The Brady Bunch The Complete Third Season 1971-1972 (Paramount Home Video-2005) There is so much more to Season Three than Greg’s tremendously awkward growth spurt. This is easily the best year of the series, encompassing everything from the clan’s wild escapade in Grand Canyon to Jan reaching out to us with the immortal phrase, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.” Here, … Continue reading
Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids The Original Animated Series – Volume 1 (Urban Works-2005) Hey! Hey! Hey! It’s Fat Albert! And it’s about time. Forget the recent lame Fat Albert feature film, a new 3-DVD collection, Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids – The Original Animated Series (Urban Works) is just the primer you need to enjoy the comical exploits of this … Continue reading
Disneyland U.S.A. Walt Disney Treasures (Disney-2001) The Disney Company, in all its market-hogging magic, can trace its TV legacy back to the medium’s inception, in 1954. It was that year in which the fledgling, struggling ABC network invested millions of dollars in the construction of the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California. In return, Walt … Continue reading
The Office Season One – 2004 (Universal Home Video-2005) In most cases, television never gets the office environment right, and most real-life office slaves – who watch TV precisely to escape their pointless daytime duties – don’t seem motivated enough to write angry letters about the infuriatingly glaring inaccuracies. Office comedies are usually put together … Continue reading
The Brady Bunch The Complete Second Season 1970-1971 (Paramount Home Video-2005) The second season of The Brady Bunch is a letdown only in that there are absolutely no commentaries or extras – not even from its tireless promoter and executive producer Sherwood Schwartz – nor from any of its cast members, most of whom are always game for … Continue reading
Fat Actress The Complete First Season (2005) (Showtime-2005) “She’s not the same chick from Cheers, is it?” a cop asks in awesome wonder when spotting Kirstie Alley outside her lavish California home. Not too long after that, a parking valet asks her, “When is the baby due?” A black NBC executive observes, “she has an LA face … Continue reading
Dragnet 1967 Season 1 (1967-1968) (Universal-2005) It’s easy to be hard on Dragnet 1967, with its obvious squareness, its sexlessness, its lack of (intentional) humor and its blatant modesty. However, the only real weak link in its chain is its obsessive need to deliver an easy, uninspiring payoff. Each cop-n-criminal tale is a success story – no cold … Continue reading
Quincy M.E. Seasons 1 & 2 (1976-1978) (Universal-2005) During the opening credits of Quincy, M.E., Jack Klugman is giving a demonstration of his job to a bunch of uniformed LA cops. With the theme music swinging in the background, he somberly intones, “Gentlemen, you are about to enter the fascinating sphere of police work: the world of … Continue reading
Miracles The Complete Series (2003) (Shout! Factory-2005) The X-Files is responsible for some major changes in television. The moody, morose visuals and the supernatural scares of the show have set a template for many series that came in its wake. Thanks to it, the audience can see things that would have been impossible previously. (In the … Continue reading
Murphy Brown The Complete First Season (1988-1989) (Warner Home Video-2005) The 1988 premiere season of Murphy Brown is here, that of the big shoulder pads and the big hair and the grand entrances. The topical, media-savvy, name-dropping series is bound to get dusty, unless you still appreciate Dan Quayle potshots and Iran Contra jokes and broken typewriter ribbons; … Continue reading
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