Tuesday, January 24, 2006

TV On DVD - January 24, 2006

Missing: Season 2
- Okay, now this one is curious in a lot of ways. TVShows On DVD lists this as 1-800-Missing but Amazon in both the US and Canada just calls it Missing and so does the cover of the DVD. Apparently that's because the show changed its title in the second season. Then there's a little problem in that as near as I can tell they've never released Season 1 of this show - the one that actually was named 1-800-Missing. There is a difference, with Gloria Reuben leaving the series after the first season and being replaced by Viveca A. Fox who is reportedly far less effective than Reuben was. I haven't seen this show, since it airs on the rather labyrinthine structure that is the CHUM empire (specifically it's on their small city network "A-Channel" not their main "CITY-TV" network - and neither is seen in Saskatoon) and on Lifetime in the US. It's at a point where it doesn't seem worthwhile.

Allo, Allo!: The Complete Series Four
- When I talked about the third season DVD release of Allo 'Allo! I made the comparison between this show and Hogan's Heroes. I stand by this although of course I was castigated somewhat by Ivan Shreve for not mentioning the link between this show and the drama Secret Army. The big thing of course is that this show is pure farce, that art form that the British do so very well and which the Americans so rarely grasp. The series uses accents in a way that is truly amazing, particularly with Office Crabtree - the British Agent posing as a French Police Officer with an accent that would amaze Peter Sellers as Clouseau.

Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 1 - Water, Vol. 1
- An anime style American made series for Nickelodeon. Full of references relating to Eastern mysticism, it is by all accounts extremely well done and has received two 2005 Pulcinella Awards and been nominated for three Annie Awards including "Best Animated Television Production". It airs on YTV in Canada but at an hour when I'm unable to see it.

Dallas: The Complete Fourth Season
- The fourth season of Dallas saw the final resolution of the "Who Shot J.R.?" story line from the third season, as well as the reason why the Ewings didn't prosecute the person who did the shooting. Beyond that there was the usual mix of infidelity, double and triple (and occasionally quadruple) dealing, boozing and the inevitable cliffhanger (which, much to J.R.'s disgust didn't leave Cliff hanging - bad joke). Sadly this was the last season with Jim Davis as Jock Ewing, although the series kept Jock alive for another half season or so. It did see the addition of Howard Keel as Clayton Farlow as a guest star playing the father of Sue Ellen's latest paramour. His character, Clayton Farlow, would eventually replace Davis as Miss Ellie's husband.

My Little Pony: Two Great Pony Tales
- More poorly animated kidvid. Fortunately I have a nephew so this will mercifully be off my radar.

Saturday Night Live: Best Of Alec Baldwin
Saturday Night Live: The Best of David Spade

- I'm actually surprised at just how many episodes of Saturday Night Live Alec Baldwin has been on (a dozen or so) - almost as surprised as I was to discover that he had been the narrator of the Thomas the Tank Engine series after George Carlin. (So why isn't this available from Amazon.ca?) Of course I don't think I've actually seen any of them since the last episode of SNL I watched in its entirety (or even partially) was the episode that Wayne Gretzky hosted - and I didn't watch it very long. As a result, I think I pretty much missed David Spade. My exposure to him came through Just Shoot Me and believe me that was enough.

Time Tunnel: Volume 1
- I only saw two Irwin Allen TV series in their original runs, Lost In Space and this. Of the two, I liked The Time Tunnel better. Maybe because I was a fan of DC Comics' Legion Of Superheroes stories, the concept of being lost in time seemed far more interesting than being lost in space. Or maybe it was just that space travel was more real to us in the 1960s.

Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss: The Cat's Home But Not Alone
- More Dr. Seuss without actual Dr. Seuss. The characters are the ones Theodore Geissel created and was well received in terms of honours at the time but, apparently it was lacking in "Dr. Seuss-ness" and was cancelled after one season on Nickelodeon.

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