannell got involved with the show and how he has known Rob Bowman since he was a child! This is a very interesting featurette. The final featurette is a GREAT one! It is very unique and very funny. It is titled "Write-Along with Nathan Fillion" (9:06). Nathan spends an entire day with Stephen J. Cannell and learns how to be a mystery writer. It is a tough job! This is very comical and even has Cannell doing his famous throwing the paper in the air. One of the best extras ever and a must watch! Finally, we have some "Misdemeanours: Bloopers & Outtakes" (2:36)...yes, bloopers! See all the goofs and play on the set!

I recommend this series and set...it is an ABC Studios DVD, so it is good and filled with special features. I think this series will break out this season and will get a full season to show America how witty and great this show is. This DVD is awesome! We get of course all ten great episodes from the first season, good packaging, and great extras that has one of my favorite extras ever with Fillion and Cannell. We need more extras like that on DVDs! I don't understand why the DVD is coming out on Sept. 22, when the second season launches a day before on Sept. 21, but ABC did re-air all ten episodes this summer (some multiple times). So I hope you saw them all. Everyone needs to be watching this show. Make a date with Castle and Beckett every Monday at 10pm on ABC! This is the best crime drama on TV right now because it has substance to the characters. It has a bit of everything and fans of older series like The Rockford Files and Moonlighting will enjoy this series. It's a whole new chapter in crime solving, indeed! See the tension between Castle and Beckett! As Castle would say, "Tell Me You Saw That!"
View the Season One Trailer.

-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4.5/5 stars)

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Summer Week 16 Sitcom Ratings; Blog DVD Review: Private Practice - The Complete Second Season (9/15)

Summer is winding down with just 8 days left until the start of the 2009-2010 season on Sept. 21. We will be back with our normal weekly report two weeks from today with the first four nights numbers and analysis...but today we still have our regular how the sitcoms did for the remainder of the summer! Here are our summer sitcom ratings for this past week:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of August 30-Sept. 6)

• Til Death (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm did only 1.17 million...but it was Labor Day weekend.
• The Simpsons (Fox) - preempted for a movie.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - preempted for a movie...one-hour series finale airs tonight.
• Family Guy (Fox) - preempted for a movie.
• American Dad! (Fox) - preempted for a movie.

Summer Week 16 (September 7-13)

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) 2 episodes - 4.46 million for a repeat airing in its normal 8pm slot. A repeat at 8:30pm did 4.95 million...both were down from recent weeks, Labor Day I guess.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.02 million for a repeat on Labor Day, yet up from previous week I believe.
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 8.09 million for a repeat. 2.8 18-49 rating is excellent for repeats, and the best of the CBS sitcom block for this night.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• None.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - preempted for Obama Address to Congress.
• Gary Unmarried (CBS) - preempted for Obama Address to Congress.

Thursday Sitcoms

• Parks & Recreation (NBC) - preempted for NFL Opening Night game.
• The Office (NBC) 2 episodes - preempted for NFL Opening Night game.
• 30 Rock (NBC) - preempted for NFL Opening Night game.

Friday Sitcoms

• None.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Tonight you can catch the series finale of Fox's King of the Hill immediately following the NFL game followed by repeat of animated comedies from 9-10pm. Elsewhere ABC has a new Shark Tank at 9pm and the season finale of drama Defying Gravity at 10pm. CBS has 60 Minutes & Big Brother followed by the two-hour finale of There Goes the Neighborhood at 9pm, while NBC will have NFL Football. The CW has third airings of Vampire Diaries and Melrose Place pilots.



It is time for a special Sunday edition of the "Blog DVD Review." This week we take a look at ABC Studios' Private Practice: The Complete Second Season. Private Practice is the hit spin-off series of Grey's Anatomy that has Addison (Kate Walsh) in Los Angeles to work at her best friend's 'private practice' instead of the big hospital surgeries. See my Blog DVD review of Private Practice: The Complete Second Season:

Private Practice: The Complete Second Season (ABC Studios, $39.99) brings the second season of the Grey's Anatomy spin-off starring Kate Walsh on DVD with all 22 episodes! This season we experience all the challenges, changes, and second chanced found in this sizzling hit. This year Oceanside Wellness will have a competitor, as neo-netal surgeon Dr. Addison Montgomery will face the challenge of bringing the practice back on its feet after a rough patch.
The series will return to its Thursdays at 10PM timeslot on ABC this coming season following Grey's Anatomy. The series stars Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery (Obstetrics & Gynecology, Genetic Counseling), Tim Daly as Dr. Pete Wilder (Complementary Medicine), Audra McDonald as Dr. Naomi Bennett (Endocrinology & Fertility), Paul Adelstein as Dr. Cooper Freedman (Pediatrics), KaDee Strickland as Dr. Charolotte King (Chief of Staff at the nearby hospital), Chris Lowell as Dell Parker (Receptionist/Nurse), with Taye Diggs as Dr. Sam Bennett (Internal Medicine), and Amy Brenneman as Dr. Violet Turner (Psychiatry). Among the recurring stars are David Sutcliffe, Brian Benben, Grant Show, Jayne Brook, Josh Hopkins, and Jay Harrington. Among the special guests this year are Amy Acker, Ernie Hudson, Bill Dee Williams, Liz Torres, Patty McCormack, Amanda Detmer, Idina Menzel and the cast of Grey's Anatomy in a cross-over.

This second season was I believe a lot better than the first season when it was shortened by the strike and was trying to find itself. The series moved to Thursdays at 10pm in January after airing Wednesdays at 9pm prior to that. The third season premieres on October and I have seen the season premiere already and it leaves off where the second season leaves off. It is a great premiere you won't want to miss, for sure! Anyway, as for season two, some memorable episodes include the season premiere, "A Family Thing," where friendships are tested and secrets are revealed when Addison discovers that Naomi is concealing the practice's financial problems. In "Nothing to Talk About," Charlotte tries to woo Addison to St. Ambrose Hospital with promises of surgeries, as Addison and Kevin's relationship heats up. In "Tempting Faith," Addison receives a surprise visit from her brother and fellow surgeon, Archer (Grant Show), and his presence not only causes trouble for her, but for Naomi and Sam as well. In "Know When to Fold," Charlotte's rival practice, Pacific Wellcare, opens its doors and the competition with Oceanside Wellness begins, as Sam and Pete steal one of their clients, a favorite patient of Addison's goes to a Pacific Wellcare doctor for a second opinion. In "Homeward Bound," as Addison and Kevin struggle in their relationship, she finds herself attracted to Wyatt, the cocky doctor from rival Pacific Wellcare, while Violet seeks a way to carry on relationships with both Pete and Sheldon (Brian Benben), and Cooper grows closer to Charlotte when she experiences a family emergency. In "Acceptance," when Archer suffers a seizure, Addison and Naomi search for a cause and a cure and later call Derek for help. In "Ex-Life," Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and Naomi try to discover why Sam has a sudden asthma attack while Addison helps Derek (Patrick Dempsey) save the life of his pregnant patient, in a cross-over episode with Grey's Anatomy. In "Finishing," Addison is attracted to a colleague at St. Ambrose Hospital who turns out to be more than she bargained for, while Pete and Sheldon team up to persuade Violet to take a paternity test, but she firmly resists their effort. In the outstanding season finale "Yours, Mine, and Ours," as Violet chooses between Pete and Sheldon, Addison faces her feelings for Noah as Morgan goes into labor, while Dell has concerns for his daughter when a drugged-out Heather returns to town and Naomi must decide if it's in her best interest to stay with Oceanside Wellness or start anew at Pacific Wellcare. And in the cliff-hanger, a grief-stricken patient poses a danger to Violet.

The episodes run usually close to 43 minutes (unless it is an extended episode, which I will discuss a bit later)...unedited of course with all the great music intact. There are about 7 chapter stops per episode. The video is digitally mastered and is in widescreen and looks very good! The audio is great and sounds very good, as it is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. This is from the 2008-09 season, so it had better be good. Now as I discussed in the Grey's Anatomy Season 5 DVD Review, only the crossover episodes that aired as its own episode are here. So on the Grey's DVD, if it was under a Grey's episode, it is on that DVD only and not on the Private Practice DVD. So we don't get the Grey's Anatomy episodes "Beat Your Heart Out" (in which we see Derek at the end of the episode receiving the phone call from Addison), "Before and After" (the first actual cross-over with the gang going to Seattle) and "An Honest Mistake" (as Addison hangs around in Seattle to help on a case). It would have been nice if we had those episodes as extras at least! "Before and After" at least should be here as that episode is really needed, as the Private episode "Ex-Life" needs that episode to make sense. Buy the Grey's Season 5 DVD, I guess.

Packaging has an outer box that you can remove from the right then you'll see the digipak case inside, as last time. The outer box's cover has a nice big photo of Addison's face (with long hair) in the middle, with the seven remaining stars below that. The show logo is on the top in white wording and blue background. The back of the box has that blue background with information on the set and has some episodic screen shots from episodes that feature all eight of our stars. There is also a section detailing the bonus features box with technical specifications also. On the case itself, we have a nice cast photo at the beach on the front with the show logo and a nice blue background. The back of the case has the same style, with a episodic photos of Charlotte & Violet and one of Cooper. Opening the case, on the left side we see a pocket that holds inserts and on the pocket itself we have a disc-by-disc breakdown with episode titles and bonus features. There are two inserts in the left side pocket. We don't get an episode booklet this time, which is strange...but seems to be the case for all ABC DVDs this fall. Then there is an insert for other ABC Studios products and an insert for Blu-ray. On the right side of the case, we see an episodic photo of Sam and Naomi. Then we open the case again, in the middle we see discs one & two (overlapping, ugh) and the right side we see an episodic photo of Addison and Pete with Dell & Violet in the background. Opening the case on final time, we have a panel for discs three & four and on the far right we have a panel for discs five & six. Each disc matches the set's color scheme, that blue background and has nice character artwork. Disc one has episodes 1-4 with artwork of Addison & Pete. Disc two has episodes 5-8 and has artwork of Sam & Naomi. Disc three has episodes 9-12 and has artwork of Cooper & Violet. Disc four has episodes 13-16 and has artwork of Dell & Charlotte. Disc five has episodes 17-20 and has artwork of the entire cast. And finally disc six has episodes 21-22 and the bonus features with artwork of palm trees. When you remove the discs, the panels have nice artwork of different characters.

The menu screen has clips in the background with background music from the series playing in the background audio wise. The options on the main menu are Play All, Episode Selection, Set Up, Bonus Features (disc six), and Sneak Peeks (disc six). But before the main menu screen comes on disc one, we get some auto sneak peeks of other DVDs: ABC on DVD, Grey's Anatomy Season 5, Desperate Housewives, The Proposal, and Blu-ray DVD. Sneak Peeks option is only found on disc six on the main menu and has previews of many titles like Ugly Betty, Life on Mars, Castle DVDs, and an ABC promo for Grey's Anatomy. Set Up section has the option of subtitles in English, French or Spanish and how you can register your DVD. The Episodes option gives us the episode number, title and a screenshot. Bonus Features option is only on disc six and it has all the extras listed. All of the sub-menus have different background music.

Moving on the bonus features. We get two extended episodes with never before scenes! The extended episodes are "Crime and Punishment" (53:17) and "Nothing to Fear" (60:04). Wow, those are song long episodes! We also have an ABC Starter Kit (4:41) that recaps what has happened so far. A nice little fresher! This is listed in the episodes section on disc one.
All of the other extras are on disc six! We have an interview featurette titled "Patient Confidentiality: Examining Season 2" (12:50). This is a very good detailed extra that gives us the inside scoop on season two. Interviewed are Shonda Rhimes & Betsy Beers, Amy Brenneman, Paul Adelstein, and Tim Daly. We have one more featurette titled "Life Through the Lens: The Pictures of Chris Lowell" (8:08). This shows us Chris' talent of photography and we also see some cool shots from his collection. He travels a lot as well. Interviewed are Chris Lowell, Tim Daly, KaDee Strickland, Paul Adelstein, Kate Walsh, and Taye Diggs.
Then we have "Deleted Scenes" that are better organized and handled on this set. They are listed with episode titles so you know where they are from! We also have optional audio commentary on these deleted scenes from Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers! So you'll know why they were removed from the actual airing. If my counting skills are correct, we have about 23 deleted scenes! They are from episodes "A Family Thing," "Equal & Opposite," "Nothing to Talk About," "Past Tense," "Let It Go," "Know When to Fold," World's Apart," "Contamination", "Homeward Bound," "Second Chances," "Wait and See," "Finishing," "What Women Want," and "What You Do for Love." Finally, we have some "Bloopers" (4:16)...yes, bloopers! See all the goofs and play on the set!

I recommend this series and set...it is an ABC Studios DVD, so it is good and filled with special features. I think this series broke out after the crossover episodes and now it will have a full season behind Grey's Anatomy on Thursday nights. This season is miles better than the shortened first season and the characters have personalities and great stories and you won't want to miss this. As I mentioned, I saw the third season premiere in advance already and it is a very well written episode and leaves off where we last left off. It focuses on the hospital, but it is intense. You'll want to tune in for sure on Oct. 1, but you need to refresh yourself, catch up with these 22 season two episodes first! You won't need to have an illness or injury to watch this season on DVD, so no excuses to click on the link below to order today!

-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4.5/5 stars)

To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Official Website
Private Practice TV.com Page

Blog DVD Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Complete Season 8

We are preempting the weekly Summer ratings for today because final numbers for Wednesday and Thursday were not available to us yet, so we bring you a special edition of the blog DVD reviews on this special Labor Day weekend!
Today we take a look at Lionsgate's Season 8 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Ninja Turtles is of course the hit animated series that caused kids and teens to go crazy for in the late '80s and early '90s. See my Blog DVD Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Complete Season 8:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Complete Season 8 (Lionsgate, $14.98) brings all 8 episodes from the series' eighth season on DVD. Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April are all back to battle Shredder, Krang and other villains! It's a heart-pounding, pizza-munching, right-outta-the-sewer ninja action on this eighth season that even has a new theme song!

Starting with season four we started getting season releases. Season 4 set had 39 episodes and season 5 had 18 episodes. Season six had a total of 16 episodes on its set. And season seven had 27 episodes in four collectible "slices." Prior to that we were getting volume releases. Here is a recap: Volume 6 had the last 11 episodes from season three, plus the first episode of season four. The third season had a total of 47 episodes, so they decided to split up that season into volumes, so volumes 3, 4, 5, and 6 covered season three. For season 2 there were just 13 episodes, so Lionsgate released that for volume two...so yes, technically the first two volumes were season sets. Season one had only 5 episodes, so that was on Volume 1, with four bonus episodes from season ten actually. So do you have all of these? Hope you do dudes!

The packaging has an outer box that holds a keepcase inside. It is very simple since it is a one-disc set that has just eight episodes. The cover art has the Turtles in battle mode with Leonardo featured and Michaelangelo, Donatello and Raphael in the background. The color scheme is blue. The show logo is on the top, with "The Complete Season 8" logo on the bottom right and the "produced by Fred Wolf Films" on the bottom. The back of the box has info on the series and set, with a yellow box listing all eight episode titles. Radical! We also have three small episodic photos, along with a nice shot of Leonardo. The cover and back of the case is exactly the same as the outer box. When we open the case, we have the disc on the right panel. There is no artwork or anything on the panels itself, it is just a plain black background. The disc art has Leonardo (same as the cover art), with a blue background. Bodacious!

The menu screen is similar to season six. First, we get autotrailers before the main menu appears with trailers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men Wolverine, Super Capers movie, and more. Then after that is done, we come to the main menu screen. The theme song is playing in the background, and it does loop, and the photo is similar to the box art with each turtle. The theme song is actually the more popular older theme song rather than the new theme song that starts this season. The menu options are: Play All Episodes, Episode Selection, Trailers. Episode Selection takes us to a submenu with episode #, title, and a screenshot from the episode. Gnarly!

The video is on par with the other volumes, with dust and debris here and there and on par with previous recent seasons. The audio is also on par with the previous releases, not bad...and listenable. It's not remastered, but this is the best we have and it beats our taped VHS versions. The episodes are around 23:30. We get 5 chapter stops per episode again. Sensei Master Splinter likes!

Seasons four and five had extras, but then season six had absolutely nothing! Then for the 25th anniversary set, we had a lot of extras for season seven. We get nada here. This is the point in time when the Turtles episodes start getting a bit weird, so I guess we should not expect any more extras from here on out. Look out for the "Red Sky" in each episode!

I still urge fans to buy this set even though there are no special features. There are only eight episodes, so you could finish this set in a day and if you have all seven seasons, then you need this to continue your collection. Only Seasons 9 and 10 remain to be released. Seasons eight through ten have 8 episodes each, so expect one-disc sets from here on out, just like this season eight set. Four of the eight episodes of season ten was released on the Volume 1 DVD, the very first DVD...but I'm sure they will release all eight of those will be released when that set comes out.
Anyway, the tone of the show became darker, the art style changed significantly...but it's still our Turtles and you need to get this set dudes! Cowabunga!

-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV.com Page
Official Website

Blog DVD Review: Heroes - Season 3 (9/1)

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Reviews. This week we take a look at Universal Studios Home Entertainment's Heroes - Season 3. Villains will rise. Heroes will fall. Destiny will be redefined. See my Blog DVD review of Heroes - Season 3:



Heroes: Season 3 (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, $59.98)

Experience all the explosive action and shocking twists as Heroes - Season 3 comes to DVD! Rediscover the phenomenon in this six-disc set that includes all 25 suspenseful episodes from the third season's volumes, Villains and Fugitives. Plus, go behind the secenes with the show's writers, stars and artists as you explore hours of exclusive and revealing bonus features.

Season 3 began with a two-hour event on September 22, 2008. The first 13 episodes were part of the Villains volume, while episodes 14-25 were the Fugitives volume. Cristine Rose, who portrays Angela Petrelli, became a main character this season after being a recurring character in the first two seasons. New characters included Flint Gordon, Jr. (played by Blake Shields), Puppet Master (Eric Doyle), The Speedster/Daphne Millbrook (Brea Grant) and Usutu (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine). Ali Larter played the new character Tracy Strauss, Niki's triplet sister with the power to freeze objects with a touch.

The packaging is very stylish and similar to the previous seasons. The holofoil outer slip cover has a photo of 11 of the characters with Sylar, Hiro and Claire being in the foreground. An embossed Heroes title logo is at the top. On the back of the slip cover, there is a short synopsis of the set and a listing of the special features. The main digipak packaging slides out from the left of the outer slip cover. The Heroes logo is on the cover. Episode summaries and the special features are listed for discs four-six on the back cover. Opening the digipak, there are listings for discs one-three. There are photos of the cast and drawings underneath the tray which holds the discs. The plastic clips that held discs 1, 3 and 5 were broken on my set so the discs slide around. The discs have a red background and the Heroes logo on them.

The anamorphic widescreen menus are attractive and easy to navigate. The main menu opens with the familiar Earth spinning Heroes logo. That leads to about a minutes worth of video clips in circles with some great instrumental music by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman playing in the background. There are options for Play All, Chapter Index, Bonus Materials and Set Up. The Chapter Index menu features still images from the episodes where you can play the episode by itself, with commentary or view the deleted scenes. The Bonus Materials have a still image of a cast member and another music cue. The Set Up menus feature different photos of the cast. You can choose the audio commentaries from here. Subtitles are available in English SDH, Espanol and Francais. Closed captioninig is not available. Chapter stops are available but no scene selection menus are offered. When you first insert disc 1, there is a series of previews (5:56) for some other Universal tv shows and movies which you can play or skip.

Moving on to the video and audio, the quality is excellent. The episodes are presented in their original 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors are vibrant and clean. The picture is very sharp and detailed. Some of the night time scenes can look a little grainy, but that can be expected. Overall, the lighting is excellent and the outdoor scenes are beautifully shot. All of the episodes appear to be unedited, with running times of 41-43 minutes in length. They have the "Previously On" Heroes openings as originally broadcast. The overall running time of the set is approximately 17 hours, 53 minutes. The audio is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track and sounds great. I didn't notice any major problems on the episodes I've watched so far. The dialogue is at a good volume and easy to understand. I love the music score by Wendy Melvoin & Lisa Coleman and other sound effects that are used in the episodes. Subtitles are available in English, French and spanish. The bonus features are not rated and not all are subtitled.

Over 20 hours of bonus features are included. Audio commentaries by the cast and crew are available on all 25 episodes. 36 deleted scenes from 15 episodes are included and run approximately 36 minutes. It would have been interesting to have commentary on these to learn why these scenes were cut. A nice mixture of featurettes are spread out over the discs. Here is the breakdown by disc:

Disc One
--------
Deleted Scenes
The Second Coming (:36) - Sylar Telekinetically Moves Mr. Muggles
The Buttefly Effect (:14) - Suresh Lifts Heavy Object
One of Use, One of Them (3 Scenes) - Micah at Funeral (:28), Original Movie Theatre Scene (1:13), Claire Gets Primatech Box (:21)
I Am Become Death (5 Scenes) - Nathan Comes to Angela's Office (1:41), Daphne and Matt Argue (1:51), Sylar Can't Save Son (1:57), Maya and Suresh Go Out (1:28), Linderman Appears (1:35)

The Super Powers of Heroes (8:02) - Stunt Coordinator Tim Gilbert gives insight to designing the hard hitting stunts of Heroes. He talks about how various sequences were done like the airplane scene, Suresh's bug-like power, the black hole vortex and Claire falling out of the iwndow. He also talks a little about the cast and working on the show in general. Stunt Utility Lance Gilbert is also briefly interviewed.

Audio Commentaries
The Second Coming - Creator/Executive Producer Tim Kring, Executive Producer/Episode Director Allan Arkush and Series Star Adrian Pasdar
The Buttefly Effect - Executive Producer/Director Greg Beeman and Series Stars James Kyson Lee & Brea Grant
One of Us, One of Them - Series Stars Cristine Rose & Milo Ventimaglia
I Am Become Death - Series Stars Greg Grunberg & Jamie Hector

Disc Two
--------
Deleted Scenes
Angela and Monsters (3 Scenes) - Nathan Tells Tracy About Dr. Zimmerman (1:30), Linderman Makes Knox An Offer He Can't Refuse (:44), Angela Awakens (:12)
Dying of the Light (3 Scenes) - Suresh About to Operate on Tracy and Nathan (1:35), Claire and Mom Talk (1:04), Ando and Hiro Wake Up in Usutu's Camp (:59)
Villains (5 Scenes) - Matt Wants Knox to Quit Gang (:59), Knox Asks to Sit Out of Robbery (1:32), Knox Is Seen Talking to Matt (1:28), Knox Kills Gang Leader (1:52), Matt Stops Knox in Car (:51)

Completing the Scene (7:54) - An overall look at the visual style of Heroes Season Three is discussed, including the tricks used on set and in post-production. This featurette includes interviews with Lead Visual Effects Supervisor Eric Grenaudier, Supervising Producer Mark Spatny, Visual Effects Supervisor Jason Sperling, 3D Artist Mike Enriquez, Executive Producer/Director Allan Arkush, Compositing Supervisor Supervisor Chris Martin, Compositor Ryan Wieber, 3D Animator Daniel Kumiega, 3D Animator Michael Cook and Compositor Meliza Ferman. They talk about how every episode is compltely different, how they conceptualize visuals at meetings, how they did the scene of Claire shooting the bullet, the cold snap episode with ice, the invisible effects, the new abilities of the Heroes and the Tokyo earthquake destruction scene.

Audio Commentaries
Angels and Monsters - Episode Director Anthony Hemingway and Co-Executive Producers Adam Armus & Kay Foster
Dying of the Light - Series Star Sendhil Ramamurthy and Co-Writers Christopher Zatta and Chuck Kim
Eris Quod Sum - Director of Photography Charlie Lieberman, Editor Scott Boyd and Series Star Jason Kyson Lee
Villains - Executive Prdoucer/Episode Director Allan Arkush and Series Star Jack Coleman

Disc Three
----------
Deleted Scenes
It's Coming - Tracy Tells Nathan About Her Connection to Pineheart (:36)
The Eclipse: Part I - Nathan Must Find the Haitian to Stop His Father (1:17)
Our Father (4 Scenes) - Arthur Reads Suresh's Mind (:57), Nathan Disturbed (:45), Arthur takes Molly's Ability (:33), Angela and HRD Find Claire (:25)

The Prop Box (5:37) - Introduction to the "Gold Room" where all of the props used for Heroes are stored. Relics from the first season to the present are shown and the methods of a prop master are revealed. Assistant Set Prop Master James Clark talks about his job and gives a tour of the Gold Room. I think it's very interesting how they hold on to everything in case they need to re-use it in a later episode. Maps by Property Assistant Reba Rosenthal, paintings by Tim Sale and various swords are among the many props shown.

Tim Sale Gallery of Screen Art (1:16) - Various paintings are shown with a music cue playing in the background.

Pineheart Commercial (:41) - Pinehearst is a biotechnology company with connections to evolved humans.

Audio Commentaries
It's Coming - Series Star Blake Shields and Director of Photography Charlie Lieberman
The Eclipse: Part I - Executive Producers Episode Director Greg Beeman and Series Star Sendhil Ramamurthy
The Eclipse: Part II - Series Stars Cristine Rose & Greg Grunberg
Our Father - Series Stars Masi Oka & Brea Grant

Disc Four
---------
Deleted Scenes
Trust and Blood (2 Scenes) - Suresh and Matt Buy Weapons (:19), Ando and Hiro Are Going to India (:59)

Alternate Stories
Heroes: Going Postal (10:12 - 3 Chapters) - The trilogy of online-only videos introduces Echo DeMille, a seemingly ordinary mailman with an extraordinary ability.
Nowhere Man (18:11 - 4 Chapters) - This webseries focuses on the life of Eric Doyle.

Audio Commentaries
Dual - Series Star Zachary Quinto and Special Effects Supervisor Gary D'Amico
A Clear and Present Danger - Creator/Executive Producer Tim Kring and Series Stars Milo Ventimiglia & Greg Yaitanes
Trust and Blood - Executive Producer/Episode Director Allan Arkush and Writer Mark Verheiden
Building 26 - Art Director Sandy Getzler and Production Designer Ruth Ammon

Disc Five
---------
Deleted Scene
Exposed - HRG Comes Up With Plan (:23)

Genetics of a Scene (20:31) - An ongoing service in which the episode's director and cast give an in-depth look at the production process.
Exploring Claire's Mind (5:34) - This segment reveals the graphic scene of the Heroes Season Three opener. Optic Nerve demonstrates the props designed for the scene "Stylar steals Claire's powers." Executive Producer/Director Allan Arkush, Special Makeup Effects Artist Glenn Hetrick, Special Makeup Effects Artist Rich Mayberry and Special Makeup Effects Artist Mark Vinielle. Some pretty graphic footage of the open brain gag scene, the body cast on Glenn and Claire's open heart scene are shown.
Speedster Steals the Formula (6:12) - Allan Arkush highlights directing the Speedsters' speed effects and the time stopping qualities of Hiro. The segment features on-set footage of Daphne and Hiro and how their powers collide. Executive Producer/Director Allan Arkush and Compositing Editor Chris Martin are interviewed. They talk about how a new character was brought in to play off Hiro and Ando, how Brea Grant was cast, developing her power and how they did the frozen in time effects.
Throwing Thoughts (3:54) - A quick, fun look at the shooting style used to create a specific scene from Episode 322. Director Jeannot Szwarc reveals the camera tricks used to create the visual look when Matt thinks for the villain Danko. Greg Grunberg, Director Jeannot Szwarc and Cinematographed Nate Goodman are interviewed.
Lights, Camera, Beeman (4:54) - This fast pace segment features George Beeman working on set. Fun on-set footage is used to demonstrate the sometimes-frantic shooting schedule of Heroes. It focuses on episode 325 - "An Invisible Thread" and shows scenes 7, 10 and 13.

The Writers' Forum - Creator Forum (13:25) - Creator Tim Kring and selected writers/producers discuss the story-lines of Season 3, outling inspirations for character developments, story polts and the changes that took place along the way. Creator/Executive Producer Tim Kring, Writer/Co-Executive Producer Adam Armus and Writer/Supervising Producer Aron Eli Coleite participate in this sit-down discussion. They talk about the big ideas of the season, the good vs. evil and how the characters decide which side, Peter vs. Sylar, Sylar and his father, introducing Arthur Petrelli, actor Robert Forster and Arthur's ability, the Villains and Fugitives volumes and wrapping up the season.

Audio Commentaries
Cold Wars - Series Stars Jack Coleman & Sendhil Ramamurthy
Exposed - Series Stars Milo Ventimiglia & Greg Grunberg
Shades of Gray - Series Star David H. LAwrence XVII and Script Coordinator Oliver Grigsby
Cold Snap - Writer Bryan Fuller and Series Star Masi Oka

Deleted Scenes
Into Asylum (3 Scenes) - Micah Questions HRG's Motives (1:50), Peter Flies Into Church (:40), Nathan and Claire Battle Frat Boys (:45)
Turn and Face the Strange (2 Scenes) - Hiro and Ando Fix the Car (:47), Suresh Asks Landlord About His Father (1:00)
I Am Sylar - Hiro and Ando Discuss Building 26 (:56)

Audio Commentaries
Into Asylum - Director of Photography Nate Goodman and Co-Producer Joe Pokaski
Turn and Face the Strange - Writers Mark Verheiden & Rob Fresco
1961 - Editor Jon Koslowsky and Director Adam Kane
I Am Sylar - Director of Photography Nate Goodman and Co-Executive Producers Kay Foster & Adam Armus
An Invisible Thread - Director of Photography Charlie Liberman and Editor Donn Aron

Final Comments: After a disappointing strike-shortened season, Heroes came back with a much stronger effort in season three. Having a full season to continue develop the characters and storylines was a big plus. The second volume of the season, Fugitives, was a bit better as there were fewer characters and plotlines to follow. While the show may have not captured the magic of the first season, there is still a lot I like about the show. Visually the show has always looked great. The visual and special effects are great. There is a lot of action and stunts. I'm a big fan of the music by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. The main cast members, recurring characters and guest stars are strong.

Overall, this is another excellent set that die-hard and new fans of the show will be sure to enjoy. If you enjoy listening to commentaries, you will love this set. There is a nice mix of cast and crew who participate on them. It's a little disappointing that the beauties Hayden Panettiere and Ali Larter weren't involved on any of them. The deleted scenes and alternate stories/online webisodes are fun to see for the first time. I haven't kept up with what's available on nbc.com . The featurettes are at a good length and give some interesting insight on how the episodes are made. I'm hoping that season four will continue in the direction of the last part of season three. Tune in for the two-hour fourth season premiere on Monday, September 21 on NBC!

-- Reviewed by Todd
(4.5/5 stars)

To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0024FAD9C/ref=nosim/happydaysonline5-20

Also available on Blu-ray

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Heroes Official Site
Heroes TV.com Page
Heroes Internet Movie Database Page
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Summer Week 14 Sitcom Ratings; Blog DVD Review: Brothers & Sisters - The Complete Third Season (9/1)

Summer is winding down and everything is still pretty light. We will be back with our normal weekly report in less than a month with the first four nights numbers and analysis for the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did for the remainder of the summer! Here are our summer ratings:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of August 17-23)

• Til Death (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm did 2.44 million...up a lot week-to-week.
• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - We got double dose of repeats this week with the regular 8pm airing getting 4.18 million, down from previous week. A repeat at 8:30pm did better with 4.71 million.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - preempted.
• Family Guy (Fox) - A regular repeat at 9pm did 5.17 million.
• American Dad! (Fox) 2 episodes - Only 3.97 million for a repeat at 9:30pm. Special repeat at 7:30pm did 2.46 million.

Summer Week 14 (August 24-30)

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) 2 episodes - 5.36 million for a repeat airing in its normal 8pm slot, up over a million from previous week. 1.9 A18-49 rating was up half a rating point from the previous week...nice. A repeat at 8:30pm did 5.65 million and a 2.2 A18-49 rating, both way up from previous week.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.55 million for a repeat, up a million from previous week. 2.9 A18-49 rating was up nearly a half a point from previous week.
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 8.56 million for a repeat is up a half a million from previous week. 2.9 18-49 rating is excellent for repeats, up a bit previous week.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• None.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - preempted for Ted Kennedy special.
• Gary Unmarried (CBS) - preempted for Ted Kennedy special.

Thursday Sitcoms

• The Office (NBC) - 3.97 million for a repeat at 9pm...up a lot from previous week, maybe a summer repeat high for this summer.
• 30 Rock (NBC) 2 episodes - 3.49 and 3.1 million for repeats at 8 and 9:30pm...8pm did better than previous week again, while 9:30pm was basically on par again.
• Parks & Recreation (NBC) - A repeat did just 2.84 million at 8:30pm...the lowest of the sitcom repeats again, but up some from previous week's repeat.

Friday Sitcoms

• Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - A repeat at 9pm did a prelim 1.45 million. That was up from previous week's prelim numbers. Keep in mind it can change drastically in the final ratings.
• The Game (The CW) - A repeat did a prelim 1.48 million, also up from previous week's prelim numbers. As with the lead-in, final ratings can change drastically. Stay with us on our message board for final ratings.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Tonight you can catch encores of Fox's 'Til Death and animated comedies from 7-10pm. Elsewhere ABC has a new Shark Tank at 9pm and an all-new episode of drama Defying Gravity at 10pm. CBS has 60 Minutes & Big Brother followed by a new episode of There Goes the Neighborhood at 9pm, while NBC will have Dateline at 7pm, followed by NFL preseason football at 8pm. The CW has the 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards with red carpet at 7pm and the actual awards starting at 8pm.



It is time for a special Sunday edition of the "Blog DVD Review." Today we we take a look at ABC Studios' Brothers and Sisters: The Complete Third Season. Brothers and Sisters is of course the current ABC Sunday family drama starring Calista Flockhart and Sally Field. The show follows the Walker family, with the ups and downs of running a family business. This show is so great and even funny. See my Blog DVD Review of Brothers and Sisters: The Complete Third Season:

Brothers and Sisters: The Complete Third Season (ABC Studios, $59.99) brings all 24 heartwarming episodes of the third season of the hit family drama on DVD! Take a fascinating look at a complex American family much like your own as you witness the loves, the losses and the personal triumphs of the Walker clan. Their differences make them human and their bond makes them family. The series airs Sundays at 10PM on ABC and stars Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Sally Field as Nora Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker Whedon, Ron Rifkin as Uncle Saul Holden, Balthazar Getty as Tommy Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Dave Annabale as Justin Walker, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper, Luke Macfarlane as Scotty, with Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, and Patrica Wettig as Holly Harper. Recurring are Kerris Dorsey as Paige Whedon, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Ken Olin as David, Eric Christian Olsen as Kyle DeWitt, Will McCormack as Ethan Travis, and Luke Grimes as Ryan Lafferty. With special guest star Tom Skeritt as William Walker. Other guest stars include Mitch Pileggi, David Andrews, Dave Foley, Steven Weber, Nigel Havers, Regis & Kelly, Sonja Sohn, Matt Letscher, Jason Lewis, and Cristian de la Fuente.

This third season is very good. When the Walkers get together for a family dinner or any event all together it makes for great television. Some classic episodes include the season premiere "Glass Houses," Kevin gets access to his boss's beach house, he wants to spend a romantic weekend for two with Scotty, but the entire family accidentally butts in and havoc breaks, as always. In "Bakersfield," Nora and Kitty go to Bakersfield, where they meet with George Lafferty, but it doesn't go as planned. In "Just a Sliver," baby Elizabeth needs a liver transplant and with moral support of Scotty and Rebecca respectively, Kevin and Justin both get tested for paternity in order to save her. In "It's Not Easy Being Green," Sarah throws a party for the launch of Greenatopia, while Justin becomes a sponsor to an attractive girl to the dismay of Rebecca, and at the Greenatopia party, Ethan has a shocking revelation for Sarah, as she, Nora and Rebecca each face temptations. In "Lost & Found," Nora invites Ryan to her house, while Holly discovers what Tommy's been up to and the ownership he has in Ojai Foods. In the two-hour movie event titled "Troubled Waters," the Walker family experiences the thrill of a new life born and the desperation and terror of loss when one of their own has a life-threatening crisis. In the very fun episode "Spring Broken," Kevin and Justin take Tommy on a getaway to help him make a decision about his legal future. In "S3X", the Walkers keep up hope that Tommy will return home when Holly considers dropping the charges, meanwhile Sarah makes yet another major career change, Kitty questions whether or not her marriage will survive, and Kevin and Scotty consider a surprising proposal from Chad (guest starring Jason Lewis). And finally in the season finale, "Mexico," the Walker family reaches out to Tommy, they're devastated to find that he may be unwilling to accept their help. Those episodes really stand out, but they are all very good I think and make for a great TV drama.

The episodes run usually in the 42-43 minute range (with a few at 42 or under 42 a bit)...unedited of course. There are about 8 chapter stops per episode. The video is digitally mastered and is in widescreen and looks very good! The audio is great and sounds very good, as it is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. This is from the 2008-09 season, so it has to be good. The two-hour movie is presented as two separate episodes as part one and two, which is fine.

Packaging has a nice red/orange outer box with headshots of the main cast on a tree on the front cover...the back cover has information on the series & set and has three screen shots. There is also a section detailing the special features in an orange box with technical specifications also. Inside the box is a digipak case. The front of the digipak has a cast photo with nearly everyone holding a wine glass. The back of the digipak has the start of a nice cast photo of Saul, Justin, Nora and Rebecca. Opening the case once, we get a pocket on the left that holds inserts and also a disc-by-disc breakdown on the left panel itself. On the right panel we have a continuation of that cast photo, this time of Kevin, Sarah & Holly. The pocket holds inserts for other ABC Studios products and Blu-ray. We don't get an episode booklet this time. Last set had that nice family recipe cards. Opening the case once more, we get discs one and two in the middle, with the cast photo continuing, this time of Tommy, Julia, Kitty, Robert & Scotty. Opening it one final time, now we see discs three and four, and discs five and six on the far right. The discs overlap, like most ABC Studio DVDs. Each disc is in red/orange color like the color scheme of the set and has artwork of two characters per disc. Disc one has episodes 1-4 with artwork of Robert & Kitty. Disc two has episodes 5-8 and has artwork of Nora & Saul. Disc three has episodes 9-12 and has artwork of rivals Sarah & Holly. Disc four has episodes 13-16 and has artwork of Kevin & Scotty. Disc five holds episodes 17-20 with artwork of Rebecca & Justin. And finally disc six holds episodes 21-24 and has artwork of Tommy & Julia. After you remove the discs, you see nice promotional photos on the panels itself...very cool.

The menu screen starts by showing us little video clips inside of wine glasses before we get to the main menu with the wine glass in the middle. The closing theme is playing in the background. It is really neat once again. On disc one only, before the main menu we have auto trailers for DVDs of ABC TV on DVD, Desperate Housewives, The Proposal and Blu-ray DVD. The options on the main menu are Play All, Episode Selection, Bonus Features, Set Up, and Sneak Peeks. Sneak Peeks is just on disc six. Set Up section has the option of subtitles in English, French, Spanish or Chinese and how to register your DVD. Before everything on each disc, you'll get this option as well for languages. Bonus Features are on each disc and evenly spread. The Episodes option gives us the episode number and title to choose along with a screenshot from the episode.

Moving on to the bonus features. Each disc has deleted scenes for episodes from that disc. I like that instead of having them all on one disc. Disc one has three deleted scenes running 0:54, 1:46 and 0:28. Disc two has four deleted scenes running 0:19, 0:35, 1:16, 0:33. Disc three has two deleted scenes running 2:13 and 0:13. Disc four has three deleted scenes running 0:29, 2:05, and 0:43. Disc five has three more deleted scenes running 0:58, 0:22 and 2:04. And finally disc six has four more deleted scenes running 1:18, 0:40, 0:28, and 0:55. Wow, so that is a total of 19 deleted scenes!

As far as featurettes, disc one has "The Ojai Experience." This runs 12:42 and has cast members going to an acual family winery in Ojai, CA. The cast and crew that were were Sparky Hawes (co-producer), Ron Rifkin, Ken Olin, Matthew Rhys, Dave Annable, and Patricia Wettig. Disc two has a featurette called "In-Between Scenes." This runs 6:33 and we get to see what they do in between scenes as there are a lot of jokes and practical jokes being done. Interviewed are David Marshall Grant (writer/producer), Dave Annable, Scott Scherick (Assistant to Annable), Michael Foley (writer/producer), Matthew Rhys, and Dave Foley. On disc three we have a featurette called "The Mothers of Brothers & Sisters." This runs 10:16 and is about all the mothers on the show and off the show as well with cast and crew. This is a tribute to all moms out there! Interviewed are Rob Lowe, Sarah Jane Morris, Luke MacFarlane, Sarah Caplan (exec producer), Matthew Rhys, Emily VanCamp, Sally Field, Dave Annable, Michael Morris (supervising producer), Balthazar Getty, Ken Olin, Patricia Wettig, Rachel Griffiths, Sparky Hawes, Elysse Applebaum (assistant), Judy Daly Torres (craft services), Denny Dugally (production designer), Ellis Janes (best boy grip), Adria Badagnani (set decorator coordinator), Cole Fowler (assistant), Darlene Brumfield (hair dept. head), Nathan Bishop (production assistant), Alison Schapker (executive producer/showrunner), Kerry Blackman (assistant editor), Eric LaBonte (set dresser).

Disc four has audio commentary on part one of "Troubled Waters" by executive producer Monica Owusu-Breen and actors Matthew Rhys (Kevin) and Rob Lowe (Robert). The trio return for part two on disc five for "Troubled Waters" as well! This is very informative to listen to and see all the tidbits on how Rob Lowe did the heart attack scene and more. Very cool! The final audio commentary is on disc six for the episode "Mexico," which was the season finale, of course. Executive producer Monica Owusu-Breen this time is joined by Ken Olin (David/executive producer) and Alison Schapker (writer/exec producer). They also give great details on this episode. Listen and see! We finally have 5:03 worth of Bloopers & Outtakes. Very fun to watch always and a bit longer than last year.

I highly recommend this series and set. It is such a well written and acted show. Sally Field and Rachel Griffiths have been nominated already, but Rob Lowe and Calista Flockhart deserved nominations this year also. I look forward to it every Sunday on ABC and can't wait until the fourth season starts on Sept. 27. Last time I suggest they release the DVD on the same day as Desperate Housewives, and they did this time! So you ca catch up in time for the Sept. 27 season premiere if you missed any episodes. Don't go all the way to Baja or Bakersfield to buy this DVD because you can just click below to order and you can gather your family and watch the Walker family on your TVs! Your family can't be as wild I hope?

-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4.5/5 stars)

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Related links:
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Official Website
Brothers and Sisters TV.com Page

Blog DVD Review: CSI - The Ninth Season (9/1)

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Reviews. This week we head out West to Las Vegas for CBS DVD's C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation - The Ninth Season. This season starred William Petersen (for the first 10 episodes), Marg Helgenberger, Laurence Fishburne (starting with episode 9), George Eads, Paul Guilfoyle, Eric Szmanda, Robert David Hall and Lauren Lee Smith. See my Blog DVD review of C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation - The Ninth Season:



CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - The Ninth Season (CBS DVD/Paramount Home Video, $98.18)

Follow the evidence... again and again. Television's number-one drama continues to deliver as LVPD's brilliant forensics team encounters their greatest challenges yet in the stunning ninth season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Watch and learn as the team wrestles with death, destiny and inner demons. This must-own collection includes the historic departure of Gil Grissom (William Petersen) and the much-anticipated arrival of Dr. Raymond Langston (Laurence Fishburne).

This 6-disc set contains all 24 episodes from the ninth (2008-09) season of the long-running crime drama. The episodes are presented in Anamorphic Widescreen enchanced for 16:9 tvs with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio. It has a total running time of approximately 17 hours, 22 minutes. The attractive packaging has profile photos of Laurence Fishburne, Marg Helgenberger and William Petersen on the front cover with the Las Vegas skyline in the background. There is an embossed CSI: Crime Scene Investigation logo at the top of the box. Nine cast members are featured on the back of the box with the largest photos of William Petersen and Laurence Fishburne. A short synopsis of the set, a listing of the special features and the DVD specs are given. The inside case is in a book format that you can flip through to get to the discs. There is a montage of various photos of the cast on the front and back covers. A content locator lists the episodes by disc and the special features on the inside cover. Each disc lists the episodes and has the CSI logo and a green background. These sets have retained consistent packaging, while CSI: Miami and CSI: NY have switched to slimcases. They also still include the Crime Scene: Do Not Cross tape around the packaging. That is always a nice touch.

The menus on these sets have always been very slick looking and easy to navigate. There is a series of 5 minutes of previews for some other CBS DVD releases that you can play or skip at the beginning. The main menu opens with a view from a bus on the street. This leads to a montage of video clips that run a little over a minute with some of the wonderful instrumental music by composer John M. Keane in the background. Options are avaiable for Episode Selection, Set Up and the Special Features (on select discs). On the Set Up menu, you can choose either Dolby Digital 5.1 English Surround or Español. Closed captioning is available for all of the episodes but some of the special features may not be closed captioned. As you would expect from such a recent show, the video and audio quality is outstanding. The show looks stunning and even better on Blu-ray. They do a lot of nighttime shooting and make the show look dark and like a theatrical film. There is no disclaimer on the back of the box about any of the episodes possibly being edited. Episodes are presented in their original broadcast order and numbered by the production number, which was the same order for this season. Running times are between 42-44 minutes in length.

A decent number of special features are spread out over the 6 discs. Once again, there are only 2 audio commentaries on this set like last season. They have really cut back on the number of them from previous seasons for all of the CSI franchise shows. There are 4 features that total approximately 78 minutes. Deleted scenes are included for 6 episodes and run approximately 9 minutes. A pop-up style text information track is available on one episode. Here is the breakdown by disc:

Disc 1
Episode 902 "The Happy Place" - Deleted Scene (2:00) - A scene with Wendy Simms and Detective Williams questioning the pit boss, Randy Hopper.

Crime Scene Iniation (14:43) - This featurette includes interviews with William Petersen, Executive Producer Naren Shankar, Executive Producer Carol Mendelsohn, Eric Szmanda, Marg Helgenberger, Laurence Fishburne, George Eads, Robert David Hall, Wallace Langham, Lauren Lee Smith and Paul Guilfoyle. This details the two new cast members that were brought in for this season. They talk about how Laurence Fishburne was cast, about the character he was playing and how they wanted him to be different than Grissom. Then they talk about how Lauren Lee Smith was cast, her character and her relationships with the other characters.

Disc 3
Episode 909 "19 Down..." - Deleted Scenes (1:30) - 3 short scenes: 1) Greg and Conrad talk. 2) Hodges and Simms talk. 3) Greg and David Phillips examine the plastic bag contents with an x-ray machine.

Episode 911 "The Grave Shift" - View the episode in CSI Mode (Comprehensive Scientific Information Mode) - This has some pop-up style information boxes that give information on forensic science. It would be interesting to have these and general trivia tracks on more episodes.

Disc 4
Episode 914 "Miscarriage of Justice" - Deleted Scene (:42) - A scene with Catherine in the court room with the lawyers and judge.

Episode 916 - "Turn, Turn, Turn" - Audio Commentary by Actor George Eads, Actress Taylor Swift and Writer Tom Mularz - Taylor Swift makes her primetime television acting debut. Over 20.8 million viewers watched.

Disc 5
Episode 920 "A Space Oddity" - Deleted Scene (3:15) - Simms and Hodges talk at the convention and the murdered victim is discovered.

Episode 920 "A Space Oddity" - Audio Commentary by Executive Producer & Writer Naren Shankar, Actor Wally (Wallace) Langham, Actress Liz Vassey, Writer Bradley Thompson, Writer David Weddle, Actor John Wellner, Actor Archie Kao and Actress Sheeri Rappoport. The annual lab rats episode is always a fun time and the commentary is lively and entertaining.

Episode 920 "A Space Oddity" - Rats in Space (27:18) - This featurette incldues interviews with Naren Shankar, Jon Wellner, Walalce Langham, Sheeri Rappaport, Liz Vassey, Supervising Producers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, Archie Kao, Director Michael Nankin, Set Decorator Erin Smith, Lead Buyer Adam Braid, Property Master Michael Lindsay, Special Effects Make-Up Matthew Mungle, Department Head Make-Up Melanie Levitt and Costume Designer Eileen Barker. This details the annual lab rats episode, which also has an audio commentary available. This episode dealt with a real murder at a science fiction convention. They talk about the challenge in writing the episode, how this was an ambitious and complicated episode with a lot of production value, the sci-fi convention set and other sets they created, the props, the alien heads and make-up and how they made costumes for 60 people.

From Zero to 200 in Nine Seasons (18:54) - This featurette includes interviews with Executive Producer Carol Mendelsohn, Executive Producer Naren Shankar, Director William Friedkin, Producer Dustin Abraham, Laurence Fishburne, George Eads and Robert David Hall. This extra celebrates and details the 200th episode "Mascara". It was directed by William Friedkin and dealt with the Lucha libre and Mexican wrestling. They talk about how they cast real wrestlers, the location shooting and sets and working with William Friedkin. There is also some footage shown from the 200th episode press/cast party where Carol Mendelsohn, Anthony E. Zuiker and Jerry Bruckheimer speak.

Disc 6
Episode 921 "If I Had A Hammer" - Deleted Scene (1:25) - A scene with Conrad and Catherine.

Episode 922 "The Gone Dead Train" - Deleted Scene (:47) - A scene with Ray and Nick.

Good-bye Grissom (17:37) - This featurette includes interviews with Executive Producer Carol Mendelsohn, Executive Producer Naran Shanka, William Petersen, Jorja Fox, George Eads, Marg Helgenberger, Paul Guilfoyle, Eric Szmanda, Wallace Langham and Robert David Hall. They talk about how it was set up that William Petersen was going to leave after 10 episodes and his reasons for wanting to do other things that weren't possible while doing a weekly series. They talk about Grissom's and Sarah's relationship and how the other characters as students no longer needed a teacher. Then they show how each character got to say goodbye to Grissom and some footage from Petersen's farewell parties are shown.

Final Comments: It was another sad and stunning season of CSI. William Petersen's Gil Grissom was always my favorite character, so seeing him leave the show was emotional. The show has lost 3 major cast members over the last few seasons. It has some lost a lot of the magic of the earlier seasons with so many likable characters departing. I think Laurence Fishburne is a great actor, but the character he was playing was just too inexperienced as a criminalist. I know they wanted him to be a completely different character than Grissom, but I think making him a complete rookie was a mistake. I'm sure many die-hard fans didn't want to see some of the same newbie forensic gathering techniques that they saw in the first season. Other cast members like Marg Helgenberger and George Eads seemed to have less to do than in earlier seasons. Lauren Lee Smith's Riley character brought some more youth and spunk to the show, but she was really never given much to do and won't be back for the tenth season. The show is still doing well in the ratings and has some good seasons left, but I hope they can go back to having it being more of an ensemble show with everybody as a true team and involved in each episode. I look forward to the tenth season premiere on September 24. Jorja Fox will be returning as Sara Sidle for 5 episodes.

-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller
(4/5 stars)

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Also available on Blu-ray:
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Summer Week 13 Sitcom Ratings; Blog DVD Review: NCIS - The Sixth Season (Aug. 25)

Summer continues and everything is still pretty light. We will be back with our normal weekly report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did all summer long, along with last year's summer favorite, the coming week preview! Here are our summer ratings:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of August 10-16)

• Til Death (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm only mustered 1.72 million...but up slightly week-to-week...after going going down slightly the previous week.
• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - We got double dose of repeats this week with the regular 8pm airing getting 4.74 million, a big boost from normal! Why? because a special 7:30pm repeat was the lead-in and did 2.71 million, much better than the usual American Dad 7:30pm repeat.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - preempted.
• Family Guy (Fox) 3 episodes - A mini marathon from 8:30pm-10pm did decent for repeats. 8:30pm repeat did 4.91 million, while the regular 9pm airing did 5.3 million for a repeat. A 9:30pm repeat did 5.03 million. 2.4, 2.5 and 2.3 A18-49 ratings as well. Very solid for repeats these days.
• American Dad! (Fox) - preempted.

Summer Week 13 (August 17-23)

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) 2 episodes - 4.28 million for a repeat airing in its normal 8pm slot, down from previous week. 1.4 A18-49 rating was also down as the previous week. A repeat at 8:30pm did worse with 4.22 million and a 1.5 A19-49 rating, both lower than the usual Rules of Engagement repeats from this summer in this slot.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 8.55 million for a repeat, down a bit from previous week. 2.5 A18-49 rating was up though by a bit from previous week.
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 8.04 million for a repeat is down from previous week. when it has the closest retention yet in total viewers from the lead-in. 2.7 18-49 rating is excellent, though down a tenth from previous week...but still up .2 from the lead-in! This is the sitcom to watch in the fall.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• None.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - Only 3.82 million for a repeat, up some from previous week and up a tenth also in A18-49 rating with a 1.1 rating...up from previous few weeks.
• Gary Unmarried (CBS) - Only 3.73 million...on par really from previous week again, and the same A18-49 with a 1.2 rating from previous week.

Thursday Sitcoms

• The Office (NBC) - 3.28 million for a repeat at 9pm...up a tad from previous week.
• 30 Rock (NBC) 2 episodes - 3.07 and 3.04 million for repeats at 8 and 9:30pm...8pm did better than previous week weeks, while 9:30pm was basically on par.
• Parks & Recreation (NBC) - A repeat did just 2.37 million at 8:30pm...the lowest of the sitcom repeats again.

Friday Sitcoms

• Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - A repeat at 9pm did a prelim 964,000 viewers. That was down from previous week's prelim numbers.
• The Game (The CW) - A repeat did a prelim 1.2 million, also down from previous week's prelim numbers.

Saturday Sitcoms

• According to Jim (ABC) - A one-time-only repeat at 8pm did a prelim 3.14 million (could change due to NFL preemptions). This was the last network airing of the show on ABC.

Tonight you can catch encores of Fox's 'Til Death and animated comedies from 7-10pm. Elsewhere ABC has the finale of the 10th anniversary of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? with Regis at 8pm leading into a new Shark Tank and an all-new episode of drama Defying Gravity at 10pm. CBS has 60 Minutes & Big Brother followed by a new episode of There Goes the Neighborhood at 9pm, while NBC will have two episodes of Merlin at starting at 7pm, followed by Miss Universe at 9.


Coming Week Preview (Aug. 24-30):

I'm going to have to preempt this section for a blog DVD review again.



It is time for a special Sunday edition of the "Blog DVD Review." Today we we take a look at CBS DVD's Sixth Season of Navy NCIS. See Seth Thrasher's blog DDVD review of NCIS - The Sixth Season and:

NCIS - The Sixth Season (CBS, $55.98) is now on DVD. This season finds the highly skilled NCIS team still under the able command of Special Agent Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), an uncompromising leader who will see justice done -- even if it means bending the rules. This season, Gibbs starts out welcomes two new members to the unit, wile directing the veteran agents in their dangerous investigations outside the chain of Naval and Marine command. Co-starring Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, David McCallum, Sean Murray, Cote de Pablo, and Rocky Carroll, this six-disc set includes all 25 action-packed Season Six episodes.

After last season's awesome cliffhanger, fans were left wondering why the team had been split up. The answers are provided in the first episode of the season, Last Man Standing -- when it's revealed that there was in fact a traitor in their midst -- the agents assigned to Gibbs are in fact the suspects. The storyline, while appearing to be resolved to the main characters, ultimately comes back later in the season. One of the nice things about NCIS in particular is the way that storylines branch out from one episode to the next. It's one of the things (quality of characters is another) that sets this apart from other similar series in the genre. This plot arc style would surface in a larger way in the series final few episodes, as more and more questions arise over the loyalty of Ziva. At the season's end, Gibbs' boat is no more, the team presumes Ziva to be back working in Israel, and in the final shots...Ziva has been taken captive and is being asked what she knows about NCIS.

In terms of the technical side of the set, the packaging is as always an outer box containing slimcases -- three cases holding six discs this season. The discs feature the standard silver look of Paramount/CBS releases. Box art features Gibbs (Harmon) in the foreground, with the remainder of the cast members each occupying a narrow vertical bar behind him. The rear cover's photo has the entire cast posed in a white room, all wearing various elegant clothing.

Menus are well-designed but static, with no music in the background. Each main menu features the white room featured on the rear cover, with a photo of one of the cast members. Each disc's main menu features a different member of the team.
In regards to audio and video, a great thing about working with newer series is that the video quality and audio quality are great almost by default. This set is no exception -- the video looks flawless in its presentation. Color balance is nice and even, there are no compression artifacts, there are no problems in the transfer -- nothing. Audio is a crisp and clear 5.1 audio track. The only way this show's presentation could be nicer would be for the show to appear on one of the high-definition video formats. You get the usual disclaimer about how some episodes might be edited, but the only thing I noticed was that, as always, the "Next time on NCIS" bumpers are gone. More than likely, in an era of pre-negotiated DVD rights, that disclaimer is just for legal purposes. I highly doubt anything substantive is cut.

And since NCIS is a popular series currently airing on TV, that means more effort goes into the bonuses on a release. It's always nice to review a set whose DVD presentation isn't half-baked. There are SEVEN special features, including cast and crew commentaries, a tour of the company that creates the bodies used on the show, a feature on the season's opening arc, a feature revolving around the season episode "South By Southwest," two pieces with the cast and crew reflecting on the season, as well as a special feature in which Pauley Perrette *sings*. All great stuff to sit through and watch/listen to. The commentaries in particular are interesting to listen to -- I just wish there were more than the three included on the set. The three episodes with commentary are "Broken Bird" (commentary by David McCallum and James Whitmore Jr.), "Bounce”" (commentary by Michael Weatherly), and "Toxic" (commentary by Pauley Perrette and Sean Murray.)

I was fortunate to have a former roommate of mine get me hooked on the show early on. There are as mentioned still viewers, six years on, who haven't come to understand what a quality series this is. Perhaps, they're scared off by the basic framework of the typical crime procedural. The show does feature those elements, but they're secondary to the story elements themselves -- the plot (yes, NCIS does typically feature an actual plot) and characters (the show has some of the best on broadcast TV right now). Others might be a little weary over the military aspect. The series was a spin-off of JAG, a series that I'll be the first to admit was neck-deep in the military aspect. On NCIS, it provides the setting and back-story, but unlike JAG it's typically only a minor to intermediate part of any plot -- in most episodes, anyway.

If you're reading this and you aren't really a fan, I'd like to ask you to give the show a chance. USA Network runs the show approximately a billion times per week, so if you're dedicated you can pretty much catch the entire run in about a week. Exaggeration aside you *can*, in one week's time on USA you can catch a large quantity of episodes to sample, and I urge you to do so. I think that if you give the show a fair chance, you'll come to really enjoy it.
Those of you who already enjoy it? This set streets on Tuesday, and if you don't have it pre-ordered you know what you should be doing as soon as it's financially sound to do so. This set wants a place in your DVD collection, and it most certainly deserves it. Strong recommendation.

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(5/5 stars)

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Navy NCIS TV.com Page

Blog DVD Review: MonsterQuest - Season Three, Set One

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Reviews. This week we take a look at A&E Home Video's MonsterQuest. MonsterQuest is an original History documentary series that premiered on October 31, 2007. The program deals with the search for various cryptozoological creatures reportedly seen around the world. Cryptozoology is the study of, and search for, animals which fall outside of contemporary zoological catalogs. See my mini-DVD review of MonsterQuest - Season Three, Set One:



MonsterQuest - Season Three, Set One (A&E Home Video, $24.95)

Throughout history there have been countless sightings of mysterious creatures, from Megladon, the father of the great white shark; to gators in the sewer, a result of the rising gator populations clashing with human encroachment; to the Snow Beast of the Colorado Rockies that is thought to be hunting the elk population while fleeing man.

Most of what we know of these creatures comes from campfire stories, blurry films and grainy photographs. In Season Three of MonsterQuest, History brings science and technology to bear on these creatures of legend and seeks confirmation of their existence. Combining open-eyed historical research, state-of-the-art equipment, and high-tech expeditions, each episode examines the best evidence available, from pictures and video, to hair and bones, to actual eyewitness accounts.

From pilots to policeman to ship captains, a number of seemingly credible people have seen things they can't explain. One part history, one part science and one part monsters, MonsterQuest discovers the truth in these sightings, and the legendary creatures behind them.

MonsterQuest Season Three, Set One features 8 mysterious episodes on two DVDs. The packaging for this set is a standard Amaray movie-style snap case. A mysterious creature's eyes are on the cover. In the top right corner, there is the History logo. There is a steel background with the set title printed. On the back of the box, there is a short synopsis of the series, a listing of the episodes and the DVD specs. The discs are held in embedded holders with one disc in the middle holder and the second on the back case. Each disc contains 4 episodes. The same drawing of the mysterious creature's eyes and the show logo are on the discs.

When you first insert a disc, they show about 15 seconds of the opening credits with the instrumental theme and no narration. This leads to the main menu where they have an alligator and the show logo. The episode titles are listed vertically in white at the bottom. The highlighted episode you choose is in yellow and turns gray upon your selection. This takes you to another sub-menu where there is a drawing of the creature that is featured in the episode and a listing of the scene selections. You can choose a scene individually or use the "Play All" button to view the entire episode.

As you would expect for a series that just aired in recent months, the video and audio quality is outstanding. The episodes are presented in widescreen and in their original broadcast order. These are the first 8 episodes of season three. Most of the on location shooting and interviews look excellent. Some of the submitted video varies depending on the source. I really like the narration by Stan Bernard and the music they use. It gives it a certain level of creepiness and drama. The audio is a Dolby Digital 2.0 track. Closed captioning is available on all of the episodes. The total running time is approximately 6 hours, 10 minutes. Running times range from 44:25-44:53.

Unfortunately, there are no episode summaries or original airdates listed anywhere on the packaging. It would have been nice if they included a sheet or booklet. Here are the 8 episodes you are getting. Episode summaries are courtesy of the official site and iTunes where you can also purchase the episodes. Running times and original airdates are noted in the parentheses.

Death of Loch Ness (02/04/09 - 44:53) - The search for the Loch Ness Monster has captivated the world for decades, but now a startling realization about "Nessie" might shatter this age-old myth. Could the Loch Ness Monster be dead? And do its remains lie hidden at the bottom of the lake? Robert Rines, a world-renowned inventor and explorer has spent much of his life searching for Nessie. He believes he may have seen the remains of this mythical beast while mapping the lake floor with sonar. Now he is on a mission to find scientific evidence to prove it. Rines, who says he saw the creature surface in the lake in 1972, now believes that the images explain the recent decrease in sightings, and that they can only mean only one thing: Nessie is dead. MonsterQuest's search team travels to the lake looking for evidence and deploying the latest technology including remote operating vehicles (ROVs), sonar and specialty cameras as we search for Nessie's remains.

Cattle Killers (02/11/09 - 44:25) - Something mysterious and violent is killing cattle of the North American plains, but what is behind these gruesome attacks -- satanic cults, an unknown predator, or something previously unknown to man? For 40 years, there have been thousands of cases of cattle found mutilated under abnormal circumstances; these livestock are found dead, often with their blood drained and organs or body parts removed from their bodies. Abnormally high radiation levels have been detected in the soil near the dead animals when they are found, and the deaths often do not match the pattern of known predators. With no apparent footprints or tracks leading to or from the carcases and strange circles near the site, the mystery only deepens. A MonsterQuest team will gather samples and head to a laboratory to scientifically analyze the most compelling evidence.

Swamp Stalker (02/18/09 - 44:53) - In the marshy swamp land of Texarkana a legendary beast has hunted the residents of a small Arkansas town. Their story was immortalized in a well-known movie, The Legend of Boggy Creek. The real events were a series of violent nocturnal attacks that left behind not only fear and panic, but also remarkable tracks. But the evidence is not just confined to history. Scientific clues continue to emerge to this day, and point to a malevolent monster that stalks the Deep South, with physical encounters by trained trackers and discoveries of tracks and scat. The strongest evidence will be examined using the latest scientific testing and two MonsterQuest teams will isolate the search area using both kayaks and horses to penetrate deep into territory that may the hold the swamp stalker.

Devils in New Jersey (02/25/09 - 44:53) - For over 250 years a frightening winged beast has been menacing the residents of New Jersey. The Jersey Devil is described as a winged half-bird half-horse, with hoofed feet, a reptilian tail and a penetrating scream that echoes through the forests of New Jerseys Pine Barrens. During one phenomenal week, more than 1,000 individuals were terrorized: A trolley car was attacked, schools were closed and panic gripped the area. Wildlife experts claim that a misidentified but known animal may be responsible for the encounters, but recent witnesses who have seen the beast are scared for their lives, and say the scientific evidence will prove there is a monster. MonsterQuest launches an unprecedented expedition, sending detectives to question witnesses and 60 men into the forbidding forest, in search of the Jersey Devil.

Gators in the Sewer (03/04/09 - 44:53) - What if one of the most famous and terrifying urban legends was not a legend but a frightening fact? History tells us that the idea of alligators lurking around in the sewers of New York City is based in truth. In the mid 1930s three teenagers pulled an eight-foot alligator from a storm drain. Reports persisted until a skeptical superintendant of sewers, Teddy May, was forced to investigate for himself. What May found shocked even him--swarms of alligators alive beneath the busy main street of Americas biggest city. Crews were sent in to kill the deadly reptiles, but the stories of the gators in the sewers lived on. Experts, however, are divided over whether it is scientifically possible for alligators to continue to exist in the sewers, so a MonsterQuest team sets out to search for modern evidence of these monsters. Herpetologists and underground explorers join forces and use the latest in remote-operated camera technology to delve into the depths of New York's sewers.

Snowbeast Slaughter (03/11/09 - 44:54) - The most compelling evidence for the creature known as Bigfoot may be the increasing close encounters that are frightening witnesses in rural America. Historic stories have told of violent interactions that range from objects being thrown to frightening abductions by hairy beasts. As extraordinary as these stories sound, people continue to recount physical interactions with creatures that they cannot explain. Witnesses from Minnesota and Washington State have all had frightening run-ins with the monsters while driving; another witness in rural Indiana talks with terror of the night that he was grabbed by something very powerful out in a forest. MonsterQuest will investigate whether witness are seeing known animal or the same Bigfoot creature that has been spoken of throughout history. MonsterQuest employs polygraph examinations, DNA analysis and bite force tests to discover what monster is turning up its aggression.

Mega Jaws (03/18/09 - 44:53) - Sharks have terrified people for centuries and deep within the forbidding waters of Mexico's Baja Peninsula may lurk a mammoth sixty foot monster. Could it be a new giant species or some living relic, hidden in the sea? In prehistoric times, huge carnivorous sharks, more than twice the size of a great white, ruled the waves. Marine experts claim these giants went extinct, but evidence may challenge that. Meanwhile, frightened Mexican fisherman talk of being stalked by a 'Black Demon;' and sailors report close collisions with a shark unlike anything that they have encountered before. In a search for answers, MonsterQuest uses a combined air and sea search for this monster shark that may be prowling the last unexplored frontier of our planet.

Monster Close Encounters (03/25/09 - 44:53) - Sharks have terrified people for centuries and deep within the forbidding waters of Mexico's Baja Peninsula may lurk a mammoth sixty foot monster. Could it be a new giant species or some living relic, hidden in the sea? In prehistoric times, huge carnivorous sharks, more than twice the size of a great white, ruled the waves. Marine experts claim these giants went extinct, but evidence may challenge that. Meanwhile, frightened Mexican fisherman talk of being stalked by a 'Black Demon;' and sailors report close collisions with a shark unlike anything that they have encountered before. In a search for answers, MonsterQuest uses a combined air and sea search for this monster shark that may be prowling the last unexplored frontier of our planet.

Previous seasons on DVD have included some additional footage or featurettes. Unfortunately, there are no extras included on this set. I would have thought with this volume being only 8 episodes that they would have included some additional footage/deleted scenes, featurettes, behind the scenes material or audio commentaries. The special features on the first two seasons weren't outstanding, but they did add some value to those releases.

Final Comments: There's really not a weak episode in this bunch. My 3 favorite episodes of this group are the Devils in New Jersey, Gators in the Sewers and Mega Jaws. As they got to season three, I thought they would have run out of ideas. They are still coming up some very interesting episodes and new angles on Bigfoot, which they have covered already many times.

My only complaint about this set other that the lack of any special features are the split volumes. CBS DVD/Paramount seemed to start this trend in recent years. If they could release all 20 episodes of season two of MonsterQuest on one set, why couldn't they do the same with the 23 episodes of season three? You are getting the first 8 episodes sooner than you would on a complete season set, but these split volumes are only going to cost consumers more money. It looks like it will take three sets to complete season three unless they include 15 episodes on a second volume. Even a 12 and 11 episodes split would have looked better.

Tune in for the season three finale on "The Real Moby Dick" on Wednesday, August 26 at 9PM ET/PT on History!

-- Reviewed by Todd
(4/5 stars)

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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
MonsterQuest Official Site
MonsterQuest TV.com Page
Cryptomundo.com - for Bigfoot, Loch Ness, and More

Summer Week 12 Sitcom Ratings; Blog DVD Review: Eli Stone - The Complete Second and Final Season

Summer continues and everything is still pretty light. We will be back with our normal weekly report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did all summer long, along with last year's summer favorite, the coming week preview! Here are our summer ratings:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of August 3-9)

• Til Death (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm only mustered 1.58 million...down slightly week-to-week...after going up ever so slightly every week.
• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - We got double dose of repeats this week with the regular 8pm airing getting 3.69 million, but a special 8:30pm repeat did better at 4.15 million. 8pm repeat was up a bit from previous week, while the 8:30pm repeat was down some.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - preempted.
• Family Guy (Fox) - 4.52 million for a repeat...the best of the bunch. Again a 2.2 18-49 rating...that is excellent for a summer repeat these days.
• American Dad! (Fox) - Only 1.72 million for a repeat at 7:30...but up a bit than the previous week.

Summer Week 12 (August 10-16)

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 4.69 million for a repeat airing, down just a bit from previous week. 1.6 A18-49 rating was the same as the previous week.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 5.25million for a repeat airing, a bit higher again than previous week and built on the lead-in in A18-49 with a 1.8 A18-49 rating, but that was a tenth down from previous week. Look for Accidentally on Purpose in this slot in the fall...will CBS come knocking on Rules' door early like I'm predicting?
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 8.83 million for a repeat, down a lot from previous week. 2.4 A18-49 rating was also down quite a bit from previous week. Odd.
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 8.64 million for a repeat is up some from previous week...closest retention yet in total viewers from the lead-in for this show! 2.8 18-49 rating is excellent, up a tick from previous week...and a more impressive up .4 from the lead-in!

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Better Off Ted (ABC) 2 episodes - The season finale did 2.49 and 2.09 million in the 9pm hour. Not good, but better than recent weeks. It needs another sitcom or two airing with it.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - Only 3.59 million for a repeat, down some from previous week again but again it did match the 1.0 A18-49 rating from previous few weeks.
• Gary Unmarried (CBS) - Only 3.75 million...on par really from previous week, but did build a bit in A18-49 from the lead-in doing a 1.2 rating.

Thursday Sitcoms

• The Office (NBC) - 3.17 million for a repeat at 9pm...on par from recent weeks.
• 30 Rock (NBC) 2 episodes - 2.86 and 3.07 million for repeats at 8 and 9:30pm...9:30pm seems better than recent weeks, while 8pm seems lower.
• Parks & Recreation (NBC) - A repeat did just 2.25 million at 8:30pm...the lowest of the sitcom repeats.

Friday Sitcoms

• Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - A repeat at 9pm did a prelim 1.41 million. That was up from previous week's prelim numbers.
• The Game (The CW) - A repeat did a prelim 1.54 million, up down from previous week's prelim numbers.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Tonight you can catch encores of Fox's 'Til Death and animated comedies from 7-10pm. Elsewhere ABC has the 10th anniversary of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? with Regis as night six airs at 8pm leading into a new Shark Tank and an all-new episode of drama Defying Gravity at 10pm. CBS has 60 Minutes & Big Brother followed by a new episode of There Goes the Neighborhood at 9pm, while NBC will have a new Dateline in the 7pm hour, leading into Merlin at 8pm.


Coming Week Preview (Aug. 17-23):

I'm going to have to preempt this section for a blog DVD review, but this week is essentially the same as last week, with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire continuing all-week on ABC at 8pm. New series Shaq Vs. premieres Tuesday at 9 on ABC.



It is time for a special Sunday edition of the "Blog DVD Review." Today we take a look at ABC Studios/Buena Vista Home Entertainment's Eli Stone: The Complete Second Season. Eli Stone is about a lawyer (Jonny Lee Miller) with a special gift of seeing visions of the future, but he has a brain aneurysm that medically says that is the reason why he is zoning out with visions. Is science correct or do you have faith? This show is so great and anything with Natasha Henstridge in it is worth watching! See my mini-DVD review of Eli Stone: The Complete Second Season:

Eli Stone: The Complete Second and Final Season (ABC Studios, $39.99) brings the second and unfortunately final season of the legal drama with lots of comedy, music, science, law and lots of faith on DVD once again! Eli Stone is a man you can believe in. The question is, can he believe himself? He is a lawyer and starts having strange visions, then his job and relationship (and sanity) are in jeopardy. What will he do? Is he getting messages from the divine?
The series was unfortunately canceled after this past season, but that doesn't mean the show wasn't good. It was one of the most unique shows of all-time and it is too bad more people didn't watch. The series starred Jonny Lee Miller as Eli Stone, Natasha Henstridge as Taylor Wethersby, Loretta Devine as Patti Dellacroix, Matt Letscher as Nathan Stone, Sam Jaeger as Matt Dowd, James Saito as Dr. Chen, Julie Gonzalo as Maggie Dekker, Jason Winston George as Keith Bennett, and Victor Garber as Jordan Wethersby. Among the guest stars are Katie Holmes, Sigourney Weaver, Tom Cavanagh, Seal, Taraji P. Henson, Bridget Moynahan, Tom Amandes, Laura Benanti, Debrah Farentino, Gina Torres, Steven Culp, Rachelle Lefevre, Jamie Murray, Gregory Smith, Kurt Fuller and Katey Sagal.

This second season is very good, maybe on par with the first season's greatness. 13 more episodes aired this past season, just like season one. However, the show has been canceled and will not return for a third season, which is not good news. The great Greg Berlanti has done great shows in Brothers & Sisters and Dirty Sexy Money. Some classic episodes this season include the season premiere, "The Path," where Eli is free from his visions for the past six months after having an operation to remove his brain aneurysm--or so he thinks. In the very next episode "Grace," Eli has his vision back with a beautiful brunette singing to him...the lady is Grace who turns out to be very much real and not just a vision after meeting her, Eli and Grace fall for each other. In "Happy Birthday Nate," Eli envisions himself within his father's body. In "The Two Ministers," Eli finds out more about Nate and Beth's engagement being called off. In the finale "Flight Path," Eli's latest visions lead him to believe someone close to him will die in a plane crash.
The episodes run usually 43 minutes, unedited of course with all the great music intact. The season premiere runs 39:57, though. There are 8 chapter stops per episode. The video is digitally mastered and is in widescreen and looks very good once again, as it did on season one! The audio is great and sounds very good, as it is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. This is from the 2008-09 season, so it had better be good.

Packaging has a thin outer box that you can remove from the top or bottom, like last time. The outer box has the same cover and back as the case inside...I hate when they give us an outer thin box that is pointless with the same art as the case inside. On the front cover we have a nice blue sky with Eli sitting on top of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the show logo is in the sky (it's partly cloud with a chance of visions)...the back cover has information on the series & set and has a shot of Eli on the top and a cast photo on the bottom. Henstridge and Gonzalo are stunning women. There is also a section detailing the bonus features and technical specifications in a box that looks like a diploma. Opening the case, we get an inserts for Blu-ray DVDs. There are only two panels, the left side holds disc one and the right side holds discs two & three...and they are overlapping. Each disc is in a blue color with clouds and has artwork that fits the show and Eli's illusions. Disc one has episodes 1-4 with artwork of a baseball (reps the baseball game where he saw Grace). Disc two has episodes 5-9 and has artwork of a journal (his father kept a journal of all his visions). Disc three has episodes 10-13 & the bonus features and has artwork of wedding figurines that looks to represent Eli, Nate and Beth. The left panel has disc-by-disc breakdown and three screenshots. The right panel has the list of bonus features and three more screenshots. Both panels are in the setting of a sunset at the Golden Gate Bridge.

The menu screen starts by showing us a law office and then we are behind the desk where see a flat screen monitor and on that monitor we see the menu options! How clever! It is exactly the same as the first season DVD though. But before I get to the options, there is nice background music playing in the background. The options on the main menu are Play All, Episode Selection, Set Up, Bonus Features (disc three only), and Sneak Peeks (disc three only). But before the main menu screen comes on disc one, we get some auto sneak peeks of other DVDs: ABC on DVD, Brothers & Sisters, Grey's Anatomy, The Proposal, and Blu-ray DVD. Sneak Peeks option is only found on disc three on the main menu and has previews of many titles like Scrubs, Samantha Who? and Castle. Set Up section takes us to the phone in that law office and the options on that menu are on the phone screen (like last time)! We have the option of subtitles in English, French or Spanish. The Episodes option gives us the episode number, title and a screenshot all on a nice yellow folder type document, again like last time. Bonus Features option is only on disc three all the extras listed on a white filler paper style, same as the first season DVD. All of the sub-menus have nice video transitions and different background music.

Moving on the bonus features. We don't get audio commentary this time, which I miss. We do get good featurettes still, though! First up is "Dancin' in the Streets," running 11:37. This is a behind the scenes look at the great song and dance number they did in the season premiere. Interviewed and seen are Blake Neely (composer), Marc Guggenheim (executive producer), Jason George, Andrew Kreisberg (co-executive producer), Zach Woodlee (choreographer), Victor Garber, Perry Lang (director), Loretta Devine, and Sam Jaeger. Seen in the behind the scenes are actors like Jonny Lee Miller and Natasha Henstridge. Then we have the featurette "Good Morning Eli with Sam and Julie." This runs 5:59 and we see what Sam Jaeger and Julie Gonzalo do on the set in mornings. Gonzalo looks good in curls even! Jaeger is a joker. We also see Vincent Misiano (director), Andrew Kreisberg, Marc Guggenheim, Victor Garber and Natasha Henstridge along the way!
Then we have three deleted scenes that are always interesting to see. They run 1:04, 0:46, and 2:21. So they are relatively short. Finally, we have some bloopers titled "Circular Files: Bloopers from Season 2." This only runs 2:05 and needs to be longer, that is my only gripe on the extras we have here.

I highly recommend this series and set. It is such a well-written and acted show that is greatly presented. If you have season one on DVD...then get this FOR SURE. And if you don't, get both seasons. It is worth watching. The show only had 13 episodes this season again, but they are great. ABC Studios did a marvelous job and I only have minor complaints that are not worth mentioning again. The biggest complaint is that this show isn't coming back for another season...boo! You're going to start Dancin' in the Street like Loretta Devine after seeing this on DVD! Have faith in me!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Related links:
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Official Website
Eli Stone TV.com Page

Blog DVD Review: Dirty Sexy Money - The Complete And Final Second Season (Aug. 18)

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Review. This week on the Blog DVD Review we take a look at ABC Studios/Buena Vista Home Entertainment's Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete 1st Season Exposed . Dirty Sexy Money is about the absurdly wealthy Darling family of New York City who mix with the wrong people and become embroiled in untenable situations, while their family lawyer Nick George (Peter Krause) is there to take care of their legal needs -- which often run into shady territory. See my Blog DVD reviews of Dirty Sexy Money - The Complete And Final Second Season:

Dirty Sexy Money - The Complete And Final Second Season (ABC Studios, $39.99) brings the second (and unfortunately the final) season of the primetime soap on DVD for the first time! One of TV's wittiest and wildest shows, let's get down and dirty with the deliciously scandalous second season of Dirty Sexy Money. This season the Darling family takes drama to new heights in a year filled with deception, suspense, and even murder.
The series did well in the strike-shortened first season, but when it returned for season two the next fall, viewers either forgot about it or it was too long of a period in between episodes (nearly 10 months). The sexy series stars Peter Krause as Nick George, Donald Sutherland as Tripp Darling, William Baldwin as Patrick Darling, Natalie Zea as Karen Darling, Glenn Fitzgerald as Brian Darling, Seth Gabel as Jeremy Darling, Zoe McLellan as Lisa George, Blair Underwood as Simon Elder, with Jill Clayburgh as Letitia Darling and Lucy Liu as Nola Lyons. Recurring are Darcy Rose Byrnes as Kiki George, Will Shadley as Brian Jr., Bellamy Young as Ellen Darling, Candis Cayne as Carmelita, Shawn Michael Patrick as Clark the Chauffeur, Laura Margolis as Daisy, and Sheryl Lee as Andrea Darling. Among the guests are John Schneider, Krista Allen, Dan Rather, Sarah Carter, Scott Holroyd, Samaire Armstrong, Kenny G, Ron Glass, Donna Mills and Gina Torres.

This second season is very good and is very sexy and juicy. We get 13 episodes for this second and final season. For season one, they aired 10, but they actually shot 13 episodes but decided to hold those three episodes for season two. However, the producers decided to scrap those three and implement some of those storylines into new season two episodes. I wish we could see those three episodes as extras at least. Anyway, back to season two...some classic episodes include the season premiere "The Birthday Present," where six months have passed since the events of last season. Even as Lisa and Nick plan to celebrate his birthday privately and quietly, Tripp and Letitia Darling decide to throw a lavish party for Nick on their yacht. In "The Star Witness," The witness testifying against Letitia Darling shocks Nick George, meanwhile Patrick is participating in a senatorial debate monitored by Dan Rather. In "The Verdict," Nick discovers a dirty little secret about Nola during Letitia's murder trial. In "The Summer House," Karen believes she will be fifth time lucky with her marriage to Simon Elder but Tripp and Nick have other ideas as they try to stop the wedding. In what I think might be one of the best hours of TV from last season, the episode "The Plan," has Senator Patrick Darling inviting Carmelita to his inauguration despite being warned by Tripp and Nick, meanwhile Chase makes threats against the Darlings and the end is a shocker. In "The Unexpected Arrival," Simon follows Karen to a clinic, and finds out that she is pregnant, then Karen has to tell Nick that she is expecting Simon's baby. Patrick decides to have an affair with a wife (Krista Allen) of a Congressman (John Schneider) that he needs support from. And the finale "The Bad Guy," Simon is tortured by Nola to get the truth about her brother with the help of Nick and Patrick takes his arrangement with the Congressman's wife to the next step by getting emotionally involved. Those episodes really stand out, but they are all very good but you have to watch them all in order...anything Greg Berlanti gets his hand on is good.
The episodes run usually 42-43 minutes...unedited of course with all the great music intact. There are about 8 chapter stops per episode. The video is digitally mastered and is in widescreen and looks very good! The audio is great and sounds very good, as it is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. This is from the 2008-09 season, so it had better be good.

Packaging has an outer box that you can remove from the top or bottom then you'll see the case inside. The outer box's cover has nice headshots of the cast. The show logo is in the middle, with The Complete And Final Second Season wording on top in white lettering. We have sort of have a blue-teal color scheme. The back of the box has a color scheme of blue-teal, like the front, with a nice cast photo by the Darling airplane and two screenshots below that. Nice details on the show and set is also there along with a nice quote from the New York Post on the top. There is also a section detailing the bonus features box with technical specifications below that out of the box. On the case itself, we have the same artwork as the box...nothing different this time. Opening the case, on the left side we see disc one. Discs two and three are on the right side overlapping each other. I hate that. There is an insert for Blu-ray titles such as Coyote Ugly, The Prestige, and Lost. On the panels itself, we get a nice cast photo that extends to both panels. We also have a disc-by-disc breakdown of episode titles per disc and bonus features details. Each disc matches the set's color scheme, the blue-teal with lettering in white and has nice artwork. Disc one has episodes 1-4 with artwork of a woman's legs and high-heel shoes. Disc two has episodes 5-9 and has artwork of jewelery. Disc three has episodes 10-13 and the bonus features with artwork of a gun surrounded by a few piles of money. When you remove the discs, the panels have nice artwork, as I mentioned.

The menu screen starts off paper money bills with the theme music playing in the background, then we get a camera flash and we get negatives of photos. Those are clips in negative photo form with camera flashes happening once a while, and we get background music playing now. The options on the main menu are Play All, Episode Selection, Set Up, Bonus Features (disc three only), and Sneak Peeks (disc three only). But before the main menu screen comes on disc one, we get some auto sneak peeks of other DVDs: ABC TV DVDs, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, The Proposal and Blu-ray titles. Sneak Peeks option is only found on disc three on the main menu and has previews of many titles. Set Up section we have the option of subtitles in English, French or Spanish and how to register your DVD. The Episodes option gives us the episode number, title and a screenshot -- with nice buildings at night in New York. Bonus Features has all the extras listed. All of the sub-menus have different background music. Great job!

Moving on to the bonus features. Before I start, it is disappointing that there are no audio commentaries this time. We still have good featurettes, though. All of them are found on disc three. The first one is titled "Directing the Darlings," and it runs 11:30. Basically this shows us what director Jamie Babbit does in the life of an episode. We get details on the wedding episode from this season. Interviewed are Jamie Babbit, Matthew Gross (executive producer), Craig Wright (executive producer), Seth Gabel, Kelly Van Horn (producer), Zoe McLellan, William Baldwin, Glenn Fitzgerald, and Sheryl Lee. Then we have the featurette "A Total Knockout," that runs 8:40. This is all about the gorgeous Natalie Zea. Cast and crew talk about her and we see spend a day in the life of her on the set. We also get a look at the classic catfight scene between her and Zoe! Interviewed are Natalie Zea, Matthew Gross, William Baldwin, Bob Berlinger (director), Greg Berlanti (executive producer), Bill Chais (supervising producer), Craig Wright, Seth Gabel, Craig Baxley Jr. (stunt coordinator), and Donald Sutherland.
Next up is one last featurette titled "Dirty Sexy Crafty." This runs 9:14 and showcases the craft services crew on the set. How cool they devote an entire featurette on them, especially the the head Josh Kuhn. Interviewed are Bob Berlinger, Josh Kuhn, Craig Wright, William Baldwin, Seth Gabel, Andre Campbell (set production assistant), Glenn Fitzgerald, Matthew Gross, Kelly Van Horn, Zoe McLellan, Patrice Harper (craft services), and Will Shadley. Now I'm hungry, especially for Josh's cookies!
Then we have some "Faux Pas - Bloopers from Season 2." These are outtakes that run only 1:51. Why so short? They just need to put the entire reel in because this is too short. Then finally we have seven deleted scenes that are always interesting to see...and we get more scandals in these, with the highest running 1:11 and lowest at 0:40. The last deleted scene is the most interesting one. I think that is a scene that should have aired after the final scene of the series, which I won't give away if you haven't seen the finale yet.

I highly recommend this series and set. It is so addictive and scandalous! It is unfortunate the show is no more, which is truly a shame. I think it would have worked if it aired after Desperate Housewives. We need a show in primetime like this that just gets us glued to the television and wanting to know what happens next. I hope we see the cast go on to other ABC projects, whether it be guest roles or joining existing series. Natalie Zea needs to be on something! She is amazing. Anyway, complete your collection with this second season set. It is worth it and you'll be wanting to watch the next episode after each one. Need a link to buy it...look below. Done!

-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

To purchase the DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Official Website
Dirty Sexy Money TV.com Page

Stay tuned tomorrow for a special Sunday blog review of Eli Stone - The Complete Second and Final Season.

Summer Week 10 Sitcom Ratings; Blog DVD Review Special: Peyton Place - Part One

Summer continues and everything is still pretty light. We will be back with our normal weekly report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did all summer long, along with last year's summer favorite, the coming week preview! Here are our summer ratings:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of July 20-26)

• Til Death (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm only mustered 1.53 million...but slightly up week-to-week again.
• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - preempted...2 repeats return tonight.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - preempted.
• Family Guy (Fox) - preempted.
• American Dad! (Fox) - Only 1.73 million for a repeat at 7:30...a bit higher than the previous week though and built from the lead-in.

Summer Week 10 (July 27-August 2)

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 4.98 million for a repeat airing, down from previous week. 1.7 A18-49 rating was identical from previous week though.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 4.91 million for a repeat airing, lower than previous week again. Matched the 1.7 A18-49 rating from the lead-in for the second straight week.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.06 million for a repeat, down some from previous week. 2.7 A18-49 rating was also down a bit.
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 8.48 million for a repeat is down some from previous week. 2.8 18-49 rating is excellent, BUILDING from the lead-in this time...impressive.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Better Off Ted (ABC) - preempted...two episode season finale will air Aug. 11.
• Scrubs (ABC) - preempted...last scheduled repeat airs this Tuesday at 9:30pm.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - Only 4.05 million and a 1.0 A18-49 rating.
• Gary Unmarried (CBS) - Only 3.9 million but did build a bit in A18-49 from the lead-in doing a 1.1 rating.

Thursday Sitcoms

• The Office (NBC) - 3.1 million for a repeat at 9pm...up some from previous week.
• 30 Rock (NBC) 2 episodes - 3.65 and 2.99 million for repeats at 8 and 9:30pm, up some in both time periods from previous week.
• Parks & Recreation (NBC) - First repeat of the summer did just 2.83 million at 8:30pm...worst of the sitcom block.

Friday Sitcoms

• Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - A repeat at 9pm did a prelim 1.24 million. That was up from previous week's prelim numbers.
• The Game (The CW) - A repeat did a premim 1.43 million, also up a lot from previous week's prelim numbers.
• Surviving Suburbia (ABC) - Prelim numbers show only 2.6 million for an all-new episode at 8pm, but up some from previous week's prelim numbers. Finale is this coming Friday.
• The Goode Family (ABC) - Prelim numbers were even worse for an all-new episode of this show with 1.78 million, also up some from previous week's prelim numbers. Two episode finale is this coming Friday.
• According to Jim (ABC) 2 episodes - 2 repeats did a prelim 2.06 and 2.25 million, also up from previous week's prelim average. As always, check out final numbers for Friday for these shows and all the Friday shows on our message board tomorrow.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Tonight you can catch encores of Fox's 'Til Death and animated comedies from 7-10pm. Elsewhere ABC has the special Ty's Great British Adventure at 8pm leading into the two-hour premiere of drama Defying Gravity from 9-11pm. CBS has 60 Minutes & Big Brother, while NBC will have a new Dateline in the 7pm hour, leading into Merlin at 8, and part two of the mini-series The Storm at 9.


Coming Week Preview (Aug. 3-9):

We are preempting this week's preview again so we can you bring you another special blog DVD review on a special day! So enjoy that below.

Welcome to a special edition of the Blog DVD Review. Today we take a look at Shout! Factory's Peyton Place - Part One. Peyton Place ran from 1964-1969 on ABC and had over 500 episodes! See skees53's Blog DVD Review of Peyton Place - Part One:

Peyton Place - Part One (Shout!, $39.99) is the beginning of the continuing story of the series Peyton Place. Peyton Place was the series that brought scandalous family drama to primetime in the 1960s. The series was a serial drama that aired for a half hour multiple times every week on ABC from 1964 to 1969. The series ran continuously and never took a summer break, resulting in over 500 episodes by the end of the series. Now, Shout! Factory has released the first 31 of these episodes in a five-disc set.

Peyton Place is a small New England town where they say that nothing exciting ever really happens. The story of Peyton Place may seem rather typical on the outside, but as one gets to know the people of Peyton Place, it is discovered that even a town where supposedly "nothing exciting ever happens" can be full of drama. Constance MacKenzie (Dorothy Malone) owns a small bookstore in Peyton Place and has an intelligent and intellectual teenage daughter, Allison (Mia Farrow). There is no "man of the house" in the MacKenzie house, as it is said that Constance is a widow. Without a man in the house, Matthew Swain (Warner Anderson), the newspaper editor, fills this role in a sense.

Allison has a love interest in town, and it is the popular Rodney Harrington (Ryan O'Neal). Actually, Rodney's younger brother, Norman (Christopher Connelly) is a friend of Allison's from school, and he too is interested in Allison. Rodney is actually on the rebound from a previous relationship with a girl from the "wrong side of the tracks," Betty Anderson (Barbara Parkins), and her constant tactics to woo him once again. As if that isn't bad enough, Rodney's father, Leslie (Paul Langton) is having an affair with Betty's mother, Julie (Kasey Rogers). As if that wasn't enough drama, Julie was having some serious problems at home with her husband, George (Henry Beckman). And that is only how the continuing story of Peyton Place begins.

Before I go any further, if you have never seen the series, you may want to skip the next two paragraphs. Like many serial dramatic series, it is difficult to talk about episodes of the series without spoiling something, and this one is no exception. The series begins with a new doctor in town, Dr. Michael Rossi (Ed Nelson). Dr. Rossi has just moved to Peyton Place for mysterious reasons after practicing in New York City. Everybody in town wonders why he would come to Peyton Place, as it is explained that Peyton Place is the type of place that people usually try to get away from, but at this point in time, nobody really knows for sure. Rodney and Allison meet up and share their first kiss, but he hasn't exactly broken things off with Betty, at least not yet. Rodney is actually content with his girlfriend Betty, but everything takes a sudden turn for the worse when he finds his father in the arms of Julie, Betty's mother. This leads to Rodney going back to Allison, which may or may not work out in the long run.
Julie's affair with Leslie may actually be a positive thing for her, as it is revealed that her marriage at home is not only in terrible shape, but her husband, George, has some serious mental health issues, and engages in domestic abuse against his own wife. When it comes to Rodney, Betty is not going to go down without a fight, and is going to do whatever it takes to split up Rodney and Allison. So in a storyline which goes on for several episodes, she tries to break the news to Rodney: she is going to have a baby, in what is most likely the very first unwed and unplanned teenage pregnancy plot to ever make it to primetime on the American airwaves. Naturally, this causes a rift in the relationship between Rodney and Allison. And just when it seems that nothing else can happen, Elliot Carson arrives in town after spending 18 years in prison. Who is he and why is he in Peyton Place?

The DVD set, unlike most other Shout! Factory releases, comes in a standard DVD snapcase with an outer sleeve. The cover has a color snapshot of the cast in front of the bookstore, and the back of the case has three black and white series snapshots, along with a description of the season. Inside the case, we have the four discs, which again have black and white cast photos on each of them. There is a sheet of paper inside the case that describes the episodes on the set in general, but it does not go in to any specifics. There are absolutely no episode descriptions or listings anywhere to be found on this set, although in a way, that isn't fully necessary. There were no episode titles, and most of the stories carried over several episodes. Still, episode listings would have been nice. The set contains five discs, with each disc containing six episodes, except for Disc 5, which contains seven episodes.

The menus on the set are very nice, with the theme song playing on the main menu of each disc, and various random quotes from the series being read from the cast members. The main menu on each disc has options of Play All and Episodes. Selecting Episodes takes you to a menu where each episode number is listed (there weren't any episode titles). Next to each episode, there is a Preview option, which actually appears to just be the "teaser" for the next episode from the previous episode. These are all about 30 seconds long.

When I first started watching the set, I was impressed with the video (which is in black and white, by the way) and audio quality. And then I got to Disc 2. It seems that beyond the first few episodes, the series wasn't exactly the most well preserved series out there. That isn't to say that the series is unwatchable, but there is grain and debris everywhere and the contrast levels are very problematic. To be honest, don't expect to be able to see anything that happens in a dark room our outside at night on some of the episodes, as all you can really see is mostly a black screen. It isn't this way on every episode, though. It seems to come and go. Just to be fair, however, it is worth noting that many serial dramas such as this were not even intended to be preserved, at all. Who would have thought that this series would have any interest beyond the original airing? The very fact that it was preserved at all is a positive thing. The mono audio has a little bit of crackling in it, but that shouldn't deter anybody, as it is generally loud and clear and everything can be heard in the episodes. The episodes are neither closed-captioned nor subtitled. Each episode appears to be unedited, running around 25:30.

The set really doesn't have any special features, although honestly, I don't know that I would even expect to see them on a series such as this. The problem with putting special features on something like this is that it would take up more space on the disc (leaving fewer episodes) and it would increase the price of the set (making the cost of owning multiple sets too expensive). I normally wouldn't say that it is OK to skip on the special features, but in this case, I think that it is.

So, will Allison MacKenzie ever know the truth about her father? Is there happiness in store for the Harringtons? Can Betty Anderson rise above her past? Can Elliot Carson clear his name? And will Allison MacKenzie find true love? Actually, you won't find the answer to any of those questions on this set, but those are the questions that you'll be asking once you see these episodes. All of those are questions raised here, which will be answered on the next release (which has actually already been released, and we will be reviewing in the future on here). The question for Shout! Factory, though, is will they continue to release the series on DVD? With 514 episodes, that'll mean quite a few releases, but fans are sure to appreciate it if they all do indeed make it onto DVD. But for now, I think fans of this series and serial family dramas will enjoy this DVD set, the beginning of the continuing story of... Peyton Place.

Reviewed by skees53
(3.5/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: Flight of the Conchords - The Complete Second Season (Aug. 4)

Welcome to our weekly Blog DVD Review. Today we take a look at HBO Home Video's Flight of the Conchords - The Complete Second Season. Flight of the Conchords is the recently Emmy nominated comedy starring Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement as a folk singing duet from New Zealand making their way across a couple of continents and into New York City. See skees53's Blog DVD Review of Flight of the Conchords - The Complete Second Season:

Flight of the Conchords - The Complete Second Season (HBO, $29.98) brings the ten episodes of the hilarious second (and likely final) season of the HBO series to DVD on a two-disc set. For those unfamiliar with the series, Flight of the Conchords is a comedy series from HBO starring Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement as a folk singing duet from New Zealand making their way across a couple of continents and into New York City where they hope to translate their success. There is only one problem, though: their success as being the "fourth most popular folk parody duo" in New Zealand seems to be meaningless in New York City. Murray (Rhys Darby), their manager (who also has a day job in the New Zealand consulate office), is pretty sure that they are going to make it big in the future, but for now, he seems pretty pleased with getting the duo gigs at places such as airport lounges, libraries, and elementary schools. Bret and Jermaine do have a fanbase, but technically, it only consists of one fan, Mel (Kristen Schall), who happens to be a psychotically obsessed stalker who just so happens to be astonished at the unlikely odds when she happens to "bump in" to Bret and Jermaine as they walk out of their apartment every morning (while her husband Doug waits in a car across the street for several hours). Rounding out the cast is Dave Mohumbai (Arj Barker), a friend of Bret and Jermaine who is grown, but still lives with his mom and dad and works at Mohumbai & Son, his father's pawn shop. He is always there to help out Bret and Jermaine and tell them how things are done in America, and how they are different from Newfoundland, Australia, or whatever country he thinks they are from in any given episode. A lot (but certainly not all) of the comedy of the series comes from the hilarious songs that the duo performs in every episode.

At the end of the first season of the series, Murray decides to add Todd Barry (playing himself) a third member to the duo. This doesn't work out very well, but somehow, Todd ends up getting with Demetri Martin (also playing himself) to form their own duo, and Murray gets the honor of being their manager as well. Unfortunately for Bret and Jermaine, the "Crazy Dogggz" as they are called ends up being a smash hit worldwide and Murray begins to move all of his attention to them. This leads to Bret and Jermaine firing Murray in "A Good Opportunity," but the firing is short-lived when Bret and Jermaine do a women's toothpaste (although it isn't explained why it is only for women) commercial and need Murray to get them out of the deal once they remember that they are illegal immigrants. Murray is only more than eager to help, because his Crazy Dogggz band has been involved in a plagiarism lawsuit, and guess who is living in his car as a result of the lawsuit? In "The New Cup," Bret and Jermaine are so poor that they can only afford to have one teacup in their apartment that they must share, but Bret takes matters into his own hands and buys a teacup of his own for $2.79, which causes financial chaos and even leads to the guys trying to sell themselves as prostitutes! Bret is scared to death after he performs a song in a library where he "disses" rappers such as 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg and forms his own gang in "The Tough Brets," but will a gang consisting of Bret, a senior citizen, two Asian Internet café owners, and Dave really be able to protect anybody? Jermaine has found new love in "Unnatural Love," but she has a nasty little secret: she is Australian!

Bret and Jermaine both fall for a woman that has a dog with epilepsy in "Love is a Weapon of Choice," but will their love keep her dog from going into a seizure? Murray has found work for Bret and Jermaine as Simon and Garfunkel impersonators in "Prime Minister," which leads Jermaine finding a woman that is passionately in love with him... but only if he will "Garfunkel" with her (you'll have to watch to see what she means). Meanwhile, Murray is determined to do everything possible to arrange a meeting between the New Zealand Prime Minister and Barack Obama. Art Garfunkel portrays himself in the episode. Addiction is no laughing matter, but it is when Bret and Jermaine become addicted to hair gel in "NewZealandTown." Lucy Lawless guest stars. Bret finds a new girlfriend at the pet shop in "Wingmen," and decides to get to know her by using the same type of stalking tactics that Mel uses against him. When he discovers that she likes tough guys, he decides to "protect" her as Jermaine steals her purse in a staged purse-snatching incident gone totally wrong. The season (and perhaps series) ends with "Evicted," where Bret and Jermaine lose their apartment because they have been paying their rent in New Zealand dollars instead of American dollars. This leads to them moving in with Mel and her husband, but when they get separated, they must split custody of Bret and Jermaine. Will the Conchords get back together or is this the end? I won't spoil the ending of this episode!

The packaging for the set is very creative, using a standard snapcase and a sleeve over the snapcase. On the snapcase itself, we have a sketch of a few buildings in New York City with several clouds above it, and on the transparent sleeve, we have Bret and Jermaine flying among those clouds. When you remove the sleeve, Bret and Jermaine are no longer on the cover. This is a very nice touch, and is very similar to the previous release. The back of the box has the cast members dancing, along with the basic show information. Inside the case, there is a listing of all of the episodes with writing and directing credits, although there are no descriptions to be found here. Disc 1 has a picture of Bret sitting on the couch and Disc 2 has a picture of Jermaine sitting on the couch. Disc 1 contains episodes 1-6 and Disc 2 contains episodes 7-10, as well as the special features.

The menus on the set are very nicely done, with the main menu playing the theme music and showing Bret and Jermaine "flying" through the city (similar to the cover art). The options on the main menu are Episodes and Languages. Disc 2 also has a Special Features option. When you select Episodes, you get a list of the episodes on the disc as well as a Play All option. When you select an episode, you get a menu that has a brief episode description, as well as options for Preview, Play Episode, Episodes, and Main Menu. The Preview option takes you to a brief (invariably 27 seconds) promo for the episode from HBO. Every other option is basically self-explanatory. There are no scene selection menus, but chapters are placed appropriately within each episode.

The video and audio quality of the set is basically what you would expect from a series that aired just earlier this year. I'm sure that there are some flaws here and there, but it would take some very nitpicky viewing to really pick up on those flaws. The episodes are all in their original 16:9 aspect ratio and the audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. There is also a Spanish audio track, as well as English, Spanish, and French subtitles. Each episode is closed-captioned. As one would expect, each episode on the set is unedited, although that means highly variable runtimes as this is an HBO series. Runtimes for each episode are as follows:

Disc 1:
1. "A Good Opportunity" (26:22)
2. "The New Cup" (26:55)
3. "The Tough Brets" (27:36)
4. "Murray Takes it to the Next Level" (27:24)
5. "Unnatural Love" (26:07)
6. "Love is the Weapon of Choice" (27:17)

Disc 2:
7. "Prime Minister" (27:52)
8. "NewZealandTown" (24:59)
9. "Wingmen" (26:57)
10. "Evicted" (27:46)

Many fans of the series were disappointed with the first season being completely devoid of special features, but there is good news this time--there actually are some special features. These can be found on Disc 2, although I guess one could argue that the episode promos are special features too in a sense. We begin with "Flight of the Conchords: An On-Air Documentary" (25:00), where we have a very nice interview with Bret and Jermaine about the series. They talk a lot about how they came up with the idea for the series, how they ended up in the United States, and how they got started (by getting lucky and having an HBO comedy special). It also includes interviews with others involved in the series, such as cast members Arj Barker, Rhys Darby, and Kristen Schall and producers James Bobbin and Stu Smiley. A lot of the interview talks about the history of the Conchords before the series, and their hopes for another season of the series (something that everybody seems to want, but isn't going to be easy logistically). It is fun to watch, and it seems that most of the cast members are very down-to-earth and legitimately enjoy working on the series. Deleted Scenes (25:02) takes you through a lengthy set of deleted scenes from episodes throughout the first season. There are a lot to describe here, and I won't attempt to do that, but they are very fun to watch.

Outtakes (7:06) gives you even more hilarious moments from the episodes where things didn't quite go as planned. Dave's Pawn Shop Commercials (3:06) is one of my favorite things on this set. These are fake commercials for Mohaumbai & Son, the pawnshop that Dave's father owns and Dave works for. I believe, though I may be mistaken, that these were produced as a special Internet feature for the series. There are three of these promos, and they look very good, in the typical cheesy low production value local pawnshop commercial fashion. Dave even raps in these commercials, with his father (a very traditional man from India who dresses professionally and has a full Indian accent) comes in at the end of the commercial and shouts "What you want we got it!" I've seen far too many pawnshop commercials that are very similar to these, and these are hilarious spoofs. In the same line as these commercials, we have "New Zealand Consulate Meetings with Murray & Greg" (3:33). These are just a bunch of fake meetings with Murray regarding his duties of working at the New Zealand Consulate, which really aren't very many duties at all. There are two of these, and again, these were features produced for the Internet
viewers.

I honestly believe that this is one of the most clever, creative, and funny series to hit the airwaves in a very long time. Unfortunately, the creativeness of the series is why it would be difficult to proceed to a third season--basically, Bret and Jermaine (the real ones, not the characters) only have so much music material that they have created, and a new season would require writing all new songs, something that can't simply be squeezed in between television seasons. But who knows, maybe the series will be back again some day. The series received a handful of Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series. Whether or not it will win is another question, but to be nominated is a big honor by itself. As far as this DVD set is concerned, it would have been nice to have some commentaries and some more interviews, but at least it is better than the release of the first season, which had no special features at all. This is a hilarious series that fans of any type of comedy will definitely enjoy. So get out and pick up this Dubbed Video Dub (you'll have to watch the show to know what I mean by that) today, along with the first season if you don't already have it!

Reviewed by skees53
(4.5/5 stars)

To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Summer Week 9 Sitcom Ratings; Blog DVD Review Special: Route 66 - Season Three, Volume One

Summer continues and everything is still pretty light. We will be back with our normal weekly report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did all summer long, along with last year's summer favorite, the coming week preview! Here are our summer ratings:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of July 13-19)

• Til Death (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm only mustered 1.46 million...slightly up week-to-week.
• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - 3.39 million for a repeat in its regular 8pm slot and 4.07 million for a special 9:30pm repeat. Latter one was up slightly, while the regular one was down week-to-week.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - The 8:30 repeat did only 3.07 million, but down the same as the lead-in really.
• Family Guy (Fox) - 3.86 million for a repeat, down from previous week.
• American Dad! (Fox) - Only 1.7 million for a repeat at 7:30...lower than the previous week by a bit.

Summer Week 9 (July 20-26)

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 5.14 million for a repeat airing, up some from previous week. 1.7 A18-49 rating was lower than the last few weeks by a bit though.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 5.04 million for a repeat airing, lower than previous week again. Matched the 1.7 A18-49 rating from the lead-in.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.31 million for a repeat, up some from previous week. 2.8 A18-49 rating was also up a tick.
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 8.79 million for a repeat is up from previous week, and the closest retention it has come yet. 2.8 18-49 rating is excellent, holding 100% from the lead-in again.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Better Off Ted (ABC) - 1.86 million for an all-new episode. Down though from previous week's summer high of 2.5 million. Not good.
• Scrubs (ABC) -A repeat at 9:30pm did 1.75 million. Also down from previous week.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - Preempted for Obama.
• Gary Unmarried (CBS) - Preempted for Obama.

Thursday Sitcoms

• The Office (NBC) 2 episodes - Only 2.67 and 2.98 million for repeats at 8:30 and 9...both down from previous week.
• 30 Rock (NBC) 2 episodes - Only 3.21 and 2.78 million for repeats at 8 and 9:30pm, and only a 1.2 A18-49 rating for each.
• Samantha Who? (ABC) - Final 2 episodes did 3.43 and 3.19 million...on par with the airings this summer.

Friday Sitcoms

• Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - A repeat at 9pm did a prelim 900,000 viewers. That was down from previous week's prelim numbers.
• The Game (The CW) - A repeat did 814,000 prelim viewers, also down from previous week's prelim numbers.
• Surviving Suburbia (ABC) - Prelim numbers show only 2.42 million for an all-new episode at 8pm, down some from previous week's prelim numbers.
• The Goode Family (ABC) - Prelim numbers were even worse for an all-new episode of this show with 1.52 million, also down some from previous week's prelim numbers.
• According to Jim (ABC) 2 episodes - 2 repeats did a prelim 2.16 million average, but up from previous week's prelim average. As always, check out final numbers for Friday for these shows and all the Friday shows on our message board tomorrow.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Tonight you can catch encores of Fox's 'Til Death and only one animated comedy in the 7pm hour, as Fox airs a movie from 8-10. Elsewhere CBS has 60 Minutes & Big Brother, while NBC will have a new Dateline in the 7pm hour, leading into Merlin at 8, and part one of the mini-series The Storm at 9.


Coming Week Preview (July 27-Aug. 2):

We are preempting this week's preview again so we can you bring you another special blog DVD review on a special day! So enjoy that below.

Welcome to a special edition of the Blog DVD Review. Today we take a look at Infinity Entertainment's Route 66 - Season Three, Volume One. Route 66 ran from 1960-1964 and starred Martin Milner, George Maharis (1960-1963) and Glenn Corbett (1963-1964). See skees53's Blog DVD Review of Route 66 - Season Three, Volume One:

Route 66 - Season Three, Volume One (Infinity, $29.98) presents the first sixteen episodes of the third season of the great anthology series of the '60s about two guys living their lives as one big road trip across America. The series stars Martin Milner and George Maharis, playing Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock. Tod and Buz come from different backgrounds, but they have one thing in common: their interest in cruising America in a powder-blue 1960 Corvette, a Corvette that was essentially the only thing that Tod was left with after his wealthy father died.
A change began to occur in the third season, though, as Maharis began to disappear in this season as a personal illness began to make the series difficult for him to work on. As he became ill, his character began to disappear from the series, and Tod began to take upon the open road alone. Eventually, by the end of the season (which is not included in this set), Buz was written off of the series and replaced with a new character, Linc.

John Astin and Buster Keaton guest star in "Journey to Nineveh." Tod and Buz encounter an over-aged gangster in Chicago in "Man Out of Time." In "Ever Ride the Waves in Oklahoma," Tod and Buz are in Southern California, where Buz challenges a native to a surfing competition. Before online dating, there were telephone relationships, as we see in "Voice at the End of the Line." Lon Chaney, Jr., Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff all play themselves in a light-hearted Halloween episode, "Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing." In “Across Walnuts and Wine,” Buz and Tod are boarders at a home owned by a young man who is threatening to throw his family (who tends to just show up and stay) out of the house the moment he turns 21, but will he realize the importance of having his family around?
Ed Asner guest stars in "Welcome to the Wedding," where Tod is held hostage by a prisoner in transit. Buz is given a lucrative offer for dating a girl in "Every Father's Daughter Must Weave Her Own." Leslie Nielsen and Ron Howard guest star in "Poor Little Kangaroo Rat." Will Tod kill Buzz? That is what a fortune-teller is predicting in "Only By Cunning Glimpses." Vera Miles plays a woman who claims to be kidnapped by a mental patient in "Where is Chick Lorimer, Where Has She Gone?" Natalie Schaefer guest stars in "Give the Old Cat a Tender Mouse." Volume One ends with "You Can't Pick Cotton in Tahiti," where Tod meets up with a musical composer in Tennessee.

The set comes packaged in a double-thick keepcase with a cardboard sleeve on the outside. Both the keepcase and the sleeve have the same artwork, which is basically just the picture of the open road going into the sunset, and a Route 66 logo in the middle of it all. The back of the packaging just has a lengthy description of the episodes on the set. Inside the keepcase, we have four discs (two on each side of the case, overlapping each other), which have artwork almost identical to the cover art. Unfortunately, there are no episode descriptions, or even a list indicating which episodes are on which disc, anywhere to be found on this set. Each disc contains four episodes, for a total of sixteen episodes. Overall, the packaging for this set is a definite downgrade from the previous sets, but it isn't a total disaster either.

The menus are different from the previous sets, but in this case, different doesn't mean worse. The menus are very clean and professional looking, with options of Play All, Episodes, and (on Disc 4) Special Features. The menu contains plenty of music, sound effects, and transitional effects throughout. While there are no scene selection menus, there are chapters placed throughout each episode, although they are placed in somewhat strange positions in some (not all) of the episodes.

The video and audio quality generally tends to be pretty good. The picture is generally clear and crisp, although there are still a few issues regarding some grain and debris. The audio is very loud and clear, being presented in standard mono. It appears, for the most part, that Infinity invested in remastering and improving the quality of these episodes. However, there is one episode on the set that is very clearly not remastered. The episode "Only By Cunning Glimpses" looks and sounds terrible, with significant grain and debris, overall poor image quality, and very low and muffled sound. I had a feeling when watching this episode that it had not been restored, and this was basically confirmed at the end of the episode when I saw the closing credits cut off before the Screen Gems logo and plastered with a 1980s Columbia Pictures Television logo. The quality is barely better than a VHS copy. At least the content of the episode is intact, though.
Another problem that I noticed on a few episodes (even though it did not last for the entire episode) is that certain portions of the episodes contained audio that was out of sync with the video. It is obnoxious, for sure, but it usually only lasts for a minute or two when it happens. Each episode, including the 1980s television print, is unedited and runs around 50 minutes. Each episode is closed-captioned.

The set does have special features, but like the previous sets, there really aren't any behind-the-scenes special features. As always, we just have 12 minutes worth of classic commercials, but they are by no means random classic commercials. They are a mix of miscellaneous sponsor spots and bumpers from the series. These are not only fun to watch for their nostalgic value, but one of the series sponsors happened to be Phillips Milk of Magnesia, which makes for some humorous laxative commercials that probably didn't seem as humorous to the viewers at the time. There are also a few episode preview bumpers in here, which would have been nice to have for every episode. This set does NOT include the guest star biographies that were included on previous sets.

All things considered, Infinity has been doing a great job on these Route 66 DVD sets, but this one is definitely less than perfect. First, I'm not a big fan of the half-season release model. This seems to be a step backwards when other companies are releasing complete SERIES sets. It is even more frustrating that they are doing this while planning a full season release next year, a full season release that is oddly enough already available at some Best Buy stores. The set feels much cheaper this time, with cheaper packaging and no episode lists to be found ANYWHERE on the packaging. Would it have been too much to just include some basic liner notes inside the cheapened packaging? There are also the minor audio/video sync issues on some episodes. Still, despite all of this, this is a very enjoyable series to watch and the video and audio quality is, for the most part, pretty good. It is probably a better idea, though, to wait for the full season to be released as one complete set, especially if you've already purchased the first two seasons as complete season sets. But if you just can't wait until the January release date (that is, if you can't find it at Best Buy, which I couldn't), then you can get your kicks with the first half of season three here.

Reviewed by skees53
(4/5 stars)

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Related links:
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Route 66 TV.com Page

Blog DVD Review: Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 (July 28)

Welcome to our weekly Blog DVD Review. Today we take a look at Universal Home Video's Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5. Battlestar Galactica is a current remake of the '70s sci-fi series. See Seth's Blog DVD Review of Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 :

Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 (Universal, $49.98) concludes on DVD the run of what I genuinely consider to be one of the finest shows on TV this decade. Battlestar Galactica was an absolutely amazing retooling (otherwise called a "re-imagining") of a rather cheesy 1970s sci-fi series. This version of the show, however, is really closer in tone to 24 and West Wing than Star Trek or another similar show. At its core, it's really a military and political drama that happens to be set in space. That blending of qualities makes for an absolutely amazing show, a program I discovered early last year and stuck with right until the end.

From where I sit, the twenty episodes comprising the 4th season (divided into 4.0 and 4.5) are actually a little bit weaker than the earlier years of the show, but a great show having minor issues is still better than most anything else you'd find on air. Indeed, I can overlook the fact that episodes that should be building up for the grand finale instead grind to a halt, only to launch into full-blown information dump mode two episodes later. Really, you can become agitated quickly if you get yourself in a bunch over minor squabbles. The important part of this final half-season is that, though the ride occasionally gets slightly bumpy, you ultimately reach the destination still richer for the experience. It's like driving a trip from New York City to Los Angeles in a brand new Mercedes, only to have a problem with one of the shock absorbers in Nevada. You've still had a great ride, it just feels a little rough in the final stages.

If you've only been following the series through DVD, then where the show last left off the Fleet had finally found Earth...as a desolate post-nuclear fallout wasteland. The second half of the season starts off with an explanation of what happened on this Earth, plus the identity of the final Cylon is revealed. The series progresses onwards from there, alternating between action episodes and story episodes, through 10 great episodes. At one point there's even a mutiny forcing Adama, Tigh, etc. to fight their way back through the ship to retake command!
The series culminates with the episode "Daybreak," originally presented over two weeks and considered a total of 3 parts. You can choose to view it as-aired on the final disc, or choose to watch the complete two hour and thirty minute unedited version, with many cut scenes restored. Viewing this second version *does* help things make a bit more sense and makes the finale seem less rushed, but that won't change the fact that many fans just aren't going to like the ending. With regards to it, you either have -- or will -- fall into one of two camps. Either you'll think it's a brilliant twist to cap things off, or it'll simply leaving you scratching your head. I'll be the first to admit, I started off as the latter but after a couple of re-viewings I've come around and now love how the show ends.

Technically speaking, this DVD set is simply stunning. Universal is one of the few studios who still seem to shun those horrible clear plastic keepcase abominations, something I'm thrilled to see. You get simple, functional slimcases which showcase the well-designed package art quite nicely. The actual artwork itself is given the reflective color treatment, and when combined with the raised lettering of the show logo, provides for package art that commands your attention sitting on the store shelf.
The art for set itself features variations on the cast shots seen in the top third of the main box's art. Between the four cases, nearly the entirety of the main cast is featured, with only a few supporting players omitted. The finale is kept on its own disc, much as the miniseries was on season one's set. The remainder of the episodes are arranged in varying orders.

Menus are animated, and feature multiple layers of animation. Profile shots of various members of the primary cast dissolve in and out, clips play on the left side, and the great main theme plays in the background -- with the clips syncing fairly well to the music.

Audio and video quality are amazing, bounded only by the limits of the traditional DVD. This is one set I would have loved to be able to view in HD on Blu-Ray, however that wasn't a feasible review option largely due to my not owning a Blu-Ray player. The video looks as good as is possible given the resolution and quality limits of the format. The audio, having more room to play around even on a traditional DVD, sounds absolutely wonderful, and makes full use of the full 5.1 channels of sound available. The dialogue mixes in with the sound effects and composer Bear McCreary's wonderful scores and creates a true audio experience. Episode runtimes are all over the place, as running times vary wildly from episode to episode...44-49 minutes is the norm. Chapter stops occur with slightly greater frequency than commercial breaks, roughly coinciding with major scene changes. Some episodes feature scenes omitted from their original Sci-Fi Channel airings. Nothing is edited, the only changes are the occasional inclusions.

Greater still are the special features. Included as audio tracks are the podcast commentaries done along with each week's airing by show executive producer Ronald D. Moore. You also get piles and piles of deleted scenes. You get video blogs, you get extra-length episodes. This set, in terms of its bonus content is really quite good. I've seen sets with better, but this set is fairly high on the list. Galactica sets are great for that.

Ultimately, if you are a fan of this show you probably have the set on pre-order for Tuesday already. Good. If you haven't given the show a try before, go to your local video rental store, and rent the first two discs from the first season set. It's the miniseries that kicked off this amazing show's run. It sold me on the series, plus the amazing first episodes. Watch them, though check any preconceptions you have about space shows at the door. What you'll see is absolutely great dramatic television. Even the guys on The Big Bang Theory think so!

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(5/5 stars)

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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Battlestar Galactica TV.com Page

Summer Week 8 Sitcom Ratings; Blog DVD Review Special: American Gladiators - The Battle Begins

Summer continues and everything is still pretty light. We will be back with our normal weekly report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did all summer long, along with last year's summer favorite, the coming week preview! Here are our summer ratings:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of July 6-12)

• Til Death (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm only mustered 1.41 million...even lower than the previous week's 1.53 million
• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - 3.72 million for a repeat in its regular 8pm slot and 4.01 million for a special 9:30pm repeat. Both episodes were a bit off from previous week's repeats.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - The 8:30 repeat did only 3.15 million, but down the same as the lead-in really.
• Family Guy (Fox) - 4.22 million for a repeat is OK for summer, again the pattern of being down a bit.
• American Dad! (Fox) - Only 1.8 million for a repeat at 7:30...lower than the previous week by yes...a bit.

Summer Week 8 (July 13-19)

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 5.0 million for a repeat airing, down from previous week. 1.8 A18-49 rating again though, is decent for summer.
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 5.22 million for a repeat airing, lower than previous week when again but built from the lead-in. It did do a 1.9 A18-49 rating again.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.12 million for a repeat, down a bit from previous week. 2.7 A18-49 rating is good for summer.
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 8.23 million for a repeat is also down a bit from previous week, following the pattern from its lead-ins. 2.7 18-49 rating is excellent, holding 100% from the lead-in again.

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Better Off Ted (ABC) - 2.5 million for an all-new hilarious episode. That is the best it has done this summer, maybe it needs to air in a sitcom block or hour for it to do well? 1.0 18-49 rating is also way better than what it was doing in recent weeks.
• Scrubs (ABC) -A repeat at 9:30pm did 2.12 million. Not much can be expected against Got Talent, Big Brother and the MLB All-Star Game.

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - Just 4.0 million for a repeat...but ever so slightly from the previous weeks... only a 1.1 A18-49 rating.
• Gary Unmarried (CBS) - Just 4.07million for a repeat and only a 1.2 A18-49 rating...but up from previous week in both measures slightly.

Thursday Sitcoms

• The Office (NBC) 2 episodes - Only 2.99 and 3.04 million for repeats at 8:30 and 9...both up slightly from previous week.
• 30 Rock (NBC) 2 episodes - Only 3.33 and 2.8 million for repeats at 8 and 9:30pm, and only a 1.1 and 1.2 A18-49 rating for each. But both up slightly from previous week in viewers.
• Samantha Who? (ABC) - preempted....season finale this week.

Friday Sitcoms

• Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - A repeat at 9pm did a prelim 1.09 million. That was up from previous week, but let's see if it holds up in the final ratings.
• The Game (The CW) - A repeat did 1.06 million prelim viewers for this canceled sitcom as well...also up from previous week...again let's see it holds up.
• Surviving Suburbia (ABC) - Prelim numbers show only 2.62 million for an all-new episode at 8pm, but up from previous week's prelim numbers.
• The Goode Family (ABC) - Prelim numbers were even worse for an all-new episode of this show with 1.63 million, but still up some from previous week's prelim numbers. This is a decent show you guys.
• According to Jim (ABC) 2 episodes - 2 repeats did a prelim 1.92 million average, lower than previous week's prelim average. As always, check out final numbers for Friday for these shows and all the Friday shows on our message board tomorrow.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Tonight you can catch encores of Fox's 'Til Death and animated comedies from 7-10 tonight. Elsewhere CBS has special 60 Minutes at 7pm honoring Walter Conkrite. NBC will have a new Dateline in the 7pm hour, leading into Merlin at 8, and part two of the mini-series Meteor at 9.


Coming Week Preview (July 20-26):

We are preempting this week's preview so we can you bring you another special blog DVD review on a special day! So enjoy that below.

Welcome to a special edition of the Blog DVD Review. Today we take a look at Shout! Factory's American Gladiators: The Battle Begins. American Gladiators is the classic '90s syndicated series that was shown on weekends across the country. Let the battle begin! See Seth's Blog DVD Review of American Gladiators: The Battle Begins:

American Gladiators: The Battle Begins (Shout!, $29.99) brings us classic episodes of the absolutely wonderful original version of American Gladiators onto DVD for the first time!
The first release for the set is slightly odd, as Shout! has made the decision to *not* release, at least for now, the first half of the first season. Before anyone gets out their pitchforks and torches, there's a very good reason for this. Those 13 shows bare only moderate resemblance to the show that would remain on the air for years to come. That first half-season the show took the whole "gladiator" concept a little more seriously, with a roman-themed set and gladiators who were characters just as much as they were athletes. Nevermind the off-beat announcing style of Joe "visibly interesting" Theismann. Joe's style, while well-suited for a sport such as football, was very out of place those initial episodes and if you catch the episodes on their next airplays on ESPN Classic you'll quickly come to realize that omitting all but one of these episodes is probably for the best.

They did, however, leave in one: The 1st half recap show, which serves as a highlight/clip compilation for the first half-season. In the length of a normal full episode, you're given the rundown on what occurred in the first half of the first season, with clips and analysis from Theismann and the host all Gladiators fans have come to know and love, Mike Adamle. (This clip show IS from the normal package of episodes, and does feature Joe Theismann's strange episode intro -- to understand the whole "visually interesting" comment, you should sit through the first minute of this show. It's also important to catch this episode so you know who the 1st half champions are, as despite its fractured nature the season does still feature the two sets of half-season winners facing off in the Grand Championship at the end of the set.

The remaining 13 shows (the 5 preliminaries, the four quarterfinals, the two semi-finals, the finals, and the Grand Championship) feel a *lot* more like what you'd expect American Gladiators to feel like, though there is still *one* difference. While these shows feature all the original classic games, and the first of the normal graphics packages, and that classic theme music -- Mike Adamle's best-remembered co-host (sorry, Nitro, but you're more well remembered as a gladiator and not as a co-presenter) Larry Csonka isn't present. He didn't join the show until the 2nd year. In these 13 "normal" shows Mike Adamle is joined by Todd Christensen as co-presenters, with Adamle now considered the main host after Theismann's departure. For those of you who don't follow football, Todd Christensen spent just over a decade in the league with two Super Bowl rings to his credit as well as *five* trips to the Pro Bowl. Unfortunately, the show would need to take one more trip through the ranks of retired football players to find the right co-host for Adamle as Mike and Todd just don't have terribly great chemistry on-air, in my opinion.

As the show is two parts athletic competition, one part game show, I really can't point out any particular "memorable episodes," as one of the fun things about athletic competitions, in my opinion, is watching them unfold. In terms of guests, the only real one of note is contestant Billy Wirth, who shows up in the first episode on set, the first half recap show. Billy appeared in the movie "The Lost Boys" a couple of years prior. Considering the episodes included and excluded, I found it a bit interesting that a whole special feature -- and the only contestant interview -- was devoted to someone who appeared in the episodes not included.

It's been months since I've gotten to write a review, either for the main site or blog, where I *didn't* have to complain about packaging. I'm strangely thrilled to report that Shout! used a quality packaging type for this set -- slimcases. I love slimcases. They're small, but they're tough as nails. And with slimcases you have the ability to have more, and more differentiated, artwork. As someone who tends to focus in on the graphical quality of these DVD sets, that's an important feature. The front cover, baffling again, features five of the six original *first half-season* gladiators. The missing gladiator is Zap, while Malibu and Sunny, who only appeared in those initial shows, appear in the cover art alongside Gemini, Nitro, and Lace. A giant version of the logo takes up the top half of the artwork, with the aforementioned five appearing in front of a dark smoke-filled background. Rear artwork features the usual sales pitch text, a photo of Nitro on the top-right corner, and some photos below. One photo is interesting as it shows a contestant and Zap playing the game Hang Tough, the aerial rings game that didn't debut until later in the show's run. Yes, I know this show *so* well I can pinpoint a photograph error from 50 paces. Perhaps I should invest in this "life" thing that I keep hearing people promoting so much. One other little note from the resident graphics guy: The set takes the red, white and blue motif and runs with it. Everything from the package art to the colors of the three discs to the color schemes used on the menu follow this format. That, my friends, is visual consistency!

The menus are fantastic, by the way. Each menu features the show logo and episode options in solid-color metal panels in the top-left and bottom-right corners, respectively. The rest of the space is occupied by clips from the show, while the amazing Bill Conti theme plays on a loop in the background. From the main menu you can select any of the stages of the competition from the tournament available on the disc. In an interesting deviation from most episodic DVD releases, each tournament tier is initially clustered together in the menus. The recap show (disc 1) as well as the 2nd half finals and Grand Championship (disc 3) are individually. The rest are grouped under the main menu by the tournament level. The semi-finals (disc 3) are grouped together. The quarter-finals (disc 2) are grouped together. Most of the preliminaries are grouped together too on disc 1. Only the 5th and final prelim, which couldn't fit on the first disc, is held separate. From each "tier," you can then access each individual episode.

Chapter stops occur with the placement of each commercial break, resulting in approximately 5 per show. Running times play for approximately 44 minutes per episode. This seems short at first, but you need to keep in mind that this was a first-run syndication series, meaning more commercial time. Lower run-times are common on shows whose first runs were in syndication, and is not indicative of edits. Video quality isn't A+, and the video does have some minor issues with noise, interlacing issues around edges, and other minor glitches. But if you're actually a fan of the show, you're not going to care.

But wait, there's more! There are special features -- well, two of them anyway. As mentioned earlier, there is an interview with first-half contestant Billy Wirth. Featuring clips and a new interview, the bit lasts 10 minutes and *is* an interesting thing to watch. The other, far more interesting feature is *commentary* by Nitro (Dan Clark), Zap (Raye Hollitt), and Laser (Jim Starr) -- who are the three longest-tenured, and probably most famous, gladiators. You could make an argument for one or two others, but these three are easily at the top of the heap, particularly Nitro and Zap. The commentaries flow from one to another, and to get the entire picture you have to listen to them *all*.
A bit of a warning -- special features are unrated, and for example, Nitro upon seeing one contestant goes "THERE'S that b*****d!," before explaining how said person was probably the dirtiest (in terms of game play) of any contender in the show's history. It's multiple enjoyable episodes worth of commentary. A final note in the commentary track is an explanation of what happened to Sunny and Malibu. As the three explained: In Sunny's case, she legitimately got hurt -- blew out her knee -- and as a result that was it. Malibu...he had difficulty taking the bumps, and overall just didn't fit into the show. Most of the male gladiators had football backgrounds, and as a result at least had *some* experiences taking the hard hits. He wasn't a square peg in a round hole...really, he was a square peg in a rectangular hole.

I've loved this show since I first caught reruns on USA in the early 1990s, and to not only be able to see it again on ESPN Classic but now be able to enjoy it any time thanks to the magic of DVD is a genuine treat. This was, unquestionably, one of my favorite series growing up, and I really would like to see future seasons on DVD. I wasn't particularly a fan of the 2008 revival, but for hours of quality entertainment you genuinely can't go wrong with this show. It's in stores now -- as is a book by Nitro (Dan Clark) -- for that matter, and I highly recommend both.

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(4.5/5 stars)

To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Also, you can buy the Nitro's book (Gladiator: A True Story of 'Roids, Rage, and Redemption) on Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
American Gladiators TV.com Page

Blog DVD Review: Pushing Daisies - The Complete Second Season (July 21)

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Review. This week on the Blog DVD Review we take a look at Warner Home Video's Pushing Daisies: The Complete Second Season. Pushing Daisies is a "forensic fairy tale" that is about a pie-maker who has the power to bring the dead back to life, with a little catch. It's a wonderful show for everyone!
See my Blog DVD Review of Pushing Daisies: The Complete Second Season:

Pushing Daisies: The Complete Second Season (Warner, $49.99) brings the second and unfortunately the final season, of the comedic drama that is enchanting, original, different, and entertaining!
Pushing Daisies centers on the life of Ned, a pie-maker gifted with the mysterious ability to bring dead things back to life by touching them. There are a couple of conditions to this somewhat unwanted talent, however. Ned quickly learns that if something is revived for more than exactly one minute, something of similar "life value" in the vicinity drops dead, as a form of balance. Additionally, if he touches the revived thing a second time, it falls dead again - permanently. Ned discovered his gift as a child by resurrecting his Golden Retriever, Digby, after the dog is hit by a truck...now Ned can never touch his dog again. And later he found his childhood sweetheart (Charlotte "Chuck" Charles) dead and resurrected her...and he can never touch her again, either. The pie-maker has now teamed up with private eye Emerson Cod in solving homicides by bringing them back to life for a minute to get clues.

The series aired on ABC and starred Lee Pace as Ned, Anna Friel as Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, Chi McBride as Emerson Cod, Ellen Greene as Vivian Charles, Swoosie Kurtz as Lily Charles, and Kristin Chenoweth as Olive Snook. The series is narrated by Jim Dale. Among the specials guests for the second season are French Stewart, Autumn Reeser, Stephen Root, Fred Willard, Orlando Jones, David Arquette, Wendie Malick, Josh Hopkins, and Gina Torres.
This second season is once again charming and riveting. We get 13 episodes for season two, beating the 9 episodes in the first season which was shortened due to the writers' strike. The series was nominated for 12 Emmys including one for Lee Pace and Kristin Chenoweth in season one. For season two Chenoweth was nominated once again and was nominated for a total of 5 nominations. Some classic episodes for season two include the season premiere "Bzzzzzzzzz!," where Chuck goes undercover as a "Bee Girl" at a honey-based cosmetics company after their new spokesmodel is stung to death. In "Bad Habits," Olive calls on the Pie Maker and Emerson to solve a suspicious suicide of a fellow nun that she believes was murdered. In "Comfort Food," Ned and Olive compete at the Papen County Comfort Food Cook-Off, where Ned brings back to life Colonel Likkin, who was mysteriously deep fried to death. In "The Norwegians," Ned, Chuck, and Emerson finally meet their match when three rival Norwegian detectives start to get in their way after Vivian hires them to investigate the disappearance of Dwight Dixon. And finally in the series finale "Kerplunk," the past becomes the present when one half of the Darling Mermaid Darlings’ arch rivals, the Aquadolls, is killed. Those episodes really stand out, but they are all very good.

The packaging has a box holding the case inside. The front of the box has a nice blue sky with nice white fluffy clouds (show logo in the clouds again) setting with the entire cast sitting on daisies. The back cover has information on the series and has nice artwork of Ned and Chuck in the clouds again, as Ned is sitting on a pie. On top of that we have a nice quote from USA Today. There is also a section detailing the special features and credits & technical specifications also. Then inside is the nice case itself. Last time it was themed for The Pie Hole menu, this time it is themed to look like the Betty's Bees episode. The front of the case has the show logo inside some honey with a few bees surrounding it inside I believe a bee hive. The back of the case also has the bee hive with a few bees. Opening the case, we get an episode booklet on the left side. The episode booklet is very creative again. It is designed for the Betty's Bee episode! The front has the show logo with some bees flying around and a jar of honey. Inside the booklet, it has nice photos, episode numbers, titles, original airdates, writers, directors and a synopsis of the episode. We also get cast credits and special features listings inside some honey. As for the discs, a little white holder holds discs one and two, then you can flip that like a page in a book and you get disc three and four on the next little holder. Each disc is on one side each of the holder. The artwork on each disc is very cool! They are surrounding a big daisy! Disc one has episodes 1-4 with artwork of Chuck and Ned. Disc two has episodes 5-8 and has artwork of Olive and Emerson. Disc three has episodes 9-12 and has artwork of Digby the dog and Pigby the pig. And finally disc four has episode 13 and the extras and has artwork of Aunt Vivian and Aunt Lilly.

The menu screen is basic but it works. The closing theme is playing in the background with the same artwork as the cover art on the box. There are auto-trailers on discs one before the main menu starts...all it is a trailer for Blu-ray for WHV. The options on the main menu are Play, Episodes, Languages and Extra Helpings (disc four only). In the Languages section, we have the option of audio in English or Portuguese and subtitles in English, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai or Spanish. The Episodes option has three screenshots on the left and the episodes are listed in he middle, similar to last time. We once again have an option to turn on or off the recaps before episode episode, as they can get annoying if you're watching these straight through. Extra Helpings option is only on disc four and it has those extras.

The episodes run usually between 41-43 minutes or so...unedited of course with all the great music intact. There are about 7 or 8 chapter stops per episode, counting the recaps. There is an option on the menu to turn off the recaps, as mentioned earlier. After the seventh episode of the season, there are no more recaps anyway, so on discs three and four we don't have the option. The video is digitally mastered and is in widescreen and looks very good! The audio is great and sounds very good, as it is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. This is from the 2008-09 season, so it had better be good. One tidbit, the "Robbing Hood" episode has the full opening theme! Every other episode has that short 5 second opening with the show logo, as that is how it was originally.

Moving on to the Extra Helpings. This is only on disc four. The menu has a honey jar with bees flying around. We get four little featurettes. The first one is titled "The Master Pie-Maker" and it runs 12:32. Interviewed are Bruce Cohen (executive producer), Dan Jinks (executive producer), Kristin Chenoweth, Bryan Fuller (creator, writer, executive producer), Chi McBride, Ellen Greene, Swoosie Kurtz, Lee Pace, Ana Friel, Jeff Johnson (roperty master), Todd McIntosh (make-up department head), and Michael Wylie (production designer). This extra is about the brilliant mind of Bryan Fuller. How creative is he? Then we have "From Oven to Table" and it runs 5:16. Interviewed are Bryan Fuller, Todd McIntosh, Daniel Curet (hair department head), Lee Pace, Ana Friel, Michael Wylie, and Kristin Chenoweth. This one is very short but good, as we see how the make-up department handles the dead people. Lots of make-up! The third one is titled "Secret Sweet Ingredients," and it runs 7:44. Interviewed are Bryan Fuller, Kristin Chenoweth, Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks, and Jim Dooley (composer). Jim Dooley does an excellent score for each scene. We see his secret sweet ingredient added to the show! Finally, we have "Add a Little Magic," and it runs 3:59. Interviewed are William Powloski (visual effects supervisor) and Elizabeth Castro (visual effects producer). This feature is about the effects used in the rhino scene from the episode "Window Dressed to Kill."

I highly recommend you buy this DVD set, especially if you have the first season. It is such a shame the writers' strike ruined the momentum in the first season as I think it could be still going right now if it had a full first season of 22 episodes instead of 9! Who knows it could have had 22 for season two as well. I think the long break between seasons killed the show. Maybe ABC should have brought it back in April of that year for 6 more episodes or so. Warner Home Video has done a great job AGAIN with this series on DVD. We have wonderful artwork, scenery, brilliant performances, and just a fun show to watch. It ended too soon and I wish it didn't. Long live this show and I said "oh hell no" when I heard the series was gone. So you better buy this DVD and watch what you missed!

-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4.5/5 stars)

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Our blog DVD reviews continues tomorrow for the third straight Sunday special, this time a look at the classic American Gladiators on DVD! Stay with us tomorrow!

Summer Week 7 Sitcom Ratings; Blog DVD Review Special: Hotel - The First Season (July 21)

Summer continues and everything is still pretty light. We will be back with our normal weekly report with the first four nights numbers and analysis in the fall, but we still will have our regular how the sitcoms did all summer long, along with last year's summer favorite, the coming week preview! Here are our summer ratings:

Last Sunday Sitcoms (counts for week of June 28-July 5)

• Til Death (Fox) - A repeat at 7pm only mustered 1.53 million.
• The Simpsons (Fox) 2 episodes - 3.67 million for a repeat in its regular 8pm slot and 4.31 million for a special 9:30pm repeat. Both episodes did a solid summer 1.7 and 2.0 18-49 rating.
• King of the Hill (Fox) - The 8:30 repeat did only 3.24 million, but an acceptable 1.5 18-49 rating for summer.
• Family Guy (Fox) - 4.33 million for a repeat is OK for summer, but a 2.1 18-49 rating was good enough to win its timeslot.
• American Dad! (Fox) - Only 1.96 million for a repeat at 7:30.

Summer Week 7 (July 6-12)

Monday Sitcoms

• How I Met Your Mother (CBS) - 5.48 million for a repeat airing, doing better the last few weeks. 1.8 A18-49 rating is solid for summer. How times have a changed...
• Rules of Engagement (CBS) - 5.48 million for a repeat airing, lower than previous week when it did 5.76 and built from the lead-in. It did do a 1.9 A18-49 rating.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS) - 9.41 million for a repeat, going up the last few weeks. 2.8 A18-49 rating is better than solid for summer.
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS) - 8.34 million for a repeat is also going up the past few weeks. 2.8 18-49 rating is excellent, holding 100% from the lead-in. That is what CBS would like to see!

Tuesday Sitcoms

• Better Off Ted (ABC) - preempted for Michael Jackson Memorial coverage. Only 1.76 million the previous week (June 30).

Wednesday Sitcoms

• Old Christine (CBS) - Just 3.9 million for a repeat...after going up slowly the previous weeks, it goes back down below 4 million and only a 1.0 A18-49 rating.
• Gary Unmarried (CBS) - Just 3.78 million for a repeat and only a 1.0 A18-49 rating.

Thursday Sitcoms

• The Office (NBC) 2 episodes - Only 2.9 and 2.89 million for repeats at 8:30 and 9...it was a it better news in A18-49 rating with a 1.3 each.
• 30 Rock (NBC) 2 episodes - Only 3.17 and 2.48 million for repeats at 8 and 9:30pm, and only a 1.1 A18-49 rating for each. So the 9:30pm skewed younger since it did lower in viewership bit did the same 1.1 18-49 rating.
• Samantha Who? (ABC) 2 episodes - Two new episodes did 3.43 and 3.11 million, very similar to previous week's 3.4 and 3.18 million. This show should have returned...and I hope ABC does change its mind very soon.

Friday Sitcoms

• Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) - A repeat at 9pm did a prelim 797,000 viewers. That was up a bit from previous week's FINAL ratings of 610,000 viewers. Let's see if the 797,000 holds up.
• The Game (The CW) - A repeat did 766,000 prelim viewers for this canceled sitcom as well...also up from previous week's FINAL ratings of 630,000 viewers. Again let's see if the 766,000 holds up.
• Surviving Suburbia (ABC) - Prelim numbers show only 2.23 million for an all-new episode at 8pm, but up from previous week's FINAL ratings for a repeat which did 2.11 million.
• The Goode Family (ABC) - Prelim numbers were even worse for an all-new episode of this show with 1.49 million, but still up some from previous week's FINAL numbers of 1.37 million. This week's episode was my favorite one.
• According to Jim (ABC) 2 episodes - 2 repeats did a prelim 2.02 and 2.22 million, a bit better than previous week's FINAL ratings of 1.73 and 2.08 million. As always, check out final numbers for Friday for these shows and all the Friday shows on our message board tomorrow.

Saturday Sitcoms

• None.

Tonight you can catch encores of Fox's 'Til Death and animated comedies from 7-10 tonight. Elsewhere CBS has 60 Minutes at 7pm. NBC will have a new Dateline in the 7pm hour, leading into Merlin at 8, and part one of the mini-series Meteor at 9.


Coming Week Preview (July 13-19):

We are preempting this week's preview so we can you bring you a special blog DVD review on a special day! So enjoy that below.

Welcome to a special edition of the Blog DVD Review. Today we take a look at CBS DVD's Hotel - The First Season. Hotel is set at San Francisco's St. Gregory Hotel and aired on ABC from 1983-88. It was one of many Aaron Spelling shows in the '80s. See skees53's Blog DVD Review of Hotel - The First Season:

Hotel: The First Season (CBS, $49.99) brings the glitz and glamour of San Francisco's St. Gregory Hotel to DVD in a six-disc collection. Hotel is the story of the people that run the St. Gregory as well as the guests that come and go through the hotel each and every week. Sometimes the stories are bizarre, some have potentially deadly possibilities, some are stories of love and romance, some are loaded with controversy, and some are just light-hearted. And sometimes, you'll find several of the above stories contained within the same episode. It hit the airwaves in fall of 1983 on ABC.
The series stars Anne Baxter as Victoria Cabot, the sister-in-law of the hotel owner (the actual owner of the hotel was played by Bette Davis in the pilot episode, who was supposed to be a regular, but became ill and was unable to fill the role) and James Brolin as Peter McDermott, the general manager of the hotel. Hotel employees include promotions manager Christine Francis (Connie Sellecca), security director (and ex-con) Billy Griffin (Nathan Cook), and receptionist Julie Gillette (Shari Belafonte). And then of course, there are the guest stars, which were a regular feature on every episode every week! The series was created by Aaron Spelling, and in many ways resembles his previous series such as The Love Boat or Fantasy Island, except this series has more drama and isn't afraid to touch upon more serious issues.

The series begins with a two-hour pilot film, which actually has not been part of the syndication package, but is included on this set, where Christine Francis wants the job as Peter McDermott's Executive Assistant, and will do anything to get that job. Bette Davis appears is the star of the series in this pilot, even though she would be replaced by the first episode of the series, "Blackout," where her sister-in-law Victoria Cabot takes over the reigns of the hotel. The whole hotel is on edge when a delegation from the Israeli ministry comes to the hotel, along with FBI warnings of an assassination, in "Charades." A man and woman discover that their child has been a victim of child molestation in "Secrets," and Peter has to intervene to determine the truth about her molester. Peter's ex-wife is back and wants to rekindle the relationship in "Flashback," but is this what he wants too?
A group of white supremacists are having a convention at the hotel in "Confrontations," and it is up to the African-American employees to protect them from the protesters. Peter has to ponder his future at the St. Gregory when given a nice offer in "The Offer." It's Christmastime at the hotel in "Christmas," but is it also the beginning of a new relationship for Peter and Christine? Peter goes to a society event in "Designs," and finds a girl that he likes--and she kind of forgets to tell him she is married. Peter is the object of infatuation of two personalities that happen to be one person in "Reflections," and she is crazy enough to commit murder.
A Holocaust survivor sees somebody that he'd rather not see in the hotel lobby in "Passages." A young couple is set to have their wedding at the hotel in "The Wedding," but will family money issues and the bride having an affair spoil that wedding plan? A man can't remember his own identity in "Memories," but he is sure that he committed murder and robbery at a jewelry store. Peter receives a visit from a former lover in "Encores," but the big surprise is that the four-year old son that she brings with her is allegedly Peter's son! Mrs. Cabot and Peter are held hostage and put on trial in "Trials."

The season offers plenty of guest stars, including Erin Moran, Mel Torme, Shirley Jones, Morgan Fairchild, Heather Locklear, Peter Marshall, Nanette Fabray, Dick Van Dyke, Robert Vaughn, Robert Reed, Charlene Tilton, Vic Tayback, Donna Pescow, Diana Canova, Martin Landau, Scott Baio, Barbara Parkins, Tori Spelling, Jane Wyatt, McLean Stevenson, Barnard Hughes, Robert Stack, Vera Miles, Jan Smither, Eva Gabor, Markie Post, Shelley Winters, Lew Ayres, Ted Shackelford, and Melissa Sue Anderson. And that isn't even close to a complete list!

Like many other CBS DVD sets, we really don't have fancy packaging on this set. All we have is the traditional DVD case, which holds all six discs and has episode descriptions, airdates, and guest stars inside the case. There really isn't any artwork at all on the discs, just the standard gray CBS DVD artwork. Each disc contains four episodes, except for Disc 1, which contains the pilot movie and two additional episodes. Similarly, the menus are not that impressive, with a main menu that simply has a cast snapshot and has a list of the episodes on the disc, along with a Play All option. There are chapters placed within each episode at all of the appropriate places.

Still, not all is lost on the set. The video and audio quality of the set is, while not necessarily over-the-top impressive, more than just adequate, and with the exception of some grain and debris, the episodes look decent. The audio levels on the DVD are fine, and the audio, being presented in mono (right near the "end of the road" for series being presented in mono, as stereo audio was soon to become the standard) sounds fine. There are no subtitles or alternate languages, but each episode is closed-captioned. The set does have the standard CBS DVD disclaimer about edited episodes, but I don't see any real cause for concern on any of the episodes, as each one runs around 48 minutes. Some episodes contained music (usually instrumental versions of hit songs from the era), and it seems that these songs have been left intact.

Sadly, the set is lacking on special features. There isn't a single special feature anywhere on the set. A retrospective to look back on the series would have been nice, although it seems as if most of the people involved with the series have since moved on or passed away--even though it was only about 25 years ago.

This is my first experience of ever watching the series, and I found it to be a surprisingly pleasant series to watch. It kind of brings in the best parts of a series like The Love Boat with series like Dynasty... although you won't find any catfights here. It is kind of nice to see the guest stars that come to stay just for the week turn out to be the "bad guy" every now and then. Admittedly, there are some episodes in this batch that are just plain rotten, but that is what you get when you have a series like this, and besides that, there are too many interesting ones to balance those episodes out. My advice? Check in for this set if you are a fan of dramas which prominently feature guest stars.

-- Reviewed by skees53
(4/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: Peanuts 1960's Collection

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Reviews. Today week we take a look at Warner Home Video's Peanuts 1960's Collection. We get all six remastered TV specials on DVD including a few for the first time ever! See my Blog DVD Review of Peanuts 1960's Collection:

Peanuts - 1960's Collection (Warner, $29.98) brings us all six 1960's TV specials on DVD digitally remastered...and it is really worth it! These are the first six TV specials that have ever aired, too. We get A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown's All-Stars, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, You're in Love Charlie Brown, He's Your Dog Charlie Brown, and It Was a Short Summer Charlie Brown. I believe the latter two have never been released on DVD, so we get those here for the first time. Charlie Brown All-Stars wasn't released digitally remastered previously, so it looks much better here.
Among the stories on these six specials are: Charlie Brown has the holiday blues; new baseball team uniforms and memberships; being invited to a Halloween party; being smitten with the little red-haired girl; mischief Snoopy tries everyone's patience; and summer camp rivalries between boys and girls.
Let's now move on to the packaging. Like all the previous sets, we have a thin outer box that holds a very thin case, that is movie style. I never understood the reason for the thin box that holds a thin case...again what's the point? It doesn't need protection really. Also, both the back and front of each are exactly the same, except the box is shinier. The cover art is white in color, and has a shot of Snoopy sleeping on top of his red dog house. The title of the special is on the roof of his dog house in yellow, with a mention that this is a remastered deluxe edition on the top with a Snoopy Peanuts logo! It also says we get all six remastered TV Specials. To the back we go, we get a nice shot of nearly the entire gang on top with the wording "It's a Cool Collection Charlie Brown." The back also has a disc-by-disc breakdown on what specials to expect. When we open the case, we get nice artwork and details on each special on each side. The first disc is in a plastic holder, that we can flip back and forth like a page on a book. Disc two is actually on the right panel. Disc art has a white background, with artwork of Charlie Brown and Snoopy on disc one and Linus and Sally on disc two.
The menu screen has options of Features, Trailers, Special Features, and Languages. We get that white background again, with the theme song playing in the background. We also have the same artwork as the cover art with Snoopy lying down on the roof of his dog house. Anyway back to the menu, Trailers is just on disc one and we get some for the Woodstock movie and The Jetsons DVD. We also get auto-trailers on each disc before the main menu for items like Scooby Doo Cartoon Network movie, Saturday Morning 60s/70s DVD, Tiny Toons/Freakazoid DVD, and Snoopy's Reunion DVD. For Languages, we can have either have English, Espanol, Portuguese or Japanese. For subtitles we have those four again and also French and Thai! The Features section has the specials listed, we can also select Play All to play them consecutively. Finally, Special Features is on disc two only and lists the featurette.
The video and audio is tremendous once again. These specials are all so good ever since they stated the Remastered Collection sets. They have never looked better or sounded better ever. I am very impressed yet again; what more can I continue to say about these digitally remastered sets?. Warner continues to do a great job on this remastering of all these classic specials. Each special has 5 chapter stops and runtimes are all between 25:05-25:25. So, yes of course it is unedited!
As for special features, we get a nice featurette! It is titled "Vince Guaraldi: The Maestro of Menlo Park" and runs 36:54. We find more about the composer behind the classic music on this show. We get insight from colleagues and more. Interviewed are Lee Mendelson (executive producer), Seward McCain (former bassist), David Guaraldi (son of Vince), David Benoit (composer/pianist), Vince Lateano (former drummer), George Winston (solo pianist), Dean Reilly (former bassist), Eddie Duran (former guitarist), Kitty Margolis (jazz-vocalist), Colin Bailey (former drummer), Jim Zimmerman (former drummer), Peter Woodform (Doc's Band on The Tonight Show), and Mark Rosengarden (former drummer).
I once again highly do recommend this set for any Charlie Brown-Peanuts fan and classic animation in general. Continue your collection, because we get two specials we never had on DVD before. This is worth it! It is now safe to say we have the first 6 specials all remastered! Warner continues to do a wonderful job with the remastering and the behind the scenes extras for each set. Let's hope they continue to release more Peanuts specials and eventually we get them all remastered in our personal libraries! So head back to the '60s and relive the first six classic specials all over again! Charlie Brown says "good grief" but there is no grief in watching these specials!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review Special: The Lucille Ball Specials: Lucy Gets Lucky/Three For Two

Our summer weekly report will not be posted today due to the holiday weekend. Instead we bring you a special Blog DVD Review on a special day with The Lucille Ball Specials: Lucy Gets Lucky/Three For Two.

Today we take a look at MPI's The Lucille Ball Specials: Lucy Gets Lucky/Three For Two. These were two hour-long CBS specials that aired in the '70s. See skees53's Blog DVD Review of The Lucille Ball Specials: Lucy Gets Lucky/Three For Two:

The Lucille Ball Specials: Lucy Gets Lucky/Three For Two (MPI, $19.98) features two hour long specials from CBS starring Lucille Ball. After nearly a quarter century of starring in three different top-rated CBS sitcoms, Lucille Ball was ready to leave the weekly grind of producing and starring in new episodes, so after the 1973-1974 season, her third series, Here's Lucy, left the CBS lineup. But she wasn't quite ready to leave CBS, which brings us the Lucille Ball specials. These specials were much like a movie-of-the-week featuring Lucille Ball, and she was given a creative license to do pretty much whatever she desired on them. They began in 1974 with Happy Anniversary and Goodbye, which is not featured on this disc, but will be on the next disc. On this disc, we have the second and third special, Lucy Gets Lucky featuring Dean Martin and Three for Two featuring Jackie Gleason. There were ultimately eight specials total, ending with the 1980 special, Lucy Moves to NBC, which will also be featured on a future release from MPI.

The first of the two features on this DVD is Lucy Gets Lucky, an hour-long special from 1975 featuring Dean Martin. In this special, we have Lucy taking a trip to the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas to see Dean Martin perform, a show that everybody in "sin city" wants to see, but is forced to make reservations for eight since they won't take her reservation for one. When she shows up to claim her reservations, however, she finds that her scheme to get just one seat has failed, and she loses all eight of her seats. Determined to do anything to see Dean Martin, she discovers that employees of the hotel will have an opportunity to see him perform in a special employee show, and decides to turn her little vacation into a career as a blackjack dealer! Will she make it big in this job, or will typical Lucy antics cause her to fail? Jackie Coogan is also featured in this special, and Gary Morton (Lucille Ball's husband) plays a minor role.

The second feature is Three for Two, another hour-long special from 1975, where Lucille Ball stars with comedic legend Jackie Gleason. Here, we see what we get when two comedic legends come together: a comedy-drama (which leans heavily on the drama side) reminiscent of the TV series Love, American Style. There are three stories presented here about three different couples (all played by Ball and Gleason), beginning with "Herb & Sally." In this story, the couple is on a vacation in Rome to escape their problems at home, but Herb isn't prepared to escape them. This causes more marital unhappiness with the couple. "Fred & Rita" presents a story that resembles a plot that would be found on a soap opera. Fred is married, and so is Rita, and they are in love with each other. But they aren't married to each other, and must go to great lengths to cheat on their respective spouses. In the third installment, "Mike & Pauline," Ball and Gleason play parents of adult children that want to spend New Years' Eve out celebrating, instead of the usual family tradition of spending it. Mike has a man-to-man talk with his son about his relationship, and Pauline has a woman-to-woman talk with her daughter about her relationship.

Lucy Gets Lucky is enjoyable and has some great moments that will remind Lucille Ball fans of the slapstick routines that made her the biggest name on television in the '50s and '60s. Three For Two, in all honesty, proves that Lucille Ball and Jackie Gleason weren't quite made for the TV drama genre. There are many great moments in these, and the stories aren't bad, but one would tend to expect something hilarious with these two comic geniuses on one set. Instead, we have a sappy romantic drama that is reminiscent of an episode of Love, American Style, and a bad one at that. Still, die-hard fans of Lucille Ball will enjoy Three For Two, and it is also a rare opportunity to see these comedic legends on the same set.

The video and audio quality of the specials is not exactly spectacular, but that can somewhat be expected, as these have remained largely unseen since their original airings. Lucy Gets Lucky looks decent, but Three For Two does not look quite so good, with some significant grain and very dull colors. The audio is rather low on both specials (presented in mono, of course). There are English subtitles for both specials. Each special is unedited, running around 52 minutes each. In fact, Lucy Gets Lucky even has the original sponsor tags from Timex.

As we all know by now, of course, nothing related to Lucy can be released on DVD without a plethora of special features, and of course, we have that on this set! First, we have a short clip (10:51) from Art Linkletter's House Party dated February 24, 1965. On this, we get to see Lucy doing some special sound effects for a fake radio program. Next, we have two segments of a talk radio program that Lucy did in the mid-60s called Let's Talk to Lucy, both featuring Dean Martin as her guest. Basically, these were 10 minute shows where she would interview famous celebrities without playing any character actress herself, but instead simply being Lucille Ball. It is said that she wanted to do this as a change of pace from the ordinary and routine. In "Working With Lucy" (14:40), Gino Conforti (a frequent guest star on Lucille Ball's programs, particularly Here's Lucy) talks about his experiences of working with Lucille Ball. He talks about Here's Lucy, the specials on this set, and even talks about Bungle Abbey, a sitcom pilot about monks living in a monastery, which was directed by Lucille Ball. A series that never materialized from the pilot, of course, but perhaps this will be included as a bonus feature on one of the future Lucille Ball Specials DVDs. Finally, we see that nobody is perfect, as there are bloopers from Lucy Gets Lucky (5:43) featuring Dean Martin. Unfortunately, there are no bloopers featured from Three for Two.

This was a very interesting DVD to watch, and even though one of the specials was not as great as I expected, I still enjoyed watching it. It is interesting to see how much television evolved over a quarter century from the first episode of I Love Lucy on CBS (where Lucy and Ricky slept in separate beds) to where Lucy plays a woman that is cheating on her own husband. Lucy Gets Lucky is very reminiscent of classic Lucy in a more modern era, and I really enjoyed that one. According to an insert that I found on CBS DVD's The Official First Season of The Lucy Show (a full review of that set is coming very soon, Lucy fans!) MPI will be releasing a total of six specials on four releases, with the first two containing two specials each and the last two containing one special each. The most loyal fans of Lucille Ball, of course, are going to love everything on this DVD, but other fans will enjoy this DVD as well.

-- Reviewed by skees53
(4.5/5 stars)

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2009 4th of July TV Marathons; Blog DVD Review: Matlock - The Third Season

As America celebrates its 233rd birthday, you can celebrate by watching television marathons of course! If you are not doing anything outdoors, what better way to celebrate? Among the marathons of course is the launch of Sister, Sister on BET, as we previously mentioned. The fun starts at 9am and runs all the way to 4am! TV Land will spend the day with classic marathons of Leave it to Beaver and Andy Griffith Show before its feuds and fireworks event with Roseanne for the night capper from 8pm-6am. TV One celebrates the holiday with Martin until 8pm. The N has over a 70-hour Degrassi marathon then continues today and tomorrow. So far all of these we have already announced in the past in our news reports. Hallmark Channel will celebrate with the Love's movie franchise all day today and tomorrow they will have Little House on the Prairie. On Friday they had M*A*S*H.
Elsewhere, what 4th of July would it be without The Twilight Zone on Sci-Fi? It started yesterday and will air all-day today until 6am Sunday morning! Reality is the way to go otherwise with Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel and The Revolution on History. Movie lovers might like the James Bond movie marathon on USA Network, and the movies on ABC Family, Lifetime, FX, and TNT.
It's not as many marathons as usual since the holiday is on a Saturday this year it seems.

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog programming:

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the blog DVD review! Today we take a look at CBS DVD's Matlock: The Third Season. Matlock of course is the very popular courtroom drama starring Andy Griffith that is often mentioned on The Simpsons as Grandpa Simpson's favorite show. See skees53's blog DVD review of Matlock: The Third Season:

Matlock: The Third Season (CBS DVD, $49.99) serves 20 episodes of justice to fans in a five disc DVD set. When you've been charged with a serious crime in Atlanta and you know you are innocent, you need the best. You need somebody that will play rough and dirty with the prosecutor. You need somebody that isn't afraid to go there. You need a man in a gray suit. You need Atlanta's finest, Ben Matlock (Andy Griffith).

The Third Season of Matlock is the season where we are introduced to a new neighbor and friend of Matlock, Les "Ace" Calhoun (Don Knotts). Knotts, of course, worked with Andy Griffith in the 1960s on the classic TV hit The Andy Griffith Show, and this reunion of Griffith and Knotts brings back a lot of the old chemistry that they had working together on that series. Knotts would make many appearances on the series in this recurring role for several seasons, until the series moved to ABC in the early 1990s. As for the rest of the cast, we still have Matlock's partner in his firm, Michelle Thomas (Nancy Stafford) and his private investigator, Tyler Hudson (Kene Holliday), who always seems to have to do the rough and dirty work on behalf of the law firm. Prosecutor Julie March (Julie Sommars) is there as Matlock's opponent, and although she simply can't win against the ruthless defense techniques of Ben Matlock, she isn't nearly as incompetent as the character of Hamilton Burger on the TV series Perry Mason. But Matlock is in it to win it, and you can't go wrong with him on your side.

We are introduced to Les Calhoun in the third season premiere, "The Lemon," when he buys a used car from a shady used car dealer (he buys a DeLorean, the same car used on the Back to the Future movies). But like every DeLorean, he ends up with a lemon and gets angry with the car dealer, and not long thereafter, the car dealer ends up murdered. It's Matlock to the rescue! Matlock must go to New York City to defend a British ambassador accused of murder in the two-part episode "The Ambassador." Matlock (reluctantly) agrees to take the case of a shock jock accused of murdering his competition in "The D.J." Matlock must take on a vigilante police captain in "The Captain." The entire office (sans Matlock) is being held hostage in "The Vendetta," but why are they being held hostage? And why isn't Matlock there to save the day?
Matlock has a client that is accused of a political assassination in Chicago in the two-part episode "The Mayor," but he simply can't find the evidence to acquit him. In "The Black Widow," a man is wrongly accused of murder after his wife fakes her own death, but after he serves his sentence and released she actually is murdered. Can Matlock exonerate him? The first runner-up in a beauty contest will never be called upon to fulfill her duties in "The Starlet" after she is murdered, but did the winner murder her? A psychic predicts a murder in "The Psychic," but was this truly an accurate prediction or did she have worldly knowledge?
Everything is complicated in the two-part episode "The Thief," where a coin shop owner is accused of killing one of his employees, and one of Matlock's suspects kidnaps the daughter of the female detective that he put on the case. A mentally challenged man is accused of murder in "The Thoroughbred," and Matlock has to do his best to defend him based upon his innocence. Matlock is determined to not give up on his client after being hit by a car in "The Model." In "The Cult," a man is accused of killing the cult-leader that brainwashed his son, and Tyler has to join the cult in order to do some undercover work to prove his innocence. The season ends with "The Priest," where a priest is murdered... or is he?

The set does not have any fancy packaging, which should be expected from a CBS DVD set. It is just the standard CBS DVD plastic case, containing five discs. The cover art has a very basic cast photo shot, and inside the case, we have a listing of all of the episodes, along with original airdates and brief descriptions. There are exactly four episodes on each disc. Of course, as this is a CBS DVD product, the menus are the same as every other CBS DVD set as well, with nothing more than a main menu that has a listing of all of the episodes on the disc, as well as a Play All option.

Once again, the episodes appear to be unedited, although it is important to note that the set DOES contain a disclaimer saying that some episodes may be edited from their original network versions. I did not notice anything significant. However, as was the case with the previous season, all of the episode previews have been removed from the episodes. This isn't significant, as these merely preview what is going to be on the upcoming episode, but if the producers saw it appropriate to include them on the TV broadcast, I can't understand why they should remove them on the DVD set. Still, they are not an integral part of the episode. Each episode runs around 48 minutes. Every episode is closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired. There are no special features at all on this set. It would have been nice to have seen something from the original cast, such as a cast reunion.

This set is a very basic set that isn't fancy or flashy, but then again, Matlock is a very basic series that isn't fancy or flashy. This is a great show to watch, even if it is unrealistic to think that there may actually be a defense attorney in the world that is as effective as Ben Matlock. My only hope is that future sets include something--anything really--along the lines of special features! The Second Season did include alternate endings to one episode, but other than that, we have seen nothing on these sets. This is a cult favorite (even if that cult consists of a lot of senior citizens, although the series is popular among younger people as well), and the fans want something extra on these sets! Still, it is nice to see that CBS DVD is releasing (what appears to be) unedited episodes with mostly decent video and audio quality. I will now rest my defense of this sufficient set of this excellent series and hope that you judge this DVD set the same way.

-- Reviewed by skees53
(4/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: Entourage - The Complete Fifth Season (6/30)

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for weekly Blog DVD Review. This week we take a look at HBO's Entourage - The Complete Fifth Season. Entourage of course is the popular HBO series that is about a guy named Vince (played by Adrian Grenier) that is about to make it big in showbiz and moves to Hollywood in hopes that he will make it to the top. See skees53's Blog DVD Review of Entourage: The Complete Fifth Season:

Entourage: The Complete Fifth Season (HBO, $39.98) brings us twelve more episodes of the hit HBO dramedy in a three-disc DVD collection. For those that have never seen Entourage, it starts out simple enough, with Vince Chase (Adrien Grenier) going from Queens, NY and heading to Hollywood to try to make it big as an actor, but he comes to Hollywood with a few friends, including Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), Eric (Kevin Connelly) and brother Drama (Kevin Dillon). Together, they form his "entourage" that helps him try to make it big in Hollywood, and he definitely needs that entourage because as he finds out, making it in Hollywood isn't as easy as it may look. The series is loosely based upon the life of Mark Wahlberg, and how he struggled to make it as an actor in Hollywood.
The fifth season begins with the episode "Fantasy Island," where reviews begin to come in for the film that Vince was working on at the end of season four--and they aren't pretty. So he decides to hide out in Mexico for a while. Vince develops some insecurity about himself when a former girlfriend gives him up to another girl in "Unlike a Virgin." Vince is desperate for money and will do anything to get it in "The All Out Fall Out." Fran Drescher makes a guest appearance. Ari sees Vince getting another break in "Fire Sale," but in the meantime, Drama is going to make a guest appearance on The View. Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Sherri Shepherd, and Whoopi Goldberg all play their respective roles. Vince has to make a big decision about his career in "Tree Trippers," so why not head to a National Park to think about it? How low can Turtle go? Low enough to be an assistant to a C-list actor, Drama to be specific, in "Redemption."
Vince gets to do a fashion shoot with a supermodel in "Gotta Look Up to Get Down." Turtle is flying first-class, and on top of that, next to Jamie-Lynn Sigler, in "First Class Jerk." It is showtime for Vince, well at least showtime to start his new film, in "Pie." Seth Green appears as himself (and Eric's arch nemesis) in "Seth Green Day." There is a bit of disagreement on the set of Vince's newest film in "Play'n With Fire." Finally, season five ends with "Return to Queens Blvd.," where the guys return home to New York City, and get some advice and ideas before they head back to their new home in Hollywood.
The packaging is the fairly standard digipak that has been used for all previous Entourage releases, although just like season 4, it isn't as fancy of a digipak as what was used before. Still, it does the job and has very nice and professional artwork. Inside, we have the three discs, with the series logo on a plain black background. There are four episodes on each disc.
The menus on the set are very nicely done, but a little involve when it comes to navigating them. The main menu has music and videos from the episodes playing, and gives options of Episode Index, Languages, and Special Features. When you select Episode Index, you get a list of episodes, as well as a Play All option. When you select an episode, you get a screen that has an episode snapshot, a lengthy description, and options to show a recap of the previous episode, a preview of the episode you are about to watch, and an option to play the episode. There are no scene selection menus, but chapters are scattered throughout each episode at reasonable places (remember, as this is a premium cable series, there are no commercial break points).
The video and audio quality on this set is, to the say the least, superb. HBO never really sacrifices much on quality, and this set is a good example of that. The video and audio are very clear, with the video being presented in the original aspect ratio (16:9) and audio being presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. There are also French and Spanish audio tracks, as well as English, Spanish, and French subtitles on the set. And furthermore, the episodes are all closed-captioned. They have literally covered every corner! The episodes are most definitely unedited, with each episode running around 28 minutes (which, by the way, suggests that the edits for this series in syndication will be incredibly painful).
For those that have never seen the series before, you can get to know the series and find out what you have missed out on in the previous seasons by checking out the season recap on Disc 1. There is a recap for each season that tells all of the major events of each season of the series. Each season recap runs about a minute and 30 seconds, although there are actually two separate recaps for season 3 (season 3 was a longer than normal season). There are also previews for each individual episode on the set. There are three episodes on the set with audio commentaries, with all of them being from the four main cast members as well as producer Ally Musika. They are very fun and interesting to listen to, as they are very candid and obviously have a very fresh memory of these episodes. They really do seem to enjoy doing the series, which is a lot like the way that the guys are supposed to appear on the show--enjoying being in Hollywood with Vince. The commentaries can be found on "Tree Trippers," "Play'n With Fire," and "Return to Queens Blvd." Finally, on Disc 3, there is "The Celebrity Factor" (9:39), where the producers and actors talk about all of the guest stars that the series attracts. There are way too many to list all of them, but many of them make cameo appearances (or sometimes more prominent ones) as themselves on the series to give the series the real feeling of being in Hollywood rather than looking like some scripted series with fake famous celebrities. You never know who is going to show up on any given episode.
Honestly, I think that this is the best season yet of the series, and those that have never seen the series that believe that they may be interested in it may want to start here. By now, the characters and plots have been developed fairly well, and the series has hit a very strong point. Could it get stronger from here? Absolutely, but these are the best episodes that I have seen of the series so far. I remember watching the first season and having trouble figuring out what was so great about the series, but I can see how it has grown and developed now into what is one of the best series on television. Premium cable programming has gotten very impressive lately, and this is a great example of why that is.
-- Reviewed by skees53
(4.5/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Season 7, Parts 1-4

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Review. Today we take a look at Lionsgate's Season 7 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The season is split up into 4 volumes, though. Ninja Turtles is of course the hit animated series that caused kids and teens to go crazy for in the late '80s and early '90s. See my Blog DVD Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Season 7, Parts 1-4:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Season 7, Parts 1-4 (Lionsgate, $14.98 for each part) brings all 27 episodes from the series' seventh season, including the 13-episode European Vacation, on this wonderful four-part 25th anniversary collectible set. Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April are all back to battle Shredder, Krang and other villains! Cowabunga! This is the Turtles' 25th anniversary, as they debuted in the comic world in 1984. This TV series didn't start until 1987, though. This season is split into four "slices" so you will have to buy them separately. Do you actually buy pizza by the slice these days?
Starting with season four we started getting season releases. Season 4 set had 39 episodes and season 5 had 18 episodes. Season six had a total of 16 episodes on its set. Prior to that we were getting volume releases. Here is a recap: Volume 6 had the last 11 episodes from season three, plus the first episode of season four. The third season had a total of 47 episodes, so they decided to split up that season into volumes, so volumes 3, 4, 5, and 6 covered season three. For season 2 there were just 13 episodes, so Lionsgate released that for volume two...so yes, technically the first two volumes were season sets. Season one had only 5 episodes, so that was on Volume 1, with four bonus episodes from season ten actually. So do you have all of these? Hope you do!
The packaging started getting very good starting with season four. The first six volumes the packaging was simple (as they were just one-disc sets). Season 6 also had a very simple set, but this season it is different and decent. We get four different boxes called "slices," as the season is split into 4 slices celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Turtles. The first slice is the Leonardo slice, then part two its the Michaelangelo slice, part three its the Donatello slice, and part four its the Raphael slice. This season has four discs in total, with one disc season on each "slice." Each box also has a small action figure of the Turtle on each slice! So we get action figures of Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael! Radical! Each box is similar. We have the show logo on top with coverart of the Turtles the box represents. Next to the Turtle, it says for example "The Leonardo Slice," and below that we see the actual action figure that is inside. On the bottom of each box it has the 25th anniversary logo, and says "Collect All 4" then it has the Season 7 and what part this is. The back of each box is also cool on each. On the top we get four images of each "slice." Then there is a 25th anniversary sentence in yellow and below that we have a paragraph on each "slice." We also have "Fun Facts" of each Turtle the slice represents with Nicknames, Weapons, and Personality. To the right of that we get another image of the Turtle from that slice with him holding an actual pizza slice that says "Collect All 4."And on the bottom of the back of the box we have an image of a pizza, with episode listing and special features from that slice!
That was just the box art, now we need to move on to the case that is inside each box! We open the box from the top and we see a layer for the case. The cases are very simple and thin, similar to the volumes releases from the past. It has the same cover as the box, except of course you can't see the action figure. The back of the case is also the same as the box. Inside the case we have an insert on the left and the disc itself on the right. The insert is two-sided with one side having a promo for the TMNT DVDs and on the other side we have the TMNT Smash Up game promo. As for the disc, is the same artwork as the box and case cover. The first "slice" has episodes 1-6 from the European Vacation. The second "slice" has episodes 7-13 from the European Vacation. A fun fact, these episodes were produced for season four actually but never aired until the time of season 7, but not on CBS or first-run syndication...on USA Network. The third "slice" has episodes 14-20 from the actual start of season seven. And the fourth "slice" has episodes 21-27. So this season actually had only 14 episodes, but it was great they included the 13 episode European Vacation!
The menu screen is not as creative as say season five was, but similar to season six. First, we get autotrailers before the main menu appears on each disc with trailers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men Wolverine, Fast Track movie, and more. Then after that is done, we come to the main menu screen. The theme song is playing in the background, and it does loop, and the photo is similar to the box art, but the bandanna of each turtle is moving a bit. The options are: Play All Episodes, Episode Selection, Special Features. When we go to each sub-menu, we see a pizza transition with the Turtles saying "Turtle Power!" Nicely done. Episode Selection takes us to a submenu with episode #, title, and a screenshot from the episode. The Special Features section lists the special feature for that disc and you can also view the auto-trailers again in the Trailers section.
The video is on par with the other volumes, with dust and debris here and there and on par with previous recent seasons. The audio is also on par with the previous releases, not bad...and listenable. The European Vacation episodes were produced for syndication during season four so they run about 22:10-22:15. The actual season seven episodes run around 23:35-23:40, though two only run at 23:05, but they have the shorter opening theme. We get 5 chapter stops per episode...nice.
Seasons four and five had extras (probably since the movie came out to theatres and DVD), but then season six had absolutely nothing! Since this is the 25th anniversary set, we get a featurette on each "slice!" So we do have extras here! On the first slice, we have a featurette called "A Shellabration with Points of Articulation." This runs 6:03 and is about the action figures and toys this franchise has given out, particularly from Playmates. Interviewed are Pat Linden (Playmates, Associate VP), Raymond Geinman (Playmates, VP Product Development-Boys), Rodolfo Gastelum (Playmates, Senior Director of Product Development-Boys), and Kevin Eastman (TMNT, Co-Creator). The second slice has a featurette called "A Shellabration of the Turtles Creation." This runs 11:08 and is about how this franchise got started in the comic book world. It has interviews with co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The third slice has a featurette called "A Shellabration of the TV Sensation." This runs 10:46 and this is about the creation of the hit animated series that began in 1987! See what the process was in creating this series and what differences there are from the comic books. Interviewed are Fred Wold (Executive Producer), David Wise (Story editor/writer), Townsend Coleman (voice of Michaelangelo), Kevin Eastman (co-creator), and Rob Paulson (voice of Raphael). This was my favorite featurette! Then finally on the fourth slice, we have a featurette called "A Shellabration of a Fan-Nomenon Sensation." This runs 11:54 and it is devoted to die-hard fans and they speak out here! Interviewed are co-creator Kevin Eastman and three big fans: Stephen Reese (South Pasadena, CA), Michelle Ivey (Ferndale, MI), and Joshua Christopher (Terre Haute, IN).
I urge fans to buy this set even though it is split into four separate parts. I don't like how they did that especially since he boxes are pretty big. That would waste space on people's DVD shelves for sure. I wish there was a way to have a huge box hold these four boxes. Or a better box holding just the four cases and I guess the action figures would be on a special "25th anniversary" set only? Seasons 8, 9, and 10 still remain to be released. Season 8 is coming out in September, so we are near the end of this series on DVD! Seasons eight through ten have 8 episodes each, so expect one-disc sets from here on out. Four of the eight episodes on season ten was released on the Volume 1 DVD, the very first DVD, though.
Anyway, let's buy pizza by the slice with four slices! Usually people can get 4 slices for a meal, so this is perfect! Order your four slices today and you'll be full with excitement! Katanas, nunchaku, bo staff, and sai are the weapons of the Turtles but you won't need those top open these slices! Cowabunga!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: Perry Mason - Season 4, Volume 1

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the blog DVD review! Today we take a look at CBS DVD's Perry Mason: Season 4, Volume 1. Perry Mason of course is the very popular law series. The series stars the great Raymond Burr. See skees53's blog DVD review of Perry Mason: Season 4, Volume 1:

The verdict is in for Perry Mason: Season 4, Volume 1 (CBS DVD, $49.99), and the verdict is: a great DVD set! Perry Mason, of course, is the classic 1950s/1960s TV series that starred Raymond Burr as a defense attorney that would take virtually any case that you would look at and say "nobody could win that case," yet he got a victory in all but one episode. The series was one of the first prominent law dramas to ever air on TV (and the oldest one that we even recognize these days) and aired for nine seasons on CBS. This DVD set presents the first 16 episodes of the 1960-1961 season in a four disc set.
Robert Redford guest stars in "The Case of the Treacherous Toupee," where a hairpiece may help clear a suspected murderer. A woman and her new lover (her husband's nephew) get involved in an extortion scheme gone wrong in "The Case of the Ill-Fated Faker." In "The Case of The Lavender Lipstick," Perry must defend a woman that is accused of killing her boss--and she was to be the heir of his fortune. A clown discovers that his wife is a bigamist in "The Case of the Clumsy Clown," and soon after, she turns up dead. Who else can prove him not guilty?
A girl's family is lost in "The Case of the Nine Dolls," but her family being lost may be the least of her worries. In "The Case of the Loquacious Liar," a man is threatened by his stepfather, but his stepfather is the one that turns up dead. John Hoyt guest stars in "The Case of the Resolute Reformer," where a land purchase deal ends in murder. In "The Case of the Fickle Fortune," a man hires Perry after it is discovered that another man that stole a large amount of money from him has been murdered.
The packaging on the case is the typical cheap CBS DVD movie style case that we all have a love-hate relationship with. They are nice, thin, and seem to "standardize" our collections, but they also scream "cheap" at the same time. As far as disc artwork, there really isn't any aside from the standard gray CBS DVD background with the show logo on each disc. Each disc contains exactly four episodes.
The menus on the set are very, well, basic. The main menu on each disc has a picture of Perry with a listing of episodes next to him, as well as a Play All option. You can't get simpler than that. Chapters are placed in all of the appropriate places.
As the case has been with previous sets, the video and audio quality on this set is excellent. The picture is crystal clear with very little grain (you can't even notice what is there unless you are paying VERY close attention) and the video is presented in pristine black and white. The audio is perfectly fine too, being presented in glorious mono (hey, it was the early 60s) with closed-captioning available for those that require it. The episodes appear to be unedited, as each one runs at almost exactly 52 minutes. That is further backed up by the fact that the set surprisingly does not have the standard CBS DVD disclaimer about episodes being edited. How often does a CBS DVD not have that?
Sadly, despite the fact that these sets always have great video and audio quality, and are always unedited, this set once again lacks in special features. CBS DVD did release a special anniversary set about a year ago that had some very nice special features, but it would be nice to have those on the season sets too. There has to be some old footage with Raymond Burr that they could include somewhere!
CBS DVD is keeping these sets very basic, but I'm still impressed with the quality of the episodes, and the fact that (as far as I can tell) they have yet to put out any truly inferior sets. The only thing that is frustrating about these sets is the half season model. With this model, it'll take 11 more releases to get the entire series out on DVD! But it has been popular with fans everywhere, and I'm sure that fans will support any number of releases. But there is no need to take CBS DVD to trial over this, because this is a set that fans of one of America's greatest defense attorneys (let us not forget about our good friend Matlock, of course) are sure to appreciate.

-- Reviewed by skees53
(4/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: The Best of Whose Line is it Anyway (6/9)

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for our weekly Blog DVD Review! Today we take a look at Warner Home Video's improv series The Best of Whose Line is it Anyway. Whose Line is it Anyway was a improv comedy show presented by Drew Carey and starred Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie! See Seth Thrasher's Blog DVD review of The Best of Whose Line is it Anyway:

The Best of Whose Line is it Anyway (Warner, $24.98) hits store shelves this Tuesday, and contained within you are going to find 10 of the funniest episodes of television imaginable. Whose Line is it Anyway ran from 1998 through 2004 on ABC, before jumping to ABC Family for its final two years of new episodes from 2005-06. Due to the nature of the show, sales of season sets just didn't make financial sense -- but the show was popular enough that some sort of DVD release was still warranted. Here we have what I hope will the first in a great many volumes of "best of" sets.

If you want to know that this truly is the best of the show, you needn't look any further than the first episode on the set. The episode that -- at least in my opinion -- is not only the series' best show but one of the funniest half hours in TV history leads off, the Richard Simmons episode. I have *never* seen a funnier single episode. The episode is in fact a theme show. We start off with people pretending to be different people/things and having to switch off every now and then. One of the assigned things to pretend to be? Richard Simmons. Later on we have fun with the green screen, with Colin (Mochrie) anchoring a news report live from the scene of...one of Richard's workout videos! But the highlight of the episode is a segment called "Living Scenery." In it, two people act out a scene, while two others actually act as the assortment of props. Drew then calls in Richard, who comes out to wild applause. What transpires next is the funniest 5 minutes in television history -- there are thousands of copies of the video online, just search for it. If you've never seen it you may well wind up bowled over in laughter, while those of you who HAVE seen it will still find it hysterical. Other episodes on the set feature fluffing your Garfield, Wayne Brady as that annoying singing fish you used to see in novelty stores everywhere, and a multitude of guest stars including David Hasselhoff, Jerry Springer, and Florence Henderson. The episodes are cherry-picked from the run, with the earliest show being from June 2001 and the oldest being from August 2004.

As this is only a 10 episode set, packaging is rather minimalist. Black plastic keepcase, with two discs inside. The first disc is housed on a plastic tray affixed to the spine, while the second disc is housed on a hub affixed to the packaging itself. There is also an insert detailing the 10 episodes. Disc art is very, very green -- following the theme set by the main package itself. Disc 1 features Drew solo, while disc 2 features Colin, Ryan, and of course Wayne Brady. Menu art features a strip of cast headshots -- six in total. Featured is Drew, Ryan, Colin, and Wayne -- plus semi-regular Greg Proops and show musician Laura Hall. It's interesting -- and extremely nice -- to see Laura Hall included in the menu. She was there just as often as anyone else affiliated with the show, and her music played an integral role in some of the show's classic bits, but she's usually overlooked. Anyway, the menu features their headshots in a strip across the top, while across the center are six chalk-outlined bodies not necessarily matching the cast photo. For example, the body under Ryan is a doctor, while the one under Colin is of a bikini-clad woman.

I should mention, as I head into the audio and video, that this is Whose Line "Uncensored." Any bleeps or such things that might have occurred in the original airings for the benefit of ABC viewers have been removed. You're going to hear what was actually said. As such, this may not be ideal for the extremely young viewer -- but realistically once a child reaches their double digits, they've already been exposed to any words or content mentioned here, so I wouldn't worry about kids 13 and over. The episodes themselves run in the neighborhood of 21:30 with few deviations. For an early 2000's TV series, this is largely consistent with what you should expect. Video quality looks good, keeping in mind that this show was intended as a live-feeling comedy show, and as such may not have been shot on the highest grade tape stock. It's also from the standard-def era, so obviously that's going to knick the video a bit too. Still, what is presented by and large looks great. Audio sounds good and you hear what is most important -- the vocals -- loud and clear. The stereo track does its job well.

As the episodes on the set itself doesn't start until 2001 -- a couple of seasons into the set, there's a special feature included to recap the highlights of seasons 1 and 2. It also includes some uncensored highlights and outtakes (43:59). Still, for a 10 episode collection-style release to have a bonus included is a rare and nice thing to behold. That's how well-done this set is. As it's 10 extremely funny half-hours (and a bonus funny hour), I wholeheartedly recommend this set. This is a good solid several hours of nonstop entertainment, and is worthy of dollars from your entertainment budget.

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(4.5/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: Boston Legal - Season Five

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for our weekly Blog DVD Review! Today we take a look at 20th Century Fox's court room series Boston Legal - Season Five. Boston Legal was a comedic law show starring James Spader and William Shatner. Denny Crane! See Seth Thrasher's Blog DVD review of Boston Legal - Season Five:

Boston Legal - Season Five (Fox, $49.98) is now on DVD, and with this release we conclude the series on DVD of one of my favorite television series of the decade. The show's fifth season was its last, having aired on ABC this past fall. Thirteen episodes are presented, and they draw to a close one of the most fun legal dramas in TV history.
With this season, we also bid goodbye to one of what I feel to be the greatest characters in the annals of television in Denny Crane (William Shatner). His "Mad Cow"-induced craziness continues in full swing for the majority of the season, while towards the end of the season his disease (which in actuality is Alzheimer's) begins to progress, and the madness takes on a sadder tone. Alongside Denny as always is his best friend Alan Shore (James Spader). Also on hand for the show's final year is of course named partner Shirley Schmidt (Candice Bergen), senior partner Carl Sack (John Larroquette), plus associates Jerry Espenson (Christian Clementson) and Katie Lloyd (Tara Summers).
If you're one of those viewers who dislikes when shows have cast members pair into couples towards the end, you may not have been a fan of the way the final episode progressed. All six people I listed wind up in each other's company -- Jerry and Katie gradually move closer, while Shirley and Carl prepare for their wedding...meanwhile in order to assure his proper care and safety as things deteriorates, Denny proposes marriage to who else but his best friend -- Alan. All of this occurs, naturally, at the same time as recurring character Paul Lewiston (Rene Auberjonois) negotiating the merger of the firm with a Chinese outfit. Great fun is still had, while plenty of drama still ensues. Also returning this season is Betty White as the crazed Catherine Piper, plus special guest star Valerie Bertinelli, who plays a cattle rancher who Denny is convinced is Valerie Bertinelli. You can also find interesting guest spots with the various case judges. For example, Williams Daniels -- known to many as Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World but to *me* as Dr. Mark Craig from St. Elsewhere -- appears as a judge. Meanwhile, as an attorney, Christopher Rich from Reba appears. Annie Potts appears in a later episode, "The Bad Seed." Keep an eye out for even more!
For the 5th and final season we got a packaging change -- gone are the usual slim cases, and in their place are the fragile clear plastic keep cases that I'm not particularly a fan of. The four single-sided discs are held by two plastic trays in the center. Package art for both the outer box holding the plastic case as well as the case itself feature Denny and Alan posted together in front of the Boston skyline each holding a cigar. Each disc features its own disc art. Disc 1 features the distinctive Crane, Poole, and Schmidt sign in the hallway. Disc 2 features the hands of Denny and Alan on the balcony each with a cigar with the building in the background. Disc 3 again features their hands only -- only this time with a glass of some rather fine alcohol each. Finally on disc 4 you see a wide shot of the balcony, with the two's trademark white chairs, both empty.
Getting to what is on the discs themselves: I have always loved the format of menus from 20th Century Fox, with each episode getting a sub-menu and scene selection options, but the main menus haven't always been lively. With Boston Legal Season 5 though, you get lots of animation -- a still photo of each cast member is in the foreground. Behind them is an animated silver panel, and within that panel is a clip featuring that cast member. After about 5 seconds the cast photo and video clip rotate to the next cast member. It's really a fairly spiffy layout. In front of the all of this is a stationary silver bar with the season and disc number, with a red panel holding the episode list. From there you can access the sub menus, which feature multiple language options plus the ability to access any given scene. The video quality is absolutely flawless. There is no grain, noise, artefacting, or any such debris. The video is simply spectacular. Audio sounds great as well. Vocals are nice and loud, music sounds great. There are numerous chapter stops -- with each one tying to a location from the scene selection menu. Runtimes on the hour long episodes range from 42 to 43 minutes, the standard for a 2008 drama series.
FOUR special features grace this set. Something I wish we'd had far, far more of over the series returns for the final season, deleted scenes. The scenes feature an introduction by showrunner Bill D'Elia. You can also find a featurette regarding the remarkably close friendship enjoyed by Denny and Alan over the years, as well as a feature focused on a dropped story from the episode "Juiced." It begins with an introduction regarding what was cut, and why it was cut -- at which point the video itself is shown in its entirely, essentially giving us a full half-episode extra of the series, as there's a good 20 minutes of footage. The story? Denny in fact has a daughter, who is played in the episode by Kimberly Williams-Paisley (According to Jim). The crew felt so bad about cutting her out that's how she wound up as the attorney in the Supreme Court case in the finale. "Finally" is a feature regarding the very, very interesting finale of the show.
And with that, we draw to a close of one of the most interesting and enjoyable TV series of the decade. ABC enjoyed a wave of success with several of its series debuting in 2004-05, and of those, Boston Legal is the first to depart. We got a nice volume of features for the set and between these five DVD sets and the countless reruns on broadcast and cable Boston Legal fans are sure to be able to enjoy Denny Crane and friends for years to come. Strong recommendation.

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(5/5 stars)

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Related links:
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Boston Legal TV.com Page

Upfront Rumblings; Blog DVD Review: Freakazoid! - Season 2

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Saturday blog DVD review for an update on the network upfronts. This is probably the busiest TV weekend of the year--the weekend before the network upfronts start. Latest buzz on scripted series:

ABC:
Picked-Up/Close to Being Picked-Up Dramas: Flash Forward, Happy Town, The Associates (David Hemingson Project), Eastwick, The Forgotten, V. (all confirmed)
Picked-Up/Close to Being Picked-Up Sitcoms: Modern Family, Cougar Town, The Middle, Awesome Hank. (all confirmed)
Still Could Be Picked Up Dramas: Inside the Box
Still Could Be Picked Up Sitcoms: Romantically Challenged, The Law
No Shot: Canned, No Heroics, Limelight, See Kate Run
Bubble Current Series Renewals: Castle, Better Off Ted, Samantha Who, Scrubs (all pretty much confirmed)
Possible Current Series Canceled That Had a Chance: Surviving Suburbia, The Unusuals
Comments: ABC is going full frontal on comedy it seems. Scrubs, Better Off Ted, Samantha Who? are all returning, with just the latter not really official yet, but it has a great shot since repeats are going to air Fridays at 9pm starting June 5. Sam and Scrubs could be in a format change too, from single camera to a mix of single/multicamera. And ABC has already ordered new comedy Modern Family last week and Cougar Town was ordered last night. Unofficially it is also ordered The Middle & Awesome Hank last night and possibly Romantically Challenged & The Law will be ordered on the day of the upfront for midseason. My moles tell me it will happen. Lots of comedy!! That's what we like here at SitcomsOnline. Now of course all of these comedies are not for the fall. Some will be held for midseason for sure.
New drama wise, ABC is very high on Flash Forward, and on-air promos are already airing. ABC unofficially set series orders for Happy Town, Eastwick, The Forgotten, The Associates and V. V could be used for mid-season as a 6-hour event (good counter-programming vs. the Winter Olympics maybe?) and The Associates is also likely midseason. Inside the Box also still has a good shot of coming to ABC for fall or midseason, but has not been ordered just yet. Current drama wise, Castle was renewed for a second season. That was the only drama that had a real shot that was not renewed yet. Reality wise, ABC has ordered a season second of True Beauty, likely for midseason with The Bachelor.

CBS:
Picked-Up/Close to Being Picked-Up Dramas: NCIS: Legend (wt), The Good Wife.
Picked-Up/Close to Being Picked-Up Sitcoms: Accidentally on Purpose, Waiting to Die
Still Could Be Picked Up Dramas: Three Rivers, Washington Field
Still Could Be Picked Up Sitcoms: Happiness Isn't Everything
No Shot: A Marriage, Big D, The Karenskys
Possible On the Bubble Current Series Renewals: The Unit, Flashpoint, Old Christine, Cold Case, Rules of Engagement, Gary Unmarried, Without a Trace
Possible Current Series Canceled That Had a Chance: Eleventh Hour
Comments: CBS is tight-lipped. No official pick-ups at all. Just the buzz is that NCIS spin-of and The Good Wife are locks to being picked-up drama wise., with Three Rivers, Miami Trauma, and Washington Field also in the running. But usually with CBS something comes out of left field on the day of the upfront. Comedy wise, it's the same thing as dramas, no official pick-ups, but Accidentally on Purpose and Waiting to Die are heating up in buzz with Happiness Isn't Everything also on the radar. As for current series that were not renewed yet, only Ghost Whisperer got officially renewed, as there was word it could have been moved to ABC since CBS didn't want to pay full license fees. Cold Case, Gary Unmarried, Flashpoint, Old Christine, Rules of Engagement, The Unit, and Without a Trace are still not picked-up. What will make the cut? I don't think all of these will make it. Amazing Race, Big Bang Theory, Survivor and Two and a Half Men have no worries along with Ghost Whisperer since they were officially renewed, and CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Criminal Minds, How I Met Your Mother, The Mentalist, NCIS, NUMB3RS are locks for a pick-up of course. Everything else is gone including Eleventh Hour.

NBC:
Picked-Up Dramas: Trauma, Parenthood, Day One, Mercy. (all confirmed)
Picked-Up Sitcoms: Community, 100 Questions. (all confirmed)
Still Could Be Picked Up Dramas: None.
Still Could Be Picked Up Sitcoms: Off Duty
No Shot: Adler/Hurwitz Project, Legally Mad, Lost & Found
Bubble Current Series Renewals: Chuck, Law & Order, Medium
Possible Current Series Canceled That Had a Chance: My Name is Earl
Comments: NBC's pick-ups came at infront on May 4, so we have nothing new to report really. It's just the on the bubble current series we still need to know. It is looking good for Chuck, Medium, and Law & Order but My Name is Earl looks like will be canceled. Medium is being reported it was renewed, but that is unofficial. Can we expect another new series or two to be picked-up on Tuesday when NBC announced the schedule? Yes, but the only other option really is off-beat comedy Off Duty, since NBC passed on the other pilots. The only thing we really need to see for NBC is a schedule and the one I predicted could very well be something similar.

FOX:
Picked-Up/Close to Being Picked-Up Dramas: Human Target, Glee, Past Life. (all confirmed)
Picked-Up/Close to Being Picked-Up Sitcoms: Brothers, Sons of Tucson, The Cleveland Show. (all confirmed)
Still Could Be Picked Up Dramas: Maggie Hill
Still Could Be Picked Up Sitcoms: None
No Shot: Absolutely Fabulous, $2 Beer, Eva Adams
On the Bubble Current Series Renewals: Dollhouse
Possible Current Series Canceled That Had a Chance: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Comments: Fox is also pretty much set in terms of new series pick-ups. For dramas, they will launch Glee this Tuesday for a sneak peek, and have picked-up Human Target and Past Life.
Maggie Hill is probably the only other drama that could see a pick-up on the day of the upfront. Comedy wise, Fox is actually picking-up two live-action comedies, but they could be held for midseason. Brothers and Sons of Tucson are the comedies, they join animated comedy The Cleveland Show which will for sure be in the fall on Sunday nights. No other new comedies will be picked-up. Fox also has a few seasons of 'Til Death they could use at some point. In a surprise move, Fox renewed Dollhouse for 13 episodes and it will likely remain on Fridays this fall. The series has terrible ratings, so I don't understand this move. Dollhouse's pick-up means death for Sarah Connor Chronicles. And Fox has thrown us a wildcard. They have picked-up a fall version of So You Think You Can Dance. It will likely launch after the World Series, I would guess, as Hell's Kitchen's summer version will spill into the fall. It's just an actual schedule for Fox we need now. Fox also ordered reality series Someone's Gotta Go for next season, not sure if it is fall or midseason.

The CW:
Close to Being Picked-Up Dramas: Melrose Place, Vampire Diaries
Close to Being Picked-Up Sitcoms: None.
Still Could Be Picked Up Dramas: The Beautiful Life, The Body Politic, Gossip Girl: Lily
Still Could Be Picked Up Sitcoms: None.
No Shot: Perhaps Light Years
Possible On the Bubble Current Series Renewals: Privileged, The Game
Possible Current Series Canceled That Had a Chance: Everybody Hates Chris, Reaper
Comments: The CW is the last network to go at upfront, so they have not announced official pick-ups just yet. Melrose Place and Vampire Diaries are a lock it seems for fall. With Beautiful Life, Body Politic, and Lily battling for mid-season or a third slot in the fall. On the bubble current shows Privileged and The Game are also battling for a slot. What won't make the cut? I think The Game looks like the odd show out. Lily also could be out, but they should order 6 episodes only just in case they need it come midseason. Still too early for The CW, should know more during the week.

Check back periodically as we get more updates all-weekend long! I don't sleep during upfronts week!

Join us all next week (May 18-21) bright and early for the fall schedules. I assure you we will be among the first ones to post the fall line-ups for each network. Fox will be first on Monday, it'll be interesting how they schedule shows now that So You Think You Can Dance is coming in the fall as well.


And now back to our regularly scheduled blog programming:

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for weekly Blog DVD Review! Today we have we take a look at Warner Home Video's animated series Freakazoid! - Season 2. Freakazoid! was an animated series on Kids' WB. See Seth Thrasher's Blog DVD review of Freakazoid! - Season 2:

Freakazoid! - Season 2 (Warner, $26.98) is on DVD for the first time, and you'd have to be crazy not to buy it! Contained in this amazing bundle of plastics and fibers and metals that makes up this DVD set are the final eleven episodes of one of the craziest, and funniest, and most overall enjoyable cartoons I've ever had the pleasure to view. And, as one of the twelve people known to have watched the show when it originally aired in The WB's Saturday morning cartoon block in the mid-90s, I can speak with great aplomb as to what a quality show you're getting with your money.
The season starts off with a bang, with Dexter actually managing to get a date with Steff, only to have the Lobe interfere and potentially blow it. The fun with Freakazoid & the Lobe continues into his next adventure on the next show, when it's Freakazoid's birthday -- which, per the Superhero Codebook, means *he* has to do favors for the others. This sets up a scenario in which every last other superhero is out of town, and Lobe has a plan. The crazy hits keep coming all season, with Freakazoid getting bogged down at a sci-fi convention, Steff getting turned to stone, and so much more madness. In the amazing series finale, Lobe figures out how to destroy Freakazoid once and for all -- but to do so he needs to build his evil device out of wood. Having no talent, he kidnaps master carpenter Norm Abram (This Old House), who voices himself in the strangest cartoon guest appearance ever. Knowing this is the end, the show goes out with a bang making for an enjoyable 22 minutes in one of the most enjoyable series ever. Really, though, how can you go wrong with a cartoon that had recurring voice actors like Ed Asner and Ricardo Montalban -- not to mention the best host in late night TV, Craig Ferguson. Also appearing this season in a guest spot is Leonard Maltin.
Since it's not yet possible to stream these episodes directly into your brain, there must well be packaging that the episodes arrive on. And oh, what wonderful packaging it is. Millions of carbon and hydrogen atoms bonded together just for the benefit of this amazing *HARD plastic!* case. Their sacrifice makes it possible for you to effectively store your DVD set on a shelf near you. The artwork features a giant picture of America's 7th favorite blue skinned superhero pointing to himself and smiling. I'd be happy too if *I* had superpowers so it'd be quite a disappointment to find him unhappy. Background of the artwork is green and features a computer chip-like design, heavily stylized for the purposes of cartoons. Rear cover features more green fun, only this time...Freakazoid has a jetpack! Disc art features more green, with Freakazoid doing a little flexing on disc 1, with Lobe doing some flexing of his own on disc 2. Interior package art features the disc one information, Freakazoid, and Fan Boy on the left panel, with all the villains hiding behind the 2nd disc (the one with Lobe on it).
With a cartoon from the mid-1990s, you're unfortunately not going to get 3D stereovision with 17.2 panaural sound...partially because I just made both things up. What you do get is an animated picture mostly free of defects. I did detect some compression artifacts around the lines on the picture, but I was sitting two feet from a 32" HDTV when doing so. For normal use you're probably not going to notice anything amiss. More importantly, you get 5.1 surround sound. Because of the wonderful musical accompaniment that comes with mid 1990s Warner cartoons, the 5.1 surround sound is wonderfully appreciated, and during a few scenes in the cartoon is enough to make you melt. The chapter stops stop chapters. More importantly than that, they're located after the episode's opening titles, as well as after each act -- where commercial breaks would normally be placed.
When we say special features, we're not implying these features should be riding the short bus, it means that they're a bonus, above and beyond the call of DVD duty. First up is "A Full Season's Worth of Commentaries (in Five Minutes or Less)"and features the creative minds behind the show talking about the season, what went into it, and all the other sorts of things you'd expect. Ideally it would have been nice to do actual commentaries, but pressed for time this is certainly better than a kick in the pants. There's also the demo version of the music to the Hello, Dolly parody Bonjour Lobey -- it's good stuff worth a listen. The true highlight is probably the final feature (say that 81,931 times fast) -- a look into the making of the show's final episode. The feature runs nearly the length of a full episode, and taking a similar tone as the series explores the workings of the last episode.
Let's be serious for a minute. For the basis of pure enjoyment, season one is honestly the better of the two in my opinion. The episodes are just...funnier. But season two is still better than the vast, vast majority of cartoons. Since this set is already out, hopefully you already own it. If you don't already own it, then hopefully you started the order process while reading this review -- I know you can multi-task, come on. If not, you should probably do so now. The review will still be here when you get back. There is probably even a link to buy it below. Needless to say, I recommend this set.

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(4.5/5 stars)

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Related links:
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Freakazoid! TV.com Page

Blog DVD Review: October Road - The Complete Second Season

Welcome to our weekly Blog DVD Reviews! Today we take a look at Buena Vista Home Entertainment's October Road: The Complete Second Season. October Road is a drama about an author going back home after writing bad things in a book about his friends from that small town. See my Blog DVD Review of October Road: The Complete Second Season:

October Road: The Complete Second Season (Buena Vista/ABC Studios, $34.99) brings the final 13 episodes of the small-town drama on DVD! October Road is a heart-warming drama set in fictional Knights Ridge, MA about friendship, love, and change that frankly ended way too soon. While the street October Road is not as popular as Wisteria Lane, it certainly has its fair share of drama. The second season of October Road opens just after Nick (Bryan Greenberg) has confessed his eternal love to Hannah Jane (Laura Prepon) and Nick and Eddie (Geoff Stults) head to New York in an attempt to bring Owen (Brad William Henke) back to his estranged wife Allison (Elizabeth Bogush) and family in Knights Ridge after Allison had an affair with Ikey (Evan Jones), and Hannah comes to terms with her true feelings for Nick. Later, Big Cat (Warren Christie) has a marriage proposal for Hannah and we still don't know the secret of Sam's (Slade Pearce) father's identity; the unlikely relationship between Eddie and Janet (Rebecca Field) continues; The Commander's (Tom Berenger) surprise bout with bone cancer; Aubrey (Odette Yustman) and Nick get back together; while Nick's brother Ronny (Jonathan Murphy) develops a liking to Aubrey; and Physical Phil (Jay Paulson) finally comes out of the house with the help of Pizza Girl (Lindy Booth). All that and so much more!
Packaging on this DVD is similar to the first season. We have an outer box that holds a snap case. I really don't think the outer box is needed because it is the same art as the case. On both the box and case we have the show's logo, followed by the complete second season line, then we have a nice big photo of Nick, followed by some of the other characters in the background (Hannah, Sam, Big Cat, Janet, Eddie, and Aubrey) with a nice fall season background. The back of the box and the case has synopsis of the series and set, along with a list of bonus features and some nice small screenshots (Ronny & Aubrey; Sam; Nick & Hannah; and The Commander). To open the case, we DON'T have two little buttons to pull like last time, now we just can open it regularly. Inside the case that we have a spot for an insert on the left, which is a listing for Buena Vista's Blu-ray sets. The discs are on the right. Disc one and two are on a little plastic handle that we can flip like a book, disc one on the front side and disc two on the back side of this handle. Disc three is on the right panel. All three discs have silver and white color with the show title and a headshot of a character. Episodes 1-4 are on disc one with a shot of Nick, episodes 5-9 are on disc two with a shot of Hannah, and episodes 10-13 and the extras are on disc three with a shot of Big Cat.
This series is excellent. The first season aired after Grey's Anatomy on Thursdays and was well sampled. But this second season was aired on Monday nights and didn't launch until Thanksgiving, which was a big mistake. Even with lower ratings, the plots of the episodes were still as good as the first season. We have character development on this season, as each character is unique. I liked how some characters get a nickname, like "Big Cat," Pizza Girl," "The Commander," and "Physical Phil." That brings more depth to characters and more of a homely feel. The episodes generally run close to 42:30 in length. The highest is 43:05 and lowest is 41:46. Nothing is edited out on the episodes, so that is good news. There are about 9 chapter stops for each episode. The video is in widescreen and looks very good, as it should! The audio is great and sounds very good, as it is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The show never looked better or sounded better, unless you watched the series in HDTV on ABC. We hear the closing theme, which is always nice to hear since ABC doesn't show the ending theme.
The menu screen gives us a nice shot of an entire road...and you guessed it, it is October Road! The series is set in Knights Ridge, MA, a fake town. The series was shot in the Atlanta area in season one but they moved the sets to Los Angeles, as you'll learn in the extras. We get nice background music from the show playing in the background on the main menu and every submenu. Disc three has auto trailers for Army Wives S2, some movies, and Blu-ray. Options on the menu are: Play All, Episode Selection, Bonus Features, Set Up, Sneak Peaks. Sneak Peaks and Bonus Features options are on disc three only. The Episodes section has the episode number and title...and a cool screenshot. Set Up gives us the option to have Subtitles in English. We can also Register our DVD. Sneak Peeks has the same trailers as the auto trailers on disc three, but also we get a SOAPnet trailer.
Moving on to the bonus features. All of them are on disc three. We start off with "Bump in the Road", as we get a look at some goofiness on the set with bloopers! The bloopers run 2:53 and are much longer than the ones on the first season DVD. The next extra on the set is a behind the scenes feature titled "The Scenic Route: Behind the Scenes Tour." We go behind the scenes with the cast as the sets move from Atlanta to Hollywood. We get a tour from cast members, included are Bryan Greenberg, Tom Berenger, Laura Prepon, Geoff Stults, and Evan Jones. This runs 6:05. It's interesting to see how cool the set is! Then finally, what we have ALL been waiting for! We get a DVD exclusive called "Road's End: The Final Chapter." An exclusive series epilogue, produced specifically for the Season 2 DVD, wraps up the series and finally reveals the identity of Sam's father and the fate of Nick and Hannah's unrequited relationship. Everyone is back but Brad William Henke (Owen), as he was busy shooting Lost. This closing runs 9:50 and was shot in January. Tom Berenger is also not in it, but his character is explained in this, so I won't give it away. But maybe I just gave it away by saying that. Watch the closure...it is good.
I really hope you buy this DVD. This show was excellent and now have closure. It's too bad they had to close the show this way with a 9:50 finale, but that is better than nothing. I just wish this show was still on the air! If you are a fan, you must buy this of course. If you never saw it, give season one a try and then you'll be hooked and buy this set as well. All the characters are great. The young audience loved it. I really love the Aubrey character, played by Odette Yustman. She is very good and very attractive. Executive Producers André Nemec, Scott Rosenberg and Josh Applebaum had another ABC series on the air this season called Life on Mars, and it had A LOT of October Road references and even had some stars guest star (Odette Yustman, Brad William Henke), in addition to Jonathan Murphy being on every episode. And now they have a pilot in production called Happy Town, which stars Geoff Stults! It's good to see the Road members live on! So when you buy this DVD, be sure to say "What Goes On?" to the clerk! Remember, you can always go home.
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Related links:
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Official Website
October Road TV.com Page

SitcomsOnline 2009-2010 NBC Infront Preview; Blog DVD Review: Tiny Toon Adventures - Season 1, Volume 2

NBC will have their "infront" presentation this coming Monday. But unlike last year, they WON'T announce an actual schedule since that was a disaster last year announcing it a month earlier than normal. If you all recall, they ended up changing it drastically a month later. So on Monday (May 4) they will only announce what new series and returning series will get picked-up for 2009-2010. Then they will announce the actual schedule in the actual upfront week, the week of May 18. We won't give you our prediction of the schedule until a week before upfronts, like usual, but today we will give our predictions on what will be picked-up by NBC on Monday. So here are our picks:

*CONFIRMED* Already Renewed Returning Series: 30 Rock, The Biggest Loser, The Celebrity Apprentice (Spring), Friday Night Lights (DirecTV), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Southland, and The Office.
Likely Returning Series: Heroes, Parks & Recreation, Law & Order, Medium, Deal or No Deal, and of course Dateline.
Likely To Be Canceled or Already Canceled: Kath & Kim, Kings, Chopping Block, Chuck, Lipstick Jungle, Knight Rider, My Name is Earl, Life, Crusoe, My Worst Own Enemy, and Howdie Do It.
Likely New Series Pick-Ups (our picks): Parenthood (drama for fall), Community (comedy for fall), Off Duty (comedy for spring), 100 Questions for Charlotte Payne (comedy for fall or midseason), Trauma (drama for fall), and Mercy (drama for midseason)

COMMENTS: NBC only has 11 new pilots in production with 6 dramas and 5 comedies. Since NBC is only going to program from 8-10pm ET/PT on weeknights since Jay Leno Show (wt) will take over 10pm, we could expect some veteran/returning series getting canceled. Among the most likely are Chuck, Medium, My Name is Earl, and Law & Order...but I think one or even two of those will be back, probably Law & Order & Medium...maybe midseason for both.
If NBC has success with testing on their five comedy pilots, I can see them picking up 2 or 3 of them for the season (1 or 2 of the pick-ups held for midseason) instead of bringing back Parks & Recreation. Community starring Joe McHale and Chevy Chase is getting the most buzz. A traditional camera even has some buzz for NBC (100 Questions for Charlotte Payne), but not sure where that would fit with all single-camera comedies (possibly on another night then, like following Biggest Loser?). Off Duty (single camera) starring Bradley Whitford has some buzz as well. I think it will come down to those three comedies, with the other two comedy pilots probably having no chance.
Among dramas, Parenthood looks like it has the best shot of getting picked-up. Trauma also looks good as NBC is probably looking for another medical series to replace ER. Mercy has gotten some buzz the past few days and could be for midseason, while Legally Mad, Day One, and Lost & Found have not tested as good or have no buzz. I won't talk much more until our predictions week, but it will be interesting to see what NBC does to The Biggest Loser, cut it to one-hour, 90-minutes, or leave it at two hours? I'd cut it to one hour, but then again NBC is in bad shape. Also, how will Law & Order: SVU perform before 10pm and possibly without their two main stars? We just got late word that Southland was just renewed for 13 episodes, no surprise even though the show has gone down big in the ratings each week. NBC needs to bring back something new from this season.

Come on back Monday to see what NBC picks up. And stay tuned the week of May 11 for our annual upfront schedule predictions and the following week (May 18) for the actual Fall 2009 schedules, to see what we got right! I love this time of year!


Back to our regularly scheduled Saturday programming! It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly blog DVD review! Today we look at Warner Home Video's Tiny Toon Adventures - Season 1, Volume 2. Tiny Toon Adventures was created and produced as a collaborative effort between Steven Spielberg's company Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered as a syndicated cartoon in 1990. See Seth's Blog DVD Review of Tiny Toon Adventures - Season 1, Volume 2:

Tiny Toon Adventures - Season 1, Volume 2 (Warner Home Video, $44.98) is on DVD! I'm using extra exclamation points due to my love for this show. Not to mention that I now own, in DVD quality, my favorite episode of the series: "Tiny Toons Music Television." I talked about it in the review for Vol. 1. It features re-done videos for several songs using the Tiny Toon cast, including TWO songs by "They Might Be Giants," a take on "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, and more. It's great stuff. I'm jumping to that episode immediately in the review due to my fear that they might attempt music replacement. Luckily, Warner is THE studio I can count on to use original music elements in their DVD product, by and large. Having this episode itself complete is worth the price of admission for the set for *me*. Filling out the set and the remainder of the first season are 29 additional episodes (30 total) that remind me why this is an absolutely classic cartoon and a MUST OWN for any fan of the genre. One sequence, from "Best O' Plucky Duck Day," sticks out in my mind well -- Plucky wanting to get out of school but being tortured by the classroom alarm clock that just would NOT turn over to the time needed for class to be dismissed. I wholeheartedly admit it...Plucky is by FAR my favorite character. And *baby* Plucky in particular is still quoted 20 years later (Any 20-something with any childhood whatsoever should understand "elelator (or golf ball) go down the hoooooole.").
Technically the set is pretty good. There aren't any real problems with the animation quality. The colors match their original presentations, and 8 episodes fit nicely on the dual-layer discs. Audio is FIVE POINT ONE SURROUND! I don't actually have the equipment on hand right now to take advantage of the 5.1 (that will be reserved for a late night downstairs with the monster A/V rig.) but if I did I'm sure I'd be gushing random syllables. Packaging is the abominable translucent white plastic case that's become quite common. There are four discs, with 7-8 episodes per disc. Like other sets using the Clear Plastic Abomination style, the plastic clip holding the 4 discs' holders to the inner spine is fragile as will be mentioned in further detail in the Blog Review for Freakazoid's second season. Runtimes hover in the 21-22 minute range. Chapter stops are placed at the end of each act, causing a mild problem in the music video episode where there's more than 1 song per act. Otherwise it works out well.
If you enjoy comedy, cartoons, music, or life itself, you owe it to yourself to pick up this DVD set. It's one of the hallmark cartoons of the 1990s, and helped revitalize an entire genre that was in decline before its launch. I'm positive that you'll enjoy this show if you give it a chance. Cartoons are one of my favorite television genres, and this is one of my favorite cartoons. If you try it, it may become yours too. DVD sets from this studio need sales for future sets -- and without your support I won't get to see the continuing adventures of Buster and the gang, not to mention the periodic Baby Plucky spots. I want to see the complete adventures of Baby Plucky on DVD – and there's something innately charming in watching the elelator...er...elevator go down the hole.

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(4.5/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: The Real Ghostbusters - Volume 1

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Reviews. Today week we take a look at Time Life's The Real Ghostbusters - Volume 1. The show was of course an animated follow-up of the blockbuster film! The animated series launched on ABC on Saturday mornings in Fall 1986 for 13 episodes then was also given a 65 episode deal for first-run syndication. See my Blog DVD Review of The Real Ghostbusters - Volume 1:

The Real Ghostbusters - Volume 1 (Time Life, $39.98) brings us the first 13 ABC episodes and the first 17 first-run syndication episodes! Plus in addition to the episodes, we get many special features!
The series continues the adventures of paranormal investigators Dr. Peter Venkman (voiced by Lorenzo Music), Dr. Egon Spengler (Maurice La Marche), Winston Zeddemore (Arsenio Hall), Dr. Ray Stantz (Frank Welker), their secretary Janine Melnitz (Laura Summer) and their mascot ghost Slimer (Frank Welker). The series aired from 1986-1991. The series aired on ABC Saturday mornings. We also had 65 first-run syndicated episodes in 1987. In total, the series had 134 episodes plus 13 Slimer episodes in 1988. Here on this first volume we get the first season from ABC (13 episodes) and the first 17 (of 65) from first-run syndication...so this is the first 30 episodes.
Let's now move on to the packaging. Now Time Life has already released the complete series, but that was never sent to us for review (and not many people have it). This first volume was just released individually. Time Life has plans to release the remaining for volumes individually as well. Anyway, if you have the complete series set, the packaging for this first volume one is the same as that. In case you don't have it, this first volume is a steelbook case. It is heavier than most cases and hard. The cover art has the gang walking the streets with their uniforms and proton packs with Slimer above them. The sky is purple it seems. The show logo is on top, with the mention of Volume 1 on the bottom. The back of the case has that ghost catcher thing from the proton pack, with the "no ghost" symbol about to be put in there. There is no info on the set here because remember this was part of the complete series set and this volume is being released separately. We do have an episode booklet. The front of that has the same artwork as the cover art, but no city background. This booklet is very detailed and handy. The front and back are in black, but the inside pages are all in green-slime color. The first page has a very nice series history from the DVD producer, Andy Mangels. He produced great special features, which we will detail later. Then we have episode details, all broken down disc-by-disc, with the episode number, title, production number, whether it was on ABC or syndication, synopsis, trivia, extras for the episode, and even a screenshot from the episode. Wow! Great job here on this. The last page inside has a full page of credits for this DVD. And the back page has what would normally be on the back of the case, info on the set and series, and a list of bonus features. As far as the discs itself go, the first four overlap with each other. This is the only negative here. Discs one and two are on the left panel. Discs three and four are in the middle on its own little holder. When we turn the page like you would in a book, you get to the right panel that holds disc five. The disc art is the same as the cover art, but has one face on each disc. Disc one has Peter and episodes 1-6. Disc two has Egon and episodes 7-13, which concludes the first ABC season. Disc three has Ray and episodes 14-20, which starts the syndication season. Disc four has Winston and episodes 21-27. And disc five has Slimer and episodes 28-30 along with the special features.
The menu screen is very cool. We start off with the ghost catcher (the thing you pull out of the proton pack when you catch a ghost) and out of that, the menu screen comes out! Cool! We have green slime on top with the show logo and disc number, video clips are playing in the middle with no sound, the main cast is surrounding the video, and the instrumental theme song is playing in the background! Who you gonna call? We have options for Play, Episodes, and Special Features. Play of course plays them all at once for that disc. When we select Episodes, Slimer pops up, then he slimes us and we are taken to the episode list where the episodes are listed. When we select an episode, we are taken to an episodes option screen, where we can view various items related to the episode such as an introduction from someone behind the scenes, visual commentary for the episode, musical track for effects, or of course play the episode. Only four episodes out of these 30 do not have any of this, so those four go right to the episode rather than this screen. Special Features menu lists all the extras on that disc, minus the intros and musical effects, which can only be viewed on an episode screen.
The video is decent, but nothing that great. In fact some episodes look terrible, such as "Slimer, Come Home." There are some that look very good, though. I guess Sony didn't remaster these for Time Life. They are watchable though. The audio is very good though. It was nice and loud and not low at all. The ABC episodes all ran about 23:40-23:55-ish. They were unedited and all. The syndication episodes of course run shorter, but nothing is edited here either. They run about 22:20-22:30. All of these episodes have those cool bumpers with the "no ghost logo," saying we'll be back in a moment or now back to the show. Each episode has 4 chapter stops.
As for special features, we have a WHOLE lot here. Disc five has the main extras, but each disc has something. We have 31 special on-camera episode introductions! Some even have two for an episode. Giving us these video intros we have Len Janson, Marsha Goodman, Everett Peck, Brad Rader, J. Michael Straczynski, Kevin Altieri, Michael C. Gross, Maurice LaMarche, Marc Scott Zicree, Laura Summer, Richard Mueller, David Gerrold, Kathryn Drennan, Dan Riba, Dennys McCoy and Pamela Hickey. We have 5 on-camera Visual Commentary tracks featuring producers, writers, etc., hosted by the DVD producer Andy Mangels. The episodes for these are "Ghosts R Us," "Slimer, Come Home," "Take Two," "Adventures in Slime & Space," and "Venkman's Ghost Repellers." Five episodes have also isolated Music & Effects tracks. We have no character audio, just the sound effects. It is interesting that there is music throughout the episode! We get these tracks for the episodes "Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood," "Janine's Genie," "Knock, Knock," "Venkman's Ghost Repellers," and "Boo-Dunit." The rest of the special features are on disc five. We have a very nice featurette called "Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts: Creating...The Real Ghostbusters" that runs 25:05. This is a historical look at the origins of this show and how it was made. Everything is talked about here on how it started and everything. Interviewed are Joe Medjuck (executive producer), Michael C. Gross (executive producer), Len Jansen (writer), James Eatock (Cereal: Geek Magazine), Kevin Altieri (director/storyboard supervisor), Dan Riba (storyboard artist), J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Marsha Goodman (voice director/casting), Maurice LaMarche (Egon), Laura Summer (Janine #1), and Kath Soucie (Janine #2). Then we have an Image Gallery with lots of promotional artwork and we also have a Design Gallery for the episode "Night Game," giving us the blueprints of the episode. Then if you have a DVR-ROM on your computer you can look at scripts and storyboards in PDF format
I highly do recommend this set for any Ghostbuster franchise fan and classic animation fans in general. This is really a good show. I remember liking this a lot in the 80s and early 90s. The show is in the same style as Dennis the Menace and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Maybe because there were also by Japanese animators? But I loved all three shows! The video is not great, but everything else here is superb and deserves high praise. So get ready to call the Ghostbusters by buying this set. Get your proton packs (I actually had one growing up!) out and catch this DVD into that so you can watch the first 30 episodes! Hurry before the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man stops you! I Ain't Afraid of No Ghost!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4.5/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: Snoopy's Reunion - Remastered Deluxe Edition

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Reviews. Today week we take a look at Warner Home Video's Snoopy's Reunion Remastered Deluxe Edition. This is a 1991 CBS special as Snoopy reunites with his beagle family! See my Blog DVD Review of Snoopy's Reunion Remastered Deluxe Edition:

Snoopy's Reunion - Remastered Deluxe Edition (Warner, $19.98) brings us the 1991 CBS special on DVD digitally remastered...and it is really worth it! Plus in addition to the Snoopy's Reunion special, we also get It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown, a 1984 CBS special that is also about Snoopy primarily.
The Snoopy's Reunion special starts off with flashbacks on how Charlie Brown got Snoopy from Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. Now it has been one year since Snoopy saw his beagle family. He gets to see his siblings Spike, Andy, Olaf, Marbles, Belle, Molly and Rover as well return to see Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. In the Flashbeagle special, it's break-dancing time for the gang! Totally '80s! Some find the dancing difficult like Linus, but it of course comes very easy to Snoopy, the fleet-footed flashbeagle!
Let's now move on to the packaging. Like all the previous sets, we have a thin outer box that holds a very thin case, that is movie style. I never understood the reason for the thin box that holds a thin case...what's the point? It doesn't need protection. Also, both the back and front of each are exactly the same, except the box is shinier. The cover art is red-orange in color, and has a shot of Snoopy with his siblings playing in a band. The title of the special is on the top, with a mention that this is a remastered deluxe edition on top of that! The bottom tells us we also get a bonus TV special (It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown). To the back we go, we get a nice synopsis of the Snoopy's Reunion special, along with a list of the special features below that. The back is also in red-orange in color with artwork of Snoopy and Charlie Brown greeting Spike. When we open the case, we get black background all over, very plain, but of course the disc is inside. The disc is in red-orange color and has artwork of Snoopy playing an instrument.
The menu screen has options of Features, Special Features, and Languages. We get that red-orange background again, with the theme song playing in the background. We also have the same artwork as the cover art with the garage band. Anyway back to the menu, for Languages, we can have either English or Japanese. For subtitles we have those two again and also French, Korean and Thai...wow! But no Espanol for either? The Features section has the two specials listed, we can also select Play All to play both back-to-back. Finally, Special Features lists the extra (more on that below) and Trailers.
The video and audio is tremendous once again. These specials are all so good. They have never looked better or sounded better ever. I am very impressed yet again; what more can I continue to say about these digitally remastered sets?. Warner continues to do a great job on this remastering of all these classic specials. Snoopy's Reunion special runs 23:13 and has 4 chapter stops, which you an use via your DVD remote. The Flashbeagle special runs 24:18 and has 5 chapter stops.
As for special features, we get a nice featurette! It is titled "Together Again: A Peanuts Voice-Cast Reunion" and runs 9:49. Some of the actors who have voiced these beloved characters over the years were reunited at ComicCon 2008. This is very neat to see how they look and more importantly, sound now. Interviewed and seen are Lee Mendelson, Peter Robbins, Sally Dryer, Chris DeFaria, Jason Mendelson, Gabrielle DeFaria Ritter, Hilary Momberger, and Robin Kohn Glazer. We also get Trailers from other Warner animation titles (Follow That Bird, Charlie Brown Valentine and Easter), which some also are auto-played before the main menu starts.
I once again highly do recommend this set for any Charlie Brown-Peanuts fan and classic animation in general. Snoopy shines here! There are many fans of Snoopy out there, and this special is truly all about him. There is no Charlie Brown in the title, which is very rare for a Peanuts special. Warner continues to do a wonderful job with the remastering and the behind the scenes extras of each special. Let's hope they continue to release more Peanuts specials and eventually we get them all remastered in our personal libraries! So reunite yourself with this DVD on your couch and then you can also break-dance as well!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Charlie Brown Specials

Blog DVD Review: The Paper Chase - Season One

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Review! Today we take a look at Shout! Factory's The Paper Chase - Season One. The Paper Chase is a 1978-79 television series (later revived feom 1983-86) based on a 1970 novel by John Jay Osborn, Jr., as well as a 1973 film based on the novel. It follows the lives of law student James T. Hart and his classmates at Harvard Law School. See skees53's Blog DVD Review of The Paper Chase - Season One:

The Paper Chase - Season One (Shout!, $49.98) takes viewers through the "first years" of James T. Hart (James Stephens), a first year law school student at Harvard Law School, and his dealings with his tough as nails professor, Charles Kingsfield (John Houseman). James is a young man that grew up in a small Midwestern town and now faces a totally different world that he was never prepared for at Harvard Law School, but is determined to make it in spite of the challenges, the biggest challenge being Professor Kingsfield. As Professor Kingsfield's opening narrative for each episode says, "the study of law is something new and unfamiliar to most of you, unlike any other schooling you have ever known before. You teach yourselves the law, but I train your minds. You come in here with a skull full of mush and, if you survive, you'll leave thinking like a lawyer." The series was based upon the popular film and book of the same title, and ran for one season on CBS in 1978-1979, and was later revived as one of the first series on Showtime in 1983 to 1986.
Marilu Henner (Taxi) guest stars in the pilot episode, where we first meet our cast of characters, and things don't start out so well for Hart as he arrives late for Kingsfield's class. One of Hart's classmates may be in serious trouble, and decides to count on Hart to defend him from expulsion in "Great Expectations." Hart finds the perfect girlfriend but learns a secret that he'd rather not know when her father is killed (by mobsters) in "Nancy." Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City) guest stars in "Da Da," where one of Hart's classmates is having a hard enough time dealing with married life, let alone the fact that his wife (Cattrall) is pregnant! The women's liberation movement hits Harvard Law when the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is on campus and asked why he has never hired a female law clerk in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice."
One of the classmates finds out why it is never acceptable to cheat in "An Act of Desperation." In "The Man in the Chair," the study group has a new member that is in a wheelchair and they do a lot for him--in fact, too much--which backfires. Hart tutors a black woman that was admitted to the college by affirmative action when he is short on cash in "A Matter of Honor." Hart gets to be Kingsfield's apprentice in "The Apprentice." We go into another class at the law school in "Once More with Feeling," and this professor (Robert Reed, The Brady Bunch) has some serious ethical problems. Hart is out to do better than Kingsfield did on an earlier case in "The Clay Footed Idol." Hart and Kingsfield go directly against each other in a legal case in "The Tables Down at Ernie's."
The set has the three standard double slimcases inside the slipcase. Inside each slimcase, we find two discs (for a total of six discs), which really have no artwork except for the series name on different law-related backgrounds. The back of each slimcase lists all of the episodes contained on the discs, and there is also an episode booklet that contains episode descriptions, original airdates, and even quotes from some of the episodes. The menus on the set are very basic, with the theme song playing in the background (performed by Seals and Croft of "Summer Breeze" fame, by the way), and options of Play All and Episodes. That is really about all there is to the menus. Once you select an episode, it plays immediately, with chapters placed at all of the appropriate places.
The video and audio quality of the episodes has a tendency to be a little rough at times, but it isn't terrible. The picture quality is rather clear, but there are some issues with grain and scratches, and there are some unusual color issues at the beginning of some of the episodes. The audio is somewhat dull, but adequate, presented in mono. Closed-captioning is nowhere to be found on the set. There is some variance in runtimes (running anywhere from about 46 minutes to 48 minutes), and since I've never seen the series before this DVD set, it is hard to say whether or not this is normal. However, my best guess is that this fluctuation is nothing to be concerned with, and that the episodes are probably fine.
Unlike virtually every other recent Shout! Factory release, we are left with no special features on this set. It is unfortunate, but it isn't a big deal. The series really didn't produce any prominent actors, as most of them did not really go on to bigger things after the series ended. Really, in a way, the lack of special features almost is almost fitting for a series like this--it allows the episodes to speak for themselves.
This is the first time that I've ever seen the series, and I have to admit that I found the series, much like Professor Kingsfield's demeanor, a bit difficult to approach at first. This is definitely one of those series that requires an attention span to watch the episodes. You can't just have it on in the background while you are doing something else; you have to fully focus on the series (again, just like you would if you were studying for Kingsfield's class). But there is no question that this series is a quality series with solid writing and scripts. This is not a series that I'd recommend for any classic TV fan in general, because many people out there will have a hard time understanding the series, but for fans of more "sophisticated" programming (or law school students) are certain to enjoy this series. Of course, fans of the film will also enjoy this series, as there are many similarities to the film. You will now be dismissed... but only when I permit you to do so!

Reviewed by skees53
(4/5 stars)

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Blog DVD Review: Dynasty - The Fourth Season, Volume One (4/7)

Welcome to another edition of Blog DVD Reviews. This week we take a look at CBS DVD's Dynasty - The Fourth Season, Volume One. Dynasty is of course the primetime soap that was a bit hit for many years and it was so addictive! The tale of the Carrington family is so rich and interesting. See my blog DVD review of Dynasty - The Fourth Season, Volume One:

Dynasty - The Fourth Season, Volume One (CBS DVD, $35.98) brings us the first 14 episodes of the fourth season of the mega-hit ABC '80s series Dynasty on a 3-disc set! John Forsythe, Linda Evans and Joan Collins continue to heat up the show as the season begins where season three left off...I won't give it away, but the keyword is fire! This is the season where it reached its highest state thus far...it was #3 in the ratings for the season. Seasons 3-6 all were in the time of the height of the popularity, with season five hitting number one. The series lasted 9 seasons on ABC, from 1981-89. We get the first half of the fourth season (1983-84) on this volume one set of the fourth season. Again, I don't understand why they are splitting the seasons in half. The show only had 27 episodes for season four...it's not like it was over 30 or 35. Anyway, Michael Nader joins the cast this season as Farnsworth 'Dex' Dexter, Alexis' new suitor. Among the other storylines wee see this season is a wedding vows renewal for Blake and Krystle!
Each episode on this set is between 46-47 minutes on average, with most of the episodes just below 47 minutes. Nearly every CBS DVD has a disclaimer on the back of the box saying, "Some episodes maybe be edited from their original network versions." So there is a chance something could be edited, but I didn't see anything, as the runtimes were fairly consistent, lowest was 46:35 and highest was 47:05. There are 6 chapter stops each for every episode, counting the opening and closing credits stops. The video is on par with the previous season and it looks good. Just some debris here and there on the opening credits, like flashing black dots, but it is still good quality. The audio is decent, a nice sounding mono...that is crisp and clear. No problems here at all.
Packaging once again is a snap case holding three discs inside, sort of similar to the two third season volumes. Again the discs don't overlap each other, which is great. Discs one and two are in the white plastic