Correll, Charles

MacGyver - The Complete Fifth Season

Season five of MacGyver opens with an elaborate Indiana Jones takeoff the two-part "The Legend of the Holy Rose." Once this is settled the resourceful MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) resumes his normal duties as special op for the vast crime-fighting concern the Phoenix Organization where he still takes his marching orders from field-operations director Peter Thornton (Dana Elcar). Mayim Bialik makes her first series appearance as Lisa Woodman a teenage runaway whom MacGyver hopes to put on the right track in the episode "Cease Fire". Mac also meets his Chinese foster daughter Mei Jan (Michele Chan in "Children of Light". The wild and wooly western fantasy "Serenity" features virtually all of the series' familiar characters as 19th century frontier types with special emphasis on the troublesome Penny Parker (Teri Hatcher) not to mention guest star Cuba Gooding Jr.). In "Jenny's Chance" MacGyver uses the alternate identity of computer geek Dexter Filmore for the first time while in "Passages" he has a surrealistc "reunion" with his deceased parents. And speaking of deceased Mac's perennial antagonist Murdoc (Michael Des Barres) returns from the grave once more only to go right back after failing to bump off the protagonist for the umpteenth time. (All Movie Guide)System Requirements:Running Time: 1003 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097360385045 Manufacturer No: 038504

Desperate times call for desperate measures--and the desperate will stop at nothing to get MacGyver's attention. In the fifth season premiere ("Legend of the Holy Rose"), an old friend releases his houseboat from its moorings--while he's in it. Four episodes later ("Halloween Knights"), an old enemy relieves his boat of its belongings. It works, of course. Mac lives to help people in need, even if those people include obnoxious archeology professor Zoë (Lise Cutter), who enlists his aid in tracking down an ancient artifact, and the mysterious Murdoc (Michael Des Barres), who does the same to rescue his kidnapped sister. Joining forces with arch-enemy Murdoc marks a break with previous seasons. Otherwise, the fifth features the same resourceful secret agent as the first four (though he's relying on those inventive "MacGyverisms" less often as the series continues). MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) still travels the world on behalf of the Phoenix Foundation, while reporting to supportive superior Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar). As before, he goes it alone: no gun, no back-up, no wisecracking sidekick--not counting reckless rogue Jack Dalton (Bruce McGill), who drops by on occasion to shake up MacGyver's well-ordered world.

Aside from a greater interest in socially conscious causes, like the protection of endangered species, the 1989-1990 season also breaks with the past by an episode set in the Old West ("Serenity") and another set in the afterlife ("Passages"). In the former, Jack and Penny (Teri Hatcher in her final appearance) return as prototypes for their present day characters. Murdoc returns, as well--this time wearing a black hat. In the latter, Grandpa Harry (John Anderson) bids adieu. Other fifth year guests include Blossom's Mayim Bialik ("Cease Fire," "Hearts of Steel"), The Exorcist's Linda Blair ("Jenny's Chance"), and Jerry Maguire's Cuba Gooding Jr. ("Black Rhino," "Serenity"). --Kathleen C. Fennessy

MacGyver - The Complete Sixth Season

Richard Dean Anderson stars as MacGyver an agent for the Phoenix Foundation a progressive agency devoted to righting the wrongs of the world. Even more progressive is the near-genius MacGyver who never carries a gun and always thwarts the enemy with his vast scientific knowledge sometimes with little more than a paper clip and the duct tape in his pocket.System Requirements:Running Time 1050 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: NR UPC: 097360708844 Manufacturer No: 070884

MacGyver - The Complete Final Season

MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) is a contemporary hero and role model who applies his scientific knowledge to ordinary items to create for himself and others a means of escape from impending doom.System Requirements:Running Time: 665 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097360708745 Manufacturer No: 070874

The houseboat is history. In the final season, MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) moves to a loft in an eccentric inner-city neighborhood. The point seems to be to paint the secret agent as less of a loner, but living away from the rest of the world seemed to suit MacGyver better. Fortunately for fans, Mac's ever-enthusiastic buddy, Jack (Bruce McGill), and surprisingly lively nemesis, Murdoc (Michael Des Barres), who faked his death in year six, come back to add a little zest to proceedings that were starting to grow stale (see "Obsessed" and "The Mountain of Youth"). Aside from Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar, now wearing dark glasses due to glaucoma), MacGyver's boss, other recurring characters include Mama Lorraine (Kimberly Scott), a voodoo priestess, and the Colton brothers (Cleavon Little, Richard Lawson, and Cuba Gooding Jr.), who return in "The Coltons," pilot for a series that never materialized (Della Reese, who plays their mother, would have better luck with Touched by and Angel). In addition, Mac's son, Sam (Dalton James), is introduced in "The Stringer," the series' fitting finale. Sadly, Elcar, who also starred in Barretta and Black Sheep Squadron, would pass away in 2005.

Instead of a full season, only 14 episodes were produced for the seventh, including the silly two-parter "Good Knight MacGyver," in which a bump on the noggin transports Mac to Camelot. As he spends more time with the Challengers Club than the Phoenix Foundation, other stories revolve around domestic matters rather than the international crises of yore. Guest stars include Shelley Berman ("Honest Abe"), Wendy Malick ("Obsessed"), Henry Gibson ("Deadly Silents"), and Dick Butkus ("Split Decision"). The final season was followed by two tele-films, an appearance on The Simpsons, and a Super Bowl 2006 MasterCard commercial in which Anderson revived his most famous character. Priceless, indeed. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Macgyver - The Complete Fourth Season

Macgyver - The Complete Series Pack Gift Set (Seasons 1-7)

This pack includes all 7 seasons of the popular TV show MacGyver. MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) is a contemporary hero and role model who applies his scientific knowledge to ordinary items to create for himself and others a means of escape from impending doom.

Macgyver - The Complete Series

MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) is a contemporary hero and role model who applies his scientific knowledge to ordinary items to create for himself and others a means of escape from impending doom.System Requirements:TRT: 6623 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097361243047 Manufacturer No: 124304

Wiseguy - Mel Profitt Arc (Season 1 Part 2)

After the intense "Sonny Steelgrave" arc of first-season episodes, the producers of Wiseguy faced the challenge of topping themselves, and they did it by casting a relatively unknown New York stage actor named Kevin Spacey, who proceeded to chew up the scenery as only a future Oscar®-winner could. But Spacey's not the only reason for the giddy success of the "Mel Profitt" arc, which finds OCB agent Vinnie Terranova (Ken Wahl) teaming up with sociopathic assassin Roger Lococco (William Russ) in an effort to infiltrate the global drugs-and-guns empire of the Proffitt siblings Mel (Spacey), a "manic-depressive genius with acute paranoia," and his codependent sister Susan (Joan Severance), who keeps her incestuously devoted brother happy by injecting home-brewed narcotics between his toes (hence giving Spacey his trademark line, "Only the toes knows!").

TV audiences in 1988 had never seen such a twisted sibling relationship, and there's plenty of eccentric chemistry between Spacey and then-newcomer Severance, who later developed a loyal male following as a B-movie sexpot. Completing their triangle of terror is Russ, playing Lococco as a tormented Vietnam vet with a massive chip on his shoulder, luring Vinnie into a life of luxury and lethal behavior, thus complicating matters considerably for Vinnie's covert handlers McPike (Jonathan Banks) and Lifeguard (Jim Byrnes), who grow increasingly worried as Vinnie gains Mel Profitt's hard-won trust. The quality of these 12 episodes remains consistently high as the Profitts reach "psychotic critical mass," leading to Mafia connections and a new direction for Vinnie's loving mother (well-played by Elsa Raven). Through it all, Wahl (who proves himself a man of few words in a sparse one-episode commentary) maintains his strong presence as a leading man, generously allowing Spacey's rising star to shine. Wiseguy still had some highlights in its future, but the "Mel Profitt" arc represents the series at its best. --Jeff Shannon

When OCB agent, Vincent Terranova is assigned to investigate assassin, Roger Lococco, neither he nor his superiors are aware that Lococco is working for international arms and drug dealer, Mel Profitt. More importantly, Lococco is carrying out a covert and illegal assignment for an errant branch of the CIA working to overthrow the government of a developing country. As "The Profitt Arc" unfolds, Vinnie finds himself drawn deeper into a complex and bizarre world beyond anything he has ever experienced. At the same time, he is fighting his feeling for Mel's beautiful sister, Susan. Ultimately, he finds himself in the midst of a deadly triangle between Susan, Mel, and himself. Vinnie now must fight for his own life at the hands of Mel Profitt as well as the American government when he threatens Lococco's secret mission.

Wiseguy - Prey for the City Arc (Season 2 Part 1)

Wiseguy - Sonny Steelgrave and the Mob Arc (Season 1 Part 1)

With the release of Wiseguy on DVD, one of the best TV series of the 1980s gets a new lease on life. Long before Donnie Brasco brought similar drama to the big screen, Ken Wahl brought charisma, credibility, and chutzpah to his small-screen role as Vincent Terranova, a handsome 30-year-old agent with the FBI's Organized Crime Bureau. As conceived by cocreators Stephen Cannell (of The Rockford Files and The A-Team fame) and Ken Lupo, Wiseguy followed an innovative "story-arc" structure, allowing Vinnie's deep-cover missions to last only as long as necessary to bring each case to a sensible conclusion. Since copied by countless TV shows, this unique approach to storytelling attracted a devoted following of viewers addicted to the self-contained plots that forced Vinnie, his sourpuss OCB handler Frank McPike (Jonathan Banks), and disabled covert liaison Dan "Lifeguard" Burroughs (played by double-amputee Jim Byrnes) to achieve their objectives within 6 to 10 hourlong episodes.

Season 1, Part 1--the first of six Wiseguy DVD sets--includes the entire nine-episode arc (plus pilot) in which Vinnie infiltrates the New Jersey mob family of Sonny Steelgrave, a silk-suited kingpin played by Ray Sharkey in his finest TV role. Their brotherly relationship poses a moral dilemma for Vinnie (giving the arc its dramatic core and primary source of suspense), and Wiseguy earned its reputation as a well-written series that favored character-driven tension while providing the requisite pulp fiction (i.e. occasional murder and mayhem) that kept viewers and advertisers happy. While the DVD packaging gives bogus equal billing to Annette Bening (who appears here in one pivotal episode), her pre-stardom appearance is indicative of the show's consistently high standards in writing, casting, and stylish direction. The styles may be dated (including poodle-puff hairdos for women, including Bening), but there's not a weak episode in the bunch, including the stand-alone shows (involving domestic crises for McPike and Burroughs) that allowed character growth beyond the story-arc structure. It's all good, apart from a dispensable gag reel and commentaries by Wahl (on his two favorite episodes), who says little of interest between long gaps of silence. (He promises more on later DVDs, so Wiseguy devotees are advised to keep listening. Next up: the "Mel Profitt" arc, with guest star Kevin Spacey.) --Jeff Shannon

Vinnie Terranova (Ken Wahl), a tough, street-wise undercover agent, infiltrates the organized-crime syndicate in Atlantic City where, with one slip of his cover, he could end up a dead man. Partly because of his smarts and "wiseguy" attitude, special Agent Terranova has been trained by the Organized Crime Bureau (OCB). In his precarious position, only a select few know his true identity including Frank Mc Pike, his supervisor in the OCB and "lifeguard" his only communications link to the Bureau while undercover. In Sonny Steelgrave & the Mob, Federal Agent Vinnie Terranova establishes an ex-con rap to infiltrate the organized crime of Atlantic City.

Mother of the Bride