Chanbara Beauty

In Chanbara Beauty a deranged scientist has rather too successfully managed to reanimate the dead... seemingly all of them. Scantily dressed, sword wielding Aya and leather clad, gun-toting Reiko wage all out war on the zombies and their creator but then Aya's schoolgirl sister Saki, complete with her own sword, turns up to really make things... interesting.

Chanbara Beauty is a film that makes no pretence about what it is; based on the zombie slashing video game Onechanbara (that I haven't played and sort of translates as "sword fighting girl") with the tagline "Babes, Blades and Bikinis - What More Do You Want?" on the DVD cover you can't really expect this to be high class entertainment... and to be fair you'd be right.

The plot is non-existent (though apparently more fleshed out than the game it's based on), internal logic often absent and explanations missing even thought they would have been easy to add. However, I'm willing to bet it's pretty true to the video game as the lead characters let loose with infinitely repeating double-barrelled shotguns and take on special "power ups", that even make the characters glow whilst they're active in a traditional video game manner, during the 'big fight at the end of the level'.

No, it's not a 'good film' but it never pretends that it's going to be a work of art; "pretty girls kill zombies and fight with Samurai Swords in finalé fight (18 minutes of the 86 minutes total length!)" is what the video game and this film are about. Babes, Blades and Bikinis is what it promises and it delivers in spades, so switch your brain to neutral, grab a beer (or a glass of sake) sit back and enjoy the silliness and (as stated in the BBFC guidelines) "strong and bloody violence" that is Chanbara Beauty!

The DVD (UK, Region 2):
The picture is a widescreen TV-friendly 1.85:1 anamorphic one and for a soundtrack you have a choice of 2.0 Dolby stereo or 5.1 Dolby digital, both Japanese; sorry - no dubbed English soundtrack though obviously there are English subtitles.
Normally, as a bit of a purist, I wouldn't decry the lack of dubbing but for this style of film when you really want to switch your brain off and watch it is a shame that it's missing... still you won't really be watching for the dialogue! If you really want an English dub track, have a Region free DVD player and don't mind losing the 'Making of...' documentary the US Region 1 release apparently has one.

For extras there's a trailer for the film and a 35 minute 'Making of...' documentary.

Presently watching...

I am presently watching, and making review notes on, Season 8 of Spooks and the short lived TV series spin off of Blue Thunder. The way the former is structured it would be hard not to repeat myself (lots of use of the words 'tense' & 'thrilling' or synonymns thereof!) or accidentally give huge spoilers if I went episode by episode in detail and, to be honest, the latter doesn't demand or need that sort of treatment.

This being the case I'll be doing the review for the whole series each time and that will take... well, a little while (I have to finish watching them first!) so in the meantime I'll be putting up occasional reviews I've written before but not published on here... now with all new, never before seen updates!

As always, I hope you find them useful and/or enjoyable, and constructive criticisms (or praise and agreement!) are, of course, always welcome in the comments section... it lets me know someone is reading them too!

Ip Man

Based (loosely... very loosely) on the life story of Ip Man, a martial arts master who goes from wealth and reputation to poverty after the Japanese invasion of 1938... though who is determined to keep his honour and deny the invaders his help.

The film is essentially in two parts; the first part introduces the characters in pre-war times when the area was wealthy and martial arts schools opened up specifically because people had money to spend and spare time. Ip Man, the quiet master of the Wing Chun style of martial arts (which was an exceedingly rare style compared to others), is seen to be independently wealthy and doesn't even have to open a school to support his wife, child, large house and "eat, relax and practice martial arts" lifestyle. The introductions to all the characters is performed very well and by showing us rather than by simply telling us what they are like so we really feel we know these people through their actions and interactions by the time we reach the next part of the film. Of course this 'showing us' in a town famous for martial arts schools and proud masters, and quite rightly for the tone of the film, involves plenty of hand-to-hand fighting scenes.

The second part of the film is set a very short time later after the 1938 Japanese invasion when, by total contrast, the local populace must struggle even to eat. For martial artists there is a way, however, as a Japanese 'commander' sets Japanese martial arts against Chinese ones in competition with a bag of rice as the prize for each victory. We see how each of the characters we met pre-war has reacted to the invasion and get caught up in this competition, leading to Ip Man revealing his prowess but refusing to teach his skills to the invading army troops and ending, of course, in the (totally fictional) fight between himself and the Japanese master/commander... still, having him move away until after the war really wouldn't have made for a very exciting climax!

The film is very much based on the 'style' or 'spirit' of Ip Man's life rather than being a documentary but it does that job very well indeed giving us interesting three-dimensional characters (though the Japanese, except for the commander, are seen mostly as cyphers for brutality as is common in Hong Kong movies), excellent and plentiful fight scenes and an immersive (if not always accurate) story aided by the very real historical backdrop of the war.
Donnie Yen as Ip Man especially gets to use his acting skills as well as his fighting ones.

Technically too the film excels with skilled camera work, direction (by Wilson Yip, with Sammo Hung as action director) and editing for the fight scenes all of which are incredibly well performed, with effective impact close-ups and wire work intervention kept to a minimum. The wire stuff is only really to stop people really being thrown dangerously across rooms or to help them accomplish the most difficult acrobatic moves rather than the almost 'flying' powers portrayed in some more fantastical interpretations.
The film also makes great use of sound and very clever use of a number of different colour palettes to indicate and imply moods throughout which is very effective in a subtle way.

Overall a fine feast for the eyes and a good story well acted means Ip Man should be high on the list of any martial arts film fan's list... and also on the list of any fan of decent action drama for that matter.

The Blu-Ray Disc (UK - Region Free)
An excellent 1080p picture backed up with DTS HD MA 5.1 sound gives a great experience to the watcher who has a set up that will appreciate it... in this case this means you will need DTS decoder to get the most out of the sound (otherwise you will probably either have to listen to it down-converted to stereo from the DTS signal or via the 2.0 Dolby Digital stream also present on the disc).
Note that both audio tracks are in Cantonese and there is no English dubbed soundtrack on this disc, but obviously there are English subtitles, which I found well timed and I 'felt' we mostly accurate!

The DVD replaces the DTS Master Audio track with a 5.1 Dolby Digital one and is Region 2 locked.

Additional material on the disc comprises a set of making of featurettes, set design featurettes, interviews, deleted scenes, trailers and a look at the gala premiere. It also includes a featurette tracing the patch from Ip Man to Bruce Lee (who he later went on to teach) which is exclusive to this UK releases. Note that all the extras do have English subtitles!

The only reason to go for another region's release is if you want the option of a dubbed English 5.1 track available on the US release (you will need a Region A capable Blu-Ray player for this as it is region locked) or Mandarin as an alternative to Cantonese which is available on some region's releases.

Doctor Who: Kinda (serial)

On the planet of Deva Loka a colonial mission is commanded by old-fashioned Sanders, accompanied by rational scientist Todd and not-too-rational-and-getting-worse security chief Hindle. The local natives (the Kinda) seem harmless and peaceful but other members of the colonial mission have disappeared, so are they hiding a secret... or is something else the threat on this 'paradise planet'.

First things first, as mentioned in the 'coming soon' post, I have to state that I really didn't like this serial on original transmission (1982) and I know I wasn't alone as it came bottom in the Doctor Who Magazine poll for the season. I hadn't seen it in the intervening 28 years but in that time its reputation has apparently undergone something of a renaissance and it is now highly regarded in a significant number of 'fan circles'. So now I've watched it again, have I changed my mind at all? Read on...

An inauspicious start sees Nyssa (my favourite of the three companions at the time) disappear into the TARDIS for a couple of days induced sleep (I know now that the script was written before they decided to invite the actress to stay on beyond one serial and they didn't want to do the huge rewrites that her presence would have required). Tegan, Adric and the Doctor discover some big wind chimes and Tegan decides to take a nap too, whilst the Doctor and Adric get captured by a rather unrealistic looking automated sedan chair contraption. Luckily this perfect jungle also includes perfectly flat floors (visible in all wide shots as the studio floor) so the automated sedan chair can roll along on it's little castors without difficulties... and meanwhile in the mission dome the commander seems to have reverted to 1900s attitudes whilst the scientist acts with those of the late 20th century and the security officer is just acting 'strange'...

As a long time Doctor Who fan whilst I appreciate good sets and monsters I can pretty much suspend my disbelief when they're not so good, plus I suspect I'm not really giving the characters a chance to explain their actions. I think it's my poor opinion of the story that's making me quite so picky... OK, more positive attitude onboard I continue...

The 'inside Tegan's mind' bit I remember as not being much of a fan of first time around... a bit too weird; people either get taken over by aliens or they don't in Doctor Who - you don't see them having a chat about it in a surreal dreamworld . I didn't mind it as much this time - acually it was quite interesting and technically very well done and effective. Actually with Tegan being my least favourite companion I always remember her being even more annoying in this serial due to having a central/important role as the evil Mara possesses her and enters the real world (hmmm, still not sure about that being scientific enough either but lets just go with the flow) but in fact, on rewatching, Tegan doesn't actually annoy me in this one so I think that was more of a 'memory cheating negatively' problem that's now gone... and she does seem to be enjoying herself with the rather obvious, but fun, snake/apple symbolism...

The largest area where I've change my mind though is the acting of Simon Rouse as he depicts the mental collapse of Hindle. A younger me just didn't 'get it' and thought it was stupid and over the top; today I really appreciate his performance and just how threatening (rather than silly) he comes across when he really becomes unhinged. And there's more; for example, the telepathy is portrayed probably more 'realistically' and certainly more interestingly than the usual 'we can talk with our minds' simplistic approach and the direction by Peter Grimwade is really rather good despite the limitations the studio places on him.

Of course there are still negatives; as I mentioned in my review of the David Tennant Doctor Who Special: "The End of Time" I just don't believe Doctor Who works well with 'magic'; I'm OK if the magic is explained away as science/pseudo-science but not when its accepted as magic, and where this serial is based on a lot of Buddhist religious (rather than scientific) concepts I think it strays a little too far from the path. I will accept though that there was actually quite a bit more explanation than I ever remember having been there (thanks to script editor Eric Saward who 'fought' the writer to ensure some explanation was put in) but still not enough to address some of the bigger metaphysical concepts on display.
Back to nit-picking and there are a few logic inconsistencies for me, characters and simple technical "why does that still work if that doesn't" ones, the whole thing is horribly over lit and the big monster stretches the suspension of disbelief somewhat... but then again those are pretty much true of all Doctor Who serials of the time (and the new, optional CGI for the monster, which I'll go into more in the extras review, certainly sorted out the latter of those).

I suppose the question I'm left asking though is whether it's a really good piece of drama but not suited to Doctor Who, or whether I can accept it within the Doctor Who oeuvre. After all these years and now having watched lots of different takes on, and experiments with, the format I know the answer is "Yes", I can. It may have stood out like a sore thumb amongst the very science-driven stories of the rest of the season, but taken as a part of a huge history it certainly works not only as a powerful, if strange, story but also within the very wide limits of what Doctor Who can be.

I still not sure I'd be impressed by Kinda if I watched it for the first time today but it does seem to be one that improves on further viewings, at least in my recent experience. It also improves as you start to understand the basic concepts of what was behind the story, as explained in the documentaries and on the trivia notes, so when watching for the third time in total (for the commentary) it improved again, for me, over the initial re-watch.
Not that I'm sure a programme should require you to watch documentaries to appreciate it but in this case I think you are rewarded with a better experience if you do... in my case, though I don't think it'll ever become a favourite, it has moved from from active dislike to appreciation!

So my advice is whether you are presently a fan of Kinda or not, make sure you give it another chance. It may surprise you how much your opinion changes on repeated viewings, especially if those viewings are after you've watched some of the extra features... it certainly pleasantly surprised me.

Gladiatress

Whilst I work on Kinda please enjoy this review of the movie Gladiatress that I wrote before starting this blog... a sort of Review from the Volt from the Vault so to speak.

A story of three sisters (played by Sally Phillips, Fiona Allen and Doon Mackichan, all from the Britich comedy sketch show Smack the Pony), a clumsy village outcast, Worthaboutapig and barbarian-like Smirgut the Fierce join forces to resuce man-hungry warrior princess Dwyfuc, who has been captured by the Romans. Encountering soothsayers, gladiators, barbarians and lawyers during the quest they then have to save the whole of Celtic Britain

A rushed script and production schedule mean that this film isn't really as funny as it wants or deserves to be but for me it certainly works well enough as a mildly updated Carry On style romp with gags and language that are a bit more coarse and vulgar but, all-in-all, using very similar humour throughout.

The language puns are present and correct as are the sight gags and there are character names that would have been at home in Carry On Cleo (based in the same era but made, amazingly, some 40 years before) - Worthaboutapig and Dwyfuc I can see being on the level of Senna Pod and Bilius for a modern audience... and I certainly reckon the writers stole Sid James' lustful growl to transpose into the female warrior princess of this film. This did make for an some uneven tone, with mid-60s style humour not always sitting so well alongside post-millennium coarser language (it's harder to make double entendres rudely funny when the 'rude' version is now in common daily usage) but on the whole I think they often got the balance about right.

With more time to polish the script and sort out the comic timing and flawed tempo of some scenes Gladiatress could have been a laugh-out-loud, really enjoyable film in the Carry On tradition for the Hot Fuzz generation but in reality, sadly, it's a watchable hour and a half with a few giggles... though that's still miles better than when they actually tried to update Carry On films with Columbus and, to be honest, a couple of the other weaker Carry Ons too!

The DVD (UK - Region 2 & 4):
The image is a television-like 1.78:1 anamorphic image, the sound is 5.1 Dolby Digital and there are English subtitles... simple but functional.

Any Australian-area readers of this blog might also be interested to know that, if they have trouble sourcing this disc locally, the UK release is encoded for Regions 2 and 4 (so is probably identical to the R4 release anyway, which is similarly encoded).

What is not mentioned on the cover is that there are also some extra features, namely some cast interviews and a 'Making of... ' featurette, so at least they've made a bit of an effort, even if they forgot to tell you!

Coming Soon - Review of Doctor Who: Kinda

I have only seen this rather surreal Doctor Who serial once before, on original transmission back in 1982, and at the time (like most of the audience and fans) I really didn't like it!

Since then it has gained a reputation of being much better than this original negative reaction indicated and it will be interesting for me to find out if my opinions have changed too, whether simply on re-watching or after finding out a bit more what was going on from the trivia track, commentary and plethora of featurettes on the disc...

Find out the answers in the upcoming review; whatever the outcome I'm sure there will be plenty out there who disagree with me and I certainly welcome comments!

Or at least I will when I have time to write up the odyssey of watching the whole disc in one night, including an extra watch of the serial with commentary and trivia track on and all the extras...

Outnumbered: Season 2 (with Red Nose Special) & Christmas Special

A normal husband and wife (Pete and Sue) struggle with life's everyday dramas and to bring up their children who are more than a handful... and because there are three children (the ever questioning 7 year old Karen, hyperactive 9 year old Ben and young teenager Jake) that means they're 'Outnumbered'.

A quiet, unassuming sitcom that combines brilliantly scripted writing with 'real' unscripted elements from the children plus clever observation of the humour in daily life, Outnumbered is written by the writing team of Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton who previously brought us Drop the Dead Donkey.

By this season the actors having settled into the roles of their characters and the production crew having worked out the best way of making a programme where there is a combination of scripted and unscripted/improvised dialogue but hasn't been running so long that it starts to run out of 'classic situations' that parents with young children find themselves in... and often dread.

Episode 2.1 The Wedding - One of those 'classic situations' referred to already, common enough to be familiar and famously an event where children can 'steal the limelight'. Some nice visual gags, as well as the expected clever humour, make this a very strong opener for the season, with the return of 'wild and free' Auntie Angela (Samantha Bond) and the inevitable clever, verbal one-upmanship with Sue, plus the introduction of a major drama element about shortage of cash.

Episode 2.2 The Dead Mouse - Without a specific setting this episode is more 'bitty' but with standout moments with the 'impersonating mummy' routine which is hilarious and the 'overprotective mother to potential girlfriend talk' which made me laugh and cringe in equal amounts... and obviously there's a dead mouse that has to be given a proper burial...

Episode 2.3 The Old-Fashioned Sunday - A Sunday without TV... many parents have tried but few have succeeded! Attempts are made to play family games instead and Sue's father is thrown into the mix as he comes to stay after an accident which raises worries about his future independence... just another thing Sue and Pete have to deal with cleverly kept funny without ever being demeaning to the topic. A slightly weaker episode but still with some very funny moments.

Episode 2.4 The Airport - Being trapped in an airport waiting for a delayed flight is bad enough without children... and that's without realising how much debt you're in after taking the holiday. This episode is a mixed one for me as it provided me with the most laugh out loud moments of the whole season but also pushed believability just that little bit too far at times, taking away from the normally very natural humour.

Episode 2.5 The Night Out - Pete and Sue try to have one quit night out and leave the children with a babysitter. another situation which most parents find themselves in and can relate to... This episode shows of the well observed comedy in the writing in the parent's discussions (as well as the children's) particularly well and the character of the babysitter is excellently realised. Though the adlibs are amusing throughout I confess it's a couple of the scripted lines that really got me laughing, though their innocent delivery by the children is often what sells the joke.

Episode 2.6. The Football Match - Another episode with a major 'big theme' situation. however it packs in the drama and the humour with revelations about the 'perfect family' next door (that Sue always feels she must compete with), the growing jealousy from Pete over Sue's new boss and the lengths Pete is expected to go through to get the promotion he's going for.

Episode 2.7 The Long Night - The parents just want to sleep but it's one of those days when events, as well as their children, conspire against them. Good follow on in the drama from the last episode and a fantastic one liner from a policeman that I really want to repeat here but don't want to spoil it... Not the strongest end to the season but a good episode nonetheless with all the characters getting a chance to shine and make us laugh at one time or another.

Comic Relief Special - Loads of great humour to be had as the children come up with charity moneymaking schemes for Red Nose Day with a wonderful turn by Sue trying desperately to prove Mummy's can be funny. the big visual gag is telegraphed but I feel deliberately so which actually gives it an even better payoff because you know it's coming!

Christmas Special - Christmas lends itself brilliantly to the humour of the show and this extended episode doesn't disappoint as it pulls together all the elements that make this show so good. Grandad escapes from 'Colditz' and joins the family for an unforgettable Christmas day and Sue and Pete have trouble with double standards on lying and insurance claims... and everything has a great payoff with humour and some real Christmas spirit and joy.

To be honest the only things I don't understand surrounding the whole show are some of the BBFC ratings and the knock on effect these seem to have on the scheduling forcing a post-watershed slot (the first series was stripped over 2 weeks at gone 10:30!). Though children below 12 may not get the humour (probably because it's the very observation of children of their age's behaviour that provides that humour) I personally really can't see anywhere where any adult subject or theme isn't treated sensitively enough that says they shouldn't see it... one episodes BBFC guidance is "Contains comic wordplay and mild language"... and this rates a 12? I can only assume some of the subjects handled by the parents in the series (such as explanations on why it's wrong to lie... sometimes, or does the Devil really exist) the BBFC would prefer that real parents handle themselves.

However, to sum up my feelings on the show itself, the cast is excellent, the scripts are sharp and clever and there are moments of 'amused recognition' (of your own children, someone else's or even your own childhood) as well as laugh out loud scenes or lines are in every episode. The situations and struggles are all real enough to be familiar and even when quite 'dark' (such as a relative with Alzheimer's) they are treated with a beautifully light touch that means they never jar with the humour but are also never belittled. A real gem of a series of which I think this is the best season... catch it before the younger children in the show grow up too much to provide the spontaneity and unselfconscious humour that is at its heart.

The DVDs:

Season 2 DVD set (UK):
Season 2 comes with the Comic Relief special (very funny and actually how I discovered the programme even existed thanks to the scheduling issues mentioned above!) and some deleted/extended scenes (13 minutes) and some bloopers/outtakes (6 minutes) which are not only amusing but also interesting as they show just how good the child actors are as well as still being real children.

Nothing special technically (1.78:1 apect ratio, anamorphic, Dolby Stereo sound) but as a situation comedy this hardly needs the surround sound, hi-def treatment of a blockbuster movie... and it does have English subtitles.

 

Christmas Special DVD (UK):
No extras, no nothing (except subtitles), this really should be part of the Season 3 set (which aired only 4 months after it was shown so it's not like they weren't sure about the show's return!) not a standalone title. A single episode, even if extended by 50%, doesn't deserve a separate release with a £10 RRP but luckily it can now be found for a lot less than that and if you can pick it up at a bargain price it is worth doing so as it is a standout installment.

Outnumbered on its way

Outnumbered: Season 2 will be undergoing review shortly... possibly swiftly followed up with the Christmas Special since I just picked up that one for 99p in a sale (though, as I will probably comment again in the Disc review section, it is pretty outrageous they put out a 39 minute special by itself and wanted a tenner for it, so I was certainly going to be patient...)

Clarkson: The Italian Job

Jeremy Clarkson has been putting out a 'Christmas DVD' for petrolheads for over 10 years; this is his latest offering.

If you’ve watched Clarkson review fast cars in Top Gear then you’ll pretty much know what to expect because this is essentially TG without James May, Richard Hammond, the guests or any reasonably priced cars. The theme this time is that Clarkson is preparing for a 1970s saloon car race… so of course he goes to Italy to drive lots of exotic machinery and keep up his usual review/commentary whilst doing so, with the occasional sidestep into a gym or to have a look at the Ferrari factory.

Comparing this release to previous ones it does seem like they've dropped a lot of any 'comedy' segment there used to be; maybe they’re running out of ideas but I suspect more likely Clarkson realises that anything like that would work much better on Top Gear as it would have much wider audience appeal. Of course Clarkson's comments on the cars are full of his brand of laddish humour but you’ll no longer find segments on destroying speed cameras or cars shaped like garden sheds racing around a track.

The closest this release comes to the more widespread appeal of Top Gear is the finalé where Clarkson takes part in the 70s saloon car race in a modified Escort Mexico and it’s obviously pretty much done for real with the resulting outcomes and comments therefore less ‘rehearsed’ and more emotional.

However, it does seem like they’ve realise they really have to give a more for your money in this day and age so, with no change in recommended retail price from previous years we have some significant behind-the-scenes extended/video-diary type footage for all the different locations visited, a "best 5 car destructions" from previous discs and a digital copy to watch on your mobile device of choice. Though oddly given the more hardcore ‘petrol-head’ nature of this release than previously there is no "More Car Less Music" soundtrack this year.

In summary, if you're a real exotic car fan who enjoys Jeremy Clarkson's brand of humour you'll enjoy this, as you would his previous releases, but if you enjoy Top Gear and are wondering whether to branch out take a moment to think whether it's Clarkson reviewing the new Ferrari or the banter between the three leads on that show as they try to make cars turn into boats that attracts you to it... because if it’s the latter, it's probably better for you to pick up the Top Gear "Challenges" or "Best Of" DVDs, or wait until the series is back on our Sunday night screens, rather than go down this more hardcore route.

The DVD (UK - Region 0):
A decent 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen picture and 2.0 stereo sound are your technical basics and, unlike official BBC releases, there are no subtitles.

Extras are four behind-the-scenes/making of featurettes (one for each location), the top 5 car destructions from previous releases, picture gallery and a digital copy.

A Blu-Ray is also available which contains Blu-Ray and DVD discs as well as the Digital Copy and also adds some Picture-in-Picture info for cars and circuits, POV Lap Circuits plus a 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix (why the DVD couldn't therefore have Dolby 5.1 I’m not sure...)... so it seems quite an effort has been made to add extra value if you do decide to spend a few more pennies.

One last piece of advice, if you are tempted by this release (and don’t get me wrong, I like fast cars and I like Clarkson so I certainly enjoyed it); for goodness sake wait until after Christmas to pick it up. Since it’s marketed as a Christmas stocking filler item I pretty much guarantee you’ll be able to pick it up for about 75% off sometime within the first month or two of the year…

The Keeper

Just so you don't think I'm going to only review "blockbuster movies" or "well regarded gems" I'm going to start my first film review with this Stevel Seagal straight to DVD choice...

The Keeper is a reasonably recent (2009) Steven Seagal effort which has some good points... and some not so good points.

Starting with the positive, and with the main concern of many Seagal fans about his more recent efforts, he does at least do pretty much all his own fighting and isn't dubbed/body doubled all over the place like in some of his movies. He may still be heavy on the pounds but his fighting skills are not so diminished as some like to make out. Also on the plus side you can add in a few decent gunfights so I guess some of those fans will be happy with The Keeper as that's all they're loookign for... but to me it was far from sufficient with the rest of the film being such a mess. 

This film comes in two parts; in the first part he gets betrayed, shot, left for dead and  then goes on to do the big "recovery from his injuries/regaining his fighting skill' scenes, all of which will sound very familiar to long term fans from his early film "Hard to Kill" made when his star was rising back in 1998.

As this recovery completes, the second part of the film begins and, after a phone call he heads down to Texas to help out an old friend by bodyguarding his daughter after a failed kidnap attempt. From this point on there is not a single reference back, or need for, the set up of the first part of the film except he is on painkillers which it seems he can't give up.

BTW it should be noted that the description of the plot on the UK DVD cover for this second part of the film seems to be (I'd guess) from an early draft which has it set in Romania (not Texas) and with a different 'bad guy', a different job for the daughter's boyfriend, a different family name for the father - in fact pretty much only the daughter's name (Nikita) remains from this old plot! As an aside, talking of names, Seagal's character's surname name changes halfway through the movie in a huge continuity gaffe... and I wish they hadn't named the girl's boyfriend Mason as that was Seagal's character in "Hard to Kill" as mentioned above.

The rest is essentially straightforward bodyguard duty, fight, shoot, casually give up pills from first part of film in 'meaningful "I'm back" gesture', have daughter develop totally inappropriate and unbelievable crush on Seagal, final confrontation buildup, shootout, big final fight (with a henchman that just hasn't made enough impact previously to make it meaningful enough for a finalé, even if the action was pretty good), recover daughter from bad guys evil clutches, happy ending... with the only 'twist' being that there isn't even any attempt made at a twist and very little acting skill on display.

In fact it's so straightforward and lightweight that one might hypothesise they realised it would under run by a good 15 minutes so just attached a re-hash of the "Hard to Kill" opening to pad out the length of the film to 90 odd minutes...

So overall, if all you want is Steve doing his own stunts, a few decent shootouts and some violent hand-to-hand encounters then feel free to pick up The Keeper - it will be cheap, after all. However, if you want a semi-decent, consistent plot and acting to hang those set pieces on then look elsewhere because there are some of his recent releases in which, even if they're not as good as those made in his early hey-day when it looked very much like he could be the next 'big action star', he manages to combine all these elements to a much better degree than here.

The DVD (UK - Region 2):
The picture is 1.85:1 anamorphic; acceptable but far from anything special (it is available on Blu-Ray though I can't comment on any improvement) and the sound is a 5.1 Dolby effort, though I didn't have a 5.1 system to test the disc on so can't comment on the use of the surround. There are no subtitles (but luckily Seagal doesn't do much of his infamous mumbling in this one!)
If subtitles are a deal-breaker for you (and you have  Multi-Region machine) they are apparetly present on the Region 1 US release.

The only extra is a trailer for the movie itself.

Still for a straight to DVD release which is available for about the price of a pint of larger in an hotel bar you can't really complain too much!

Callan: The Monochrome Years DVD set

The first thing that has to be stated about the Callan: The Monochrome Years (UK - Region 2) set is that it is a miracle that it is available at all. Network (the DVD publisher) worked for literally years behind the scenes overcoming rights issues that were holding up the potential release and many fans believed it just wasn't possible (especially for a relatively niché market item like black and white, 1960s Callan) to get past the red tape... the number of different studio logos on the rear cover gives some idea of the various parties and countries involved.
It was certainly a red letter day for fans when the announcement came that it was finally on the way!

Right; details; the set comprises all of the remaining, un-wiped black and white episodes from seasons 1 and 2 of Callan. That means, over the 4 discs, 2 of the original 6 from Season 1 and 9 of the original 15 from season 2, one of which (The Worst Soldier I Ever Saw - see earlier Blog review) ) has been edited together from unedited recording block footage after the original was destroyed.
All episodes are presented in their original 4:3 aspect ratio (as you'd expect from a purveyour of classic era TV like Network; fans of such TV would be up in arms if it was re-configured to widescreen) though picture quality is, as you may guess, very variable and sometimes quite poor (Death of a Hunter for one example). Sound is simply the original mono (but this is much preferable to a totally anachronistic and inappropriate surround sound up-mix) and sadly, like the vast majority of Network's output, there are no subtitles. I know this is very disappointing to some but I have it on good authority subtitles are nowhere near as cheap as the average viewer would imagine and adding them to niché market releases (even relatively popular nichés like Callan) often just isn't financially viable... still, it's a pity.

Extras are limited to the original Armchair Thriller pilot for the series called "A Magnum for Schneider" and many fans were disappointed that, given "The Worst Soldier I Ever Saw" was edited down from an unedited recoding block, the parts edited out were not included as an extra (or even the unedited block in its entirety). However, for whatever reason, this footage is not included.

However, despite the shortcomings of the set in certain areas, the episodes themselves are some of the best television ever created, consistently well plotted and acted, and even today they stand up as great pieces of thrilling drama... and if it wasn't for Network's behind the scenes efforts we wouldn't be able to see them at all.
Though the original RRP is £30 for the 11 episodes + pilot (not exorbitant but not cheap), reflecting some of the difficulties involved it its road to the market, it can now be picked up for practically a third of that figure and I would advise, in fact I urge, any fan of the spy/thriller genre to do, so except for one thing...
...later in 2011 there is a single package release of this set, the Colour Years set which follows it plus the feature length reunion episode "Wet Job" and that will include a new documentary. It will also include a book by TV historian Andrew Pixley and judging by Andrew's previous work on classic TV (such as on The Avengers, Doctor Who and The Prisoner) and his high standing in the eyes of fans of classic TV, the book will be well worth having. Both of these extras will be unique to this set... which hasn't made Network too popular with those who have bought the separate items but, given the work they've put in, I suppose you can't blame them for trying to make fans like me double-dip just to get them!

Whichever set you choose to buy though, the advice above still stands... if this is anything like the genre you like don't even think about wondering whether you will get past the material being black and white, not in the best condition and with no modern surround sound... you will, and you'll be happy you did.

Callan: Season 2, Episodes 14-15 (complete)

Episode 14 Nice People Die At Home - In order to get to an old enemy who failed to kill him once before and got the girl he was with instead, Callan impersonates a Russian agent taking over from a long established father and daughter team who run a pet shop and act as 'spy postbox'. Clever use of all the 'deaddrops' and 'cutouts' that agents use gives a good atmosphere as the cat and mouse game continues throughout the episode between Callan, the father/daughter couple and his target, the Belukov (frustrated by his new desk job and all too capable of potentially turning the tables on Callan - marvellously played by Frederick Jaeger). Callan's feelings about the mission are seen subtly change throughout the episode and there are interesting surprises on both sides of the East/West rivalry in the finalé. A good character episode for Callan and, in fact, a good episode all round.

... and any episode which starts off with a girl polishing a tortoise can't go wrong really :)

Episode 15 Death of a Hunter - But which hunter is going to die; the eponymous Hunter, the code name for Callan's head of department, or could it be one of his two 'human hunters' Callan or Myers... or their enemies. A complex and twisted start in search of a departmental leak sees Callan arrested but it's soon revealed all is not what it seems. The episode keeps up the tension of wondering who you can trust, with potential twists at any time as Callan suffers a drug-induced interrogation, and in the end delivers a great, if by this time maybe slightly predictable, payoff. An excellent rounding off of the series with a smart, implied cliff-hanger almost as an aside.

Callan: Season 2, Episodes 9 and 13

Callan (played by Edward Woodward) - far from the traditional suave "James Bond" secret agent is a reluctant employee of the government's dirty tricks Department, assigned to sort out 'problems'... by sanctioned murder if necessary.

Note that many early episodes have been wiped and are lost forever so I'm not skipping any, just watching those ones that still exist.

Episode 2.9 Death of a Friend - A French counter intelligence officer (and old friend of Callan's) dies on UK soil, but what was he up to and who is responsible? Intricately plotted with each clever twist and turn revealed as the assignment progresses this is a standout episode even within the normal high standard of the show. Edward Woodward is excellent as always, Myers (Anthony Valentine) as his co-worker revels in being unpleasant, Lonely (Callan’s petty thief sidekick) is played to perfection by Russell Hunter as he tries to carry out Callan’s wishes and the plot simply holds the whole thing together with real style. Given its time (1969) it is refreshing to see the gay issue acknowledged (and simply accepted by the straightforward acting Callan for one) and also the fact that some of the 'wrapping up' details are simply left for the viewer to accept or work out rather than them all being spoon-fed to the audience which shows what an intelligent show this is, as well as being 'realistically unpleasant' and thrilling. Superb.

Episode 2.13 The Worst Soldier I Ever Saw - The officer who got Callan thrown out of the army has no idea when he takes him on as his new batman that Callan has orders to ensure he doesn't take up a position in charge of a Middle East army. Re-edited from an unedited recording block (which was the only copy that survived) this episode had not been seen for some 40 years until this DVD release.
This is a more straightforward episode as Callan searches for a way to stop the officer 'defecting' without resorting to the final sanction of murder. However, though the mission and episode is more straightforward there are still complex elements only this time to do with the characters more than plot as the bullish officer, who sees himself as an honourable man finds himself at odds with his 'volunteer social worker' daughter (Tessa Wyatt) and also being manipulated into using underhand methods himself by his new employers... and though Callan stays cool and professional how much of a grudge is he holding inside? Great character piece and well portrayed by all resulting in a good, if not great, episode.

Upcoming Reviews...

Instead of watching the series all in one go I have been rationing my Callan: The Monochrome Years set to an occasional episode once in a while so I can savour them. However, tonight I am going to pick up with season 2 where I left off and keep on to the end. Expect to see the reviews over the next few days as I resume my watching with the episode Death of a Friend...

... assuming I didn't forget the box set this morning as I did my toothbrush and my work PC password!

Doctor Who: The Specials - DVD Extras

Not all of the extras on the set but I have now watched these three...

Doctor Who at Comic-Con 2009
Comic-Con, held annually in San Diego, is a huge convention attended by about 125,000 people over four days, originally showcasing comics, science-fiction/fantasy and film & television, now expanded to take in horror, animé, video games and more. This featurette is a video journal of the highlights of Doctor Who's visit in 2009 with Russell T Davies, David Tennant and Julie Gardener as representatives.

As a video journal style piece don't expect super production values, but it's competently assembled and an interesting, if limited, look at the biggest convention of its type in the world. The highlight is the, err, highlights of the 'Doctor Who Panel' where they all answer questions from a 4000 strong audience of fans (yes, they sorted out who'd be asking the questions beforehand!) which goes to show David, Russell et al all know how to work a crowd and, in return, the crowd are appreciative and enthusiastic. I found myself wishing we could have seen the whole panel and maybe some more background footage but, still, a enjoyable little watch.

17 minutes

Deleted Scenes
One of my favourite extras (and a favourite of a lot of people I know who aren't the uber-DVD fans that I am) these are enhanced here by Russell T Davies introducing each one with a short explanation of why it was cut from the final transmission. So long as the reason isn't "cut for time" (and hardly any of these are, despite what Russell says in his opening overview) I find this sort of back information about cut sub-plots and deliberate attempts to stop an early reveal of a plot point interesting so I appreciate the way these have been done all the more.

21 minutes

Doctor Who Prom 2008
The Doctor Who prom showcased the music of Doctor Who, as composed by Murray Gold, as well as other non-Doctor Who pieces. This, however, is the cut down version of the Prom, as transmitted in early 2009 on UK TV which removes the non-Doctor Who/Murray Gold portions.

Presented by Freema Agyaman (Martha) the show is obviously a treat for old and young alike who were there and does a great job of showing off Murray's music as well as entertaining the crowds with live action monsters and charcters and a specially recorded 'mini-episode' featuring David Tennant which was cleverly integrated into the narrative of the prom as a whole. Whether you are one of those watchers who think the music on the show is too intrusive and constant, or (like me) tend not to even notice except knowing it does its job of subconciously introducing moods and characters through specific themes, I think you can still enjoy it in this setting...

... and I confess that (even though I'm not really one for going "ahhhh" in response to "the smiles on little kiddies faces") the reaction of the youngsters (and some of their parents) as they sit or stand with looks of wonderment, excitement and nervousness on their faces, sometimes clinging onto a parent or hiding behind a chair (no sofas) or pointing excitedly as Cybermen, Sontarans, Ood, Judoon and Daleks with their leader Davros invade the Royal Albert Hall to the accompaniment of a crashing musical score brings a lump to my throat and occasionally a small tear to my eye...

Approx 1 hour

Doctor Who: The Specials - "The End of Time"

And so we come to the final story with David Tennant as the Doctor and, more tellingly, Russell T Davies' last hurrah as showrunner and lead writer... and you know that means it's going to be BIG because, right or wrong, Russell doesn't seem to believe that season finalés can be anything else, which means also that he has to top the last one (as he has each year) and in that one the threat was the destruction of all the Universes... oh boy...

So the good bits; the characters - the character pieces are great, especially any scene with Bernard Cribbins in which he practically steals every time. Russell is, and always has been, great with characters and their interactions and for that (as well as beening pivotal in brining back the show) he certainly deserves praise... I even like the 'long goodbye' scenes from the Doctor to past companions before the inevitable regeneration. The Master is suitably bonkers, the comedy 'spiky' aliens are suitably comedic without taking away from the seriousness of the impending, foretold 'death' of the Doctor, Timothy Dalton is great as an all powerful and raving Rassilon, Lord President of the Time Lords and Tennant manages to balance the fear and foreboding of his upcoming demise with his usual manic charm.
So too the overall spectacle; they really pulled the stops out for this one - Gallifrey, home of the Time Lords, is magnificent, a speeding spaceship shoots down incoming missiles (with a strong homage to the Millennium Falcon escaping from the Death Star), a whole Earth populated with copies of a single being -The Mill (who do Doctor Who's CGI) outdid themselves...

... but get beyond the spectacle and the characters and you need something to hold that all together and in going as all-out as he can Russell, as he has before, outstrips his ability to make it all coalesce and writes himself into too many corners (I have heard he didn't actually know how the Doctor would defeat the opposition until a very short time before the final scenes were shot... he only knew the details of the nice character pieces after the actual plot was wrapped up).
Bigger than the destruction of the Universes? Let's start with the end of the entire human population (incidentally solved by a very poor "click of the fingers" resolution) and, as per the title, the ending of time itself... hey, that must be better since it pretty much gets the plots of the last two seasons' finalés in one story! It's just too much...

Add to this some very unwise basic plot decisions... the Master brought back by magic potions (this is Doctor Who, not Harry Potter... there should always be some pseudo-science explanation) and gaining some sort of Marvel Superhero abilities in the process, too much reliance on prophecies is also a bit too 'magical' for my tastes and when the science of the medical machine does turn up nobody thought when they made it that it was an obvious superweapon? There are clever turns (the final reveal on "Knocking Four Times" to herald the Doctor's death for one) but just too many times, if you're not totally just riding along with the frenetic pace of the story, you're left to wonder "Why did...?" "What did...?", "How did...?" and never get the answers you need and deserve.

Overall then despite some individually moving and powerful scenes and fine acting the whole package is a great disappointment, especially following on from the excellent "Waters of Mars"... if only they'd changed the end of that episode to somehow make it David Tennant's last appearance (even if they'd added, incongruously, his visits to past companions from this one) he would have gone out on the high of a great story, just not one with spectacular bangs... but that just wouldn't have been Russell's style.

Doctor Who: The Specials - "The Waters of Mars"

I did watch the first two Specials from the Doctor Who 'gap year' before watching this one, but that was before I started reviewing for this blog so we start here with David Tennant's penultimate story: The Waters of Mars.

The first human manned base on Mars comes under threat as crew members start to become 'infected' turning them into humanoid creatures with bodies that gush water... and the Doctor seems unwilling or unable to help as this is a pivotal point in time and the future must be allowed to run its course...

Despite some very occasional fun moments (the high speed robot) and Tennant’s occasional (though suitably subdued) quips, the themes of body horror, possession and a seemingly unstoppable enemy makes this one of the darkest Doctor Who episodes ever; add in that the outcome is apparently ordained and and the darkness becomes even gloomier. Even when the Doctor decides he can and will break the "rules of time" to change the final result, and however much you will him to succeed, you always get the feeling time time and fate will somehow ensure he will at most only partly accomplish in this sincere desire.

Water has never been so scary and the Doctor has rarely been so helpless than in this fantastic episode which balances a tremendous will to succeed, a seemingly inevitable, predetermined result and fantastic finalé showing that sometimes to win you must fail... and if the Doctor doesn't respect this then he will have to be shown...

Looney Tunes: The Best of Daffy & Porky - "Rabbit Fire"

After completing Miami Vice: Season 4 I had a few minutes before turning in for the evening and remembered I'd finally tracked down which set the classic Bugs Bunny short "Rabbit Fire" short was on... the Daffy & Porky one of course...

Episode 13 Rabbit Fire - Which one is this? It's this one...

Daffy: "Wabbit season!"

Bugs: "Duck season!"

Daffy: "Wabbit season!"

Bugs: "Duck season!!"

Daffy: "Wabbit season!!"

Bugs: "Wabbit season!"

Daffy: "Duck season!!!"

Bugs: "Wabbit season!!!"

Daffy: "I say it's duck season, and I say, fire!"

A true classic from 1951 and the first time Bugs meets Daffy, this short has been analysed by academics and copied by other TV shows and films (such as "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"). Even amongst the many other hilarious Chuck Jones cartoons this one stands out for me as one of the very, very best and simply put it's 7 minutes of genius. If you don't laugh at this one I think you must already be dead!

Miami Vice: Season 4 DVD set

Whilst the episodes are often thrilling, though apparently the show was starting to lose a little of it's popularity at this point, the Miami Vice: Season 4 DVD set (UK - Regions 2, 4 & 5) is not really up to the standard fans would hope for.

On the plus side all the music is intact, which is very rare for a show that used a lot of contemporary music because often the cost of clearing that music for a DVD release just makes it unviable economically. This results in either no release at all or a replacement of some tracks with 'stock library music' which, I'm sure any fan of Miami Vice would agree, just wouldn't work for this series being as the music was so integral. The other good thing is that they've gone to the trouble and expense of creating a 5.1 Dolby sound mix for the series, as well as leaving on the 2.0 Dolby stereo mix for 'purists'.

However, that's where the good news ends; obviously (OK, I'm assuming) this chewed up the budget for the release and the cost of doing more, given the expected sales, just wasn't possible. Sadly this means the picture quality is not so good with the blacks turning into shades of murky grey (probably exacerbated by the overlit screen of the laptop on which I watched them!) and the picture itself very soft. At least it's presented in its original 4:3 aspect ratio and there doesn't seem to be much dirt/sparkle on the picture, but when you compare it to 80s TV material which has undergone a proper clean-up and film regrading (step forward the classic Doctor Who releases made to look incredible by the Restoration Team) it really grates that it could be so much better, espescially given the effort they went into when it was originally made. Still, it's far from being alone in that respect.

Extras? You want extras? You're going to be disappointed. Season 1 got five nice little featurettes, which I personally found quite interesting (a small example; did you know they actually checked the colours of the background walls and buildings before they chose Don Johnson's wardrobe for the episode so he would stand out but never clash?) but all the season sets after that, including this one, have nothing... shame, but I can understand why.

Overall they did the best they could and put the money where they thought it would be most important (and they pretty much got it right, I think, especially making sure of the music rights clearances) but if you buy this set you really are buying it for the episodes themselves ... luckily they are pretty damn good.

Miami Vice: Season 4, Episodes 20-22 (complete)

Episode 4.20 A Bullet For Crockett - When a season is running out of money what does it do? Decide it's time for that old "flashbacks to previous episodes 'clip show'". Crockett shot and in hospital is the excuse and only Switek (with help from light relief character Izzy) actually tries to find the shooter whist rest mope around his bedside... they even throw in some stock footage for the operation itself! Glenn Frey's fantastic "Smuggler's Blues" track (which an episode of the same name in season 1 was inspired by and actually had Glen as a guest star) played in full over a flashback montage is the only plus point of this poor effort.

Episode 4.21 Deliver Us From Evil - Hackman, a bad guy from Crockett's past Crockett has a good reason to hate (see the excellent Season 3 episode "Forgive Us Our Debts") returns resulting in personal deaths on all sides and Crockett on the path of revenge. A great final scene in which I had, in the past, misinterpretted the final camera shot as a TV exec insisting on a 'cop out' ending (which softened the impact somewhat) but I now realise it wasn't... It may be just me not realising all these years (!) but if not, without spoilers, then if when you watch it it strikes you as a bit of a 'cop out' ending instead maybe you should believe what Crockett says in that scene and think that there may have been a few seconds we don't see between the penultimate and final camera shots...

Episode 4.22 Mirror Image - Crockett loses his memory in an explosion and 'becomes' his undercover drug-dealer alter ego, Burnett, whilst his colleagues believe him dead. There are obvious parallels with the Star Trek "Mirror Mirror" universe (not least the title!) in the idea behind this excellent episode, which showcases Don Johnson as he plays the part of a ruthless bad guy wonderfully and indicates what his character could have become if he really had decided to work on the wrong side of the law. Due to it's odd nature this is certainly not an obvious season closer which actually makes it the brave and thrilling finalé turns out to be..

Miami Vice: Season 4, Episodes 16-19

Episode 4.16 Honor Among Thieves? - A paedophile with a china doll fixation is killing young girls with high grade cocaine and even has the bad guys after him (partly 'morally' and partly because of the affect he's having on their trade). This one is dark and tense, a really good episode with nice twists and turns as it's revealled how high up the perpetrator is connected and with who... though it is let down by a bit of a silly ending. There's a good use of Aerosmith's "Rag Doll" on the soundtrack as a bonus.

Episode 4.17 Hell Hath No Fury - An apparently reformed rapist is released early and a media circus follows his attempts to publically apologise to his victim as she gets more and more scared.Good episode all round (though it's a bit unfair to imply all gun range users wear cammo gear and are wannabe mercenaries) as everyone tries to "make things right" but each one slips into murkier and darker territory as they do so...a clever little twist too.

Episode 4.18 Badge of Dishonor - Good high octane "who's dirty" episode as possible cops start ripping off dealers mildly reminiscent of 'The Shield' but without any of that show's characters' redeeming attitudes. Nicely handled "who can you trust" theme and some decent characters... the standout reggae track "Eyes of a Stranger" on the soundtrack works well too.

Episode 4.19 Blood & Roses - The episode does come over as little sexist as Crockett worries if fellow cop Gina can handle the undercover assignment with big bad dealer (she has been doing this job for some time!) which to an extent is demonstrated to be a realisitic worry as she lets it go "too far". It is at least it is shown that the major problems/failures aren't her fault despite this, though the final shootout does ask an interesting question, maybe for the viewer to answer, about her choices throughout and the final result. Solid above average episode overall.

 

Miami Vice: Season 4, Episodes 12-15

Episode 4.12 The Cows of October - Dwarf cows, cons and double crosses. When semi-regular comedy character Izzy turns up you know it's likely to be a Miami Vice "fun" episode - and when he turns out not even to be isn't the silliest acting character most of the time...! Actually quite good despite strangeness and very odd name.


Episode 4.13 Vote of Confidence - Dodgy politicians and their dodgy campaigns. Realistically unsatisfying result (in Miami Vice they don't 'win' every week which is one of the things that makes the show pretty ground-breaking) but well played out.

Episode 4.14 Baseballs of Death - Chilean right-wing police scumbag, US police and political corruption/secret backing and an illegal cluster bomb (the titular Baseballs of Death) arms deal; what Miami Vice does best!

Episode 4.15 Indian Wars - Castillo (the boss) goes undercover, there's a good plot and nice twist... though the Native American "super commandos" really didn't convince as the pros they were supposed to be... pretty good nonetheless 

Miami Vice: Season 4, Episodes 9-11

Episode 4.9 The Rising Sun of Death - Yakuza, dirty cops, a swordfight and gunplay... great elements but sadly less than the sum of its parts ending up average... the guy who play the Lo Pan character in Big Trouble in Little China (James Hong) does make a creepy villain though.


Episode 4.10 Love at First Sight - Dating agency related murders and a bit of stress between Crockett the new Mrs; the tension is built up OK but very obvious twist lets it down.

Episode 4.11 A Rock and a Hard Place - Crockett's cover messes up his new wife's singing career and it looks like bad news from her dodgy agents. Add guns and you have this rather good episode... and the Don Henley track "Dirty Laundry" on the soundtrack is awesome! 

Miami Vice: Season 4, Episodes 6-8

I took a long break from watching this season, which is odd as when I start watching a TV box set I usually see it through to the finish with minimal interruptions - you'll find out what does tend to interrupt whatever series I'm watching as time goes by on theis blog. This means i'm starting at Episode 6:

Episode 4.6 God's Work - Decent pro-gay, anti 'AIDS victim haters' episode with a few twists but nothing stand-out except Crockett never even firing a gun... he had a nice little speedboat chase though.

Episode 4.7 Missing Hours - Weird alien abduction, MiB, secret government project episode with James Brown in, of all people. Failed to hang together for me as it tries to explain things and be 'unexplained' at the same time... leave that sort of thing to X-Files, guys.

Episode 4.8 Like a Hurricane - Good episode which sets up the Crockett marries singer (Sheena Easton!) story arc (very very quickly: they bitch a lot, the realise they like each other, they fall in love and are married all in this episode). They even manage to fit in Crockett getting to blast away with his S&W (the old Colt Delta Elite retired before this season) and have a quick powerboat to powerboat shoot-out.

Sadly Sheena does have the feel of the 'respected old partner with a few days to retirement' in the first half hour of a cop movie though and it really feels like it'll end in tears...

Welcome to Reviews from the Volt

First post for the Blog; this will be a collection of reviews of whatever I'm watching on DVD. I'm not pinning myself down on specifics of style but my DVD collection is, well, let's just say it's extensive and I usually have 'watching evenings' 3-4 nights a week plus occasional weekend viewings depending on how much real life I have to catch up with.

Science fiction and fantasy are favourite genres, as are various crime genres... and they can be from practically any time in the last 40+ years as I love 'classic TV' too.

I'll be starting us off with a few reviews from the last couple of weeks where I've recently returned to Season 4 of Miami Vice... I hope you enjoy...