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Genre: Television

Summary: This 2003 series, based on the original TV series from 1978-80, was broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel and instantly won a legion of admiring fans. Join Adama (Edward James Olmos) and Laura (Mary McDonnell) as they lead a ragtag fleet of human survivors (from the destroyed colonies of Kobol) in search of a mythical planet called Earth. But beware, the robot race of Cylons is in hot pursuit … and it seems nothing will stop them!

Theatrical: 2002

Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Genre: Television

Duration: 1007

Summary: Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) is a super (and super sexy) spy, fighting nefarious villains and working for the good guys--or so she thinks. Recruited as a college freshman for espionage work, Sydney found her true calling with SD-6, a secret division of the CIA. When her hunky doctor-boyfriend proposes to her, she decides to let him in on the truth she's not supposed to tell anyone: she's not a grad student with a demanding job for an international bank, but a secret agent who constantly puts her life on the line for the free world. But when SD-6 discovers her security breach, her fiancé is brutally assassinated, and Sydney suddenly finds herself face-to-face with the truth: she's been working for the bad guys. Deciding to become a double agent for the CIA and bring down the evildoers, Sydney gets one more surprise--her estranged father (Victor Garber) is also working for SD-6, and the CIA as well. Welcome to the family, Syd!
Confusing? This is all just in the first episode of "Alias", the brainchild of "Felicity" creator J.J. Abrams that plays like a cross between "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and James Bond. With its double-edged tension (how long can Syd play double agent?) and one heck of a MacGuffin (the dreaded Rambaldi device, the mythic creation of a Renaissance genius), the show leads its viewers from episode to episode with visceral, compelling action, not to mention the nascent romance between Syd and her CIA handler, Vaughn (Michael Vartan), and her clashes with her heretofore distant father. Sharp, smart, and always suspenseful, "Alias"' center was held by the gorgeous Garner, a stellar action heroine and an even better actress who could pull off Sydney's exotic undercover missions and conflicted emotions with equal dexterity. By the end of this first season, which concludes with a breathtaking cliffhanger, you'll be seduced into "Alias"' world with, happily, no desire to escape. "--Mark Englehart"

Theatrical: 2001

Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Genre: Television

Duration: 900

Summary: It was a family affair in the second season of J.J. Abrams's wonderfully inventive "Alias", as super secret agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) came face-to-face with the mother of all super secret agents--her "own" mother, Irina Derevko (Lena Olin), a former KGB agent presumed dead but alive and more dangerous than ever. After shooting poor Syd, Irina later shows up at the doorstep of the CIA, offering to turn herself in and work for the good guys. But can she be trusted? "Alias" set up so much duplicity in its second season that it might have been hard to keep track of who was doing what to whom, but thanks to a great ensemble cast, fast-paced writing and direction, and some cannily cast guest stars, "Alias" rode a stunning emotional roller-coaster and never broke its momentum, even when halfway through the season, the show reinvented itself. With episode 13, "Phase One" (which aired after the Super Bowl to the show's biggest audience), Syd's original nemesis (and employer) SD-6 changes forever, yet the kick-butt agent still finds herself going up against the malevolent leader Sloane (Ron Rifkin) and his ever-changing set of henchmen. Action fans got plenty of fighting, while romantic "Alias" watchers swooned as Syd and the dashing Vaughn (Michael Vartan) finally consummated their unrequited love.
The critically acclaimed show owed a debt to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" for its mix of action, romance, mystery, and moral quandaries, but in this season "Alias" truly came into its own--with a climax that came as a total shocker and prepped the show for an emotionally volatile third season. Guest stars included the phenomenal Amy Irving as Sloane's wife, Faye Dunaway as a nefarious bigwig, Christian Slater as a kidnapped scientist, and Ethan Hawke as a fellow CIA agent (or rather, two of them), but it was the dysfunctional nuclear family of Syd, Irina, and father Jack (Victor Garber) that gave "Alias" its heart and its strength, whether the three perfectly cast actors (all Emmy nominated) were just bickering or undertaking deadly hand-to-hand combat. And you thought your family had problems! "--Mark Englehart"

Theatrical: 2003

Studio: HBO Home Video

Genre: Television

Duration: 720

Summary: "Carnivàle" doesn't waste any time making its--wildly ambitious--aims clear. As carnival manager Samson (Michael J. Anderson, "Twin Peaks"' diminutive backwards-talker) notes in pilot episode "Milfay," directed by Rodrigo García (son of Gabriel García Marquez), "To each generation [is] born a creature of light and a creature of darkness." With that the story begins. The year is 1934, the setting the Oklahoma dustbowl. In short order, Ben Hawkins ("In the Bedroom"'s Nick Stahl) loses his mother and his home. He's poor, he's alone--he needs a job. So he joins Samson's carnival, en route to the West. Hawkins, naturally, is the good guy. Waiting for him in California is the not so good Brother Justin Crowe (Clancy Brown, "The Shawshank Redemption"), a fire and brimstone preacher with supernatural powers and a fiercely loyal sister (Amy Madigan). Hawkins, as it turns out, has similar powers....
Created by Daniel Knauf ("Wolf Lake"), "Carnivàle" feels like David Lynch (weird, slow, occasionally kinky), plays like "American Gothic" (Shaun Cassidy's cult series about a good kid and an evil sheriff), and looks like John Ford's "Grapes of Wrath". It features one of television's most colorful casts of characters. They include Sophie (Clea DuVall), who reads fortunes--with her comatose mother's assistance, the vaguely sinister Lodz (Patrick Bauchau), blind absinthe-drinker and mentalist (he can see both the future and the past), and Ruthie (Adrienne Barbeau), snake charmer, strongman's mother, and all-around maternal figure. By the final episode of the season ("The Day That Was the Day"), also directed by García, one of these characters will be dead. "Carnivàle" won five richly deserved technical Emmys for its first year, including awards for cinematography and art direction. Like HBO's edgy "Deadwood", it's period drama for people who don't normally like period drama. "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: HBO Home Video

Genre: Television

Duration: 720

Summary: Family dysfunction. Treachery. Betrayal. Coarse profanity. Brutal violence. Graphic (and sometimes brutal) sex. No, it's not "The Sopranos", it's "Rome", HBO's madly ambitious series that bloodily splatters the glory of Rome just as savagely as "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" soiled the good name of Camelot (but with far fewer laughs; very few funny things happen on the way to this forum). Set in 52 B.C. (Before Cable), "Rome" charts the dramatic shifts in the balance of power between former friends Pompey Magnus (Kenneth Cranham), leader of the Senate, and Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds), whose imminent return after eight years to Rome after conquering the Gauls, has the ruling class up in arms. At the heart of "Rome" is the odd couple friendship between two soldiers who fortuitously become heroes of the people. Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) is married, honorable, and steadfast. Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) is an amoral rogue whose philosophy is best summed up, "I kill my enemies, take their gold, and enjoy their women." Among "Rome's" most compelling subplots is Lucius's strained relationship with his wife, Niobe (Indira Varma), who is surprised to see her husband alive (but not as surprised as he is to find her upon his homecoming with a newborn baby in her arms!) Any viewer befuddlement over "Rome"'s intrigues and machinations, and determining who is hero and who is foe, disappears the minute Golden Globe-nominee Polly Walker appears as Atia, Caesar's formidable niece and a villainess for the ages. In the first hour alone, she offers her already married daughter as a bride to the recently widowed Pompey. One eagerly awaits to see what (or who) she'll do next as much as we anticipate her comeuppance in the final episode.
"Rome" is a painstakingly mounted production that earned eight well-deserved Emmy nominations in such categories as costumes, set design, and art direction. Michael Apted ("Coal Miner's Daughter") was honored with a Director's Guild Award for the first episode, "The Stolen Eagle." But artistic considerations aside, instantly addicted viewers will agree with Atia, who notes at one point, "I adore the secrecy, the intrigue. It's most thrilling." "--Donald Liebenson"
Beyond the Series
The Roman Empire in film and television
The Roman Empire in documentaries
More HBO DVDs
Stills from "Rome" (click for larger image)

Theatrical: 2007

Studio: HBO Home Video

Genre: Television

Duration: 600

Summary: Unlike another certain celebrated HBO series, "Rome"'s end will satisfy those swept up in its lavishly mounted spectacle and invested in the human dramas of the historical figures and fictional characters. Season 2 begins in the wake of Julius Caesar's assassination, and charts the power struggle to fill his sandals between "vulgar beast" Mark Antony (James Purefoy) and "clever boy" Octavian (Simon Woods), who is surprisingly named Caesar's sole heir. The series' most compelling relationship is between fellow soldiers and unlikely friends, the honorable Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus "Violence is the only trade I know" Pullo (Ray Stevenson), who somewhat reverse roles when Vorenus is overcome with grief in the wake of his wife's suicide. Season 2 considerably ups the ante in the rivalry between Atia (an Emmy-worthy Polly Walker), who is Antony's mistress, and Servilia (Lindsay Duncan) with attempted poisonings and sickening torture. Another gripping subplot is Vorenus's estrangement from his children, who, at the climax of the season opener are presumed slaughtered, but whose true fate may be even more devastating to the father who cursed them.
"Rome"'s second season does not scrimp on the series' sex and violence, in both cases exceedingly brutal. But in this cauldron of treachery and betrayal, words, too, are vicious, as when a defiant Atia ominously tells Octavian's new wife, Livia, "Far better women that you have sworn to [destroy me]. Go look for them now." In writing "Rome"'s epitaph, we come to praise this series, not to bury it. Although two seasons was not enough to establish a "Rome" empire, it stands as one of HBO's crowning achievements. "--Donald Liebenson"

Theatrical:

Studio:

Genre: Television

Summary: Daniel Knauf's rivetingly creepy series continues to document the adventures of a motley crew of carnies who've made the Oklahoma Dustbowl their home in the 1930s. This season, Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) faces up to the fact that he may have been bestowed supernatural powers by a force he doesn't quite recognize. But that's not all that's happening in this strange town where the strange trumps the ordinary and wickedness permeates every event.

Theatrical: 2002

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Genre: Television

Duration: 675

Summary:
As the 2005 theatrical release of "Serenity" made clear, "Firefly" was a science fiction concept that deserved a second chance. Devoted fans (or "Browncoats") knew it all along, and with this well-packaged DVD set, those who missed the show's original broadcasts can see what they missed. Creator Joss Whedon's ambitious science-fiction Western (Whedon's third series after "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel") was canceled after only 11 of these 14 episodes had aired on the Fox network, but history has proven that its demise was woefully premature. Whedon's generic hybrid got off to a shaky start when network executives demanded an action-packed one-hour premiere ("The Train Job"); in hindsight the intended two-hour pilot (also titled "Serenity," and oddly enough, the final episode aired) provides a better introduction to the show's concept and splendid ensemble cast. Obsessive fans can debate the quirky logic of combining spaceships with direct parallels to frontier America (it's 500 years in the future, and embattled humankind has expanded into the galaxy, where undeveloped "outer rim" planets struggle with the equivalent of Old West accommodations), but Whedon and his gifted co-writers and directors make it work, at least well enough to fashion a credible context from the incongruous culture-clashing of past, present, and future technologies, along with a polyglot language (the result of two dominant superpowers) that combines English with an abundance of Chinese slang.
What makes it work is Whedon's delightfully well-chosen cast and their nine well-developed characters--a typically Whedon-esque extended family--each providing a unique perspective on their adventures aboard Serenity, the junky but beloved "Firefly-class" starship they call home. As a veteran of the disadvantaged Independent faction's war against the all-powerful planetary Alliance (think of it as Underdogs vs. Overlords), Serenity captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) leads his compact crew on a quest for survival. They're renegades with an amoral agenda, taking any job that pays well, but "Firefly"'s complex tapestry of right and wrong (and peace vs. violence) is richer and deeper than it first appears. Tantalizing clues about Blue Sun (an insidious mega-corporation with a mysteriously evil agenda), its ties to the Alliance, and the traumatizing use of Serenity's resident stowaway (Summer Glau) as a guinea pig in the development of advanced warfare were clear indications "Firefly" was heading for exciting revelations that were precluded by the series' cancellation. Fortunately, the big-screen "Serenity" (which can be enjoyed independently of the series) ensured that Whedon's wild extraterrestrial west had not seen its final sunset. Its very existence confirms that these 14 episodes (and enjoyable bonus features) will endure as irrefutable proof Fox made a glaring mistake in canceling the series. --"Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 2004

Studio:

Genre: Television

Summary: Many people dream of round-the-world trips but few are ever able to take them. Be it time or financial constraints, the barriers are often broad and appear unwieldy. So many times we have to experience the rest of the world vicariously via magazine articles or, in this case, a documentary.



LONG WAY ROUND was the brainchild of actor Ewan McGregor (STAR WARS) and his longtime buddy Charley Boorman (ON EDGE), two men with a passion for motorcycling. One day they decide to give this round-the-world idea some wings by mapping out a course across the globe ...but instead of traveling by plane or rail, they decide to do it using two BMW motorbikes.



Preparation for the trip starts months in advance as transportation is arranged, passports collected, boarder crossing ensured, and training of the two riders takes place (CPR, first aid, exercising, motorcycle training, Russian language classes, etc.)



The trip begins in London, England and ends 115 days later in New York. The trip starts out well enough, with adequately paved roads and quaint villages. But the further east McGregor and Boorman travel, the less biker-friendly the way becomes. Smooth asphalt quickly gives way to pitted asphalt, then divot-riddled asphalt, then into dirt roads. Once into Mongolia, anything resembling a sustainable thoroughfare becomes completely blurred by bogs, riverbeds and stretches of absolute nothingness.



Difficulty of traveling aside, the two bikers meet some of the most incredible people. Ewan McGregor being Ewan McGregor, he is initially seen as a hero, a movie-star bringing notice to these otherwise unnoteworthy locales. Police escorts pop-up out of nowhere and guide Ewan and Charley into small townships where parties await them in their honor. But, again, the further east our two journeymen head, the less this happens. In and out of Mongolia, they soon head up into Siberia where they encounter The Road of Bones, a stretch of road built by slave labor during Stalin's tyranny (many a dead slaves body rests somewhere beneath this road ...or so it is said). No one knows who Ewan McGregor is here.



Pushing themselves to the limit, the two slush through wetlands, river crossings and some of the worst roadways in the world. Even a support crew that follows them has great difficulties, one time crashing their vehicle and nearly killing some of the passengers.



Arriving 115 days later in New York, many viewers will breath a sigh of relief for Charley and Ewan. The intensity of the trip is well-spent on the audience, helping the viewer feel the pressure and difficulties of the route. But it also helps us see that what is often said to be impossible is, in fact, possible if you apply yourself hard enough. That and the exposure to the myriad of other cultures makes this documentary a strong film.

Theatrical: 1995

Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay

Genre: Television

Duration: 1080

Summary: Just four minutes into "Sins of the Past," the first episode of "Xena", you'll gladly follow the warrior princess anywhere. Taking on a gang of marauders, she leaps onto an upright spear embedded in the ground and, with a cry of "Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi," does a circular wall of death on their chests. A syndication phenomenon, this audacious 1995 series was a spin-off from "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys". Lucy Lawless stars as Xena, dressed to kill in leather and breastplate. Her exploits are legend: "She came down out of the sky in a chariot throwing thunderbolts and breathing fire," remarks one awestruck boy in the first episode. Xena wants to bury her violent past, but there is no rest for the formerly wicked as she takes up arms (and feet) against any number of villains and mythological beasts. She is joined by Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), a young peasant woman who "is not cut out for this village life," and runs away from home to join Xena in her adventures.
As the series evolved, speculation was rife about the true nature of their relationship. Playful and provocative teasers in several of these episodes give this first season an unexpected erotic charge, as witness "Altared States," in which the two skinnydip, and later, a drugged Gabrielle, revived by Xena, looks upon her and gushes, "By the gods! You are beautiful." Other memorable episodes include "Callisto," which introduces the vengeful female warrior who would further bedevil Xena in seasons to come; "Prometheus," in which Kevin Sorbo guest stars as Hercules; "Chariots of War," in which Xena wears a dress (!), and "Warrior...Princess," in which Xena trades places with her look-alike, a Princess named--yes--Diana, who is the target of assassins. By the gods, "Xena" is an absolute hoot whose pleasures--stylized action sequences, cheesy special effects, tongue-in-cheek anachronistic dialogue--are anything but guilty ones. Clumsy packaging, lack of commentary, and less than pristine picture quality are minor drawbacks to this otherwise thrilling set. "--Donald Liebenson"

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Genre: Television

Duration: 570

Summary: "Wonderfalls" is probably the most hilarious show you've never seen. An hour-long "dramedy" about a young woman who hears the voices of inanimate objects--which instruct her to help out total strangers--the show aired on Fox in early 2004 to critical acclaim and dismal ratings. After airing four times in terrible time slots, the show was quickly canceled, but not before a hue and cry from a small but fervently devoted cadre of fans went up, begging for all 13 episodes to be released on DVD. Thus, the highest-profile DVD release of a canceled show was born, and the nine unaired episodes of "Wonderfalls" are finally seeing the light of day.

You may be wondering: is it worth it to check out a show that was axed so quickly? The answer is an unqualified yes, as "Wonderfalls" is quirky without being precious, sardonic without being bitter, and smart without being a show-off about it. Jaye (Caroline Dhavernas) is a graduate of Brown University who's opted not to put her education to work, and instead lives in a trailer and works at a tourist shop in Niagara Falls, to the consternation of her affluent, successful family. All seems to be going well for this self-proclaimed slacker, until one day a small toy lion speaks to her in enigmatic epigrams, commanding her to help people. Loath to deal in any compassionate way with the rest of humanity, Jaye warily obeys, if only to make the voices stop. Soon, though, she finds herself to be an unwilling humanitarian and accidental hero when more inanimate objects start talking to her, and more people turn out to need her help.

The premise may sound a bit too off-the-beaten-path, but "Wonderfalls"' meddling with the ethereal was grounded in a keen awareness of post-college life and the travails befalling young twentysomethings who had no idea where their life was going. And instead of being sanctimonious or inspiring, the show was instead a complex mix of the heartfelt and the angsty, and Dhavernas was one of the most cynically hopeful heroines to grace the small screen. The rest of the cast was also topnotch, including Kate Finneran as Jaye's high-strung sister, Diana Scarwid as her caustic mother, and Tyron Leitso as bartender Eric, whose tentative romance with Jaye was both affecting and hilarious. Think of "Wonderfalls" as less of a failure and more of a rare opportunity to see some of the most creative television in recent memory. "--Mark Englehart"

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Genre: Television

Duration: 270

Summary: A reality show that's entertaining "and" smart? Sounds about as oxymoronic as it gets, but Morgan Spurlock has pulled it off with "30 Days". With this series (offered here on two discs containing six episodes and a variety of bonus material), Spurlock, who got a 2005 Best Documentary Oscar nomination for "Super Size Me", his record of a harrowing month spent on a strict McDonald's-only diet, has effectively taken his act to the not-so-small screen. The premise: put "normal" middle-class Americans (in this case, all of them white) into situations where they are way out of their comfort zones, archetypal fish out of water who must spend 30 days experiencing how the other half lives. Thus we have tales involving a Christian from West Virginia who lives with a Muslim American couple in Dearborn, Michigan; a straight dude from rural Michigan who moves in with a homosexual roommate in San Francisco's Castro District, "the gayest place on Earth;" and a mother in Phoenix who, concerned about her daughter's excessive drinking at college, goes on her own heavy alcohol binge. Spurlock himself is the subject of an episode in which he and his fiancé try to subsist on the minimum wage, while the only one that doesn't fit the mold concerns an out-of-shape 34-year-old man trying to find the fountain of youth by embarking on a strict regimen of exercise, diet, and major doses of steroids and Human Growth Hormone pills.
The stories don't all have happy endings: the Phoenix woman's drinking has no affect whatsoever on her daughter, and the steroid guy drops out when his sperm count almost immediately drops to zero. But the discomfort felt by the others seems genuine, as do the lessons in tolerance and cultural understanding they eventually learn, even given the artificial confines of reality TV. What's more, Spurlock provides some real information along the way, telling us how many drinks it takes to be over the legal limit in Arizona (five shots ought to do it) or how many passages in the Bible are interpreted as proscribing homosexuality (six), detailing the negative side effects of "anti-aging" medicines (too many to list here), and offering insight into such Muslim customs as prayer and fasting (the Christian dresses in Muslim garb and even learns a little Arabic). Extra features include commentary (by Spurlock and others) on four of the episodes, as well as "Diary Cams" (outtakes, basically) for all six. "--Sam Graham"

Theatrical: 2003

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Genre: Television

Duration: 512

Summary: Winner of the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy its first year out, "Arrested Development" is the kind of sitcom that gives you hope for television. A mockumentary-style exploration of the beleaguered Bluth family, it's one of those idiosyncratic shows that doesn't rely on a laugh track or a studio audience; it's shot more like a TV drama, albeit with an omniscient narrator (executive producer Ron Howard) overseeing the proceedings. Holding the Bluths together just barely is son Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), the only normal guy in a family that's chock full of nuts. Hardworking and sensible, Michael's certain he's going to be given control of his family's Enron-style corporation upon the retirement of his father (Jeffrey Tambor). The fact that he's passed over instead for his mother (Jessica Walter) is only a blip when compared to his father's immediate arrest for dubious accounting practices, and the resulting freeze on the family's previously limitless wealth.
Bereft of money, and even less family love, the Bluths have to band together in their moment of need--not easy when everyone's looking out for number 1. In addition to his scabrous parents, Michael has to contend with his lothario older brother (Will Arnett), his basically useless younger brother (Tony Hale), his greedy twin sister (Portia DeRossi), and her sexually ambiguous husband (David Cross). Michael's only comrade in sanity is his son George Michael (Michael Cera), but then again, the teenage boy harbors a secret crush on his cousin (Alia Shawkat). A peerless ensemble led by the brilliant Bateman (who ever knew he could be this good?), all the actors are pitch-perfect in their roles, delivering the dryly funny, sometimes absurdist dialogue with the speed and flair of classic farce. The unusual tone of "Arrested Development" takes a bit of getting used to--it's far different from anything you'll see on TV, even HBO--but once you buy in to the Bluths' innumerable dysfunctions, you'll be laughing your head off for hours."--Mark Englehart"

Theatrical: 2001

Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Genre: Television

Duration: 940

Summary: The third season of "Alias" found super spy Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) waking up in Hong Kong with a monster hangover and two years in the future with nary a memory. What's worse, her world has been turned upside-down with the evil Sloane (Ron Rifkin) now a world-famous humanitarian and philanthropist, and, even worse, her true love Vaughn (Michael Vartan) married to a seemingly great gal. Nice way to go back to work, eh? After coming up with one heck of a cliffhanger in season 2, "Alias" proceeded a bit aimlessly through these 22 episodes, and as a result, the parts were truly greater than the whole. With Lena Olin no longer around as Syd's duplicitous mother, and the addition of admirable yet bland Melissa George as Vaughn's wife Lauren, Garner found herself for the first time without a compelling female foil to play off of. By dividing its focus equally between the quest for the enigmatic Rambaldi device, Syd and Vaughn's now-contentious relationship, and the uncovering of Syd's missing years, "Alias" lost a little of its power without a larger story arc. The loss of regular cast members Merrin Dungey (Francie/Alison) and Bradley Cooper (Will)--both of whom do make great guest appearances--also divest the show of the personal life that kept Sydney human and approachable. Still, Garner is stellar as always, the plot twists come fast and furious, and secret identities are revealed. This season does have a great panorama of guest actors including Ricky Gervais, Justin Theroux, Djimon Hounsou, David Cronenberg, Quentin Tarantino, Vivica A. Fox, and Isabella Rossellini as Syd's long-lost aunt. "--Mark Englehart"

Theatrical: 2001

Studio: Buena Vista

Genre: Television

Duration: 923

Summary: True to form, at the beginning of its fourth season J.J. Abrams' "Alias" proceeded to reinvent itself yet again--and the results looked quite a bit like the first season, but with a decided twist. Super agent Sydney Bristow (Emmy nominee Jennifer Garner) found herself once more working for a covert secret-ops group that was "off the books" and headed up by Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin) as she was partnered with... Hey, wait, wasn't Sloane a "bad" guy before? Well, yes, he was, but having been "rehabilitated" from his evil ways, he's now Sydney's new boss--nevermind the fact that he's trampled all over her life in more ways than one--and head of the CIA's new super-secret division, APO (for Authorized Personnel Only), which also includes all of Sydney's old friends, as well as her dad (Victor Garber) and love interest Vaughn (Michael Vartan). But as Sydney and Vaughn struggle with their budding relationship in the wake of his wife's death, and Syd also comes to realize her father may have had quite a bit to do with her mother's abrupt disappearance, a few monkey wrenches are thrown into the works. There's the emergence of South American agent Nadia (Mia Maestro), who's Syd's half sister--and the daughter of Sloane; the reappearance of Syd's nasty nemesis, Anna Espinosa (Gina Torres); a Sloane doppelganger (Joel Grey); and a mysterious cabal intent on harnessing the power of the legendary Rambaldi device.
"Alias" was definitely all over the map during its fourth season, and a few off-screen factors managed to take their toll onscreen as well. The end of a real-life relationship between Garner and Vartan gave Sydney and Vaughn's scenes a lack of romantic spark, but at the same time a decided tension, as the two warily circled each other and deepened their relationship; they clicked best in the episode "Welcome to Liberty Village," in which the duo infiltrates a Stepford-like suburb as a picture-perfect couple. And the absence of Lena Olin, as Syd's mother, was definitely felt, as her character became a looming presence despite little screen time. Where "Alias" succeeded this year was in the dramatic impact individual episodes had: "Nocturne" was a captivating tale of Sydney in the throes of deadly hallucinations; "The Orphan" affectingly fleshed out the enigmatic Nadia's background; "In Dreams" (directed by Garner) probed the subconscious of bad guy Sloane, who wasn't as evil as you might think; and "Mirage" forced Sydney to impersonate her mother in her father's fevered dreams. Don't worry, there was plenty of action--especially in the season's final episodes, which prominently featured a deadly Sonia Braga--and despite its ups and downs, "Alias" remained one of the most intelligent, compelling dramas on television. "--Mark Englehart"

Theatrical: 2001

Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone

Genre: Television

Duration: 724

Summary: "Alias" was a show that constantly reinvented itself. And its fifth and final season was no exception, as the creative team behind the espionage show worked to pull together the labyrinthine plot elements that had existed over the years, as well as tailor the show around the pregnancy of star Jennifer Garner. The results were somewhat tinged with melancholy as everything was wrapped up, but also had a maturity and respect for its characters--which is not to say that "Alias" lacked in action. In fact, the season started out with a literal bang, as a truck slammed into the car carrying Sydney Bristow (Garner) and her co-worker and lover Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan), right after Vaughn had made a mind-blowing revelation to Sydney. What followed was a mind-trippingly enticing blend of fake identities, false fronts, blind alleys, and new characters with dubious intentions, with the importance of the enigmatic Rambaldi device hanging over it all. Just another day at the office for "Alias", you say? Not this time--for long-time fans of the shows, the true natures of all characters would finally be revealed, and Sydney would at long last discover the powers of the dreaded Rambaldi device, as well as who was behind the machinations to obtain it for world domination.
What "Alias" did best was mix its outlandish plotlines with accessible characters who were more than just pieces on an espionage game board. The final season did have a few false starts, as it juggled the departure (and reappearance) of established characters and the introduction of new ones, but by the time it had reached its 100th episode, "There's Only One Sydney Bristow," battle lines were drawn as the core characters hurtled toward the show's conclusion. Not to be too cryptic, but the less you know the better, as part of the fun is puzzling out who's doing what to whom; suffice it to say that the ever-capable Garner, along with Victor Garber and Ron Rifkin as the dueling father figures in her life, laid a groundwork of personal drama that held the show together amidst all the shootouts, tech gadgets and costume changes. While (literally) everyone from Sydney's past made an appearance in the show's 100th episode (including an outstanding turn by Bradley Cooper as Syd's erstwhile friend Will), there were a couple great additions too: Rachel Nichols made a fetching Syd-in-training while Amy Acker, who played the daffy good-girl Fred on "Angel", was a menacing and captivating adversary. We will answer one question for die-hard "Alias" fans: Yes, Lena Olin does return as the lethal Irina Derevko. Sorry, we're sworn from saying anything more. "--Mark Englehart"

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: Sony Pictures

Genre: Television

Duration: 323

Summary: Based on cartoonist Aaron McGruder's politically charged daily comic strip, "The Boondocks" brings no-holds-barred social commentary and comedy to the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming, and now, all 15 episodes of the 2005-2006 debut season are available in an uncut and uncensored format in this three-disc set. As with McGruder's strip, the animated version of "The Boondocks" uses a fish-out-of-water format--10-year-old revolutionary-in-training Huey Freeman (voiced by Regina King), his 8-year-old brother Riley (also King), and their salty Granddad (John Witherspoon) relocate to an upscale suburban neighborhood--to take aim at all manner of cultural issues in both the black and white communities. Targets sighted in these episodes include singer R. Kelly's bedroom shenanigans ("The Trial of R. Kelly"); gangsta rap ("The Story of Gangstalicious," which includes a wicked spoof of the documentary "Tupac: Resurrection"); Oprah Winfrey (who is almost kidnapped by Riley in "Let's Nab Oprah"); and Martin Luther King, who revives from a coma to be branded a terrorist in "Return of the King," which generated plenty of heat from the Rev. Al Sharpton upon its broadcast. All of the above topics are handled in a decidedly less-than-respectful and occasionally offensive manner, though exactly who will find "The Boondocks" scandalous and who will find its approach fearless and on the money will depend on the viewer. But there's no arguing that the show is frequently as funny as McGruder's comic. Extras include audio and video commentary by McGruder and the production staff (as well as commentaries by the character Uncle Ruckus, Granddad's thoroughly unhinged friend whose fixation on a White Jesus is tackled in the season closer, "The Passion of Ruckus"), as well as deleted scenes, some unaired Adult Swim promo spots, and a behind-the-scenes featurette that addresses the show's conception and production. "--Paul Gaita"

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Genre: Television

Duration: 1068

Summary: Along with "Desperate Housewives", "Lost" was one of the two breakout shows in the fall of 2004. Mixing suspense and action with a sci-fi twist, it began with a thrilling pilot episode in which a jetliner traveling from Australia to Los Angeles crashes, leaving 48 survivors on an unidentified island with no sign of civilization or hope of imminent rescue. That may sound like "Gilligan's Island" meets "Survivor", but "Lost" kept viewers tuning in every Wednesday night--and spending the rest of the week speculating on Web sites--with some irresistible hooks (not to mention the beautiful women). First, there's a huge ensemble cast of no fewer than 14 regular characters, and each episode fills in some of the back story on one of them. There's a doctor; an Iraqi soldier; a has-been rock star; a fugitive from justice; a self-absorbed young woman and her brother; a lottery winner; a father and son; a Korean couple; a pregnant woman; and others. Second, there's a host of unanswered questions: What is the mysterious beast that lurks in the jungle? Why do polar bears and wild boars live there? Why has a woman been transmitting an SOS message in French from somewhere on the island for the last 16 years? Why do impossible wishes seem to come true? Are they really on a physical island, or somewhere else? What is the significance of the recurring set of numbers? And will Kate ever give up her bad-boy fixation and hook up with Jack?
"Lost" did have some hiccups during the first season. Some plot threads were left dangling for weeks, and the "oh, it didn't really happen" card was played too often. But the strong writing and topnotch cast kept the show a cut above most network TV. The best-known actor at the time of the show's debut was Dominic Monaghan, fresh off his stint as Merry the Hobbit in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films. The rest of the cast is either unknowns or "where I have I seen that face before" supporting players, including Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly, who are the closest thing to leads. Other standouts include Naveen Andrews, Terry O'Quinn (who's made a nice career out of conspiracy-themed TV shows), Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Yunjin Kim, Maggie Grace, and Emilie de Ravin, but there's really not a weak link in the cast. Co-created by J.J. Abrams ("Alias"), "Lost" left enough unanswered questions after its first season to keep viewers riveted for a second season. "--David Horiuchi"
Where Have I Seen These Castaways? (click images to find out)


Locke
(Terry O'Quinn)


Sawyer
(Josh Holloway)

Charlie
(Dominic Monaghan)


Boone
(Ian Somerhalder)

Jin
(Daniel Dae Kim)

Michael
(Harold Perrineau)


Sayid
(Naveen Andrews)

Jack
(Matthew Fox)


Hurley
(Jorge Garcia)

Kate
(Evangeline Lilly)

Claire
(Emilie de Ravin)

Sun
(Yunjin Kim)


Shannon
(Maggie Grace)

Walt
(Malcolm David Kelley)

Stills from "Lost" (click for larger image)


Sawyer in action


Claire and Charlie

Jin and Michael


Brawl


Shannon


Claire and Hurley


DVD features
Even if you saw every episode of "Lost" on TV--or perhaps "especially" if you saw every episode--the DVD set is a must-own. The episodes are presented in widescreen format, just as they were broadcast on high-definition channels. (Conventional ABC-TV broadcasts were reduced to 1.33 full-screen format.) Four of the episodes have commentary tracks by the producing team and the actors who were featured on certain episodes (Terry O'Quinn, Dominic Monaghan, and Maggie Grace and Ian Sommerhalder). The last disc has over three hours of bonus material sensibly broken into three categories. "Departure" discusses the initial creation of the series, the making of the pilot, and the cast (some characters were created to fit the actors, and Evangeline Lilly's Kate was the hardest to cast). It also includes the cast's audition tapes and photographs by Matthew Fox. "Tales from the Island" provides background material on seven of the episodes plus the boars used in filming, Jimmy Kimmel's appearance on the set, and the genesis of the Driveshaft song ("You all everybody..."). Finally, "Lost Revealed" includes two scenes cut from the season finale, 13 other deleted scenes (not identified by episode, unfortunately), a blooper reel, and the cast and crew's giddy appearance at the Museum of Television & Radio. "--David Horiuchi"

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Genre: Television

Duration: 1056

Summary: What was in the Hatch? The cliffhanger from season one of Lost was answered in its opening sequences, only to launch into more questions as the season progressed. That's right: Just when you say "Ohhhhh," there comes another "What?" Thankfully, the show's producers sprinkle answers like tasty morsels throughout the season, ending with a whopper: What caused Oceanic Air Flight 815 to crash in the first place? As the show digs into more revelations about its inhabitant's pasts, it also devotes a good chunk to new characters (Hey, it's an island; you never know who you're going to run into.) First, there are the "Tailies," passengers from the back end of the plane who crashed on the other side of the island. Among them are the wise, God-fearing ex-drug lord Mr. Eko (standout Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje); devoted husband Bernard (Sam Anderson); psychiatrist Libby (Cynthia Watros, whose character has more than one hidden link to the other islanders); and ex-cop Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), by far the most infuriating character on the show, despite how much the writers tried to incur sympathy with her flashback. Then there are the Others, first introduced when they kidnapped Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) at the end of season one. Brutal and calculating, their agenda only became more complex when one of them (played creepily by Michael Emerson) was held hostage in the hatch and, quite handily, plays mind games on everyone's already frayed nerves. The original cast continues to battle their own skeletons, most notably Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Michael (Harold Perrineau), whose obsession with finding Walt takes a dangerous turn. The love triangle between Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway), which had stalled with Sawyer's departure, heats up again in the second half. Despite the bloating cast size (knocked down by a few by season's end) Lost still does what it does best: explores the psyche of people, about whom "my life is an open book" never applies, and cracks into the social dynamics of strangers thrust into Lord of the Flies-esque situations. Is it all a science experiment? A dream? A supernatural pocket in the universe? Likely, any theory will wind up on shaky ground by the season's conclusion. But hey, that's the fun of it. This show was made for DVD, and you can pause and slow-frame to your heart's content. Just try and keep that head-spinning to a minimum.
On the DVD
Commentaries by various cast members and producers reveal little other than the occasional easter egg (the Dharma logo on the shark fin, Walt's mumbling translating to "Don't push the button; the button is bad" backwards). But disc seven opens with an eerie Hanso Foundation instructional video, leading you to eight hours of bonus features, including cast members' own theories, deleted scenes, and featurettes on specific episodes. It's all well and good for Lost fanatics, but if you want the cream of the crop, check out: "Lost Connections," an interactive feature that reveals how all the islanders are actually linked (for instance, one of the officers who captured Sayid during the Gulf War is Kate's father); a Channel UK promo for the show directed by David LaChappelle in which cast members suck in their cheeks and, dressed in evening wear, tango in slow motion as if in a Calvin Klein ad (it has to be a joke, right?); and "The World According to Sawyer," which strings together each of the un-PC nicknames and pop culture references spewed by Holloway's character. Favorites include "Chewie" for Jin and "Ponce de Leon" for Ana Lucia. It's by far the cherry on top of a sweet dessert. --"Ellen A. Kim "

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: Lionsgate

Genre: Television

Duration: 283

Summary: Funnier, darker and more daring, the second season of this acclaimed Showtime series reaches a higher ground. Golden Globe winner Mary-Louise Parker stars as Nancy Botwin, the soccer mom who had to learn how to deal - pot, that is - after the death of her husband. Now, her business is a hit. But keeping up with the neighbors in this suburban utopia isn't easy. She's joined up with a few of her closest friends, and together they're facing life's highs and lows - because even in paradise, nobody's perfect. Don't miss WEEDS, an addictive comedy, the highest grade TV has to offer.

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: Lions Gate

Genre: Television

Duration: 283

Summary: With its fantastic comedy series "Weeds", cable network Showtime finally gave up its also-ran status to HBO and found itself with a controversial, buzz-worthy show that was as hilarious as it was dark, one about a "truly" desperate housewife. A recent widow with two growing sons, Nancy Botwin (Golden Globe winner Mary-Louise Parker) looks like a typical resident of the affluent Southern California suburb of Agrestic. She keeps a clean, upscale house (with the help of a live-in maid), attends PTA meetings, goes to her kids' soccer games, makes frequent stops at the local coffee franchise.... and sells marijuana in order to make it all possible. Left with no way to support herself after her beloved husband's fatal heart attack, Nancy turns herself into the "suburban baroness of bud," dealing to her neighbors in the area, with the help of her supplier Heylia (Tonye Patano) and point man Conrad (Romany Malco). Nancy's clients run from the local councilman (Kevin Nealon) to the just-barely-legal students at the local community college, but many in Agrestic are still in the dark as to how she keeps her family afloat, including her best friend, the sardonic Celia (Elizabeth Perkins), a wife and mother whose blistering, withering put-downs could make Dorothy Parker cringe in fear. But like many small-business owners, Nancy yearns for more success and cash, and like her workaholic neighbors, finds keeping a balance between work life and home life to be extremely precarious at best.
While "Desperate Housewives" yearned to be a suburban satire with bite, "Weeds" was the real deal, skewering upper-middle class mores with a sharp eye, a keen wit, and a mostly forgiving heart. In episode after episode, the show's creative team (led by creator Jenji Kohan) pulled back the layers of Agrestic's superficiality to show what lies beneath the squeaky-clean exteriors and smiling faces; it turns out that hunger, fear, desire, and, yes, desperation aren't that far down. However, "Weeds" forsakes pulpiness and florid drama for biting yet affectionate humor--its heroine is a woman with sliding morals, but one you'll root for to the very end. The effervescent Parker, the only actress who can mix perkiness with morbidity in just the right amounts, anchored the show with her amazing turn as Nancy, who by the end of the first season had become a kind of soccer-mom version of Michael Corleone, entering a corrupt world with both trepidation and fascination--and totally enamored of the power it brought her. Also perfectly cast, Perkins found the role of a lifetime as the bitterly hilarious Celia, and entering the show in its fourth episode, Justin Kirk (Parker's co-star in "Angels in America") proved to be a potent secret weapon as Nancy's brother-in-law Andy, a slacker who wasn't above peddling t-shirts to elementary school kids. As icky as these characters might appear on the surface, "Weeds" made them all immensely appealing and great company to be around. Don't say we didn't warn you: one hit and you'll be hooked on this show. The DVDs feature six episode commentaries with cast and crew, outtakes, original featurettes, a music video, and most enjoyably, Agrestic Herbal Recipes (for entertainment value only, we assume) and the "Smoke and Mirrors" marijuana mockumentary. "--Mark Englehart"

Theatrical: 1999

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Genre: Television

Duration: 968

Summary: Opening with a Dido theme song and featuring character-driven, sweet-natured melodrama, "Roswell" was a show with a surprisingly dedicated fandom, who twice won it reprieve from cancellation. One of its main strengths was, of course, the extent to which its premise--alien teenagers trying to sort out their identities while emotionally involved with their human contemporaries--was a free-floating metaphor for race and sexuality issues. Another was the strong ensemble that its cast developed: you believed in the strangeness of the alien trio and the well-intentioned normality of their three human friends. Jason Behr gave the alien Max a quiet authority and Majendra Delfino took the sidekick role of Maria and gave it both intensity and fine comic timing. It was also a show in which you were never sure which adults you could trust--William Sadleir trod a fine line of ambiguity as the local sheriff and Julie Benz was silkily sinister as an FBI agent. Anyone who ever loved this show will want these DVDs--and many others may want to find out what the fuss was about.

"Roswell" is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The special features include commentaries on six episodes by writer Jason Katims, the directors, and various cast members as well as a featurette on the making of the show and another on its adaptation from the original "Roswell High" series of young adult novels. The commentaries are unusually insightful on the casting process, and the discs also include the auditions for the part of Tess as well as a deleted scene and a music video. "--Roz Kaveney"

Theatrical: 1995

Studio: Paramount

Genre: Television

Duration: 733

Summary: "Star Trek: Voyager" began life in 1995 with some truly fascinating prospects in its two-hour pilot episode. Opening in the 24th century, a setting contemporary with that of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and carrying over story elements from each of those series, "Caretaker" finds Starfleet Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) stepping into the middle of Federation troubles with the Maquis, an army of rebels violently resisting the interplanetary organization's treaty with the brutal Cardassians. In the process, both "Voyager" and the Maquis ship under surveillance are accidentally catapulted out of the galaxy's Alpha Quadrant (the familiar stomping grounds of Starfleet personnel) by a benign but dying being called the Caretaker. "Voyager" ends up in the unexplored Delta Quadrant, some 70,000 light years away.
So much seemed dramatically promising in this debut, especially the unwieldy alliance of Starfleet regulars and hostile Maquis, and the likelihood that a lifetime spent in isolation, trying to get home, would lead to the development of a self-contained society on the ship, yet "Voyager" never entirely made up its mind what it was supposed to be about. The curiously cheesy sets and fascinating, progressive management style of Janeway (half mommy, half taskmaster) were also new developments in "Star Trek" culture. As the 16-episode season continued, character backstories were developed in such episodes as "The Cloud" (arguably the best episode of the season), "Eye of the Needle" (underscoring Janeway and the crew's sadness), "State of Flux" (in which a search for a traitor reveals a past romance between Commander Chakotay, played by Robert Beltran, and sexy Bajoran engineer Seska, played by Martha Hackett), and "Jetrel" (which explores the character of Neelix, the Talaxian played by Ethan Phillips, during a parable about scientific ethics and moral responsibility).
Among other notable episodes, "Phage" strikes a nice balance among character development, story hook, and moral and emotional conflict when Neelix is literally robbed of his lungs by the Vidiians, a once-civilized people who are combating a deadly disease called the Phage by stealing organs. (The disease would return in "Faces," a fine showcase for Roxann Biggs-Dawson as Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres.) "Emanations" stirred controversy among the series' producers and some fans for its philosophical look at death, and "Time and Again" is a unique time-travel story in which Janeway and Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) get caught in a subspace fracture that places them just hours before they know a planet is going to be destroyed. In "Prime Factors," latent tensions among "Voyager" personnel erupts into serious conflict, an issue revisited in the season finale, "Learning Curve." Despite a pat ending that resolves the Maquis conflict much too easily, the episode drives home the fact that "Voyager" and its crew are all alone, making the most of a difficult predicament. "--Tom Keogh and Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical:

Studio:

Genre: Television

Summary: With help from Hollywood makeup tricks, this FX Networks reality series examines race and racism by having two families -- one white, one black -- trade ethnicities to experience life from the other's perspective. Sharing a California home during the course of the six-week experiment, the families are forced to engage each other in a setting that frequently produces provocative interactions and stunning revelations.

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Showtime Ent.

Genre: Television

Duration: 822

Summary: Four years after Showtime made gay men the focus of its original series "Queer as Folk", it was time for a little turnabout with "The L Word" (bad title, great show). Centering around a tight-knit group of lesbians in Los Angeles, this drama was far removed from its working-class male counterpart in both style and content. While the men of "QAF" enjoyed a fabulous if melodramatic life on the middle-class streets of Pittsburgh, the women of "The L Word" lived it up in sunny California, with gorgeous houses, glamorous careers, and sexy wardrobes. Ironically, though, "The L Word" adhered more to the everyday drama of ensemble shows like "thirtysomething" than the soap opera antics of "QAF", and the results were surprisingly heartfelt and effective, appropriately stylish but never over the top. There was plenty of room for titillation, but creator Ilene Chaiken fashioned from the start a show centered on characters and not just sex, aiming for the heart rather than... well, other places.

"The L Word" focused primarily on committed couple Bette (Jennifer Beals) and Tina (Laurel Holloman), a former power-career duo who've decided to have a baby; however, artificial insemination and the changing dynamics of their relationship throw their previously happy existence off-kilter. Within their orbit are spunky journalist Alice (Leisha Hailey), sultry hairdresser Shane (Katherine Moenning), closeted pro tennis player Dana (Erin Daniels), and espresso bar owner Marina (Karina Lombard) who, in the show's most polarizing storyline, bedded the seemingly straight Jenny (Mia Kirschner) and shook up her heterosexual world. Jenny's am-I-straight-or-not? kvetching frustrated both her fiancé (Eric Mabius) and many viewers, who were alternately irritated and intrigued by her inability to decide one way or the other. But Jenny's weakness was part of "The L Word"'s strength: in exploring many sides of many issues, both domestic and political, it never came up with an easy answer for any of them, making the show all that more fascinating--and compulsively watchable. "--Mark Englehart"

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Showtime Ent.

Genre: Television

Duration: 644

Summary: The third season of Showtime's "The L Word" is all about transitions. The season opens with Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey) coping with her between-seasons break-up with Dana Fairbanks (Erin Daniels), who is herself headed for an even heavier series of transitions. Kit Porter (Pam Grier) both falls in love with a younger man and discovers she is going through menopause. Shane (Katherine Moennig), who spent much of the first two seasons of the show hopping from bed to bed, finds herself more or less committed to Latina deejay Carmen (Sarah Shahi). And the second season's resident villain, Helena Peabody (Rachel Shelley), becomes embroiled in a sexual harassment case that leaves her ultimately looking like the victim. As with previous seasons, "The L Word" gets all hot and bothered with various seductions filmed to sometimes jarring music on the soundtrack, but it's the day-to-day foibles and celebrations of Los Angeles's lesbian community that keep the show interesting. Newcomer Moira/Max (Daniela Sea) begins the process of gender reassignment, making for some curious situations with potential employers. Bette (Jennifer Beals) and Tina (Laurel Holloman) begin to drift apart when Tina lands a big movie studio job and starts feeling attracted to men, leading to a custody battle over their baby daughter. Where "The L Word" starts getting preachy and obvious is in the opening flashback sequences. When these vignettes refer to current characters of the show, they make sense; when they depict situations meant to underline how queer identity has evolved over the years, they seem politically overloaded. "The L Word" works intelligently through its characters' concerns without having to resort to such direct appeals for tolerance. Its strength isn't in making lesbian culture appear more mainstream, but in making us care and identify with these women's struggles, regardless of our sexual orientation. "--Ryan Boudinot"

Theatrical: 2000

Studio: Showtime Ent.

Genre: Television

Duration: 780

Summary: Queer As Folk - Season Four continues to follow the journey of a group of gay friends and lovers living in Pittsburgh. This critically acclaimed series brings with it mature stories about facing the challenges of same-sex parenting, discrimination, AIDS/HIV, cancer and morality.

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Showtime Ent. / Paramount

Genre: Television

Duration: 630

Summary: THE L WORD Season 4 picks up with the women wrestling with issues close to their hearts. As with previous seasons, old demons rear their ugly heads and a host of new characters are brought into their fold, offering them access to a broader community with diverse issues. THE L WORD® stars Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, Laurel Holloman, Mia Kirshner, Katherine Moennig, Dallas Roberts, Daniela Sea, Rachel Shelley, and Pam Grier. Newest additions to the cast include Cybill Shepherd, Marlee Matlin, Janina Gavankar and Rose Rollins. Special guest stars are Rosanna Arquette, Eric Roberts, Bruce Davison, Kristanna Loken and Jane Lynch. This season, the war in Iraq becomes an integral part of Alice's (Hailey) life as she struggles to move on after the death of Dana; Helena (Shelley) tries to find financial independence and come to terms with leaving behind a world of privilege; Phyllis Kroll (Shepherd) -- who takes the courageous plunge late in life to come out of the closet -- risking everything that has defined her life up to now; and, Bette (Beals) has to deal with Jodi Lerner (Matlin), a woman who confronts her head-on about her Type-A personality.

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: Paramount

Genre: Television

Duration: 446

Summary: Beginning with its assured pilot episode, it's love at first sight for "Everybody Hates Chris". This loosely autobiographical family sitcom has a distinctive voice (belonging to co-creator Chris Rock, who also serves as narrator) and a strong sense of time (1982-83) and place (Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy neighborhood). For Chris (the winning Tyler James Williams), turning 13 is anything but a wonder year. He is the only black kid in an all-white junior high school (to which he is bused) that offers him "not a Harvard-type education, just not a sticking-up-a-liquor-store-type education." At school, he is befriended by the geeky Greg (Vincent Martella), and mercilessly tormented by the red-haired bully Joey Caruso (Travis T. Flory). At home, his father, Julius, (former NFL player Terry Crews) works two jobs to make ends meet, and knows the cost of everything ("That's 49 cents of spilt milk on my table"). His mother, Rochelle (Tichina Arnold), also works part-time and knows "100 recipes for whooping ass." Chris is often called upon to be "the emergency adult" to his younger brother, Drew (Tequan Richmond), who is taller than Chris and better at everything from karate to girls, and his younger sister, Tonya (Imani Hakim), who is Daddy's favorite and delights in getting Chris into trouble.
While Chris's family is much more functional than "Roseanne"'s clan, it, too, etches a vivid portrait of a family struggling to get by, as when Rochelle explains to Julius the "debt system" of paying bills. But most of the humor is universal, from Chris's life-changing discovery of his father's "Playboy" magazine to his anxiety over Picture Day at school. "Everybody Hates Chris" also manages to show the love without being mawkishly sentimental. In the pilot, narrator Rock notes that his father didn't express his feelings, but as he was only one of four fathers on the block, his "'I'll see you in the morning' meant he'd be coming home. And that was his way of saying, 'I love you.'" "--Donald Liebenson"

Theatrical:

Studio:

Genre: Television

Summary: This reimagining of the classic 1970s science fiction series takes its special effects and story lines to a whole new level, with President Roslin (Mary McDonnell), Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) and their ship full of humans still searching for the mythical planet Earth. In the show's sophomore season, the commander's life hangs in the balance, and a new crisis emerges when Cylon Centurions manage to board the Galactica.

Theatrical:

Studio:

Genre: Television

Summary: Set in the wake of a nuclear annihilation that destroyed the 12 Colonies of Man, this Sci-Fi Channel series follows the last surviving humans in their search for the long-lost 13th colony: Earth. The latter half of the second season finds the crew of Battlestar Galactica facing a new Cylon target; meanwhile, President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) is fighting the cancer that's slowly killing her. Edward James Olmos also stars.

Theatrical: 2006

Studio: Universal Studios

Genre: Television

Duration: 558

Summary: Upon discovering the answer to a now-legendary problem, Archimedes famously yelled "Eureka!" ("I have found it!"), jumped out of his bath, and ran naked through the streets.



So "Eureka" seems like an appropriate name for the Sci-Fi Channel's quirky, well-written sci-fi series, all about a tiny town that brims over with geniuses and scientific breakthroughs. A few of the storylines are draggy, but the series also has some great acting, brilliant dilemmas, and mysteries that promise to fuel future seasons.



While dragging his delinquent daughter back to L.A., Marshal Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) accidentally crashes the car. The only nearby place is the picture-perfect small-town of Eureka. But Jack starts to suspect that Eureka is a little odd -- a woman making triangular bubbles, a quartet of clones, and a little autistic boy making physics equations on the sidewalk are only a few of the oddities.



His suspicions are confirmed when random places get blasted to ashes, including a cowfield and an RV. So Jack is told Eureka's secret -- it's a town entirely inhabited by geniuses, set up by the government to create new scientific advances. But a scientist has done a little project all on his own, producing a tachyon accelerator -- which is ripping the seams out of the universe.



Because the sheriff was badly injured by the accelerator, D.O.D. representative Allison Blake (Salli Richardson-Whitfield) makes Jack the new sheriff of Eureka. Now he has a new job, a "smart house" in an old nuclear bunker, and a trigger-happy deputy who loves her guns.



But he also has has to deal with a bunch of strange problems -- an electrical "ghost," a scientist whose healing experiments transform him, alien paranoia, memory blackouts, a doomsday device from the Cold War, a drug that causes superspeed, killer nanites, problematic pollen, and a mysterious Artifact deep inside the Global Dynamics building...



The first season of "Eureka" is a pretty good example of how to make a sci-fi show -- not many programs can balance out standalone episodes with long-term arcs (the Artifact, Beverly's agenda). Some of these don't work out, like the artificial Jack/Allison attraction, but most of the time "Eureka" stays on solid ground.



Yeah, most of the storylines center on scientific disasters. But the writers sprinkle it with funny scenarios (the baseball teams are called the Protons and Neutrons) and funny dialogue ("Well, car or no car, this is a 30 mile an hour zone"). But there are moments of poignancy, such as Nathan Stark's tearful farewell to his robot "son," or a woman reluctantly starting to care about her clone's little son.



Despite being the lead, Ferguson doesn't stand out as much because his character is so... ordinary. It's the weirdos that are lovable -- Matt Frewer as a deranged Aussie vet, Ed Quinn as a charming head researcher (and Allison's ex-hubby), Neil Grayston as an ubergeek, and Joe Morton as the car mechanic who also happens to be a brilliant inventer. Jordan Hinson rounds off the cast as Jack's troublemaking daughter.



The first season of "Eureka" hits some road bumps, but it's definitely a well-written, intelligent sci-fi series with a quirky, funny twist. Eureka!

Theatrical: 1963

Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

Genre: Television

Duration: 736

Summary:
From the moment Vic Perrin's omniscient "Control Voice" first proclaimed, "There is nothing wrong with your television set," on September 16, 1963, "The Outer Limits" was destined for greatness. The dazzling, long-beloved series was a daring experiment in "omnibus" TV, trading the speculative fantasies of "The Twilight Zone" for farther-out sci-fi concepts. Producers Leslie Stevens and Joseph Stefano had risen as gifted writers from (respectively) Broadway and Hollywood; Stevens rebounded from his previous canceled series, while Stefano had scripted Hitchcock's "Psycho" and was eager to expand his creative horizons. With an executive order for scary monsters and cold war thrills, their fruitful symbiosis was preceded by the superb Stevens-directed pilot "Please Stand By," named after the series' once-proposed title and changed to "The Galaxy Being" for its broadcast premiere.
Cliff Robertson launched an impressive succession of guest stars, and on meager, oft-exceeded budgets of $120,000 per episode, "The Outer Limits" became a showcase for shoestring ingenuity. The "blue ribbon crew" (as Stevens called it) included cinematographer Conrad Hall, whose Oscar®-winning skills were honed on the series' cramped TV-studio sets. Packed onto two double-sided DVDs, these 16 episodes (out of a total 49) comprise the series' dynamic first season of moody, frequently paranoid black-and-white adventures. Repeat performers Martin Landau, Robert Culp, and Sally Kellerman excel (respectively) in the fan-favorite episodes "The Man Who Was Never Born," and "The Architects of Fear" (and who can forget the insect-like menace of "The Zanti Misfits"?). There are a few clunkers, of course, but the series' quality (and parade of monsters) is remarkably consistent, and DVD compression does not compromise its technical achievement. These eerily seductive shows invite repeated viewing, supporting Stephen King's oft-quoted remark that "The Outer Limits" was "the best program of its type ever to run on network TV." --"Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 2007

Studio: Universal Studios

Genre: Television

Summary: I got this with some trepidation because I was not so thrilled with how Season 2 ended and Season 3 began. I felt the series lost something at that point. Sure, it was still gritty and had a quality unlike other shows in the genre but it felt like it had lost some direction and was floundering. (Note, I live in Japan so I am not up on most of Season 3 so I could be surprised yet.)



Anyway, the series had lost me somewhat but I still wanted to see more and I was intrigued by "Razor". Exploring the Pegasus and her crew seemed like an interesting angle. Well, I have to say it was.



"Razor" was something of a return to the First Season of BSG and part of the Second. It returned to strong storytelling, hard edged characters and drama, a look at why some of the various crew members were doing what they were doing, and excellent camera work.



All in all, this is a very good DVD to get.



Now, I'd love to see a show about Admiral Adama when he was in the First Cylon War. All those old Cylon Centurions and ships would be great to see again.