Six Feet Under: The Complete First Season (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a watershed series in American television. HBO, which has created some of the best written and realisticly in-your-face programming in the history of television (the Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Oz) has re-written what is possible on the small screen with Six Feet Under.
The first season of the series deals with issues such as death, drug use, homosexuality, family alienation, mental illness, divorce, bankrupcy, co-dependency and incest. The amazing part is that it NEVER comes across like a soap opera or ABC Afterschool Special. It is very real, and moving.
Alan Ball, the extraordinary writer of the film "American Beauty" writes and directs this tour de force in television excellence. While this show is not for everyone, if you enjoyed Ball's previous work, you no doubt will love this show as much as the critics and millions of fans have. I think the Sopranos and Six Feet Under are reason enough to get HBO.
Ball creates multi-layered, complex characters for this ensemble cast, and allows them to develop throughout the season. What you see up front is not always what you get in the end.
For the price, I would have liked some extra features, like behind the scenes or a "making of" featurette, or interviews with the stars. Many of those are already available on HBO's website, I don't think it would have killed them to include a little extra for the {price}. However, that being said, you are paying {much} for 13 HOURS of entertainment. That is fairly in line with the 2 hour movie average price on DVD. And this is INFINITELY better than 99.999% of the movies that have come out in the last 10 years.
Buy it, enjoy it, and wait patiently for the next season...coming soon.

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From Alan Ball, the Oscar(r) winning writer of "American Beauty", comes a series that digs where others fear to tread. When a bus kills Nathaniel Fisher, owner of the Fisher & Sons Funeral Home in Los Angeles, the tragedy casts a pall on the homecoming of his prodigal son Nate. Together with with mother Ruth, brother David and sister Claire, they must address the family business, and the many more personal matters that arise when your life is Six Feet Under.DVD Features:Audio CommentaryBiographiesDeleted ScenesEpisodic PreviewsEpisodic RecapsFeaturetteInterviews

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Tales from the Darkside: The Second Season Review

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(More customer reviews)Tales from the Darkside - Season Two
Kudos to CBS/Paramount for releasing the second season of this anthology series; the following classic five star episodes will now finally be preserved on DVD!
1. The Impressionist (9/29/85) *****
2. Lifebomb (10/6/85)
3. Ring Around the Redhead (10/13/85)
4. Parlor Floor Front (10/20/85)
5. Halloween Candy (10/27/85) *****
6. The Satanic Piano (11/3/85)
7. The Devil's Advocate (11/10/85)
8. Distant Signals (11/17/85) *****
9. The Trouble with Mary Jane (11/24/85)
10. Ursa Minor (12/1/85) *****
11. Effect and Cause (12/8/85)
12. Monsters in My Room (12/22/85) *****
13. Comet Watch (1/12/86)
14. Dream Girl (1/19/86)
15. A New Lease on Life (1/26/86) **** 1/2
16. Printer's Devil (2/2/86)
17. The Shrine (2/9/86) **** 1/2
18. The Old Soft Shoe (2/16/86) **** 1/2
19. The Last Car (2/23/86) *****
20. A Choice of Dreams (5/4/86) *****
21. Strange Love (5/11/86) **** 1/2
22. The Unhappy Medium (5/18/86)
23. Fear of Floating (5/25/86) *****
24. The Casavin Curse (7/13/86) **** 1/2
Bring on seasons 3 & 4!
Note: This is my preview of an upcoming DVD release and since it has yet to be released it does not involve the technical aspects of the product.

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This 30-minute horror/fantasy anthology series follows in the vein of The Twilight Zone. Each week presents another standalone story of horror fantasy, and/or science fiction. Some episodes are gruesome, a few are of a lighter comedic style. Like many such shows, Tales... adapted the work of famous genre authors of the period such as Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, and Clive Barker. Many episodes also featured veteran actors of the 40's and 50's that saw very little work in their later years.

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Superjail: Season One Review

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(More customer reviews)SuperJail is by far one of the greatest pieces of animation to hit TV in the last ten years.
Clearly it's not for younger viewers as it was developed for the AdultSwim programming block on Cartoon Network.
As I mentioned before this is not a review of the Show, but of AdiultSwim's DVD product.
While the show is great in and of itself, this DVD is not.
Once again Adultswim is releasing a DVD with an "UNCENSORED" sticker on the package (Like they did with the Metyalocalypse DVDs) when this content is still COMPLETELY CENSORED as it was on the original Cablecasts and "air dates".
This is ridiculous.
I bought this DVD to see this amazing show without the silly BLACK BARS over images and without loud BEEPS over language.
Instead only the animatics, -the auxiliary extra content- is free of censor beeps etc.
I hope Adultswim smartens up and eventually releases these shows uncut, uncensored as they are currently advertising -falsely.
I doubt I'll be buying more Adultswim DVDs outside of the Venture Bros. releases (which actually are UNCENSORED as advertised)
I received this DVD in the mail on Thursday, and I just sold it this morning.
I'm waiting for the real uncensored version if it ever comes out.
-SJ

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Superjail is the largest and most brutal prison in the world. Built in an active volcano, this complex routinely has riots and murders, though nobody is ever able to escape. The Warden, who is in charge of the prison, has gone insane over the years and has decided to make his prison unlike any other in the world. Superjail! will focus on the crazy antics that occur inside the prison.

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Xavier: Renegade Angel - Seasons 1 & 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)You're likely to hear a lot of criticism for this show, and with good reason: People often become frustrated when faced with things they don't understand -- and it certainly doesn't help that the show is purposely abrasive, with unlikeable characters, a million sight gags/puns/lines hitting you a second, and the worst "art style" imaginable.
However, the abrasiveness is part of the humor, and that's PFFR's whole thing (look at Wonder Showzen or some of their music): Alienate people as quickly as possible so you can leave the people truly for looking beyond the surface to find brilliant, unique art. And with Xavier, what you have is a show not for the masses at all -- and certainly not for the typical Adult Swim set. This is a total work of GENIUS, and I don't throw that word around very often.
Surreal, bizarre, seemingly-100% nonsensical at times... but so, SO unbelievably consistently hilarious, intelligent, and clever. Have you seen a television show lately that you could describe as "mindblowing"? Probably not. Well, this is your show. It's probably way too intelligent for the average Adult Swim viewer... hell, it's probably way too intelligent even for the people who enjoy the show! There's ALWAYS some new line to pick up on. I've watched some episodes 10 times and still catch new things. It's hard to describe in detail how absolutely INSANE this show is!
But if you're the typical Adult Swim fan, you may want to pass on this one... however, if you're into the films of Lynch, Giuseppe Andrews, Jodorowsky, etc. or the music of The Residents, Harry Partch, Captain Beefheart... you know, the truly bizarre and "outside" part of the entertainment world... you will most likely love this exploration of existentialism and absurdity. This show is probably the most insanely and violently brilliant thing on television. Ever. So unbelievably packed with sight gags and clever quips, an 11 minute episode has more energy and ideas than entire seasons of pretty much every other show you can think of.
Never have I seen an animated series explore these themes. It attempts so much with what little it has. It's not random at all... one little line has layers and layers of depth. I'll admit it's probably a bit hard to take at first (as any truly groundbreaking art is), but remember that it's just a show that makes fun of the dangers of spirituality. With that in mind, you should be able to see the beauty. Personally, I think this is without question the most brilliant thing I've seen in forever, and I've fallen so hard in love for it that it's ridiculous. I've actually TURNED ON MY TELEVISION lately, just to watch this show. Will most people like it? Probably not. But if you want something truly unlike anything you've ever seen, get this immediately.

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XAVIER:RENEGADE ANGEL SSNS 1 & 2 - DVD Movie

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Devil's Diary (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)I feel the need to see all Alexz Johnson movies - she's one of my favorite actresses.
This one was a bit off in places - I found it amusing that the "popular" crowd was stereotypically cheerleaders and jocks again, but even funnier were the awkward nun-like cheerleader uniforms.
Alexz's character was by far the most likable because she is who she is and doesn't care what anyone else thinks. Her best friend is different and takes criticism from other students that have clear faults themselves, very hard. Not that anyone would blame her. She finds a diary in the cemeary and starts writing...soon after, the things she writes that she wished would happen DO happen. And it IS funny. Then the "popular girls" eavesdrop and find out what she's doing as Dominique (Alexz) gets worried about the journal making her friend dark and evil little by little. The journal gets stolen and carnage ensues as it travels to more ambitious aka more evil hands.
The ending "six weeks later" is a little strange and doesn't explain alot - there were others that saw what happened and knew about the book, but it seems Dom is on her own.
I wouldn't mind a sequel starring Alexz again, but it's probably not likely...
Some of the things that happen are a little - disturbing and extreme for a "Lifetime" movie, and pranks escalate to gruesome death pretty fast. Not recommended for kids.

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In the hands of high school kids, even an innocent diary can cause trouble. But when a group of small-town teenagers finds the \'Devil's Diary," a book that embodies the evil of Satan by physically manifesting any evil thought that is written in it, all hell breaks loose. Unearthed after centuries of concealment, the Devil's Diary wreaks havoc and destruction on the high school students who found it, and their entire community. Can their town be saved from complete ruin?

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Nighty Night - The Complete Series 1 (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Every so often a sitcom comes along that stays with you for a very long time after you've watched it, and "Nighty Night", the BBC's most recent sitcom-to-DVD conversion, is just such a thing.
Jill Tyrell (Julia Davis, the show's writer and creator, and a fabulous comedy actress, to boot), a beautician in a nondescript Northern town, is devastated to learn that her husband Terry (Kevin Eldon) has cancer. This happens to be the first scene of the first episode, and it's the last rational reaction you'll see for the next three hours. Jill, not one to rest on her laurels, decides a new man is the order of the day, and, before Terry is even ill, much less dead, deposits him in the hospital and heads off to find a man. Enter the unlucky Don (Angus Deayton), and his multiple sclerosis-afflicted wife Cathy (Rebecca Front), as Jill's new neighbours. Deciding that he's the man for her, and blindly ignoring the fact that Terry doesn't seem to be getting any sicker, Jill goes about driving a wedge between Don and Cathy, and keeping Terry's presence a secret from all and sundry.
As with "The League of Gentlemen", "Nighty Night" is a comedy that gets laughs from its situational absurdity. The main characters, with the exception of Jill, are portrayed beautifully as normal, rational people cast headlong into an unreasonable situation, but, thanks to the machinations of the ensemble of secondary characters (such as the gloriously funny Ruth Jones as Jill's long-suffering employee and friend Linda, and the wickedly irreverent Mark Gatiss as her erstwhile paramour Glenn Bulb), they soon find themselves descending to a level of abnormality that they're clearly not comfortable with. Happily, this makes for the best viewing, and "Nighty Night" is one of the best comedies to come out of Britain in recent years.
Julia Davis as Jill is monstrously cruel, totally self-centred and completely sociopathic, but, as with all good anti-heroes, she manages to generate such sympathy for the character that we are rooting for her to win, in the end. It's a brilliant portrayal of a character, that, in the hands of a lesser actress or with less care taken over the finer points of the script, could easily have sunk into one-dimensional nastiness. Happily, Davis has created in Jill Tyrell a sitcom heroine to rival - and beat - the likes of Basil Fawlty, Patsy Stone and Vicki Pollard at their own game.
I'm not going to give anything away, so I'm going to end my review here, suffice it so say that here are three of the best and funniest hours you could ever own on DVD. Extras - outtakes and almost twenty minutes of deleted scenes - are wonderful, and the audio/video quality is, as one would expect from the BBC, top-drawer.
Wholeheartedly recommended as an essential purchase.

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NIGHTY NIGHT:COMPLETE SERIES 1 - DVD Movie

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Dark Shadows DVD Collection 8 (1966) Review

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(More customer reviews)Eights sets in, and these "Dark Shadows" episodes a still a lot of fun. In addition, they're now fun for all the right reasons, as 85% of the flubbed lines and messed-up camera shots are now gone. There's still the occasional chuckle-inducing missed line or crazy camera shot, but these mostly polished shows (I guess practice makes perfect) now allow you to get truly immersed in the tragic tale of Barnabas and the witch Cassandra, and all the various supporting characters. And we haven't even gotten to Quentin Collins, the "evil hand" storyline, and all the other great stuff I remember seeing as a kid. So, yes, I'm still onboard for the rest of these sets.
I only hope that when all these sets are out, they'll finally release the first 200 or so Barnabas-less episodes of the series. They can package them all in one set and call it "Dark Shadows Collection Zero". That way it'll fit nicely just to the left of Collection One on my shelf.

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Dark Shadows Collection # 8 Hoping to free himself and the entire Collins family of Angelique the witch's evil schemes, Barnabas hires artist Sam Evans to age her portrait, causing Angelique to rapidly age into a 200-year-old woman. The ghost of Reverend Trask appears at the Old House to seek vengence against Barnabas for the tragedies in Collinsport of 1795. Professor Stokes questions Victoria Winters about her trip back in time and what she knows about Angelique. A mysterious stranger named Nicholas Blair arrives at Collinwood and claims to be Cassandra Collins' (alias Angelique) brother. Bonuses: Includes exclusive interviews with creator/executive producer Dan Curtis, former network executive Leonard Goldberg, actor John Karlen and video producer/publicist Jim Pierson. Starring: Jonathan Frid, Joan Bennett, Louis Edmonds, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Nancy Barrett, Thayer David, Lara Parker, Joel Crothers, Grayson Hall, Roger Davis, Clarice Blackburn, Jerry Lacy, David Henesy, David Ford, Robert Rodan, Humbert Allen Astredo and Alexandra Moltke

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Deadwood: The Complete Third Season (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Deadwood" either is your cup of tea or isn't, and if it isn't, then you probably have no business even considering prchasing these DVDs; the third season in't gonna change your mind. If it IS your cup of tea, and you're just wondering whether or not the third season meets the high marks set by the first two seasons, allow me to answer: it does. In some cases, it even surpasses them.
The third season finds the camp in a general tizzy about the upcoming elections for mayor and sheriff, and Al Swearengen in a bit more specific tizzy about the impact the arrival of George Hearst has had on his life and livelihood. In a sense, the entire season is about the power play between these two titans, with Cy Tolliver trying to edge himself into the mix somewhere and Seth Bullock trying to figure out what his place is in the whole mess.
Amongst the other plot threads explored in this season: Jane's growing friendship with the increasingly troubled Joanie Stubbs; Alma's opening a Deadwood bank; the feud between Steve and Hostetler; the oddly touching relationship between Trixie and Sol; Elsworth's marriage to Alma, which may not prove to be the bed of roses he had hoped for; the appearance in town of the Earp brothers, and of a troupe of actors; and, of course, Seth Bullock's ever-present willingness to be grumpy with the wrong person, Farnum's weasly nature, and Merrick's desire to write about it all.
The plots don't matter much, though. The dialogue and the acting are what make this show great. "Deadwood," in its three seasons, had so many iconic moments that it makes most other shows look like film-school projects in comparison.
In addition to the regular cast standouts -- Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, W. Earl Brown, William Sanderson, Brad Dourif, Molly Parker, Powers Boothe, Robin Weigert, and so on, ALL of whom do Emmy-caliber work -- I think special mention needs to go to Gerald McRaney, who turned up right at the end of season two but becomes an integral character in the third. His portrayal of Hearst is just awesome. Not that he's better than anyone else on the show; he just immediately fits in with the tone of the show, so much so that it really feels as if his character had been there all along, lurking in the shadows somewhere.
Much has been written about the fact that HBO decided to cancel the series, and pretty unexpectedly; but don't fret too much about the show ending on a cliffhanger. Not all plot points are resolved, but there is at least a sort of closure; it's like the first two seasons, where it feels as if a chapter has ended, but the novel will continue. Well, it looks like the novel WON'T be continuing -- HBO has claimed that there will be two two-hour movies to wrap things up, but no filming dates seem to have been set, and it's been months since anyone had anything to say about that project -- but if the series has to end with the close of the third season, I won't feel as if I was cheated too terribly badly. I'd prefer it had run for ten or twelve years, but hey, we're lucky the doggone thing ever even got made.

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(Rolling Stone) "The Best Drama on Television" is back with the third season on DVD! Timed to coincide with Father's Day, HBO will release Deadwood: The Complete Third Season DVD on June 12, 2007. Watch as the lawless era of Deadwood comes to an end. This DVD is loaded with bonus features including two featurettes, audio commentaries and more.DVD Features:Audio CommentaryFeaturette

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