Blu-Ray/Movie Review: American Beauty

 

American Beauty is a 1999 drama written by Sam Mendes and Alan Ball, and directed by Mendes (in his directorial debut). It starred Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Mena Suvari, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, and Chris Cooper. The outstanding supporting cast includes Allison Janney, Peter Gallagher, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Scott Bakula, John Cho, and Amber Smith (the latter two having very brief scenes). In the film, Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a middle-aged guy in a loveless marriage and a dead-end job who goes through a midlife crisis, inspired to quit his job by his new neighbor (and his daughter's new boyfriend), Ricky (played by Bentley). Benning plays his very Type-A wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays his teenage daughter, Jane. Burnham starts lusting after his daughter's friend, Angela, and Cooper plays Ricky's father, Frank. The movie is about the parts of suburban life that people keep hidden behind closed doors, and how the perfect lives people try to project to their neighbors are often not reality.

The blu-ray release is a single-disc release. It carries over some (but not all) of the bonus content from the original DVD release. The bonus features include two versions of the theatrical trailers, a storyboard presentation with commentary by Mendes and the Director of Photography, a behind-the-scenes featurette featuring interviews with the cast and crew, and a commentary track on the film by Mendes and Alan Ball. It does not include the digital screenplay, production notes, the DVD-ROM content, or cast and crew biographies that were included on the DVD. The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is excellent, and the HD format is a definite upgrade from the DVD. 

Ultimately, the movie is wonderful. It won several Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It is well-written and very well-acted. Some of the story is very cringeworthy, which was the point. All of the main characters are flawed at the very least, deeply so in some cases. It is a unique movie in which even the protagonists are not all that good. It deals with issues such as homophobia, adultery, lust, drug use, abuse (and ignoring abuse), and the like. It does contain a lot of swearing, sexual content, and nudity, so it very much earns its R-rating. And of course, in the last several years, Spacey has become a persona non grata because of multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. He was absolutely the star of the movie, and his performance helped carry the film and make it what it was. However, he definitely did not carry the film all by himself, and it would not have been as good as it was without the rest of the cast and crew. So, whatever Spacey did or did not do in his personal life, you can still enjoy the movie. Ultimately, it is a great movie that deserved all the acclaim it received and is absolutely worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bewitched: Season 2

 

The 38-episode second season of Bewitched aired during the 1965/1966 TV season. All of the main cast members (Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, Agnes Moorehead, David White, Alice Pierce, and George Tobias) returned for season two; however, Alice Pierce's role was reduced throughout the season as she was sick with cancer and passed away before the season finished filming. Mary Grace Canfield was cast as Abner's sister, Harriet, who was house-sitting while Abner and Gladys were out of town, and filled a similar role to Pierce's nosy neighbor who sees Samantha using magic. The guest cast included several notable guest stars. Paul Lynd returned in a completely different role from his first-season role, now playing Samantha's uncle, Arthur. Bernard Fox and Alice Ghostley made their first appearances in the series in roles different from the ones they would play as recurring characters in later seasons. Other guest stars included James Doohan (who would go on to play Mr. Scott in Star Trek), Maureen McCormick (who would later play Marcia Brady on The Brady Bunch), Eve Arden, and Richard Dreyfuss. Marion Lane and Maurice Evans reprised their roles as Aunt Clara and Maurice, respectively.

As of this writing, the Blu-Rays are only available in the complete series release. The individual seasons are available on DVD. In the Blu-Ray set, the second season episodes are spread across three discs. They are all in black-and-white as originally filmed and aired. The only bonus material on the second-season discs is commentary tracks for a couple of episodes, created for the Blu-Ray release. It has been released on DVD a few times, including one version with the episodes in color and another with them in black and white.

The series continues to be a story-of-the-week sitcom, but every so often, the writers do reference earlier plotlines. There is one major ongoing serial arc this season: Samantha's pregnancy and the birth of Tabitha. This was done to write Elizabeth Montgomery's real-life pregnancy into the show. A couple of the episodes this season were repeats of season one episodes (the Christmas Episode and the episode in which Samantha meets Darrin's parents), with the opening scenes reshot, but the bulk of the episodes playing as they aired in season one. This may have been done to give Montgomery time off toward the end of her pregnancy. The episodes are mostly good, but some of the material is very dated (and outdated now). As is the case with many older sitcoms, some of the jokes would never be used today, but overall, it is a very family-friendly sitcom. Ultimately, it is a good season that is worth watching, especially if you watched it when it originally aired or watched the reruns as a kid.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Good Place: Complete Series

 

The Good Place was a comedy series that aired over four seasons on NBC from 2016 to 2020. The primary cast included Kristen Bell, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, D'Arcy Carden, Manny Jacinto, and Ted Danson. The supporting cast included many recognizable actors, including Tiya Sircar, Adam Scott, Marc Evan Jackson, Jason Mantzoukas, and Maya Rudolph. The show was created by Michael Schur, who was a writer on The Office (and also played Dwight's cousin Mose), as well as an executive producer of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation. While this show is totally different from either of those, you do get some cameo appearances by some of the actors from those shows, as well as some SNL alums. The series was relatively short, with 13 episodes per season, and just 4 seasons. 

It was a show about the afterlife that managed to avoid discussing religion or its implications. The premise is that during your time on Earth, you earn or lose points through your actions and that depending on your point total at death you end up in The Good Place, or The Bad Place. Bell stars as Eleanor Shellstrop, a person who was essentially a horrible human being and ended up in The Good Place due to a clerical error. Ted Danson plays Michael, the architect of the neighborhood that Elanor lives in during the afterlife. D'Arcy Carden plays the afterlife version of Alexa or Siri, named Janet. William Jackson Harper plays Chidi, a recently deceased professor of ethics and moral philosophy. Jameela Jamil plays Tahani, a rich British socialite. Manny Jacinto plays Jianyu, a monk who has taken a vow of silence. There are a lot of twists and turns throughout the course of the series, and not everything, and everyone, is as they seem. I will not go into too much detail to keep from spoiling anything, but the show (and the characters) go through a ton of change and development over the course of the series. However, the main themes narrow down to what it means to be family, what it means to be friends, and what it means to be a soulmate. The show also explores what makes a good person good and a bad person bad, and whether a person can improve themselves to become better. And of course, a take on what happens after we die. It is primarily a serial comedy, where events in each episode build upon those in previous episodes, but it also includes some drama, especially in the final season. The series finale was one of the best I have seen for any show. The writers found a way to perfectly end the series and give a great send-off to all the characters. The finale was the one episode of the series with almost no comedy. It was really an hour-long, very sad goodbye to both the fans of the show and the characters and actors who played them.

The Blu-Ray set is a nine-disc set stored in a large keep case that can be stored in a slip cover. The set contains two discs per season, each featuring only the episodes, and a ninth disc with bonus material. The extras were carried over from the individual season DVD releases and include gag reels, special effects reels, a 50-minute long portion of the 2019 Comic-Con panel, and the after-show that ran on NBC after the series finale. Apparently, the extended episodes that are included here are not the same as those that can be streamed on the NBC website or that were included in the UK Blu-Ray releases, nor were there the episodes (which sound like web shorts) that bridged seasons three and four. So, while what was included was good, it is not complete. In the US, the show is only available on Blu-ray as a complete series set; individual season sets are only available on DVD.

The series itself was fantastic. The show was well served by having a shorter run of episodes per season, and it ended before it got stale and repetitive. The acting and writing were top-notch. It was very cleverly written, and the writers did a good job making a series about the afterlife that managed to steer clear of any real discussion of religion and never endorsed or took shots at any particular religion. I think a special shout-out has to go out to D'Arcy Carden, who not only had to play different versions of her own character but, in one season-three episode, had to play most of the other characters on the show as well. I would describe the show as PG-13 plus, as there were definitely sex and drug references, although the show did cleverly find a way to get around swearing. Although, the gag reels had a ton of swearing in them. While I cannot guarantee that everyone will love the show, if you are looking for a good comedy to check out, this one is definitely worth it. And, while getting this Blu-Ray set does require a lot of people to double-dip who likely bought the individual season sets on DVD for seasons 1-3, and the extras are not as good as they should have been, I believe it is still worth picking up on Blu-Ray.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: The Complete Series

 

Cheers was the long-running sitcom that aired for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993, starring Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt, John Ratzenberger, Shelly Long, Nicholas Colasanto, Woody Harrelson, Bebe Neuwirth, Kirstie Alley, and Kelsey Grammer. Long left the series after five seasons (in the classic 'trying to move on to greener pastures' move that did not work out as planned), save for a guest-starring role in the series finale. Alley joined the series in the sixth season to essentially replace Long's character. Grammer joined the series as a recurring character in season two and was promoted to a series regular in season five. Harrelson joined the cast in season four after the death of Nicholas Colasanto toward the end of season three. Ratzenberger appeared in every season and most episodes, but was not promoted to a series regular until the second season. Neuwirth joined the series in season four, making a couple of guest appearances, then was a recurring character in seasons five through nine and a main character for the final two seasons (although her role in the final season was significantly scaled back). 

The series also featured many recognizable actors in guest and recurring roles, including Dan Hedaya, Jean Kasem, Fred Dryer, Jay Thomas, Roger Rees, Tom Skerritt, Frances Sternhagen, John Cleese, Emma Thompson, Leah Remi, Tom Berenger, Kate Mulgrew, Christopher Lloyd, Marcia Cross, and Harry Anderson. Many celebrities and politicians also made cameo appearances in the series, including Harry Connick Jr., Bobby Hatfield, Bill Medley, Wade Boggs, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Alex Trebek, Arsenio Hall, Dick Cavett, Robber Urich, Johnny Carson, Gary Hart, Tip O'Neil, John Kerry, and Michael Dukakis.

In the series, Danson played Sam Malone, a skirt-chasing ex-major league pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and recovering alcoholic. Depending on the season, he either owned or was an employee of the Boston bar, Cheers. The series was primarily a story-of-the-week procedural about the goings-on at the bar, the lives of the employees and patrons, and so on. It did, however, include serial storylines and occasionally referred back to prior episodes or had running jokes throughout the series (such as the Bar Wars episodes). During the first five seasons, the prominent serial storyline involved the relationship between Sam and know-it-all waitress Diane Chambers (played by Long). They had one of the original toxic love-hate relationships (at least from the 1980s onward), and the writers constantly teased the tension between them. After Long left, Alley came in to play Rebecca Howe, the manager of the bar, who initially despises, but then eventually warms up to Sam. Perlman plays a snarky waitress named Carla who hates (or is at least annoyed by everyone, and Ratzenberger and Wendt play regulars who seem to almost live at the bar (which becomes a running joke throughout the series). Grammer plays Frasier Crane, who is initially brought in as a rival for Sam and a love interest for Diane, who eventually becomes a regular patron, and Neuwirth (who steals nearly every scene she is in) is brought in as a love interest for Frasier.

The blu-ray set is a 33-disc set. Each season is packaged in its own keep case consisting of three discs, and then the keep cases are packaged in a decorative outer box. As of this writing, the seasons are not available individually on blu-ray, just as a part of this set. The A/V quality of the set is excellent, especially for an older TV series. The HD transfer, although not always perfect, is extremely good, and the difference in quality is noticeable when watching the bonus features, which are in standard definition. The only weakness in the set is the bonus features. All the bonus content from the previously released DVDs is included with this set. Most of the bonus content is located on the discs for seasons 1-3 and features cast interviews, behind-the-scenes material, a trivia game, and featurettes on specific characters. The discs for Season 11 include episode promos for each episode, which would play at the end of the prior week's episode as a "next time on Cheers" promo. What the set does not include, however, are things like the Super Bowl promo or the 30th anniversary reunion special.

Some parts of the show and the writing are very dated. There were some jokes (especially in the early seasons) that would never make it to air today. Other aspects of the show are remarkably timeless. Some cringeworthy moments have not aged well, but there are many laugh-out-loud moments to be found. The writers did a good job of balancing the storylines for the large ensemble cast, and every main character received at least one episode per season centered on them. In a prophetic twist, the writers inserted several jokes about the (unfortunately, the 45th and 47th) president, essentially mocking him as a joke. Alley's character (who was portrayed as a loser) was always saying how she wanted to marry him. In the final season, Fraiser was horrified when he helped get Woody elected to the Boston City Council because of how stupid and unqualified Woody was. Of course, both Alley and Grammer would go on to become t***p supporters. Ultimately, it is an iconic series that, whether you have never seen it before, were very young when it originally aired, or have seen every episode, is worth watching and adding to a physical media collection. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 11

 

The 28-episode 11th and final season of Cheers aired during the 1992/1993 TV season. In it, the writers both continued to develop the various characters and incorporate new storylines, while also wrapping up existing storylines and bringing many cast members from prior seasons back. All of the primary cast members returned; however, Bebe Neuwirth's role as Lilith was reduced to a recurring role (she was included in the main credits in the episodes she appeared), with her last appearance being in the 17th episode. The guest cast this season included Eddie Jones, John Mahoney, and Peri Gilpin (who would both go on to play different characters in the spin-off series), Dana Delany, Pat Hingle, Peter MacNicol, Tom Berenger, and Spanky McFarland (from the Little Rascals TV Series). They also brought back Dan Hedaya, Jean Kasem, Leah Remi, Roger Rees, and Harry Anderson to reprise their recurring characters. And, of course, Shelly Long made her long-awaited return in the series finale. 

The blu-rays are again, as of this writing, only included in the complete series release and are not available individually. The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. The only bonus features are promos for each episode that play in standard definition. The episodes can also be played with English captions.

The final season wraps up the series very well. There are some very good storylines, such as the bar partially burning down, the group tearing apart the rebuilt bar to look for another one of Robin Colcord's money belts, Lilith cheating on Frasier and running away with a colleague to live in a bio-dome and Woody running for city council, much to Frasier's horror since he considers Woody totally unqualified to hold any political office (which is a bit ironic or at least humorous since Kelsey Grammer is a huge t***p supporter in real life and there is no bigger unqualified buffon in the history of politics than him). Rebecca finally finds love (kind of), Cliff gets promoted, and Norm finally gets a job (and finds out that Woody is not as much of a pushover as he seems). And, the final resolution to Sam and Diane's relationship, where they continue to try to one-up each other, and we learn why Diane did not return after six months as she promised. Ultimately, the writers do a good job of wrapping up the series and sending it out on a good note. While it wasn't a perfect season, if you liked the series up to this point, it is worth watching to see how it ends.

Blu-Ray/Movie Collection Review: The Oceans Trilogy

 

The Ocean's trilogy is a collection of three movies, starting with the 2001 remake of Ocean's 11 (which originally starred The Rat Pack), followed by the 2004 and 2007 sequels, Ocean's 12 and Ocean's 13. The core cast members of the updated version and the sequels included George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, and Andy Garcia. The supporting cast included Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner, Elliot Gould, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, and Shaobo Qin. The rest of the cast changed from film to film, but included Vincent Cassel, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Robbie Coltrane, Eddie Izzard, Albert Finney, Cherry Jones, Ellen Barkin, Al Pacino, and David Paymer. 

The basic storyline of the first movie is that a group of thieves led by George Clooney and Brad Pitt put together and execute a plan to steal 160 million dollars from a Vegas casino owner (played by Andy Garcia). The sequels stood mostly on their own, essentially as revenge stories. Ocean's 12 and 13 were very different, with Ocean's 12 essentially being an extension of the storyline from the first film, and Ocean's 13 having a more stand-alone story. They are all directed by Steven Soderbergh and maintained the same production team, which I think allowed the films to be cohesive, keeping a similar tone and feel, without being carbon copies of each other. 

The blu-ray set is a four-disc set. The A/V quality of the blu-rays is good, but is probably not what A/V enthusiasts would consider reference quality. Ocean's 13 definitely looks the best of the three. Each movie is on its own disc and includes at least one commentary track, deleted/extended scenes, and some behind-the-scenes material (such as the HBO first looks), specific to the particular movie. The Ocean's 13 disc also includes a feature on real-life heists (such as the MIT card-counting group). Then there is a separate blu-ray with more bonus material around two hours worth of extras that spanned all three movies. 

The movies were well-written and acted. Each film had a mix of comedy and drama, with some action included here and there. Ultimately, if you are a fan of the movies and like watching the bonus material, this is definitely a good pickup.

Blu-Ray/Movie Collection Review: Police Academy 1-7: The Complete Collection

 

Police Academy was a rather prolific series of comedy movies (at least at first) during the 1980s. They were put out in rapid succession every year from 1984-1989, and the final movie (yes, there are actually seven in all) was released in 1994, at which point the series was (thankfully) put out of its misery after the final two horrible entries.

The first movie, starring Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall, G. W. Bailey, Bubba Smith, David Graf, Michael Winslow, Leslie Easterbrook, George Gaynes, and G.W. Bailey, is by far the best movie of the bunch. The subsequent movies varied in quality, with two and three being the best of the sequels (in my opinion), and the last two movies being the worst. The seventh movie was just plain stupid, with a bad plot, stupid sound effects inserted, and a feeling that what was left of the original cast was really just going through the motions. Steve Guttenberg stopped returning to the movies after Police Academy 4, which is the point where they should have really stopped.

This set is a seven-disc set, packaged in three keep cases (three discs in the first case and two in each of the other two) that can be kept in a decorative outer box. While it is a UK release, it seems like the set is region-free. I did not try playing them on a Region 1 player, but I have a region-free player, which, aside from one exception I have come across so far, can play DVDs and Blu-ray discs from anywhere, and it plays this set just fine. The extras vary from movie to movie. Each disc has a behind-the-scenes feature, which includes interviews with the cast and filmmakers. The length of them varies, with the longest being the one for the first movie (at about 25 minutes, give or take), and the others being around 7- 8 minutes. Then some of the discs may or may not include commentary tracks on the films, deleted scenes, trailers, specific character profiles, etc. It seems most of the interviews were conducted around 2004, before Bubba Smith and David Graf passed away, as they were both included in the interviews.

Overall, this set is a good, inexpensive way to get all of the movies in one collection. Even the best of them never tried to be more than they were, used very tongue-in-cheek comedy, and never took themselves too seriously. Over time, they became more and more slapstick and almost a caricature of themselves. The movies do have a lot of swearing, some violence, sexual jokes, and some include brief nudity, so the films definitely earned their R ratings. But, for those of us who grew up with the original movie, it is a fun blast from the past. Ultimately, if you are a fan of 80s comedies and/or a fan of the series, this is worth adding to a physical media collection.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bewitched: Season 1

 

Bewitched is the classic 1960s sitcom about a witch who marries a mortal while trying to keep up appearances as a traditional 60s suburban family. It starred Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, and Agnes Moorehead in the leading roles and David White, Alice Pearce, and George Tobias in the primary supporting roles. The 36-episode first season aired during the 1964/1965 TV season. In it, Montgomery plays a witch named Samantha who falls in love with and marries a mortal named Darren (played by York), much to the dismay of her mother, Endora (played by Moorehead). He is an ad executive and she is a housewife. They live a fairly typical suburban life, aside from the fact that she uses magic (sometimes unwittingly in front of her nosy neighbor, Gladys Kravitz, (played by Pearce)), and his mother-in-law uses magic to try to make his life miserable. The show also featured several guest stars (some of whom would become recurring characters in the series, like Maurice Evans, Marian Lorne, and Paul Lynde) and others who had early roles (or even got their start) on the series and would become big stars themselves, like Adam West, Raquel Welch (in a blink-and-you-will-miss-it background appearance), and Peggy Lipton. 

The individual seasons have been released on DVD, both in the colorized version and the black-and-white version (which the first couple of seasons of the series aired in). The series has been released on blu-ray in a complete series release and in two-season sets (with seasons 1 and 2 packaged together, seasons 3 and 4 packaged together, etc.). On the complete series set, the first two seasons are in black and white, as they were originally aired. The A/V quality of the blu-rays is good, but not outstanding (especially the audio). The HD video restoration does look very good, most of the time, but can be uneven. One big drawback to watching the episodes in HD, however, is that when they are using prosthetics (such as fake noses) it is extremely obvious in HD, as you can very clearly see the makeup lines. On the complete series release, the first season episodes are spread across three discs. There are commentary tracks on a few episodes featuring Dick York's son, Chris, Herbie Pilato, who authored several books about the series and a biography of Elizabeth Montgomery, and historian Rob Ray. The episodes can also be played with English captions. The commentary tracks are somewhat informative and provide some information about the series (like the fact that rehearsals for the pilot started on the day JFK was assassinated) and the cast (like the fact that Alice Pearce took the role of Gladys despite having a terminal cancer diagnosis). Chris York also tells stories about his dad.

The series is primarily a story-of-the-week procedural, but sometimes events in prior episodes are referred back to. The acting is good and the cast all play their roles well. Of course, the series is the product of the 1960s, so some things about it are very dated and would not be used if the series were made today. Some of the storylines were very chauvinistic about the roles of men and women. But the show also included themes of inclusion and acceptance of differences, and included black and asian actors, and had actors that would later be known to be homosexual. It is a very nice blast from the past for people who are old enough to have watched it when it aired initially or those who watched the reruns in syndication. Ultimately, it is a good, but dated, sitcom that is worth watching, especially if you watched it when you were younger.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Bolero

 

Bolero is a 1984 romantic drama starring Bo Derek, George Kennedy, Andrea Occhipinti, Ana Obregon, Olivia d'Abo, and Greg Bensen. It was written and directed by Bo Derek's husband, John. The plot involves an orphan heir to a massive fortune named Ayre "Mac" McGillvary (played by Bo Derek) looking for the right man to take her virginity after she graduates from college. She travels the world with her best friend, Catalina (played by Obergon), and chauffeur, Cotton (played by Kennedy), looking for the perfect man.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is good, but not outstanding. Given that it was a low-budget B-movie when released, it is not surprising that it did not receive a high-quality HD restoration. There are no bonus features with the release, just the movie itself, which can be played with English captions.

It was a very controversial movie for its time, because of sex scenes that rival the soft-core "Skinemax" movies, and the fact that d'Abo, who was 14 when the movie was filmed, appeared nude (although not close up, and not in sex scenes). It could not get a traditional release because it would have received an X-rating (even though there are no explicit sex scenes) since the NC-17 rating did not exist at the time. The movie itself is bad. The acting and writing were horrible, but anyone who is old enough to remember Bo Derek's heyday knows that her movies were not made because of their award-winning content. They were made because she was hot and willing to get naked at the drop of a hat. It was a bit funny to have Derek, who was almost 30 when the film was released, playing a 23-year-old recent college grad, but again, the details were not important. The movie does have a lot of nudity and several sex scenes, so it is not family-friendly. Ultimately, it is not a movie that you would watch because you want to see quality acting and writing, but if you are into cheesy 80s movies that show a lot of skin, it is worth checking out. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 10

 

The 26-episode penultimate 10th season of Cheers aired during the 1991/1992 TV season. All of the series regulars returned for the 10th season, and Bebe Neuwirth was finally promoted to a series regular. The recurring cast this season included Jackie Swanson, who played Woody's girlfriend, Kelly, Paul Wilson, who is another regular patron of the bar, Frances Stenhagen, who played Cliff's mother, and newcomer to the show, Keene Curtis, who played John Allen Hill, the new owner of the restaurant Melville's above Cheers, who delighted in making Sam's life miserable and having a love-hate relationship with Carla. The guest cast this season included Leah Remi, Emma Thompson, Milo O'Shea, and Harvey Fierstein. The show also included several guest appearances and cameos by celebrities and politicians, including Harry Connick Jr., Kevin McHale, John Kerry, Johnny Carson, and Doc Severinsen.

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. As has been the case with the previous seasons, the A/V quality is good overall, but varies from episode to episode or even within episodes. There are no bonus features, but the episodes can be played with English captions. As of this writing, the seasons are not available individually on Blu-ray, only in a complete series release. 

The series continues to be a blend of procedural stories-of-the-week and serial arcs. The biggest arc this season involved the continuation of the Season 9 ending storyline, in which Sam and Rebecca agreed to have a child. There were a handful of funny moments around that storyline throughout the season. As in prior seasons, the writers do a good job of balancing the storylines of the various characters and providing each cast member with good material throughout the season. Bebe Neuwirth continued to shine as Lillith, but did not have as many standout moments as she did when she was a recurring character. This season, Keene Curtis was the one who stole most of the scenes he appeared in. The season finale is a hilarious two-part wedding episode that is one of the best episodes of the series. Ultimately, the series continued to be good. Although the writing was still somewhat dated, it did not feel as dated as it did in the earlier seasons. So, if you liked the prior seasons, this one is worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Black Sails: The Complete Series

 

Black Sails is an action-adventure series that aired on Starz for four seasons from 2014 to 2017. It starred Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Tom Hopper, Zach McGowan, Toby Schmitz, Clara Paget, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Louise Barnes, Luke Roberts, and Ray Stevenson. The series is set in the Bahamas during the early 18th century. It was written as a prequel to the 1883 novel Treasure Island, providing backstories for characters who were either in or referred to in the book, such as Captain Flint, Long John Silver, and Billy Bones. It blended fictional characters from the book with depictions of real-life historical figures and fictionalized accounts of historical events. 

The series is essentially one long story about the quest for control of New Providence Island, which involves a war between the English royal navy and the pirates who control the island and threaten trade in the region, and the search for (and control of) gold from a Spanish shipwreck that becomes the basis for the buried treasure in the novel.

The blu-ray set is a 12-disc set included in two keep cases, which are held in a cardboard sleeve. Each of the keep cases holds six discs, with the discs for seasons 1 and 2 in one keep case, and the discs for seasons 3 and 4 in the other. The A/V quality is outstanding, with the episodes looking and sounding wonderful in the HD format. The episodes for each season can be played in a "play all" mode that allows you to pick up where you leave off and remembers your audio and closed caption preferences. The bonus features are on the third disc for each respective season. Those include the "Inside Black Sails" recaps that played after the episodes aired, as well as several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes corresponding to events that occurred in each season, cast interviews, and more. 

The series is well-written and very well-acted. It is absolutely not family-friendly, as it is very violent, has a lot of sexual content and nudity, and swearing. The sexual content and nudity are most prolific in the first two seasons, but every season is very violent. The writers do a good job of balancing the storylines for the large ensemble cast and providing all the cast members with good material to work with. Additionally, the backstories of the characters discussed in the book Treasure Island make the novel even more interesting to read. Ultimately, it is an excellent series that is absolutely worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Black Sails: Season 4

 

The 10-episode fourth and final season of Black Sails aired during the winter and spring of 2017. All of the main cast members, aside from Zach McGowan, whose character was killed off at the end of Season 3, return for the final season. The plotline this season is centered around the battle for control of New Providence Island between various groups of pirates and the English, with Spain getting involved (to recapture the stolen cache). The writers also tie events in the series to the book Treasure Island, for example, explaining why Long John Silver is the only one that Flint fears, the island's mysteriousness, and the idea that people are always searching for Flint's treasure. 

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. The A/V quality is excellent, and episodes look and sound fantastic in the HD format. As with the prior seasons, the episodes can be played in a "play all" format that allows you to pick up where you leave off and will keep your audio and caption selections, even when switching discs. Also, as with the prior seasons, all the bonus features (totaling around half an hour) are on the third disc. The longest bonus feature is the set of ten episode-by-episode recaps titled "Inside the World of Black Sails," which aired after each episode. That runs about 18 minutes, then there is a short featurette on the production design, and then three different roundtable discussions with members of the cast. 

The series remains excellent in its final season. While there is not as much sexual content or nudity in this season, there is a lot of violence and adult language, so it is still not a family-friendly show. It remains well-written and very well-acted, and the writers do a great job of tying up the storylines for the various characters (and, as you can imagine, not every character makes it out unscathed or receives a "happy ending"), while also tying the events of the series to the book. Ultimately, if you liked the prior seasons, this one is absolutely worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 9

 

The 26-episode 9th season of Cheers aired during the 1990/1991 TV season. All of the main cast returned for the ninth season, as did some of the major recurring cast, led by Bebe Neuwirth, who reprised her role as Lilith, and included Jackie Swanson as Woody's girlfriend, Kelly, and Roger Rees as Robin Colcord. The celebrity guest stars/cameos this season included former Boston Celtic Kevin McHale, Arsenio Hall, Bobby Hatfield, former Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, and John McLaughlin. McLaughlin hosted the 200th episode anniversary special, which included a cold open, but then was essentially a panel discussion with the cast and showrunners. The panel did include Shelly Long, but at least as it was presented on the DVD, she did not say anything; they just had a couple of reaction shots of her. Otherwise, the show continued to mainly be a story-of-the-week procedural with some serial arcs included. The most prominent serial arcs were the tease of whether Sam and Rebecca would get together, and Frasier and Lilith becoming parents. 

The Blu-ray set is a three-disc set, and as of this writing, it remains available only on Blu-ray in the complete series release. The individual season is only available on DVD (which is a five-disc set). The A/V quality of the episodes is good, but not outstanding. There are times when the video looks closer to DVD quality than what you would expect from Blu-Rays. There are no bonus features, although the 200th episode is more akin to a bonus feature than a regular episode. The episodes can be played with English captions. 

The series continues to be good, but the storylines absolutely became repetitive by the 9th season. The writers did a good job of balancing the storylines to give all the cast members good material to work with, and Bebe Neuwirth continued to steal nearly every scene she was in. Some of the jokes are still outdated and cringeworthy, but not as much as those in the early seasons. Ultimately, if you liked the prior seasons, you will probably enjoy this one (unless you really only liked Long's character, Diane).

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Black Sails Season 3

 

The 10-episode third season of Black Sails aired in the winter and spring of 2016. All the main cast members return for season three, and there are two notable additions to the main cast. First, Luke Roberts, the newly appointed Royal Governor of the Bahamas, named Woodes Rogers, who travels to Nassau to take control of the colony from the pirates, with Eleanor Guthrie serving as an advisor, who has agreed to help him in exchange for a pardon. The other is Ray Stevenson, who plays Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard. Much of the season involves various groups aligning in the bid to control Nassau.

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. All the bonus content is on the third disc. There is about 50 minutes, give or take, of bonus content, including a season 2 recap, several behind-the-scenes featurettes, and featurettes on the new characters, Woodes Rodgers and Blackbeard. The A/V quality is again excellent this season, with the episodes looking and sounding wonderful in HD.

The show continues to be excellent. While there is less violence and nudity/sexual content on the whole this season, there is still some of each, so it is definitely not family-friendly. A couple of major characters are killed off this season, which will have reverberations into season 4. I will not spoil who they are, but if you have read the book Treasure Island, you know who it cannot be. Ultimately, if you enjoyed the first two seasons of the show, you will like this one. It remains well-written and very well acted, and is absolutely worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 8

 

The 26-episode 8th season of Cheers aired during the 1989-1990 TV season. It can be argued that this was the season in which the series peaked, earning multiple awards. All of the main cast members returned for Season 8. Unfortunately, Bebe Neuwirth was still just a member of the recurring cast, despite stealing every scene she was in as Lilith. She won the Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy that year. The other significant recurring cast member this season was Roger Rees, who played an English mogul named Robin Colcord, who was brought in as a love interest for Rebecca and a partial foil for Sam. The guest cast this season included Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Conroy, Alex Trebek, and Bill Medley. The show continues to blend a story-of-the-week procedural format with serial arcs. This season, the big serial arcs are Sam's quest to buy back Cheers from the corporation that owns it and Rebecca's relationship with Robin (and sexual tension with Sam). 

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. It does not include any bonus content, but the episodes can be played with English captions. The A/V quality is overall very good, but there are times when the picture looks more like standard definition than an upgraded HD transfer. 

The series continues to be good. As the show transitioned from the 1980s to the 1990s, some of the more outdated comedic elements were less prominent. The writers did a very good job balancing storylines for the large ensemble cast, with each cast member getting at least one episode centered around him or her. There are a couple of hilarious Lilith and Frasier episodes, including ones involving Lilith's pregnancy and giving birth. Cliff also has a very good episode in which he is a contestant on Jeopardy. Ultimately, if you have liked the series up to this point, season 8 is worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Black Sails: Season 2

 

The ten-episode second season of Black Sails aired in the winter and spring of 2015. Most of the main cast members from the first season, including Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Tom Hopper, Zach McGowan, Toby Schmitz, Clara Paget, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, and Louise Barnes, return for the second season. Additions to the cast this season include Rupert Penry-Jones, Tadhg Murphy, and Nick Boraine.

There are several intertwined storylines this season, but the main story arc involves Flint's plan to retrieve the Urca Gold. His plan gets sidetracked several times throughout the season, once in a major battle with Captain Vane, who has taken the fort on Nassau. The second involves the other major storyline that extends throughout the season, including via the use of flashbacks that reveal both Flint and Miranda's backstories, and culminates in a very explosive finale. Other storylines include Eleanor trying to keep control of the island, Max scheming and playing everyone against each other, and Jack angling for respect. We also learn more about Bonny's backstory. 

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. All the extras are included on the third disc. Those include a making-of featurette that runs about 20 minutes. Four shorter featurettes focus on aspects of the season, such as building the Man 'O War ship set, the new characters introduced this season, the training regimen the actors went through, and a discussion of the real-life history of piracy in the region. The A/V quality is outstanding, and the episodes look and sound excellent in the HD format.

The season starts out a bit slow and intertwines a lot of drama with the action. When the action picks up, especially late in the season, it is jam-packed. The show is still not family-friendly as there is a lot of violence, sexual content, nudity, and swearing. Ultimately, however, if you enjoyed the first season, you will likely enjoy the second season. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 7

 

The 22-episode seventh season of Cheers aired during the 1988/1989 TV season. The beginning of the season was delayed by the 1988 writers' strike, which also resulted in a lower overall number of episodes. All of the main cast members returned as series regulars. Bebe Neuwirth was still a recurring cast member, but she had a larger role and more appearances this season, and continued to steal most of the scenes she appeared in. Jay Thomas also recurred this season as Carla's husband, Eddie, but only made a couple of appearances during the season. There are not as many notable guest stars this season, but the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, William Crowe, appeared in episode 17, and Marcia Cross (probably best known for her role on Desperate Housewives in the early 2000s) appeared in episode 21 playing Rebecca's sister, Susan.

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. As of this writing, the individual seasons have only been released on DVD. The blu-ray set is only available as a complete series set. As with the previous few seasons, this one does not have any bonus content; however, the episodes can be played with English captions. The show continues to be funny, but some of the comedy is very dated. If it were made today, the character of Sam would probably be written much differently than he was back then, since he is basically a "lovable" pervert who sexually harasses every hot woman he meets. The writers do a good job of balancing the storylines for the large ensemble cast, giving each character at least one episode devoted to them. This season, both Cliff and Woody get love interests, Frasier and Lilith have a significant storyline, and Norm finally finds his calling career-wise. Ultimately, if you liked the prior seasons, you will probably like this one, as long as you are not easily offended by non-politically correct humor. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 12

 

The 24-episode 12th and final season of The Big Bang Theory aired during the 2018/2019 TV season.  It does a good job tying up storylines for most of the characters in a way that gives a "life will go on" feel to it. The major storyline of the season revolves around Sheldon and Amy's research on Super-Asymmetry and the possibility of winning the Nobel Prize in physics. That leads to a few great appearances by Kal Penn and Sean Austin as rivals to Sheldon and Amy. Raj also gets a major love interest story, while the other characters receive mostly one-off story arcs.

The show continues to get a great slate of guest stars. There are some old favorites (Will Wheaton, Christine Baranski, Bob Newhart, etc.) and some new faces, like Kevin Smith and a great cameo by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the series finale. They also figured out a clever way to do a crossover with Young Sheldon via the magic of VHS.

The Blu-ray set is a two-disc set that is almost identical to the prior releases. The 24 episodes are spread out across the two discs, as are the extras.  This season, the bonus content includes a feature on the scholarship fund the show set up for STEM students in the UC system of colleges, a portion of the Comic-Con panel, and several behind-the-scenes features and retrospectives on the show's impact. Much more extras than you get from most shows DVDs or blu-ray releases these days.

By now, pretty much everyone knows what the show is and is not. If you are a fan of the show, then you will likely enjoy this season. If you hated it, then there is nothing about this season that is going to change your mind. The writers do a good job of continuing to develop the characters, even after 12 years, and manage to balance the large ensemble cast well. Yes, the show uses a laugh track as well as genuine reactions from a studio audience, which will turn some people off, but it is pretty standard sitcom fare. It was, after 12 years, definitely getting "long in the tooth" as a show, and I think it was a good time to end it, even though it could have likely gone on for as long as the main actors wanted to return. However, when Jim Parsons indicated, going into the 12th season, that this one would be his last on the show, it was right to end it instead of trying to keep it going without the most popular character, especially with the spinoff series going strong. Ultimately, it is worth the pick-up, especially if you have the prior season releases on the physical discs and worth watching to see how the series wraps up.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 11

 

+++Warning, this will spoil the cliffhanger from the end of season 10, but no major giveaways from season 11++++

The 24-episode 11th season of The Big Bang Theory aired during the 2017/2018 TV season. It would be the second-to-last season of the show. It was announced over the summer, after the 11th season aired, that season 12 would be the final season when Jim Parsons decided he would not return to the show.  Ultimately, I think it was a good decision, as the show was getting long in the tooth.

The main theme of this season is the build-up to Sheldon and Amy's wedding. As most know, the 10th season ended on the cliffhanger of Sheldon proposing. To the shock of no one, she says yes. The rest of the season is much the same as it has been for the first 11 seasons, where a story-of-the-week is meshed with ongoing story arcs. The other main storyline involves Howard and Bernadette having another child, incorporating Melissa Rauch's real-life pregnancy into the show and allowing her to be on bed rest. For much of the season, she was filmed in bed, and then, eventually, you just heard her voice, much like Howard's mother was. Of the main cast, I would say Raj took more of a back seat this year, only really having one episode centered around him (which guest-starred Beth Behrs and Walton Goggins. Other notable guest stars this year (aside from Wil Wheaton) were Bob Newhart, Kathy Bates, Teller (of Penn and Teller fame), Laurie Metcalf, Jerry O'Connell, and Mark Hamill. The writers also found a way to honor Stephen Hawking after his death.

The Blu-Ray set is a two-disc set. The A/V quality is excellent, and the episodes look and sound very good, much like the prior seasons. The set includes about an hour of bonus features, including part of the Comic-Con panel discussion, a couple of behind-the-scenes features, and a gag reel. Ultimately, the season was good, but the show was getting stale at this point. While there were some funny moments during the season, it wasn't as funny overall as it was in the beginning. That said, the season was still enjoyable, was worth watching, and provided a good setup for what will now be the final season.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Black Sails: Season 1

 

Black Sails was an action-adventure series that blended a fictional pirate story with real-life historical figures. It was written as a prequel to the novel Treasure Island. It aired on Starz for four seasons, from 2014 to 2017. The eight-episode first season aired in the winter and spring of 2017. It starred Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Tom Hopper, Zach McGowan, Toby Schmitz, Clara Paget, Mark Ryan, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Sean Cameron Michael, and Louise Barnes. The story is set in the 1700s on New Providence Island, in what is now the Bahamas, where pirates threaten trade in the region. The plot of the first season involves several pirates hunting for the treasure from the shipwreck of the Spanish ship Urca de Lima, which was a part of the Spanish treasure galleon. 

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. The A/V quality is terrific, with the episodes looking and sounding great in the HD format. All the bonus features, which consist of several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes. The longest is a nine-minute inside look at the series. The rest are shorter (ranging from a minute and a half to about three minutes). All totaled, the bonus content runs a little less than half an hour.

The series has an excellent mix of action and drama. There are a lot of characters and several storylines going on, and it can be hard to keep everything straight, especially if you have it on in the background. It is absolutely not a family-friendly show, as it has a lot of violence, sexual content, nudity, and adult language. The series does not have wall-to-wall action; indeed, in many episodes, there is minimal action and almost all political maneuvering. However, when it does include action, the action sequences are exceptionally well done. Ultimately, if you are a fan of pirate stories and/or the real-life history of the region, it is worth watching.