The Dick Van Dyke Show - Season Three (1961) Review

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(More customer reviews)The good folks at Image Entertainment have done it again! This third-season, multi-disc boxed set of CBS-TV's "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961-1966) replicates the outstanding quality and tender-loving-care of its two predecessors.
This Season 3 package consists of five digital discs, each receiving its own "ThinPak" case, with appropriate (and very nice-looking!) high-resolution artwork and accompanying episode information. The outer slipcase features the "old-time TV" look, complete with a "lenticular" (3-D style) image adorning the mock "TV screen". The snappy-looking 3-D image offers up a "motion" picture of Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) falling out of a jury box (from the episode "One Angry Man", which actually was not a Season 3 episode, but rather a program from the first season of the show).
By the way, it's also worth mentioning here that these season-three discs are all "Region Free" (or "Region Zero") encoded. This is a change from the two earlier boxed sets of this series, which were only encoded for "Region 1" playback.

This third-season set gives us 32 top-notch episodes with Rob and Laura Petrie and associated friends and neighbors (even though the packaging says only 31), including the hysterical "That's My Boy??", in which Rob is convinced he's brought the wrong baby home from the hospital. Also in Season 3: "October Eve", "Laura's Little Lie", "Big Max Calvada", and another of my all-time faves, "I'd Rather Be Bald Than Have No Head At All".
All of these episodes are uncut and unedited. The FULL shows, as filmed in 1963-1964, are presented here.
Picture quality is excellent throughout this set. These black-and-white shows have never looked so good! Good resolution, detail, and contrast. The original Mono sound is used, and it suffices just fine. The audio comes to us via robust Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtracks.
A "Play All Episodes" option is also available (from the Main Menu). This feature makes it nice for those non-stop DVD-on-DVD marathons that every self-respecting fan of "Great TV" everywhere should subject themselves to at least once every few weeks! :)
BONUS FEATURES ....... Like the first two boxed seasons, this 3rd Dick Van Dyke Show set is jammed-packed with bonus material. Here's a rundown:
>> There are 2 audio commentary tracks, featuring Dick Van Dyke and show creator Carl Reiner (for "That's My Boy??" and "October Eve").
>> Two clips from the 1964 Emmy Awards (length = 2:30).
>> Assorted Cast & Crew Interviews.
>> Photo Galleries for many episodes.
>> A complete episode of "The Danny Thomas Show" (originally aired on October 21, 1963), in which Morey Amsterdam appears as his Dick Van Dyke Show character, Buddy Sorrell! This Danny Thomas program bears a strong resemblance, story-wise, to the 2nd-season Van Dyke Show episode, "Ray Murdock's X-Ray". Run time of this bonus program is 25:20, and the picture quality is quite good.
>> "Rehearsal Footage" (2:28) --- This extra contains a clip from an Arthur Godfrey-hosted TV documentary from May of 1966, "A Day In The Life Of Sheldon Leonard". We see some behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage for the season-five Van Dyke episode, "Talk To The Snail". Interesting stuff.
>> An excerpt (3:14) from Mr. Van Dyke's 1975 variety program, "Van Dyke & Company", in which Dick's former co-star, Mary Tyler Moore, makes an appearance. It's not a song-and-dance clip; it's a scripted comedy spot featuring Dick and Mary chatting.' Not exactly side-splittingly funny; but it's still fun to watch these two performers get together again, nine years after the Van Dyke Show ended.
>> Easter Eggs --- There are 5 hidden "Eggs" (one on each of the five discs). Each is a TV ad (circa 1990s) for "Nick At Nite", featuring "Chairman" Dick Van Dyke.' Be sure not to miss the one on Disc #5, in which Carl Reiner pops up (alongside Dick). That one is very funny!
These "Easter Eggs" can be accessed by pressing your remote's "Left Arrow" key while the "Opening Titles" chapter is highlighted. In two instances, however, you can get to the same hidden "Egg" by "left arrowing" from any of the other chapter choices as well. If an "Egg" is present, a "glow" will surround the cranium of Mr. Dick Van Dyke's artist rendering in the corner. Press "Enter" or "Play" now, and you'll see the "Nick @ Nite" promo spot.
>> Plus: There's also a four-page mini-booklet, featuring some third-season facts and trivia, plus an informative bio on Rose Marie.
NOTE: The packaging indicates that some "Original Commercials" are contained in this set. This is an error. There are none here.
Anyone that currently owns the other sets of The Dick Van Dyke Show from Image will, without question, want to snap up this third installment of this timeless TV classic. Image Entertainment, once again, proves that when it comes to providing consumers with superlative TV product on Digital Disc, they are a class act. With great video transfers, plentiful bonus features, complete uncut episodes, and smart-and-classy packaging -- this boxed set is another no-brainer for collectors.

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Girlfriends - The Complete First Season (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)For years now I've been out of touch with the "Girlfriends" TV show. For one, they kept moving it from Monday to some other day, then from one time to another, so I'd never know when to set the VCR. Whenever I could finally catch it, I'd never know what was going on, since "Girlfriends", like another show I'd like to see, "Providence", was serial in nature, in that it had a running story line. I finally gave up trying to watch it on TV, in fact, I've given up watching TV, period. However, I never really gave up wanting to just start over with the show, either through syndication or other means. I'm very happy then, that the DVD of the first season of "Girlfriends" is here at last.
I've just finished the first season through the four DVDs sent to me by Netflix rental. It left with quite the cliffhanger, giving me the feeling that things aren't going to be quite the same between the four women from here out. The writing for this show is great. It's about the lives of four black women of varying socioeconomic and marital status who have managed to forge a great relationship with each other: Attorney Joan, her best friend from childhood, Toni; their friend from college, Lynn; Joan's secretary Maya, and Joan's colleague William is there to offer the male perspective.
Tracee Ellis Ross, as Joan, is a fantastic comic actress; I love those segments where she thinks out loud to the audience! That she's the daughter of a show business legend makes for a good Jeopardy question, however the younger Ms. Ross has carved out a niche of her own as one of the new queens of comedy! And don't we all know people like Joan, the peacemaker who's always trying to fix someone's problems, with the best of intentions. Golden Brooks, as Maya, is a beautiful actress who gives her character a spiritual groundedness as the thus-far only married character. Maya may be lower on the totem pole socially than her boss and Toni, but she brings to the table a pride and intelligence that's not often considered from a secretary, and I like that about this character. On the other hand, Jill Marie Jones' Toni Childs brings all sorts of issues to the table, from skin color to the fact that the way to her heart is through her wallet; and haven't we all known, either personally or otherwise, someone whose sheer gall gets them into trouble and whom we feel obligated to rescue because we've know them so long? Persia White plays the striking young drifter who can't seem to reconcile with life outside of college. Lynn seems to be the flower child who is a couple of decades too late.
I wish I had a posse like this...without the drama, of course! Seriously, the writers have created four very believable women and put them in very believable situations, some of which are very serious, and still there's room for humor. I don't think there's another show like it, and it doesn't hurt that the executive producer of the show is Frasier's Kelsey Grammar.
"Girlfriends" is the best thing to happen to network television, and I hope this is the first of all seven seasons to be released to disc. It will be interesting to see how the show and the characters evolve from here. One thing I would like to see on future sets, is some commentary, either from the main actors or the guest artists or the director of each show. Don't just put the shows on and that's that; this is the only thing that was disappointing There should be extras for a show like this. Surely there were outtakes and other things that didn't make it to broadcast. I would have liked to have seen something on how "Girlfriends" came into being in the first place. This would have been good for a first DVD, but since we didn't get that I'm hoping subsequent releases will be more interesting.

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GIRLFRIENDS is a sophisticated comedy series that invites viewers into the lives of four professional African American women living in Los Angeles who are struggling with the weighty issues of life - men, love, money -- and more men. As they search for happiness in all its elusive forms, the four girlfriends rely on each other for support, reality checks, advice and for the laughter that everyone needs to make it in this crazy place we call the modern world.

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The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 1 (Bloodlust / Catalina Caper / The Creeping Terror / Skydivers) (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)In case you're new to the world of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (MST3K for short, that what us fans - "Misties" - call it), this is the famous TV show where a silhouette of a man and two robots sitting in theater seats provide running commentary for some of the worst movies ever made. The ninety-minute episodes are also scattered with sketches and songs and amount to some of the smartest, most pop-culture savvy, side-splitting comedy ever made.
This is the first of the four-episode collections of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" offered from Rhino (previously they had only offered them in single DVD editions). It contains an interesting mix of movies: a science-fiction horror flick, a drama about skydivers, a 60s beach comedy, and a thriller on a tropical island. Three of the episodes come from the excellent sixth season, when Mike Nelson was the human host and the wisecracks and comments had become razor sharp and fast and furious. One episode comes from the second season, when the show had a more laid-back, friendly humor when Joel Hodgson was the host. Although this collection skews toward the later seasons, it is still a good general introduction to the show for newcomers, since most of the episodes are terrific. Fans who favor Joel Hodgson's style won't enjoy this as much as the second and third box set, but for most fans the inclusion of "The Skydivers" and "The Creeping Terror" make it a must-own.
Here's what you get:
BLOODLUST! Episode #607. A rip-off of "The Most Dangerous Game," only with young college kids (one of whom is Robert Reed, future Brady Bunch dad!). The four dummies land on a jungle island to go exploring and become trapped by the rich but extremely wishy-washy maniac millionaire who owns the island. Apparently, he enjoys hunting down people to turn them into stuffed trophies. The film isn't really awful, just completely unoriginal and acted with total flatness. Robert Reed never seems more than mildly "cheesed" and "fed up" (to quote Mike and `Bots) with the life-threatening situation. But it's season six, and the show's writers couldn't do any wrong at this point, and the result is the usual hilarious romp.
CATALINA CAPER. Episode #204. This is the only Joel Hodgson episode in the collection, and it's an oddball entry in MST3K history: it's the only time the show took on an overt comedy. True, "Catalina Caper," a teen 60s bikini beach comedy, isn't funny at all, but since it doesn't take itself seriously it becomes a tough target to make fun off. Joel and the `Bots have a good time with the lousy `prat-fall' comic, the awful musical numbers (one featuring Little Richard, waaaay out of his element), skinny Tommy Kirk, and the famous `creepy girl,' but this is a spotty episode and the weakest in this pack. Don't form your opinions of Joel's episodes based on this one.
THE CREEPING TERROR. Episode #606. This is a classic, and one of the worst films the MST3K team ever took on. A big shag carpet (oh, excuse me, I meant `alien') starts eating the citizens of a quiet California town; or at least it gets close enough to them so they can hoist themselves into its mouth. And why is the town so quiet? Because while making the film, someone accidentally kicked the sound equipment into a lake, so the whole movie has almost NO DIRECT SOUND. Yep, we instead have a narrator telling us what the characters are saying, doing, discussing, and so on. You have to see it (or hear it) to believe it! Mike and the `Bots unload on this one, and it's a scream. One of the funniest episodes ever.
THE SKYDIVERS. Episode #609. One of the most beloved of all MST3K episodes. Writer Paul Chaplin said of it: "I don't want to criticize this movie. I'm too fond of the final result for our show...there's never been a better movie for our treatment." I'll drink to that. This drama about the loves and losses of people working at a parachuting school is so weird, so bizarrely scripted, so awfully acted, filled with so many inexplicably wack-o characters, and shot with such stunning ineptitude that it positively amazes. The riffing from the hosts is some of the best, sharpest commentary they ever did. This is the first of three movies MST3K did from director Coleman Francis (who makes Ed Wood look like Orson Welles!). The second one, "Red Zone Cuba" is available on its own DVD. The third, "The Beast of Yucca Flats" isn't out yet, and Rhino should really get this one on a future collection.
All four films are offered in "non-MST3K" versions on the flip side of their discs, which is a nice feature if you really want to see how much the show added to these awful films. "Bloodlust" and "Catalina Caper" are all right - although dull - on their own, but see how long you can sit through the other two without Mike and Robots before you tear your eyes out!
So there you have it, three of the most phenomenally funny episodes of MST3K, plus one of the most unusual. A great package for fans and newcomers alike! (Just watch out for acid in your parachute!)

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MST3K COLLECTION VOL 1 - DVD Movie

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Home Improvement - The Complete Second Season (1991) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have loved "Home Improvement" ever since I was seven years old,and I think that everyone was excited to see the first four seasons of HI being released on DVD. Truth be told,while shows like "Home Improvement" really do not get made that much anymore,HI is a good reminder of what good television was about back in the early 90's (which was when this show aired)--and this DVD set is surely to bring back good memories,laughter,and entertainment for all fans of "Home Improvement" who purchased this set.
What you have right here is the second season for "Home Improvement"--every second of every episode from the second season of HI,on a three disc set. And while the first season of "Home Improvement" may be the ultimate season of the show,the season of the show that is displayed here is both funny and strong in several ways. This DVD set shows all of the challenges that Tim Taylor (Tim Allen)and his wife Jill (Patricia Richardson)faced as parents,with their oldest children Brad (Zachary Ty Bryan) and Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas)going through puberty,while their youngest son Mark (Tarah Noah Smith),who,while he may not being going through puberty,happens to be a target of both Brad and Randy (which follows hillarious results that are displayed in pretty much every episode that is here). There are several other highlights here--"Overreactive Glance" finds Jill and her friend Karen giving Tim a hard time about looking at other women,even if it happens to be just an accident (Debbe Dunning,who was the "Tool Time Girl" once Pamela Anderson had left the show,even made a guest appearance on this episode),"Howards End" shows how Brad and Randy would do anything to get out of trouble and the problems that can come along with having your first girlfriend,while "The Great Race" (which,as a matter of fact,was the last episode of the second season of "Home Improvement")shows how Tim Taylor knew how to be a good person--while he was getting revenge towards another person at the same time!!!! I won't give away everything that is too be found here,but if you miss the days from when "Home Improvement" was on,and enjoy a good laugh and nostalgia every once in a while,this DVD set is for you to own.
My only complaint is that the only bonus feature here is called "Loose Screws Part 2",which takes ten of the funniest moments from some of the episodes that were included in this DVD set. While the second segment of "Loose Screws" (which takes off on where the first segment of "Loose Screws" on the DVD set for the complete first season of this show)is as interesting as it is funny,this set would have been just a little bit better if there was a behind the scenes segment for this show,or maybe even some previously unreleased scenes for some of the episodes that were included here. But hey--with the first four seasons of this show being available on DVD as of now and with only four more DVD sets for this show to go (this show ran for eight seasons),there definitely will be more room for more extra feautures on future DVD sets of "Home Improvement". The producers of this show have a good start for not only this DVD set,but also for the other three sets of this show that have been released on DVD.
Overall,one of the best television series to be released in its complete season on DVD,and I look forward for the fifth,sixth,seventh,and eigth season of "Home Improvement" seeing the light of day on DVD,as well. As someone else mentioned............there are two words that are appropriate for this DVD set........MORE POWER!!!!!!!

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Plug in the power drill and break out the socket wrenches!Tim Allen hammers home the laughs as Tim "The Toolman" Taylor in HOME IMPROVEMENT'S hilarious second season.Tim and his level-headed wife, Jill, undertake the challenge of raising three young, mischievous boys.It's a tough project, but with insightful advice from his wise (and only partially seen) next door neighbor, Wilson, they're able to get the job done.Now you can own all 25 episodes of the show's second season in this comprehensive 3-Disc DVD set.And with exclusive bonus features, it's a must-have for any HOME IMPROVEMENT collection.

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Chappelle's Show - The Series Collection (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)One thing nobody can deny is that in the short time the show has been around, Chappelle's Show made it's mark in pop culture.
In a nutshell, the first two seasons were absolutely hystical with a few sketches that weren't as funny as the others (your not going to hit a homerun every single time) that just left classic moments in TV & pop culture history to the point where it revived the music career of a legend in Rick James with one catchphrase (I'M RICK JAMES B....) & helped another actor in Wayne Brady break out of the sterotypical roles he's been typecasted in throughout his career ("Is Wayne Brady gonna have to choke a b....?"). Dave along with his cast like the always overlooked Charlie Murphy, legend Paul Mooney, and Donnell Rawlings just brought forth a bunch of situations that people don't normally find funny but just made you almost pee on yourself laughing. It's been years since the show started & so many memorable moments are still in my head like it was yesterday. It's the funniest show of this nature since "In Living Color" that pushed the boundries with it's spoofs of issues in recent news stories (R. Kelly....need I say more?), pop culture (Mad Real World) & issues we deal with daily like racism (Clayton Bigsby) & sterotypes (Trading Places)...and just having skits around to give us a good laugh (The Player Haters Ball & Tryone). The first two seasons were just comedic gold to me. The DVD extras with the deleted scenes/outtakes on both sets with alternative commentary along with the bonus standup, extra Charlie Murphy stories, and extended interviews from both Rick James & Charlie Murphy on disc two are an added & welcomed bonus.
I can't say the same for the third or "lost season" & I just couldn't believe that this is the same show that had me laughing, caught the attention of america, and everything else I mentioned earlier. These were "lost" episodes & honestly should have stayed lost because this season was awful. The only skits that had me laughing was the one about 2pac not being alive but having a song talking about everyone currently in that club & the one where everyone started charging Dave more money for things since they found out how much money he makes. They did show the controversal "pixie" sketch which I wasn't offended by because I couldn't get past how unfunny it was. The only thing that somewhat kept the shows watchable more than once is the audio commentary from Charlie, Donnell, and Niel (can't remember his last name right now).
In the end, season one & two are worth this set but season three will be seen as a huge disappointment so if you can get seasons one & two cheaper than this box set, I would do that. Otherwise, everything about the first two seasons heavily overshadow the "lost episodes" so I would recommend overall under those conditions.


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The Whitest Kids U' Know: The Complete First Season (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Originally aired on Fuse before finding a proper home on IFC, The Whitest Kids U' Know is the best sketch comedy show you've never seen. Created by and starring Trevor Moore, Zach Cregger, Sam Brown, Darren Trumeter, and Timmy Williams; The Whitest Kids U' Know is often inspired sketch comedy with an edge, and is reminiscent of early MAD TV (minus the laugh track or audience) or more so Kids in the Hall. All ten first season episodes are collected here, and feature hysterical moments such as Trevor Moore showing his musical side with "Hitler Rap", playing a guitar while telling kids how they can get a new daddy, and more besides. Also in the mix are rampant conspiracy theories, a horny deer, different takes on Abraham Lincoln, a demon watching girls play with a Quija board, and a courtroom that falls victim to "opposite day". While there are times when skits fall flat (the face off between the monster truck drivers comes to mind), The Whitest Kids U' Know is a hysterical blast that deserves to be checked out if you've been missing out on it so far. The only disappointment about the DVD set is that more extras weren't included, but despite that, this is still definitely worth picking up for those who have enjoyed the show so far.

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Chappelle's Show - Season 1 Uncensored (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)I had caught snippets of Chappelle's Show here and there before, but I had never made a point of actually sitting down and watching a complete episode. Then a friend of mine told me about a hilarious skit featuring Dave Chappelle as a black white supremacist (he is blind and doesn't know he is actually a black man); if it was only half as funny as she said it was, I knew I had to see it for myself, so I soon bought myself a copy of Chappelle's Show Season One. Not only is the skit in question hilarious, it basically defines the type of humor Dave Chappelle brings to the comedy scene. I don't think the television viewing audience has ever seen anything like this before - certainly not to the extremes that Dave Chappelle takes it. When he jokes about the fact the show has not been cancelled yet, it actually rings with a bit of truth. Very few comedians could get away with this type of over-the-top humor.
To say that this is mature humor is something of an understatement. Adult language abounds, and all the bleeps you heard on television are now removed - thus, the Uncensored! tagline. You'll find a lot of jokes centered on human anatomy - especially female anatomy. Far beyond everything else, though, is a relentless comedic skewering of racism. Some would probably consider this a racist show, actually - the "n word" is used in abundance, and stereotypes of blacks, Asians, whites, and other races are exploited shamelessly. The whole point of the race-based comedy, though, is to show just how extreme and ridiculous racist thinking and behavior really is. Some people won't "get it," of course, and they will probably think Chappelle's Show is one of the most offensive things they have ever witnessed - and that's OK. The majority of viewers, I believe, will "get it" and will join me in an extended laugh-fest that lasts throughout all twelve episodes of Season One as well as the bonus materials included in this DVD offering.
Among the gut-bustingly funny stuff you will find in Chappelle's Show Season One are the antics of crack addict Tyrone Biggums (including a visit to a drug awareness day at an elementary school), Chappelle-ized scenes from hit films such as Roots and The Matrix, a news report detailing the profound aftereffects brought about by the paying of reparations for slavery, "Great Moments in Hookup History," a "Real World" episode featuring one really white guy living with five crazy African-Americans, a hard-hitting documentary detailing the racism of famous animal performers, a documentary covering great inner city gang wars of the 1980s, an interracial episode of Trading Spouses, numerous Chappelle-ized television ads, Ask a Black Dude features with comedian Paul Mooney, a hilarious look at the international Player Hater Ball, and of course a lot of crude jokes about drugs and bodily functions. The only bad thing about these episodes is the fact that they are sometimes rather short. Chappelle featured rap and hip-hop musical guests on each show, but those segments are not included on nine of the twelve episodes you get here (and it's only a half-hour show to begin with).
The comedy is a little uneven at times. A few skits never really catch fire and are thus forgettable, but the vast majority of the material here will have you rolling in the aisles. Even the kind of toilet humor that normally isn't that funny will have you in stitches because Chappelle just keeps going to the well so many times that he makes it funny despite itself.
Five of the episodes come with audio commentary by Dave Chappelle and the show's co-creator Neal Brennan (who is white, by the way), as does the extra 29-minute feature of bloopers and deleted scenes. I was actually a little disappointed by the audio commentary; it was informational but not as funny as I had expected. The bloopers and deleted scenes were also less than hilarious - but I realized long ago (thanks to Dick Clarke and Ed McMahon) that bloopers really aren't very funny much of the time. All these extras are just icing on the cake, though, as the twelve episodes of the show more than make this Season One collection worth the money. Heck, it's worth it for just the blind, black white supremacist feature by itself.

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No Description Available.Genre: TelevisionRating: NRRelease Date: 24-FEB-2004Media Type: DVD

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