I don’t know if it’s TiVo or Netflix or some combination but in the last year and a half my DVD purchasing habits have changed drastically. Instead of showing up at Best Buy nearly every other week for new release day, I’m lucky to be there once every two months. However that being said, the next few Tuesdays are ripe with releases that demand to be purchased.
March 20th
Newsradio: Season 5- This was the final season for one of TV great unsung comedies. Phil Hartman was murdered during hiatus and many questioned whether the show would return at all. Eventually it was given a green light and the producers brought on one of Hartman’s best friends Jon Lovitz. The result is a rather disjointed sometimes brilliant final season. The first episode which deals with the loss of Hartman’s Bill McNeil is funny, touching and wisely avoids introducing the Lovitz character. When Lovitz does show up he dominates the show in a bad way for 2 or 3 episodes. As Stephen Root (Jimmy James) says on one of the commentary tracks, “Jon had a certain rhythm and it was hard for him to adjust to the rhythm we already had.” The season does turn it around though as Patrick Warburton, then fresh off his run as Puddy on Seinfeld, came on as Jimmy’s nemesis Johnny Johnson. The show continued to further lose it’s already tenuous grip on reality as it reached its finale and that made for better and better comedy.
April 3rd
Twin Peaks: Season 2- This really deserves its own column and once I get done consuming the DVD I’ll promise to write a full review. Needless to say, that this is the second and final season of arguably my favorite TV show of all time. While many viewers dropped off after the Laura Palmer murder was solved, those of us that stuck around were treated to a show mythology created by David Lynch that was complex, dark, and utterly unique. The two part finale is some of the best filmmaking I’ve ever seen and while it’s maddening that the show never answered SO many questions thank to its untimely demise, what we do have is an example of TV at it’s finest.
April 17th
Venture Brothers: Season 2- One of the best shows of last year comes to DVD with its amazing second season. The Venture Brothers which is like Johnny Quest on crack is by far the best animated show going today. From the opening teaser of the first episode to the guest appearance by a certain Star Wars fan favorite in the finale, season 2 had me laughing all the way through. The visual jokes along with the dry humor and healthy dose of geek-toids make the show worth many repeat viewings.
April 24th
Kidnapped: The Complete Series- This may be more of a renter but then again it should be a pretty cheap release considering there were only 13 episodes ever produced. In my mind this was one of the best new shows of 2006. The cast including film vets Delroy Lindo and Timothy Hutton and TV vets Dana Delaney and Jeremy Sisto were pitch perfect. The plot reminded me of 24 as it would seem one angle would wrap up but in reality it only opened many many doors. The big question I have is does the show resolve the kidnapping by episode 13 or did NBC’s cancellation give up a DVD release that ends in the middle of the mystery? Looks like we’ll have to buy/rent to find out.
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1 comment:
re kidnapped
The show did have a bumpy start, but it continued to get better and better. It does have a nice complete resolution in the final episode which was kind of both the writers and NBC. One little irksome thing though was that they completely set up a new season that could've been 10 x better than the first. Enjoy the show. :)
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