Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Series
by Richard Kinon
from Paramount
Despite a historically and morally questionable premise the 1960s sitcom HOGAN'S HEROES was wildly popular during its premiere run and continues to be one of the great classic (not to mention utterly unique) comedy series. Set in a Nazi prison camp during World War II the series follows a group of Allied POWs--Englishman Peter Newkirk (a pre-FAMILY FEUD Richard Dawson) Frenchman Louis LeBeau (Robert Clary) and Americans Andrew Carter (Larry Hovis) and James Kinchloe (Ivan Dixon one of the first African-American actors to get equal billing)--led by the irrepressible Colonel Robert Hogan (Bob Crane) in their hilarious attempts to sabotage the Nazi war effort. Though often mischaracterized as a tasteless gloss on the real-life horrors of Nazi Germany (the series was set in a prisoner-of-war camp not a concentration camp) HOGAN'S HEROES was intended as parody and certainly pulled no punches in its unflattering depiction of idiotic Nazi officers such as the pompous Colonel Klink (Werner Klemperer) bumbling Sergeant Schultz (John Banner) and irascible General Burkhalter (Leon Askin)--in fact Klemperer Banner and Askin were all Jewish and Clary was a Holocaust survivor. This collection presents the series in its entirety for a total of six seasons.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097361301648 Manufacturer No: 130164
James Clavell's Shogun
by Jerry London
from Paramount
The story of a shipwrecked English navigator who becomes a samurai during a struggle for power by a Shogun and the Emperor in feudal Japan.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 23-SEP-2003
Media Type: DVD
What better way to escape from the onslaught of so-called reality television than to sail away with Richard Chamberlain to "the Japans" for a little samurai action and some discreet "pillowing"? From the golden age of the miniseries comes this television benchmark, the 10-hour, Golden Globe-winning saga based on James Clavell's bestselling epic. In his award-winning performance, Chamberlain stars as John Blackthorne, the 17th-century English navigator on a Dutch trading ship. A storm runs the ship aground off the coast of Japan, a "torn and cruelly divided country" locked in a power struggle between Toranaga (the venerable Toshiro Mifune) and Ishido, two warlords who would be Shogun. Blackthorne gets over his initial culture shock ("I piss on you and your country," he defiantly proclaims to his samurai captors, which to his humiliation turns out to be an unfortunate choice of words) to become a trusted ally of Toranaga and the lover of the beautiful interpreter Lady Mariko (Yoko Shimada). Their forbidden, ill-fated romance--and Blackthorne's total assimilation into Japanese culture--is set against political intrigue as Toranaga prepares for the inevitable showdown with Ishido, and Blackthorne's growing influence threatens the local Jesuits who had built up a lucrative trade monopoly. Shogun was a production blessed with good karma, and it remains an awesome achievement from a bygone era when the miniseries was king. --Donald Liebenson
Originally broadcast in September of 1980 as a 5-part, 12-hour miniseries, Shogun stood out from the pack of television events at the time with its boldness of action and calculated risks. Based on James Clavell's epic novel, Shogun stars Richard Chamberlain as John Blackthorne, a 17th-century English pilot commanding a Dutch ship that wrecks off the coast of Japan. Viewed suspiciously by local authorities, Blackthorne is at first in some danger of being executed. But with little hope of returning to Britain anytime soon, he begins to assimilate into the feudal society, befriending a powerful warlord (Toshiro Mifune) and wearing the robes of a samurai. Inevitably, Blackthorne begins to think of himself as Japanese, defending his hosts in battle, learning the language, and falling in love with an interpreter (Yoko Shimada). At the same time, his presence there exacerbates a problem with would-be European colonialists gazing at Japan covetously. Directed by journeyman Jerry London, Shogun immediately caught on with its blend of romance, exoticism, and compelling myth of an outsider's reinvention--a story that becomes sadder as it becomes clear that Blackthorne may never see his home again. The production deliberately pushed hard against various television taboos and audience expectations, including the extensive use of Japanese dialogue, startling violence, near nudity, and profane behavior. That all looks tamer now, of course, but Shogun is still a unique entry in the phenomenon of prestige miniseries from the late 1970s and early '80s. --Tom Keogh
Hogan's Heroes - The Complete First Season
by Richard Kinon
from Paramount
Two years after 1963's The Great Escape thrilled movie audiences with a tale of Allied soldiers working cooperatively to flee a World War II-era prisoner-of-war camp, CBS found a hit situation comedy in the loosely similar Hogan's Heroes. Initially dismissed by critics as being in poor taste, the half-hour show starred Bob Crane (previously known for a supporting role on The Donna Reed Show) as Colonel Robert Hogan, leader of a resourceful band of French, British and American guests of the German Luftwaffe. Rather than sit out the war with his fellow captives, Hogan essentially used the POW camp, Stalag 13, as a base for sabotaging Nazi operations whenever possible, helping important prisoners escape, supporting the Resistance, gathering intelligence for the Allies, and generally screwing up enemy battlefield plans. The work was always dangerous, but Hogan's crew had a number of advantages: a network of underground tunnels beneath the camp (some leading to a nearby town), a flair for disguises, the complementary talents of Hogan's key staff, and the reliable idiocy of camp Commandant Klink (Werner Klemperer) and willful ignorance of lead officer Sergeant Schultz (John Banner).
Season one of Hogan's Heroes found all of these elements securely in place and the series balancing farce with suspense. Typical storylines include "Hold the Tiger," in which the boys smuggle a new German Tiger Tank into the camp, disassemble it to construct a blueprint, and then reassemble it under Klink's nose. "The Prisoner's Prisoner" finds Hogan kidnapping a Nazi general, sneaking him into Stalag 13, and tricking him—a la Mission: Impossible--to reveal troop plans. In "The Prince from the Phone Company," one of Hogan's most-trusted confederates, radio operator Kinchloe (Ivan Dixon), disguises himself as an African prince trying to secure money from the Third Reich. Half the fun of these shows is watching Hogan thinking quickly on his feet whenever things start to go wrong, or when one of Klink's more intelligent superiors becomes suspicious that not everything at Stalag 13 is as under control as it seems. Besides Dixon, the other players making up Hogan's elite squad include Richard Dawson as the slightly disreputable Newkirk (with a talent for thievery), Larry Hovis as chemistry whiz Carter, and Robert Clary as the charming LeBeau. --Tom Keogh
HOGAN'S HEROES: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON focuses on a group of American soldiers, led by Colonel Hogan (Crane), who are confined in a Nazi prisoner of war camp called Stalag 13 during World War II. While trapped in Stalag 13, the inmates conduct an espionage and sabotage campaign right under the noses of their warders. Because the Germans, led by the bumbling Colonel Wilhelm Klink (Emmy Award™-winning actor Klemperer), are often gullible, the real strength of Hogan's men are the elaborate ruses and sometimes dangerous lengths they will go to complete their mission.
Hogan's Heroes - The Complete 2nd Season
by Richard Kinon
from Paramount
A top 10 show in its first season (a top 20 show in its second), Hogan's Heroes, like Gilligan's Island, got little love from critics during its seven-year run, but it would come to be ranked among TV's guiltiest pleasures. Hogan's Heroes has gotten something of a bad rap. It is not a situation comedy set in a concentration camp. It is, instead, set in a P.O.W. camp, where Col. Hogan (Bob Crane, a former top radio jock, in his star-making role) and his men "trick the dumb Germans," to quote the late Crane's former wife, Sigrid Valdis, in her enlightening commentary on the episode, "Hogan Gives a Birthday Party." While Valdis reveals that the film Von Ryan's Express was a key inspiration for the series, the show seems to takes its cue from Billy Wilder's Stalag 17, with its blend of comedy (albeit more broad than darkly cynical) and espionage action. Though camp commandant Col. Klink (Werner Klemperer, who would win an Emmy for his career-defining role) was, in the words of one character, "a bubble-headed fool," Hogan's Heroes was not quite a burlesque of bad taste.
Seemingly in response to wide-ranging outrage over the show's misunderstood premise (a Mad magazine parody at the time was brutal), there are some bracing dramatic moments that cut through the comedy. In "Operation Briefcase," Hogan is recruited to assist an attempt to assassinate Hitler. Hogan disdainfully tells the German plotter, "It's the least you can do, considering you're the same bunch of guys who put him in business." In the episode "Will the Real Adolf Hitler Please Stand Up?" Hogan explodes at one of his men when he imitates Hitler. "Imitating that nut in Berlin," he fumes. "It's not all that funny." But somehow, Hogan's Heroes is, thanks to Crane and Klemperer ("You talk about two people born to play a part," remarks Valdis), not to mention John Banner as the jowl-cheeked buffoon, Sgt. Schultz, and the rest of the crack ensemble, including real-life concentration camp survivor Robert Clary as LeBeau, Richard Dawson as Newkirk, Ivan Dixon as "Kinch," and Valdis herself, who debuted this season as Klink's secretary, Hilda, she of the scene-stealing tight sweaters and low-cut peasant blouses, and whose chief dialogue consisted of "Col. Hogan to see the commandant." The extras are a retro blast. The most bizarre is a commercial in which Carol Channing is smuggled into the barracks to enjoy a Jello dessert with Hogan and company. --Donald Liebenson
HOGAN'S HEROES: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON focuses on a group of American soldiers, led by Colonel Hogan (Crane), who are confined in a Nazi prisoner of war camp called Stalag 13 during World War II. While trapped in Stalag 13, the inmates conduct an espionage and sabotage campaign right under the noses of their warders. Because the Germans, led by the bumbling Colonel Wilhelm Klink (Emmy Award®-winning actor Klemperer), are often gullible, the real strength of Hogan's men are the elaborate ruses and sometimes dangerous lengths they will go to complete their mission.
Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman - The Complete Season One
by Terrence O'Hara
from A&E HOME VIDEO
From the moment that Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour) first stepped from the stagecoach into the mud of Colorado Springs TV audiences had a new destination on Saturday nights. Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman won popular and critical acclaim - including five Emmy awards - with its tales of courage conviction and romance on the American frontier. When the show was cancelled after six seasons it sparked one of the largest viewer protests in TV history.This comprehensive collector's set gathers all 17 episodes from the groundbreaking first season plus a host of exclusive extras. Old fans will delight in revisiting favorite moments like Dr. Mike's first kiss from Sully (Joe Lando) and General Custer's visit to town while newcomers will be captivated by the gripping family-friendly stories and painstaking authenticity.Special features in this set include:A&E's Biography - Jane Seymour: Hollywood's English RoseAn interactive tour of 19th Century Colorado SpringsSeries awards and honorsCast biographies and filmographiesSystem Requirements:Starring: Jane Seymour Joe Lando and Chad Allen. Running Time: 840 Min. (Total) Color. These episodes are presented in "Standard" format. Copyright 2003 A&E Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 733961707410 Manufacturer No: AAE-70741
Season one of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman captures the popular television series at its most charming and original: a gently feminist, 19th-century Western with mythic overtones, a Gunsmoke-like vision of small-town constancy, and an audacious love story that might best be described as Buckskin Bronte. British actress Jane Seymour scrubbed away her accent to play Michaela Quinn, fifth daughter of a well-to-do Boston physician who encouraged her to get a medical degree despite social obstacles.
The headstrong Quinn moves to rough-and-tumble Colorado Springs to set up a practice, faces stiff resistance from the locals, witnesses the brutality of white America's expansionism, and generally experiences a classic Western transformation from privilege to pioneering. Along the way, Quinn makes a heartfelt connection with the mysterious Sully (Joe Lando), a laconic outsider/cowboy-knight-errant/widower preserving his broken heart. While the series' pilot may be the best thing in this set, there is a lot to enjoy about further episodes (with such guest stars as Johnny Cash and Robert Culp) exploring Quinn's hard-won admiration from town skeptics. Dr. Quinn creator Beth Sullivan admirably balances the many influences and narrative forces at work; some of the best shows are idea-driven, such as "Portraits," which deals with prejudice. --Tom Keogh
The Scarlet and the Black
by Jerry London
from Lions Gate
The Brady Bunch - The Complete First Season
by Robert Reed
from Paramount
Because of Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch, writer-producer Sherwood Schwartz will forever be a TV hall-of-famer. They were his only real hits, but they were both grand slams in their prime times and have remained syndicated favorites ever since. Following closely on the Gilligan's Island season 2 release, The Brady Bunch is ready for home theaters with a nicely designed, 4-disc set of 25 first-season episodes. The pilot episode, "The Honeymoon" sets up the story we all know from the theme song (lyrics by Schwartz) by giving us the marriage of Mike and Carol and the coming together of the six kids. Schwartz provides commentary for just this first show, but he fondly recalls his intention of sweet, subdued, and often corny gags the pre-fab family encountered as a precise format each week. Two other episodes include commentary by Barry Williams (Greg), Christopher Knight (Peter), and Susan Olson (Cindy), and their reminiscences are equally affectionate about time on the show and everyone's surprise at its enormous success. Every Brady episode is a classic in some sense, and this first of five seasons (those kids did grow up fast) includes some real charmers when the six Brady kids still seemed impossibly young. It's hard to say the show was ever hip, even though it became slightly more attuned to a pop sensibility as the Bradys moved into the '70s. But man, is this 1969 everyfamily ever square. Even so, it's hard to resist the way each one gets their own screen time with shows devoted to simple childhood joys and traumas--Jan's missing locket, Cindy's missing baby doll, Greg's crush on his math teacher, Peter's swelled head when he gets his picture in the paper, etc.
In a brief bonus featurette we get more innocuously entertaining interview comments from Schwartz, Williams, Olson, Knight, and Mike Lookinland (Bobby). It's interesting that all the subjects make note of how seriously the classically trained (now-deceased) Robert Reed took his role as patriarch, Mike Brady. His reputation as being "difficult" followed the long run of the show, but if Schwartz's first choice had gotten the role it could have been a lot worse. (Schwartz is delighted to reveal the famous name and career path that followed, so the mystery shouldn't be spoiled here.) As it was during its TV run, The Brady Bunch on DVD is clearly meant for a specific generation--yours. --Ted Fry
THE BRADY BUNCH - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON tells the story of Carol, a single mother of three girls - Marcia, Jan and Cindy and architect Mike Brady, a single father of three boys - Greg, Peter and Bobby who get married and blend the two families into one. Added to the mix are housekeeper Alice and dog Tiger. The Bradys' experience the same obstacles as any family, from adjusting to their new extended family, to sibling rivalry. The comedy series famous for its catchy theme song truly has become a pop culture icon and is still enjoyed by viewers of all ages.
The Brady Bunch - The Complete Second Season
by Robert Reed
from Paramount
The adventures of a family created when two divorced people with children, marry each other.
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: BRADY BUNCH
Title: SEASON 2
Street Release Date: 07/26/2005
Genre: TELEVISION
The Brady Bunch never scored high ratings during its five year run, but this friendly family comedy has remained in reruns ever since, while bigger hits have slipped into oblivion. Pretty much everyone who grew up in the 1970s or '80s knows the show inside and out: A vision of suburban family life so utopian it's as fantastical as Neverland or Santa's workshop--and just like these imaginary realms, it casts a spell over every kid who wished all problems could be resolved with a few wise words, a good-natured shrug, or a winsome smile. The Brady Bunch: The Complete Second Season is indistinguishable from every other season, but the reassuring formula is crucial to the show's appeal. Eldest brother Greg (Barry Williams) may decide he's all grown up and wants a groovy bachelor pad, or eldest sister Marcia (Maureen McCormick) may get all riled up about women's lib and decide to join the Frontier Scouts, or super-maid Alice (Ann B. Davis, whose persona is hilariously similar to Ellen DeGeneres) may fantasize about running off with an old flame, but by the end of the show you know everything will return to a zen-like domestic harmony.
It's all pretty bizarre when you realize that both halves of the family have suffered the death of a parent! The most angst to be found is the relentless identity crisis of middle sister Jan (Eve Plumb), who tries to remove her freckles with lemon juice and buys a curly brunette wig to forge a new self-image. Nowadays Jan would be a prime candidate for bulimia, but in the Brady world such psychodrama is unthinkable. This even emotional keel could have been creepy and antiseptic, but due to the charm of the kids and the smooth yet earthy presence of Robert Reed and Florence Henderson as parents Mike and Carol Brady, The Brady Bunch just seemed nice. You wanted that to be your family. If you watched the show in your childhood, watching The Brady Bunch: The Complete Second Season as an adult will lull you into a sweet, blissful dream. --Bret Fetzer
Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman - The Complete Season Two
by Chuck Bowman
from A&E HOME VIDEO
In an age when women are expected to be seen but not heard, Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn is a renegade, an independent spirit who forsakes her home in genteel Boston for the rough-and-tumble life of the frontier. But the prejudice she encountered back east pales in comparison to the challenges awaiting in Colorado Springs...
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman breathed new life into a tired genre and brought families together around the TV for six seasons with its refreshing take on the Western, blending a distinctly modern sensibility with painstaking historical authenticity and tales of courage, conviction and romance.
This collection features all 25 episodes from the third season of the five-time Emmy Award winner starring Jane Seymour and Joe Lando, available on DVD for the first time.
Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman - The Complete Season Three
by Chuck Bowman
from A&E HOME VIDEO
In an age when women are expected to be seen but not heard Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn is a renegade an independent spirit who forsakes her home in genteel Boston for the rough-and-tumble life of the frontier. But the prejudice she encountered back east pales in comparison to the challenges awaiting in Colorado SpringsDr. Quinn Medicine Woman breathed new life into a tired genre and brought families together around the TV for six seasons with its refreshing take on the Western blending a distinctly modern sensibility with painstaking historical authenticity and tales of courage conviction and romance. This collection features all 25 episodes from the third season of the five-time Emmy Award winner starring Jane Seymour and Joe Lando available on DVD for the first time.System Requirements: Running Time 1363 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 733961711264 Manufacturer No: AAE71126
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