TV on DVD - December 13, 2005

Well yes, I know I missed last week, and considering what this week's DVD list looks like compared with last week's I suppose some people could accuse me of skipping the hard weeks. Truth is that there was a lot of stuff on my not blogging plate, complicated by the fact that I haven't been sleeping well the past little while - don't know why not but I haven't. I've been compensating - or have been forced to compensate by my body - with afternoon siestas which in turn mean I haven't been getting as good a night's sleep as I should, but what can you do when you almost fall asleep while typing. And yeah I did get the final result of Survivor wrong but the optimal strategy was still right.

Mercifully short list this week and quite a bit of it good stuff.

Dukes of Hazzard: The Complete Fifth Season
- Ah the most infamous season of all for the denizens of Hazard County, when "them Duke boys" weren't Bo and Luke but Coy and Vance. John Schneider and Tom Wopat got into a salary dispute and Warner Brothers, apparently forgetting what happened with Clint Walker and Jim Garner back in the late 1950s, decided that their young stars were interchangable cogs which could be swapped out at will. Coy was Byron Cherry (and whatever happened to him) while Vance was Christopher Mayer who actually had a career after driving the General Lee, usually working as Chip Mayer. They were on the show for 18 episodes before vanishing - quite literally - from the Duke Family Tree never to be spoken of again to this very day. In fact neither set of cousins appears on the front of this set - though Coy and Vance seem to appear on one end - all we see are The General and Daisy. And after all those were the main reasons a lot of us watched the show.

Family Bonds: The Complete First Season
- Never heard of it. Apparently a 10 part HBO "documentary" series (read non-competitive reality show) following a family of bailbondsmen and "recovery specialists" on their job. No appeal to me at all, and since it appears that HBO isn't actually going to do a second season, not much appeal to anybody else.

Farscape: Season 3, Collection 1 (Starburst Edition)
- I've said it before and I'll probably have to say it again, how many different ways can they find to package the same thing? Starburst Edition, full season edition etcetera etcetera.

Gilmore Girls: The Complete Fifth Season
- I don't think I've ever watched a full episode of Gilmore Girls but from what little I've seen, the show has some excellent witty writing, and the fact that it doesn't really appeal to me only means that it doesn't appeal to me. Certainly it is one of the most successful WB series, and the stars are very appealing.

Miami Vice: Season Two
- Miami Vice was as much a product of its time as any series can be. It not only reflected its time and place but also set trends. Who could forget the cars, the pastel shades and modernistic chic of Miami, and Don Johnson's purposely stubbled face, not to mention Jan Hammer's score. In a very real way Miami Vice also served as a starring vehicle for Edward James Olmos. Sure he'd done some work before Miami Vice including The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez which he not only starred in but wrote produced and even composed the music for, but Miami Vice was his big break as a mainstream star.

Rambo, Vol. 5: Snow Raid
Rambo, Vol. 6: Face of Freedom
- Just what we need more badly animated Rambo for kids - the horror, the horror. And remember, this was a daily cartoon show for a year.

Reba: Season 2
- I know that there are some people - no, make that a lot of people - who don't understand why Reba McEntire not only has a sitcom but how that sitcom has managed to survive into its fifth season. Well the fact is that the show is funny, although most of the credit for that doesn't go to McEntire (who isn't the worst actor in the world but isn't going to win any Emmy's either) but to her supporting cast and in particular Melissa Peterman as Barbara Jean (a woman who at best marches to the beat of a different drum - her logic is not the same as our earth logic). The interaction between Reba and Barbara Jean is classic, and is only compounded when Reba's not terribly bright son-in-law Van (Steve Howey) is added to the mix.

The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season (Collectible Marge Head Pack)
The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season
- Two packages for the latest compilation of Simpson's episodes. One is a boring old regular box for those of us who have shelves for out DVDs and one is a match for the Season 6 Homer's Head package, this time featuring Marge (but her hair is scaled way down). Obvious must for Simpsons fans of course.

Tour of Duty: Entire Series
- All three seasons of Tour of Duty brought together in a single set in a package made to look like an Army footlocker. Usual warnings apply - buy only if you don't already have the individual seasons, but if you know someone who likes the series and doesn't already have the DVDs, this could be a great Christmas gift.