Mordente, Tony

Quincy, M.E. - Seasons 1 & 2

When Jack Klugman played Oscar Madison in television's "The Odd Couple," it seemed no role could better suit him—until he stepped into the shoes of Dr. Quincy, the stubborn, crusading medical examiner in the trailblazing series (1976-1983) that spawned the medical investigation genre and earned Klugman four Emmy nominations. Immortalized for posterity is this collector's set of the show's first two seasons on three two-sided discs containing 16 episodes (four from Season One; 12 from Season Two). Beginning with the first installment, "Go Fight City Hall--To the Death," the series' socially conscious, quick-paced, and mostly believable storylines are an engaging blend of mystery, sleuthing, sarcasm, and romance stirred together into an action-packed drama. Each episode, such as the award-winning show, "The Thigh Bone's Connected to the Knee Bone," probes contemporary issues and promotes justice while maintaining a healthy dose of humor. A strong supporting cast includes Robert Ito (as Quincy's loyal lab assistant, Sam) and John S. Ragin (as skeptical boss, Dr. Asten). Jamie Lee Curtis makes a cameo appearance in "Visitors in Paradise," while additional celebrity guests include Buddy Hackett, Donna Mills, Kim Cattrall, and June Lockhart. The picture and sound quality are solid and each story begins with a short onscreen synopsis and original airdate. The only deficit in an otherwise stellar effort is the noticeable lack of bonus material such as vintage interviews, a making-of featurette, or a well-deserved tribute to Klugman. (Ages 12 and older) --Lynn Gibson

Walker, Texas Ranger - The Third Season

Martial arts star Chuck Norris made his transition to the small screen with the action-packed television drama WALKER TEXAS RANGER. Lasting for nine seasons the series followed the crime-fighting adventures of tough-guy Texas Ranger Cord Walker (Norris) as he brought justice to the streets of Dallas with a well-placed karate chop to the city's more nefarious criminals. Walker's unconventional interrogation methods clashed with his computer-expert partner Jimmy Trivette (Clarence Gilyard) and the by-the-book county D.A. Alex Cahill (Sheree Wilson) who also functioned as Walker's love interest. This collection presents the series' third season in its entirety.Runtime: 1140 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097368515741 Manufacturer No: 851574

Three seasons of dispensing his own brand of roundhouse-kicking justice have not slowed Texas Ranger Cordell Walker (Chuck Norris). As an appreciative observer remarks at one point during season 3, "You still have all the moves, Walker." Whether going undercover as a cocaine dealer in Miami or "delivering a little pain" against white supremacists, Russian mobsters, street gangs, IRA terrorists, heroin smugglers, or vengeful ex-convicts, Walker is "a damn one-man army" who "walks the walk and talks the talk." No one delivers Chuck-isms such as, "The bigger they are, the harder they hit" like Norris. Walker, Texas Ranger's third season is a bit edgier than seasons past. The language is a tad cruder and the action more graphic. The episode "The Juggernaut," about a wife beater terrorizing a woman's support group, is particularly rough stuff. In the explosive season opener, "Blown Apart," a Bible-quoting mad bomber unleashes a holocaust of fiery destruction that even Walker cannot defuse in time. Among the season's most memorable episodes is "Final Justice," in which Walker discovers that the man who killed his parents when he was a boy is still alive, leading to a most dangerous game in which Walker becomes the prey of this hunt-happy racist (portrayed by John Vernon, best known as Dean Wormer in Animal House). In "Deep Cover," Walker partners up with a female cop played by world champion kickboxer Kathy Long, who, as an actress, makes a great world champion kickboxer. "Blackout" opens intriguingly with an amnesiac Walker waking up in a casino office clad in a tuxedo, holding a gun and lying next to a dead body. Chuck Norris commentary would have been a real kick, but then again, he is a man of action, and this season does deliver for Walker fans. --Donald Liebenson

Walker, Texas Ranger - The First Season

Martial arts star Chuck Norris made his transition to the small screen with the action-packed television drama WALKER TEXAS RANGER. Lasting for nine seasons the long-running series followed the crime-fighting adventures of tough-guy Texas Ranger Cord Walker (Norris) as he brought justice to the streets of Dallas with a well-placed karate chop to the city's more nefarious criminals. Walker's unconventional interrogation methods clashed with his computer-expert partner Jimmy Trivette (Clarence Gilyard) and the by-the-book county D.A. Alex Cahill (Sheree Wilson) who also functioned as Walker's love interest. This collection presents all 26 episodes of the series' debut season.System Requirements:Running Time 1458 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: NR UPC: 097368809345 Manufacturer No: 880934

An unofficial Chuck Norris fact: With apologies to Al Gore, global warming does not cause hurricanes. They are caused by the wind generated by Chuck Norris' flurry of roundhouse kicks to the head. Which is why this seven-disc set will blow you away. After Norris's movie career stalled, Walker: Texas Ranger revived his career and catapulted him to international icon status of Hasselhoff proportions. He has since been transformed into an affectionate punchline for the likes of Conan O'Brien and the purveyors of the Official Chuck Norris facts website ("Those aren't credits that roll after Walker: Texas Ranger. It is actually a list of fatalities that occurred during the making of the episode."). Co-created by future Oscar-winner Paul Haggis (Crash), Walker: Texas Ranger is a tailor-made vehicle for Norris, whose eponymous character dispenses somewhat suspect justice. "You screwed up," one particularly nasty miscreant tells Walker. "You forgot to read us our rights. Walker obliges, but not before kicking him into submission, "You have the right to remain silent." Walker's methods may perturb Asst. D.A. Alex Cahill (Sheree J. Wilson), but they sure come in handy when she is menaced, Cape Fear-style, by the recently freed corrupt sheriff she sent to jail ("Borderline") or kidnapped by a cult leader ("In the Name of God").

There are three crucial elements for a great Walker episode: A particularly vile villain (drug dealers, rapists, baby-stealing politicians), coolly delivered Chuck-isms ("When I want your opinion, I'll beat it out of you," reprised from the great Code of Silence), and, to quote Jimmy Trivette (Clarence Gilyard), Walker's new, more by-the-book partner, the "squinty-eyed make-my-day stuff" that Walker punishingly dispenses near the 40-minute mark of nearly every episode. When you've got Chuck Norris, you don't need A-list guest stars, but Walker's first season does feature some familiar faces, including the future Spider-Man Tobey Maguire ("The Prodigal Son"), Stuart Whitman ("The Reunion"), and a post-Wonder Years Danica "Winnie" McKellar ("Stolen Lullaby"). Norris may not be Oscar or Emmy material, but watching Walker unfailingly lay out the bad guys and making the guilty pay is the essence of comfort television. As Trivette says, "I hate to admit; the man is good." In short: don't mess with Texas! --Donald Liebenson

Walker, Texas Ranger - The Complete Second Season

Action superstar Chuck Norris is a veteran lawman with a two-fisted sense of justice in this 23-episode second season of the hit series "Walker Texas Ranger."System Requirements:Run Time: 1165 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097368508842 Manufacturer No: 850884

In the second full season of Walker: Texas Ranger (this is, technically, season 3), a somewhat reigned-in Walker (Chuck Norris) is less Dirty Harry and more by-the-book, providing, of course, that the book has plenty of pictures of criminals being subdued with roundhouse kicks to the head. In one episode, Walker's partner, Jimmy Trivette (Clarence Gilyard), suggests serving a warrant his way, "nice and easy." There's just one thing: Walker never, ever, does anything nice and easy. He does it nice and rough, and when you're dealing with the likes of drug dealers, bank robbers, assassins, cattle rustlers, the Japanese mob, and vengeful escaped convicts, that's the only way to do it. "If you come back here," a bigoted sheriff warns Walker in the episode "Badge of Honor," "you'd better bring an army because you alone just ain't gonna cut it." Actually, that'll cut it just fine. What makes Walker so satisfying is that justice may be delayed, but it is never denied. In the episode, "Mean Streets," Walker goes undercover to protect the homeless from a band of rich kids who are preying on them and videotaping the attacks. If this were, say, Law & Order, the kids' parents would hire an elite defense team and the kids might get off scot-free. That's not the way they roll on Walker: Texas Ranger. With the kids in custody, viewers are promised an "easy" conviction.

What really kicks this season into high gear is the show's new theme song, "Eyes of a Ranger," performed by Norris himself. Jeff Foxworthy has joked, "If an episode of Walker: Texas Ranger has changed your life, you might be a redneck." Granted, Walker may not be life-changing TV à la Oprah, but there is considerable spiritual uplift in watching an incorruptible hero tossing Texas' scum of the earth into the back of his pickup truck and taking them to jail. We join Asst. D.A. Alex Cahill (Sheree J. Wilson) in raising a glass to Walker. "Here's to the Texas Rangers," she toasts in one episode, "the best there are." --Donald Liebenson

Walker Texas Ranger - The Final Season

In the world of Walker, Texas Ranger, there's no problem that can't be solved with a big truck, a few roundhouse kicks, and the unflappable-bordering-on-comatose cool of martial-arts-champion-turned-B-movie-star Chuck Norris (Good Guys Wear Black, Forced Vengeance). As Texas Ranger Cordell "Cord" Walker, Norris helmed this fusion of karate chops and cowboy hats for nine seasons; for some reason, the last season is being released on DVD before any of the earlier ones. By this point, the show's formula--non-stop action and high drama with no concern for common sense or coherent storytelling--has been honed to a science. No opportunity for peril is overlooked, particularly when it affords Walker a heroic moment. In the season's first episode, firemen recoil from a burning building, but Walker strides in without a word (and without any of that cumbersome protective gear) to rescue a cute boy and his loyal dog. This is refined cheese: Bad guys wear evil on their sleeves and criminal masterminds act like morons whenever it's convenient to conclude the episode. Norris wisely keeps his dialogue to a minimum, usually curt commands to his multi-ethnic troupe of high-kicking Rangers (Clarence Gilyard Jr., Judson Mills, and Nia Peeples) or warm endearments to his beloved wife Alex (Sheree Wilson). Most episodes bounce between a couple of overlapping high-tension elements (say, arms dealers and an outbreak of the Ebola virus), though this season also features an epic four-episode arc about a villainous computer genius known as "The Chairman" (Michael Ironside, Scanners, Starship Troopers). The standard two-pronged attack can be amazingly effective; no matter how absurdly the characters may behave, the next stirring scene is underway before anyone has time to notice. It's as addictive as potato chips. Fans will find Walker, Texas Ranger: The Final Season crunchy and completely satisfying. --Bret Fetzer

Starring karate champion, Chuck Norris, WALKER, TEXAS RANGER centers around Cordell Walker, a contemporary Texas Ranger who is old-fashioned in his method of dealing with criminals, which entails using a lot of force. Joined by his partner, Jimmy Trivette, Walker does not shy away from his "eye for an eye" approach to law enforcement.

Family Ties - The Complete First Season

A couple who were ardently leftwing political activists in the sixties face the problems of raising a family with children who have strongly conservative views.System Requirements:Run Time: 530 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097360405545 Manufacturer No: 040554

Though it emerged during the Reagan era, Family Ties remains as relevant as ever. Most children find their parents a little embarrassing, but what sets this sitcom apart is that former hippies Steven (Michael Gross) and Elyse (Meredith Baxter-Birney) Keaton have three children, Alex (three-time Emmy winner Michael J. Fox), Mallory (Justine Bateman), and Jennifer (Tina Yothers), yet they haven't lost their youthful idealism. The ambitious Alex and materialistic Mallory, however, don't share it. Poster children for the go-go 1980s, they'd rather rake in the cash than change the world. As Alex quips in the pilot, "The '60s are over, Dad." If the writing were more cynical, it's unlikely the ABC show would've become a seven-season hit. It works because the Keatons obviously love each other--foibles and all.

In their first year, the family faces a variety of challenges. Steven finds out his father has a fatal illness ("I Never Killed for My Father"), 15-year-old Mallory deals with unwelcome male attention ("Give Your Uncle a Kiss"), and 17-year-old Alex learns a lesson about responsibility when he loses nine-year-old Jennifer while babysitting ("The Fifth Wheel"). Guest stars include Bewitched's Dick Sargent as Elyse's father, Charlie ("No Nukes Is Good Nukes"), and a lanky Tom Hanks as her brother, Ned (two-part episode "The Fugitive"). Though Fox (Back to the Future, Spin City) was the breakout star of Family Ties, he was part of a strong ensemble. Some storylines are also surprisingly hard-hitting, particularly the script dealing with sexual harassment. On the downside, there are no extras and, like many Paramount boxed sets, most of the original music has been changed or eliminated. The theme song "Without Us," for instance, is sung by session players on several episodes rather than by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Beyond Family Ties

More DVDs with Michael J. Fox

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Hunter - The Complete First Season

Hunter - The Complete Third Season

Created by Frank Lupo (The A-Team), Hunter was one of producer Stephen J. Cannell's more tough-minded cop shows. Credit the character of LAPD Det. Sgt. Rick Hunter (former NFL player Fred Dryer). Supplying the yin to Hunter's yang was partner Sgt. Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer). "Sometimes a soft approach can work," she explains in the season premiere ("Overnight Sensation"). Unfortunately, Capt. Devane (Charles Hallahan) pulls the plug on their partnership in the following episode ("Change Partners and Dance"). "You and Hunter have gotten too close," he tells a disappointed McCall. To add insult to injury, Hunter takes the separation in stride. She thought they were friends. As it turns out, Hunter feels the same way and there's more to the breakup than meets the eye.

Other third season developments revolve around romance. Granted, Ray Wise (Twin Peaks) may be a murder suspect, but the culinary-challenged McCall can't resist a man who knows his way around a kitchen ("Crime of Passion"). A few episodes later, Hunter falls for a fellow detective with a few dirty secrets ("From San Francisco with Love"). Fortunately, there will be happier times ahead (that Hunter does get around). Filling out the quartet is Arnold "Sporty" James (original SNL cast member Garrett Morris), their snappily dressed informant, who provides a welcome jolt of eccentricity. In "Love, Hate, and Sporty James," he takes a rare lead, demonstrating some decent dramatic chops.

Twenty-two episodes were produced for Hunter's third year, including the two-part finale ("Hot Pursuit"). Notable guests include Chaka Khan ("The Cradle Will Rock"), Star Trek: The Next Generation regulars Brent Spiner ("The Contract") and Marina Sirtis ("Down and Under"), and future TV superstars Anthony LaPaglia (the Australian-set "Down and Under") and a pompadour-sporting George Clooney ("Double Exposure"). To quote Hunter, "Works for me!" --Kathleen C. Fennessy

22 Explosive Episodes With Guest Stars George Clooney, Anthony LaPaglia & More! He ruled Saturday nights with a quick gun, an iron fist, a hair-trigger temper and a law all his own. For L.A.P.D. Detective Sgt. Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) and his partner Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer), it was an unforgettable season of rape and revenge, kidnapping and prostitution, hotheaded cops and cold- blooded killers, and more of the most car-crashing, perp- smashing, rulebook-bashing action in television history! Charles Hallahan and Garrett Morris co-star in these 22 complete episodes featuring such guest stars as George Clooney, Anthony LaPaglia, Chaka Khan, Brent Spiner, Claudia Christian, Dean Stockwell, Marina Sirtis, Candy Clark, Leif Garrett, Leslie Hope, Larenz Tate, Larry Drake, Lauren Tewes, Shelley Taylor Morgan and much more!

Riptide

Rhoda