ONE STEP BEYOND: THE OFFICIAL FIRST SEASON -- DVD Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 9/15/09

 

 

Two wonderfully strange television series premiered in 1959. One was Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone", an anthology that placed normal people into fantastic circumstances that usually involved some kind of ironic twist. The other, which arrived ten months earlier, was also an anthology, and its characters also found themselves in weird situations that were often tinged with irony. 

 

But unlike "Twilight Zone", which was brimming with fanciful situations, imaginary creatures, and science-fiction elements, "One Step Beyond" drew its inspiration from actual accounts of the supernatural which were claimed by the host, John Newland, to be true. 

 

Eschewing the pure fantasy elements of Serling's show, one of the strengths of "One Step Beyond" was the feeling it instilled in the viewer that they were watching something that not only could happen, but could happen to them. Newland constantly reminds us of this in his framing narrations throughout the 22 episodes found in the 3-DVD set, ONE STEP BEYOND: THE OFFICIAL FIRST SEASON. His dignified, rational demeanor lends additional credence to the incredible stories of supernatural phenomena which he relates with such calm conviction and wry confidence. 

 

These tales run the gamut from ghost stories to psychic phenomena and all manner of unexplained occurrences in between. Some, such as "Twelve Hours to Live", stretch their premises a bit thin and don't offer much in the way of surprise or suspense. We know that when Will Jansen (Paul Richards) is trapped in his wrecked car on a deserted construction site and begins crying for help that his wife Carol (Jean Allison) will somehow sense his peril and come to the rescue. The trouble is, it takes her half an hour to do so and the situation gets tiresome pretty quick. 

 

"Echo", with Ross Martin as a man just acquitted of his wife's murder who foresees his own death in a mirror, not only doesn't go anywhere but it doesn't really make much sense, either. Another story whose twist is telegraphed long in advance and then takes forever to arrive is "The Aerialist", with Mike Connors ("Mannix") as a trapeze artist driven suicidal with guilt after he drops his father during the family's act. Still, the young Connors is interesting in the role, and the fact that his faithless wife is portrayed by schlock-film goddess Yvette Vickers is a definite plus. 

 

 

Any quibbles I might have are minor in comparison to the wealth of entertainment value contained in this set. The premiere episode, "The Bride Possessed", gets things off to a chilling start with the great Skip Homeier as a newlywed whose bayou-born wife (Virginia Leith, a fine actress best known as "Jan in a pan" from THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE) suddenly starts speaking in an unfamiliar voice and acting like an entirely different person. Skip soon discovers that she's been possessed by the ghost of a woman whose unsolved murder was ruled a suicide. 

 

"Emergency Only" is of interest since it features Marlon Brando's sister Jocelyn as a psychic who warns a skeptical man of the impending disaster that he'll encounter should he board a particular train. In "Epilogue", recovering alcoholic Charles Aidman awakens to find his estranged wife Julie Adams (CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON) frantically beckoning him to the site of a mine cave-in which has trapped their young son--and in which she herself was buried beneath tons of rock. 

 

"Premonition" is the strange tale of a budding ballet dancer (soulful child actress Beverly Washburn) who adamantly refuses to enter a room after foreseeing her own death beneath a falling chandelier.

Something about this show--whether it was John Newland's assured direction (he helmed all 22 first season episodes and many more), the well-written scripts, or the scintillating subject matter--seemed to inspire several of the guest stars to deliver outstanding performances. 

 

In "The Devil's Laughter", familiar character actor Alfred Ryder is fascinating to watch as a condemned man who must be released after numerous attempts to hang him result in inexplicable failure. (Lester Mathews of WEREWOLF OF LONDON co-stars.) Genre sweetheart Luana Anders is marvelously effective in "The Burning Girl", in which she plays a firestarter whose fits of fear and anxiety prove dangerously combustible. "Get Smart" star Edward Platt plays her father. 

 

"The Vision", about a group of WWI soldiers court-martialed for throwing down their weapons after witnessing a heavenly apparition, boasts a strong ensemble cast including Pernell Roberts (sans toupee'), Bruce Gordon, H.M. Wynant, and Richard Devon. Maria Palmer is heartrending as a lonely wife who finally finds a little romance and affection from a man who isn't there (via a Ouija board) in "The Secret." And Patrick Macnee, not yet one of "The Avengers", is a man whose new wife (Barbara Lord) is having terrible nightmares about their upcoming honeymoon cruise on the grand new luxury liner Titanic in "Night of April 14th." 

 

The best episodes combine moving human drama with situations that are truly unsettling and sometimes downright creepy. One of my favorites is "The Dead Part of the House", featuring another fine ensemble cast. Philip Abbott is a grieving widower moving into a large old house with his sister Joanne Linville (the Romulan commander in the Star Trek episode "The Enterprise Incident") and his young daughter whom he has woefully neglected in his grief. Played by charming child actress Mimi Gibson, the little girl soon discovers that one of the upstairs bedrooms is still occupied by three previous tenants who become her playmates. The only thing wrong with this is--they're dead. Philip Ahn of "Kung Fu" also stars as their wise servant, Song. 

 

 

More eerie encounters with the restless dead include "The Haunted U-Boat", with Werner Klemperer ("Hogan's Heroes") as an unwilling passenger on a German sub that's bedeviled by an unknown entity pounding on the hull to be let in. "Image of Death" is the story of a husband who murders his wife with the help of his lover, only to find that a strange stain on the wall is beginning to resemble the screaming countenance of his dead wife. And "The Navigator" is a seafaring ghost story with Don Dubbins and Robert Ellenstein as a First Mate and Captain whose vessel is steered off-course by a stowaway (Olan Soule) whose body later turns up among the wreckage of a ship that lies along their altered course. 

 

Some of the other notable faces that turn up during the course of the season are Walter Burke (getting to play something besides a leprechaun for a change), Cloris Leachman, Ben Cooper, Sandy Kenyon, Ann Codee (THE MUMMY'S CURSE), Douglas Kennedy, William Schallert, a dark-haired Patrick O'Neal, Reginald Owen, Skip Young, BLADE RUNNER screenwriter Hampton Fancher, Wesley Lau, Doris Dowling, Percy Helton, Sandra Knight, Warren Stevens, Barry Atwater, Jon Lormer, and Robert Webber. 

 

The image quality is very good (in beautiful black-and-white) except for some occasional rough patches. Aspect ratio is 4.3 full-screen with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. Extras include an extended version of pilot episode "The Bride Possessed", a TV promo, the original Alcoa Aluminum opening, and the cheesy 1990s version of the main titles sequence seen on the Sci-Fi Channel. There's also a brief audio interview with writer Don Mankiewicz, whose account of scripting the episode "Epilogue" casts some doubt on the veracity of these stories--according to him, the producers had temporary dibs on a standing mine tunnel set, and needed him to whip up a story to go along with it! 

 

Rather than wielding a sledgehammer of shock and sensation, ONE STEP BEYOND: THE OFFICIAL FIRST SEASON is filled with the kind of spine-tingling campfire tales that get under your skin and make it crawl. So the next time you're in a spooky mood, this is just the thing for some late-night viewing with the lights off.

ONE STEP BEYOND: THE OFFICIAL FIRST SEASON -- DVD Review by Porfle

BEN-HUR -- Blu-ray/DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 12/13/16

 

First things first--there's this Best Picture-winning classic from 1959 called BEN-HUR, and any remake of it is likely to suffer in comparison.  As will anyone else who plays the title role besides the great Charlton Heston, or anyone else who plays Judah Ben-Hur's adoptive brother Messala besides Stephen Boyd, or any other spectacular climactic chariot race that isn't the original spectacular climactic chariot race.

If, however, you can manage to get past all that (which I myself eventually managed to do to one degree or another), while remembering that the 1959 version is itself a remake of the equally spectacular silent version with Ramon Navarro and Francis X. Bushman, then the 2016 remake of BEN-HUR (Paramount Home Media Distribution) can be a rewarding as well as delightfully entertaining experience.

Based on General Lew Wallace's wildly-successful 1880 novel "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ", the story takes place in A.D.33 Jerusalem and is all about the loving yet highly competitive relationship between Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston, SHROOMS), a Jew, and his adoptive brother Messala (Toby Kebbell, WILDERNESS), a Roman, during a time when the Roman occupation is becoming ever more oppressive.

Complications ensue when Judah and his family are blamed for an attempt on the life of Pontius Pilate (Pilou Asbæk, LUCY), and Messala, now an officer in the Roman army, is forced to take sides against them.  With the brothers now mortal enemies, Judah's family disappears into captivity while he himself begins the drudgery-filled dead-end life of a galley slave. 

But a twist of fate allows Judah to escape during a sea battle against the Greeks, whereupon he is taken in by African entrepreneur Ilderim (Morgan Freeman, THE DARK KNIGHT, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION) and allowed to enter the man's chariot in a thrilling race which will pit him against his brother Messala, the Roman champion. 

If that chariot race is the main thing you're curious about, you're not the only one.  I was chomping at the bit throughout the entire film leading up to it, and when it finally got under way, it proved to be exceptionally well-done and exciting.

 

The oval track itself was built on the Cinecittà Studios lot in Rome (much of the rest of the film was done at Cinecittà as well) and filled in with CGI to create a suitably majestic backdrop for this breathtaking sequence.  Jerusalem itself is an actual city in Italy that serves as a stunning representation of the ancient setting.

As always, the use of digital effects detracts from the kind of real-world splendor and excitement we got in the pre-CGI days, but here, the effects are integrated well enough into the live footage to augment it very well. 

As for the stunts, the sequence is loaded with visceral thrills that make it, if not superior to previous versions, at least worthy to stand alongside them. Younger viewers unfamiliar with the story will no doubt see here the inspiration for the podrace sequence in THE PHANTOM MENACE.

 

The film boasts other notable action scenes as well.  Earlier in the story, we see glimpses of furious battles during which Messala rises within the ranks of the Roman military.  Later comes the spectacular sea battle, most of which we see from Judah's limited point of view as the galley slaves, toiling at the oars, experience a grueling ordeal of terror and death while unseen carnage rages around them.  Again, the CGI in this sequence is superb. 

There's a modicum of romance, mainly between Judah and his great love Esther (Nazanin Boniadi, IRON MAN), the daughter of a slave.  Most of the film's true sentiment, however, is focused upon the relationship between the two brothers, Judah's attempts to locate his missing mother and sister, and, most importantly, his spiritual awakening. 

Here, his life intersects poignantly at key points with that of a humble, peace-loving carpenter named Jesus Christ, whose eventual crucifixion as an enemy of Rome gives the film one of its most heartrending sequences.

As Judah, Huston is no Heston, but for this more modest version of BEN-HUR--relatively speaking--it makes sense to have more of a smaller-than-life hero.  Morgan Freeman plays his usual "sage old mentor" character while looking a bit like a cross between Whoopi Goldberg and the alien from PREDATOR.  The rest of the cast perform adequately. 

Direction by Timur Bekmambetov (ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER) is good although I would've preferred less "jittery-cam" and more traditional camerawork.  As mentioned before, the Italian locations are stunning, and well-served by their digital augmentations.  There are some amusing anachronisms in the dialogue, as when Judah cries out during some early horseplay, "ARE WE HAVING FUN NOW, BROTHER?" and later when a dazzled Messala exclaims "Wow!"

The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack from Paramount Home Media Distribution contains a Blu-ray disc with special features, a DVD disc with the film by itself, and access to a Digital HD version of the film.  The Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.  The DVD in the combo pack is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

Extras consist of the featurettes "Ben-Hur: The Legacy", "The Epic Cast", "A Tale for Our Times", and "The Chariot Race", along with deleted & extended scenes and related music videos.

While seldom on the same epic scale as its predecessors, this latest retelling of BEN-HUR does benefit from an earnest sincerity in its dramatic scenes, even when they don't quite move us to the degree intended.  And--most importantly, of course--the action scenes deliver exactly what we're looking for when we watch a movie like this, and plenty of it.

BEN-HUR -- Blu-ray/DVD Review by Porfle

CRIMINAL MINDS: THE FOURTH SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

 

Originally posted on 8/29/09

 

The faces on the DVD cover won't mean much to first-time viewers, but it doesn't take long for us to get to know each member of this FBI profiling team (or "behavior analysis unit" as they're called) very well.

CRIMINAL MINDS: THE FOURTH SEASON hits the ground running with one of the most riveting and lightning-paced hours of television that I've ever seen. "Mayhem" is the conclusion of last season's cliffhanger, and it begins with unit chief Aaron 'Hotch' Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) and a female associate about to get into their vehicle when it explodes. Both survive, but since they've been investigating terrorists who explode one bomb and then set off a second one to kill any police and paramedics who arrive on the scene soon after, no one will move in to render aid to the dying female agent. When Hotch finally does get her to the nearest emergency room, he finds that he may have unwittingly played right into the terrorists' scheme to blow up the hospital.

This episode nicely fulfills the show's potential and demonstrates how exciting and suspenseful it can be, with sharp direction, camerawork, and editing and solid performances. Hotch, deftly played by Gibson, quickly emerges as my favorite character--he's stiff, serious, dry, almost humorless. He doesn't wisecrack. But he's intensely professional, with an innate compassion that drives him to hunt down killers. This devotion to his job has cost him his marriage, and in his most affecting moments Hotch can be seen in his office, wistfully viewing video of his young son on his computer.

"Masterpiece", directed by Paul Michael Glaser ("Starsky and Hutch") is another outstanding episode, this time showcasing Joe Mantegna's "David Rossi" character. Rossi is a veteran profiler who has become a celebrity via his best-selling books and lectures on the subject. Here, he goes one on one in the interrogation room with a narcissistic mastermind, played by Jason Alexander, who has kidnapped a daycare worker and four children and placed them in a death trap that will kill them all in a few hours. Not only does this give both Mantegna and Alexander a chance to show their stuff, but it also demonstrates how good the writing on this show can be, with a surprise turnaround in the final minutes that is stunning.

Although there's a resemblance here to CSI and similar shows, CRIMINAL MINDS concentrates less on forensics and more on the BAU's explorations into the inner workings of the perpetrators minds. Often this forces them to confront their own darkest thoughts and fears. In "The Instincts" and its follow-up "Memoriam", the team's geeky resident genius Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) encounters a child abduction case in his hometown that dredges up suppressed memories of bloody murder from his own childhood that may even involve his own father. Jane Lynch (A MIGHTY WIND, BEST IN SHOW) is great as Reid's schizophrenic mother, who stops taking her meds so that she can achieve a brief window of mental clarity that will help her recall forgotten details of the past.

Each of the other cast members gets the spotlight in various episodes, and they're all up to the task. Shemar Moore's ex-cop Derek Morgan is the show's action guy but there's a lot of substance to his character as well. In "Brothers In Arms", Morgan takes it personally when a serial shooter starts gunning down cops in the performance of their duty. A.J. Cook is Jennifer "J.J." Jareau, the team's liason with the public and other agencies, who gives birth early in the season and gains a different perspective on her job. In the excellent bio-terror thriller "Amplification", a deranged scientist unleashes a deadly new strain of anthrax on the public and J.J. struggles with the urge to break secrecy protocol and warn her husband to flee the city with their child.

Bringing some light into the dark mood of the series is Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia, happily basking in her computer world as she serves as the nerve center for the team. In episodes such as "House on Fire", the tale of a mass-murdering arsonist, and "To Hell...and Back", the gut-wrenching season finale, Garcia is forced to venture out into the field with the rest of the team and is horrified by what she sees.

When this show gets cranked up to full-blast, it goes like gangbusters. "Catching Out", directed by actor Charles Haid, contains a climactic fight sequence atop a moving freight train. "Normal" guest-stars Mitch Pileggi of "The X-Files" as a harried family man whose mounting frustrations transform him into a highway killer known as "The Road Warrior." This episode features a breathtaking crash stunt early on and ends with a high-speed chase.

In addition to the show's kinetic qualities, much of the drama is psychological in nature and we're frequently subjected to some pretty bizarre images and ideas. Jason Alexander returns to direct "Transformation", in which young men on spring break are being raped and murdered by an assailant whose gender is mysteriously undetermined. "Cold Comfort" deals with necrophilia complete with live embalmings, and features a great guest cast including Cybill Shepherd, Michael Biehn, Lolita Davidovitch, and Vondie Curtis Hall.

I particularly enjoyed seeing none other than Wil Wheaton (ST:TNG's "Ensign Crusher") as a total loon who owns a secluded motel and lures couples to their doom in deviously-designed death traps. This episode begins with one of the show's most awesome stunts--an 18-wheeler jack-knifing into a parked car. "Omnivore", guest-starring C. Thomas Howell, has one of the series' most evil serial killers who, among other atrocities, massacres the passengers of a city bus.

Of course, the series has its occasional clunker--for example, "Demonology", a turgid tale of a priest who performs lethal exorcisms, is tiresome and overwrought. It does, however, feature a welcome guest appearance by Bruce Davison (sporting some great hair) and offers series regular Paget Brewster a chance to shine as agent Emily Prentiss.

The DVD set contains seven discs in four slim-line cases with a cardboard sleeve. The 16 x 9 image and English 5.1 and stereo sound are good. Both the episodes and bonus features are closed-captioned. Extras include eleven brief behind-the-scenes featurettes called "Working the Scene", deleted scenes, profiles of each character, and a gag reel.

CRIMINAL MINDS is an interesting blend of modern and more traditional TV storytelling techniques. It's got all the flash and pizzazz that's expected of today's shows, but much of the melodrama and pathos beneath the veneer are pure old-school. As far as the subject matter goes, however, the show doesn't pull any punches and is often about as shocking and horrific as a show like this can get. With a top-notch cast, fine production values, and intriguing stories, CRIMINAL MINDS: THE FOURTH SEASON is well worth spending some quality time with.
 

CRIMINAL MINDS: THE FOURTH SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

HOTEL: THE FIRST SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

 

Originally posted on 7/8/09

 

If you watched TV during the 80s, you pretty much knew what to expect when you saw Aaron Spelling's name in the credits. And with shows like "The Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island" having paid off so handsomely for the superstar producer, it's not surprising that he would take the same multi-guest star, multi-subplot formula and shove it into the setting of a bustling five-star hotel. As the taxicabs full of guests start pulling up out front, you almost expect Tattoo to ask, "Who's going to be staying with us next, Boss?"

Loosely based on Arthur Hailey's 1965 novel, "Hotel" premiered in 1983 and ran for 115 episodes. CBS/Paramount's new 6-disc set HOTEL: THE FIRST SEASON gives us the initial 22 episodes including the feature-length pilot, which sets the old formula in motion with all the usual elements: an ostentatious setting, in this case San Francisco's luxurious Saint Gregory Hotel; a regular cast of employees to interact with the guests; and a revolving-door parade of familiar up-and-comers, has-beens, character actors, and TV show drones to populate the various subplots which play themselves out with varying levels of interest. Through it all, the composers hired to slather music over all this schmaltz work the hell out of Henry Mancini's unctuous theme.

Much of the action occurs within the spacious lobby set, which is as delightfully gaudy and tacky as the show itself. James Brolin, as handsome hotel manager Peter McDermott, is the focal point for most of the dramatic events and is responsible for maintaining order and keeping everybody happy. Much better later in life as an older character actor, the young Brolin is rather unremarkable yet capable, and is a likable and comforting presence.

The same can be said of Connie Sellecca as his go-getter assistant Christine Francis. Nathan Cook is Billy Griffin, the hotel's security man who has a special understanding of the criminal mind since he's an ex-con himself. The beautiful Shari Belafonte is receptionist Julie Gillette, and the pleasantly bland Shea Farrell is Mark Danning, the hotel's guest relations director or something. Michael Spound and Heidi Bohay play Dave and Megan Kendall, a bellhop and desk clerk who are married but can never seem to find time in their busy day to spend together. This boring and mostly useless couple supplies the show with some of its more lame attempts at intentional humor, although the dramatic scenes are where the real laughs come from.

One of the highlights of the pilot episode is the casting of Hollywood legend Bette Davis as Mrs. Trent, the widow of the novel's hotel owner Warren Trent. Looking quite frail by this time, Bette still manages to give a strong, skilled performance. Sudden illness, however, would lead to her being replaced by another seasoned actress, Anne Baxter, as Mrs. Trent's half-sister Victoria Cabot. In Davis' absence, Baxter does her best to supply the Old Hollywood gloss that Spelling is aiming for with this series.

Indeed, much of what goes on in the St. Gregory would make fine fodder for the standard "women's pictures" that Hollywood used to churn out back in the 50s and 60s. Standing in for Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman in the premiere episode are Pernell Roberts and Shirley Jones as a recently divorced man and a woman toying with the notion of leaving her unfaithful husband. They meet-cute in the hotel bar and have one of those tender, tentative, and seemingly doomed September romances replete with hokey dialogue, tender gazes, walks in the park, and waves of maudlin music. Ross Hunter would be proud.

As you might guess, plenty of choice dialogue goes on elsewhere in the hotel. After Christine complains of a guest making amorous suggestions, Peter assures her: "Listen, I've had my share of female guests hitting on me...along with the males. Goes with the territory." In another scene, Anne Baxter shares champagne with old flame Stewart Granger along with the following exchange:

"I'd say our memories held up...rather well."
"If not our hearts."
"To recollections?"
"To expectations."

If it sounds as though I didn't enjoy watching "Hotel" very much, let me stress that I find Aaron Spelling's attempts to transfer the splendor of Old Hollywood into the super-cheesy world of 70s and 80s television to be perversely entertaining. And speaking of cheese, you haven't lived until you've seen the episode with Heather Locklear as a career beauty pageant contestant constantly being prodded by her mother, Connie Stevens, who feeds vicariously off her success. During a rehearsal session, we find that Heather's "talent" is--get this--a jolly fitness dance, complete with leg warmers.

But that's not all, because during her dance, we notice that she begins to change into a different person in the wide shots. That's right, in classic FLASHDANCE style, a stand-in does the actual dancing, boogeying her steel buns off while Heather shimmies her shoulders slightly or waves her arms to and fro in the closeups. They don't even try to hide the fact that there's a different person with totally different hair (not to mention totally different face!) in the wide shots. And to top it off, "Hollywood Squares" host Peter Marshall plays a lecherous contest judge with whom Heather must have sex in order to assure his vote. X gets the square! It's just too good to be true.

The lengthy guest roster for the first episode alone is enough to take a pop culture fan's breath away. Check it out: Morgan Fairchild, Lloyd Bochner, Jack Gilford, Shirley Jones, Pernell Roberts, Stephanie Faracy, Lainie Kazan, Bill Macy, Erin Moran, Alejandro Rey, notoriously awful former child star Lee Montgomery, and, last but not least, Mel Tormé. That's just one episode! Morgan Fairchild plays a hooker hired to devirginize a young high school boy and is then gang-raped by some of his classmates, giving her a chance to emote her head off while Brolin tries to persuade her to press charges. During a scene in which they're walking around discussing the matter, it suddenly occurred to me: "Oh my god...it's a montage!" Sure enough, the two are strolling on the beach, taking in Fisherman's Wharf, doing fun stuff, having a gay laugh or two...I almost expected them to start squirting hot dog mustard at each other.

A little "Love Boat"-style comedy relief comes in the form of Lainie Kazan as a wife who so horribly henpecks husband Bill Macy that he runs away and becomes a banjo player in a ragtime band. But as far as laughs are concerned, this can't come close to Erin Moran as an aspiring singer who gets her big break performing in the lounge with Mel Torme'. When he makes the momentous introduction and invites her to join him onstage after his awesome set, with the audience primed with anticipation, what timeless lyrical standard does she launch into? "Delta Dawn." I am not making that up.

The wide-open format even takes us into thriller territory as Connie Sellecca's Christine finds herself being terrorized by Richard Hatch as a crazed stalker with access to her suite. Robert "Mike Brady" Reed pops up as an enraged father whose daughter claims that a hotel-provided babysitter (Leigh McCloskey) has molested her. In the same episode, Dack Rambo and Michelle Phillips fulfill the show's daily minimum romance requirement as strangers who hit it off and have sex--after which she discovers that he's a priest. Oops! A comedy segment that's actually kind of funny has Dick Van Patten as a mild-mannered guest whom bellhop Dave mistakes for a famous hotel critic, thus ensuring that the delighted dweeb receives the royal treatment during every minute of his stay.

The guest line-ups for the rest of the episodes are smaller than in the premiere movie, but seeing who's going show up next is still one of the most fun things about "Hotel." Some of the likely and unlikely faces appearing in this set include Robert Vaughn (in drag, no less!), Shelley Winters, Lew Ayres, Sally Kellerman, Robert Stack, José Ferrer, Howard Duff, Jean Simmons, Elinor Donahue, Carol Lynley, Robert Hooks, Leigh Taylor-Young, Peggy Cass, Craig Stevens, Donald O'Connor, Eleanor Parker, Ron Ely, Hermione Gingold, Tom Smothers, Nanette Fabray, Vera Miles, Arte Johnson, George Lazenby, McLean Stevenson, Kay Lenz, Danielle Brisebois, Christoper Norris, Markie Post, Bradford Dillman, and Melissa Sue Anderson.

The list continues with Army Archerd (playing himself, as usual), Liberace (also as himself, God help us), Jane Wyatt, Lynn Redgrave, Patty McCormack, Paul Burke, Roy Thinnes, Steve Forrest, Hope Lange, Adrienne Barbeau, Margaret O'Brien, Donna Pescow, Vic Tayback, pint-sized femme fatale Charlene Tilton, John McIntyre, Jeanette Nolan, Tori Spelling (big surprise), Scott Baio, Diane Canova, Dina Merrill, Rebecca Balding, Cathy Lee Crosby, Bo Hopkins, WKRP's Jan Smithers, Eva Gabor, Louis Jourdan, and Englebert Humperdinck as singing sensation "Danny Maxwell." As you can see, this set is jam-packed with familiar faces for those of us interested in such things.

The set has no bonus features. Picture quality is generally good although the openings are a bit speckly as are a few other occasional spots. Not enough to bother me any, but nitpickier viewers may be annoyed.

While there are some storylines here and there that manage to generate actual dramatic interest (the one in which Jan Smithers shows up with a little boy and tells Peter that he's the father is an attention-getter), much of the melodrama on this show can't be taken seriously--it's such old-fashioned, over-the-top soap opera, played in such a deadly earnest manner, that it seems to dare you not to either laugh yourself silly or keel over in a stupor. Yet HOTEL: THE FIRST SEASON, with all its chintzy opulence, is so bald-faced straightforward in its intentions that it rates a luxury suite in the "So Bad It's Good" wing of the TV Land Hotel.
 

HOTEL: THE FIRST SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

JAKE AND THE FATMAN: SEASON TWO -- DVD review by porfle

 

Originally posted on 4/14/09

 

"Jake and the Fatman" was never one of my favorite series--it came along when I was losing interest in sitting around watching "old people" shows with my mom and dad. But now that I'm older myself, I'm beginning to enjoy hunkering down to watch stuff like this on DVD.

With ten episodes on three discs, JAKE AND THE FATMAN: SEASON TWO begins with a two-parter that explains why veteran district attorney J.L. "Fatman" McCabe and his police detective partner Jake Styles have suddenly moved their operation from Los Angeles to Honolulu, Hawaii. It all has to do with the murder of Jake's former-cop friend, who conveniently wills his awesome beachfront pad to Jake. McCabe zips over to the island (which, incidentally, is his old stomping ground) to help Jake track down the evil hitman who did it, and before you know it Honolulu's District Attorney (James Karen), who's itching to retire, ropes McCabe into taking his place! All that's left is for them to transport the Fatman's young assistant Derek (Alan Campbell) and his beloved bulldog Max across the big water, and before you can say "aloha" the team is complete.

The real story for the move (according to IMDb) is that after "Magnum, P.I." went off the air, CBS still had its Hawaii studio sitting around gathering dust. So they revived "Jake and the Fatman" (which had been cancelled after one season) and relocated the characters to the sandy shores of Honolulu. This proved to be just the shot in the arm that the show needed and it continued for a full five seasons, later returning to L.A. when CBS' lease on the Hawaii studio expired.

The show looks like the usual network drama from its era, with production values that range from good to a bit iffy, but the tropical location is a perfect backdrop for the casual, laidback atmosphere of the series. In fact, once you get used to the leisurely pace and start liking these characters, it's a fun "hang-out" show in which the plots aren't all that important. Even so, the stories are involving enough, and occasionally offer some strong dramatic moments along with the usual hokum. There are times, in fact, when the acting and writing come together in such a way that you may be a bit taken aback by how good a scene is--and this happens often enough to keep the show consistently interesting.

I was especially surprised at how much I liked Joe Penny as Jake. What a good actor he is here--handling the cool action stuff competently (without the usual martial arts or clever quips), while still coming across as a regular guy. A skilled actor, Penny's low-key approach to the role works very well, especially in contrast to his more flamboyant co-star. J.L. "Fatman" McCabe is a classic William Conrad character in the tradition of "Cannon." Conrad's so good I could watch him in anything, and this show gives him a chance to do what he does best, which is to be himself. As his assistant Derek, Alan Campbell adds a little comedy relief due to his love-hate relationship with McCabe but remains a believable character who is helpful in their investigations.

The guest stars range from great to not-so-good, with few of the familiar character actors who so often grace the older classic TV shows. The initial two-parter features old pro James Karen as the outgoing D.A. and Amy Steel of FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 in a cringe-inducingly bad performance. Some of the few recognizable actors in later episodes include Khigh Dhiegh (Wo Fat of "Hawaii Five-O"), Ben Piazza, Alex Cord, Lenore Kasdorf, Ramon Bieri, Frederick Coffin (LONESOME DOVE's Big Swede), and Charlie Brill.

The "I'll Never Smile Again" episode, which is somewhat reminiscent of DEATH WISH, contains two truly remarkable performances, one from David Schramm as a mugging victim who may not be all that innocent, and the other from a young Brigid Conley Walsh (who has since had quite a prolific television career) as his troubled daughter. Both are outstanding and help make this one of the high points of the collection. Another notable episode is "Why Can't You Behave?" (you may have noticed that all the titles are from old blues songs) in which McCabe is forced to choose between protecting his crooked, weaselly son Daniel (Tom Isbell) and upholding the law. The episode also features a nice cameo from bluesman Clarence Clemons.

Michele Scarabelli and Patricia Sill are very good as cops' wives whose husbands are cut down in the line of duty in "They Can't Take That Away From Me." The final episode in the set, "Snowfall", is an exciting yarn about cocaine and counterfeit money which contains a couple of blazing shoot-outs and features a young Michael Madsen.

The DVD set contains no extras. Production values vary, so the image quality isn't always that sharp. Old pros such as Bernard L. Kowalski, Jackie Cooper, and Don Medford are on hand to direct. The musical score is often nicely jazz-tinged, and while I wasn't very impressed the first time I heard Dick DeBenedictis' main theme, it really started to grow on me after a few listens.

I wasn't expecting much from this set, but JAKE AND THE FATMAN: SEASON TWO turned out to be quite a lot of fun to watch. William Conrad at his best, a dynamic Joe Penny, and those gorgeous Hawaiian locations add up to several hours worth of solid entertainment.

 

 

JAKE AND THE FATMAN: SEASON TWO -- DVD review by porfle

PETTICOAT JUNCTION: THE OFFICIAL SECOND SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/28/09

 

Pretty much all I remember about "Petticoat Junction" from my younger days is that, of the two interrelated rural sitcoms taking place in the tiny hick town of Hooterville, "Green Acres" was the hilarious, surreal, wildly inventive one. "Petticoat Junction", the story of widow Kate Bradley, her three beautiful daughters, and her lazy-but-lovable Uncle Joe, who ran the rustic Shady Rest hotel, was low-key, homespun stuff for the sedate older crowd who didn't mind heapin' helpin's of corn along with their entertainment.

With CBS/Paramount's 5-disc, 36-episode DVD set PETTICOAT JUNCTION: THE OFFICIAL SECOND SEASON, I'm finding out that I don't mind it all that much myself. Talk about laidback--watching this show is almost like actually taking a vacation at the Shady Rest. Where "Green Acres" is frenetic and cartoonlike, this show is about as relaxing and down-to-earth as a barefoot stroll to the old fishin' hole. When the opening titles roll, the urban jungle might as well be on Mars as the Cannonball, an antique train that placidly shuttles Hooterville's scattered inhabitants to and fro, pulls up to the water tank where Kate's daughters Billie Jo, Bobbi Jo, and Betty Jo are taking a swim with their petticoats hanging over the side as Curt Massey's familiar theme song sets the mood.

One of the advantages of a show like this is that its main stars are great comic actors who play this stuff with the skill and timing of seasoned pros. Bea Benederet preceeded June Foray as the go-to female voice artist in the early Warner Brothers cartoons and later supplied the voice of Betty Rubble in "The Flintstones", in addition to playing George Burns and Gracie Allen's next-door neighbor Blanche on radio and television. "The Beverly Hillbillies" creator Paul Henning cast her as Jed Clampett's cousin Pearl Bodine in that show's early seasons, where her comic talents were sharper than ever. So it was only natural that when Henning created "Petticoat Junction" he would envision Bea Benederet in the lead role of Kate Bradley.

Kate's lazy Uncle Joe is played by screen veteran Edgar Buchanan (SHANE, RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY), who is a pleasure to watch as his character constantly schemes to avoid work and get rich quick. He claims to be an expert on everything, such as the time he boasts to a visiting commercial director of the acclaim he once received for his "eight milligram" film of a sackrace at the local picnic. In another episode, he buys a flea-bitten buffalo (actually a bull in a buffalo suit) and convinces an English lord that the Shady Rest is a hunting lodge where he can shoot all the buffalos he wants for the right price. Then he arranges for the girls to hustle the buffalo to different stops along the Cannonball's line so that the Englishman (whose gun is loaded with blanks) will think he's bagging his limit. When he starts to smell a rat, he exclaims, "This situation demands an explanation!", to which the ever-crafty Uncle Joe responds, "It sure does. Let's hear it!"

Various supporting characters common to both shows appear regularly, although they're not quite as bizarre here as they are on "Green Acres." They include Frank Cady's genial general store owner Sam Drucker and Hank Patterson as pig farmer Fred Ziffel, who dotes on his beloved pig Arnold. Playing the Bradley girls are original "Billie Jo" and "Bobbie Jo" Jeannine Riley and Pat Woodell (Riley would later be replaced by Gunilla Hutton and Meredith MacRae, while Lori Saunders would soon take Pat Woodell's place) and Paul Henning's daughter Linda Kaye Henning as tomboy Betty Jo. Despite their more limited comedic skills, they're a major asset to the show on a visual level, especially the stunning Woodell. (For some reason, she's absent from certain episodes and is replaced by an obvious stand-in, as in "Smoke Eaters.")

Another great film veteran, the ubiquitous Charles Lane, plays villainous Homer Bedloe, a railroad executive whose main goal in life is to shut down the Cannonball and put Kate out of business. ("I wouldn't trust him within a ten-foot pole," Uncle Joe remarks.) Rufe Davis is the tiny train's delightfully dimwitted conductor, Floyd Smoot, while the slightly-less-stupid engineer, Charley Pratt, is played by none other than the great B-western sidekick, Smiley Burnette. Last but not least, the amazing canine performer Higgins, who would go on to become the immortal BENJI, is introduced in the first episode of the set, "Betty Jo's Dog", a variation on the classic "But it just followed me home!" story. As Uncle Joe puts it in a later episode, "he incinerated himself into our affections."

At times the show skirts the boundaries of "Green Acres"-style surrealism. "A Matter of Communication" has Uncle Joe trying to create his own telephone company using the farmers' barbed wire fences as phone wires, which results in some of the biggest laughs of the season. "The Curse of Chester W. Farnsworth" is a ghost story about a former guest (Doodles Weaver) whose spirit can't rest until he's replaced all the towels he stole from various hotels during his life.

In "Bedloe's Nightmare", Kate Bradley's nemesis actually ends up tied to the front of the speeding Cannonball and terrorized until he agrees to drop his latest dastardly scheme. "For the Birds", which features the age-old sitcom device of a bird unexpectedly building its nest in an inconvenient place (in this case, the Cannonball's smokestack), zips through a lot of exposition in amusing style when the episode suddenly turns into a silent movie for a few minutes, complete with speeded-up film, melodramatic acting, and intertitles.

Marc Lawrence and former Ted Healy replacement-stooge Mousie Garner guest star in "The Hooterville Crime Wave" as escaped killers who take the Bradleys hostage. Other notable guests during this season include Bert Freed, Sig Ruman, Alan Mowbray, Grady Sutton, Dick Wessell, Stanley Adams, Lurene Tuttle, Parley Baer, Percy Helton, Willis Bouchey (THE HORSE SOLDIERS), Milt Frome, Iris Adrian, George "George Jetson" O'Hanlon, and Don Megowan. Semi-regulars include Frank Ferguson (ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN) as Doc Stuart, Virginia Sale as Kate's hatchet-faced rival Selma Plout, and the always creepy William O'Connell as Homer Bedloe's slimy toady, Evans.

These episodes are in gorgeous black-and-white and look just about pristine. The photography is exquisite, and is quite a stark contrast to the garish color episodes that would begin immediately after this season. As a bonus, each episode is introduced by original stars Linda Kaye Henning ("Betty Jo") and Pat Woodell ("Bobbie Jo") as they appear today. The two also take part in a 38-minute interview session in which they reminisce about the making of the show. A brief photo montage follows.

The opening lyric to the show's theme song goes: "Forget about your cares, it is time to relax at the junction." Watching PETTICOAT JUNCTION: THE OFFICIAL SECOND SEASON is like sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch of the Shady Rest, listening for the Cannonball's whistle coming around the bend. Not really all that exciting, but a very nice way to pass the time.
 

PETTICOAT JUNCTION: THE OFFICIAL SECOND SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

NCIS: THE SIXTH SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

Originally posted on 8/14/09

 

 

Thanks to the magic of DVD, I've been discovering some pretty awesome TV shows lately that I probably never would've run across otherwise. For one thing, I can no longer handle commercial breaks, especially since they're longer and more frequent than ever before. Also, I hate watching one episode a week--if I like a show, I want to be able to indulge myself in it until the wheels fall off. That's how it was with NCIS: THE SIXTH SEASON, a 6-disc, 25-episode set that I went through faster than Rosie O'Donnell with a box of Ring Dings.

My first impression of this series about a team of agents for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service was that it was going to be a dour, melodramatic show, but it's anything but. The stories rarely stop dead in their tracks to include "comedy relief" scenes as the wit and humor are usually well integrated with the serious stuff. Even though the subject matter is always grim, with an abundance of dead bodies in various states of graphic injury or decay, the interplay among the lead characters is almost non-stop lighthearted fun--sometimes even laugh-out-loud funny. Yet the stories still manage to maintain an aura of gravitas and believability that can veer headlong into raw, dead-serious drama at any moment.

Mark Harmon has probably his best role ever as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, team leader and father figure for the family-like team of agents. He's a tough, no-nonsense, seemingly infallible agent who inspires utmost respect and even awe in his co-workers but, despite his gruff exterior, is always supportive of them. An ex-Marine, his history includes all sorts of shadowy Black Ops-type stuff and other mysterious events that sometimes bob to the surface during a case.

In the episode "Heartland", circumstances lead the team to Gibbs' hometown where they're delighted to actually find out details of his past including getting to meet his semi-estranged father, Jack (Ralph Waite). Stories like this play up Gibbs' human side, as does "Deliverance", an inner-city gang drama in which we find that he may be the father of a teenaged gangbanger who's stealing military assault weapons to sell on the street.

Character interaction is a major element of what makes NCIS tick. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) is prom-king handsome but acts like a mischievous kid with a narcissistic streak. He loves movies, women, sucking up to his superiors, and himself. DiNozzo also enjoys picking on semi-dorky computer genius Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) and pointing out his geekier qualities at every opportunity.

Both men harbor unrequited romantic fantasies for their strikingly beautiful partner, Officer Ziva David (the strikingly beautiful Cote de Pablo), an Israeli whose war-ravaged upbringing has made her capable of taking care of herself in rough situations. DiNozzo is on hand to help Ziva learn to lighten up and do goofy stuff, like competing in an online air-guitar contest. A funny running gag is her ongoing effort to learn American colloquialisms (she refers to a turf war as a "Smurf war.")

The delightfully cute forensic scientist Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette) is a brilliant but extremely eccentric Goth chick who loves her work and can solve any problem as long as she's kept adequately supplied with super-sized containers of "Caf-Pow!" Any visit to Abby's lab is a treat as she giddily spouts more technobabble than half a season of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" while rattling off factoids about sexually-active molds or the difference between Satanic pentagrams and the hubcaps on a Buick Skylark. Rounding out the cast is the venerable David McCallum ("The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", THE GREAT ESCAPE) as Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, the urbane and endlessly erudite medical examiner who's always up to his elbows in cadavers.

Season six gets off to a great start with a mini-story arc about the dispersal of Gibbs' regular team and their replacement with relative novices. At first, this decision seems unnecessarily arbitrary on the part of by-the-book NCIS Director Leon Vance (an intensely effective Rocky Carroll), but it's eventually revealed that Vance suspects one of the three new agents of treason and is hoping that Gibbs will be able to sort out the culprit. Liza Lapira as Special Agent Michelle Lee and Jonathan LaPaglia as Special Agent Brent Langer are very good in this suspenseful storyline which covers several episodes before coming to a nail-biting surprise conclusion.

Computer whiz McGee gets out of the office on a solo assignment for a change in "Caged", only to find himself a hostage during a riot in a women's prison. In "Bounce", an old case in which DiNozzo put an innocent man behind bars for three years comes back to haunt him when the people involved start turning up dead. Since it's his case, Gibbs temporarily puts DiNozzo in charge of the team, leading to all sorts of seriocomic complications.

David McCallum's "Ducky" gets his own episode with "Broken Bird", a story of torture and guilt that starts out promisingly but turns a little too turgid for my tastes. "Knockout", a story that spotlights Rocky Carroll as Director Vance, gets similarly bogged down in melodrama as he returns to his hometown of Chicago on an unauthorized mission involving the death of a childhood boxing hero.

These lapses are rare, however, and the four episodes on disc six begin another story arc which contains some of the most riveting television I've ever seen. It involves a rogue Mossad agent in the U.S. and Ziva's possible romantic connection to him, which may have compromised her loyalty to NCIS. The paranoia is knee-deep and the twists and turns will keep you on the edge of your seat right up until the shocking season finale cliffhanger (I hate those). Rocky Carroll, Michael Weatherly, and especially Cote de Pablo are outstanding in these episodes, with the Ziva character becoming the focal point for a maelstrom of intrigue.

Almost insanely entertaining at times, most of the plots move so fast you practically need to be strapped in. Very rarely does an episode slow down long enough to give the viewer a chance to even think about getting restless or bored. And visually, this series has style to burn with cinematography that is consistently beautiful.

The DVD set consists of six discs in three slimline cases with a cardboard cover. The 16 x 9 image and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound are fine. Closed captioning for the hearing impaired is available. Each disc contains its own bonus feature. These are:

Disc one: Brian Dietzen, who plays Dr. Mallard's assistant Jimmy Palmer, takes us on a fascinating tour of the special effects shop where the show's realistic dead bodies are made in the featurette "Bodies of Work."

Disc two: Pauley Perrette performs an acoustic version of her song "Fear", which is featured in one of the show's episodes.

Disc three: "Starting With a Bang" covers the making of the season's opening story arc.

Disc four: David McCallum and director James Whitmore Jr. do a commentary track for "Broken Bird", while Michael Weatherly supplies a gut-busting stream-of-consciousness narration of his big episode, "Bounce", in which we learn that he was four months' pregnant during filming.

Disc five: Featurette "Horsin' Around" is a look at the filming of episode "South by Southwest" on location around the famous Vasquez Rocks in California. There's also a lighthearted commentary by Pauley Perrette and Sean Murray for the Abby episode entitled "Toxic."

Disc six: "Season Six: Cruisin' Along" and "Six Degrees of Conversation" examine all the elements that make the sixth season so special. The latter features the entire cast in an interview setting.

NCIS: THE SIXTH SEASON is a stellar collection of episodes from a series that seems to be hitting its stride with no signs of slowing down or running out of steam. With an excellent cast, superb writing, and top-notch production values, it's pure, unadulterated escapism of the highest order.

 

NCIS: THE SIXTH SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION: THE NINTH SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

 

Originally posted on 8/25/09

 

The grandaddy of all those forensic detective shows with all the dead bodies and blood and guts and brains and other gooey stuff, all being searched and sifted and nitpicked for clues in homicides and other violent deaths, is...QUINCY? Okay, that groundbreaking Jack Klugman classic was old school forensic fun, but these days the big cheese in the cops 'n' corpses sweepstakes is CSI. And if CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION: THE NINTH SEASON is any indication, the show seems to be holding up rather well in its old age.

This 6-disc, 24-episode DVD set is non-stop entertainment. Set in Las Vegas, the show follows the exploits of a crack CSI team consisting of both field agents and lab rats, combining their talents to solve a wide variety of mysterious deaths. As always, it's fascinating to see how even the smallest and most seemingly insignificant clues, whether found at the scene of a crime or during an autopsy of the victim, can lead to breaking a case. And when the painstaking lab work yields answers, the field agents go into action.

As most CSI fans know, this is the season in which longtime star William Petersen finally ends his run as beloved chief consultant and father figure Gil Grissom. Petersen, long one of my favorite actors thanks to films such as MANHUNTER and TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A., hangs around for the first half of the season as his character makes the agonizing decision to quit the dead body business and resume his romance with former team member Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox). Grissom's final episode is a tad maudlin at times but these characters have such a long and rich history together that it's still pretty moving.

His departure sets the stage for a new big-name addition to the cast--Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Ray Langston. Fishburne has evolved to the point where he can now play a distinguished, mild-mannered older gentleman with the same authority as Morpheus in THE MATRIX or that skinny city kid in APOCALYPSE NOW. His Dr. Langston joins the team with an eager intellectual fascination coupled with an endearing lack of experience and finesse, and Fishburne makes him an interesting and likable character.

With the emotional loss of Warrick (Gary Dourdan) last season, the first episode concludes his story as the team makes it a priority to track down his killer. His replacement is yet another new castmember, Lauren Lee Smith as the independent and somewhat abrasive Riley Adams. Her character is supposed to shake things up a bit, but it doesn't take long for Riley to settle in and get with the program. Maybe next season she'll be more disruptive--there are signs of a growing procedural conflict with Langston.

Marg Helgenberger's Catherine Willows moves easily into the positon of team leader and makes it her own. George Eads, a favorite of mine ever since he played "Shorty" in the TV remake of MONTE WALSH, is very good as solid, dependable field agent Nick Stokes. Lab rats Hodges (Wallace Langham), Simms (the beautiful Liz Vassey), and Johnson (Archie Kao) provide most of the show's comic interplay while coroner Dr. Robbins (Robert David Hall, STARSHIP TROOPERS) is the resident curmudgeon. Paul Guilfoyle (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, AIR FORCE ONE) is fine as veteran cop Captain Jim Brass.

The look of the show is a major factor in its appeal. Whereas you'd probably expect real-life CSI investigators to process their data in brightly-lit and nondescript offices and labs, here we find a dark, stylized environment so sleek and modern it could almost pass for a dance club, or maybe even the science deck of a starship. Black and blue (appropriately) dominate, highlighted with glowing warm and cool colors.

An interesting visual element is the way the camera zooms in and gives us close-up views of whatever evidence is being discussed. Often we find ourselves on microscopic tours through a victim's body, or sharing a plastic bag with a discarded cadaver to observe its time-lapse decomposition. With all the egghead techno-blab flying fast and furious, these visual aids are a big help in understanding what the hell the characters are talking about.

The tightly-written scripts are consistently compelling. Gleanne Hedley guest stars in "The Happy Place" as a hypnotist using her abilities for dark purposes. In "Art Imitates Life", Jeffrey Tambor gives one of his wonderfully oddball performances as an eccentric artist who may be involved with a series of bizarre "murder-as-art" crimes. Other episodes deal with such topics as S&M, reality talent programs, murder by toothpaste, skydiving sabotage, religious cults, and rabies.

In "Turn, Turn, Turn", George Eads gets his own episode as Stokes handles numerous cases occuring at the same seedy motel over the course of a year, all involving a troubled young girl (Taylor Swift). "Mascara", a weird tale of Mexican wrestlers and a series of murders involving a particular deadly chokehold, is the 200th episode and is directed by William Friedkin (THE EXORCIST, THE FRENCH CONNECTION), who worked with William Petersen in TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A.

The two episodes which introduce Dr. Langston, "19 Down..." and "One to Go", are noteworthy as we get to see Fishburne and Petersen working together to solve Grissom's final case. It involves an imprisoned serial killer (Bill Irwin) who is somehow relaying instructions for murder to an admiring copycat killer on the outside. Matt O'Leary of FRAILTY also appears as a suspect and turns up again in a later episode.

One of the weirdest episodes, "A Space Oddity", is reminiscent of GALAXY QUEST as it focuses on the obsessive fans of a fictitious TREK-like series called "Astro Quest." Hodges and Simms run into each other at a sci-fi convention and discover a common nerd-dom that the lovesick Hodges hopes will blossom into love. The fact that a murder takes place at the convention takes a back seat to his fevered fantasies in which he's the dashing starship captain and Simms is either the beautiful yeoman, the naive alien girl who doesn't know about love (shades of Angelique Pettyjohn in "The Gamesters of Triskelion"), or the exotic belly-dancing animal woman who's right out of "The Cage." The reproductions of various "Star Trek" episodes are fun (though much cheesier than the actual show), and Liz Vassey is gorgeous enough in her different costumes to burn out any space geek's dilythium crystals.

The DVD set is very attractively packaged with the same dark, sleek look of the show. There are six discs with four episodes per disc. 16.9 image and 5.1 Dolby Digital are very good. English and Spanish stereo are also available. Special features include some brief deleted scenes for some episodes, and cast and crew commentaries for "Turn, Turn, Turn" and "A Space Oddity." There are also four featurettes: "Crime Scene Initiation", "Rats in Space", "From Zero to 200 in Nine Seasons", and "Goodbye Grissom." Dr. Langston's first case, "The Grave Shift", is accompanied by a text trivia option.

Not quite as flashy or fast-moving as some of the shows that have bobbed up in its wake, CSI is a rock-solid, effortlessly absorbing whodunnit whose intriguing mysteries and imaginative plot twists will keep you guessing until the final minutes. The only downside to watching this set is that I've had that damn catchy theme song, "Who Are You?" by The Who, stuck in my head for a week and it's driving me nuts.

CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION: THE NINTH SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

GUNSMOKE: THE THIRD SEASON, VOLUME 2 -- DVD review by porfle

Originally posted on 5/9/09

 

Back when westerns were the number one genre on TV, the number one western was "Gunsmoke." For twenty seasons--1955 to 1975--viewers could tune in every week to watch Marshall Matt Dillon keep law and order in the wild and woolly streets of Dodge City, Kansas, and now, with the release of the 3-disc DVD collection GUNSMOKE: THE THIRD SEASON, VOLUME 2, we can relive 20 half-hour episodes worth of that excitement all over again. As John Wayne, in his original on-air introduction to the show, described it: "It's honest, it's adult, it's realistic."

Originally a successful radio show, "Gunsmoke" made the move to television along with its creators, producer Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston, who maintained a high level of quality and authenticity during these early episodes. The mood is often somber, with adult-oriented stories and strong characters, and when there's violence, it has an impact beyond the standard shoot-'em-up. Marshall Dillon tries to avoid using his gun whenever possible, save to whack people over the head with it before they can clear leather.

Several episodes begin with him taking a wistful stroll through Boot Hill, looking back on all the lives that have been wasted through unnecessary violence. Tough as nails and quick on the draw, with scarcely a personal life outside his duties as a lawman, Dillon never allows his job to rob him of his humanity. Writer John Meston took great pains to present the character in an honest and realistic fashion, eschewing the cliches of the standard western hero who seemed forever unfazed by the violence and death that were a part of his everyday life.

Despite the show's more mature focus, however, it still retains some of the appeal of the old Saturday matinee westerns like the ones rising star John Wayne used to churn out back in the 30s. James Arness, who plays Matt Dillon, even resembles the young Wayne with his towering 6'7" frame and easygoing yet highly-capable demeanor. (Wayne was offered the part but suggested his friend Arness instead.)

Matt still possesses incorruptible virtues, infallible common sense, and an unbeatable fast draw, but is more three-dimensional and complex than his earlier counterparts. The combination of these two styles, not too kid-oriented and not too adult, makes for a pleasing blend.

The supporting cast is one of the finest ever. Dennis Weaver plays Chester Goode, the down-to-earth, fiercely loyal deputy with the famous limp. As the gruff old Doc Adams, Milburn Stone is one of the most skilled actors ever to appear in series television, and the show's occasional moments of unforced comedy relief usually involve some good-natured needling between him and Chester.

Much of their spare time is spent at the Longbranch Saloon, where half-owner Miss Kitty provides a constant supply of free drinks and moral support. (For western heroes, these guys really do guzzle a lot of whiskey.)

Pretty Amanda Blake is very appealing in the role, a strong, dependable female presence who enjoys equal status in the group. The fact that Miss Kitty is basically the madame of Dodge City's leading whorehouse doesn't seem to bother Matt, Doc, or Chester, so it never bothered viewers much, either. (As a kid, I always thought all those saloon gals were there just so the lonesome cowpokes could chat with them and buy them free drinks!)

As in most classic TV shows of the period, there's an abundance of familiar faces in guest roles. Some of the ones appearing in this DVD set are Corey Allen ("Buzz" in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE), Strother Martin, Jeanette Nolan (who would later star in the spin-off series "Dirty Sally"), Vaughn Taylor, Werner Klemperer, Jack Weston, Phyllis Coates, Murray Hamilton, Wayne Morris, June Lockhart, Harry Dean Stanton, Claude Akins, Patricia Barry, Gail Kobe, John Dehner, Ross Martin, Virginia Gregg, Ken Lynch, Simon Oakland, Ruta Lee, Timothy Carey, and Jack Cassidy.

The episodes in this set look great, with beautiful, sharp black-and-white photography. DVD image and sound quality are fine. In addition to the 20 episodes, there's a brief montage of commercial spots which include Arness, Stone, and Blake puffing on L & M cigarettes ("Live modern--smoke L & M!" the announcer advises us) and Arness showing us a putty impression of his pesky facial stubble before taking an electric razor to it.

Over its two-decade run, "Gunsmoke" evolved from a simple half-hour western adventure to the more complex hour-long adult drama of its later years. GUNSMOKE: THE THIRD SEASON, VOLUME 2 finds the series in my favorite stage of this progression, with an ideal combination of both sensibilities. It's just serious enough to enjoy for its compelling characters and intriguing stories, and just enough of a good old-fashioned western yarn to erupt into smoke-filled gunplay at any moment.

GUNSMOKE: THE THIRD SEASON, VOLUME 2 -- DVD review by porfle

THE MOD SQUAD: SEASON 2, VOLUME 2 -- DVD review by porfle

Originally posted on 5/11/09

 

I used to think "The Mod Squad" was soooo cool when I was a kid. That opening titles sequence, with the three young cops running for their lives through an abandoned warehouse (we never got to find out what they're running from, did we?) to the tune of one of TV's most dynamic musical themes ever, is still emblazoned on my cerebral cortex. But after refreshing my memory of the show with the new 3-disc DVD set THE MOD SQUAD: SEASON 2, VOLUME 2, all I can think is: "What the heck was I thinking?" In retrospect, there's just no way for me to appreciate this show except with a fond nostalgia and a healthy dose of condescension. Yeah, that's right--I'm condescending! Nyaaahh!

Looking a lot like what would happen if Greg Brady fantasized about growing up to become a groovy, outasite cop himself, "The Mod Squad" is an attempt by those well-known hepcats Aaron Spelling, Danny Thomas, and Harve Bennett to appeal to "the kids" on their own level. Their inability to comprehend, and thus convincingly reproduce, any elements of the same counterculture that they're trying to attract makes the show fascinating even though it's hard to take a single moment of it seriously.

Not that it's all that much dumber than most of the other primetime cop dramas being made during the same era, but the pseudo-hip trappings and weak attempts at "relevance" that pop up all over the place just add an inescapable element of unreality to the show. And despite the "mod" angle, it's often as painfully arch and cliched as the sort of shows that "Police Squad!" used to spoof. This, of course, lends the show a whole different kind of retro-camp appeal, the same way that the far-out polyester grooviness of "The Brady Bunch" gives it a dimension of watchability beyond the standard sitcom formula.

The premise, as most people know by now, is that a group of young hippies ("one white, one black, one blonde", according to the famous tagline) are given a choice to either go to jail for their relatively minor crimes or join the police department as undercover cops. Well, you've just turned off much of the actual counterculture audience right there, since it's doubtful that many of them harbored any secret fantasies of becoming narcs. Who did this show appeal to so much that it stayed on the air from 1968-1973? There were the little kids like me, who thought it was super cool because we didn't know any better. (Teenybopper magazines like "16" and "Tiger Beat" had a field day with the lead actors.) And I guess a lot of older folks imagined that they were hip if they liked the show, even though it actually played up to and affirmed their values more than those of their kids.

As white Beverly Hills outcast Pete Cochran, Michael Cole displays that mumbly, self-conscious sort of demeanor which suggests that he wants to imitate the Method acting style without actually going to the trouble of learning it. (At least he isn't as odd and inaccessible as Michael Parks was around that time.) Clarence Williams III as Lincoln "Linc" Hayes, the black character with the awesome afro, is so arch and stiff that he's either one of the most wooden actors in television history or just incredibly intense. Sometimes he looks as though he's summoning a superhuman force of will just to unbutton his windbreaker, but it could be due to all that concentrated coolness.

He does break out some great action moves, though, performing breathtaking diving leaps to push people out of the way of danger or scrambling up the side of a building parkour-style. Linc also keeps things real with catchphrases like "you can't drink champagne out of a paper cup" and "solid." Winsome, waifish Peggy Lipton rounds out the trio as the blonde runaway Julie Barnes, who is totally ineffectual action-wise but you just wanna hug her anyway. Her main talents are going undercover as a hippie girl or a nun, or getting kidnapped and held hostage. And as their straight-laced boss Captain Greer, Tige Andrews is such a glowering, tire-screeching cop show caricature that he's sort of hilarious. A father figure to the group, the big lug even persuades Pete and Linc to endure something as totally uncool as fishing.

The sets have a chintzy look with lots of those bright pastels common to early color TV. There's an abundance of ugly late-60s atmosphere such as the dayglo paisley curtains in Julie's apartment, and the similarly horrific decor on display whenever we visit one of those hippie lairs just like the ones in the later episodes of "Dragnet." It's funny how similarly unreal the "Mod Squad" view of the hippie lifestyle is to Jack Webb's, with the same tacky psychedelic trappings, smooth-talking gurus, and ever-present sitar music, as we see in the episode "The King of Empty Cups." Here, the police commissioner's daughter falls under the evil spell of an abusive rock star (a delightfully miscast Noel Harrison, who definitely wasn't rock-star material), leading to the inevitable finale in which the drugged-out girl stands teetering on a balcony threatening to jump off.

Comical "Police Squad!"-style obviousness rears its head in this set's first episode, "The Debt." Linc impersonates a lunch wagon driver so that he can infiltrate a factory, whereupon he then sneaks around peering in windows and eavesdropping on private conversations. I don't know about you, but if the lunch wagon guy where I used to work did stuff like that, we'd have noticed. In "A Town Called Sincere", faux biker types take over a backlot Mexican village and hold everyone hostage until they find out who killed two of their own. During one tense situation, Pete confides to Linc: "This whole scene is getting very uptight, man." Later, Linc loses his cool with a reluctant witness: "BABY, DON'T YOU DIG IT? THEY'RE GONNA HANG A MAN!"

Sammy Davis, Jr. pops up in another "relevant" episode called "Survival House", playing a recovering addict who's about to be promoted to director of his halfway house until he gets falsely accused of statutory rape. Sammy does his best with the character but the script by Joanna Lee (who played flying saucer pilot Tanna in PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE) and slapdash execution of it are just too dumb to take seriously. In "The Exile", Julie falls in love with a nice Middle Eastern guy from one of her night classes, only to find out that he's secretly a prince who's about to become king when his father gets assassinated! (Yeah, I hate it when that happens, too.) A dark-haired Lawrence Dane (Michael Ironside's ruthless henchman in SCANNERS) appears as a military officer.

The show's best episodes are the ones that ignore the whole "hippie cops" premise and simply tell interesting stories. Two of the ones I recall most fondly from the series' initial run, in fact, are right here in this set. The first, "Mother of Sorrow", stars Lee Grant as a rich eccentric artist and a very young Richard Dreyfuss as the neglected son who decides to take drastic measures to get her attention. Grant and Dreyfuss are both outstanding actors and they have some really strong scenes together here. It's especially fun watching Dreyfuss at the beginning of his career, playing this flaky, egotistical kook with all he's got.

The second episode that I was really glad to see in this set is "A Time For Remembering." This is the one where Linc gets shot and almost dies, and it's what comes to mind whenever I recall watching the show as a kid. Partly a clip show with some great use of earlier scenes (which strongly suggest that the show's first season was superior to this one), it allows the characters to open up and convey their feelings for each other in a way that I somehow find more moving than cloying. I like the part where the nurse tries to throw Pete out of Linc's hospital room, telling him that only family are allowed. "But I am family--" he starts to say, realizing that the lie is obvious even though the sentiment is real.

The biggest casting surprise for me comes in the episode "Return to Darkness, Return to Light." Gloria Foster is radiant as Linc's old friend Jenny, a blind woman engaged to a man (Ivan Dixon of "Hogan's Heroes") who may be concealing a criminal past. It's interesting to see "The Oracle" from the first two MATRIX movies in her younger days--not only is she quite stunning to look at, but her sincere performance helps to make this one of the most emotional episodes in the collection.

"Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot" is a nifty murder mystery that takes place on a Hollywood soundstage and stars Frank Converse and Ed Asner. In "Call Back Yesterday", a young Margot Kidder plays Pete's old girlfriend and Anita Louise is his Beverly Hills mom.

Other notable names making guest appearances in this set are Ford Rainey, Lisa Gaye, William Smithers, Bert Freed, Don Dubbins, Mark Goddard, Norm Alden, Diana Muldaur, Frank Aletter, Charles Aidman, Milton Selzer, Marion Ross, and teen idol David Cassidy. In full screen format with English mono, the 13 episodes on these three discs look and sound about as good as ever. No extras. Total running time is 663 minutes.

Yeah, I love this show, but not quite the same way I did when it was new. Because since then--somehow--it got kinda dumb. So now, I have to either give up and revel in its campy elements, or force myself to ignore them and try to take it all seriously. This show is tearing me apart! (Baby, don't you dig it?) But no matter how you turn on and tune in to its groovy vibe, THE MOD SQUAD: SEASON TWO, VOLUME TWO is a mind-blowing blast from the past.

THE MOD SQUAD: SEASON 2, VOLUME 2 -- DVD review by porfle

FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SERIES--THE FINAL SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

 

Originally posted on 9/17/09

 

Perfect for Halloween viewing, FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SERIES--THE FINAL SEASON is another outstanding collection of stories that delve headlong into darkest fantasy and full-blown Gothic horror, from one of the finest series of its kind ever made for television.

Richly evocative of the 80s-90s era in horror, yet steeped in the moody aura of the classic fright films of the past, each episode from the 1989-1990 season is like an atmospheric mini-movie replete with hideous monsters, evil spirits, malevolent magic, and everyday people taking a walk on the dark side.

As usual, beautiful redhead Micki Foster (Robey) is still trying to track down the cursed items that were sold from the curiosity shop she's inherited from her evil Uncle Lewis (R.G. Armstrong), who died after his deal with Old Scratch fell through. She's aided by her uncle's former antique dealer, Jack Marshak (Chris Wiggins), whose knowledge of arcane lore and the dark arts is invaluable. Micki's cousin Ryan (John D. LeMay) is half-owner of the shop, but his character is done away with during the season premiere and replaced by Steven Monarque as Johnny Ventura, a wide-eyed novice in the world of the supernatural.

The cursed antiques, which can be anything from a coin to a child's toy to a haunted television set, wield an evil influence over their owners and are usually used for deadly revenge or personal gain. Either way, they tend to kill people in extremely horrible ways, which is bad for our heroes, but great for us horror fans.

The season gets off to blood-curdling start with a two-parter called "The Prophecies." Jack finds himself in a small French village whose convent is the home of a revered nun, Sister Adele (Marie-France Lambert). Her childhood vision of the Holy Mother has made the village a mecca for people seeking to be healed of their afflictions. But this haven of holiness finds itself under attack from fallen angel Asteroth (Fritz Weaver in full Fritz Weaver mode), who, armed with a cursed copy of the Satanic Bible, is determined to fulfill a series of prophecies that will enable Lucifer to walk the earth.

The story loses steam during the second part as Weaver's one-note character begins to grate on the nerves, but the first half of this tale contains some of the scariest stuff ever done for television. When Jack is awakened at 3:33 a.m. by groaning, distorted church bells, the effect is chilling. Then we see Sister Adele attacked by a possessed nun while in prayer, a scene that should unsettle anyone who was ever scared by THE EXORCIST. Soon after, a sequence in which a ward full of mental patients attack the convent's staff and slaughter them in unholy ways is pure bedlam, and very strong stuff. Topping it all off is the bizarre and unexpected fate of Ryan, which is one of the strangest main character departures ever.

"Night Prey" is an old-fashioned wing-flapping, cross-shunning vampire tale which ends with some nice messy disintegrations. In "The Charnel Pit", Micki is sucked into the past via an old painting and falls into the hands of none other than the Marquis de Sade. "The Tree of Life" is the story of a modern sect of Druid priestesses who grow new recruits in their own fertility clinic and then sacrifice the parents to a tree god.

A cursed wheelchair enables a paralyzed girl to get revenge on the boys who tried to rape her in "Crippled Inside", which boasts one of the most amazing stunts I've ever seen--a stuntwoman goes down a flight of stairs in a wheelchair, backwards! Other episodes deal with a headless biker, a television that serves as a conduit for angry ghosts, an evil jack-in-the-box, and a man who uses a cursed leash to (as the episode summary puts it) "merge his dog and his wife into one super-devoted companion." Cool!

As Micki, Robey does her usual great job of being a big-haired babe while bringing depth and conviction to her role. Chris Wiggins as the ever wise and stalwart Jack grounds the show with his dignified presence and experience, no matter how far-out the plots may get. New castmember Steven Monarque's character of Johnny Ventura, first introduced in season two, gives the viewer a fresh, unjaded perspective through which to witness all the weirdness that Micki and Jack have become accustomed to.

Production values are high and the feature-level direction and writing are consistently good. The show doesn't skimp on the horror factor, either--there are lots of awesome old-school makeup effects such as the impressive full-body costume and cable-controlled head for the main creature in "Demon Hunter", and the horrific acid-dissolving victim (like something out of Cronenberg's THE FLY) in "Crippled Inside." In "Stick it in Your Ear", guest star Wayne Best's repulsively organic hearing aid, which allows him to read minds, causes him to break out in some wonderfully disgusting and squishy air-bladder makeup. The show's use of CGI is still hinky-looking as ever, but for the most part the effects are first-rate.

This five-disc set from CBS/Paramount contains all 19 third-season episodes, most with the original network promos. The 1.33:1 picture and Dolby Digital English mono sound are good although the show's cinematography always tended toward the murky side. (A heavy-handed racial episode, "Hate On Your Dial", is shot largely in beautiful black-and-white and is probably the best the show has ever looked.) The episodes often have that melancholy, autumnal atmosphere that is somehow common to many Canadian horror productions of the era, which contributes in large measure to the show's effective mood.

I was very impressed by this series' first season, and FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SERIES--THE FINAL SEASON continues in the same high quality vein to the very end. Horror fans in search of the real deal can't go wrong with these satisfying, finely-wrought tales of terror.


Read our review of "Friday the 13th: The First Season"

 

FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SERIES--THE FINAL SEASON -- DVD review by porfle