DVD/TV Series Review: Fringe: The Complete Series

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from throughout the series (in paragraphs 4 and 5). +++

Fringe was a supernatural crime drama that ran for five seasons on FOX from 2008-2013. The series starred John Noble, Anna Torv, and Joshua Jackson. Lance Reddick and Blair Brown had leading and later recurring roles during the series. 

The premise of the show was that a special division of the FBI was set up to investigate a series of strange phenomena (which was referred to in the first couple of seasons as the pattern). Much of the phenomena was based on the work of Dr. Walter Bishop (played by John Noble who gives probably the best overall performance in the series) who had been in a mental hospital for 17 years. Walter ends up as a special consultant for the FBI along with his son Peter (played by Joshua Jackson) who initially just tags along acting as Walter's babysitter and then he ends up helping investigate the events.

The cornerstone of the series was the wonderful acting. All the actors from the series regulars to those who played recurring characters and the bit parts did very well. It was another series where there was really no huge star that was a series regular. While Leonard Nimoy did make a few cameo appearances throughout the series and his character was mentioned a lot throughout the series, he was not in many of the episodes. I also like how the writers always grounded the unreal concepts in real science. They either took a known scientific fact and then stretched it, or took a scientific hypothesis and tried to come up with an explanation for it (reasonable or otherwise). Obviously, the outcomes were totally fake and unreal, but the premise that it started with was at least rooted in something that was.

The first season mostly followed a procedural case-of-the-week formula. Even in the first season, however, you can see that the writers were placing hints from the start of the two big serial storylines of the series, namely the war against the parallel universe and the war against the observers. Even with the procedural stories, there was actually a lot of continuity between the episodes, and as a result, it is definitely one of those series where you really do have to see it from the beginning to follow what is going on (especially as you get into the later seasons).

The only problem I have with the series is that at times it tried to do too much, and often went on too many tangents. Personally, I think they should have focused on one big story (either the parallel universe war or the observer takeover) and stuck with that. The 4th season kept the parallel universe, but changed the storylines because of Peter being "erased." On one hand, it allows for a different twist on the stories, but on the other hand, it created a storyline that just ended with the 4th season finale, and the storyline of William Bell's attempt to create his own universe did not really get totally resolved. The heroes did stop him, but he was allowed to just disappear and then the show did the time jump to tell the story of the observer takeover which ultimately ended the series. I think they lost a lot of more casual viewers that season because things just got hard to follow.

Fringe is definitely not a show that will appeal to everyone. Even though it started out with fairly good ratings it always was kind of a "cult" following kind of show. If you cannot easily suspend your disbelief this series is not for you. The show gets weird at times, but that is the point, and often joked about in the show. If you do like that kind of thing you will enjoy the series. If you are into science and are entertained by sci-fi material, and like shows that have unique storylines and is definitely not a carbon copy of anything else, this is worth giving a look. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: A Time to Kill (Spoilers)

 

+++Warning, the review has spoilers in the third paragraph. If you have not seen the movie and care about being spoiled, skip that paragraph.+++

A Time to Kill is the 1996 movie adaptation of the John Grisham novel of the same name starring Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey, and Samuel L. Jackson. The wonderful supporting cast includes Ashley Judd, Donald and Kiefer Sutherland, Kurtwood Smith, Octavia Spencer, Chris Cooper, Charles S. Dutton, and Oliver Platt.

There are a couple things to keep in mind about this movie. One it was only a story. The movie clearly fictionalizes the very real lynchings and attacks of blacks that were common during the Civil Rights era in the South and the corrupt Southern justice system that allowed the people who were doing the lynchings to go free and make a more modern-day story from it. The twist in this movie is that the father of a child who was attacked takes justice into his own hands and subsequently ends up on trial in that same corrupt justice system. 

Anyone who knows history (especially legal history) is aware of the fact that there was jury nullification many times in the South in favor of whites who had murdered blacks (and who had done so for far less compelling reasons than for which Samuel L. Jackson's character commits murder in this story). What is ultimately done in this story is having the jury nullification going the other way, after leading you to think that it could not possibly happen.

The second thing to keep in mind is that the movie is a courtroom drama, so (despite the story being written by a lawyer) the legal elements, especially the courtroom scenes are almost completely wrong. Anyone who has sat through more than one real trial knows that the vast majority of the time nothing dramatic happens. Lawyers are not allowed to ask 5 min long questions to a witness, and then present another 5 min long soliloquy after the witness answers the question. For the most part, trials are usually very dry and boring, with little to no excitement or things like breaking the witness. So pretty much every courtroom drama ever made has little to no authenticity to any of the legal aspects and this is no different.

If you can get past all that however and just focus on the acting and suspend your disbelief, the movie is very good. The suspension of disbelief will be hard for lawyers and law students. I remember when I watched this while in law school I was basically counting everything it got wrong. But now I can watch it without focusing on all that stuff. I think Samuel L. Jackson and Matthew McConaughey had great chemistry and played off each other very well. Sandra Bullock and McConaughey sold the tension between their characters well, and Donald Sutherland did a great job as the old, washed-up, alcoholic attorney who was advising the young upstart. I also thought Kevin Spacy (regardless of what you might think of him now) did a great job as the slimy district attorney.

The A/V transfer of the movie is very good, especially for a pre-DVD era movie that does not have a ton of special effects. The only extra is a trailer for the movie. There are no deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes material, or the like. Ultimately, if you cannot get past how unreal the story is, then do not get the movie because you probably will not like it. If you are good at suspension of disbelief and can just enjoy the story and good acting (both of which are top-notch), then it is well worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Alpha Dog

 

Alpha Dog is a 2006 movie starring Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Ben Foster, Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, Anton Yelchin, Amanda Seyfried, Shawn Hatsoy, Amber Heard, and Olivia Wilde (in one of her first movie roles), and several other recognizable actors. The movie is a fictionalized version of a true story about the kidnapping that goes sideways and ultimately turns into the murder of a teenager (played in the movie by Anton Yelchin) resulting from a feud over drug money which his brother (played by Ben Foster) was involved in. 

What I think this movie really does is establish the fact that Justin Timberlake has some acting chops. While there are other good actors in the movie, it is not overall what I would consider a standout for the acting performances aside from Timberlake, Anton Yelchin, and Ben Foster. I don't really think that Emile Hirsch worked as a badass leader. He did kind of play him as the guy who hides behind everyone else who did his dirty work, and that part you can buy, but he just did not strike me as a guy that would lead any kind of crew, even the group of morons that followed his character in the movie. The thing you really do get is that none of the parents of the kids (and they were all basically kids) gave a damn about what any of them were doing, and the consequences that followed from it.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is good, but it did not get the same kind of transfer that the big blockbuster movies get. The extras on the disc include a making-of featurette covering the true story the film was based on and interviews with some of the actors. It is not extensive but does add a little to the story. The movie is well-written and acted. It is definitely not family-friendly as there is a lot of violence, drug use, and some nudity, including a full-frontal shot of Olivia Wilde toward the end. While I do not think it is a must-watch movie, it is worth the time to watch if you like crime dramas. 

DVD/TV Series Review: 24: The Complete Series

 

This is the box set of the complete original 24 series, starring Kiefer Sutherland.  The original series ran for 8 seasons, from 2001 to 2010, and had a TV movie titled Redemption, which aired between seasons 6 and 7. 24 was definitely a series that had its ups and downs. The first couple of seasons were very groundbreaking with the "real-time" format, and the fact that the series was never afraid to kill off a character. It was not quite Game-of-Thrones-like in killing off main characters, but it definitely killed off major characters throughout the series. The show was also known for its twists and turns, oftentimes revealing that a supposed good guy was a mole, double agent, or the like.  There were certainly hokey and dumb moments throughout the series, but I think on the whole the plots and the acting were very good. 

Besides Sutherland, the show had a strong ensemble cast including Mary Lynn Rajskub, Elisha Cuthbert, Sarah Clarke, Carlos Bernard, Dennis Haysbert, Reiko Aylesworth, Kim Raver, Penny Johnson Jerald, Glenn Morshower, and D.B. Woodside (among others). The show was a serial drama that you had to watch from the beginning of each season to follow along. Each "day" involved some kind of terrorist attack, which was usually a precursor to a larger attack that the counter-terrorist unit (CTU) had to stop. There was always a lot of misdirection and twists to throw off the ultimate plot, which was usually revealed in the final few episodes. And, as I said, almost no character was safe from being bumped off.

This set does not include Live Another Day (there is an updated set that does) and while some of the individual seasons are available on blu-ray, the complete series is only available on DVD. The set does include all of the bonus content that was released for the individual season sets. That includes hours of deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, commentary tracks on select episodes, and more. I definitely think the series did try to hang on too long. I think it would have stood up better if it ended after 4 or 5 seasons instead of going 8. Like many, I think that the 6th season was the weakest of the group. While seasons 7 and 8 did help the series recover (as did the mini-series, Live Another Day, which aired in 2014), I do think it was a show that would have benefited from a shorter run, especially since there was talk of a possible movie long before the series ended. Overall I think it was a well-acted, well-written series that was (especially at the beginning) very addicting. It did take a lot of suspension of disbelief and you have to be willing to accept some eye-rolling moments, but on the whole, it was a very entertaining series.

DVD/TV Series Review: House M.D.: Season 4

 

Season 4 of House aired during the 2007-2008 TV season and was cut short by the writer's strike that occurred that year. The show picks up with the team in disarray with Chase, Cameron, and Foreman all having quit the team at the end of the prior season. House's solution is to hire 40 new doctors and eliminate them in a Survivor-like competition. He gave most of them nicknames as opposed to learning any of their actual names, and from time to time the original team members (Jennifer Morrison, Omar Epps, and Jesse Spencer all remained on the show) would pop in. This resulted in many new additions to the cast, some permanent and some recurring. The new cast members included Olivia Wilde, Kal Penn, Peter Jacobson, Anne Dudek, Edi Gathegi, and Michael Michele. As always, the show also had many recognizable guest stars including Frank Whaley, Thomas F. Wilson (from Back to the Future), Jeremy Renner (when he was still doing TV), Mira Sorvino, Fred Durst, and Ivanna Milicevic (who had done a lot of character work for many popular TV shows and would later star in the great series Banshee).

The DVD set includes the 16 season four episodes spread across 4 discs. The bonus material includes a commentary track on part 1 of the season finale and several behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes. The series continued to be well-written and very well-acted. The new additions to the cast were great and the actors seemed very comfortable coming into the show. The two-part season finale was probably the two best episodes of the series up to that point, and this season, although abbreviated is arguably the best season of the show. It is absolutely worth your time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: 2 Days in the Valley (Special Edition)

 

2 Days in the Valley is a 1996 crime drama/dark comedy written and directed by John Herzfeld. The movie stars Danny Aiello, James Spader, Eric Stoltz, Jeff Daniels, Glenne Headly, Teri Hatcher, Paul Mazursky, Greg Crutwell, and Marsha Mason in the larger roles. It also stars a very young Charlize Theron (who was only 19 at the time the movie was filmed) in her first movie role. The movie also includes several recognizable actors in smaller roles including Keith Carradine, Louise Fletcher (the nurse from One Flew Over the Cuko's Nest), Austin Pendleton, and a very young Cress Williams (from Hart of Dixie and Black Lightning).

The special edition blu-ray which was released in 2023, includes a remastered version of the movie, which looks and sounds great. The extras include a commentary track on the film by the director and a conversation between Herzfeld and Sylvester Stallone who were both students in the drama program at the University of Miami and have known each other for years. That conversation lasts about 35 minutes and they talk about their time in school and the movie. The most interesting thing from that conversation is how Herzfeld had to fight to cast and then keep Charlize Theron in the movie. The other extras include a 30-minute Q&A panel that includes Herzfeld, Theron, Headly, and Danny Aiello (by phone), a short (about 7 minutes long) archival making-of featurette made when the movie was filmed, about 7 minutes of B-roll footage which kind of doubles as a gag reel, and about 17 minutes worth of cast interview clips, also made as the movie was being filmed. Then there are several trailers, including the trailer for the movie (which actually gives away a lot), and trailers for movies like Out of Sight and The Usual Suspects. So, you get quite a bit of bonus content which is getting rarer and rarer these days.

Overall, the movie is excellent. It is well-written and very well-acted. Aiello and Spader are great in their roles as hitmen (very different hitmen), and Theron shines in every scene she is in. Teri Hatcher (who was coming off her role as Lois Lane in Lois and Clark) plays a very different kind of character than what people are likely used to seeing her play and Jeff Daniels is great as a vice cop with anger management issues. While it definitely has the feel of a 90s movie, it holds up well almost 30 years later. It is absolutely worth the time to watch.

DVD/TV Series Review: Due South: The Ultimate Collection

 

Due South was a buddy-cop series that ran from 1994 to 1999. The first two seasons aired on CBS and the final season(s), which was really one long 26-episode season) aired in syndication from 1997-1999. The show was mostly a case-of-the-week procedural but did have some serial aspects that carried over throughout the series.  The series actually started as a made-for-tv movie that aired on CBS, and when it did better than expected in the ratings it was picked up by CBS. The premise is that a member of the Canadian Mounties (played by Gordon Pinsent)  is shot and killed in the Canadian wilderness. His son, a straight-laced Canadian Mountie named Benton Frasier (played by Paul Gross) investigates his father's death, which leads him to Chicago where he enlists the help of the detective assigned to the case, Ray Vecchio (played by David Marciano). When Frasier helps Ray solve one of his cases, Ray agrees to help Frasier with the investigation. Fraiser ends up staying in Chicago, working at the Canadian Consulate and along with his wolf, Diefenbaker, helping Ray solve cases as a liaison to the Chicago police. During the series, Pinsent would return as a ghost or hallucination of Benton's and "help" and/or irritate his son. The show was a mix of comedy, action, and drama and did very well with the "fish out of water" as Benton was overly helpful and polite in the harshness of Chicago. The show blended elements of comedy, drama, and action perfectly.

The key to the show was that it was always well-acted. Even in the last season after David Marciano left and the story became a little more campy, the acting was always great. One thing I had forgotten was how many guest appearances were made on the show. Leslie Nielsen was the big one, who appeared in a few different episodes. But Ryan Phillipe and Mark Ruffalo also guest starred in very early roles for both of them, as well as Maria Bello, Carrie-Ann Moss, and Malina Kanakaredes. Callum Kieth Renne joined the series in the third (and if you count it, the fourth season) when Marciano could not agree on a new contract.

I originally thought that the show should have gone on longer, but after watching the series again from beginning to end, I think that the show went out at exactly the right time. It told as many stories as possible, without getting extremely repetitive. It was definitely a show that was always being kept alive. It barely got a second season on CBS, then survived a couple more in syndication. A couple of the episodes from the series are on my list of all-time favorite TV episodes. 

In the end, I felt it did a fine job wrapping up everyone's stories and leaving the "continued adventures" to the imagination. It was one of the best series on the air at the time. It did not rely on gratuitous sex and violence to be entertaining. The stories always had a point, and the acting was great. It was a very underrated series, is definitely worth watching, and deserves a spot in any fan's collection.

DVD/TV Series Review: ER Season 8

 

This is, in my opinion, the best season of ER. That is due in large part to the storyline that leads to Anthony Edwards' departure from the show. From its inaugural season in 1994, ER was the show everyone had to watch and talk about. It was a ratings heavyweight for years. It was the show that helped turn George Clooney into a superstar and went on to become one of the longest-running medical dramas (and shows) on TV, with 15 seasons in total. By the 8th season, many of the original main cast members had left. This season would see the departures of Dr. Greene and Dr. Benton, but the return of Dr. Lewis. After this season the only two characters from the original (main) cast would be Dr Carter (played by Noah Wyle) and Dr. Lewis (played by Sherry Stringfield).

The DVD set includes the 22 season 8 episodes spread across 6 discs. The extras/bonus features are spread across all of the discs. Mostly, they include deleted scenes/outtakes and there is a gag reel on disc 2. There are not a ton of extras, and what is included is fine, it would be nice if there was some behind-the-scenes material and a feature focused on Edwards and his character. 

Personally, I think this season would have been the best spot to end the show. To me, the show just did not have the same feel after this season. That is not to say that there were not good characters, storylines, or episodes in the remaining 7 seasons, but I think the perfect ending would have been for Dr. Green to pass the torch to Dr. Carter and the series would have gone out on a high (albeit sad) note. The episodes "The Letter" and "On The Beach" were two of the best episodes in the entire series and would have been a perfect two-part series finale. And, the show never could have been accused of staying on the air too long had it ended at that point. I look at ER as two different series. The one that lasted up to this season, and the one that remained on the air from seasons 9-15. If you were a fan of the show at any point in its run, but especially a fan of the early years of the show, you will love this season.

DVD/Movie Review: The Assassin Next Door

 

The Assassin Next Door is a 2009 movie that was filmed and set in Israel. In it, Olga Kurylenko (probably best known in the US for her roles in The Quantum of Solace and Hitman) stars as Galia, a Ukrainian woman being trafficked in Israel by the Russian mob. At the beginning of the movie she tries to escape, and when she is recaptured, she is forced to kill a target of the mob. When she successfully does so, she is moved into an apartment and works (against her will) as an assassin, with the promise of a "last job" after which she will be paid $100,000 and given her passport so she can return home to reunite with her daughter. She discovers that the woman living in the apartment next door (played by Ninet Tayeb) is being abused by her husband and the two strike up a friendship.

The movie is just over an hour and a half long. The version that I have is a Region 2 import that can only be played on a Region 2  or Region free player. So, if you go looking for the DVD, pay attention to the listing, because it will not play on a regular US DVD or Blu-Ray player. The only extra on the version I have is a trailer for the movie that is playable from the main menu, and trailers for other movies that play as the disc loads before the menu screen comes up. 

The movie is a decent low-budget independent film. It is definitely a bit cookie-cutter in terms of the plot, requires quite a bit of suspension of disbelief, and can be silly at times (e.g., the track-suit-wearing mobsters). That said, both Kurylenko (who I have always felt is underrated as an actress) and Tayeb are very good in their respective roles and it is kind of nice that it is not a typical shoot-em-up action movie where the main character is an established killer from the outset. In the movie, characters speak English, Russian, and Hebrew, so the movie is partly in English (mostly when the two main characters are talking to each other) and is subtitled when characters are speaking Russian or Hebrew (which is most of the time). There is really no sexual content but there is one nude scene about 2/3 of the way through the movie. It is definitely not an award-winning drama or a big-budget action movie, but if you are looking for something different it is worth the time to check out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Aftermath

 

The Aftermath is a 2019 movie set in 1945 Hamburg Germany, five months after the Allies defeated the Germans. As some may know, after the war, the Allied powers divided Germany into zones with England getting the area around Hamburg, which happened to be the most destroyed portion of the country after Operation Ghamorra, which was a massive bombing operation that wiped out the city. The English army was then tasked with rebuilding the city and ferreting out what was left of the Nazi resistance. This meant that the British troops basically moved into the town, put the Germans in camps, and took over whatever houses and buildings that were still standing. 

The movie was directed by James Kent, produced by Ridley Scott, and stars Kiera Knightly as Rachael Morgan, the wife of a Colonel named Lewis Morgan (played by Jason Clarke) who is a part of the effort to rebuild the city. Alexander Skarsgard plays Stellan Lubert, a German architect who lives in a mansion with his teenage daughter Freda (played by Flora Thiemann) that the Morgans will be moving into. Lewis decided to let the Luberts stay in the house, much to the chagrin of Rachael, who hates the Germans because her eleven-year-old son, Michael, was killed during the blitz. She comes to learn that Stellan's wife was killed during the Allied bombing of Hamburg. The crux of the movie is about Racheal overcoming her hatred of Germans as she begins to fall for Stellan as her already strained relationship with her husband becomes even more strained as he becomes more distant. The plotline is equal parts historical drama and love story and also is heavy on the theme of letting go of hatred of the "other side". 

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is very good. There are some digital effects in the movie that blend in seamlessly with the practical sets that were used. It is well-written and very well-acted. There are a handful of extras including about six minutes of deleted scenes that can be played with or without commentary by the director, a commentary track on the movie by James Kent, and an HBO first look segment that runs about twelve minutes, give or take. So, while there are not a ton of extras, what was included is good. 

Overall, the movie is very good. It runs about an hour and forty minutes (minus the credits) and never really seems to drag. The movie does have some adult content including some sexual content and nudity. It is a lower-budget movie for certain, but I would say it is somewhere between an independent film and a Hollywood blockbuster. So, if you are looking for a good drama, this is definitely worth checking out.

DVD/TV Series Review: Baywatch Season 3

 

Season three of Baywatch aired during the 1992-1993 TV season, and was another transitional season for the show. This was really the season that the show became a huge hit with Erika Elaniak, Billy Warlock, Tom McTigue, Monte Markham, and Richard Jaeckel leaving the show. Jaeckel did appear a couple of times toward the end of the season using a cane and seemed to be far less mobile than he was in season two. Elaniak and Warlock did appear in the two-part season premiere but then were written out of the show at the end of the second episode. Gregory Alan Williams was bumped back up to a series regular, and the big cast additions were Alexandra Paul, Nicole Eggert (best known for the series Charles in Charge up to that point), Kelly Slater, David Chokachi, and probably the biggest addition to the cast in the entire run of the series, Pamela Anderson as C.J. Parker.

The show continued to be a procedural drama with most of the episodes (with the exception of some two-part episodes) being self-contained and not tied into earlier episodes at all. The storylines could go from horribly bad and downright stupid to okay. It is not what I would call a well-written, award-winning masterpiece, and as a result, the acting could be pretty cheesy as well. The show still continued to use the music montages, which were again mostly to show off the ridiculously good-looking cast for a couple of minutes without any actual dialogue. The show did get some recognizable guest stars this season including a returning Danny Trejo (in a completely different role than he had in season two), Elizabeth Berkley, coming off her role on Saved by the Bell, and Lou Rawls. 

Ultimately, you know what you get with Baywatch (or Babewatch). About 45 minutes of a very good-looking cast, most of the time a dumb story, and a couple of what amount to music videos that interrupt the story. The show was not ever really interested in continuity, making a lot of sense (for example having Hasselhoff's character in the hospital nearly paralyzed in one episode and kickboxing in the next), or being an award-winning drama. If you can accept it for what it is, it can still be entertaining. 

DVD/TV Series Review: Baywatch Season 2

 

The second season of Baywatch sees a lot of turnover for the show. First, it had been canceled after one season (the 1989-1990 tv season) on NBC and off the air for over a year. It was revived and aired in syndication starting in the 1991-1992 TV season with many cast departures including Parker Stephenson and Holly Gagnier (about 2/3 of the way through the season we find out that they moved out East and Craig returned to practicing law full time), as well as Brandon Coll. Jeremy Jackson was cast as Hobe and the character was de-aged from 13 years old to 10 years old. Gregory Alan Williams was brought back as a recurring character and John Allen Nelson basically left the show (making only a single appearance in season two). Tom McTigue and Richard Jaekel joined as series regulars and Monte Markham did return along with Billy Warlock and Erika Elaniak. And, of course, Hasselhoff returned as the lead and an Executive Producer.

Aside from the cast changes, the format of the show pretty much remained the same. It is the quintessential procedural drama with a weekly story (some were okay others were very bad) that was resolved by the end of the episode. There was very little continuity between the episodes with new characters coming in that the regulars were good friends with who were never previously mentioned and were never to be seen again and you really did not have to see a prior episode to know what was going on in the episode you were watching. 

The show did have many recognizable guest stars again this season including Vanessa Angel, Danny Trejo (in his first-ever acting role in which he still looked older than everyone else on the show), a young Nikki Cox (who would eventually go on to star in the show Unhappily Ever After), Shannon Tweed (who basically played a version of her 80s and 90s b-movie characters without showing her tits), and Wendy Malick (who returned as Mitch's ex-wife for an episode). Bob Denver and Dawn Mitchell also guest starred in a Gilligan's Island tribute episode playing Gilligan and Mary-Anne in a clever twist of writing.

Overall, you know what you get with the show. The writing is mostly bad, and a lot of what they did would never fly in 2023, and as a result, the acting is not all that great either. You still get the silly music montages that randomly spring up throughout the episodes that are mainly there to show off the good-looking cast members and extras. I did not watch the show when it was originally on the air, so I do not know what songs were used when it was broadcast, but given the age of the show, it is very likely that some of the music had to be replaced because of licensing issues. And, there are no extras, just the episodes themselves. Ultimately, if you do not expect award-winning material the show is entertaining, but if you are expecting it to be a well-written and well-acted drama, then you will probably be very disappointed. 

DVD/TV Series Review: Baywatch Season 1

 

The first season of Baywatch (or Babewatch as pretty much every teenage boy in the late 80s and early 90s called it) aired on NBC during the 1989-1990 season. It is basically a prime-time soap opera about a group of lifeguards in Southern California, led by Mitch Buchannan, played by David Hasselhoff.  Hasselhoff was a couple of years removed from the popular series Knight Rider, and was definitely the big star of the series, especially during the first couple of seasons. The main cast in the first season included Hasselhoff, Parker Stevenson, Shawn Weatherly, Billy Warlock, Erika Eleniak, Peter Phelps, Brandon Call, Holly Gagnier, and Monte Markham. Later in the season, John Allen Nelson would join as a series regular and Gregory Alan Williams would be promoted to a series regular. Eleniak and Weatherly were the first "babes" that would become what the show was known for, and Elaniak was actually the first member of the cast to pose for Playboy, although she did so shortly before the show aired. 

The show was pretty much a story-of-the-week procedural. In the first season, the stories were almost all laughably bad (like a group of hooligans using an illegal version of a jet ski to terrorize swimmers and boaters), and even when the show tried to tackle a deeper subject (like domestic violence) it was often cringe-inducing. And of course, there were the totally silly and often out of place (and out of nowhere) music montages that just spontaneously popped up once or twice an episode. The writers did try to balance the large ensemble cast, but there were many episodes in which some of the main cast members were totally absent, and Peter Phelps just disappeared in the second half of the season. 

The season did feature a lot of guest stars, many of whom would go on to be A-Listers, who basically got their start on the show as their first major role. Some of them included Mariska Hargitay (who would go on to be the lead on Law and Order SVU), David Spade, William Fichtner, Bryan Cranston (who would go on to be the lead on Breaking Bad), and Madchen Amick (who would be a series regular on Twin Peaks the next year). 

The first season was really about the show finding its footing and developing the main characters. It was definitely not a great show in terms of being an award-winning drama. It was a great show in terms of being so bad it was good, and of course, had a ridiculously good-looking cast. It will definitely be a nostalgic blast from the past for those who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. There are some DVD sets out there that label Season 2 as Season 1. NBC actually canceled the show after Season 1, after which it aired in syndication for the rest of its run. So, make sure to pay attention to the description. 

DVD/TV Series Review: Animal Kingdom: Season 6

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior seasons, but no major giveaways from season six+++

The sixth season of Animal Kingdom aired during the summer of 2022, and consisted of 13 episodes. This season is all about reveals. It picks up sometime down the line from the discovery of Catherine's body by the police at the end of Season 5. The cops in Oceanside officially consider it a cold case, assuming either Baz or Smurf killed her, and with both of them being dead, were not looking too heavily into the case. That is until a new cop takes up the case and starts looking at Pope. 

The show jumps back and forth between the 1990s, where young Smurf, played by Lelia George, is completely fucking up the teenaged versions of Pope (played by Kevin Csolak, who mirrors Shawn Hatsoy's performance perfectly), Baz (played by Darren Mann), and Julia (played by Jasper Polish), and the present in which J is acting as the de-facto leader of the family. 

In the past, we see the events that led J to hate Smurf and the entire family, and in the present, it is revealed exactly how much he hates them. We also see the events that led to Pope being arrested for bank robbery, which was the crime he had just been released for in the show's first season. I won't say too much about how things play out, but the show does provide some closure, but some things are not tied up in nice bows. For example, we never get a concrete answer as to whether Smurf actually had an incestual relationship with any of the kids, but it is strongly hinted that she did at least with Pope. Of course, that is not something that they ever could have filmed in the flashbacks since the kids were supposed to be in their teens, but Lelia George played Smurf just as creepy and skeevy as Ellen Barkin did.

For those who get the DVD, it is mostly a MOD set with the 13 episodes spread across three discs. It does have one bonus feature, which is an 8-minute-long series retrospective that includes interviews with members of the cast and crew and has some behind-the-scenes footage from the final season. 

Overall, the season is good. I think the material in the flashbacks is a bit better than the material in the present day, but Shawn Hatsoy (who also directs another episode this season) carries every scene he is in. Lelia George really nails young Smurf and does a great job portraying an absolutely horrible character that ruined all of her kids' lives.  I cannot say that everyone will love how the series ends, but if you have been a fan of the show up to this point, it is definitely worth seeing how it plays out. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House M.D.: Season 8

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season of House, but no major giveaways from the final season+++

House's eighth and final season aired in the 2011-2012 TV season and consisted of the show's final 22 episodes. The show starts out almost a year after House drove his car into Cuddy's living room. He ultimately returned to New Jersey, was arrested, and has been in jail for three months (after representing himself at trial). Foreman is now the director of the hospital (with Lisa Edelstein leaving the show because of a contract dispute after season 7), Wilson hates his guts, and Chase and Taub have moved on (seemingly). The first episode, much like the season House was in the psychiatric hospital, is set in the last few days of House's stint in jail (we learn that Foreman got him early release on the condition that he can only go to the hospital or his apartment), assuming he makes it through the last week without getting killed or having his sentence extended. 

While in jail he meets Dr. Jessica Adams (played by Odette Annable, probably best known for her role in Cloverfield up to that point) who works in the prison infirmary, and who would become a new member of the team along with the character of Dr. Chi Park (played by Charline Yi) who was pawned off on House after she punched her attending. Of course, House gets out of jail, and once he does, the show continues with the case of the week format as well as having a couple of different serial arcs, including a fake marriage to a Ukranian model (played by Karolina Wydra) and a major storyline that ultimately wraps up the series. 

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, there are fewer extras for this release than in prior season releases. There are no commentary tracks or deleted scenes, but there are three making-of/behind-the-scenes featurettes, one about the episode that Hugh Laurie directed, one that serves as a behind-the-scenes/making-of the final episode and has footage of the series wrap party, and one that is basically a series retrospective. Between the three of them, you get over an hour of bonus content. 

Ultimately, season 8 is good, with some great moments, but feels incomplete because there is no real resolution to the House-Cuddy storyline. Basically, the show was brought back for an eighth season on a smaller budget, and the producers asked Lisa Edelstein to take a cut in pay, and she refused. So, Cuddy was written out and she did not appear, even in the final episode in which many of the former cast members (including Kal Penn, Sela Ward, Anne Dudek, Olivia Wilde, Amber Tamblyn, Andre Braugher, and Jennifer Morrison) returned for cameos. That said, I do think that the ending to the series was perfect for House. It gave the viewers closure but still left some things open to imagination. Even with the reduced budget, the show managed to get some good guest and recurring stars (some of whom were not huge stars at that point) including Jaleel White, Michael Masse, Wentworth Miller, Yaya DaCosta, Jeffrey Wright, David Anders, Rena Sofer, and Michael B. Jordan. So, while I do not think it is as good as the prior seasons, it is still very good, and for me, it was better after a second viewing.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bones: Season 5

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from prior seasons but does not contain any spoilers from season 5+++

The fifth season of Bones aired during the 2009-2010 TV season and followed the same format that has made the show successful. That is, mostly being a case-of-the-week procedural crime-drama but also including some larger storylines that play out over the course of the season or get carried over from the prior season. In this season, one of the later examples is a continuation of the "gravedigger" storyline with the trial of Heather Taffet (played by Deiredra Lovejoy) and the team having to find concrete evidence to convict her. The season picks up with Booth returning to the FBI trying to figure out if his feelings for Brennan are real, or an after-effect of the brain injury that he suffered at the end of season four. The show does continue the tease of will Booth and Brennan get together, with the writers doing everything they can to keep them apart, which includes a season finale in which a more significant time jump going into season six is teased. This season also has the milestone 100th episode (which David Boreanez directed) that looks back on the history of the team members and allows for a way to incorporate Eric Millegan into the season. 

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, the show looks and sounds very good in HD, getting a nice (but not spectacular) blu-ray transfer. The 22 episodes are spread across four discs, as are the various special features. Those include commentary tracks on two episodes, a featurette on the 100th episode, two behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and extended versions of two episodes.

Overall, the series continues to be strong. By this season it found the formula that works and does not deviate much from that, while still managing to make the shows interesting and fresh. This season includes many good guest and recurring stars including Cyndi Lauper, Ryan O'Neal, Emily's sister Zooey Deschanel, who plays Brennan's cousin in an episode, and Billy Gibbons, who again plays Angela's father. The roles of the various interns are also expanded this season, with the show continuing to rotate the characters of Clark, Daisy, Wendell, Arastoo, Colin, and Vincent throughout the season. So, if you have liked the show (especially from season two forward) then you will probably like this season as well.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Gifted Season 1

 

The Gifted is a series that is set in the X-Men universe, but in a timeline (or just at a time) in which the X-Men have disappeared and those with mutant powers are shunned by society and are required to be registered (much like the plot of the original X-Men movies), and those who are not being hunted by an anti-mutant Sentinal Services agency (which is obviously based on the concept of the Nazi SS). The first season consisted of 13 episodes that aired during the 2017-2018 TV season and was set around the Strucker family, played by Stephen Moyer (from True Blood) who plays Reed Strucker, Angel alumn Amy Acker who plays Caitlin Strucker, and their children Lauren (played by Natalie Alyn Lind) and Andy (played by Percy Hynes White). Reed is a district attorney who prosecutes mutant cases and is forced to go on the run when Lauren and Andy both manifest mutant abilities. They are eventually helped (reluctantly) by a group of mutants who avoid Sentinal Services, and the lead agent Jace Turner (played by Burn Notice's Colby Bell) and Garrett Dallahunt's character Roderick Campbell, who wants to weaponize the Strucker Children's powers. The rest of the main cast includes Jamie Chung, Blair Redford, Emma Dumont, and Sean Teale. 

The DVD set is just a standard MOD set that just has the 13 episodes spread across three discs. There are no extras or bonus features. So, unless you really prefer physical media over streaming, you don't get anything extra by getting the DVDs.

Overall, the show is very good. It definitely has ties to the X-Men movies, some subtle and some not. Of course, Bryan Singer who directed many of the movies is a producer on the show and directed the pilot, so that is not surprising. It is not entirely clear, however, if this is set in a different universe from the movies where events played out differently, or is set after the bulk of the movies but before the events of the movie Logan. In a way that is good because it means that it can tell its own story while still having some tie-ins with the overall franchise. 

The acting and writing are both very good and the cast has a good mix of recognizable, established actors and relative newcomers. The show has a serial arc that plays out throughout the season, so you cannot really just jump in partway and get everything that is going on. The season ends on a pretty major cliffhanger that leaves the fate of several characters up in the air going into season two. So, if you are a fan of the X-Men movies, then this is definitely worth checking out.

 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: I, Tonya

 

I, Tonya is a 2017 movie that is a blend of drama and dark comedy that is a mockumentary-style biography of former Olympic figure skater, Tonya Harding's (played by Margot Robbie as well as McKenna Grace and Maizie Smith playing her as a child) career. The focus of the movie is the events that surrounded the lead-up to the 1994 Winter Olympics in which Harding's main competition, Nancy Kerrigan (played by Caitlin Carver) was attacked in a plan that was hatched by her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly (played by Sebastian Stan), and executed ineptly by his friend, Shawn Eckhart (played by Paul Walter Hauser). The movie is basically from the point of view of Harding, who has always maintained that she had nothing to do with the plan (but the movie definitely leaves that up to the viewer to decide) and that she was a victim in the whole thing too. Allison Janney plays (wonderfully) Harding's batshit crazy and abusive mother, and pretty much steals every scene she is in. While the events of 1993-1994 were the main focus of the movie, the movie is semi-biographical and details Harding's life from the time she was a kid up to the point at which she retired from skating, and the movie does jump around in time a bit as the story is told.

For those who get the blu-ray, the A/V quality is good, about what you would expect of a non-special-effects-laden or CGI-heavy movie. For extras, there is a commentary track on the movie by the director, almost 20 minutes of deleted scenes, trailers, and 15 minutes of behind-the-scenes material that features clips of the real people involved being interviewed intertwined with cast and crew interviews. What was included was good, but you definitely do not get a ton of bonus features.

The movie is very good and captures the craziness of Harding's life and the absurdity of the attack on Kerrigan perfectly. Janney, Robbie, and Stan are all great with Janney basically owning the movie any time she is on screen. Even if you were not around for the real-life events the movie is based on, it is still a very entertaining movie that is worth watching, but it is definitely better if you know some of the backstory.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House M.D.: Season 7

 

+++Warning this contains spoilers from the end of season six and a minor spoiler of the season seven plotline, but has no major season seven giveaways+++

The seventh season of House aired during the 2011/2012 television season. It would end up being the second to last season of the show and, in my opinion, the last very good to great season of the show. This season is all about the House/Cuddy romantic relationship that was teased (yet again) at the end of season six when Cuddy showed up to stop House from taking drugs. The big serial story arc that runs throughout the season is their relationship, its function, and dysfunction, whether House can be as good of a doctor when he is happy, and whether he will end up sabotaging the relationship. Then, the show also does the case-of-the-week procedural storylines that have been the backbone of the show for the first six seasons. The series undergoes more cast turnover with Olivia Wilde taking a leave of absence from the show to go shoot movies, which allowed the show to bring in former soap opera actress Amber Tamblyn for a multi-episode arc. And of course, Jennifer Morrison had completely left the show after season six. Wilde makes a very short appearance in the season premiere and then returns about 3/4 of the way into the season in what is one of the season's best episodes (and for me, one of the top five episodes of the entire series). The season ends with a relatively big moment that will have a major impact on season 8.

For those who get the blu-ray set, the 23 episodes are spread across five discs. The show looks good, but not great in the HD format. Of course, it does not have a ton of special effects or CGI (although what is in the show does look good), and while the A/V quality is a step up from the DVDs, it is not huge. The extras include commentary tracks on three episodes, features on the characters of Thirteen, Cuddy, and Martha Masters (Tamblyn's character), and featurettes on the episodes Bombshells and The Dig, all of which are carried over from the DVD release. There are also some BD-live and U-Control extras that are specific to the blu-ray set.

Overall, the season is very good. It has a good blend of action, drama, and comedy, the latter mostly at Taub's expense. The storylines are well-written and the medical cases continue to be entertaining and interesting, and the acting is still top-notch. The show also continues to get a good slate of guest stars which this season include Candice Bergen, Cynthia Watros, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Jack Coleman, Jennifer Gray, Donal Louge, and Matthew Lillard. If you have liked the show up to this point, this season is definitely worth watching. In some ways, it is really the payoff to seasons 1-6 much more than season eight is. I definitely recommend it. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Below Her Mouth

 

Below Her Mouth is an erotic drama from 2016 about a woman named Jasmine (played by Natalie Krill) who cheats on her fiance with another woman named Dallas (played by Erika Linder) while her fiance (played by Sebastian Pigott) is away on business. Jasmine and Dallas originally meet at a lesbian bar when Jasmine agrees to go out with her friend Claire, to be her wing-woman for the night. Dallas and Jasmine make out, much to Jasmine's initial shock and horror and then discover that Dallas (who is a roofer) is working on the house next door to Jasmine, and the two begin a sexual relationship. Of course, the drama comes when Jasmine's fiance returns from his trip.

The movie is basically about a torrid affair and a woman figuring out she is bisexual. If it were made with a male-female affair it would probably not have gotten as much notoriety as it did, but because it was about a woman cheating on her male fiance with another woman, it got more buzz than an indie film would normally get. That said, I do think that, even though the plot is fairly cookie-cutter, the acting is good and the movie does not drag on. The movie looks fine on blu-ray, but because it is low-budget and does not have any special effects, the transfer is not outstanding and would be just fine on DVD. And, there are no extras, just the movie itself.

Certainly, the movie is not going to appeal to everyone. There is a lot of nudity and sex, and of course, because it involves lesbians, some people who would otherwise not care about the nudity and sex will be turned off by that aspect of it. If that does not bother you, it is an okay movie that will help kill an hour and a half, but it is not a must-see movie by any means.