Melrose Place - The Fourth Season
by Richard Denault
from Paramount
A nighttime soap opera about the lives careers trials and tribulations of a group of young people living in an apartment building in the trendy neighborhood of Melrose Place. The show was a spin off of Beverly Hills 90210 and starred Heather Locklear as the scheming Amanda Woodward head of her own advertising agency and owner of the apartment building.System Requirements:TRT: 1528 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097361325446 Manufacturer No: 132544
The fourth and the last essential season of Melrose Place literally begins with a bang, as a deranged Kimberly detonates the bombs that lay waste to much of the titular apartment building. But this being Melrose Place, it is hardly the only dramatic upheaval that will shake this addictive prime time soap to its very foundations. Where to begin? Framing this season are two great movie homages. The season opener echoes Silence of the Lambs with Kimberly (Marcia Cross) channeling Hannibal Lecter. The season finale recreates Carrie's ultimate shock, a classic "no they di'nt" cliffhanger in tune with Melrose Place's increasingly over-the-top aesthetic. In between are episodes ripe with left-turn character developments (Josie Bissett's doormat Jane vows to do a little "stepping" herself to further her career as a fashion designer) and outrageous plot twists (Kimberly somehow beats the rap for her act of domestic terrorism and becomes a radio talk show host--recruited by no less than Dr. Joyce Brothers!--and later, develops a split personality as a really desperate housewife.) But you haven't seen anything yet. Allison (Courtney Thorne-Smith), temporarily blinded in the blast, uses her disability to score pity points with Billy (Andrew Shue) while his new wife, the willful, spoiled, and manipulative Brooke (Kristin Davis) burns, especially when Allison marries her father! Matt (Doug Savant), the resident gay character, has a particularly eventful season, what with trying to clear his name after being framed for murder, suing for sexual discrimination, getting a new boyfriend, and becoming a drug addict. Michael (Thomas Calabro), much more evil and vicious in previous seasons, is not really a serious threat, but he does team up with Sydney (Laura Leighton) to Gaslight Kimberly. Jake (Grant Show), reeling from the death of his rotten brother, is vulnerable to the machinations of Shelly (Hudson Leick), his vengeful sister in law. We haven't forgotten Amanda (show savior Heather Locklear), who begins the season uncharacteristically compassionate. Not to worry; she reverts to her bad self after Brooke uncovers a secret from her past and blackmails her. "Kiss the nice Amanda goodbye," she coolly threatens Brooke. "I'm back." Which is just the way we love her. This whopping nine-disc set contains no extras, but, really, with all the backstabbings and betrayals, hook-ups and, yes, hauntings, do you really need commentary? --Donald Liebenson
Melrose Place - The Second Season
by Richard Denault
from Paramount
In its second season, Melrose Place turned up the heat, resulting in a funnier, sexier series. Alison (Courtney Thorne-Smith) continues to see Billy (Andrew Shue), Jake (Grant Show) moves in with Jo (Daphne Zuniga), and Jane (Josie Bissett) divorces Michael (Thomas Calabro), who shacks up with Kimberly (Marcia Cross). That leaves Matt (the underused Doug Savant), who has an affair with a sailor; Amanda (Heather Locklear), who sets her sights on Jake; and Sydney (Laura Leighton), who sets hers on Michael. A lot changes during the year: Sydney turns to prostitution, Jo kills in self-defense, Amanda and Jo catch a voyeur in the act, and Michael and Kimberly end up in the hospital when he crashes their car. Though Michael recovers after a few episodes, Kimberly slips into a coma and then disappears. Michael is told she's died; fortunately for fans, he was misinformed. Kimberly eventually returns, but though she looks the same, she isn't. Turns out, she's now a certifiable loony--and she intends to make Michael pay. As she memorably tells Sydney in the season finale, "You're looking at human garbage... when Michael's dead, God's gonna do a jig."
By the end of the second year, one marriage will have taken place, while another will be called off at the last minute. After an entertaining, if overly earnest first season, Melrose Place had found its footing. The acting isn't always first-rate--the crying scenes are particularly unconvincing--but 31 episodes in one year must have been draining on the cast (most dramas top out at 23). Guest stars include Parker Stevenson as a high-tech millionaire, Gina Gershon as a waitress/call girl, Linda Gray as Amanda's estranged mother, and future X-Men star Famke Janssen as a high-class hooker. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
A nighttime soap opera about the lives, careers, trials and tribulations of a group of young people living in an apartment building in the trendy neighborhood of Melrose Place. The show was a spin off of Beverly Hills 90210 and starred Heather Locklear as the scheming Amanda Woodward, head of her own advertising agency and owner of the apartment building.
Melrose Place - The Complete First Season
by Richard Denault
from Paramount
Stories about the lives and loves of the inhabitants of a trendy apartment complex in Los Angeles.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 7-NOV-2006
Media Type: DVD
It began as a spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210, but this summer replacement quickly established its own unique identity. The connection is creator Darren Star and the character of Jake (Grant Show), who had a fling with Kelly (Jennie Garth) on 90210. In the pilot, she
 Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place creator Darren Star reflects on the first seasons of both shows in this Amazon-exclusive clip. High Bandwidth | Low Bandwidth |
Other troublemakers are waiting in the wings, like Michael's colleague Kimberly (Marcia Cross) and Jane's sister Sydney (Laura Leighton). Both return to stay in the second year. Melrose Place ran for seven increasingly soapy seasons and spawned the short-lived Models, Inc.. Afterwards, Thorne-Smith moved on to Ally McBeal and According to Jim, while Savant and Cross would eventually segue to Desperate Housewives. Other actors had a shorter stay at the infamous West Hollywood apartment complex-- notably, Locane, who makes her exit in the 13th episode ("Dreams Come True") and Williams, who makes hers in the 32nd (two-part season finale "Suspicious Minds"). --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Stills from Melrose Place (click for larger image)
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Crime Story - Season Two
by James A. Contner
from Starz / Anchor Bay
When the first season of Crime Story ended spectacularly in the Nevada desert, it was anyone's guess what season 2 would do for an encore. With low first-season ratings and conservative watchdogs complaining about its violence, the show received a surprise renewal that necessitated the "miraculous" return of mob-boss Ray Luca (Anthony Denison) and his dimwit sidekick Pauli Taglia (played by former Chicago burglar John Santucci). Moving from 10:00 p.m. Fridays to a new 10:00 p.m. Tuesday-night timeslot on NBC, the Michael Mann-produced series continued its ratings decline, and this lent the series a giddy, go-for-broke quality that held plenty of surprises. The year is 1966, and Chicago Police Lt. Mike Torello (Dennis Farina) and his close-knit Major Crimes Unit continues to track Luca's criminal activities in Las Vegas, where additional complications fueled a number of dynamic, stand-alone episodes, beginning with season opener "The Senator, the Movie Star and the Mob," guest-starring Kevin Spacey (in his first major TV role) and Jenny Wright (Near Dark) in a sordid, mob-connected plot with obvious parallels to Bobby Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. This established the neon-lit, casino-and-nightclub milieu of the season, and Luca's reappearance set the season in volatile motion.
The series' daring, pulp-fictional style attracted an impressive array of guests stars and newcomers, some of whom (like 24's Dennis Haysbert) would later appear in Michael Mann's films. Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs) reprises his role as burglar-turned-rocker Frank Holman; Margaret Avery (The Color Purple) and NYPD Blue's James McDaniel are superb in the racial-tension plot of "Seize the Time"; Laura San Giacomo (sex, lies, and videotape) aces her role as Luca's former flame in "Protected Witness"; and Elias Koteas delivers a fine performance in "Roadrunner," an exciting road-thriller episode that showcases Farina's skill with hardboiled comedy. (For the record, other noteworthy guest stars include Pam Grier, David Hyde Pierce, Billy Zane, David Soul, Steven Weber, Michael Jeter, and recurring performances by Andrew Dice Clay and Rolling Stone editor Jann S. Wenner.) "Pauli Taglia's Dream" is an outrageous experiment in all-out delirium, focusing on Santucci's scene-stealing character and providing a wacky lead-up to the season's climactic story arc, which leads Luca and Torello to their ultimate showdown in an unspecified Latin American country full of corruptible drug-trade politicians.
Of course, any innovative series has a few drawbacks: The violent shootouts turn somewhat redundant as the season progresses, and while Torello's gun-toting crew is brought to life by a perfect supporting cast (Bill Smitrovich, Ray Butler, Steve Ryan, and a young Bill Campbell), there was never enough time (or episodes) to properly develop their characters. The turncoat betrayal of lawyer David Abrams (superbly played by Stephen Lang) is never fully convincing (you just know he's not a bad guy), and when Crime Story's cancellation inevitably came to pass, the final-episode cliffhanger of "Going Home" (broadcast May 10, 1988) left frustrated fans with unanswered questions and nowhere else to go. It's especially regrettable, then, that this four-DVD set offers no extras whatsoever. The fact that Farina, Denison, Mann, and series cocreators Chuck Adamson and Gustave Reininger were not invited to do audio commentaries represents a missed opportunity of epic proportions. We can be grateful, however, that the series' pop-music soundtrack (chosen by the great Al Kooper, credited as "Guy Who Picks Music for the Show") remains intact and unchanged as an essential ingredient to one of the best TV shows of the 1980s. --Jeff Shannon
It was hailed for its realism, condemned for its violence and ended with a climax that shocked millions. Though it lasted only two seasons, fans and critics still consider CRIME STORY to be one of the most uncompromising and influential action dramas in television history. In this stunning final season, obsessed lawman Mike Torello and his street tough strike force pursue mob kingpin Ray Luca from the neon battleground of Las Vegas to the corrupt killing fields of Latin America. Experience the explosive closing chapters of the acclaimed crime epic that New York Newsday calls "A genuine work of art... a masterpiece in a classic genre"
Kull the Conqueror
by John Nicolella
from Universal Studios
If you're into sword-and-sorcery tales, look no further than this critically underrated big-screen fantasy based on the fiction of Conan the Barbarian creator Robert E. Howard. It was a troubled production and the outcome is far different from the more serious and intelligent epic that screenwriter Charles Pogue had originally conceived. Still, this is a giddy, energetic throwback to the Ray Harryhausen movie fantasies of the 1950s and '60s, and it's a perfect vehicle for Kevin Sorbo, the hunky star of TV's Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Sorbo brings an appropriate combination of depth and physical agility to the role of Kull (son of Conan), but he and director John Nicolella know better than to take this stuff too seriously. The movie's humor is nicely integrated into the dialogue without resorting to lame punch lines, and Tia Carrere is enjoyably campy as the evil goddess who lures Kull from his favorite concubine (Karina Lombard) as she plots to overthrow the kingdom of Valusia. Playwright Harvey Fierstein also provides comic relief in a scene-stealing role, and with an abundance of black magic, stunning Slovakian locations, and grand battles of good versus evil, this heroic adventure is more entertaining than you might expect. --Jeff Shannon
Melrose Place - Three Season Pack
by Richard Denault
from Paramount Home Video
A nighttime soap opera about the lives, careers, trials and tribulations of a group of young people living in an apartment building in the trendy neighborhood of Melrose Place. The show was a spin off of Beverly Hills 90210 and starred Heather Locklear as the scheming Amanda Woodward, head of her own advertising agency and owner of the apartment building.
Crime Story - Season One
by Gary Sinise
from Starz / Anchor Bay
Conceived as a "22-hour movie for television," the incendiary first season of Crime Story (1986-87, on NBC) marked a controversial milestone in TV history, and its lasting influence can be seen in such better-known series and films as The Sopranos, Homicide: Life on the Street, Donnie Brasco, Casino and elsewhere. The season-long story arc followed Chicago Police detective Lt. Mike Torello (Dennis Farina) and his tireless pursuit of fast-rising mob boss Ray Luca (Anthony Denison) from Chicago to Las Vegas, circa 1963-64. Heading the Major Crimes Unit (MCU) with his hand-picked team of detectives (including fresh-faced Bill Campbell, long before Once and Again) and passionate public defender David Abrams (Stephen Lang), Torello moves from city to federal jurisdiction as Crime Story unfolds its post-Kennedy scenario with stark, often brutal authenticity, pausing for stand-alone episodes that propelled the Torello/Luca rivalry while showcasing such up-and-coming guest stars as David Caruso (in the electrifying pilot), Gary Sinise (who also directed two episodes), Ving Rhames, Lorraine Bracco, and 19-year-old Julia Roberts, who shows early promise as a sexually abused teenager in "The Survivor," a typical example of the show's emphasis on character depth and gritty, hard-hitting plotlines.
Riding high on the success of Miami Vice, executive producer Michael Mann (who helmed the penultimate episode "Top of the World") had several aces up his sleeve: Cocreator Chuck Adamson had been a legendary Chicago detective; Farina was an 18-year veteran of the Chicago Police before he switched to acting; and Luca's dim-witted Mafia sidekick, Pauli Taglia, was played by John Santucci, who had been one of Chicago's most notorious criminals in the 1960s. All of this--along with James A. Contner's color-saturated, mostly nocturnal cinematography--guaranteed that Crime Story would be unique for its time, earning controversy (over its rugged depiction of violent cops) and just enough ratings against ABC's Moonlighting to win a second-season reprieve. Unfortunately, Anchor Bay's budget-conscious DVDs represent a missed opportunity: Crammed onto four discs with five episodes each (with the pilot on a separate disc), the transfers barely rival VHS quality, and costly music rights resulted in song replacements that loyal viewers will regret. Lack of chapter indexing and a perfunctory background essay do little justice to a landmark TV series that deserved a full-featured release on DVD. Those caveats aside, Crime Story can be appreciated as an ambitious American epic that still packs a wallop. --Jeff Shannon
Following the phenomenal success of MIAMI VICE, Executive Producer Michael Mann returned to television with a new kind of gritty crime drama, one that talked tougher and hit harder than anything the small screen had ever seen before. For two explosive seasons, CRIME STORY told the hard-boiled saga of hair-trigger cop Lieutenant Mike Torello (Dennis Farina) and his obsessive pursuit of ruthless gangster Ray Luca (Anthony Denison) from the mean streets of early '60s Chicago to the neon nights of mob-run Las Vegas. Today, CRIME STORY is considered a true cult classic as well as one of the most startling series in television history. featuring a stellar supporting cast that includes Stephen Lang, Bill Campbell, Ted Levine, Darlanne Fluegel and Joseph Wiseman, and such guest stars as David Caruso, Michael Madsen, Pam Grier, Ving Rhames, Lorraine Bracco, Gary Sinise, Deborah Harry, Vincent Gallo and Julia Roberts.
The Good, the Bad & the Beautiful Pack 2 (Beverly Hills, 90210 - The Complete Second Season / Melrose Place - The Complete Second Season)
by Richard Denault
from Paramount
The Good, the Bad & the Beautiful Pack (Beverly Hills, 90210 - The Complete First Season / Melrose Place - The Complete First Season)
by Richard Denault
from Paramount
Beverly Hills, 90210: The Complete First Season
Just as Fox's 21 Jump Street injected the cop drama with a dose of hip, Beverly Hills 90210 infused the primetime soap with youthful energy. Like Aaron Spelling's Dynasty, most characters don't lack for disposable income, except for middle-class twins Brandon
| Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place creator Darren Star reflects on the first seasons of both shows in this Amazon-exclusive clip. High Bandwidth | Low Bandwidth |
Beverly Hills, 90210 ran for 10 years. Though it would move away from issue-oriented episodes in the seasons to come--in the first, it takes on shoplifting, cheating, and date rape--without it, there would be no O.C., no Veronica Mars, etc. Just like the 1980s films of John Hughes (The Breakfast Club), it set the standard to which all others must be compared. As nice as it is to have the show on DVD, it should be noted that not all musical selections made the cut, i.e. "Music has been changed for this home entertainment version." Otherwise, this guilty pleasure remains as pleasurable as ever. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Melrose Place: The Complete First Season
It began as a spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210, but this summer replacement quickly established its own unique identity. The connection is creator Darren Star and the character of Jake (Grant Show), who had a fling with Kelly (Jennie Garth) on 90210. In the pilot, she stops by 4616 Melrose to pay a visit (and returns for two more episodes). Jake's neighbors comprise of Alison (Courtney Thorne-Smith), Rhonda (Vanessa Williams), Sandy (Amy Locane), Matt (Doug Savant), and married couple Michael (Thomas Calabro) and Jane (Josie Bissett). When Alison's roommate runs out on her, she takes in Billy (Andrew Shue) to cover the rent. Just as 90210 had the Peach Pit, the twentysomethings of Melrose gather at Shooters, where aspiring actress Sandy waits tables. Her roommate Rhonda teaches aerobics. Other professions include mechanic (Jake), receptionist (Alison), social worker (Matt), doctor (Michael), designer (Jane), and writer (Billy). Midway through the season, photographer Jo (Daphne Zuniga) and ad exec Amanda ("special guest" Heather Locklear) arrive to shake things up. What had been a program about work and life issues takes a darker turn as Michael gives in to temptation and Amanda sets out to ruin Alison's career--and her relationship with Billy.
Other troublemakers are waiting in the wings, like Michael's colleague Kimberly (Marcia Cross) and Jane's sister Sydney (Laura Leighton). Both return to stay in the second year. Melrose Place ran for seven increasingly soapy seasons and spawned the short-lived Models, Inc.. Afterwards, Thorne-Smith moved on to Ally McBeal and According to Jim, while Savant and Cross would eventually segue to Desperate Housewives. Other actors had a shorter stay at the infamous West Hollywood apartment complex-- notably, Locane, who makes her exit in the 13th episode ("Dreams Come True") and Williams, who makes hers in the 32nd (two-part season finale "Suspicious Minds"). --Kathleen C. Fennessy
THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE BEAUTIFUL PACK (Includes Beverly Hills 90210: the Complete First Season and Melrose Place: The Complete First Season) *
Kull the Conqueror
by John Nicolella
from Universal Studios
If you're into sword-and-sorcery tales, look no further than this critically underrated big-screen fantasy based on the fiction of Conan the Barbarian creator Robert E. Howard. It was a troubled production and the outcome is far different from the more serious and intelligent epic that screenwriter Charles Pogue had originally conceived. Still, this is a giddy, energetic throwback to the Ray Harryhausen movie fantasies of the 1950s and '60s, and it's a perfect vehicle for Kevin Sorbo, the hunky star of TV's Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Sorbo brings an appropriate combination of depth and physical agility to the role of Kull (son of Conan), but he and director John Nicolella know better than to take this stuff too seriously. The movie's humor is nicely integrated into the dialogue without resorting to lame punch lines, and Tia Carrere is enjoyably campy as the evil goddess who lures Kull from his favorite concubine (Karina Lombard) as she plots to overthrow the kingdom of Valusia. Playwright Harvey Fierstein also provides comic relief in a scene-stealing role, and with an abundance of black magic, stunning Slovakian locations, and grand battles of good versus evil, this heroic adventure is more entertaining than you might expect. --Jeff Shannon
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