It’s not just new and classic TV series this time around–among this month’s releases are recent and old mini-series, vintage HBO comedy specials and a lengthy documentary presentation about war (no, it’s not the current Ken Burns series).
Boston Legal – Season 3Fox
created by David E. Kelley
starring James Spader, John Larroquette, Christian Clemenson, Gary Anthony Williams
James Spader was the surprise Best Actor in a Drama winner at the Emmys for the episodes contained in this box, so that could be another selling point for Fox: “Did Spader deserve it over Gandolfini?” Spader’s always been a solid actor, and his work as attorney Alan Shore is certainly award-worthy, although the entire cast works at the same high level (including last season’s surprise Emmy winner, William Shatner, and Candice Bergen). However—as usual with series created by David E. Kelley—witty dialogue, sharply-drawn situations and credible characters jostle with cutesily self-conscious sequences that drag down the occasional episode (remember “Ally McBeal,” anyone?).
Extras: two behind-the-scenes featurettes.
The Bronx Is BurningESPN
created by Jonathan Mahler
starring John Turturro, Oliver Platt, Daniel Sunjata
Jonathan Mahler’s superbly-detailed book about New York City in crisis in the summer of ‘77–Son of Sam, upcoming mayoral election, notorious blackout–is whittled down, predictably, by ESPN into an eight-episode mini-series that concentrates on the baseball battles in the Bronx on and off the ballfield by George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson and the Yankees (who went on to win the World Series that October). The acting by Oliver Platt (George), John Turturro (Billy) and Daniel Sunjata (Reggie) is broad caricature, but the baseball details are right, and the mini-series works as an engrossing time-capsule artifact of another era.
Extras: outtakes, deleted and extended scenes; “on the set” featurette; other featurettes and webisodes; interviews with Steinbrenner, Jackson, Martin and Turturro.
The Ghost Whisperer – Season 2Paramount
created by John Gray
starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, David Conrad, Aisha Tyler, Camryn Manheim, Jay Mohr
Jennifer Love Hewitt is still chasing ghosts, and in her show’s second season, big changes were in store. As most series do, there was an overhaul of the cast after an only semi-successful first-season run, and gone was Melinda Gordon’s closest friend, played by the charming Aisha Tyler, who was killed off in the previous season finale, and new to the cast is Camryn Manheim as Delia Banks. But the focus remains on Hewitt’s ghost-sleuthing, and the series is a kind of gentle knock-off of the great Darren McGavin’s immortal “Kolchak: The Night Stalker,” only without the subversive wit.
Extras: behind-the-scenes featurettes; webisodes; Jennifer Love Hewitt speed painting video.
MasadaKoch Vision
directed by Boris Sagal
starring Peter O'Toole, Peter Strauss
The epic battle between the Romans and the Jews–where ultimately hundreds of Jews were slaughtered defending this fortress in A.D. 73–is recounted in this 1981 mini-series that softens some edges but still packs a dramatic wallop. As our Jewish hero Eleazar ben Yair, Peter Strauss was still “hot” after his matinee-idol portrayal in “Rich Man Poor Man” made him a star, and Peter O’Toole (as Roman general General Cornelius Flavius Silva) chews the scenery with enough glee to earn an Emmy nomination. The mini-series was shot at the actual location of the fortress in the Israeli desert, for those interested in such trivia.
Odd Couple – Season 2Paramount
directed by Harvey Miller
starring Janis Hansen, Bill Quinn, Joan Hotchkis, Archie Hahn, Doney Oatman
The second season of “The Odd Couple” is when the team of Jack Klugman, Tony Randall and creator Garry Marshall hit their stride: there are many classic episodes among the 23 included in this set, and if the lack of any extras this time around is notable (apparently Paramount cleaned out the vaults when Season 1 was released), the high quality of the comedy–especially the razor-sharp timing and comic chemistry of Klugman and Randall, easily outdistancing their predecessors on both stage and screen in Neil Simon’s original play–makes this a must-have for anybody who loves classic TV comedy. (And who doesn’t?)
Robert Klein: The HBO Specials 1975–2005 Kultur
starring Robert Klein
Comedian Robert Klein began the franchise when, on New Year’s Eve, 1975, HBO showed his first stand-up special, spawning the “On Location” series, which showcased dozens of comics over its decade-long run. Klein himself returned to HBO for seven more performances over the next three decades, all eight of which are collected in this “finally, they’ve released all this great stuff” boxed set. From the start, Klein’s worldview was no less caustic than Richard Pryor or George Carlin, but he couched it in a world-weary, seen-it-all persona that garnered just as many laughs. Also, Klein’s song-and-dance leanings were in evidence from his hilarious “I can’t stop my leg” routine in the first special, which ended up spawning Klein’s own singing sections of his subsequent shows.
Extras: new interview with Klein.
South Park – Season 10 Paramount
created by Trey Parker, Matt Stone
starring Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Isaac Hayes, Mary Kay Bergman, Eliza Schneider, Mona Marshall
Paramount and Comedy Central have quickly caught up with the ten seasons of “South Park” on DVD–the eleventh is scheduled to begin later this fall–and there’s not much really left to say about Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s subversive, perverse and hopelessly juvenile animated cartoon. Except this: it’s still jaw-droppingly, often embarrassingly, funny. Standout Season 10 episodes: “Cartoon Wars, Parts I & II,” “Manbearpig” and “Stanley’s Cup.”
Extras: the usual mini-commentaries (about five minutes in length) on each episode by Parker and Stone.
The Starter Wife Universal
created by Gigi Levangie
starring Debra Messing, Judy Davis, Miranda Otto
This six-episode mini-series which aired on USA last spring was Debra Messing’s first foray into TV since the end of “Will and Grace’s” remarkable run. As a vehicle for Messing’s slightly ditzy but always adorable persona, “The Starter Wife” delivers the goods, but even with the help of a great supporting cast–even including the transcendent Judy Davis, for God’s sakes–each episode barely makes it to the finish line.
The Unit – Season 2 Foxcreated by David Mamet
starring Dennis Haysbert, Regina Taylor, Scott Foley, Robert Patrick
This David Mamet-created drama about a “Delta Force”-type top-secret military unit has its second season on DVD with a goodly amount of suspenseful, exciting episodes–although the men’s home lives (wives, girlfriends, children, etc.) are much less interesting, and unfortunately undercut the action-filled sequences too often. Dennis Haysbert and Regina Taylor lead a good cast, and it’s to these actors’ credit that the characters register individually, even among such cliched domestic–and military–surroundings.
Extras: commentaries; making-of-finale featurette; two additional behind-the-scenes featurettes.
War & Civilization Koch Vision
created by Walter Cronkite
This lengthy Learning Channel series gives an overview of mankind’s tendency to make war, and “improvements” in fighting made throughout history, from the ancient Greeks to the present day. Walter Cronkite, who has the proper stentorian tones as our narrator, is our guide for this eight-part, seven-hour exploration that–like the classic Ken Burns documentaries that have paved the way–combines still photos, archival footage, the reading of letters by historical characters, and reenacted events to create a compelling look at the contradictions inherent in the series’ title.
What About Brian – the Complete Series Buena Vista
created by Dana Stevens
starring Barry Watson, Sarah Lancaster, Rosanna Arquette, Matthew Davis
Without any discernable point-of-view other than the current mania for wisecracking characters, it’s surprising that this series about the last remaining single guy of a group of friends–and his difficulties reconciling everyone’s relationships with his lack of one–even lasted a season and a half. (It was a mid-season replacement, than ran for a full second season.) A game cast, which includes Rosanna Arquette, Krista Allen and Brian Watson as Brian, keeps the show watchable, but creator Dana Stevens runs out of ideas early on and keeps running in place for the remainder of the series.
Extras: unseen episode; commentaries; interviews; making-of featurette.
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