Reviews

Great show first 2 seasons. Evidently Netflix has a "curse quota" they had to fulfill for the series, and season three had to endure that burden.

And...where the hell is half the cast? Several known names were added season three, so I'm guessing it wasn't the money. Maybe they saw the scripts...😉

Of all the so-called "reality" programming that makes it onto television, this is one bright spot in a sea of drivel. Jeremy Clarkson is motor writing's funniest scribe, and he is one of the few that makes the transition to the telly without appearing to be reading cue cards. Add in James May and Richard Hammond and you have a marvelous team; Jeremy is the chief presenter, a man capable of, as the "Top Gear" website puts it "reducing car manufacturers to floods of tears with nothing more than a long pause and a few well considered words.", Richard and James, in addition to being at the receiving end of a number of Jeremy's barbs, are proper motoring writers in their own right. The features range from the informative (in depth, pull-no-punches reviews of the latest new motorcars) to the just plain silly (presenting the Toyota diesel pickup as the most indestructible vehicle on earth, then proving it by trying to destroy one) and, quite often, both (as when a new Renault was claimed to be among Europe's safest vehicles. After a proper road test, they crashed it with a driver protected only by the vehicle's standard safety features. (Yes, he lived! And emerged unscathed!) There are stunts, such as racing a Mitsubishi Evo downhill against a bobsled, driving a Range Rover to the summit of the highest "mountain" in Scotland, or attempting to reach 100 mph and stop again on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Then there are the bits where each host will be given a certain amount of money each to buy cars and then compete in a series of bizarre challenges, or when Jeremy races the other two lads, Mr. Clarkson in some impeccable motor car, James and Richard on public transport. Simply delightful! Discovery Channel abruptly quit the series in America 6 October 2005 without comment, it hopefully will reappear at a later date, either there or on another venue. (BBC America, are you listening?)

How'd you feel afterwards? Like George Lucas had been following you around, making notes about what you read, what you watched, what you loved? Like he'd interviewed your friends, your relatives, checked with Santa about your Christmas wish lists? Do you remember how many people you dragged back to the theatre, over and over, converting all your friends like some demented Jedi missionary? Do you remember how you waited for "Return of the Jedi", how you wrote letters about how it shouldn't be named "Revenge of the Jedi" and you stood in line for tickets for 3 days? How long's it been since you felt that way? Yeah, you're in your 40's now, you've got a 40-hour-a-week job that you spend 70 hours a week doin', your wife wants you to wallpaper the bathroom, your kids are away at college buying I-Pods with their book money, it just cost you $70 to have your dog's teeth cleaned and all you wanna do is feel like you did back then.

Well, this is your lucky day, my friend; you have a chance to relive that experience. Joss Whedon has brought you a little Christmas time capsule called "Serenity." You've heard of Joss; "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer," "Angel" and a little series on Fox called "Firefly." That last was a special kind of show; great writing, a tight cast, a haunting score and a story line that made all the other sc-fi you'd seen lately seem like episodes of "Meet the Press." Fox did their best to kill it; they refused to show the pilot, they showed episodes out of order, they pre-empted it and then abandoned it with 3 episodes left unaired. Like 40 or 50 other Fox shows in recent years, it was dead.

But it wasn't dead. The fans, Browncoats, as they call themselves, immediately started writing letters, making phone calls, posting messages on sc-fi web sites and blogs, all in an effort to save the show. That, and Joss wouldn't quit. He told the cast they were canceled and, almost in the same breath, told them not not to give up, that he'd find them a home. Together they made enough noise that Fox decided to release the series on DVD, figuring that'd shut the fans up and they could go back to putting quality shows on the air like "The Simple Life." And DVD sales took off. Word spread, mostly fan to fan. People began having DVD viewing parties, buying DVD for friends, setting up booths an sci-fi conventions to promote the show and the DVD's with no help from Fox. You see, they loved the show and it's characters and the folks who gave them life. And, they made enough noise (and bought enough DVDs) that they got the attention of Universal Studios who, perhaps remembering Star Trek the above mentioned Star Wars , decided to spring $40,000,000 for a movie.

It was money well spent. "Serenity" is everything the series and the above mentioned franchises were, and more. Mr Whedon, being simply the most eloquent script writer on the planet, has given the film a story line that not only satisfies (at least, temporarily) the Fireflyistas, it's a knock down, kick butt film in it's own right. I won't go into plot details here; this site abounds with plenty of reviews that'll explain the story. I'm here to explain the heart. See it now. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cheer, you'll tell your friends and drag 'em to the theatre and wait in line three days for the sequel. You'll regain your youth. And the next coat you buy just might be a bit brown...

The documentary used to be an art form unto it's own; a film dedicated to imparting information, "facts", if you will, to the viewer. From Jacques Cousteau telling us about the undersea world to Ken Burns' recent films, they were informative, often painstakingly researched, and generally, if you were interested in the stated subject, entertaining. I loved just about every one of them.

Enter Michael Moore. I remember, the first time I saw "Roger & Me", thinking it was a funny film. A documentary? Of course not, but a comedy made in documentary style. Surely no one would believe that Roger Smith wantonly and maliciously single handedly destroyed Flint, Michigan for personal and corporate gain, right? Little did I know at that point how seriously Mr. Moore took himself.

These days, the documentary is under assault. With television shows like "Who Wants To Marry My Dad?" and psuedo-documentary films like "Supersize ME", the form has been diluted. Which brings us to this film. It's title could have been "George & Me" because nothing has changed. Sure, he can get better interviews, he has better equipment, he got (eventually) a better distribution deal but, in the end, it's the same film he's been making for 15 years. And one could laugh about this if it weren't for the fact that, with the worldwide distribution and all, there's a chance that folks around the world who aren't familiar with his work (see "Canadian Bacon") might actually believe it's a compilation of facts! Which might, in this post-9/11 world, encourage some fanatic out there amongst the rabble to actually believe that our government and, by extension, our security, are that inept, and encourage them to take their shot.

But, I digress. If you are of a liberal bent, see "Fahrenheit 9/11" and lose yourself for 2 hours in Mr. Moore's fantasy world. If you are of a conservative nature, see the film anyway, if only to be able rebut, with authority, it's obvious inaccuracies and omissions. But do the brotherhood of documentary filmmakers at large a favor; pay to see "Spider-man 2" then sneak into "Fahrenheit 9/11" instead. Don't encourage this type of film making by throwing money at it! Oh yes, and Michael? I was tempted to take a cheap shot at the end of this commentary, but I wouldn't want to encroach on your turf...

...and the timing for this thing rivals that of the introduction of the Edsel. Don't get me wrong; I love Whoopi, Terry & Bonnie Turner are tops in their craft and the rest of the ensemble are aces. But to premiere this show, with a character of middle eastern descent (I know; he's not an Arab...he's Persian!) spouting lines about working on Iranian missile systems "[they] don't have", holding a pipe like it was a rifle, telling his co-workers his people are "everywhere" might have been just a tad insensitive in the same week as the anniversary of 9/11. And then they repeated it! I'm sure there are many in New York City, as well as the various communities of persons of middle eastern descent, not to mention families of service men and women stationed in Iraq who would just as soon seen repeats of "Will & Grace" in those time slots. Maybe this kind of thing seemed funny when they wrote it in January or whenever, but not right now...

....to, maybe, a series of adaptations of Hillerman's books? PBS, Robert Redford, Tony Hillerman and company has done a decent job here. I would have thought that, given the material, they could have given us at least two full hours (maybe three?) to flesh out the story a little but, hey, I'm not complaining here. The casting was superb. I was thrilled to see Sheila Tousey as Emma Leaphorn. Tousey, who played Maggie Eagle Bear in 1992's "Thunderheart," is probably one of the least appreciated actors working today. Wes Studi plays Joe Leaphorn a little close to the chest, but the casting of him playing opposite Adam Beach was brilliant. Alex Rice is the perfect Janet Pete. I would think, also, that this quintessentially American series would be something that PBS would be able to sell back to the Brits. Let's all deluge our local PBS stations with demands for more ...perhaps with a pledge to show we're serious?

Michael Nesmith has an eye, a feel for comedy. Merely saying that he is easily the most talented of the Monkees is an insult. And here stands the proof.

Doctor Duck's is a sequel to Nesmith's earlier "Elephant Parts", and, like that earlier work, this is a compilation of short comedy sketches and music videos, showcasing then up-and-coming talent, including the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, and Garry Shandling. It's fast paced, well shot, well edited, and it should have received more attention than it did on release. Nesmith's dry wit, impeccable timing and attention to detail make this the shortest 90 minute video you'll ever see. This is Nesmith's medium, and I sincerely hope that he someday returns to delight us further....