|
Films/DVD Asylum Movies from comedy to drama to your favorite Hollyweird Star. |
|
|
|
Films/DVD Asylum Movies from comedy to drama to your favorite Hollyweird Star. |
|
In Reply to: Television as film posted by jbmcb on June 4, 2006 at 19:55:51:
I agree with dave c in regards to the biting satire Action and the high octane Crime Story with a caveat about that second season ender That has to be one of the lamest, most improbable cliff-hangers ever contemplated for a TV series, ...at least since the days of saturday morning serials.Other great television:
The first season of Wiseguy with two supurbly done story arcs; breakout performance for Kevin Spacey as Mel Profitt with memorable roles for Ray Sharkey (Sonny Steelgrave) and William Russ (Roger LoCocco).
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel & Firefly (three brilliant series helmed by Joss Whedon): Even though Buffy and Angel may not seem like the subject for great television based on the vampire & teen angst themes, these are among the wittiest, most thoughtful dramatic programs ever contemplated for series television. It would be hard to pick one or two specific episodes in any of these series because, quite frankly, most are supurb. In Buffy, the Broadway musical episode in season 5(?) is a standout as is the episode where Buffy's mother dies of natural causes (serious drama), and for clever repartee, look for episodes featuring the character Spike.
Stargate SG-1 & Atlantis: Some hit and miss episodes over Stargates continuing series (now in it's 9th year) and Atlantis is still in it's formative stages, but mostly excellent with nicely drawn characters and imaginative, well thought out SF storylines. Favorites? I like the CGI Asgard race (who pop up in episodes occasionally and look like stereotypical Area 51 grey aliens); their superior attitude provides an element of dry wit that is sidesplittingly funny in ways that Spock's & Data's fish-out-of-water reactions in the old Trek series rarely achieved.
For animation fans, The (one and only) TICK! And let me emphasize here, NOT the live action series, which was pretty much a train wreck and watered down PC version or the animated series.
Briscoe County Jr (coming out on DVD soon; oh, joy!) - This Bruce Campbell tongue'n cheek western was not only a send-up of the genre, but the cleverest ever done, IMHO. Over the top only when it had to be, but the audience was always along for the ride and in on the joke when the punchline was delivered with a straight face. Forget Mel Brooks and Blazing Saddles, taken as a whole, THIS is funnier. Even though this series lasted only a year (22 epiodes, if I'm not mistaken) it's a classic.
Guilty pleasure: The original Superman TV series featuring George Reeves; especially the pulpy, violent first season with Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane. Although cheaply done by today's standards, these shows maintain much of the charm and simplicity of the comic character without resorting to the the deus ex machina cop-outs that would creep into other Superman series' stories over the years (i.e., the Kryptonite-trap-of-the-week plots).
Well, I'd best stop here and reflect some more on other great series that I've overlooked (but are as yet unavailable on DVD), such as The (original) Fugitive starring David Janssen, The Invaders (another Quinn Martin series), starring Roy Thinnes and the first season or two of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Mission Impossible (especially the first season, featuring Steven Hill as Daniel Briggs). Ah, lots to mull over! :o)
AuPh
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Follow Ups
- Definite thumbs up on that Outer Limits episode and The Prisoner. - Audiophilander 00:45:01 06/05/06 (0)
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
