Little Britain: The Complete Series

Written by Musgo Del Jefe

Little Britain is an incredible collection of characters covering all levels of British society from the Prime Minister's office to the small village of Llandewi Breffi. All these characters are created and played by Matt Lucas and David Walliams. The show consists of 20-30 short sketches per 30-minute show featuring recurring characters, most with a collection of catchphrases. The sketches are linked by the inventive narration of Tom Baker (the 4th Doctor from Doctor Who). His narration has little to nothing to do with the scenes and is usually nonsensical statements about Britain - "British justice is the best in the world. Anyone who disagrees is either gay, a woman or a mental." Little Britain falls squarely in the tradition of great sketch shows somewhere just south of Monty Python and right around the level of Kids In The Hall.

Why does this work? The answer is simple: volume, volume, volume. At around a minute per sketch and with over 20 established characters, each with a couple catchphrases, there's almost always going to be something for everyone. There's going to be a character or two that everyone knows in their real life. If you don't like a character or sketch, there's another one coming in one minute. For the characters that you know and love, like Carol Beer the travel agent, you know immediately how the sketch is going to play out, with her saying "Computer says no . . . (cough)" as the customer gets more and more frustrated. The anticipation is itself the pleasure.

The characters are the stars. Once each character's particulars have been established, there's less need for set-up for each joke. This is the brilliance of the recurring character in a sketch show that Saturday Night Live perfected years ago. Once we know the character, like Emily Howard (a rubbish transvestite) ("Well, being a lady, I do ladies' things"), we only have to put her in the scene like at the community pool and we can immediately play out the jokes before they happen. We immediately fast-forward to her having to decide which locker room to change into her bathing suit even before she's standing at the two doors at the end of the sketch.

My favorite characters are Andy and Lou. Lou takes care of his wheelchair-bound friend Andy oblivious to the fact that Andy does not need the wheelchair. The Andy/Lou sketches are built upon two possible combinations. One is Andy picking out something we know he won't like (e.g. a plain cone without any ice cream in it or a pet snake) and Lou asking "Are you sure you want this one?" before giving in. And then Andy saying "Don't like it" once he gets what he picked out. The other joke is Andy getting up out of his wheelchair with Lou isn't looking (e.g. to do toilet or even jump off a diving board) and sitting back down just before Lou catches him. It's a simple set-up but just those two possibilities lend themselves to view anticipation at the start of each sketch and delicious payoff.

In addition to a steady diet of established characters and a humorous narrator, Little Britain builds its universe with recurring locations like the pool, the courtroom, and the Chinese restaurant. Although the different characters don't interact, there's the feeling that they do exist in this world of Little Britain. Ending each episode of Season One with a set of characters (Ian and Ian) making a failed attempt at a Guinness World Record (my favorite being the "Most Beans In A Bathtub") puts a nice consistent bow on each episode.

The DVD release of the Little Britain: The Complete Collection is a comprehensive marker for the careers of Matt Lucas and David Walliams. With the duo working on an American version of the show to air on HBO in 2008, this is the perfect time to see where the journey started, catch our breath, and prepare for the rest of the strange trip that Little Britain provides. The DVD release does not cheat you on extras.

The Complete First Series includes funny commentary on all eight episodes and the pilot episode and four live sketches. The Complete Second Series includes commentary on all six episodes, an LB documentary, and some hilarious sketches from the 2005 Comic Relief with Elton John and George Michael (being asked by Lou to come to Andy's birthday party). The Complete Third Series includes commentary on all six episodes and a South Bank Show Little Britain Special. Also included is Little Britain Abroad which is essentially a Christmas special that takes the characters to other countries (including Marjorie Dawes taking her Fat Fighters to the U.S. and Andy and Lou being trapped on a deserted island). This disc includes commentary and a "Little Britain Down Under" documentary. The last disc is Little Britain Live which is recorded from a Blackpool Opera House performance and still includes Tom Baker narration, although it is prerecorded. The Live disc includes commentary and deleted scenes.

There's so much material to get through here that it can overwhelm the actual brilliance of the show. It's simple. Character, setting, catchphrase, end. The biggest complaint of the recurring Saturday Night Live characters was that a "Wayne’s World" or "Church Lady" sketch could go on too long and just peter out of jokes. That isn't allowed to happen here. Daffyd is going to say "I'm the only gay in the village" and within 30 seconds we're moving on to another character. The characters aren't overexposed. Like Marjorie says, "by eating half the calories, you can have twice as much." Less is more here. I hope the future is bright here in America for this show. If it isn't we'll always have this box set to remind us of the good days.

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.: The Third Season

Written by Hombre Divertido

Take a boy from Mayberry and put him in the Marines and you have the incredibly simple plot that is Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Luckily this was not a simple show. The easy road could have been taken here and a show could have been built that relied solely on the talents that Jim Nabors displayed as the lovable Gomer on The Andy Griffith Show for a little more than one season. Nabors could have carried a show for a season or two, but then we would not have Season Three, new on DVD. Instead of taking the easy road, Nabors was surrounded with a solid ensemble including Frank Sutton as Sgt. Vince Carter, Ronnie Schell as Pvt. Gilbert “Duke” Slater, William Christopher as Pvt. Lester Hummel, Roy Stuart as Cpl. Chuck Boyle, Barbara Stuart as Bunny, and Elizabeth MacCrae as Lou Ann.

The fine group of character actors really hit their stride this season, as Nabors began to settle into his role, and Pyle settled into the Marines. The stories are well rounded, and display a continuity that was ahead of its time.

At the core of this show is the relationship between Pyle and Carter, and how said relationship was allowed to evolve over the course of the five-season run. By the third season Pyle had begun to become less of a constant thorn in the side of Carter, and a father-son relationship began to develop, and signs of friendship began to appear.

As in the previously mentioned Andy Griffith Show, this is simple comedy. Not outrageous or hysterically funny, just simple, subtle, and completely enjoyable. Gomer gets into fun adventures whether he is sightseeing in Hollywood and meeting Deborah Wally as a Hollywood Starlet, or dealing with a young Rob Reiner in two of the season’s episodes.

There are thirty digitally re-mastered episodes in this set, and though not all gems, the color is sharp, and they have a good look to them.

Recommendation: Of the rural comedies on CBS in the sixties, Gomer Pyle was consistently one of the funniest. Though there are no extras in this set, it is still worth owning. Whereas most shows of this era get tiring when attempting to watch more than one episode in a session, each episode of this classic leaves you wanting to see what is coming next. The writing is fresh and contains little re-hash. Should make a good Christmas gift.

Beverly Hills 90210: The Third Season

Written by Senora Bicho

In the third season of Beverly Hills 90210 the whole gang are now seniors at West Beverly Hills High School and there is a lot of fun and drama to experience throughout the year.

The series was created by Darren Star, produced by Aaron Spelling, and originally aired from 1990 to 2000. It started out as the story of Brandon (Jason Priestley) and Brenda (Shannen Doherty), twins who moved from Minnesota to Beverly Hills. They experienced quite a culture shock as they tried to adjust to the California high school scene. The show quickly gained popularity and soon became more of a soap opera that dealt with many serious teenage issues.

I was a junior in high school when the show started. I had just moved to another state and could relate to the Walsh twins. As the show continued this group of friends became my friends; I cared about them and tuned in every week to see what would happen next. Even though it is overly dramatic, there is a down-to-earth quality about the show and its characters.

The third season was one of my favorite seasons. Best friends Brenda and Kelly (Jennie Garth) have their friendship tested when Kelly and Dylan (Luke Perry) have an affair. The relationship between Donna (Tori Spelling) and David (Brian Austin Green) continues to flourish while Donna tries to hold on to her virginity. Andrea (Gabrielle Carteris) is still the straight-A student who dreams of a romance with Brandon. Steve (Ian Ziering) continues to be the troublemaker and even gets suspended for hacking into the school’s computer system. Brandon gets a gambling addiction, Kelly gets an eating disorder, and Dylan gets closer to his dad but it is too little too late. That night sound like enough drama, but there was plenty more where that came from.

Along with the 29 episodes there are some special features included. “7 Minutes in Heaven” is a montage of clips from the entire season. Funny enough the Melrose Place: The Third Season offers up “7 Minutes in Hell,” which illustrates perfectly the contrast between these two shows. “The World According to Nat” provides insights from Joe E. Tata who plays Nat, the owner of the Peach Pit, the main hangout of the group. “Everything You Need to Know About Beverly Hills 90210 Season 3” is another carbon copy of a feature on the Melrose Place DVD. Comedians Michael Colton and John Aboud, who star in several shows on VH1, put a playful spin on the storylines from the season. There is also a commentary track on the season finale by executive producer/writer Charles Rosin and writer Karen Rosin.

Beverly Hills 90210: The Third Season offers a great cast of young stars, well-written storylines with relevant issues, and entertaining drama. If you were an avid fan of the show then, you will still enjoy it now. It is being released just in time for the holidays and is a great gift for those who you know that loved it as much as you did.

LOOK

Written by Fumo Verde

Ever wonder what happens outside of the walls of your own room? What others do when you or anyone else for that matter isn’t around? Take the view of the surveillance camera, what does it see? Four billion hours of tape are recorded by over thirty million cameras in the United States capturing the average American around two-hundred times a day. From that vantage point, writer/director Adam Rifkin gives us a perspective only seen in the control rooms or on videotape.

The cameras follow the lives of some very different people: a young female student trying to have sex with her married teacher, a lawyer leading two lives, a department store manager who uses his stockroom for more than just stock, two guys living the lives of convenient store clerks, the office nerd and the people pulling the pranks on him, and two psychopaths’ who go on a streak of robbing and killing. What the cameras see in a week’s time in this small town will leave you wondering what really goes on when you aren’t around. It also makes you wonder who the frack is watching you too.

I enjoyed this movie though it disturbed me a little which is a good thing because any movie that moves you emotionally I consider to be a good film. For example, a woman gets held up at gunpoint as she was just getting money out of the ATM. The bandits lock her in a trunk of some stolen car and leave it at the far end of a mall parking lot. As night turns to day and day back to night, you know the woman is dead. Like life itself, happy endings are few and far between. I don’t think it was a scene like these that disturbed me; it’s just the thought of knowing that people like that are out there. As a surfer I know sharks sit 300 yards away from what I consider the line-up, but I don’t talk about them or even think about them when I’m in the water. After viewing this film, every time I see a surveillance camera I think about what I don’t see.

This just reminds me that we live in a harsh world, and Rifkin has done a superb job by merging the lives of his characters as they appear in different locales while the “watching eyes” keep tabs on what they are doing. The stories feel real and are played well by all of the actors. One of my favorite scenes happens in the police department when the young teen who had sex with her teacher gives a gory, sobbing detail of how her teacher rapped her. To her surprise and the surprise of her parents who believe her, the police inform them the school has an extensive surveillance system. Once her parents see what really happened, her crocodile tears turn to true tears of sorrow.

Oh, the camera sees all, twenty-four seven, so just remember, you are being watched. If you don’t think so, each time you go to some store or are at some intersection just move your eyes about and you will see the camera watching you, take your time and just LOOK.

AUGUST RUSH

Written by Hombre Divertido

Rarely has so much potential been squandered on poor writing and poor directing. The premise was solid, an excellent cast was assembled, and said cast gave good performances considering what they were given, yet this Oliver Twist meets Serendipity with a splash of Searching for Bobby Fisher thrown in results in 113 minutes of painful schlock.

Lyla (Keri Russell) who is an accomplished cellist meets Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) the up-and-coming rock star at a party. They have a one-night stand that results in her pregnancy. Unfortunately they are not able to meet up the next day and are incapable of finding each other again for more than eleven years. Don’t ask why. No brains involved in this production, and thus none allowed in the theatre.

Prior to the birth, Lyla gets in an accident and is told by her father (William Sadler) that she lost the baby. Actually the baby did survive, but Grandpa put the kid in an orphanage so as not to interfere with her daughter’s budding career.

So the child grows up in the orphanage, and Lyla and Louis both give up playing music due to the unhealed emotional wounds associated with the loss of their child and love respectively. Nope, no questions allowed here either.

We pick up our story meeting Evan (Freddie Highmore) who is eleven and has grown up in an orphanage. He is not only the odd kid amongst his peers, but believes his parents are alive. He eventually runs away to the big city where he is taken in by the Wizard (Robin Williams), who has the Fagin role in managing a group of parentless street performers. Evan’s musical gifts are discovered, developed, and eventually exploited, by the Wizard who renames Evan “August Rush” for marketing purposes. Luckily Evan/August manages to break free and ends up at Julliard. Yes, Julliard, where he magically becomes enrolled. Try to let it go.

On his deathbed, Lyla’s father confesses, and she sets out to find her son. Not a bad premise so far.

Also in the cast is Terrance Howard, as a social worker, and his performance is fine, as is the rest of the cast. The problems here are writing and directing. The script contains no turns that you won’t see coming, and a ton of turns that should have been taken that remain unexplored. The dialog is one–dimensional and you can see the actors straining to get out of the ties that bind them. The directing also contains too many bad choices. From scene construction, to camera angles, to editing, this film is just one frustration after another.

The music is good, and the film is attractive to look at. That’s pretty much it.

Recommendation: Don’t rush in August or any other month to see this sappy predictable piece of film on DVD or television. Let us hope that the American public has not set its bar so low that it will dive into and embrace this which has no depth.

24: Season Six

Written by Guest Reviewer Mary K. Williams

Whether you loved or hated Season Six, you have to admit there were still plenty of amazing moments: Jack Bauer neatly snipping off the finger of Russian Diplomat Markov with a cigar cutter, Abu Fayed drilling Morris to get him to arm his nuclear devices, Reed Pollock kidnapping Tom Lennox and planning a Presidential assassination in a White House boiler room. Gredenko with his arm. Gredenko without his arm. Kindly James Cromwell (Babe anyone?) suffocating his lovable son Graem in order to keep him mum on family and corporate secrets, and so damn many more. The seven-disc set captures those moments with the full 24 episodes, plus special features that include commentaries by the stars, writers, producers and even the Emmy-winning composer, Sean Callery.

The basic, if implausible, story takes place about 20 months after Day Five. Jack had successfully brought down the corrupt President Logan, but was then straightaway imprisoned by the Chinese in retaliation for his supposed misdeeds at the Chinese Consulate during Day Four. Now, nearly two years later, the U.S. is deteriorating from terrorist attacks. Finally, one Abu Fayed has alerted the American authorities that he will help them end the attacks by giving them the location of Hamri Al-Assad, the supposed mastermind of the recent terrorism.

The catch is that President Wayne Palmer (deceased ex-President David Palmer’s brother) must give up Jack Bauer to Fayed. After much effort, a visibly tattered and tortured Jack is released from China and brought to Los Angeles, only to be prepped for sacrifice to Fayed. While under custody, Fayed informs Jack that Assad is not the true mastermind, but is trying to stop the terrorism that he, Fayed is really responsible for.

The ensuing 20-odd episodes follow Jack’s efforts at finding suitcase nukes in L.A., and President Palmer’s failing health at the White House, along with side plots involving Chloe and Morris’s relationship, Vice President Daniel’s unwise dalliance with his aide, and Jack’s father, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew reappearing in his life in an unpleasant way. There is also a brief but strange resurgence of former President Logan and First Lady Martha Logan.

While it’s great to watch the whole season from 6:00 AM on, watching on a DVD format can be overwhelming, as most viewers will watch several episodes at one sitting. Although the continuity is a good thing, the unremitting tension is tough on the nerves. Now’s the time to turn on the special features, because a relentlessly serious show like 24 needs a break, even a little levity. While there is no blooper reel, there are some very funny moments beginning with a never-seen cameo that features Ricky Gervais (creator and star of the original BBC’s The Office and star of HBO’s Extras). Gervais plays a Presidential adviser waiting not so patiently on the sidelines during an Oval Office meeting. How Jayne Atkinson, D.B. Woodside, and Peter MacNicol kept from busting out into laughter is a credit to their acting skills.

But we do get to hear many of the actors cracking wise while they watch the show. Each disc has at least one or two episodes that have running commentaries by pairs of cast members, producers, or writers. Some of the funniest were the observations of Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe) and Joel Surnow (co-creator and exec-producer) as they watched 12:00 AM to 1:00 AM. They poked fun at Powers Booth’s character (Vice President Noah Daniels) calling him Barry White, and made kissy noises while Booth was lip-locked with Kari Matchett (Lisa Miller).

Jean Smart and Gregory Itzin were hilarious while they were covering hour 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Of course, this hour included their big scene at the “spa.” Remember? Martha found a place to store her paring knife? In seeing this scene again after so many months, I was struck (no pun intended) with the absurdity of the whole thing. Of course, Martha was supposed to have been somewhat unbalanced, and Logan’s visit would be just the thing to rile her, but still, it was silly. Smart and Itzin seemed to think so too, but they still had fun reliving the scene. And they both agreed that coming back to do the show for a limited run was like just “eating one potato chip.”

All those involved were genuinely appreciative of each other’s talents. They gave especially high marks to Powers Boothe, Peter MacNicol, Kari Matchett, and composer Sean Callery. Nearly everyone spoke of what a fantastic job he does of creating the right moods with his scoring. Callery himself was able to add his thoughts to the 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM hour, partnered with Adoni Maropis (Fayed).

Some of the other features were more basic overviews of how extras (or background talent) are directed, or how props are categorized and stored. Take it or leave it type stuff. But there is a nice section demonstrating all the set up for the opening hour’s Metro bus explosion and a “Look Inside the Writer’s Room” (pre-WGA strike, of course). And for more giggles, the DVD-ROM has the hidden feature of 24 Minutes: Jack Bauer on The Simpsons.

For those who typically don’t bother with commentary options on a DVD, give these a chance. It’s a real treat to get to know the person behind the character, music and story. They were all clearly were having a lot of fun watching the show, and it was more than refreshing listening to them and others do what I have done every week during while 24 is running. Enjoying the hard work, and getting caught up in the drama and suspense, but giving it the irreverent once-over.

Laverne & Shirley: The Third Season

Written by Senora Bicho

“Schlemiel! Schlemazl! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!" I’m gonna do it! I have decided to make my dreams come true by reviewing the Third Season of Laverne & Shirley.

Created by Gary Marshall as a spin-off from the popular sitcom Happy Days, the series originally aired from 1976 to 1983. It is set in the early sixties Milwaukee and follows the adventures of Shotz Brewery bottle-cappers Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall, Gary's sister) & Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams). The show started off extremely strong in the ratings and was the #1-rated show from 1977-1979. Then, the network moved it from its Tuesday night timeslot to Thursdays. It dropped out of the Top 30 completely and even after ABC returned the show to it regular spot, it never regained its popularity and hovered in the Top 20s for the duration of its run.

I was only three when the show first aired, but I discovered it in syndication in the early eighties and learned to love it. I looked up to Laverne and Shirley as role models. They were best friends and roommates who worked, played, and did lots of dating. A lot of shows centered on strong females have come and gone since Laverne & Shirley, but unfortunately it doesn’t hold much of its original charm.

Laverne is the outgoing flirt with embroidered L’s on all of her clothes while Shirley is the demure innocent. There were some trademark aspects of the show that I had long since forgotten but that brought a smile to my face such as Laverne drinking milk and Pepsi and Shirley’s “Boo Boo Kitty” stuffed cat.

In Season Three, the girls find themselves in many wild predicaments such as flying a plane and helping out the FBI. They even go on a very glamorous vacation, a cruise through the great lakes. In addition to the lead actresses, the regularly featured supporting cast provides some chuckles. Laverne and Shirley’s dimwitted but lovable neighbors Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski (Michael McKean) and Andrew "Squiggy" Squigman (David Lander) are one of the bright spots of the show and probably the most well known for their crazy antics. There is also Laverne’s father Frank De Fazio (Phil Foster) and his girlfriend Edna Babish (Betty Garrett), and Shirley’s on-again, off-again love interest Carmine "The Big Ragu" Ragusa (Eddie Mekka), a former boxer turned dancer. There are also a few noteworthy guest stars this season including Fabian and Harry Shearer as Mr. Shotz.

The show has a sweet and innocent nature but the laughs are a bit lacking with silly storylines and lots of bad one-liners. The friendship of Laverne and Shirley is the heart of the show though and still comes shinning through. The DVD set includes all 24 original episodes with no other added features.

SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis

Written by Pollo Misterioso

If I were an eight-year-old girl that watched cartoons I would turn to Nickelodeon and I would love Spongebob Squarepants because it is so much fun. Now I’m not an eight-year-old girl, graduating from my days with dolls, but I still enjoy Spongebob Squarepants, which says a lot about this children’s show; its ridiculous nature translates to all audiences, making it entertaining for everyone.

In the latest installment to the Spongebob Squarepants DVD collection comes Atlantis SquarePantis, featuring a two-part episode with the same title, along with six other entertaining episodes. In these episodes the much-favored characters of Bikini Bottom travel to new places, meet new friends, and sing many new songs that get themselves into lots of trouble, but not without good intentions.

For those that have never watched Spongebob Squarepants, this cartoon takes place underwater in the town of Bikini Bottom. As the opening credits remark, our main character, who is a sponge that wears square pants, lives in a pineapple next to his best friend Patrick Star, a pink starfish that always tags along, and Squidward, an octopus that despises and often takes advantage of our sponge friend.

The “Atlantis SquarePantis” episode begins on the freeways of Los Angeles, introducing Patchy the Pirate stuck in traffic and trying to get to Encino. When he finally reaches his destination, it no longer exists and it reminds him of “another story about a lost city” and we then enter the animated world that we are so familiar with. Here we find Spongebob blowing bubbles with Patrick. Amidst their bubble blowing they stumble upon the missing half of the amulet of Atlantis—once put together the path to the lost city of Atlantis is revealed. Spongebob and his crew are then transported to the city “where all their dreams come true.”

Reminiscent of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when they arrive at the lost city they are greeted by the Lord Royal Highness, voiced by David Bowie—the parallels to Willy Wonka are unmistakable. As they are escorted through the city, the group gets smaller as they venture off into their desired parts of the city. But all good things come to an end when Spongebob manages to get himself into the worst of situations, shipping them back to Bikini Bottom.

The episode is filled with entertaining songs, experimental animation (not usually seen in their other episodes) and a side plot with Patchy the Pirate that takes place in real time. This episode is a prime example of why this show is so entertaining. Unlike most cartoons, Spongebob relies on ridiculous and absurd situations that never really get to a moral conclusion, but somehow wrap up in an entertaining and playful fashion.

Other episodes on the DVD include “ Money Talks,” “The Krusty Sponge,” “Spongebob vs. the Patty Gadget,” “Sing a Song of Patrick,” “Slimy Dancing” and “Picture Day”—all of which put Spongebob and friends in crazy situations that work out somehow. The entire DVD runs only 93 minutes and contains an interesting special feature that runs through the step-by-step process of the making of an episode that is informative to both kids and adults. Other special features include “Inside the Spongebob Animation Studios” which is a very short look at what the studio does.

This is a great edition to any Spongebob collection, especially for the title episode that was given special care and attention. This little yellow sponge clearly doesn’t take himself too seriously and neither should we, making it fun to trigger our inner eight-year-old.

Mork & Mindy: The Third Season

Written by Hombre Divertido

One cannot ignore the talent of Robin Williams, and after introducing the character of Mork on an episode of Happy Days, it was quite evident why ABC rushed to create a show for him. Most comedians cannot carry a show on their own, but we all know that Robin Williams is far from “most comedians.” Unfortunately, even he was not enough to carry this show through its entire run, and it clearly started to show in the third season.

Some of the episodes are cute, but there is simply no supporting cast around Mork. Mindy (Pam Dawber) plays an attractive straight man to the comedic team, but it was clear that the writers did not know how to write anything other than “Robin makes this funny.” To have Tom Poston (as neighbor Mr. Bickley) on the cast list and not be able to incorporate his talents into comedic scripts is simply tragic. Also listed in the cast but rarely seen were Jay Thomas and Gina Hecht as brother and sister owners of a local restaurant, Jim Staahl as Mindy’s cousin, and of course Conrad Janis as Mindy’s father who served as the voice of reason in most episodes.

In season four, Jonathan Winters would be added to the cast as Mearth, the son of Mork and Mindy, and though he clearly brought more comedic genius to the show, it was too late, and the show ended in 1982 after four seasons and ninety-five episodes.

When viewing the third season, though Williams is still funny, he appears to be struggling to make comedy out of the weak plots. Fundamentally the season is highlighted by episodes featuring strong supporting performances by guests. In “Mork in Never Never Land” Mork meets his pen pal who lives in an asylum and thinks he is Peter Pan. The lighthearted performance of David Spielberg makes this an enjoyable outing. In “Mork the Prankster” we are introduced to Todd Norman Taylor (TNT) portrayed by Bill Kirchenbauer who made such a lasting impression, that he is brought back in future episodes.

Any appearance by semi-regular Robert Donner as the local town nut job Exidor is fun, and there is also a pre-Mearth appearance by Jonathan Winters as Mindy’s uncle in “Mork and the Family Reunion”. You can also see a young Corey Feldman appearing in several episodes.

No extras in this set which is disappointing.

Recommendation: There are a few fun episodes, and it is enjoyable looking for stars of that era such as Foster Brooks, Ross Martin, and Lyle Waggoner, but the show just looks tired by the third season. Perhaps some insightful extras would have made this collection worth recommending, but without any bonus material, the first season is a far better reflection of the true comedic nature of this venture.

Star Trek: The Original Series - Season One

Written by Musgo Del Jefe

What an intimidating task. Star Trek is the franchise by which all other franchises are measured. Since Star Trek: The Original Series debuted in 1966, there's been five other series and ten movies (with the eleventh in production). That doesn't even take into account the number of books, games, comics, theme park rides, college courses and conventions that this series launched. The Star Trek franchise has always been on the cutting edge of technology - making their product available on VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and now HD-DVD, ahead of other competitors. This new package is impressive but it's expensive too. Does it "boldly go" where no previous release has gone before?

In the interest of full disclosure, I first caught Star Trek during syndication runs of the original series in the ‘70s. It was a Sunday night staple for me on our local CBS station. It laid the groundwork for my future fandom of Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica. I've been a casual fan of all the succeeding TV series and the films. But I've always moved forward with the series, rarely taking time to revisit the past. This release let me take a look at the series through eyes that have seen the characters and themes age 40 years.

What strikes me most is how little "sci-fi" that most of the Season One episodes are in this "sci-fi" series. Or should I say, how little "space" is involved in this "space drama." I think that's the core strength of any successful drama - the characters take precedence over the setting. This first season is not merely a "Monster Of The Week" show. That type of show is only as good as the "Monster/Alien" and as this show devolved into that towards the end of Season Three, it lost its heart.

Many of the Season One episodes have the feel of Twilight Zone episodes, a series that ended in 1964. The idea of a Twilight Zone series with a dramatic thread connecting the episodes isn't far from set-up of the series. The series has one static setting, The Enterprise, each week and a fluid setting, whatever planet they are exploring. That consistency of characters interacting with new characters allows a depth that true anthology series can't approach.

In "The Naked Time", we see all the elements come together effectively. The crew is set to pick up scientists from a planet that is about to explode. The exploding planet sets a time constraint on the episode. The scientists are found dead on the planet but crewman Joe carelessly becomes contaminated on the planet with a strange liquid (a plot device that The X-Files would lift directly from this series). Once back aboard the Enterprise, Joe acts irrationally and after infecting Lt. Sulu and other crewmembers, he is relegated to sickbay. One of the infected crewmembers, Lt. Keven Reilly declares himself the Captain and storms the Engineering room, locks everyone else out and starts pushing buttons randomly.

The dramatic line is perfectly paced. As more of the crew is becoming infected and acting irrationally, the deadline before the planet explodes is speeding up. The ship is caught in the gravitational pull of the planet, the planet is going to explode in 15 minutes but the engines have been turned off and need 30 minutes to restart. The infection serves a metaphorical purpose also. It causes the infected person to show their hidden personality and to not be in control of their emotions. For the younger crewmembers, it illustrates the older generations fear of the Baby Boomers generation in the 60s. For our two lead characters, Capt. Kirk and Spock, we see a bittersweet side to them. Spock cries because he cannot tell his mother he loves her. Kirk expresses his sorrow about his love life, exclaiming that the only "female" in his like is the Enterprise.

Dr. McCoy is able to form an antidote to cure everyone but there's still the matter of the exploding planet. The crew attempts an unproven procedure to restart the engine. At the last second, the engine is started and the crew saved. But the result is a time warp taking the crew 71 hours back in time. So, not only has the crew solved the problem of escaping an exploding planet, but this development of time warp opens story possibilities for future episodes.

This is where the series is at its best. In "The Enemy Within", it's a time constraint of escaping a freezing planet and Kirk is the typical Twilight Zone innocent character accused of heinous behavior that he didn't commit. Shatner's narration as Capt. Kirk makes his Captain’s Log entries is a perfect Rod Serling to the show. Much like another Desilu production, The Untouchables, the narration consistently sets us in time/date/location at the beginning of the show and summarizes our situation as a scene break throughout the show.

This new release is a HD DVD Combo Format. This means you get both HD and regular DVD versions of the episodes and some of the extra features are in DVD format. There are special deluxe HD features that delve deeper into 7 of the key episodes and an interactive tour of the Enterprise on HD. The best of the over 80 minutes of featurettes is "The Birth Of A Timeless Legacy" that compares the two pilot episodes (not included here) and the development of the core crew characters.

I must balance all this goodness with just a small wet blanket (at least for some of you). These episodes are remastered and in the vernacular of the day, they are "enhanced". At first glance, these are the best looking Star Trek: TOS episodes I have ever seen. Even in their first runs through syndication, I remember grainy prints with scratches. These feature crisp colors and contrast.

I'm not sure that the other changes stay within the style of the original series. The Enterprise effect shots have been redone along with all space SPFX shots. Planets now look more realistic and phasers have a more powerful looking blast. In "Tomorrow's Yesterday", the slingshot around the Sun is so well done that it looks like an effect from a current film and seems out of place with the acting and scenery in the rest of the show. As does the rerecording of the theme. The other musical cues sound great, but the recreation of the opening theme with a crisp track of Shatner's narration seems awkward at best and doesn't bring me back to those days of staying up to watch it in syndication on Sunday nights.

If the HD-DVD format is around to stay, then this will be a benchmark for everyone's HD-DVD collection. If there's another format after Blu-Ray (still awaiting a Star Trek release) and HD-DVD, you can be sure that Star Trek will be exploring those strange new worlds. I enjoyed revisiting Star Trek's past as much as I know I'll enjoy the next movie. If you haven't had time to enjoy this series lately, you'll find a lot to like about Season One. Brilliant pieces like "Space Seed" and the best episode of the series, "The City On The Edge Of Forever" make this a worthy addition to the Star Trek franchise.