CHARMED SEASON 6 DVD TALK REVIEW

The Sixth Season

Charmed is a television series about the three Halliwell sisters, who in their mid-twenties discovered they are witches with magical powers. As an added bonus, they find out that they are good witches and they are supposed to use their powers only for noble altruistic acts. And in no case should they use it for personal gain. In the first season, we learn that they are a staple against evil, and highly covenanted by dark forces. Their powers hold great potential for evil warlocks and demons. The sisters for the first three season were made up of Prue (Shannen Doherty), the older sister with the ability to move physical matter with her mind, Piper (Holly Marie Combs), the middle child with the ability to freeze time within a confined space, and finally the youngest sister Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), who has the power of second sight--she can see past, present, future by coming into contact with an object or a person. And in season four, a new cast member Rose McGowan as Paige replaced Doherty. For more details about this series and its characters, please refer to my reviews of season one, season two, season three, season four, and season five

In the close of season four, a new character named Chris from the future came to aid the Charmed Ones in their fight evil. Specifically, he came to help prevent Piper and Leo's son Wyatt from turning evil. How he was introduced made him an intriguing character, as you were never quite sure if you could trust or if you were even supposed to like him. In season five, the story continues with Chris serving as the girls' whitelighter and Leo an Elder.

The initial storyline dealing with Chris is trying to figure him out and what exactly he is doing. Because no matter what he does, he always seem to have some alternative plan he fails to reveal to the girls or Leo. His behavior puts Leo on an almost obsessive path to find out what Chris is hiding. It makes for an intriguing storyline that sadly halts mid-season when Chris's past and real plans for coming back in time are revealed. However, while the storyline about Chris's dark plan ends almost prematurely, it continues with another intriguing plot of evil. When the sisters find out what Chris is up too, it is apparent there are other forces at play that want baby Wyatt. Someone or something wants to turn Wyatt evil and it is up to the cast to prevent it from happening. The storyline is intriguing with conspiracies and good-guys-gone-bad. It runs until the end of the season.

Paige lost her job as a social worker in season four because of the commitments to being a fulltime witch. Unable to find suitable work, she signs on at a temp agency that turns out to be more than just a temp agency. She finds herself being put on jobs by a higher power. At these jobs are suffering innocents that she saves. One of the guys she helps is a warlock named Richard, who becomes a significant love interest and a guy Paige's sisters refuse to trust.

Piper deals with her new life--one without Leo. Leo became an elder at the expense of their relationship. Without Leo, Piper loses control in the beginning of the season and becomes a Valkyrie. The transition is somewhat similar to what happened to Phoebe when she lost Cole and turned into a mermaid in the beginning of season five. In addition, Piper and the gang are forced to handle Wyatt's super duper magic abilities. Little Wyatt conjures a dragon in one episode that later results in the Cleaners coming to take him away. The Cleaners are a neutral party who do whatever they must to keep magic a secret from mundane life on Earth. We also see Piper go on a demon hunting rampage to protect Wyatt from the unknown demon who supposedly turns him evil.

Phoebe acquires the power of empathy. She gains the ability to feel other people's emotions, which really helps her in sifting out dishonesty and providing advice to her readers. It becomes a pretty big deal when she starts acting out everyone's emotions around her, and she has to take a special potion to weaken the magnitude of her new power. Phoebe and her boss Jason continue their romantic relationship, which ends with Phoebe moving to Hong Kong with him. However, it ends with a sad note when Jason finds out Phoebe is a witch. Phoebe also loses her active powers late in the season (premonitions, levitation, empathy) after she is caught abusing her powers for personal gain.

Darryl continues to help the Charmed Ones out as he can. In one episode, Paige casts a spell that gives him super strength that he uses to save hostages being held at gunpoint in a bank. But the most interesting involvement with Darryl is the episode "Crimes And Witch-Demeanors". After the girls are caught abusing their magic, Darryl is implicated as a murderer and the sisters are put on trial. Darryl's life is the price. After almost losing his life, Darryl refuses to help the sisters in any way.

For general fun episodes, this season has a few. In "Power Of Three Blondes", former Playboy Centerfold Jenny McCarthy guest stars. Phoebe, Piper, and Paige are victims of identity theft. Three evil blonde sisters cast an identity spell to make the world believe they are the Charmed Ones. What is fun about the episode is the mood. The guest starring characters are over-the-top and make a silly compliment to the good sisters. "Witchstock" is another fun episode. The story itself is not the strongest, but the situation it puts the cast in is quite entertaining. Grams and Leo are love-going hippies. Other episodes include "I Dream of Phoebe", Charmed's take on I Dream of Jeannie, "Sword And The City", the sisters' world crosses with King Arthur's, "The Legend Of Sleepy Halliwell", Sleepy Hollow meets Harry Potter, and "Witch Wars", a demon inspired reality television series, where the participants hunt witches.

Overall, season five was an enjoyable season. The season featured several exciting storylines with lots of drama, intrigue, action, and a dab of mystery/suspense. I loved the story arcs dealing with the girls, Leo, and Chris. Getting to know Chris more as a character was quite fun, as well as the relationship the developed between him and the rest of the cast. In addition, the season story arc about a demon trying to turn baby Wyatt evil made for a good watch. In the end, season five is an exciting addition to the series and worth picking up.

Episode Guide

1. Valhelley Of The Dolls, Parts 1 & 2: Paige tries to cure Piper's memory loss, but her spell goes amiss and Paige suffers total amnesia. Needing Leo's help, Phoebe and Paige discover that he is being held captive by warrior-maidens on the Island of Valhalla.
2. Forget Me... Not: When a child inadvertently brings a dragon to life, the Cleaners spring into action to protect the magic from being exposed. The Charmed Ones take on the Cleaners in order to protect the child. 3. Power Of Three Blondes: When The Charmed Ones' identities are magically stolen by three evil sisters, they must out smart the sinister trio to get their lives back.
4. Love's A Witch: Paige becomes immersed in an ongoing feud between two magical families, the Montanas and the Callaways, and attempts to bring about a truce.
5. My Three Witches: The Charmed Ones learn a valuable lesson in magical priorities when a Whitelighter and a demon cast them into an alternate reality.
6. Soul Survivor: Paige discovers that her new boss has sold his soul to the demon Zahn. Despite her sister's pleas, Paige makes the ultimate sacrifice to save her boss.
7. Sword And The City: A bevy of magical beings arrive at the manor after The Charmed Ones agree to help the Lady of the Lake protect Excalibur, the legendary Sword in the Stone.
8. Little Monsters: The Charmed Ones believe that they can raise a half-demon infant to not be evil when they become foster parents after vanquishing the demon's parent.
9. Chris-Crossed: When a witch from an elite assassin family arrives to take Chris back to the future, The Charmed Ones must pull together to save him.
10. Witchstock: Paige is transported back in time via a pair of Gram's magical go-go boots. Piper and Phoebe must prevent Paige from changing the past and disrupting the lineage of The Charmed Ones.
11. Prince Charmed: Piper's overprotective tendency toward her son causes her to sear off men for the rest of her life. Paige and Phoebe conjure up a Mr. Right to remind Piper of the importance of love.
12. Used Karma: Dangerous supernatural events results when Phoebe is the accidental recipient of the spirit of Mata Hari, a stripper and double agent during World War I.

13. The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell: A Magic School mentor calls upon The Charmed Ones to find out who cast the spell of darkness upon the school and conjured up the Headless Horseman - who's been busy beheading the teachers!
14. I Dream Of Phoebe: Magical misfortune abounds and wishes go awry when Phoebe is tricked into becoming a genie after she frees that genie from a bottle.
15. The Courtship of Wyatt's Father: Phoebe and Paige believe that Leo and Paige are dead after they are accidentally sent to the Ghostly plane by a Darklighter.
16. Hyde School Reunion: Phoebe's wild teenage personality takes over when she inadvertently casts a spell on herself before her high school reunion. Her delinquent former classmates then use her magic for wrongdoing.
17. Spin City: Piper is kidnapped and cocooned by a Spider Demon, a creature who emerges every hundred years to feed of magical beings. Chris mutates into a spider after becoming infected with the Demon's venom.
18. Crimes And Witch-Demeanors: The Charmed Ones are put on trial for recklessly abusing their powers after Phoebe and Paige are caught on tape using their powers.
19. A Wrong Day's Journey Into Right: Paige unknowingly conjures up Mr. Right's evil twin, Mr. Wrong, who uses his magical pheromones to trick her into believing that she must kill her sisters to realize her secret desire.
20. Witch Wars: The Charmed Ones' powers are in jeopardy when they are tricked into taking part in a new demonic reality television show, where demon contestants compete to hunt down the sisters. The winning demon acquires their powers.
21. It's A Bad, Bad, Bad World, Parts 1 & 2: After Chris and Leo fall through a portal that transports them into an evil mirrored world, Phoebe and Paige must travel to the parallel universe to rescue them while battling their evil counterparts.

The DVD

Video:
This DVD release is given in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The picture quality is viewable. Most viewers will not be troubled with the quality, but some may notice that it has its faults. The image has a noticeable grain that is really noticeable during dark scenes. There are also a few occurrences of compression artifacts in the picture.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is in English and French 2.0 Dolby digital stereo. The audio in this release comes off fairly flat. However as with most TV on DVD releases it's not necessarily bad, as the majority of the audio is spoken dialogue. The sound quality is good, providing an audible and clean audio track. Music comes off fairly rich and sound effects tend to take advantage of the right and left channels. This release comes equipped with closed captioning.

Extras:
There are no extras included with this DVD release.

Final Thoughts:
What is appealing about a show like Charmed is that it is fun. The characters are all likable and the storylines offer intriguing tales set in a fantasy world in midst of a constant battle between good and evil. What season six did particularly well was handling individual character development and furthering the character's relationships, as well as producing several engaging story arcs filled with deception and mystery. It is a captivating season and one that fans should appreciate.

THE DEAD ZONE SEASON 4 DVD TALK REVIEW

Opening Thoughts: While I've just recently become a fan of The Dead Zone (thanks to the first three seasons being availible on DVD), it's easy for me to say that The Dead Zone is one of the most underrated shows currently on TV. I'm very interested to see what the producers had in store for Season 4 after everything that happened in the previous season. As I'm writing this review, Season 5 of The Dead Zone is currently in the middle of its run on USA Network. That means the show must have done well during Season 4, right?

Movie: Season 3 of The Dead Zone left a lot of unanswered questions for Johnny Smith and company. Would Johnny have brain surgery, could he still be a suspect in Rebecca's murder, what role would Johnny Smith from the future play, who really killed Rachel Caldwell, what would happen to Reverend Purdy, would Rebecca kill Greg Stillson and will Johnny be able to avert the apocalypse. Phew... You'd think that would be a tall order to tackle in a mere 11 episodes. Surprisingly The Dead Zone manages to do just that in pretty much one episode.

The first episode (and most pivotal of the season), "Broken Circle" is essentially part 2 of Season 3's final episode, "The Tipping Point". Congressman Greg Stillson and Johnny's visions of the Apocalypse are at the center of the episode, but there's a lot more than just that. There's also the vision of Rebecca (Johnny's semi love interest) killing Greg Stillson, because she thinks he killed her sister. To complicate things even further, Johnny is once again a fugitive for being a suspect in the killing of Rachel Caldwell. By the end of this episode, which effectively sets up the rest of the season, many changes transpire. We find out who really killed Rachel, Johnny is no longer wanted by the law, Rebecca leaves possibly for good, Purdy is back more powerful than ever and Johnny throws away his cane thus severing all ties to his future self.

After the ramifications of the first episode, you can definitely see that the producers wanted to take the show in a slightly different direction. This apparently even included changing the theme song used from seasons 1-3. During the remaining 10 episodes of Season 4, 8 are completely stand alone, with little or any ties to pervious storylines. This was perhaps brought on by USA Network executives to make the show more accessible to new viewers. Unfortunately, this is a fairly common tactic used in television (see Alias Season 2 or Angel Season 5). While I initially found this somewhat discouraging, most of those 8 episodes hold up very well. Notable episodes include "Double Vision", "Babble On" and "Heroes & Demons". "Double Vision" was especially interesting as it introduced a female psychic, who ended up getting close to Johnny. Much to my dismay, she doesn't stick around as I thought she's make a great addition to the show.

The episodes "Vanguard" and "Saved" both tie in with the ongoing Stillson/Apocalypse storyline. "Vanguard" features guest star Danny Masterson playing one of Johnny's former students, Alex Conners. Alex develops a scientific breakthrough in synthetics which garners the attention of Congressmen Stillson. Johnny eventually becomes aware that his students research will be used for WMDs and tries to help him change the outcome. In the season finale "Saved", Stillson's girlfriend Miranda disappears from her boat (or so he thinks) and asks Johnny for help. Surprisingly in a new vision, these events reverse the Apocalypse caused by Stillson and Johnny attempts to him the cold shoulder. But inevitably, Johnny's big heart complicate things and he ends up getting involved more than he'd like. Even more unfortunate is by the end of the episode, his actions lead to several unwanted results. Lastly I'd like to mention the "A Very Dead Zone Christmas" special, which despite being a little sappy was excellent. I've heard this episode catch a lot of flak from people and that's fine. It must be tough to live their lives like a Grinch.

Anthony Michael Hall continues to dazzle in his portrayal of Johnny Smith. Just like his character has gone through many changes, Anthony Michael Hall is constantly evolving his acting. Although not used as much this season, Chris Bruno and John L. Adams always bring great performances when on screen. The same goes for Nicole de Boer, who only appears in about half this seasons episodes. This is partly due to the nature of the individual episodes, which result in rarely having several main characters besides Johnny on screen together. We also can't forget the rock solid guest stars Sean Patrick Flanery and David Ogden Stiers. Both actors provide immeasurable amounts of validity to their roles and really help hold the series together. One of The Dead Zone biggest assets is its production values. Having only 11 episodes a season and shooting in Canada certainly helps get a lot of bang for their buck. Most notably the visual effects improve every year and never get to the point where they seem to be over utilized. The sets and locations also seem to always look impressive, most likely rivaling shows with much bigger budgets.

The Dead Zone still remains strong in its 4 Season because it falls back on its strengths. I'm eager to catch up with Season 5 to see how the show has progressed. The word from producer Shawn Piller is that the show will probably get a 6th and 7th Season. Now that's the kind of news I like to hear.

Below are summaries (from the DVD liner notes) of all 11 Season 4 episodes, plus the holiday special :

1. BROKEN CIRCLE - June 12, 2005 - Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) fights to stop Rebecca (Sarah Wynter) from killing Greg Stillson (Sean Patrick Flanery), whom she believes is responsible for her sister's murder.
2. THE COLLECTOR - June 19, 2005 - Johnny's (Anthony Michael Hall) visions of a young girl's abduction lead him on a life-and-death race to find "the collector" (Brian Markinson), a disturbed man who kidnaps and indoctrinates young women.
3. DOUBLE VISION - June 26, 2005 - Johnny's (Anthony Michael Hall) ability to alter fate is put to the test when he meets a young woman (Jennifer Finnigan) with psychic abilities of her own.
4. STILL LIFE - July 10, 2005 - Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) becomes embroiled in a murder mystery as he searches for the missing daughter of a famous artist.
5. GRAINS OF SAND - July 30, 2005 - Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) faces a difficult decision after saving an infant from a dangerous ring of human traffickers.
6. VANGUARD - August 7, 2005 - When Johnny touches a former science student and sees Armageddon, he sets out to find how this student - now a gifted researcher for a biomedical company - could be working on something that's connected to a weapon. The truth puts Johnny and his prized prot�g� in the crossfire between Greg Stillson and destiny.
7. HEROES & DEMONS - June 17, 2005 - An autistic boy seeks Johnny's (Anthony Michael Hall) help to save his father (David Neale), a tough cop awaiting execution for the murder of federal DEA agent.
8. COMING HOME - August 21, 2005 - Residents at a Cleaves Mills retirement community are dying at an unusual rate, and the old folks there speak in whispered tones about a Shadow Man that creeps the halls in the dead of night. It's a macabre tale that ultimately threatens to swallow Sarah's beloved father, Bruce, and possibly Johnny himself. Meanwhile, JJ manages to put aside his fears and preconceptions about the elderly and connect with his cantankerous old great grandfather by helping to unlock the little boy inside the old man.
9. THE LAST GOODBYE - July 24, 2005 - Johnny goes on the road in search of a rock and roll legend - a man who has been dead for many years. His trail will lead him down a path where he becomes the rock star, and through his visions he will relive the last few days leading up to the rock star's mysterious disappearance.
10. BABBLE ON - August 14, 2005 - Johnny visits a noted local psychiatrist to seek treatment for his persistent nightmares. After his first session on the couch triggers a cryptic vision of an impending homicide, he is thrust into an investigation that will not only reveal the murderer's identity, but will ultimately uncover a family secret buried in the deepest, darkest regions of his subconscious.
11. SAVED - August 28, 2005 - In a bizarre turn of events, Stillson (Sean Patrick Flanery) begs Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) to help him investigate the disappearance of his girlfriend, Miranda (Laura Harris).
12. A VERY DEAD ZONE CHRISTMAS - When female psychic Alex Sinclair (Jennifer Finnigan) pays Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) a surprise Christmas visit, the two work together to solve the mystery of one very lost and confused Santa.

The DVD

Video: Shot in 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen using HD Digital 24P format, The Dead Zone Season 4 looks amazing on DVD. The digital-to-digital transfers are packed full of detail and the colors are vivid and accurate. Black levels look remarkably good with the exception of a few low lit scenes. While there are a few drawbacks when shooting with 24P HD digital cameras, the overall outcome is what speaks loudest. It's hard to believe that The Dead Zone could look any better except in High Definition.

Sound: The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack for each episode are simply on par with the best I've heard from a Television Show. All five channels are used extensively and even the LFE gets a workout frequently. The surround channels are used exceptionally well and the separation of the front and center channels are excellent. While there aren't any optional subtitles included, CC is available.

Extras: While not nearly as packed as some of the previous seasons of The Dead Zone, Season 4 still has a decent array of special features. First up are two audio commentary tracks on episodes "Broken Circle" and "Saved". Executive producers Llyod Segan, Shawn Piller and actor/producer Anthony Michael Hall contribute to both tracks as well as writer Michael Taylor for "Broken Circle". Both tracks are very informative and the commentators interact very well together to create a fun experience. Spread out over the three DVDs are 12 deleted scenes, most of which have optional commentary tracks by Shawn Piller. For the Episode "Broken Circle" there is also a optional "Introduction by Co-Executive Producer Shawn Piller". On the 2nd disc there is "Production Design of the Dead Zone" which runs 17 minutes in length. This informative featurette covers many of the logistical issues that the crew of The Dead Zone deal with making each episode. Last, but far from the least important extra is on the 3rd disc is a "Tribute to Michael Piller". This extra pays tribute to producer/writer Michael Piller who sadly passed away in November of 2005. Besides co-creating The Dead Zone, Piller also worked on several of the Star Trek series including co-creating one of my favorite TV shows, Deep Space Nine.

Final Words:

Despite all the changes in The Dead Zone universe, not much has actually changed in the show. While that's good and bad in some respects, the bottom line is that Season 4 of The Dead Zone delivers 12 quality episodes that look and sound amazing on DVD. Fans of the show will mostly likely want to pick this up, especially considering the low price point. If you're new to the The Dead Zone, I recommend at least picking up the first season on DVD. You'll get hooked just like I did.

BEVERLY HILLS 90210 SEASON 1 DVD TALK REVIEW

The First Season

Beverly Hills, 90210 first aired in 1990 and ran for ten seasons. It was a popular series that had a huge influence on pop culture in the 90s and made actors/actresses Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry, Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, David Austin Green, and Ian Ziering famous. The series is credited as a soap opera and it is filled to the brink with melodramatic content. However, in the show's first season, it is not nearly as "soapy" as the later seasons. The season one content focuses on the Walsh family getting accustomed to their new lives and friends in Beverly Hills, which include episodes dealing with (somewhat) common teenage issues: drinking, drugs, sex, racism, minority oppression, rape, cheating, and other serious topics.

Headlining the season one cast is Jason Priestley as Brandon Walsh and Shannen Doherty as Brenda Walsh. Brandon and Brenda are paternal twins, who with their parents Jim (James Eckhouse) and Cindy (Carol Potter), have recently relocated from Minneapolis to Beverly Hills. In Beverly Hills, the Walsh family endures culture shock as they find out what life is like for the rich and beautiful. Brandon is a good-natured kid who works hard in school, on the school paper, and at the Peach Pit (local diner) as a waiter. Brenda is of different sorts. While she is good-natured like her brother, academics and responsibility are far from her list of priorities. She comes to Beverly Hills completely taken in by the glamour and tries hard to fit in with everyone else. Their parents Jim and Cindy are loving parents, who want the best for their kids. Jim is usually busy with work, while Cindy is still adjusting to her new life and on one occasion, she becomes a sultry desperate housewife (see episode "Seventeen Year Itch").

Brandon and Brenda's new friends include Dylan McKay (Luke Perry), the bad boy surfer who befriends Brandon and becomes romantically involved with Brenda against her parent's wishes, Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering), the rich son of a popular television sitcom actress who has an ego a mile high, Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth), Brenda's beautiful best friend and love interest for Brandon, Andrea Zuckerman (Gabrielle Carteris), the "geeky" girl who runs the school paper and has a thing for Brandon, and David Silver (Brian Austin Green), a dorky freshman who wants to be part of the in crowd. Other common faces include Donna Martin (Tori Spelling), Brenda and Kelly's best friend who has a small role this season, but takes on a bigger part as the show progresses, Scott Scanlon (Douglas Emerson), David's nerdy friend, and Nat (Joe Tata), the owner of the Pit Peach.

The leading performers, for the most part, are very good in their roles. Priestley makes for a great leading character as a likeable, good-natured kid as he gets used to the Beverly Hills life. Doherty comes off as an immature younger sister, which works in most cases because of the direction her character takes. Both Eckhouse and Potter are great as the parents and they have a terrific dynamic with both Priestley and Doherty making a wholesome family. The remaining cast members offer solid contributions to their roles.

As for the season one content, I was honestly surprised how much I enjoyed it. (I was expecting to enjoy it, just not this much!) It has been many years since I have seen Beverly Hills, 90210 and I remember the show being a very soapy drama with lots of over-the-top acting and storylines. And while the season one episodes tend to be soapy and over-the-top, the content felt pretty rich. It does a fine job keeping your attention and developing the characters further.

The initial storylines dealing with the Walsh family, specifically the twins, integrating into their new environments (e.g. high school) and meeting their new friends offer some enjoyable stories. Specifically, the series two-part pilot episode "Pilot" is a great start to the show. It offers a solid introduction to the cast and the format of the season one episodes. Afterwards, the many of the subsequent episodes include bits and pieces of the family's adjustment, which again, includes important plot and character development that I thoroughly enjoyed.

After the series pilot episode, the stories include a "moral of the week" in one form or another. The morals range from sex to drugs to alcohol to cheating to stealing to racism, and include plenty more teenage-oriented topics. A few of these stories get pretty hokey, with overly dramatic acting and moments. For instance, in the episode "Higher Education", Brandon has to choose between ethics and good grades when Steve encourages him to cheat. What makes episodes like these hokey is how serious and melodramatic the characters get about their situations. And the fact of the matter is that it is not as critical and important as they make it out to be.

On the other hand, there are episodes that end with the proper, good-natured message that have hokey aspects, but are still handled pretty well. The episode "B.Y.O.B." is a pristine example. In it, Brandon, who usually stands strong to his convictions about not drinking alcohol, experiments with alcohol and quickly loses control and gets behind the wheel of a car. I will not go as far to say the episode is powerful on any level, but it has a powerful subtext to it. What happens in the episode and the aftermath, in regards to how the various characters respond to it, makes the episode pretty strong and one definitely worth seeing. Bluntly put, the episode is played out pretty well, despite several over-the-top moments.

Overall, the first season of Beverly Hills, 90210 is full of solid content. Perhaps it is the nostalgia talking, but I really enjoyed getting to relive the Walsh's first year in Beverly Hills. The season contained some pretty enjoyable episodes dealing with getting to know the characters and they did a fine job developing them. Sure, there were a few hokey episodes and over-the-top moments, but it works. Part of what I enjoyed so much about it was how un-soapy the season one episodes were in comparison to what I remember about the show, which is mainly the later seasons when Tiffany Amber Thiessen shows up. In the end, Beverly Hills, 90210 is a fun drama and its inaugural season does a fine job with its characters and storylines.

Episode Guide

1. Pilot Parts 1 and 2: Twins Brandon and Brenda Walsh experience a very special kind of culture shock when they move from Minnesota to Beverly Hills and begin their new lives at West Beverly High. We meet their new friends the moment they do, including Donna, Kelly and David.
2. The Green Room: Brandon meets Dylan McKay, a brooding classmate. As they become friends, Brandon learns that Dylan's bad-boy act masks a hidden life that few people ever see.
3. Every Dream Has Its Price: Brenda shops with Kelly and Tiffany and wishes she has their kind of money. But Tiffany's a shoplifter and, when she stashes her stolen clothes with Brenda, the police get involved, forcing Brenda to clear her name.
4. The First Time: Brandon is visited by his ex-girlfriend Sheryl but, when she meets Dylan, she's quickly star-struck by his money and glamour. The tension builds between Brandon and Dylan until it erupts into angry words, hurt feelings and flying punches.
5. One On One: When Brandon tries out for the basketball team, he's angered to learn that his main rival is from another district. Brandon's about to expose the student when he finds out he came there legally and for a good education.
6. Higher Education: An unreasonable teacher makes Brandon's life miserable by giving him no grade higher than a C. Brandon cheats on a quiz, but the stakes get higher when he gets a stolen copy of the midterm before the test.
7. Perfect Mom: "Delusions of glamour" overcome Brenda when she meets Kelly's beautiful mother Jackie, a former model. Jackie's also a recovering addict and, when she falls off the wagon, her dark side comes back for all to see.
8. Seventeen Year Itch: The Walsh parents examine their relationship while Brenda and Brandon examine theirs, as they get involved in a UCLA study on twins.
9. The Gentle Art of Listening: Sympathy and responsibility are at odds when Brenda volunteers for a teen crisis hotline. She violates the rules when she takes an after-hours call from a date-rape victim. Soon, Brenda is desperate to find her and help her.
10. Isn't It Romantic?: The chemistry between Brenda and Dylan starts to heat up when Brenda accidentally catches him the shower, then comforts him after he fights with his father. She's prepared to go all the way, but a speech from an AIDS activist prompts her to slow things down.
11. B.Y.O.B.: Both Walsh twins face the temptation to drink alcohol when their peers are doing it all around them. The issue comes to a head when their parents leave town, and Brenda and Brandon throw a party that quickly gets out of hand.
12. One Man and a Baby: Brandon gets an unexpected taste of fatherhood when he asks his classmate Melissa for a date-then has to baby-sit her infant son while she has a college interview. Other family members get involved when Melissa contemplates giving her son up for adoption.

13. Slumber Party: Pillowtalk threatens to destroy Brenda's sleep-over as all the girls share their deepest secrets, with unexpected results.
14. East Side Story: The Walsh's agree to let their maid's niece, Carla, use their address to enroll at West Beverly. Brandon falls for her, even after she reveals that she's waiting to testify as a witness in a murder trial.
15. Palm Springs Weekend: A weekend in Palm Springs goes awry when David invites Steve, Kelly and Donna to join him at his grandparents' house while they're away on a cruise-but he gets the dates confused, and they're still there.
16. Fame is Where You Find It: Brandon is "discovered" when he's out roller-blading one day, landing a role as an emergency extra on a big TV show. The sexy star wants to give him a reoccurring role, but soon Brandon discovers she has other motives in mind besides his film career.
17. Stand (Up) and Deliver: Brenda's had it with home life and West Beverly, and decides to leave both for the real world. After house-sitting for an older friend, however, she gets a reality check that sends her back with a new appreciation for what she's got.
18. It's Only a Test: The Walsh twins and all their friends are panicked by the upcoming SATs, but then everything gets put in perspective when Brenda finds a lump in her breast and faces a test no one can prepare for.
19. April is the Cruelest Month: Brandon interviews a classmate, Roger, who's an outstanding athlete and student-and haunted by overbearing success of his father. When Brandon reads a script written by Roger, he begins to worry that the grisly ending just might come true.
20. Spring Training: Baseball fever strikes when Brandon is asked to coach a little league team after his dad gets injured. Something that should be a lot of fun gets ruined by pushy parents, however, and Brandon ends up teaching his own team a lesson.
21. Spring Dance: The drama and the stakes rise as the West Beverly High crew gets ready for their Spring Dance. Brenda loses her virginity to Dylan; Kelly confesses her love for Brandon; and David wins the dance contest and the right to dance with the Spring Queen.
22. Home Again: Moving back to Minnesota makes sense for Brenda and Brandon's dad, but for them it's a wrench thrown into their new lives. AS the family gets ready to move back, friends and family make their feelings known and affect the decision to go back.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The picture quality is not great and ranges from poor to decent throughout the season episodes. Sometimes, the episodes look fine and other times they do not. In general, there are noticeable visual distortions and some problems with color representation. When the picture is at its worse (usually high motion) it features significant aliasing and a grainy/blocky image that looks like a video that has been compressed too much. I think the problem is a mixture of the video compression and a poor quality source transfer.

In addition to the generally less than average looking picture, there are distinct glitches in the image that are from damaged film, e.g. tears, excessive dirt, etc. For an example, refer to the picture below of Jim's head. Occasionally, defects similar to the one shown below show up in the episodes. It does not occur in all of the episodes, but it happens enough that it is an annoying problem. Overall, I was quite displeased with how the video looked. Film defects withstanding, I would compare the quality to broadcast television presentations when it is at its best. Despite the rather poor picture quality, I would not discount this set for the way it looks. The episodes are still viewable; there are just several portions that just look bad.

Audio:
The audio track included with this release is English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. The sound quality is decent with dialogue consistently audible. It is an average TV on DVD audio track, dialogue driven and is pretty flat with little use of the stereo sound. Music is also very flat and bland.

This release does not come with subtitles, but it is closed caption enabled.

The DVD covers have an explicit warning that "some music has been changed in this home entertainment version".

Extras:
Beverly Hills 90210: The Complete First Season comes with a few extras to keep you entertained after you have completed watching the season episodes. There are commentaries, a couple featurettes, and lots of information to read about the characters and select interviews with their respective performers. The audio commentaries cover the episodes "Pilot (Part 1 only)" and "Spring Dance" with creator Darren Star. The remaining extras are located on disc 6. Beginnings With Darren Star (6:31) is an interview featurette with Darren Star. In it, he talks about his idea for the show, casting, actors, Tori Spelling, writing, the show's evolution, teenage issues, "Spring Dance" episode, and relating to 90210.

Meet the Class of West Beverly High is a collection of information about the main characters. The main characters include Brandon Walsh*, Brenda Walsh, Dylan McKay*, Kelly Taylor*, Steve Sanders*, David Silver, Donna Martin, and Andrea Zuckerman*. The information provided includes "stats", facts about the characters, "Voted ...", a brief montage of clips that define the character's key personality, and "Behind the scenes with...", short interviews with the performer. The latter is not supplied for all of the characters. Note the character names with a * represent the characters that have cast interviews available.

90210 Behind the Scenes (5:00) is a featurette that aired on the Fox channel during the series run. The first minute or so is basically an introduction and overview to the series. Afterwards, Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry, Gabrielle Carteris, Aaron Spelling, Charles Rosin, Darren Star, and Ian Ziering offer brief comments. Looking Back - Season One - The Recap is not much of an extra. I was under the impression it would be a featurette of sorts, but it is not. This extra is an episode guide with extended storyline descriptions than those that are printed on the DVD covers.

Overall, the extras are a decent addition to the season episodes. The commentaries are enjoyable and worth sitting through for the fans of the series. However, the rest of the supplementary content is not great. The featurette with Darren Star offers some interesting insights about the series, but the remaining extras are not really worth your time. The interviews with the cast members are of interest, but they are just so short.

Final Thoughts:
Beverly Hills, 90210 is a soapy, melodramatic television series about the daily lives of several young adults in the ultra-rich, ultra-cool Beverly Hills, postal zip code 90210. In the show's inaugural season, the content focuses on the Walsh family, having recently moved from Minneapolis, getting accustomed to life in Beverly Hills. Nothing is the same, whether it is clothes and style or friends and relationships. The season episodes offer a mix of well-written stories and over-the-top content that comes off pretty rich.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this season is that the stories were not nearly as soapy and melodramatic as later seasons. Instead, it felt a lot more intelligent and engaging. In the end, I think this season set is definitely worth looking into. Any fan of a good drama should appreciate getting to know the Walsh family and all of their new friends.

However, while I give this set a Highly Recommended rating, the season set is not without faults. The picture quality is decent at best and has more than one major visual defect. Refer to the video section of the review for more information and an example. The picture quality is something to consider before investing in this set. I personally think it is manageable and does not ruin the viewing experience, but if you cannot stand looking at the occasional distortion as shown in the example, you may just want to rent the set.

DEAD ZONE SEASON 2 DVD TALK REVIEW

THE EPISODES

Based on Steven King's popular book, The Dead Zone is one of those few television series that surpasses the source material on which it is based. Last year, I was lucky enough to review Season One, and now I'm back to let you know that not only is Season Two just as good�it's actually better.

Anthony Michael Hall stars as Johnny Smith, a young man who has psychic visions as the result of a horrible automobile accident. He was in a coma for six years, and when he woke up, he found his fianc� (Nicole deBoer) married to the town sheriff (Chris Bruno) and raising a son who doesn't even know that Johnny is his father.

Season One ended with a great cliffhanger, in which Johnny foresees the end of the world at the hands of a slimy politician (Sean Patrick Flanery) running for Congress � and Season Two picks right up where Season One left us.

Here's a summary of what you'll get to see in Season Two (Warning: Moderate Spoilers Ahead!):

"Valley Of The Shadow" - Johnny is busy trying to connect his apocalyptic visions with Greg Stillson (Flanery), but is sidetracked when a young boy is kidnapped by a serial killer who seems to think Johnny is a prophet sent from God.

"Descent" - In part one of a two-part story, Johnny and Walt (Bruno) head into a mine shaft to try and rescue some trapped teenagers. But Walt is critically injured in the rescue and winds up fighting for his life.

"Ascent" � In the conclusion, Johnny must use his psychic abilities to try and save Walt � who is deep in a coma. As a result, Johnny is able to find out more about the man who married his fianc�and comes face to face with an entity that may be God himself.

"The Outsider" � Johnny has a vision that a pharmaceutical company is about to release a drug for women that will affect the birth of thousands�if not millions of babies.

"Precipitate" � In one of Season Two's best shows, Johnny gets a blood transfusion and realizes he can see into the lives of six people�one of which he knows is going to die. The rest of the episode is spent with Johnny as he tries to stop this tragedy from happening.

"Scars" � Determined to stop Stillson from winning the election, Johnny uses his powers to team up with the opposition, Harrison Fisher (Gerald McRaney). But when Johnny finds out a dark secret about Fisher's past, will he be able to continue to support him?

"Misbegotten"� This is the weakest episode of the season, as Johnny is kidnapped by three women who hope he can use his abilities to solve a murder that happened in an abandoned house many years ago.

"Cabin Pressure" - Flying home a commercial airliner with Reverend Purdy (David Ogden Stiers), Johnny foresees the plane exploding. He must now convince the pilot and crew to listen to him or face disaster.

"The Man Who Never Was" � Robert Culp guest stars in this great episode that has him playing a man with a secret past.

"Dead Men Tell Tales" - Johnny saves the life of a mob boss when he warns him about an upcoming hit. But he soon finds out that he may have caused the wrong man to get killed.

"Playing God" - This is not only my favorite Dead Zone episode, it's one of the best hours of television I have ever watched. Johnny throws a party for an old high school buddy (Lochlyn Munro) who is in desperate need of a heart transplant. But when Johnny's visions show that his buddy's sister (Ally Sheedy) must die in order to give her brother a heart, Johnny must make the difficult choice in selecting which one of his friends are going to die. It's a powerful, moving episode that really showcases what is great about this series.

"Zion" - Johnny's physical therapist, Bruce (John L. Adams), attends the funeral of his father (Louis Gossett, Jr.) and finds himself using Johnny's powers to go back and find out what his life may have been like if he had followed in his father's footsteps. Another powerful episode, with some great acting from Gossett and Adams.

Note: It was here that the 13-episode second season of The Dead Zone was supposed to end, but USA commissioned six more shows � intended to focus more on action and less on the ongoing storylines. These additional episodes became known as "The Summer Six" � which actually consisted of seven episodes, since one was included from the original thirteen that was delayed for political reasons (it is noted below).

"The Storm" - While Johnny's friends plan an "intervention" for him at one of Purdy's country retreats, Johnny sees the coming of a great storm � one whose powerful force may have something to do with his psychic abilities.

"Plague" � At the school science fair, Johnny foresees all the children of the town getting sick and dying. He must now convince a government investigator (Stephen Tobolowsky) that the plague is real � even though there is no apparent trace of it.

"Deja Voodoo" � After meeting an attractive young woman (Reiko Aylesworth) at a restaurant, Johnny must live the same moments over and over again � until he can prevent her death�and his own.

"The Hunt" � This is the episode that was originally made as part of Season Two's first thirteen shows, and had its airdate postponed. In it, the United States government hires Johnny to help track down a noted Arab terrorist�one who might be using a dialysis machine. The noted terrorist is never mentioned by name, but it's more than clear in the episode who they are referring to. The episode's airing was postponed due to the American invasion of Iraq near the time it was originally scheduled to air.

"The Mountain" � On a fishing trip with Walt, Sarah (deBoer) and his son, Johnny has a vision of a plane crash that happened a few years back. The four of them are led by a local ranger into the mountains to search for the downed plane�but the ranger has an agenda of his own that has to do with the cargo the plane was reportedly carrying.

"The Combination" � Johnny foresees the death of a fighter in a championship bout, but can't convince him that the fight will end in his demise.

"Visions" � Returning to the ongoing storyline from earlier in the season (and hinted at in each of the "Summer Six" episodes), the conclusion to Season Two has Johnny encounter a strange visitor (Frank Whaley) from the future who may just know the answer to Johnny's visions about the end of the world. As with the first season, we get a great cliffhanger here � setting up Season Three (currently airing on the USA Network � Sunday Nights!).

THE DVD

Video:
Each episode is presented in widescreen anamorphic at the 1.78:1 ratio. There are four episodes per disc (except for Disc Five, which houses only the final three shows) and there is a slight bit of compression/pixilation noticeable in the background of a few scenes, although it's nothing distracting. Colors are properly balanced, and the shows (which is shot on 35mm film and transferred to the digital format for DVD) have a great look to them.

Audio:
The audio is presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital sound, with the only noticeable problem being that the audio on the menus is much louder than the audio in the actually episodes (which also occurred on the Season One discs). Fortunately, there's no major swings in audio levels during the actual shows. Although not a highly aggressive track � it's a reasonably active one from time to time, and nicely done for these DVDs.

Extras:
Other studios releasing TV shows could learn a lesson or two from these Dead Zone discs. The extras are simply wonderful, with Commentary Tracks for all nineteen episodes, and including commentaries from stars Anthony Michael Hall, John L. Adams and Chris Bruno. We even get commentaries from the guest stars of episodes, including Robert Culp, Louis Gossett, Jr., Frank Whaley, and Reiko Aylesworth. And of course, there's commentary from the crew, including co-creators Michael Piller and Sean Piller; and Executive Producer Lloyd Segan. I know of no other show on DVD where so many different people are involved in the commentary tracks � and I think it goes to show just how proud those involved are of the program�and deservingly so.

Many episodes also include a look at selected Storyboards, Deleted Scenes, and/or Interviews with one of the guest stars. Like many of the commentary tracks, the interviews here are a real gem � as we get to see the likes of Robert Culp, Louis Gossett, Jr., Ally Sheedy, Frank Whaley, Stephen Tobolowsky and Reiko Aylesworth talk about their experience on the show. Most impressive, perhaps, is the kind words almost all of these guests have to say about Anthony Michael Hall � especially from the likes of Culp and Gossett, Jr., who both go out of their way to note what a fine young actor they think he is.

Finally, spread out over the space of the five DVDs are featurettes (running about 5 to 10 minutes each) entitled Making Of An Episode, that take the viewer through each stage of how an episode goes from idea, to script, to screen, to your TV. These are broken down into the following segments: Script Writing; Casting; Costumes; Location Scouting; VFX Meeting; Production Meeting; Directing; Cinematography; Acting; Assistant Directing; Editing; VFX Materials; and Sound Mixing. Along the way, we get to meet many of those who are involved behind the scenes of each Dead Zone episode, and learn a little bit about what they do.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Top to bottom, this is a great boxed set. It's a great show, it's holds up to repeat viewings, and it has the kind of bonus material that every television show release should strive to match. Like the episodes themselves, The Dead Zone � The Complete Second Season set seems to be a work of love from those who make the show. It was the most fun I've had watching DVDs this year, and it deserves nothing less than a spot in the "DVD Talk Collector Series"!

THE DEAD ZONE SEASON 1 DVD TALK REVIEW

THE EPISODES

For those of you whose only recollection of Anthony Michael Hall is as Russ Griswold in the first Vacation movie or perhaps the various comedic roles he had in several 1980's John Hughes pictures, you're in for a big surprise as he plays Johnny Smith in TV's The Dead Zone, which is based on the Stephen King book and 1983 David Cronenberg film of the same name.

Perhaps it was because I have neither read the book or seen the 1983 film (so I had nothing to compare it with), but I enjoyed the television show quite a bit. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I was surprised that prior to reviewing this DVD set, I had virtually no knowledge that the series even existed and was running episodes on the USA Network. My guess is that there are just as many people reading this review who have little knowledge of this show � which is a shame, since I'm here to tell you it's one of the best series I've seen in a good while. Not just a good program in terms of entertainment, but deep, moving drama that ranks right up there with the best episodes of The Sopranos, 24 and C.S.I.

If you're not a fan of horror, don't be concerned�neither is this reviewer. The Dead Zone isn't a horror series�it's solid science fiction with a bit of the mystical thrown in. The story revolves around Johnny Smith (played by Hall) a young man who started to have psychic abilities at an early age when he was injured playing ice hockey. Years later, we find him living a normal life, teaching school and engaged to be married to his sweetheart, Sarah (Nicole deBoer). But a tragic car accident causes him to go into a coma for six years, and when he awakens, he finds his finance married to another man, finds he has a son he never knew about, finds that his mother has passed away, and finds that the part of his brain that is inactive in most people � "The Dead Zone" � is working and giving him visions of people's futures every time he comes in physical contact with them.

Here's a brief rundown of the stories you'll see in this Season One DVD box set:

Wheel of Fortune - The pilot episode in which Johnny awakens from his coma to find his new life � and his newfound powers.

What It Seems - Johnny must track down a serial killer before he kills again.

Quality of Life - Johnny begins assistant coaching the high school's hockey team only to discover that one of the players may have a death-threatening heart condition.

Enigma - Johnny helps an old man search for the missing love of his life, and finds himself transported back to World War II in his visions.

Netherworld - Johnny awakens to find himself married to Sarah and living his life as if his accident had never happened. But a recurring vision of a fiery explosion is haunting him.

The House - Seeing disturbing visions in his home, Johnny decides to get to the truth behind his mother's death � and helps his neighbors get through a tragedy of their own.

Unreasonable Doubt - Johnny is called for jury duty and is the odd man out during a trial of a young black man arrested for murder, being the only one that believes he is innocent.

The Siege - Johnny and Sarah find themselves in the middle of a bank robbery and hostage situation, and Johnny must keep trying to change the future to avoid a disastrous result.

Enemy Mind - Searching for a runaway teen, Johnny is exposed to drugs that alter his Dead Zone and leave him with confusing visions.

Here There Be Monsters - Visiting a small New England town, Johnny is suspected of an occult murder and put on trial by the townsfolk, who think he engages in witchcraft.

Dinner With Dana - Johnny spends a romantic evening with the town's reporter (cast regular Kristen Dalton), but soon discovers her ex-lover is back in town and looking for revenge.

Shaman - Johnny believes a meteor is about to strike a small town, but after he is injured looking for the impact point, he has visions of an ancient American Indian � and soon discovers that the two of them may have a lot in common.

Destiny - Sean Patrick Flanery guest stars as Greg Stillson, a congressional hopeful who has his own secret agenda � and about whom Johnny is having horrific visions of the future.

THE DVD

Video:
The Dead Zone is presented in 1:78:1 anamorphic widescreen and the overall transfer is fairly good for a television show, although not quite as sharp as many theatrical anamoprhic DVDs. However, there is little, if any, evidence of dirt or graininess to the picture.

Audio:
Presented in 5.1 Dolby, the audio here is nicely done, and although it is far from an aggressive track, there is a nice balance between soundtrack, sound effects and dialogue. I did notice that the sound of the episodes were a little lower than the sounds of the actual menu, so be sure to have your remote ready to crank it up a few notches once you start viewing the actual show.

Extras
For a television show that isn't all that well-known, this box set has a ton of bonus features that really leave other TV box sets lacking by comparison. For starters, each and every episode has a Audio Commentary track featuring at least two (sometimes more) participants from the cast and crew. All of the main actors (except, sadly, David Ogden Stiers) participate in at least one of the tracks, and star Anthony Michael Hall lends his comments to six of the thirteen tracks.

There are a number of Featurettes on the set, one or more on each of the four DVDs. Disc one presents Behind The Scenes: Genesis, while disc two brings viewers Behind The Scenes: Writing, disc three features both Behind The Scenes: Music and Behind The Scenes: Special Effects, and the final disc has Behind The Scenes: Guest Stars. All of these featurettes are quite informative and fun to watch, although my copy of disc four (my discs were check discs, so they may or may not have corrected this on the release version) had a synch problem with the video/audio for Behind The Scenes: Guest Stars.

The first three discs also contain Storyboards for selected episodes, with storyboards for Quality of Life on disc one, storyboards for Netherworld and The House on disc two, and storyboards for The Siege on disc three. In addition to all these bonuses, viewers will also find a First/Second Season Promo on disc two � which is essentially two promotional commercials for the start of season two (which started in January 2003), as well as a Second Season Preview with comments from co-creator Michael Piller on the extras section of disc three.

Careful disc searchers will be able to find some hidden Trailers on the first three DVDs by highlighting the Lion's Gate Logo in the main menu. Disc one has a trailer for the series, plus some trailers for additional Steven King made-for-TV movies. Disc two has a single trailer for Rose Red, while the third disc has a single trailer for Storm of the Century.

THE BOTTOM LINE

I went into The Dead Zone thinking it would be a nice diversion and came away a huge fan of the series. The DVD set is reasonably priced, and with so much bonus material on these DVDs, those who enjoyed the shows as much as I did will have plenty of supplemental material to watch and listen to long after they have viewed the thirteen shows.

The Dead Zone is a wonderful TV series that deserves far more attention than it has been getting. Perhaps this box set will help the program gain a wider audience. At the very least, it has produced at least one more regular viewer. Be sure to take a look�Johnny tells me picking up this box set will make your future a much happier place!

A GOOD YEAR REVIEW FROM DVD TALK

Watching "A Good Year" is like spending two hours with someone who is tiresome but who thinks you should find him exceedingly charming. "Aren't I droll?" he seems to say with his smug smile and his semi-amusing quips. "Don't you think I'm ever-so-pleasant?" But all you want to do is smack him.

Russell Crowe's off-screen behavior makes a lot of people want to smack him, but his reputation doesn't even figure in to the botched Guy Learns What's Really Important comedy that is "A Good Year." The character of Max Skinner -- a rich London stockbroker who's as much a rogue on the trading floor as he is with the ladies -- would be insufferable no matter who played him. He's a pompous, wine-swilling, sweater-vest-wearing, falsely humble fake-stutterer. He's Hugh Grant, if Hugh Grant were a humorless, black-souled golem.

Based on the novel by Peter Mayle and adapted by Marc Klein ("Serendipity"), "A Good Year" tells us of Max Skinner's old Uncle Henry (Albert Finney), a winemaker and gadabout living on a vineyard in Provence, France. The two had a close relationship when Max was young. Now Henry has died and left the estate to Max, who spends his days terrorizing London's economic community with his barely legal stock-trading techniques. Max figures to sell the old place and get it off his hands, but when he visits it, the memories come flooding back.

The memories are the film's highlights, actually. The young Max is played by Freddie Highmore (already a star from his performances in "Finding Neverland" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"), and Albert Finney gives Uncle Henry infectious life and energy. He's exactly as charming as the rest of the movie thinks it is.

While in Provence getting the house ready for sale, Max develops a crush on a local girl named, improbably, Fanny Chenal (Marion Cotillard), a waitress at a local bistro. (In one of the film's more aggressively cute sequences, Max dons an apron and helps Fanny wait tables during a busy dinner rush!) He also meets Christie Roberts (Abbie Cornish), a young American woman who might have a claim of ownership to the property.

The film's director is Crowe's old "Gladiator" pal Ridley Scott, whose output ("Alien," "Thelma & Louise," "Hannibal") is generally of a more action-oriented nature. Scott's lack of experience with light comedies shines brightly in "A Good Year": The parts that are supposed to be funny look like they were executed by people who don't know how to be funny. A dog pees on a man's leg; a man falls face-first into a pile of manure; a careless driver accidentally runs a bicyclist off a road -- this is what passes for mirth around here.

The images of the French countryside are gorgeous, though. More Albert Finney and Freddie Highmore, more pretty pictures of French places, less Russell Crowe, that's what I say.

SAW 3 REVIEW FROM DVD TALK

There are some heartwarming lessons to be learned in "Saw III," the latest blood-soaked installment in the increasingly implausible horror franchise. First, that good help is hard to find. Second, that it is important to forgive your enemies and not become trapped in a quagmire of vengeance-seeking, for that way lies bitterness, anger, and possibly seeing someone's head blow up.

The elusive killer called Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is up to his old tricks again, putting people he deems worthy of scorn in elaborate traps from which they can only escape by torturing themselves. Except these latest schemes, the police notice with some degree of disappointment as they sift through the charred remains of Jigsaw's latest failed pupil, lack a certain je ne sais quoi. They don't bear the marks of Jigsaw's usual discipline and to-the-letter fairness. What's more, we know from "Saw II" that Jigsaw is dying of brain cancer, so he's not apt to be up and about setting up torture chambers anyway.

Yep, ol' Jig's got himself an apprentice now, a former victim named Amanda (Shawnee Smith) who survived her test and is now learning to continue Jigsaw's work. The current project: Teach a man named Jeff (Angus Macfadyen), consumed with hatred for his son's killer, to move on with his life. The methodology: Put Jeff in situations where he can either watch the responsible parties die or forgive them and save them.

Meanwhile, Jigsaw himself is determined to survive long enough to see whether Jeff passes his tests or not. Weak and decrepit in a makeshift hospital room in his secret lair, he drafts an E.R. doctor named Lynn (Bahar Soomekh) to keep him alive at least until Jeff's outcome is determined. The trick? If Jigsaw's heart stops beating, a device rigged to Lynn's body will kill her, too. Talk about the high cost of malpractice insurance!

The original "Saw" creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell are back as screenwriters (Wan was absent for part 2), and they've apparently caught "Lost" fever along with the rest of America. Every major character in the film gets flashback scenes, including a few that add a bit of texture to the events of parts 1 and 2. While not particularly relevant to the current proceedings, it is a nifty little present for the fans.

Also gift-wrapped and delivered free of charge to the fans? Lots and lots of pain, torture, blood and mayhem. Why, there's even an instance of an electric saw being applied to the exposed skull of a living person -- and it's not even important to the plot! That one's purely a freebie!

As an evil villain, Jigsaw stopped being scary as soon as they showed him to us. (I believe that's actually Lesson 1 in Horror Films 101: Don't put your "monster" in every single scene.) Now that he's unequivocally the focus of the story, bedridden yet still remarkably lucid, continuing to ramble on about his elaborate "games," he's downright laughable. I remember the chills of his pre-recorded messages in the first film. Part 3 has nothing like that.

Part 3 also lacks a real protagonist. Jigsaw will die sooner or later, either from the brain cancer or from less natural means, so there's no point worrying about him. Lynn doesn't give us much to work with, and Jeff's situation is so improbable -- I don't care how mad you are at the judge who let your son's killer off the hook, you're not going to just sit there and watch him die -- that his "tests" lack any suspense whatsoever.

That leaves Amanda, whose attachment to Jigsaw is, you'll pardon the pun, puzzling. I don't understand her motivation for doing his bidding, much less why she seems to be in love with him. And a character you don't understand is a character you don't care about.

Like part 2, "Saw III" has been hyper-directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and over-edited by "Saw" regular Kevin Greutert. Even the non-torture scenes feel moody and depressed, all over-saturated in dark colors and scored with harsh, dour music. It's a feel-bad film, for sure.

But is it an enjoyable feel-bad film? I guess. Is "enjoyable" even the right word? The whole stupid Jeff story aside, Wan and Whannell have a few clever ideas up their sleeves, and there is a bit more ingenuity in this chapter than there was in the last one. They've hacked out this audacious little niche for themselves, and I say more power to 'em. This is dark, superficially unsettling stuff (superficial in that the images won't haunt you for any longer than the movie lasts), but if that's what the kids want nowadays, "Saw III" more or less delivers it.

DVD TALK REVIEW OF MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3

The Movie:
I'm going to go out on a limb here and admit that I find the Mission: Impossible films perversely fascinating, not because I think they're particularly great action or suspense pictures, but because I can't think of another high-profile movie franchise where the individual entries have so little to do with one another, much less with the old television series from which they're purportedly adapted. Although Tom Cruise stars in all three movies as a character named Ethan Hunt, the character himself seems to be a totally different person from movie to movie. Brian DePalma's 1996 Mission: Impossible at least made a token effort at referencing the 1960s TV show with a couple of character names and the basic premise, but took a great many liberties in its zeal to turn the teamwork emphasis of the original into a Tom Cruise vanity project. The 2000 sequel Mission: Impossible � 2 (or M:I-2 as the posters dubbed it) didn't even bother pretending it was in any way connected to the previous movie, instead changing the Hunt character from an idealistic yet inexperienced secret agent into an invincible superhero trapped in an indulgent John Woo action melodrama. And now we have Mission: Impossible III (even more ridiculously dubbed M:i:III), in which television auteur J.J. Abrams uses the franchise name and attending budget to essentially just make a $150 million episode of his own Alias TV series.

All three of the movies do carry over certain predefined trappings that supposedly link them together: Cruise, Ving Rhames as his loyal sidekick, numerous plot red herrings, the "This message will self-destruct" instructions from his IMF superiors, and the knowledge that at some point the plot will hinge on Hunt wearing a silly rubber mask to imitate the main villain. Other than that, there's no point in judging one movie against the next. Each should be taken on its own terms as an independent storyline. To that end, Abrams makes an effective debut as a feature film director, wrangling the logistics of a huge action movie without breaking a sweat. While he doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, he's given the film a decent script and some exciting (if derivative) action scenes. That's really all you can ask for in a movie of this type.

In this one, we find Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt in a state of semi-retirement, forsaking field work for duties as an instructor as he attempts to settle into domestic tranquility with his new, clueless fianc�e (Michelle Monaghan). Those plans go awry when he learns that one of his recent graduates (Keri Russell from Abrams' Felicity) has been captured, prompting Hunt back into action on a rescue mission. From there he's led to evil arms merchant Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who has reportedly obtained a big bad secret weapon thingamajig Macguffin known only as the "Rabbit's Foot". Of course, capturing Davian becomes the next order of business, which really pisses the baddie off, and before you know it Hunt's girlfriend is kidnapped and our hero has to travel to Shanghai to save her.

As he did in the first couple seasons of Alias, Abrams tries to strike a balance between the action-adventure elements and a more emotionally-grounded relationship drama. Fans of that series will also recognize the story structure of the movie (starting out confusingly in media res and then flashing back to fill in the details) as one he used in a great many of the show's important episodes. Abrams certainly has a talent for getting character nuances right, but the integration here isn't entirely smooth. From the moment we meet her, we know that the sole purpose of Monaghan's character is to inevitably get captured so that Hunt can rescue her. The girlfriend-in-jeopardy plot is too predictable and quite disappointing. The movie would be better served building up the Keri Russell storyline instead; the actress proves a revelation in her first action role but her time in the story is way too short.

Abrams makes it a point to bring back the teamwork element that was so lacking in the last film. Casting Maggie Q and Simon Pegg as part of the IMF crew were inspired choices. The director also spends a lot of time setting up Hunt as vulnerable, but by its second half the movie is right back in superhero mode with Cruise machine gunning hordes of goons, swinging from skyscraper rooftops, and racing through the streets of exotic locales (the star spends so much time running in the movie you expect him to sign a sneaker endorsement deal before the end credits). The big action set-pieces are suitably impressive in detail and scope, but rarely feel fresh or groundbreaking. In fact, more than a couple of scenes in the movie feel like they were lifted out of James Cameron's True Lies, including the big car chase on a bridge and the bit where Cruise crashes through a high rise window and finds a janitor vacuuming there. You'll note that Second Unit Director Vic Armstrong is a veteran of similar duties on recent entries in the James Bond franchise, which ironically brings Mission: Impossible back to its old TV roots as a Bond knock-off.

Philip Seymour Hoffman makes a menacing villain, and Abrams infuses the movie with a fair bit of wit and clever dialogue. More importantly, he proves himself a viable feature film director. If Mission: Impossible III's box office returns didn't quite live up to their preceding hype, I think everyone realizes that had more to do with the public's dissatisfaction with Tom Cruise as a couch-jumping publicity whore and Scientologist jackass than it had anything to do with the movie itself. M:i:III may not be a masterpiece of the genre, but it's a solid action movie with plenty of repeat viewing potential.

The HD DVD:
Mission: Impossible III debuts on the HD DVD format courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment. A simultaneous Blu-ray edition is also available. Both releases mark the first 2-disc special editions for either format.

HD DVD discs are only playable in a compatible HD DVD player. They will not function in a standard DVD player or in a Blu-Ray player. Please note that the star rating scales for video and audio are relative to other High Definition disc content, not to traditional DVD.

Video:
The Mission: Impossible III HD DVD is encoded on disc in High Definition 1080p format using VC-1 compression. The movie is presented in its theatrical aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 with letterbox bars at the top and bottom of the 16:9 frame.

First the praise, then the nit-picking. This disc looks amazing, and will no doubt become the new default show-off demo in many home theaters. The movie was shot with a mix of 35mm film and High-Def video, and its sharpness, detail, and eye-popping colors are just stunning, on a level that seems to go beyond even previous "reference" discs. Every pore on an actor's skin is visible in stark clarity, to the point where you might cringe away from getting scraped by Laurence Fishburne's sandpaper complexion. Black levels are inky with excellent shadow detail, and contrasts are rich across the entire range, lending the image a great sense of depth. The movie's photography is very stylized, with heightened contrasts and pumped up colors, and the disc reproduces every bit of it with exacting precision. I can't say it strongly enough, the video transfer is fantastic.

What it is not, however, is flawless. The issues I found are very minor, fortunately. The movie's style incorporates some deliberate graininess, which looks fine and well-compressed for the most part but in some sequences (most likely those shot on HD video) comes across as video noise with a distinctly un-filmlike texture. I don't really know whether I can count this as a video transfer flaw or just an artifact of the original photography, and truthfully it isn't too distracting. In some scenes there's also a noticeable loss of resolution whenever the shot is in motion (more so than typical with 35mm film), which again may or may not be a limitation of the cameras used. What I did find disturbing in a few scenes were what appeared to be strange noise reduction artifacts such as grain in the background of shots that would pulse in and out of visibility. This is rare and probably won't be noticeable to the majority of viewers, but nit-pickers like myself may pick up on it. On-screen text (especially the location ID of the German factory at the beginning) is sometimes a little jagged and the end credits look pretty jittery.

The biggest problem I ran into was the first shot of Chapter 8. The staircase in the background is a jittery mess until the shot changes. I'll note that at the time of this writing HD DVD players are limited to 1080i output, and this artifact may have something to do with the way the player interlaces the original 1080p data and the display deinterlaces it afterwards, but this is the first time I've seen such a problem on any HD DVD. I tried every deinterlacing option on my (normally excellent) video scaler, and while some reduced the artifact none eliminated it. When future players capable of raw 1080p24 output are available, I'll have to revisit the scene.

In comparing the VC-1 compressed HD DVD to the MPEG2 compressed Blu-ray, differences were subtle but observable. On my screen, the Blu-ray looks slightly softer throughout, with just a bit less vibrancy and "pop". I'll concede that at the present time I don't know whether this is attributable to the first-generation hardware currently available or a distinction between MPEG2 and VC-1. Where I do think the compression codec comes into play is that the Blu-ray is noisier in many scenes. For example, the green wall in the background of the shot at the 13:35 mark is grainy on both discs but less so and more stable on the HD DVD. Neither disc looks poor by any means. Both look excellent, and the difference between them are so minor that I'm rating both equally until I can definitively rule out a hardware problem causing them.

The Mission: Impossible III HD DVD is not flagged with an Image Constraint Token and will play in full High Definition quality over an HD DVD player's analog Component Video outputs.

Audio:
The movie's soundtrack is provided in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 format. As you'd expect from a movie of this type, this is an aggressive track with lots of bass and directional surround effects. Dialogue is well integrated and remains clear during even the loudest action scenes. Overall fidelity is pretty good, but I might have appreciated a losslessly-encoded track. Though most sound effects are crisp, gunshots don't always have the crack I was anticipating and others are sometimes duller than expected. Keep these comments in perspective, however. I say them only in comparison to the very best that the High-Def formats have to offer. Overall, this is a solid effort and I don't have any serious complaints.

Subs & Dubs:
Optional subtitles � English, English captions for the hearing impaired, French, or Spanish.
Alternate language tracks - French or Spanish DD+ 5.1.

Extras:
The disc automatically opens with a lengthy HD DVD promo that can fortunately be skipped but is a nuisance. All of the bonus features on this HD DVD title are recycled from the DVD edition, however most are presented in High Definition video with VC-1 compression. The remainder are encoded in the usual Standard Definition using MPEG2.

All but one of the supplements from the 2-Disc Collector's Edition DVD have carried over. The commentaries are obviously found on Disc 1 with the movie, while everything else is on Disc 2.

• Audio Commentary - Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams sit down for a chatty discussion about how much fun it was to work together. The two talk consistently throughout the whole movie with few gaps, but oddly have absolutely nothing substantial to say. I honestly don't think I heard a single useful piece of information in the entire track. The HD DVD also offers an Enhanced Commentary feature (discussed below) not found on the DVD or Blu-ray.
• Making the Mission (HD, 28 min.) � A typical making-of piece focusing on production logistics, stunts, action, explosions, and visual effects. Abrams and Cruise indulge in quite a bit of mutual appreciation fawning that gets old quickly.
• Inside the IMF (SD, 21 min.) � A puff piece about the casting and the characters. Plot spoilers are divulged, so be sure not to watch this before the movie.
• Mission Action: Inside the Action Unit (HD, 25 min.) � A more detailed look at the stunts, featuring some cool behind-the-scenes footage of the helicopter and car chases.
• Visualizing the Mission (HD, 10 min.) � A peek at the pre-viz animatics used to map out the major action set-pieces.
• Mission: Metamorphosis (HD, 8 min.) � Discussion of the franchise hallmark rubber masks and how they are actually made. Designer Syd Mead shows us the development of the fictional mask-making machine seen in the movie.
• Scoring the Mission (HD, 5 min.) � Obviously enough a piece about Michael Giacchino producing the musical score, and his integration of the original Lalo Schifrin theme.
• Moviefone Unscripted (SD, 8 min.) � A fluffy promotional interview with Cruise and Abrams.
• Launching the Mission (SD, 14 min.) � Footage of Cruise shilling the movie at the premieres in New York, Rome, Paris, London, and Japan.
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 5 min.) � Five brief scenes (mostly scene extensions, really), technically mastered in High Definition though appearing in rough workprint condition. None of these were needed, but there is a nice bit of Maggie Q action footage and an additional clip with Keri Russell.
• Theatrical Trailers (HD, 5 min.) � Four trailers.
• TV Spots (SD, 3 min.) � Three commercials.
• Excellence in Film (SD, 9 min.) � A tribute to Tom Cruise from the 2005 BAFTA Awards featuring a montage of clips from his movies.
• Photo Gallery

Missing from the DVD is the Generation: Cruise film clip montage from the MTV movie awards, which sounds redundant to the BAFTA piece.

Exclusive to the HD DVD release is:

• Enhanced Commentary - This option bears a resemblance to the "In Movie Experience" or "All Access" features found on selected Warner and Universal HD DVDs, but blends it with the traditional audio commentary. The bulk of the feature consists of video footage in the corner of the screen of Cruise and Abrams delivering their audio commentary (mentioned above). Then at certain points the participants will pause the movie and automatically branch off to new full-screen video "pods" where they can go into more detail on a given topic. For the most part, this is done strictly as a gimmick, as the men usually don't have anything substantial to add that they didn't already say in the commentary. At other points an IMF logo will appear on screen where the viewer can manually select ("Follow the White Rabbit" style) to jump to other video "pods" such as deleted scenes.

Easter Eggs:
Both the HD DVD and Blu-ray releases are loaded with pointless and insubstantial easter egg video clips hidden throughout the interactive menus of Disc 2. For no apparent reason, the HD DVD seems to be missing three eggs found on the Blu-ray. What we do get are:

• Classified Data 03 (1 min.) � Press Right from the TV spot titled "Madness" to see footage from the film crew's Halloween party.
• Classified Data 04 (1 min.) � Press Left from "Mission: Metamorphosis" to find actor Dermot Mulroney playing cello on the movie's musical score.
• Classified Data 05 (1 min.) � Press Right on the "Moviephone" option to watch Cruise and Fishburne rehearsing a scene.
• Classified Data 06 (1 min.) � Press Right on "Rome" in the "Launching the Mission" section for behind-the-scenes footage from the Vatican shoot, in which nuns smoke and priests goof around.

Missing are eggs 01 (Michelle Monaghan on a walking tour of Shanghai), 02 (J.J. Abrams taking a flying lesson), and 07 (the crew celebrating Abrams' Emmy nominations). The omissions are annoying, but none are significant losses.

Final Thoughts:
If not quite the revelation it was hyped up to be, Mission: Impossible III is a pretty good action movie that goes a long way toward redeeming the franchise from the ridiculous excess of John Woo's second installment. The High-Def video quality is fantastic and demonstration-worthy. Paramount has also taken a big step in providing most of the bonus features in HD resolution, even if none of them are particularly innovative otherwise.

The HD DVD has a slightly sharper picture than the competing Blu-ray and includes the exclusive Enhanced Commentary feature, but has pointlessly dropped three of the (frankly worthless) easter eggs. Either version is excellent, and the disc comes recommended on whichever format you prefer.