Reviewer’s Note: Owing to my own policy here at DVDTalk of watching every episode of any television season I receive (even if that means over 30 hours of TV watching in this particular case), I’m going to break up my take on Bonanza: The Official Fifth Season, Volumes 1 & 2 into two separate reviews. Readers should know, though, that they can purchase both volumes together at a discounted price (as it was sent to us), or individually.

One of the 1960s’ best television dramas–which also just happened to be an oater–confidently rides on. CBS DVD and Paramount continue their terrific, extras-filled releases of the 1960’s most successful TV series with Bonanza: The Official Fifth Season, Volume 1, a five-disc, 18-episode collection of the legendary, iconic TV Western, starring Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, Michael Landon, and a host of superlative guest stars in this their 1963-1964 season. CBS and Paramount, not stinting on the bonuses for these beautifully restored transfers, comes up with another load of extras for the fans, including an episode commentary track, a brief snippet of Blocker and Greene performing on The Andy Williams Show, and cool behind-the-scenes stills of the series in action.

 It’s 1861 (according to one episode here with a prominent gravestone), and gold and silver fever are sweeping through the hills and valleys of the celebrated Comstock Load. Virginia City, Nevada, sitting right on top of those millions of dollars’ worth of ore, is bustling with miners, settlers, businessmen, rustlers, con artists, and killers. And butting right up against Virginia City is the massive Ponderosa ranch, a thousand-square mile New World Eden filled to the brim with pine and beef. Overseeing this operation is voice-of-God Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene), the thrice-widowed land baron who watches over his spread as fiercely―and as tenderly―as he does his three grown sons. Eldest, Adam Cartwright (Pernell Roberts), is the most serious of the three siblings, and the one who works most directly under Ben in running the Ponderosa. His mother the daughter of a New England sea captain, Adam was schooled back East as an architect and engineer. Middle son Eric “Hoss” Cartwright (Dan Blocker) gets his massive physique from his mother, a six-foot tall Swede who reportedly could punch like a mule. Hoss, who may seem rather dim or naïve at times when he’s not killing a bear with only his hands or knocking down a tree, is in reality quite sensitive to his surroundings and to the sufferings of others. Finally, Little Joe Cartwright (Michael Landon), the youngest son, gets his smoldering dark looks and equally tempestuous nature from his beautiful half-Creole mother, whom Ben met during a trip to New Orleans’ French Quarter. Little Joe is certainly the most reckless of the clan, relying on his charm and his fast fists to both get him into trouble, and out of it again…especially if there’s a lady involved. Protective of the Ponderosa, which they carved out of the wilderness, the Cartwrights nonetheless inevitably get involved week after week in the troubles of others, who look to the land barons as one of the few stabilizing forces in the wild and wooly excesses of the Old West.

 In my previous reviews of Bonanza, I wrote extensively about the series’ inception, its production, and the aesthetic and thematic framework underpinning the show’s construction. So, as I wrote before, I’ll try not to cover the same ground in this review…although it’s next to impossible not to when Bonanza’s forte―compelling drama anthology stories within a Western framework, expertly produced and performed―is so consistently, even routinely, on display here, week after week, season after season. It’s always more difficult to get a complete handle on a particular season after only viewing half of it, but several themes do make themselves apparent in these first 18 go-arounds.

 It’s well-known among loyal fans of Bonanza that anytime a woman is introduced into the Cartwright boys’ mix, she won’t be around for long, and that’s certainly true here. The season opener, She Walks in Beauty, sees Hoss smitten with Frisco bad girl Gena Rowlands (looking sensational, as always). Written by William Stuart, She Walks in Beauty does a fine job of drawing an intriguing parallel between naive, optimistic Hoss and his brother Adam’s more cynical, cultured view of women (Adam “knew of” Rowlands from one of his Frisco jaunts), set against the complicated dynamic between Rowlands, who’s unable to reform, and her prim, determined sister (the always excellent Jeanne Cooper). Journey Remembered, written by Anthony Laurence, gives us the flashback memory of Ben Cartwright losing Hoss’ mother during a harrowing wagon trip west (Greene is excellent here, and Gene Evans has a good role as a hardcase loner who has written off humanity after he loses his family to Indian killers–a fact that Ben says still doesn’t give Evans the right to murder Indians in mindless retaliation). Greene gets another chance to be romantic in My Son, My Son, written by Denne Petitclerc, this time successfully wooing Teresa Wright…only to have her wayward son Dee Pollack return and doom Ben’s upcoming marriage (it’s rather invigorating to see such a rotten example of a son show up here, with no mitigating or extenuating circumstances given to “soften” him for the audience; he goes as far as slapping and shoving his mother around, and shooting father-figure Ben!). And most notable of all for hard-core Bonanza fans, The Waiting Game, written by Ed Adamson, sees the debut of Kathie Browne as the troubled widow whom the Bonanza producers were grooming as the character who would take soon-to-be-departing Pernell Roberts out of the series (…which, in double Bonanza irony, she would not get to do, when Roberts decided to stay another season). A sensitively-directed episode by Richard C. Sarafian (the cult classic, Vanishing Point), Adamson’s script is a rather remarkable exploration of a frightened young woman’s failed marriage, with the Adam character drawn equally as caring and sensitive…and opportunistic (it’s a pity Roberts, such a skilled performer, would eventually leave the series).

 Bonanza‘s marked pacifist and charitable leanings are in full view in several outings this half-season. In Rain from Heaven, a poor, flinty family headed up by rainmaker John Anderson gets every break in the book from both the Cartwrights and the people of Virginia City, when their little girl gets typhoid (Bonanza‘s subtle yet persistent thematic thread of nature versus religion shows up again here, with Greene arguing that the drought, and Anderson’s failed efforts to make it rain, are acts of Nature, not the Devil…before he advises the proud Anderson to humble himself and pray to God). That delineation would be more overt in The Quality of Mercy, from Peter Packer, with Ben giving Little Joe an impassioned lecture on how Nature reserves the right to always preserve life, and to fight for it–the words “God” or “religion” are never mentioned (was the short bit with the Cartwright men singing a subtle plug for the Bonanza albums that were being sold). Bonanza‘s frequent theme of rejecting violence in favor of ethical justice is given a powerful (if at times “message-y” and too patly wrapped-up) treatment in Warren Douglas’ The Toy Soldier (despite the regurgitated liberal gripes a lot of critics trot out for classic TV Westerns–most of which they’ve never even seen, let alone studied–Bonanza, like many of the “adult” Westerns from that time period, offered thoughtful, sympathetic portrayals of the clash between White and Indian cultures during the expansion of the West). That notion that understanding and acceptance of people’s differences, along with a healthy respect for the legal laws of justice, are most blatantly applied to The Legacy, from Anthony Wilson, where Ben worries his three boys will commit murder against the men they wrongly suspect killed their Pa (a beautifully engineered episode, directed by Bernard E. McEveety).

 0Despite that emphasis on peaceful resolution being critical to the settling of the West, Bonanza-style, certainly there are episodes this season with dark, even obsessive tones. In Alias Joe Cartwright, from Robert Vincent Wright, an almost noir feeling of fatalistic dread is summoned up when Little Joe is caught up in a scheme that sees him facing a firing squad. In The Prime of Life, the all-encompassing drive that Ben summoned to build the Ponderosa spills over into the accidental death of a kindly laborer, spinning Ben into a depression so deep he hands over the reigns of the ranch to his bickering sons. And in The Lila Conrad Story, scripter Preston Wood (from a story by George Waggner), creates a weirdly perverse story (hampered, no doubt, due to the network self-censorship standards of the day) about a rigid judge, Andrew Duggan, becoming obsessively protective of sinner saloon girl Patricia Blair (imagine what they would do with this story today, with all of Duggan’s sweaty entreaties as to whether or not sexy Blair was finally, fully “punished,” before she’s properly prepared to be his). Best of all, the strange, intense, Twilight Zone-worthy entry from scripter Cy Chermak, Twilight Town, finds Little Joe wandering dazed and bloodied into a ghost town that suddenly comes to life, with its inhabitants looking for a leader to loosen their earthly bounds.

1 2Humor, however, both gentle and slapstick, is a hallmark element throughout the series (and one I would imagine loyal viewers value most highly in this family show). A couple of historical figures drop by in this first half-season in two light, fun episodes: Charles Dickens (Lost in Space‘s Jonathan Harris, in a marvelous turn) in A Passion for Justice (the matching of sensitive Blocker and cultured, waspish Harris is charming), and Calamity Jane (the gorgeous, funny Stefanie Powers) in Calamity Over the Comstock (these fictional visits from historical figures give Bonanza an even bigger, outsized feel, as if the Ponderosa is mythically connected with what we read about in history books). As for the breezy, even touching The Gentleman From New Orleans, scripted by William Bruckner, that may be infamous pirate Jean Lafitte (John Dehner, perfectly cast in a broad turn) turning up to continually swindle Hoss, but we’ll never know for sure. Now apparently, die-hard fans of Bonanza rate Hoss and the Leprechauns as not only one of the funniest episodes of the series, but as one of the best period. Scripted by Robert V. Barron and directed by John Florea, this slapstick farce is delightfully mounted, particularly the expertly-staged rabbit-in-the-hole slapstick chase as the “leprechauns” evade capture (Florea had me laughing out loud at his precision staging)…but, as admirable as Hoss’ sermon for tolerance is at the end of the episode, I like my comedies to stay comedic: save the messages for the more serious tales. I found Ponderosa Matador, however, even funnier, with a witty, raucous script by Alex Sharp, complete with hilarious sight gags (the boys’ chemistry is perfect here), peppered by modern-sounding (“He sure wasn’t discussing the price of tacos,”) and envelope-pushing one-liners…for 1963 (“She’ll get fed up with all that bull!”). When the episode climaxes with a wild bull running into a saloon, with Little Joe and Adam looking at each other with delight and yelling, “Oh, yeah!” to join in the fun, Ponderosa Matador had me laughing out loud―tough to do in an empty room at 8:30 in the morning.

3 4The DVD:

The Video:
Excellent. The full-screen, 1.33:1 color transfers for Bonanza: The Official Five Season, Volume 1 look amazing, with rich, deep color, minimal grain and picture noise, and a sharp, sharp image. I know these look better than they ever did back when they were first broadcast.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English split mono audio tracks have been cleaned up and re-corded with little if any hiss and at a vigorous level. English subtitles are available.

The Extras:
No other long-running TV series on DVD (in my memory, at least) has sustained the level of buyer-enticing extras as have these CBS/Paramount Bonanza releases…and this fifth season is no different. On disc one, original NBC bumpers and tags are included on the first episode, with photo galleries for the first, second and third (there’s a cool Chevy advert featuring Blocker’s cute little kids on the first episode). Disc two has bumpers and a Chevy promo on the first episode, with photo galleries for the second and fourth. Disc three has a photo gallery on the second episode, while Hoss and the Leprechauns has an audio commentary track with Bonanza expert Andrew J. Klyde (his tracks are the best). Disc four has bumpers and a Chevy promo on episode one, while episode three has a photo gallery. And disc five has a fun skit from The Andy Williams Show, with Greene and Blocker playing writers who look suspiciously like themselves. Fantastic.

Final Thoughts:
It just keeps getting better and better: confident, assured dramatic/comedic anthology television at its best…masquerading as an oater. I’m giving Bonanza: The Official Fifth Season, Volume 1 our highest ranking here at DVDTalk: the DVD Talk Collector Series award.

Paul Mavis is an internationally published film and television historian, a member of the Online Film Critics Society, and the author of The Espionage Filmography.

5 6

The Movie:

About as far away as you can get from movies like Good Morning Vietnam and Rain Man as you can get, Academy Award winning director Barry Levinson’s latest film, 2012’s The Bay is the latest in a seemingly endless string of ‘found footage’ horror movies to hit the market. So while the technique behind the movie may not be particularly original at this point in the game, Levinson at least manages to craft an interesting and sometimes genuinely unsettling horror story out of it.

When the movie begins we’re on the opposite side of a Skype webchat with a young woman named Donna Thompson (Kether Donohue) and as she talks to the camera we learn that back in 2009 she was working as a fledgling TV news reporter covering what should have been a particularly mundane story – the Independence Day celebrations at a small Maryland town on the coast of Chesapeake Bay. We learn early one that something happened and that the FBI confiscated as much footage as they could, but some of it survived in the hands of the public and she intends to get it out there for everyone to see.

From here, we more or less experience the events of July 4th, 2009, through the camera phones and security cameras and portable video cameras of those who were there, with footage of Donna in front of the camera bridging bits and pieces and tying all of this together into a cohesive narrative. The first of many ominous things to happen occurs at the crab eating contest where, after ingesting massive amounts of shellfish, the participants start vomiting. From there, people start showing up with red rashes on their bodies, they wander around puking blood, and boils start appearing on their necks and torsos. Before you know it, the local hospital is overrun with sick people and the only doctor (Robert C. Treveiler) who hasn’t fled the scene has got calls in to FEMA and the CDC. The mayor (Frank Deal) of the town rides shotgun with a cop to try and find out where the rest of the police officers have disappeared to, while a young couple, Stephanie (Kristen Connolly) and Sam (Christopher Denham) dock in the harbor and proceed inland with their newborn baby in tow in search of Stephanie’s parents. While all of this is going on we learn the fate of two young divers whose bodies were found on the shore shortly before it all hit the fan, indicating that just maybe there’s something going on in the water…

One of the biggest problems with found footage horror movies is that they almost always mess up something in the technical details. Case in point Paranormal Activity 3 purporting to be shot on a camcorder but shown framed at 1.78.1 and in HD clarity. V/H/S suffered from some of the same gaffs. The Bay, however, gets this part almost entirely right -there are moments where one scene may be shot on a camera phone and then cut to a security camera, which might not be the most realistic way to do it, but it is at least technologically possible. There’s a slip or two in this department towards the end but overall Levinson put enough thought into this aspect of the production that we are at least able to suspend our disbelief.

As to the story itself, it jumps around a fair bit and doesn’t really go out of its way to offer us much in the way of characterization (there’s really no one single person we latch onto here), but it does do a pretty good job of showing us what could happen if a small town like the one in the movie were to fall victim to a heretofore undiscovered parasitic attack of sorts. People would panic, the hospitals would overflow, and the government would do what the government does in situations like these, for better or for worse. As such, there are some quality scares to be found here, particularly if you have an aversion to Cronenberg-esque body horror and creepy, crawly isopodes. The fact that some of these isopodes are rendered in CGI of questionable quality doesn’t do the movie any favors, but thankfully this happens infrequently.

The performances are generally okay. Not amazing, but okay. Kether Donohue’s character is essentially the anchor in the movie, the one person who ties all of this together into a semi-coherent form. She handles most of the scenes well, though there are one or two where she seems maybe just ever so slightly forced. Overall though, she’s pretty solid. The supporting players are also reasonably believable here, and the movie is paced well. If anything, it’s a bit too quick, at once you exclude the end credits sequence it’s roughly seventy minutes long. With that said, this is an interesting take on the whole environmental horror thing that pops up often in the genre. It isn’t a perfect movie but it’s clever enough often enough that you just might want to check it out.

The DVD:

Video:

Lionsgate presents The Bay in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen in a transfer that does as good a job as can be expected with the material. As so much of this movie was shot using iPhones and webcams and low end video cameras and all in hand held environments, you don’t get the clarity or resolution that you would out of a more traditional shoot. With that said, for what it’s going for, the transfer is fine. This is a found footage film that looks like found footage, so expect some macroblocking and compression and expect some jitters and aliasing – it’s all there and it’s all part of the experience.

Sound:

The only audio option on the disc is an English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track, though optional subtitles are provided in English SDH and Spanish. The audio follows the same ‘rules’ as the video here, it’s audible enough and the dialogue is generally pretty clean but expect the Skype conversations to have that sort of hollow sound that Skype conversations have and expect the levels to bounce around a bit as they’re apt to do in movies shot on a smart phone.

Extras:

Barry Levinson pops up in a twelve minute interview that serves as sort of the Cliff’s Notes version of the commentary that he also provides. Basically, in both supplements, he talks about how he was approached to make a documentary on some of the environmental issues plaguing Chesapeake Bay but noticed that a very good documentary had already been made. At this point he figured, hey, why not turn this into a horror movie – the concept is solid and we can use new technology to give it a ‘you are there’ sort of feel. He also discusses the effects, working with his cast and crew, shooting on location and the use of technology not just in the film but in the world, really. He notes where things that we see in the movie were inspired by actual events and just generally gives us a really solid look into his process and his motivations for making this movie. Trailers for other Lionsgate properties are included as are menus and chapter selection, but there’s no trailer for the feature itself included on the DVD.

Final Thoughts:

The Bay isn’t a perfect movie, there are a few times where you’re taken out of the experience and a few times where you have to question the characters’ judgment, but overall it is a pretty effective horror film with some interesting ideas at work. Performances are generally pretty strong, the effects work, outside of a couple of obvious CGI shots, is solid and the pacing is quick and tight. Lionsgate’s DVD looks and sounds just as it probably should given the context of the picture, and the interview and commentary with Levinson are both worthwhile .Recommended.

Ian lives in NYC with his wife where he writes for DVD Talk, runs Rock! Shock! Pop!. He likes NYC a lot, even if it is expensive and loud.

Review:

“Storage Wars” has become one of cable’s most successful reality shows and enough of a hit at A & E apparently felt the need to run the show into the ground by creating two spin-offs. While I’ll largely bypass discussing the lack of ideas evident with TV programming and the lack of understanding about why the original works as well as it does (not only concept, but casting – see also “Pawn Stars” – why the original works as well as it does it because of the people), I’ll say that I continue to find the original entertaining.

The concept is simple and straightforward. If someone does not pay for their storage unit at a Public Storage-type facility, the contents are put up for auction. The unit is opened and people cannot go in and look, they have to bid sight-unseen on what may be inside. Certain clues (how people wrapped things, etc) may indicate the level of items that may be found hidden away. Highest bid wins.

“Storage Wars” has included a handful of occasional guests, but the series regulars remain Dave Hester, Darrell Sheets (who needs to be played by Randy Quaid if they somehow, for some bizarre reason, make a “Storage Wars” movie), Jarrod and Brandi and, last, but certainly not least, the wonderfully bizarre Barry Weiss (additionally, A & E was foolish to do “Storage Wars” spin-offs with people when they should have just given Barry his own show.)

The series has faced criticism for being fake – including from star David Hester (who is no longer on the series after, well, calling it rigged – including giving some examples – link.) It’s pretty evident that the series is staged to some degree, but I think that’s one of those things where I think producers don’t always know what makes interesting TV.

On “Storage Wars”, it seems like rarely do the bidders not find SOMETHING (well, aside from Barry, unfortunately – although given that Barry is the most well-off of the group, he seems to be in it more for his own bizarre fun than anything else.) If the series is faked to some degree (which I’ve always thought was the case – Spike TV’s “Auction Hunters” is even more obvious), what’s interesting television (at least I think) is the possibility that there may be absolutely nothing of value in the locker.

If there’s usually SOMETHING, there’s no real sense of tension or urgency, because the viewer knows it’s likely the bidders will find something of notable worth. Take a look at Travel Channel’s “Baggage Battles”, where occasionally a lost bag that’s bid on has nothing but someone’s old clothes. It has been said by those familiar that storage locker bidding is a numbers/volume game – the reality is that there’s going to be a number of lockers with nothing, but then there’s the locker with something great.

If Hester is no longer going to be on the series (and he’s seen less and less on these episodes), that’s certainly going to take away from the show. Despite his issues with the series, he made for a terrific villain and his “Yuuuupp!” catchphrase only added to his status as reality TV’s best villain. As for being a “villain”, this is really a “reality” (emphasis on the “‘s) series about characters as much as it is concept, and Hester was a terrific character. I don’t think the series will be the same without him. However, if Darrell is not available for an episode or two, please someone consider subbing in Randy Quaid in his place. Please

Additionally, the nice aspect of the DVD is that every “What the heck is this” or “What do we have here” isn’t followed by five minutes of commercials.

P.S.: It may be entirely staged like much of the rest, but the end of the second episode offers the most amusing Barry Weiss bit of the entire series.

This is another “volume” of the series,not a complete season. It includes:
Episodes From Season 2:

49 2-31 Blame it on the Rain
50 2-32 50th Episode: Viva La San Francisco
51 2-33
Highland Anxiety

Episodes From Season 3
52 3-01 Third Eye of the Tiger
53 3-02 May The Vaults Be With You
54 3-03 The Iceman Carveth
55 3-04 Here’s Looking at You, Kenny
56 3-05 A Civil Accordion
57 3-06 More Like WRONG Beach
58 3-07 All’s Fair In Storage and Wars
59 3-08 The Fast and the Curious
60 3-09 From Russia with Chucks
61 3-10 The Full Monty-Bello
62 3-11 Dial C for Chupacabra
63 3-12 The Ship Just Hit the Sand
64 3-13 Willkommen to the Dollhouse

The DVD

VIDEO: A & E offers the series with a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation that is generally crisp and clean, resembling how the show looks on cable.

SOUND: Clear, dialogue driven 2.0 audio.

EXTRAS: 40 minutes of deleted scenes.

Final Thoughts: The show always seemed staged (although maybe even more than I’d guessed), but it’s still entertaining. The DVD offers fine audio/video quality, as well as some deleted footage. Recommended.

In 10 Words or Less
As entertaining as watching someone playing video games can be

Reviewer’s Bias*
Loves: Old video games
Likes: Weird Japanese TV
Dislikes: Watching others play games
Hates: Bad dubs

The Show
I’ve never thought much of the idea of watching someone else play a video game. Whether standing at a cabinet in an arcade or watching a console game from a basement couch, I’d much rather have the controls in my hands than someone else’s. Apparently I’m in the minority though, as YouTube and other streaming sites are flooded with gameplay videos, and the recently-announced PlayStation 4 counts sharing gameplay as a core selling point. Japan seems even more enamored with the concept. as they have a popular TV series built around it, Game Center CX, which has been on the air for 10 years. Fortunately, it’s a bit more than just gameplay, but if you can’t cope with watching video games be played, you may as well tune out now.

Like many of Japan’s wonderfully odd endurance games, Game Center CX stars a comedian, the unassuming Shinya Arino. Stuck under the sway of the whims of his “company,” Arino is tasked with defeating various old video games, normally in one marathon gaming session, which take place in a nondescript office with a small monitor and a supply of snacks. The thing is, Arino isn’t exactly a gamer, so these games are a real test for him, forcing him to spend many hours, and in some cases days, learning to master them (while providing some entertaining commentary along the way.) The company isn’t as cruel as those in some endurance games, so when Arino hits an unbeatable obstacle, he’s often given a reprieve, allowed to rest and return to the game refreshed. It would have been great to see him half-asleep, struggling to play, but then episodes would likely never end.

Though it can get a bit slow watching Arino slog his way through a tough game, like the frustrating herding of the little-known SNES-game S.O.S., his comments and reactions are relatable and often pretty funny (though something has definitely been lost in translation (especially the frequent mentions of Japanese pop culture.)) It’s also pretty interesting to see how he develops his strategy for beating the games, as he puts genuine thought into the best way to succeed. He also has a good deal of assistance, in the form of helpful peripherals, cheat codes and a crew of experts who are prepared to jump in and help, either with advice or by taking the controls, when Arino is particularly stuck. That Arino is not the greatest at playing these games enhances the experience, as there’s a sense of drama as to whether he will succeed, and there are times that he doesn’t. Of course, when he’s playing a game with difficult continue policies and he’s forced to play large sections of the game repeatedly, you’ll probably wish he just quit.

This is a best-of collection, gathering what someone considered to be the top 14 episodes of the show. It’s hard to say why these were the ones selected, but it’s easy to wonder why a selection of games that was friendlier to U.S. audiences wasn’t chosen. Sure, getting to see unique games is a treat for hardcore gamers, but having an understanding of the game just makes the episode more entertaining, which is why the two Ninja Gaiden entries are amongst the most interesting to watch (and about six episodes in all likely to be familiar to U.S. gamers.) Perhaps there were copyright issues, but leaving out titles like Mega Man, Super Mario Brothers and The Legend of Zekda for Battle Golfer Yui and The 53 Stations of the Tôkaidô probably hurts the show with U.S. viewers who would have felt more connected to games they knew better. Here’s the rundown of the episodes included:

• Ninja Gaiden (Famicom/NES)

 

• Super Fantasy Zone (Mega Drive/Genesis)

 

 

• Bonanza Brothers (Mega Drive/Genesis)

 

 

• Solomon’s Key (Famicom/NES)

 

 

• Clock Tower (Super Famicom)

 

 

• Mighty Bomb Jack (Famicom/NES)

 

 

• The Mystery of Atlantis (Famicom)

 

 

• S.O.S. (Super Famicom/SNES)

 

 

• Battle Golfer Yui (Mega Drive)

 

 

• The 53 Stations of the Tôkaidô (Famicom)

 

 

• The Wing of Madoola (Famicom)

 

 

• Golden Axe (Mega Drive/Genesis)

 

 

• Shiren the Wanderer (Super Famicom)

 

 

• Ninja Gaiden II (Famicom/NES)

 

 

For completists, these episodes are not the original versions that aired in Japan, as they only feature the game challenges, where as the originals aired with a variety of segments that broke up the gameplay (though in some cases you might say they just padded out the episodes (something Arino actually makes mention of at one point.)) A change of pace would certainly be welcome in some of these episodes, like the infinite challenge of the 90-minute Shiren the Wanderer episode, but the segments were often pretty interesting as well, so their absence is not welcome. Also different with these episodes is the option to watch them with an English narrator (on 12 of the episodes), which, depending on your tastes is a boon or an unnecessary feature. Similar in tone to the English dubs on Unbeatable Banzuke, the narrator is a bit more energetic than really necessary and makes the show feel cheesier than it should. Of course, you can just choose to stick with the Japanese.

The DVDs
The 14 epsodes in this collection arrive on four DVDs in a double-width keepcase with four hubs, so they are in a slightly overlapped configuration. Behind them though is the dual-sided cover which features an awesome illustration of the Game Center CX crew (and it looks pretty nice reversed. The discs feature slightly-animated anamorphic widescreen menus (based on ’80s video games) with options to play all the episodes, select a show or select your languages. You can choose from English and Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks.

The Quality
These episodes are taken from across several years of the show’s run, so there’s some very slight improvement in the quality, but since it’s all pretty recent, nothing looks too bad. The majority are presented in full-frame format (with the final two episodes in anamorphic widescreen (though the gameplay is column-boxed.) The level of fine detail is rather high and the color is impressively rich (though the gameplay can look slightly dull in earlier episodes.) Black levels are nice and deep and there are no real issues with digital distractions, making for an overall impressive presentation.

The audio is clean and free of distortion, allowing the crew and the game sound to both be heard clearly. The English narration is strong (as is the Japanese, though without fluency in that language, I can’t speak to its clarity.) There’s nothing dynamic about the mix, which is as straightforward as it gets.

The Extras
Nothing extra to check out here.

The Bottom Line
This is certainly a niche title, certain to appeal to hardcore gamers or fans of strange Japanese TV, but outside of those groups the appeal is severely limited. If you do like it though, there’s a ton of material to enjoy, nearly 800 minutes in all, and it looks and sounds good, but there’s no extras to enjoy. If you’re unsure, check around YouTube to see a few of the episodes available online before diving in, as this is unlikely to be everyone’s cup of tea.

Francis Rizzo III is a native Long Islander, where he works in academia. In his spare time, he enjoys watching hockey, writing and spending time with his wife, daughter and puppy.Check out 1106 – A Moment in Fictional Time or his convention blog called Conning Fellow

*The Reviewer’s Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer’s biases lie on the film’s subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.

Hey, you punk kids! Get off my lawn–I’m trying to watch Matlock! CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount have released Matlock: The Eighth Season, a six-disc, 20-episode collection of the long-running mystery series’ 1993-1994 season. No big shifts in either execution or cast here for Andy Griffith’s penultimate go-around as ‘ol Ben Matlock…and that’s no doubt what long-time fans wanted in this comfy-cozy show (we remember you, Andy, even if Hollywood and the Oscars didn’t). No extras, other than episode teasers, for these (expectedly) problematic transfers.

Hot-lanta, GA. Wiley, cagey ol’ defense attorney Ben Matlock (Andy Griffith) has more tricks up his sleeve than a monkey on a hundred yards of grapevine. At a fee of $100,000 a case (and rising), Ben keeps the common riff-raff away while remaining the go-to guy in Atlanta when an innocent defendant’s case seems hopeless. Aided by his smart, dishy partner, daughter Leanne McIntyre (Brynn Thayer), with vigorous leg-work executed by slightly befuddled young attorney Cliff Lewis (Daniel Roebuck), Matlock always manages to pull his impossible cases out of their nosedives with a combined application of steel-trap logic, coon hound doggedness, and deceptively laid-back Southern charm that masks an ever-probing, always suspicious intellect. Comedic relief is supplied by the occasional pop-in from cranky neighbor/nemesis, Billy Lewis (Warren Frost), the crotchety father of Cliff.

 If it aint’ broke…don’t fix it. That seems to be the guiding rule for this eighth season of Matlock: the majority of episodes featuring a gently comedic tone best suited to Griffith’s aw shucks demeanor, with some more serious-minded examples added to mix things up a bit. I’ve written before about Matlock, so I’m familiar with the evolution of the series, but to be honest, I would be hard-pressed to be able to distinguish most of these episodes as either seventh or eighth season efforts. Everyone is back from the previous season (Clarence Gilyard, Jr., by this point working on Chuck Norris’ Walker, Texas Ranger, makes one tiny, inexplicable appearance here before disappearing for good), while the format stays the same: keep Andy’s scenes to a minimum while the low-watt and anonymous supporting casts keep the exposition lazily rolling along (no “spot the has-been” here, as in Murder, She Wrote). And while ratings weren’t exactly spectacular for the former NBC series’ second season on ABC (35th in the Nielsen’s), they were good enough…and that seems to be the laid-back, easy come, easy go M.O. for the show as a whole, at this point (more changes were coming, however, for the show’s last go-around…).

 Along with conventional, unsurprising efforts, such as the well-plotted The Crook, about a rare book thief in Ben’s church choir, and clip show The Murder Game, a few oddball episodes manage to pop up. The P.I. is obviously a backdoor pilot from the producers of Matlock, featuring George Peppard and Tracy Nelson as a fire and water father and daughter detective team (Peppard, out of breath and looking unwell, would die soon after this was proposed), while Brennen certainly feels like a pilot, with great character actor George Dzundza doing well as an intelligent, rule-breaking assistant D.A. sparring with Ben. More serious efforts, though, impress this season. The Diner is another one of those marvelous flashback episode with Griffith playing Ben Matlock’s father, Charlie Matlock, in a period outing that could be the flipside look at Griffith’s fabled Mayberry: a small, bigoted Southern town in the early 1960s rocked by the murder of its white sheriff (the superlative, criminally under-recognized Stan Shaw–The Boys in Company C— is a stand-out…as usual). The Capital Offense is a nervy, grim little surprise that you first assume is going to be funny (Ben gets a home computer he can’t work), before it drives on to its suspenseful ending as Ben tries to save an innocent man from the electric chair. And classy, sexy Brynn Thayer gets a chance to shine in two excellent, zero-jokes outings: The Defendant, where trusting Leanne gets played by a murderer (the obnoxious, ubiquitous-in-the-80s-and-90s Richard Gilliland), and The Temptation, where handsome strong-arm thug Brett Cullen stalks Leanne…and breaks her heart (it’s a shame the talented Thayer would leave after this season).

 Still, when you think of the typical Matlock episode, you expect at least a modicum of Griffith’s trademark folksy humor sprinkled among the bodies, and this season doesn’t disappoint. Anytime Warren Frost as cranky, willful a**hole Billy Lewis shows his pissing and moaning mug, I start cracking up, and he has several good appearances this season. In the two-parter, The Kidnapping, he undergoes almost instantaneous Stockholm Syndrome when he immediately identifies with his hapless kidnappers…who hate Ben almost as much as he does (Griffith incredulously yelling into the phone, “Half a million dollars!!” when he hears Billy’s ransom amount, is priceless). In The Godfather, Billy invites an entire wedding party and their guests to crash at Ben’s house while a murder is investigated (Griffith does his put-upon/put-out act with consummate skill). And in the two-parter, The Fatal Seduction, Billy loses his sister–the sister whom Ben briefly dated decades ago, an act Billy has never forgiven Ben for–and demands that Ben accompany him to the funeral (Frost, always amusing whenever Billy is at his most grating, has a nice counter-moment at a grave site, where Billy admits to his dead sister what a rotten brother he was to her).

 Griffith, though, gets most of the laughs generated this season, and rightfully so (his comedic timing, even if slowed ever so slightly by age, is still impeccable). Whether he’s deliberately playing broad (the season opener, The Play, where Ben Matlock proves he’s no stage actor; Matlock’s Bad, Bad, Bad Dream, a period fantasy episode where he plays an alcoholic Depression-era lawyer), or delightfully strange and whimsical (his solitary laughter at guest star Milton Berle’s tired shtick in The Last Laugh is weirdly priceless), Griffith can get more done with less than just about any actor I can think of on TV. In The View, an obvious rip-off of Rear Window, Griffith has a few scenes playing gin with Thayer that are as funny as anything I’ve seen him do. Pulling out that earlier, louder, more aggressively playful version of Andy Taylor, Griffith taunts and teases Thayer, annoying the hell out of her before she beats him hands down again and again. They’re wonderfully funny moments (I wish the series had more of these scenes, rather than all that rather anonymous mystery exposition), touched with a bit of poignancy today now that Griffith–a TV star you somehow thought would always be around–has passed.

 0Here are the 20 episodes in the six-disc collection, Matlock: The Eighth Season, as listed on the inside slimcase cover:

DISC ONE

The Play
Matlock plays a detective in a community play. But when an actress is murdered, the spotlight is turned on the play’s director.

The Fatal Seduction (Part 1)
While in North Carolina to attend a funeral, Matlock, Leanne and Cliff end up entangled in two murder mysteries.

The Fatal Seduction (Part 2)
Matlock tries to determine the truth when two prime murder suspects have seemingly airtight alibis.

The Diner
Matlock recounts his very first case to Leanne when they visit the wife of his first client. In 1962, Matlock defended a black cook accused of killing a white sheriff…and sparked a racial uproar.

1 2DISC TWO

The View
Out of town and sick, Matlock groggily witnesses an argument at a home across from his hotel. When the wife ends up murdered, he suspects they’ve accused the wrong man.

The Last Laugh
It’s no laughing matter when a stand-up comic is accused of killing a fellow comedian who had insulted him and his career.

The Capital Offense
Matlock’s five-year mission to save a seemingly innocent man from death row reaches the 11th hour.

3 4DISC THREE

The Haunted
Matlock’s client resembles a dead man, while Cliff becomes a little too involved in his client’s malpractice suit. Soon the two realize that their cases are connected.

The Conspiracy
Matlock defends an attorney charged with killing a fellow lawyer in the wake of a controversial case involving toxic waste.

Matlock’s Bad, Bad, Bad Dream
Matlock steps back in time to 1932 when he dreams that he, Leanne, Billy and Cliff are embroiled in the murder of a saxophone player.

5 6DISC FOUR

The Defendant
When a philanthropist is murdered, his partner is accused of the crime. Leanne takes the case, and finds herself developing feelings for her client.

The Kidnapping (Part 1)
Kidnappers try to abduct Leanne, but end up seizing Billy. While they hold him for ransom, Matlock attempts to corner the criminals in time to save his friend’s life.

The Kidnapping (Part 2)
Billy’s kidnapping case gets even more complicated when the FBI agent who was handling the investigation is accused of killing another agent.

The Temptation
Leanne falls victim to a criminal who steals her journal in order to make her fall in love with him.

7 8DISC FIVE

The Crook
After being accused of murder, a choir member turns to Matlock to clear his name.

The Murder Game
Matlock, Cliff and Leanne participate in a murder mystery party where the fake victim is actually killed.

Brennen
While defending a client charged with murdering a city councilwoman, Matlock locks horns with a powerful D.A. hiding a secret past.

The P.I.
Matlock steps in when a private investigator’s daughter takes photos that implicate the wrong man in the murder of a Hollywood mistress.

9 0DISC SIX

The Godfather
The wedding of Matlock’s goddaughter turns into a killer affair when one of the groomsmen lies dead and the brother of the bride stands accused.

The Idol
When a bright attorney who idolizes Ben is accused of killing a shady private investigator, it’s Matlock for the defense.

1 2The DVD:

The Video:
As I’ve written before in my Matlock reviews…don’t expect HD quality transfers here, and you’ll be okay. Noisy 1.37:1 full screen image, with muted, washed out color doesn’t make for exciting television, but it’s good enough.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English mono audio tracks are fine, with moderate to low hiss and fluctuation. No subtitles or closed-captions available.

The Extras:
Original episode teasers are included.

Final Thoughts:
Matlock just keeps on grinding along…pleasantly. If you’re a long-time fan of the series, you’ll find no surprises here in Matlock: The Eighth Season. And that’s just fine, isn’t it With the recent passing of Andy Griffith, it’s nice to see him here again, a little older than Andy Taylor, a little slower–but just as sharp and funny. I’m recommending Matlock: The Eighth Season.

Paul Mavis is an internationally published movie and television historian, a member of the Online Film Critics Society, and the author of The Espionage Filmography.

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