TV on DVD – August 28, 2007

Here we go again with another week's worth of new DVDs – just about in time for next week's DVDs. A lot of time spent goofing off but also doing things that I really rather that I wouldn't be doing – but mostly goofing off. Still I did want to get this one done. As always the list come from TVShowsonDVD.com – only the commentary is mine.

My Pick Of The Week
Friday Night Lights: The First Season
We're starting to see the first wave last season's shows coming to DVD, a wave that will roll on through September and into October. This week includes the first season DVDs for two of NBC's shows that have been renewed for next season. One was a huge, mega-hit. The other barely hung on because Kevin Reilly loved it. So naturally the one I'm going to tell you to buy is the one that Kevin Reilly loved but which barely hung on otherwise. The show is Friday Night Lights and what I forgot to mention is that most professional critics, including a lot that I have tremendous respect for also loved the show. And by the way, I love the show to the point where I tell everyone I can to watch it. This, by the way, is why it is my pick of the week; the sincere hope that by getting people to watch the DVD of the show will lead in turn to them watching the show on Friday nights this coming season, and not coincidentally the hope that having lots of people buying the DVDs will tell NBC that there is an audience for this show so that they don't make any snap decisions.

Oh, make no mistake, this is a worthy series to be supporting. While on the surface it may seem to be about football, with a hearty dose of teen angst for good measure, that's not what it's about. Those elements are there of course, but the show is really multi-layered, like the sort of small city that it portrays and with just as many surprises. A lesser show might focus on the teen angst aspects like the cheerleader who goes to bed with her paralyzed boyfriend's best friend, and would almost certainly make the kids magazine cover perfect in appearance. Or they might focus on football and the pressures that football puts on the coach and the players, with a player choosing to do steroids while another is a not particularly well concealed alcoholic. They might focus on the coach and his family as they deal with the pressure that he's under both as a coach and a father. And so on. The point is though, that all of those elements and more are melded into an almost entirely seamless whole. The quality of the acting and of the writing are superior to much of what is seen on TV today.

Now for the rest of this week's new TV related DVDs.

Beyond Belief: Season 1
I confess, I shudder more than a little bit when I see a title like Beyond Belief because I know, deep down in the very pit of my stomach that they're going to make me waste my time watching them "comvince" me that something that any sane logical person would never believe is in fact the whole unvarnished truth. Oddly enough, reading the synopsis in Wikipedia I find that this series takes a somewhat unique approach. The show, which ran from off and on between 1997-2002, mingled true which defy logic with equally illogical fictions and asked the viewer to figure out which was which. Oh to be sure, they were still trying to make the unbeliever believe the unbelievable but at least it's an approach. The first season was hosted by James Brolin and narrated by the one and only voice of the movie trailers, Don LaFontaine.

Dangermouse: The Complete Series
For those fans who haven't bought any of the previous four DVD sets which cover the series ten seasons and 89 episodes, there's this complete set priced at roughly the same amount that you'd pay if you bought the episodes individually – assuming of course you could find them. There's no "added value" in this new set in terms of material that wasn't available previously so if you've already got the previous sets there's no reason to get this unless you're a collector who is also a "completeist."

Dark Shadows: The Beginning, Episodes 1-35
I never have understood the Dark Shadows phenomenon – one of the disadvantages of living in a one TV station town, particularly one that prided itself on local programming is that I never got to see the series when it came out, at the prime age to be a fan apparently. It seems that, having released all the episodes featuring Barnabbas Collins (which I gather was the principal draw for the series), they have now decided to release the first 250 or so episodes that didn't feature Barnabas. Dark Shadows is one of the few "daytime dramas" (aka Soap Operas) where it is feasible to release the complete series on DVD. I'd like to see them try that with The Edge of Night (I really would actually).

Flight 29 Down, Vol. 2
I had no idea that this show even existed. Ten teenagers are on a plane that crashes on a remote island in the Pacific, although the focus of the show is really only on seven of them. Yeah, I know what it sounds like, but there are a lot of differences from Lost. For one thing, there are no hatches, black smoke or polar bears. It's not all sunshine and lollipops for these castaways though. There's conflict between the kids (of course) but the big thing is actually figuring out how to survive – finding food and drinkable water, exploring the island and trying to contact the outside world. There are a number of "soapy" moments on the show with various crushes and relationship conflicts. This is a single disk, and maddeningly Amazon doesn't list the episodes that are on the disk.

Heroes: Season 1
Heroes: Season 1 [HD DVD]
Obviously, if it weren't for Friday Night Lights this would have been my pick of the week...maybe (I do have a fondness for The Odd Couple though). While others drew valid links between Heroes and the Marvel Comics series The X-Men, I always linked it closer to DC's Legion of Super-Heroes but that's probably because I was always a DC disciple rather than a Marvel Maniac. The first season of the series is structured in an interesting manner as the characters individually discover their abilities and begin to develop relationships. Threats and menaces are revealed or seem to be revealed as there are characters who seem to be villains, those whose villainy is eminently obvious and those whose schemes are carefully plotted and only emerges over the course of time (and is eventually hijacked but that would blow the finale). The reaction of the characters, ranging from confusion to an unwillingness to accept what is happening to the pure exuberance that Hiro Nakamura has in his discovery that he can emulate the comic book heroes that he's always loved is almost magical. The series looked great on regular TV so it must be spectacular in a High Definition format.

I Shouldn't Be Alive
With a title like I Shouldn't Be Alive this basically sounds like the worst sort of tabloid TV, but it comes from the Discovery Channel. The series recreates true stories of survival narrated by the people who lived them (who are portrayed by actors, usually for reasons like missing appendages). The series ran for three seasons and a total of 19 hour long episodes.

Legion of the Superheroes, Vol. 1
I mentioned above that Heroes reminded me of the Legion of Superheroes. No surprise there, they were my second favourite super team (I've always had a real soft spot for the Justice Society, which beats out the Legion, but then I saw the Legion a lot more because they came out every month or so and the Society showed up once a year). Like the cast of Heroes the Legion just kept growing and growing and included some pretty odd characters (like Bouncing Boy who, well he inflated his body and bounced, and Matter Eater Lad, whose super power was that he could eat anything). While there are a lot of Legion members available for the producers to use, they seem to have wisely focussed on a core group consisting of Superboy, the fiery and somewhat egotistical Lightning Lad, the level headed telepath Saturn Girl, the brilliant Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl who is a bit of a spoiled princess, Triplicate Girl who can split into three copies of herself, Timber Wolf who has an appearance like a werewolf and is described as "a loner but longs to be closer to people," and Bouncing Boy. The presentation of the characters is more stylized than the recent Justice League series, owing a lot more to the style of the Teen Titans TV series. This set includes four half hour episodes.

Masters of Horror: Season 1
In a previous listing of DVDs I talked about a couple of releases from the second season of Masters of Horror and at the time I mentioned that in terms of cost you'd be better off buying a complete set. This is the Season One complete set brought all together (the episodes had previously been released individually, and then on two "regular" boxed sets). I like the idea of releasing the episodes of this anthology series on individual discs for fans who only want episodes from specific writers or directors, particularly given that each disk has plenty of space for extras (and the time to make them) but buying individually doesn't make sense to me if you want the whole thing. Buying a set like this does make sense to me. I'd like to see other anthology shows try this approach if they can deliver quality material, but in the end the costs just might not be right.

Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide: Field Trips, Permission Slips, And Weasels
A Nickelodeon series, so I don't know if this one ever aired in Canada. The fact that it is unavailable for Amazon.ca may indicate...something (I just don't know what). It took some work to find out what is on this particular disk. I eventually discovered that this is the series finale, a double length episode. I suppose if you're a fan of the series it's probably worth it.

The Odd Couple: The Complete Second Season
When I think of The Odd Couple I always think of Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, never of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Always. Apparently the show never got really strong ratings during its first run but it really nailed them during the summer and was renewed on the strength of those summer ratings. I suppose this should serve as a lesson to network programmers who pull the plug on series after one or two episodes air, but we know it won't. The second season was notable for the switch to a three camera system in front of a studio audience rather than a one camera shoot with a laugh track and this seems to have made a difference for Randall and Klugman as they both hated the canned laughter. Both men were nominated for Emmys in each year that the show ran. One of the classic series of the early 1970s, it just gets better with age. Unfortunately this release has two things going against it: some music from the original episodes was replaced for music clearance problems – but they tell you this up front and by all reports it isn't egregious (unlike the release of WKRP In Cincinnati) – and the other is a total lack of extras, which in my book is more serious.

The Outer Limits, Vol. 2: Original Series
The Outer Limits was one of the greatest anthology shows of the early 1960s even though it's greatness really wasn't recognised at the time. After all it only ran two years and the second season was a "mere" 17 episodes long. Some series today would beg for a run as long as 17 episodes, but the first season of The Outer Limits ran for 32 episodes. This DVD set represents the second half of the first season. The star in this series is the writing, since most of the actors are either character actors or young players who hadn't made a mark yet and in many cases never would. At the same time there were faces who would become well known – the episodes on this set include performances by Richard Jaeckel, Marion Ross, Dabney Coleman, Robert Duvall, Warren Oates and Leonard Nimoy. In addition some episodes had an influence on the work of Gene Rodenberry, notably the episode Fun And Games.

Rick and Steve: Season 1
Never even heard of this one before. The full title isRick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World. Apparently it's a computer animiated series featuring the titular Rick and Steve and their circle of friends and done for the LOGO network in the US which is aimed at the Gay, Lebsian, Bisexual and Transgendered community. From the picture in Wikipedia the characters bear something of a resemblance to some toys you can buy for little kids in that they seem kind of blocky. There's not much more I can say about it having only seen the Wikipedia article and the image they included with it.

Samurai Jack: Season 4
I've never seen an episode of Samurai Jack which, based on what I've read, is my loss. I can't judge really but the stills I've seen look stunning and the series seems to be highly regarded.

Tutenstein, Vol. 3
An animated series on Discovery Kids, this is a series that I kind of have a hard time picturing. The mummy of a ten year-old Egyptian boy is restored to life after 3,000 years. Tutankhensetamun, aka Tutenstein but usually known as Tut, is rude egotistical and careless which is not unlike the way he was when he was alive. Another one that I haven't seen and like Samurai Jack, an Emmy winner, not that that necessarily means much.

TV on DVD – August 21, 2007

I made it down to the Dakota Dunes Casino on Monday and enjoyed myself even though it wasn't quite what I was expecting. It wasn't as large as I thought it would be somehow. The lunch I had (for free thanks to a coupon) was delicious but lacking a little – chicken balls without any obvious sauce? There were four poker tables but none in operation, though I suspect that would have changed in the evening. There seemed to be fewer table games than at the old Emerald Casino which was closed so that this place could open. There were a lot – and I mean a lot - of slot machines, which after all are the big money makers for any casino. And in an odd sort of way this reminded me of a lot of DVD releases including, but not limited to, the releases of TV shows on DVD. They frequently aren't exactly what you were expecting, the Extras are satisfying, but sometimes seem to be lacking, and the stuff you want sometimes either isn't there or not available in the abundance that you were hoping for. But it's still enjoyable.

Anyway down to business. As always while the comments are mine the list originates with the good folks at TVShowsOnDVD.com.

My Pick Of The Week

I confess I'm really in a quandary over this one. The show I would pick is presented in a very no-frills package, is a show that is at best a niche interest and while it may be the show that I'd want to watch I honestly don't think it is the best package of the week. On the other hand it really is a lacklustre week compared even with next week's list of releases. Still I feel obliged to do one and it comes down to one of two first season shows. And the winner is:

Dexter: Season 1
There's really just one reason why this wins my favour over the first season of Ugly Betty and that is accessibility. Dexter is only available on the Showtime premium cable channel in the United States and on either of the two movie networks in Canada. Chances are, therefore, that most people probably haven't seen the series. People are more likely to have seen Ugly Betty since it airs on ABC. Not, mind you, that Dexter is without its charms. Chief amongst these of course is Michael C. Hall as the title character, a sociopath whose homicidal urges have been channelled by his adoptive father into killing other serial killers and heinous criminals who have escaped justice. Remembering Hall from his work on Six Feet Under (which I have seen) he would seem to be a perfect fit for the part. On his earlier show he played a character who – for the most part – seemed to be holding himself under tight self-control. This of course is exactly the quality that a serial killer working for the police force as part of a double life would possess. It is because Dexter is a new show and one which is on premium cable channels that it gets to be my relatively unenthusiastic pick of the week.

And now for the rest of the week's DVDs.

Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan: Cesar's Toughest Cases
Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan: Power of the Pack
Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan: The Complete Second Season
I gotta tell you that despite being a dog lover I don't get the whole notion of The Dog Whisperer phenomenon. Obviously the title refers to the Robert Redford movie The Horse Whisperer, but the basic principles that Cesar Millan is trying to show – that it is usually the owners who are the root of the problem rather than the animals themselves, and that the owner needs to establish himself or herself as the leader of the animal's "pack" is something that goes back to British dog trainer Barbara Woodhouse, but without all of the psychological mumbo-jumbo that Millan seems to pile on. In addition there are more than a few concerns from veterinarians and others about Millan's methods, as stated in part of the Wikipedia article on the show.

House: Season Three
I love House and Season 3 was one of the show's better outings. You had the character seemingly restored to good health, only to plunge back into his addiction in a manner that seems to prove that House is an addict with pain rather than one because of pain. He is provided with a nemesis to rage against in the form of Detective Tritter (David Morse in an Emmy nominated performance) while those surrounding him are revealed to be enabling him. After the matter of House's addiction is "solved" we find ourselves dealing with the relationship between House and his team in terms of the Chase-Cameron relationship, and Foreman's increasing fear that working so closely with House will strip away his humanity and leave him increasingly like his mentor. The season has some great episodes, although none of them really has the personal impact on House that episodes like "No Reason" (Season 2) or "Three Stories" (Season 1) did.

I Pity the Fool: Season 1
Let's face it, Mr. T has always been about the over the top personality, so what could be better than a reality show that shows off his personality. In I Pity The Fool, Mr. T (I don't know him so I don't feel comfortable calling him just T, particularly since he could still probably whup my skinny white ass if he wanted) goes from town to town helping people in typical Mr. T fashion. I've never seen it but the very notion of Mr. T helping students with a dance recital has comedy written all over it, and whether Mr. T realises it or is entirely serious about what he's doing doesn't diminish it.

JAG: Season 4
It's interesting that in reading the reviews of this week's DVD releases at Blogcritics the reviewer states that it is "a series whose popularity I never could fathom." I don't really think that it's all that hard. People like shows about lawyers and have done since Perry mason was winning every case and making Hamilton Burger look like his name (I wonder if Erle Stanley Gardner was aware that at some point in his life his prosecutor character would be ridiculed by someone calling him "Ham Burger" – probably). Add to that the fact that the setting is not just the military – which is a part of society that many people have ties to but which is still a world that most don't have an intimate knowledge of – but the Navy, which is a branch of service with its own customs and traditions and even its own legal peculiarities (for example an officer can be prosecuted for an accident that happens to the ship when he is officer of the deck even if he isn't actually in command; the punishment is usually a reprimand and can affect future promotion). Oh yeah, and having insanely attractive leads (David James Elliott and Catherine Bell) doesn't hurt either. And jets, let's not forget the jets. Plus the show, which tended to skew to an older audience, worked well on CBS at a time (before CSI) when the network needed shows that attracted viewers.

Life Begins: Series 1
I've never seen the British series Life Begins but the plot summary provided by Wikipedia somehow makes it sound like a dramatic version of The New Adventures Of Old Christine. In the first season Maggie Mee (Caroline Quentin) suddenly finds her marriage (which she thought was fine) broken up by a younger woman and is forced to cope with finding a job and raising her two kids on her own, even though her ex-husband in scarcely out of the picture. The difference of course is that while ...Old Christine plays this entirely for laughs, whether it's the continued presence of her ex-husband in her life, raising her child or her sex life, Life Begins apparently deals with the same sort of issues with a serious approach; Caroline has to get a job for the first time in a long time, she has to consider whether to take her philandering husband back or try to develop a relationship with another man, and then there's her father who is in the early stages or Alzheimers. Everything about this show makes it seem like the sort of show that the British do so well and which would never be seen on an American broadcast network...mores the pity.

Man About the House: Complete Series 1 and 2
I so wanted to make this DVD set my pick of the week, but I just couldn't do it. There was a time, back in the 1970s when Canadians saw a lot of British comedies because of a loophole in Canadian Content regulations that counted British and French series as Canadian – or maybe it was just "not American." Either meant that they were a cheap way to increase the percentage of Canadian shows to American programming on your station or network. We saw shows like Doctor In The House, On The Buses, Please Sir, and Yes Minister well before most of them found their way onto American channels. One of those shows was Man About The House. Most people know Man About The House as the model for Three's Company but in my opinion the original was the superior show. While Suzanne Summers character Chrissy Snow always came across as sexy but really dumb, Sally Thomsett's Jo was more naive than dumb. Richard Sullivan's portrayal of Robin Tripp was a much less physical form of comedy than John Ritter's Jack Tripper became. The relationship between Robin and Chrissy Plummer had far more of a sense of unresolved sexual tension than the Jack and Janet relationship did (and I'm was a Jack and Janet 'shipper) and the characters realised it – Robin and Chrissy come close to having sex in a later season and when Chrissy eventually marries Robin's brother, you get the sense that she thinks she might have married the wrong Tripp. (Forget the cover of the DVD set – Paula Wilcox who played Chrissy was hot.) Best of all though were Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as George and Mildred Roper. Much as I love and respect Norman Fell nothing can compare with Murphy and his ginger hair and truly absurd comb-over. So why isn't it my pick of the week? The big ones are that there are only 13 episodes, despite the fact we're talking two seasons here, that it isn't from a major company (BCI-Eclipse – my prejudice of course), and worst of all that there are no extras, despite the fact that there are only 13 half-hours on two discs. And the sad truth is that we probably will never get a release of this series that contains interviews or other features. And I'm such a fan of this show that I really want extras.

South Park: Season 10
I've never been able to stand South Park and I don't feel comfortable saying anything about this series.

'Til Death: The Complete First Season
'Til Death isn't the best comedy on TV, but it is the best (non-animated) comedy on FOX – not that that's saying much. The show's biggest asset is Brad Garrett (in all sorts of ways) even though his character in this – history teacher Eddie Stark – lacks the put-upon quality that made Robert such a great comic creation in Everybody Loves Raymond. The combination of Garrett with Joely Fisher creates a married couple which, unlike many sitcom couples, seems real. The look like they could have been married for twenty-four years, and if nothing else have become comfortable with each other. There's just no truly pressing reason to buy this set though.

Ugly Betty: The Complete First Season
I have two confessions to make. First, I have never seen an episode of Ugly Betty. Watching it would interfere with my Survivor and Big Brother addictions. That I am addicted to those two shows is my second confession by the way. Even though I haven't seen Ugly Betty it seems to be the sort of show that I could embrace (if it weren't for those pesky reality shows). The show is based on the Colombian telenovella Yo soy Betty, la fea it is billed by the network as a "dramedy." And I suppose that if played "straight" it would have qualities similar to something like Melrose Placer some of the other night time soaps. What sets Ugly Betty apart is that it isn't played completely straight, it satirizes the culture of beauty that devalues someone who isn't "perfect" by the prevailing standards of beauty. Betty has a better education than just about anyone else in the office (though she's not as well educated as her Colombian counterpart who has a Masters in Finance) but is scorned because her fashion sense is less than ideal, she wears horned rimmed glasses and has braces on her teeth. Even so she becomes the real power behind the throne at work. There is so much that is over the top in this show, like the boss's transsexual brother/sister Alex/Alexis (played by Rebecca Romijn) who is out for revenge on her family, a dizzying number of affairs and assorted machinations. Definitely a show worth watching from the start, something that the DVD set makes possible – even for me (if I could ever find the time).

TV On DVD – August 14, 2007

After a week's hiatus I'm determined to get this one out as quickly as possible while still maintaining some semblance of standards. Well at least I got the standards part mostly right. As always, the original list comes from the TV Shows On DVD website. There's a couple of bits of editorializing on value for money – just a warning.

My Pick of the Week
The Fugitive: Vol. 1, Season 1
One of the truly legendary television series of the 1960s. The show is really an anthology series but with a continuing storyline based on Victor Hugo's Les Miserable. David Jansen, whose face always possessed a world weary quality is well cast as Richard Kimble while Barry Morse (a Brit who is a naturalised Canadian – yes, he's still alive and kicking) took the thankless role of Lt. Philip Gerard, Javert to Jansen's Jean Valjean. By having the lead character being a man on the run the audience is given an entry point into various stories that make the series an anthology. While Kimble's search for the "one armed man" and Gerard's pursuit of Kimble are always there, they are only rarely the central aspect of the story.

So why is this my prick of the week? Well, a big chunk of it is nostalgia. It was something that I watched as a kid (and was angry when the local station lost the rights to the series before the finale which I only saw around the time that the movie came out). The other part though is that the series was well done. The anthology aspect of it was a logical outgrowth of Kimble chasing and being chased. As much as I enjoyed Andrew Davis's movie version it lacked the time to develop the characters that the TV series had and – obviously – the opportunities to tell stories about the people that Kimble had an impact on during his time as a fugitive. (The less said about the 2000 series with Tim Daly and Mikelti Williamson the better. The producers of that fiasco just didn't get it.) Even without special features, this is a set to get.

All Creatures Great and Small: The Complete Series 7 Collection
All Creatures Great and Small: The Complete Collection
Series 7 was the last for this great British series, and I'm sad to say that it isn't one of my favourites. By this point the series has long since abandoned James Herriot's original stories and in the seventh season they seem to have tried to recapture the magic of the series by bringing Peter Davison back to the series as Tristan Farnon. By this time Davison had of course played The Doctor on Doctor Who as well as starring in Campion and A Very Peculiar Practice. So twelve years after the series debuted (and after about fourteen years and a World War had passed within the continuity of the series) Davison was basically back playing a Tristan who was little changed by his experiences (in the books, Tristan never returned to the practice and instead worked for the Ministry of Agriculture after being an officer during the war). Of course I never got over the replacement of Carol Drinkwater as Helen by Lynda Bellingham who always looked too old for the part though she and Drinkwater are the same age. Still even poor (in my opinion) episodes are better than a lot of shows that are on TV today.

Avatar Last Airbender V4 Bk2
I willingly admit to my ignorance. I have absolutely no idea of what this animated series is about. I do know that it is supposed to be quite popular with both critics and viewers, but while I'm sure it airs on some cable station in Canada (probably YTV) I've never seen it and given that the storyline appears to be quite complex I have no doubt that to fully appreciate it I'd have to start at the beginning.

Baby Looney Tunes, Vol. 4
Some ideas seem like a good thing at the time but turn out to be bad later. I can't believe that this isn't one of them. The concept of the classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies characters as infants is less appalling than the idea behind the series Loonatics, but really not be that much. Save your money for the next edition of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection and see the characters as they were meant to be seen.

Doctor Who: Robot
Doctor Who: Survival
Two serials from the classical era of Doctor Who. Robot is the episode which introduced Tom Baker and I hate to say it but it isn't a particularly great episode, being rather derivative of King Kong in places (mostly the final episode where a giant robot menaces a village while carrying Sarah Jane in its hand). Still, any episode with Sarah Jane, the Brigadier, Sgt. Benton and Harry Sullivan can't be all bad. I confess to actually enjoying Survival almost as much. It was the last episode of the series' first run, which means Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor and Ace as a companion who was nowhere near as intelligent as Sarah Jane but would sooner kick an enemy in the bollocks than scream. I liked Ace and have always wondered about her final fate. The episode also marks the final appearance of Ace as a companion who was nowhere near as intelligent as Sarah Jane but would sooner kick an enemy in the bollocks than scream. I liked Ace and have always wondered about her final fate. The episode also marks the final appearance of Anthony Ainley as The Master, and quite honestly it looked like the character might have made his final appearances as well (but of course you can't keep a good villain down – death is at best a minor inconvenience). I also find the Cheetah people a far more interesting menace than the robot and the collection of vaguely mad boffins who created it. That said, like every Whovian worth his grotzits, I believe that Sarah Jane is The Doctor's greatest companion.

Dynasty: Season 2
The second season of Dynasty was when the series really came into its own with the introduction of Alexis Carrington, played with a delicious wickedness by Joan Collins who plays wickedness with the energetic delight of someone who may have just a touch (or more) of it in herself. Before the arrival of Alexis, Dynasty can probably be summed up as a fairly poor Dallas knock off. With Alexis it developed an incredible over-the-top quality that no other show matched. You'd believe the most outrageous things with Alexis. Annual cat fights with your ex-husband's new trophy wife? I believe it. Screwing your boyfriend to a heart attack and then literally marrying him on his deathbed? It was absolutely believable on this show, if it was Joan Collins doing it. She made the word Bitch practically an honour that you had to be worthy of.

Elvis: The Mini Series
This is the CBS miniseries from a couple of years ago that starred Jonathon Rhys Meyers as "The King." I`ve never seen it; I confess to never having been a huge Elvis fan – or even a small Elvis fan. Apparently it was quite good, with Meyer's portrayal of young Elvis being good enough to win an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries (yet another example of a British – well Irish – actor taking the bread out of the mouth of a deserving Canadian actor who could have played the role ;-) ). However, as I say, I am in no position to judge.

Home Run Derby, Vol. 2
Hmm. This is an interesting sounding show that I've never heard of before. Basically Major League ball players in 1959 came to the Los Angeles Wrigley Field (former home of the Pacific Coast League's Los Angeles Angels an occasional home of the Dodgers before they moved into Dodger Stadium) and participated in a head-to-head home run hitting contest. There'd be nine "innings" and each player would get three outs per inning – an out being defined as any hit that was not a home run or any pitch not hit that was in the strike zone. The winner of each game would win the princely sum of $2,000 with a bonus of $500 for any player who hit three straight homers, an extra $500 for the fourth homer and $1,000 for every consecutive homer after that. The winner would also return to "defend" his title. In the days before free agency when player salaries were a lot lower than they are today, that was a pretty good supplement to a player's income. The series was apparently popular but was cancelled in 1960 when host Mark Scott died suddenly of a heart attack at age 45. This set focuses on the show's biggest money winner, Henry Aaron who won six straight "games" and $13,000. Certainly an interesting relic of the period.

The Kids in the Hall: Pilot Episode
The pilot for the legendary Canadian comedy series never before released on DVD; who wouldn't want that? Well apparently, Canadians. It is not available from Amazon.ca. Well at least they don't make it easy; searching the site with either a partial or complete title reveals nothing but entering the ASIN # obtained from the Amazon.com website produces a page for The Kids in the Hall: The Pilot Episode! Certainly it's a bit of absurdity worthy of the Kids in the Hall (or at least Dave Foley in a dress).

Loonatics Unleashed: The Complete Second Season
The horror, the HORROR. My recommendation on Baby Looney Tunes ("Save your money for the next edition of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection and see the characters as they were meant to be seen.") applies here as well except that it should be done as a form of penance for even thinking of buying this abortion. What were they thinking and/or smoking when they came up with this idea?

Masters of Horror: Valerie on the Stairs
Masters of Horror: We All Scream for Ice Cream
I'm not entirely familiar with this Showtime series, but the quality of the writers (Clive Barker for Valerie On The Stairs, John Farris for We All Scream For Ice Cream), directors (named here) and actors (William Forsythe, and Christopher Lloyd among others) in these two discs promises a great deal. These are Season 2 episodes; coming in a couple of weeks will be a boxed set of the Season 1 discs which had been released in the same manner. Based on price and the fact that the Season 1 set includes a previously unreleased disc of extras, you would probably be better off to wait for the eventual release of a complete Season 2 set unless you specifically want only specific episodes of the series.

Mcleod's Daughters:Season 3
Apparently this Australian series airs in Canada on the non-denominational religious channel Vision TV, and on the digital specialty channel One - the Mind, Body & Spirit Channel, all of which is by way of explaining why I have never heard of this series until now (Australian, religious channel, "Mind, Body & Spirit Channel" – none of them my cup of tea, except maybe Australian. Apparently the series is one of the most popular shows in Australia and is consistently nominated for and wins "Logies" – the Australian equivalent of the Emmy, named after John Logie Baird (the inventor of the first practical television system, "mechanical television"). Who knew?

Murder City
Why is it that so many cop shows and mysteries feature "two mismatched detectives" who find themselves working together to solve crimes? I don't know, but they do. Murder City features Amanda Donahoe as Detective Inspector Susam Alembic ("perhaps the most talented DI in her department") who is partnered with Detective Sergeant Luke Stone, played by Kris Marshall. Stone is seen by many of his colleagues as "an amateur detective" and by some as incompetent for his mistakes. I haven't seen this show, which airs on BBC America but not on BBC Canada (at least not yet) but I'm interested in anything with the alluring Ms. Donahoe, who I loved in LA Law which was before I saw her in Lair Of The White Worm where she was literally bewitching.

Overhaulin': Season 3 Vol. 2
Cars, many of them classics, overhauled for unsuspecting owners. It undoubtedly helps if you're a car guy, which for the most part I'm not.

A Pup Named Scooby Doo, Vol. 7
I'm not sure that I need to say it, but I've never been a fan of anything to do with the Scooby-Doo franchise except of course with the original link to Buffy the Vampire Slayer which is a cultural reference (which morphed when Sarah Michelle Gellar took the role of Daphne in the live action movie). Even so the notion of the adventures of Scooby-Doo as a puppy somehow seems wrong to me. On the other hand it does seem to give some background to the characters but somehow it doesn't seem right to me, Considering that only 29 episodes of this show were ever made, seven volumes seems like a lot. What it is is an effective way to get money out DVD buyers who would probably be paying less if a season set or complete series set were offered. It is, I'm sad to say, a rather common and annoying practice for the producers of DVDs aimed at kids and paid for by their parents.

TV On DVD – July 31, 2007

Here we are again (and late again) with the new TV-related DVD releases for July 31, 2007. The list is courtesy of TVShowsonDVD.com of course.

I want to try an idea here though I'm not entirely sure how I'll finally implement it. What I want to do is list one DVD as my personal pick of the week. The trouble is that I'm not entirely sure how to make this "pop" since I'm using Amazon.ca product links. For now I think I'll probably make my Pick of the Week the first DVD on the list (in the belief that you may not read all the way to the bottom so I can't put it last) and give an explanation. So without further ado (except to remind you that this is the last day to vote in the current poll) let's get started.

My Pick Of The Week:
Popeye the Sailor: 1933-1938, Vol. 1
I know why this is included in the whole TV on DVD listing – the Popeye cartoons were a standby for local TV kid's shows throughout the world – but in all honesty the cartoons in this set were probably rarely seen on TV because most were in Black & White. These were the Fleischer Brothers cartoons and date from a time when they were one of the two big, innovative, animation studios that everyone else tried to catch, and that includes Warner Brothers and MGM. Popeye with his spinach – which was never a big factor in the Segar comic strip – were almost as big as Mickey Mouse. Part of the charm is Jack Mercer's under-the-breath adlibs as Popeye something that would never happen in Disney cartoons – or indeed work from any other animation studio. As with last week's Woody Woodpecker set, a must have for the animation fan.

So why is this my pick of the week? Well I'm an unabashed animation nut, and as I mentioned the Fleischer Brothers were, at this stage of their careers were at the top of their game. The Fleischer cartoons had an urban grittiness and the studio was doing a considerable amount of innovation – their turntable system was an attempt to give depth to the image was a fascinating, if in the end impractical process – and usually on a smaller budget than Disney was spending. At times, Popeye cartoons were more popular than Mickey Mouse. As for the DVDs people more knowledgeable than I who were involved with the production of the sets absolutely rave about the quality – the set is from Warner Home Video so no real surprise there. According to Amazon site there are something like five hours of extras on the four disk set including commentaries from Jerry Beck and Mark Evanier. I'd be very happy if someone would buy this for me (Greg).

The Archie Show: The Complete Original Series
It must have seen natural to bring the character of Archie from the comic strips to animated cartoons. And it worked, introducing the musical group "The Archies" which had a real life hit in 1969 with Sugar Sugar. For the most part the show was a conventional cartoon effort of the period, with two stories separated by bumpers per episode. The series actually only lasted for on 39 episode series. It just seemed longer, given the efforts that were made to repackage the original elements.

Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
Say what you want about Babylon 5 fans and series creator J. Michael Straczynski, they won't let the series die. Babylon 5: The Lost Tales is an effort to carry the series on in a direct to DVD format. It is questionable whether the experiment is a success. The DVD features two separate stories, each about 35 minutes long. One features Tracy Scoggins's character Captain Lockley in a story of demonic possession and exorcism. The other features Bruce Boxleitner facing a dilemma when a technomage (Peter Woodward, who introduced the character in the ill-fated B-5 continuation Crusade) gives him a glimpse of the destruction of Earth in thirty years and a course of action to prevent it which is based on killing a seemingly innocent Centauri nobleman now. I don't know that this is what fans want from the Babylon 5 franchise but following the deaths of Andreas Katsulas and Richard Biggs it is apparently what Straczynski seems comfortable in giving us.

Dallas: The Complete Seventh Season
The thing about a good soap opera is that events reach conclusions even as other plots are evolving and new storylines are developing and it all blends together seamlessly. Dallas was a great soap opera. The stories were always different from season to season but they all focussed on Bobby being the good brother and JR being a thoroughgoing scoundrel on every possible level. The season starts with the aftermath of a fire at Southfork and Pam filing for divorce from Bobby, and it ends with Miss Elly being rescued from the clutches of Clayton Farlow's mentally unbalanced sister and Bobby being shot. Along the way, JR plots to ruin Cliff Barnes (as usual) and opposing with all his might Miss Elly's relationship with Clayton Farlow as well as the usual sex swearing, violence and excess drinking of the sort that would have the PTC screaming "Will no one think of the children!" if the show were on today. And all things considered it was still great entertainment.

Hawaii Five-O: Season 2
What can you say about the second season of a show like Hawaii Five-O? Coming – as the show did – from an era where writers and producers left continuity to soap operas – there's not much in the way of character development, nor did people expect it. Most episodes were self-contained so that it was a major event when any show from this period aired a two parter and no one even considered something as absurd as a cliff-hanger finale for a season. What you get in any season of Hawaii Five-0 is taut, well written action in an exotic locale. The second season features two episodes with the show's greatest recurring villain Wo Fat (Kigh Diegh). Jack Lord might even stretch his emotional range from A to B on rare occassions (C of course was too big of a step for him, at least in this series). Still, for all of its shortcomings, a truly legendary show.

The Kids of Degrassi Street: The Complete Series
If you're familiar with Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High School (not to mention Degrassi: The Next Generation), you might find The Kids of Degrassi Street a bit surprising. For one thing, while a few of the actors appeared in the later shows, none of the characters are the same. The show is more of a classic "juvenile" aimed at older pre-teens and teenagers but with appeal to their parents as well. They have the "after school special" feel about them – not surprisingly really since they aired on the CBC at 4:30 on Wednesdays – but with strong writing. There were only 26 episodes – surprising to me since it seemed to be talked about so much when it was on – spread over a period of about five years. It led the way for Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler to develop Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High School as prime time series with longer seasons.

The Rhinemann Exchange
Back in the 1976-77 TV season NBC had a concept called The Big Event, which followed the Sunday Mystery Movie. The Big Event was sort of an umbrella for movies and variety specials but a major component of this show was Bestsellers. What they really were of course were miniseries – usually two 2-hour episodes – based on popular novels. For me at least they represented a degeneration of the concept of the mini-series that had debuted so promisingly with Roots. One of the novels adapted in the first season was Robert Ludlum's The Rhinemann Exchange. I think it can safely be described as less than memorable since I saw it (or at least part of it) at the time and only have very vague memories of it. The casting could probably be described as the usual suspects – including Stephen Colins (in the lead role), Lauren Hutton, Claude Akins, Vince Edwards, Roddy McDowell and Larry Hagman – with a couple of major figures added on for prestige; in this case Jose Ferrer and John Huston. Not really recommended, but then I don't think I could recommend most of the mini-series that appeared under the umbrella of The Big Event.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch: Season 2
I have to say, I was never a fan of Sabrina the Teenage Witch when it debuted, you know what with being a guy and an adult. I became something of a fan thanks to the rec.arts.tv newsgroup where some people I really respected expressed a big interest in it, and because there wasn't anything on at the time that I really wanted to see. It was better than I had expected. Season Two featured the usual trials and tribulations of high school (well except the smoking, the sex, and the drugs) played with a comedic twist. The witch side of the show features Sabrina having to earn her "witch license" under the tutelage of "the Quizmaster" (played by Alimi Barrett, who is now playing deadly serious in Numb3rs). There's some pretty funny stuff here and Melissa Joan Hart has a winning personality (personally I also liked to ogle Beth Broderick).

Sons of Hollywood S1
Remember Princes of Malibu? That show where the spoiled sons of Bruce Jenner and Linda Thompson were forced by their wicked stepfather David Foster to stop sponging off him and find their way in the world but their attempts at working (or entrepreneurship) only served to tick him off even worse? Well this is kind of the same thing, featuring Randy Spelling – son and heir (thanks to his mother) of Aaron Spelling – and Sean Stewart – son of Rod and Alana Stewart – plus agent David Weintraub. The producers prefer to describe this as the "real" Entourage but I like the comparison to Princes of Malibu better. It's the story of two Hollywood 20-somethings sharing a house and trying to make a life for themselves outside the shadows of their famous fathers...but not too far outside. Of interest, I suppose, is that the show was shot around the time of Aaron Spelling's death and his illness and death are part of the storyline for several episodes. This is sort of undercut by the fact that the show aired some episodes where Aaron Spelling was still alive after the episodes where he died.

The Complete Space 1999 Megaset: 30th Anniversary
Gerry and Sylvia Anderson are among my least favourite producers. Of adult TV shows that is. And that's an important caveat. I loved their kids shows – and this would have been a slightly different review if the Thunderbirds 40th Anniversary Edition had been released this week. Space 1999 was a show that I anticipated because of its cast, which included Martin Landau, Barbara Bain and in the first season Barry Morse. They were all favourites of mine. I liked the ships, I liked Moonbase Alpha, and to a certain extent I liked the characters. The problem was that I could never really manage the willing suspension of disbelief that was required to believe that the moon, having left its orbit was travelling to other stars and doing so in a matter weeks or months. It's one thing to accept a family run rescue operation complete with privately built stealth space station, and its own rocket ship when you're a kid but in a show aimed at an adult I was sort of hoping for more in the way of explanation. And of course the mass cast changes – most notably the departure of Barry Morse over a salary dispute (and his desire to "play with the adults") – in the second season made the show even harder to accept. This DVD set contains all 48 episodes produced plus a fan produced finale and a lot of special features including some commentaries, interviews with cast and crew, trailers and photo galleries, on 17(!) disks.