Nominated for 52 Emmys since its 1990 premiere, including 11 for Outstanding Drama Series, Law & Order is one of the most popular television shows in modern day history. With an additional 4 Golden Globe nominations for Best TV Series (Drama), Law & Order is more than a TV show, it’s a lucrative franchise for host network NBC, spawning popular spin-offs Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001), and (the now cancelled) Law & Order: Trial By…
Memoirs Of A Geisha (DVD) Review
Nominated for six Academy Awards, and winner of three, Memoirs Of A Geisha holds its own as one of the best films of 2005. Veteran Hollywood screenwriter Robin Swicord does a superb job of adapting Arthur Goldens bestselling novel to the big screen. This film has all the elements of a classic drama jealousy, politics, intrigue, forbidden love, and an abundance of internal and external conflicts of varying types. Viewers in search of a typical Hollywood blockbuster will be …
Oz (Season 2) DVD Review
Recipient of two Emmy nominations and varying critical acclaim, Oz is considered by many to be one of the greatest prison dramas ever devised. Created by former St. Elsewhere writer Tom Fontana, the show was one of a number of highly touted and commercially successful HBO original series created in the 1990s. Initially aired in the summer of 1997, Oz built a strong following of viewers addicted to its vivid depiction of American prison life and hypnotic voyeuristic window int…
Seinfeld (Season 5) DVD Review
The preeminent show of the 1990’s decade, Seinfeld grew from an idea of “a show about nothing” into a sacred pop culture icon, not that there’s anything wrong with that… The show follows the life of comedian Jerry Seinfeld and the exploits of his “short, quirky, bald guy” best friend, George Costanza (Jason Alexander), Jerry’s neurotic neighbor Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards), and Jerry’s ex-girlfriend Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Through the years, they’re joined by a lov…
Soap (DVD) Review
Nominated for 17 Emmys in its short four-year run, Soap premiered in the Fall of 1977 as one of the most controversial shows in American television history (and all before a single episode ever aired). The show was opposed by many groups who thought its subject matter would be too mature for a prime-time audience. But Soap never overstepped its bounds, and the show became an instant smash hit with its brilliant and satirical spoofs of classic daytime programming. Sporting an …
The A-Team (DVD) Review
One of the many hit TV shows inextricably linked to the 1980’s is The A-Team, an action series with plenty of bombs, machine guns, and bazookas – where miraculously no one ever seems to die! Short for “Alpha Team,” The A-Team is a Vietnam-era crack commando unit wrongfully accused of robbing the Bank of Hanoi. Having escaped from a maximum security prison, the four man team survives in the anonymity of the Los Angeles underground. And with the government still hot on their tr…
The Flintstones (DVD) Review
Turning the television world flat on its head, The Flintstones became the first animated hit series in prime time history. Set in the Stone Age town of Bedrock, the show explored the lives of ancient cave dwellers through the lens of a modern lifestyle, with bird beaks acting as phonograph needles, elephant trunks as vacuum cleaners, and fireflies as light bulbs. With its measured use of top-grade humor and clever visuals, The Flintstones became an instant smash hit – spawnin…
Beauty And The Beast (DVD) Review
Nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Beauty And The Beast is one of Disney’s greatest animated achievements. Its massive success reinvigorated the Disney animation juggernaut which had been dormant for decades, launching the release of smashing blockbusters such as Aladdin, The Lion King, and Finding Nemo. Taking home two Oscars for Best Music (Original Score and Original Song), the film launched a trend in Disney animation by blending musical numbers (wit…
CSI (Season 3) DVD Review
CSI follows the lives of several employees working the nightshift of the Las Vegas Police Departments Crime Scene Investigation unit led by the quirky and methodic Gil Grissom (William Petersen), a dedicated workaholic. The crime lab team is composed of numerous technicians from different backgrounds single mother Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) specializes in blood analysis, while the highly ambitious Nick Stokes (George Eads) tackles fiber and hair analysis. Warric…
Dawson’s Creek (Season 6) DVD Review
Recipient of widespread critical acclaim and winner of 12 Teen Choice Awards during its five-year run, Dawson’s Creek was one of the most widely followed dramas among American teens. An unprecedented smash hit for the burgeoning WB network, the show highlighted an amazing portfolio of original hit series created by the network including Buffy spin-off Angel (1999), Gilmore Girls (2000), and Smallville (2001).
Dawson’s Creek follows the life of title character Dawson Leery …
Frasier (Season 2) DVD Review
Much like the shows Seinfeld and Friends, Frasier, the Kelsey Grammer Cheers spin-off, dominated the NBC prime time TV lineup throughout the 1990s. Grammer stars in the title role of Dr. Frasier Crane who, recently divorced, moves back to his home city of Seattle, Washington. Landing a gig as a radio psychiatrist, Frasier reluctantly agrees to let his father Marty (John Mahoney), a Seattle cop recently shot in an attempted robbery, move into his new bachelor pad. Both Frasier…
Gilligan’s Island (DVD) Review
Nominated for zero Emmys in its short three-season stint, Gilligan’s Island nonetheless has carved itself a notable niche in the television hall of fame. The brainchild of TV icon Sherwood Schwartz, longtime TV writer and creator of The Brady Bunch, Gilligan’s Island quickly gathered a strong cult following, reaching successive generations of fans via syndication following its cancellation and even spawning a cable TV reality show four decades later. An original CBS series, t…