Vejar, Michael

Babylon 5 - The Movie Collection

The Babylon 5 pilot movie The Gathering was originally broadcast in 1993 a full year ahead of the regular show. A somewhat dull tale of an attempt to assassinate Koch, the Vorlon ambassador to B5, the feature served to introduce Commander Jeffery Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) as well as familiarize the audience with the unique environment of a five-mile-long space station in the year 2257. Missing many of the main cast, and suffering from a leaden pace and mediocre music score, series creator J Michael Straczynski later improved The Gathering by tightening the cut for a special edition (the version released on DVD), adding some deleted character moments and commissioning a new score from series composer Christopher Franke.

Four new TV movies were part of the deal to syndicate Babylon 5. In the Beginning is a prelude set 10 years before Babylon 5, telling the story of the Earth-Minbari war. Told retrospectively, many of the mysteries revealed gradually in the main series are recounted, making the show a collection of spoilers for newcomers while adding little for established fans. It is effective to see events only previously talked about, and enjoyable to have most of the main cast playing younger versions of themselves. River of Souls is a self-contained adventure featuring a return of the Soul Hunters from Season One, while Thirdspace offers a spectacular Lovecraftian space opera which slots into the saga after the end of the Shadow War. A Call to Arms is the most important of the TV films, laying the ground for the future TV series Crusade. Set five years after the Shadow War, it tells the story of a Drahk revenge attack on Earth. A final showcase for Bruce Boxleitner as Sheridan, the story fits between fifth-season episodes "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light." The cliffhanger ending sets the scene for new starship Excalibur to boldly go on a five-year mission to explore strange new worlds and find a cure for the Shadow virus infecting the Earth. --Gary S. Dalkin

Now entering your stargrid: 5 B5 movie adventures in one deluxe set! First time on DVD! Initiate jump sequence for feature-length tales about key events in the B5 chronology. Movie 1: The Gathering - Alien envoys come to the giant space station in the pilot that launched the five-year TV series. Movie 2: In the Beginning - The B5 prequel! It's humans vs. aliens in the battle that led to the station's creation. Movie 3: Thirdspace - Is there a realm beyond hyperspace? Discovery of a million-years-old gateway technology may hold the answer...and more. Movie 4: River of Souls - After death then what? Questions of eternity arise when a supposedly infallible harvester of souls proves to be very fallible. Movie 5: A Call to Arms - The torch is passed. A race against time to save Earth links the B5 mission with the Rangers' new interstellar efforts.Running Time: 469 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY UPC: 085393343729 Manufacturer No: 33437

Magnum P.I.: The Complete Eighth Season

Left for dead at the end of Season Seven Magnum's back in the eighth and final season of Magnum P.I. the unforgettable Primetime Emmy® Award- and Golden Globe®-winning series nominated for an incredible 30 awards during its impressive eight-year run. For thrilling adventures rejoin Tom Selleck as the stylish private investigator Thomas Magnum along with Higgins T.C. Rick and some of television's hottest guest stars including Amy Yasbeck (Wings) Carol Burnett (The Carol Burnett Show) and Joe Regalbuto (Murphy Brown). This must-own 3-disc collector's set includes every Season Eight episode as well as a bonus episode of The Rockford Files featuring Tom Selleck in a performance that led to his most iconic role. Take home Magnum P.I.: The Complete Eighth Season and say goodbye as the red Ferrari drives off into the sunset forever!System Requirements:Running Time: 603 minutes Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/GAME SHOWS UPC: 025195016964 Manufacturer No: 61102098

Star Trek Deep Space Nine - The Complete Seasons 1-7

Quantum Leap - The Complete First Season

They'll be dancing (well, leaping maybe) in the streets now that the first season of Quantum Leap, voted one of the 25 best cult series ever by TV Guide, has come to home video, a decade after its final year (1994) on the air (the pilot episode was released on DVD in '98). And why shouldn't they? This is a show, called "an imaginative diversion" by one critic, with a good premise that's cleverly and skillfully conceived, written, acted, and produced--ample evidence of which is spread out over three discs, each containing three episodes (plus some fairly meager extras) from the first season.

Scott Bakula, in the role that made him a star, plays Sam Beckett, a scientist who's part of a time-travel experiment that "went a little... ka-ka." Unable to return to his own time, and aided only by Al (Dean Stockwell, whose rapport with Bakula is one of the series' most appealing elements), his cigar-smoking, peculiar-dressing, sex-obsessed, holographic "enabler," Sam "leaps" unpredictably from one time period and person to another, usually completely out of his element (as a pilot, a boxer, a cowboy, an English lit professor, even an elderly black man in segregated '50s Alabama) and always in a situation that needs to be "made right" before he can leap onward. Generous helpings of humor, drama, physical action, and sentimentality (this is TV, after all) keep things moving, as do references to many other classic films and genres (Driving Miss Daisy in "The Color of Truth," Casablanca in "Play it Again, Seymour," boxing in general in "The Right Hand of God") and what creator Donald Bellisario calls the occasional "kiss with history" (Sam crosses paths with the young Buddy Holly and Michael Jackson, among others). It doesn't all work, as Quantum Leap occasionally becomes too cute and facile for its own good. But that and the set's paucity of bonus material (limited to one passable featurette and brief episode intros by Bakula) are the only real shortcomings of a boxed set that will likely earn multiple spins in the DVD player. --Sam Graham

Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and Vanished...He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.

Magnum P.I. - The Complete Seventh Season

Magnum is back and better than ever in all 21 action-packed episodes of Magnum P.I.: The Complete Seventh Season! Tom Selleck returns as TV's most charming Primetime Emmy® Award-winning detective, heating up the exotic streets of Hawaii with his hot red Ferrari and top-notch investigative skills. Along for the ride are everyone's favorite characters - Higgins, TC and Rick - as well as Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote in a special crossover episode. From exploring a secret island to chasing kidnappers and surviving his fortieth birthday, you won't want to miss a minute of the excitement in this fantastic 5-disc set!

Magnum, P.I. - The Complete First Season

A ratings hit for eight seasons on CBS, the action-mystery series Magnum, P.I. makes its DVD boxed set debut in an impressive five-disc package that offers not only the entire first season, but some rarely seen episodes. Positioned in the old Hawaii Five-O time slot (Thursdays at 9) in December of 1980, Magnum quickly became a hit, thanks to the combination of smart and witty scripting, gorgeous locations, and the considerable charm of lead Tom Selleck as former Naval Intelligence officer Thomas Magnum, who gives up his position to become a private investigator on Oahu with the help of fellow Vietnam vets T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) and Rick (Larry Manetti). Magnum also provided security for the lavish estate of wealthy (and never-seen) mystery writer Robin Masters, which gave him access to the author's expensive vehicles (including a prized Ferrari), much to the disapproval of Masters's manservant Higgins (Jonathan Hillerman).

A rare series that skillfully blended action, humor, drama, and suspense, Magnum, P.I.'s first season gets the boxed set treatment its fans have been hoping for, with all 18 first-season episodes (including the two-part pilot, "Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii") included on four discs. The fifth disc contains four rarely shown bonus episodes, including season 3's "Ki'ls Don't Lie," which featured a crossover plot with Simon and Simon, as well as its conclusion ("Emeralds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend"), which kicked off S&S's second season; the latter episode has never been aired as part of Magnum's syndicated package, which is another reason for fans to pick up and enjoy this long-awaited set. --Paul Gaita

Quantum Leap - The Complete Fifth Season

He s leaped into lives of the past but nothing can compare time traveler Dr. Sam Beckett (Emmy nominee Scott Bakula) and his wise-cracking holographic guide Al (Emmy nominee Dean Stockwell) for the high-stakes groundbreaking adventures that await them in all 21 episodes of the fifth and final season of Quantum Leap! From a presidential assassin to his own great-grandfather to the King of Rock n Roll it s up to his final mission. Complete your Quantum collection with this extraordinary Emmy-winning season that includes such time-stopping guest stars as Brooke Shields Jennifer Aniston Neil Patrick Harris and many more. Available on DVD for the first time ever it also includes images of the actual blueprints from the original sets! He s been on the adventure of many lifetimes is it Sam's time to finally make it home?System Requirements:Running Time: 372 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 025193014627 Manufacturer No: 61030146

Magnum, P.I. - The Complete Second Season

Return to the Big Island for more adventure with Tom Selleck's charmingly roguish detective hero, Thomas Magnum, courtesy of this three-disc set, which compiles the entire second season (1981-1982) of Magnum, P.I.. The 22 episodes included here (among them the two-part "Memories Are Forever") crystallize the key to the series' success: an appealing blend of action, drama, mystery, and comedy, cemented by Selleck and his likable castmates, especially John Hillerman, who would earn a Golden Globe for his work on Magnum in '82. Highlights of the season include Magnum's attempt to stop an international assassin ("The Jororo Kill," with Tyne Daly), the arrival of Hemingway-esque author Mad Buck Gibson (Darren McGavin) in the episode of the same name, and the aforementioned two-parter, which reunites Magnum with a woman he thought to have died after marrying her while serving in Vietnam. The usual array of classy guest stars are also on hand for this season; in addition to the aforementioned actors, there are turns by Mimi Rogers, Vic Morrow, Vera Miles, Jill St. John, and Elisha Cook Jr. (who plays a much different character than his recurring role as "Ice Pick" in future seasons). And Magnum obsessives should note early appearances by Gillian Dobb, who played Agatha Chumley in numerous subsequent episodes, as well as one of Higgins's colorful, estranged half-brothers in "The Elmo Ziller Story." It's unfortunate that the set itself doesn't match the quality of the Episodes--extras are limited to second-season episodes from Knight Rider and The A-Team--but Magnum fans should be pleased to have all the episodes in a single set, and best of all, commercial-free. --Paul Gaita

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

Babylon 5 - The Legend of the Rangers

Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers is a two-hour television movie created by J. Michael Straczynski (original creator of the Babylon 5 series) for the Sci-Fi Channel. The telefilm takes place in 2264 after the wars are over and a new age of space exploration has begun. Science-fiction fans are notoriously hard to please, and few have anything good to say about The Legend of the Rangers, produced in 2002 to introduce a spinoff of the popular Babylon 5 TV series. The naysayers have a point. Few elements of this 90-minute pilot, subtitled "To Live and Die in Starlight," will likely be memorialized among the genre's golden moments; the dialogue is often clunky and on-the-nose, the acting is less than stellar, and the effects work, while pretty good, doesn't live up to the standard set by Stargate, Farscape, and others. Nevertheless, there's a reasonably compelling story here, involving the elite Rangers (made up of humans and aliens alike, including the Minbari, who sport "head bones" instead of hair and whose cute little ears are placed on the sides of their necks) and the threat posed to the universe by a mysterious new foe known as "the Hand" (these are some seriously bad dudes, a race that has lain dormant for many years but is now back with a vengeance). Front and center is human Ranger David Martell (played by Dylan Neal). Court-martialed for choosing to save his crew rather then lead them to certain death (in violation of a code mandating that "we do not retreat, whatever the reason"), he's put in command of the Liandra, a ship that's not only funkier than Han Solo's Millennium Falcon but haunted to boot. Of course, as events play out, Martell and his pals end up as the last line of defense against the Hand, not only pitted against these implacable enemies but also dealing with a traitor among the good guys. The themes (honor vs. expediency, dark forces arrayed against peace-seekers, human impetuousness tangling with ancient alien wisdom) are familiar, and the outcome is far from unpredictable. Still, there are a lot less entertaining ways to spend 90 minutes than with Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers. --Sam Graham

Platform:  DVD MOVIE Publisher:  WARNER BROTHERS Packaging:  DVD STYLE BOX Rating:  NOT RATED Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers is a two-hour television movie created by J. Michael Straczynski (original creator of the Babylon 5 series) for the Sci-Fi Channel. The telefilm takes place in 2264 after the wars are over and a new age of space exploration has begun. The Interstellar Alliance has been organized to establish and maintain peace among its member worlds including Earth. The Rangers are an elite military force made up of hand-picked young smart dedicated human and alien members who combine the high-tech elements of space travel with the idealism and honor of the knights of old. They encounter a previously unknown alien race whose lethal power is far greater than any force previously known to Earth or any other world in the Interstellar Alliance.DVD Details:Running Time: 90 min.Actors: Dylan Neal Andreas Katsulas Alex Zahara Myriam Sirois Dean Marshall See moreDirectors: Michael VejarFormat: Closed-captioned Color Dolby Subtitled Widescreen NTSCLanguage: EnglishRegion: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1Number of discs: 1Rating: Not RatedStudio: Warner Home VideoDVD Release Date: March 14 2006Available Subtitles: English Spanish FrenchAvailable Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)