Amazon.com

Whether it's a snowy nude sprint down Main Street, the mysterious appearance of a long-lost relative, or the improbable death of yet another of Maggie's boyfriends, life's never dull in the remote hamlet of Cicely, Alaska. Colorful characters and quirky plots propelled Northern Exposure into the hearts of millions of viewers, earning the CBS "dramedy" series seven Emmy awards between its 1990 debut and its demise six seasons later.

In season 1, we meet Dr. Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow), an urban New York yuppie who consents to four years of rural servitude after Alaska pays his medical-school tuition. Joel's fish-out-of-water adventures drive the show, but it's the quirky ensemble of characters--Chris, the DJ/philosopher (John Corbett), Holling, the bartender (John Cullum), Maurice, the town patriarch (Barry Corbin), Ed, the filmmaker (Darren E. Burrows), and Maggie, the bush pilot (Janine Turner), among others–-that keeps the series consistently entertaining. The town develops its own offbeat personality as well, a Mayberry-meets-Twin-Peaksblend of Native mysticism, Aurora Borealis-induced dreams, unlikely tales of long-lost family members, and rumors of a Bigfoot-like creature known simply as "Adam."

Northern Exposure provides a utopian escape--a place where life is interesting but never dangerous, everyone's insightful, the mystical becomes real, and nobody's burdened with a mundane 9-to-6 desk job. Cicely is a delightful place to visit, even if it's only for an hour at a time.

A mid-season replacement, season 1 consists of just eight episodes on two DVDs. Each episode includes 5-10 minutes of outtakes and deleted scenes. --Shane Burnett ... Read more

Reviews (167)

Yay! Finally!
With the glut of completely forgettable TV shows and movies flooding onto DVD, it's nice to see a series of great quality, superior writing, memorable characters, and consistent imagination make it finally to DVD! "Northern Exposure" is a true classic! It'll be great to have it available legally in Region 1 NTSC (there have been bootleg Region 2 PAL versions floating around for a couple years already on eBay, but with extremely poor sound/video synchronization).
The first season only has 8 episodes (since it premiered during the summer of 1990. It might have been better to combine the 1st season with the 7 episodes of season 2 (which ran in April/May 1991, for a 15 episode set, but comprehending the mind of marketing 'geniuses' is bound to lead nowehere.) The first 'regular' seasons with 22-24 episodes only began in September 1991.
Let's hope this release signals that after season 1, the next 5 seasons will also soon see the light of day.

Some of the extras promised for this release:

Deleted Scenes
Video Documentary Footage
Mock Movie Footage
"Unexposed" Footage

(and special limited edition "Parka" packaging!)

Where's the Beef?
Norther Exposure is probably one of the best cast, best written, & best Location-scouted TV shows ever aired. My wife & I eagerly awaited for the show's arrival to DVD. When we purchased the show--for an outrageous $50.00--we were shocked at what we received. Yes, the innovative packaging was fun, but it hid the fact that there was nothing inside. As others have noted, the price is horrible when you realize that there were on 8 episodes! What makes it worse is that there is absolutely no information included. No booklet with stills from the show, no list of episodes, nothing at all. On top of that, they do not even give you multiple discs, they give you cheezy 2 sided discs with 2 shows on each side. What were they thinking? Others have noted that seasons 1 & 2 should have been combined. I agree. If you are a fan of the show & want the episodes from season 2, you'll get reamed gain... there are only 7 episodes!

Great TV you can't find these days.
I am giving this DVD 5 stars because that's what the show is worth. You can't find TV like this now days and perhaps never will again. I have watched late night re-runs and fell in love years ago. I cannot wait to revisit Sicily Alaska again.
The 1st season is only 8 episodes so yeah it is a little short. I can guarantee it will only leave you wanting more though. Because the show is so amazing I am not to concerned about price. I am crossing all fingers and toes that they will release the rest of the seasons on DVD or I will be forced to buy the A&E VHS copies.

Northern Exposure--The ultimate TV show!
I remember watching the TV show when it was in it's 2nd or 3rd season and I became completely hooked on it. I'm very glad I got this DVD that contains the entire 1st season of shows and the extra goodies that come with it. I can hardly wait for the 2nd season to be released on DVD.

Close, but not enough.
This was great. My friends were able to see how the story all started and I got to see it all over again. But only 8 episodes, I would agree with other reviewers, they should have gave the first two seasons. Definitely better than a lot of other TV to DVD issues out there right now. ... Read more

Description

This 7-time Emmy Award-winning series is a remarkable blend of quirky humor and heartwarming storytelling. With an ensemble cast including Rob Morrow (Quiz Show), John Corbett (TV's Sex and the City, My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and the beautiful Janine Turner (Cliffhanger), Season Two takes us back to the slightly bizarre, yet charming, little logging town in Alaska. Relive the Complete Second Season of the show TV Guide calls "...one of television's truly fine series." ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Sopranos, writer-producer-director David Chase's extraordinary television series, is nominally an urban gangster drama, but its true impact strikes closer to home, chronicling a dysfunctional, suburban American family in bold relief. And for protagonist Tony Soprano, there's the added complexity posed by heading twin families, his collegial mob clan and his own, nouveau riche brood. The series' brilliant first season is built around what Tony learns when, whipsawed between those two worlds, he finds himself plunged into depression and seeks psychotherapy--a gesture at odds with his midlevel capo's machismo, yet instantly recognizable as a modern emotional test. With analysis built into the very spine of the show's elaborate episodic structure, creator Chase and his formidable corps of directors, writers, and actors weave an unpredictable series of parallel and intersecting plot arcs that twist from tragedy to farce to social realism. While creating for a smaller screen, they enjoy a far larger canvas than a single movie would afford, and the results, like the very best episodic television, attain a richness and scope far closer to a novel than movies normally get.

Alternately seductive, exasperated, fearful, and murderous, James Gandolfini's Tony is utterly convincing even when executing brutal shifts between domestic comedy and dramatic violence. The first season's other life force is Livia Soprano, Tony's monstrous, meddlesome mother. As Livia, the late Nancy Marchand eclipses her long career of patrician performances to create an indelibly earthy, calculating matriarch who shakes up both families; Livia also serves as foil and rival to Tony's loyal, usually level-headed wife, Carmela (Edie Falco). Lorraine Bracco makes Tony's therapist, Dr. Melfi, a convincing confidante, by turns "professional," perceptive, and sexy; the duo's therapeutic relationship is also depicted with uncommon accuracy. Such grace notes only enrich what's not merely an aesthetic high point for commercial television, but an absorbing film masterwork that deepens with subsequent screenings.

In its second season, The Sopranos repeatedly defies formula to let the narrative turn as a direct consequence of the characters' behavior, letting everyone in this rogue's gallery of Mafiosi, friends, and family evolve and deepen. That gamble is most apparent in the rupture of the relationship that formed the spine of the first season, the tangled ties between Tony and Livia, whose betrayal makes Tony's estrangement a logical response. Filling that vacuum, however, is prodigal sister Janice (Aida Turturro), whose New Age flakiness never successfully conceals her underlying calculation and opportunism. Soprano's relationship with therapist Melfi also frays during early episodes, as she struggles with escalating doubts about her mobbed-up patient. At home, Tony contends with wife Carmela's ruthless ambitions on behalf of college-bound Meadow (Jamie Lynn Sigler), as well as son Anthony Jr.'s (Robert Iler) sullen adolescent flirtation with existentialism--the sort of touch that the show handles with a smart mix of sympathy and amusement.

In the brutal and controversial third season, The Sopranos justified its 11-month hiatus with some of its best, and most hotly debated, episodes. It continued to upend convention and defy audience expectations with a deliberately paced, calm-before-the-storm season opener that revolves around the FBI's attempts to bug the Soprano household, and a season finale that (for some) frustratingly leaves several plot lines unresolved. "Employee of the Month," in which Dr. Melfi is raped and considers whether to exact revenge by telling Tony of her attack, earned Emmys for its writers, and is perhaps Emmy nominee Lorraine Bracco's finest hour. Other story arcs concern the rise of the seriously unstable Ralph Cifaretto (Joe Pantoliano) and Tony's affair with "full-blown loop-de-loo" Gloria (Emmy nominee Annabella Sciorra). Plus, there is Tony's estrangement from daughter Meadow, his wayward delinquent son Anthony, Jr., Carmela's crisis of conscience, bad seed Jackie Jr., and the FBI--which, as the season ends, assigns an undercover agent to befriend an unwitting figure in the Soprano family's orbit.

Though for some the widely debated fourth season contained too much yakking instead of whacking, and an emphasis on domestic family over business Family, in most respects The Sopranos remains television's gold standard. The season garnered 13 Emmy nominations, and subsequent best actor and actress wins for James Gandolfini and Edie Falco as Tony and Carmela, whose estrangement provides the season with its most powerful drama, as well as a win for Joe Pantoliano's psychopath Ralph. Other narrative threads include Christopher's (Emmy nominee Michael Imperioli) descent into heroin addiction, Uncle Junior's (Dominic Chianese) trial, an unrequited and potentially fatal attraction between Carmela and Tony's driver Furio, and a rude joke about Johnny Sack's wife that has potentially fatal implications. Other indelible moments include Christopher's girlfriend Adriana's projectile reaction to discovering that her new best friend is an undercover FBI agent in the episode "No Show," Janice giving Ralph a shove out of their relationship in "Christopher," and the classic "Quasimodo/Nostradamus" exchange in the season-opener, which garnered HBO's highest ratings to date. Freed from the understandably high expectations for the fourth season, heightened by the 16-month hiatus, these episodes can be better appreciated on their own considerable merits. They are pivotal chapters in television's most novel saga.

From the moment a wayward bear lumbers into the Sopranos' yard in the fifth-season opener, it is clear that The Sopranos is in anything but a "stagmire." The series benefits from an infusion of new blood, the so-called "Class of 2004," imprisoned "family" members freshly released from jail. Most notable among these is Tony's cousin, Tony Blundetto (Steve Buscemi, who directed the pivotal season 3 episode "Pine Barrens"), who initially wants to go straight, but proves himself to be something of a "free agent," setting up a climactic stand-off between Tony and New York boss Johnny Sack. These 13 mostly riveting episodes unfold with a page-turning intensity with many rich subplots. Estranged couple Tony and Carmella (the incomparable James Gandolfini and Edie Falco) work toward a reconciliation (greased by Tony's purchase of a $600,000 piece of property for Carmela to develop). The Feds lean harder on an increasingly stressed-out and distraught Adriana to "snitch" with inevitable results. This season's hot-button episode is "The Test Dream," in which Tony is visited by some of the series' dear, and not-so-dearly, departed in a harrowing nightmare. ... Read more

Description

One of filmdom's most notorious killers is back to wreak more mayhem as Chucky continues his quest to possess the body of a human child.Eight years after seemingly destroying the killer doll, AndyBarclay (Justin Whalin) turns 16 and is placed in a military school.Meanwhile, the greedy president of Play Pals Toy Company decides toresurrect the popular Good Guys doll line, confident that all the badpublicity is forgotten.As the assembly line recreates the first doll from a mass of melted plastic, the spirit of Chucky returns to renew hisquest and seek revenge on Andy.Once again it's up to Andy to stop the unrelenting killer in this fast-paced thriller. ... Read more

Reviews (65)

Child's Play 3 - Not A Bad Sequel
Child's Play 3 came out in 1991, exactly one year after the last sequel, Part II. Reviewers despised it, of course, because they hate everything. This, overall, is not a bad sequel. Yes, it is my least favorite of the series, but can be enjoyable.

Andy Barclay (Justin Whalin this time) has been sent to military school, where everybody decides that he can get some good discipline and forget all the mayhem that the killer doll, Chucky, has done through his life.

Meanwhile, the Good Guy Doll company decide to make Chucky again. They think that they should try and forget what has been said about before and make everyone like Chucky again. This leads to our deranged, homicidal doll coming back to life and trying to find Barclay. Chucky travels to the military school and finds a new boy who he could transfer his soul into. Andy finds out and tries to stop him, while everybody else thinks he's crazy. Chucky begins his rampage, while Andy desperately tries to help Chucky's target.

This movie is not scary at all. I don't think any of the Chucky movies are, except for Part I. That was a bit creepy, because we didn't exactly know who Chucky was. In this one, Chucky just kills people and makes jokes about how he did it. Don't come looking for a scary movie!

The acting in this movie is okay. Justin Whalin plays a believable Andy, but he didn't really act like the little Andy we used to know. That's okay though. The rest of the cast were your stereo-typical characters. There was the tough girl who likes Andy, his nerdy friend, his soldier enemy, and many more predictable characters.

Overall, this movie deserves a rental. You might want to stay away from this if you hate Chucky movies, because that's what it is. It is also not for little children. Chucky cusses pervasively and kills a lot of people in gory ways.

RATED R for very strong violence/gore, language, and some disturbing images.

Classic
The reason I'm giving this movie 5 stars is because it is a pure classic in my life. This was the only chucky movie I ever saw as a kid. I recorded it on a tape from usa. And yes, of course. It scared the hell out of me. And I love it. The movie is starring: Justin Whalin as ANDY. No Alex Vincet. (didn't you get enough of him in 1 and 2?)It was funny, Justin Whalin also came out on a disney movie too, called: "Susie Q". So everytime I would see that, I would say "Hey! He's from the chucky movie!" About the movie, he finds andy in a military camp, at he's 16, but instead he tries to hunt down another kid, Tyler. And kills eveyone who gets in his way, Andy tries to stop him. And lots of guns are used too. And the movie end up at a fair. Out of all the chucky movies, CHILD'S PLAY 3. Chucky is deffinetly at his evilist! Except the tv version held chucky back, it was edited for gore, languege, an for its runnig time. But finnaly on dvd! YES!!! First in line!!!

Easily the best
This is very simply and easily the best of the Chucky three. I mean, the SFX are much better, the setting unforgettable. Yes, there are elements to this one I don't like - Chucky's ressurection is fairly mediocre; just like CP 2 really, except we don't see many workers. The opener is slow, what with the swirling goop and credits -- it's rather boring, you should Fast Foward. I have the DVD but I assume its the same deal as the VHS.
The movie is eerier than the others with much more "is he coming" types-of-feelings to it. The acting is fairly good - better than the second but not like the first - with Justin Whalin and Perry Reeves doing stellar. Perry does the best, she's extremely convincing.
The climaxing ten minutes in the funhouse Roller Coaster comprise the best ending I've ever seen in a movie to date. The CP 2 climax in the factory was horrible compared to this, and it was on its own stellar. This scene is just so great. Chucky's death probably could've been executed better. The good news is, unlike the first film, he dosen't come back eighty times, only once.

Lets Play hide the Soul
Very good. This series is so unlike a lot of the horror series...it actualy has GOOD sequals!!!

Andy is shipped off to a Military school and Chucky follows him there but ends up in the hands of a little boy who befriends him. CHucky tries to act good around the little boy while at the same time tries to kill andy.

I love this movie. The death scenes are very good and eyecatching and chucky is ruthless in his attempt to kill everyone. A lot of the deaths are awesome! My favorite is where he replaces paint balls with bullets..

This is the last of the series that is any good and worth seeing...

HOW COULD YOU RATE THESE MOVIES?
NONE OF THE CHILD PLAY MOVIES SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY.THATS WHY SOME PEOPLE GIVE IT BAD REVIEWS. DO PEOPLE REALY EXPECT A CHILDS PLAY MOVIE TO BE OSCAR MATERIAL???? I AM GIVING THIS MOVIE 5 STARS JUST TO PISS OFF ALL THE CRITICS WHO HAVE TO BASH EVERY MOVIE BC THEY DON'T HAVE A LIFE. IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE THE FIRST ONE THEN WHY DID YOU WATCH THE OTHER FILMS? I BET YOU THESE CRITICS ARE THE SAME PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER FAN CLUB, AND ARE ALSO OVER 30 STILL LIVING WITH MOMMY. IF YOU WANT A ACADEMY AWARD WINNING MOVIE, THEN GO WATCH FRIED GREEN TOMATOES WITH MOMMY....DON'T F@!k WITH THE CHUCK!!! ... Read more

Reviews (23)

One of the best cop shows that people didn't "get"
Boomtown was unlike any cop drama out there. Boomtown was full of complex and orginal characters that remain constant through the shows run of 2 seasons. NBC viewers (most of them) didn't get the format so the people who loved Boomtown and wanted MORE of it had to suffer due to the Law and Order series which keeps dragging on and on. Boomtown was something special and still is to the people who fell in love with the stories and characters.
NBC was STUPID for letting go of this amazing show. This DVD should also add Season 2 even though it wasn't as orginal as the first it still deserves to be on this DVD! Boomtown will live on forever as one of the best cop shows out there! I really miss this show!!!

One of the few things I really, really want on DVD
I have never really had a huge desire to spend money on dvds. I find very few things worth paying for, knowing I will never watch them again. But this series was so extraordinary that I simply must have it---if for no other reason than to show it to others. Very few shows have utilized the narrative structure to it's full potential, and none have done it so well and with such fascinating characters, as BOOMTOWN. I recall one TV critic saying that "Boomtown" was too smart for the average American viewer. Sadly, that may have been true. Of course, since NBC did nothing to promote or nuture this program, we'll never know what might have been.

Yeeeehaaaaw!
That lady friend of david the lawyer is OFF THE HOOK. But seriously folks, Boomtown is quite possibly the greatest crime drama ever released. It's put together amazingly in probably the most original format i've ever seen, the story lines grab you by the balls and don't let go, and it's all brought together by an amazing cast. Guy with severe underbite from forest gump, lady from minority report, and especially everyones favorite new kid ont he block, donnie wahlberg. They all bring a perfect touch of drama to this nearly perfect television show.

It would be a shame if this isn't released to the US on DVD. Season one of Boomtown truely was a masterpeice. A wiseman once said, "The fire you kindle for your enemy often burns yourself more than him." I don't know what this means, but i do know one thing...Boomtown was pure gold. We need to support Boomtown, if we all enter our e-mail addresses at the top of the page and vote, boomtown will rise from the ashes and become imortalized in the form of DVD. Thank you for your time, and don't forget to watch 24 tuesdays at 9pm.

Why the hell did they cancel this series?
I'm still saddened by the fact that this series is off the air! It was the best written drama and an ORIGINAL take on the "police show" formula, God knows we need one more Law and Order franchise. By showing the different angles and different points of view it get's further inside the story and further to the truth, and I guess that's why it was cancelled. It was complex enough to hold your interest, but it never got confusing.

The actors they got for the roles were perfectly cast. From Neal McDonough and his excellent vocal prowes to Donnie Wahlberg's compassionate but Joel Stevens and his tandem Mykelti Williamson with the perfect nickname "Fearless" every actor brought their own edge to the roles.

Thank you for putting the show on DVD for myself and others to enjoy and hopefully show other people why it was such a travesty that this show was cut!

One of the finest TV shows I've ever seen
I'm a television writer myself and I'm completely humbled by the quality and complexity of this series. If there were any justice, it would have lasted more than one season, but I'm glad that a show this wonderful got a chance to air at all. I was very happy to see the show win a well-deserved Peabody Award but it deserved several Emmy's as well. It's great that it's out on DVD now so it can be preserved and discovered by people who never got a chance to see it originally. I'm grateful to Graham Yost and his brilliant co-writers, directors, actors, and crew for work that will always be an inspiration to me. ... Read more

Reviews (24)

THE MIDNIGHT HOUR is perfect for a Halloween night!
This was the first horror movie I ever saw and I love it. It's blend of comedy, horror, and shock/atmosphere creates enormously scary fun. A group of kids accidentally release a witch's curse on the town of Pitchford/Pitchfork Cove. Soon vampires, werewolves, zombies, and maniic killers are loose. Some are frightening, like the Vernon Nester zombie and the Judge monster, and others are humorous like the midget werewolf and the alcoholic ghoul. It's Halloween night, and the ghosts and ghouls decide to create a party of their own! First rate fun with scares and laughs.

E-mail me: jackmonsoon@hotmail.com

A Halloween classic!
Part of the appeal of "Midnight Hour" is that it's a good, fun Halloween film for the entire family but also enjoys an almost cult status among the adult set. Though not ultimately destined for a place in the Horror Hall of Fame I look at it like this: "Midnight Hour" is like that baseball player who's a hometown hero but never achieves recognition outside those who grew up watching him. Hope that makes sense.

The story is pretty cliche. A bunch of teenagers find a scroll in a museum that will raise the dead when read aloud in a cemetary on Halloween night. They do and hilarity ensues. I hung out with a pretty diverse bunch in high school but I never knew anyone who's idea of fun was getting together to read musty old incantations. Anyway, what follows next is B-movie actors getting zombified for the duration of the movie until the curse can be broken.

What I love most about this movie, though, is its encompassing of age old tradition and classic seasonal imagery. This is partly why it has become inextricably linked with my memories of Halloween.

If you're looking for an enjoyable movie with a fun, if a bit formula plot, for your Halloween party then it doesn't get much better than "Midnight Hour". Thank Anchor Bay for bringing this rare Halloween gem back to prominence.

Demons arise
This movie takes place in a small town in Pennsylvania on Halloween. A group of kids decide to break in to a museum to steal costumes for a party one of them is throwing. They go to the cemetery to try them on and find an old parchment in one of the chests. They recite the chant written on it not knowing what they have unleashed. After they leave zombies, werewolves, vampires, and a large serial killer are revived and come out of their graves to wreck havoc. The party is at the vampire witch Lucinda's old house, and she comes home. Before long the party is full of dancing zombies & vampires. One of the friends meets up with a cheerleader (that is not a zombie) back from the grave and they have to try and end the curse by midnight. It is a hard task because the items they need are scattered amongst the other friends. This is a great halloween movie that also has some laughs in it.

80's Kids Ultimate Halloween Flick
I can rememebr the first time I watched "The Midnight Hour" on television when I was about 7 or 8. I LOVED IT!! And that statement still holds today. My Mom taped it for me the first time it was on, and when my cousin misplaced my videotape, I was shattered!! I found this rare gem one night at a Blockbuster and was absolutely overjoyed!! Now that it is out on DVD I am in heaven!! My only lament is the lack (or absence of is more like it) of extras on the DVD. But I guess being a made-for-tv movie, there really couldn't be much to work with for extras.
This movie is such a rare find. It's a first rate 80's horror movie that encompasses camp, humor, a little scariness and a great soundtrack (another should've been) and of course those laughable 80's fashions: who could forget the pumps worn with white ankle socks?? But this was so cool back then and it's still kinda cool now, in a way that probably only 80's kids can truly appreciate and understand. This is a movie that you wanna show people who've never seen it and you KNOW they'll enjoy. Sure there are a lot of incongruities like why are some zombies not decayed at all?? Well they're main characters of course and for plot purposes one of our unwitting teen characters has to fall in love with them!
For me this move is not only a good horror flick, but it conjures up memories of past Halloweens when Halloween meant having fun and being a little scared--like trick or treating (which at 25 I still miss!!), and staying up late on Halloween night and watching creepy movies with your family; a time when Halloween meant something to you and your friends and you waited all throught the month of October to get to the 31st! And school Halloween parties with cupcakes and goodies.
I know when I watch this movie, I'm that little seven year old again, in her pajamas watching the movie in the dark and getting a little laugh or a little scare here and there.
Living in Salem, MA (the self-proclaimed Halloween capital of the world) is great, but nothing holds a candle to being a kid on Halloween except maybe having "The Midnight Hour" to watch over and over again! "Halloween.....my favorite day of the year." True fans of this movie will know which character said that line!

Outstanding Soundtrack!
Actually, I have already written a review of the film. This is just some soundtrack information for the fans of this excellent Halloween fun flick. I've received emails from Amazon customers asking me about certain songs, so I've decided to post the soundtrack here. Anyway, on with it:

The Midnight Hour - Wilson Pickett
Lil' Red Riding Hood - Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs
Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Clap For The Wolfman - The Guess Who
How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths

Mama Told Me (Not To Come) - Three Dog Night
Sea Of Love - Phil Philips & The Twilights
(This is the original version, not the remake in the film)
Get Dead - Shari Belafonte-Harper
Devil Or Angel - Bobby Vee
Baby, I'm Yours - Barbara Lewis

If anyone wants to add to this, please feel free. This is an excellent blend of spooky tunes from the 50's through 80's. If you are an insane fan like myself, you'll go ahead and collect these songs to make your own soundtrack. I just thought I'd help the crazy ones along a little bit. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Very Good Movie
This was a really great movie. Going into it I thought it might be aimed at a younger audience, but that wasn't the case at all, as there was some profanity and adult subject matter. At one part in the movie the 13 year old brain damaged son gets a hard on watching Pepper (Yasmine Bleeth) while having his feet massaged by his doting mother, much to everyone's embarrassment. The entire cast was excellent, Kevin Zegers in particular. Zegers was the movies principle character, and he played the part out beautifully. It reminded me of a similiar role that Leonardo DiCaprio played in Whats Eating Gilbert Grape, in that he was so convincing in the role you actually believed he was brain damaged just as DiCaprio pulled off his role as a retarded boy.
There were a few bonuses such as commentary and such, and the movie really is a must see (and own in my opinion.)

Odd Film, but Well-Done
I happened upon this film one evening while surfing the channels and could not stop watching it. The first thing that grabbed me was that it is very odd. A mentally challenged boy plays with a toy plane that seems to summon a flying and flamboyant couple to crash into the roof of the boy's unhappy household. At first, I could not tell if this film was a drama or comedy. The heated and serious subject matter of the two parents still burdened with guilt over their son's debilitating accident makes me lean to the former that has some lighter moments thrown in (the funny comments of Yasmine Bleeth's character, an airhead with plenty of wisdom). The couple who crash in (outgoing and sometimes silly) help the parents recapture their magic and prompt them to deal with their guilt. They also seem to fortell a brighter future for the family which has me believe this crazy couple were unorthodox "saints" or "angels" of sort (the film never clears this up). Still, a major outburst is needed before peace can be had in this household. An often suspenseful film that is beautifully acted.

Excellent film/Highly Recommended
A small plane crashes onto the roof of a house.
A family torn apart by a tragedy involving there young son(Played by the talented Kevin Zegers)is on the verge of a Divorce until the strange Man and woman in the plane come into there lives and turn things around.
Christopher Looyd and Jasmine Bleeth are great as the soon to be married couple and John Ritter is great as the bitter husband and father of his brain damaged young son.
The film has a good underlying message that Love and a positive

attitude to traumatic events will conquer all.
Very good cast and a film well worth seeing

Interesting and worth a look
A good cast makes this strange little movie watchable and enjoyable. A pilot crashes his plane through the roof of a house occupied by a couple who are both sick of each other. John Ritter and Christopher Loyd are both terrific. This movie is a refreshing change of pace from the normal Hollywood formula films. It's worth seeing for that reason alone. Some will find it too slow but it really is unique. If only there weren't so many unanswered questions at the end. Who was Christopher Loyd supposed to be? Was he a con man? Was he a bum? Then how could he afford to charter his own plane? Why did he lie about owning an insurance company? John Ritter is perfect as a frustrated father/husband. He's kind of a jerk yet you really feel for him and care what happens during this night of strange events. This is kind of like watching a play. Definitely worth a look.

It's hearts in the right place.
Stars Christopher Lloyd, Yasmine Bleeth, John Ritter, JoBeth Williams, Kevin Zeger. There are some film's whose heart's are in the right places but just don't have enough ooomph to rise above the ordinary. This is such a film. What sounds like a B-monster movie is actually a comedy/drama about a group of people who do some self-discovering and resolve some issues over one fateful night. Ritter, Williams and Zeger, make up an Unhappy family,whose day to day live seems to be keeping their "special" son, Andy, happy and functioning. Mother is a bit too obsessive with taking care of her boy, whilst Dad is just plain unhappy. Then one day, when Andy make believes he crashes his toy plane into his toy house, a real plane crashes into their roof, and out comes an odder than odd couple (Lloyd, Ritter) on their way to Vegas for Valentines Day. What ends up happening is the Guests end up staying around for a while, and also bring a bit of magic and life back into the household and help with Andy too. The film's got some good messages in it, but it is a bit odd. As for plot holes, there are aplenty. At the start when Andy seems to make his toy plane crash, resulting in the plane crashing for real, we assume he must have some kind of magical power. We never learn anymore about it though. As for Lloyd's shady insurance agent, we never quite work out whether or not he is the shonky con-man Ritter suspects he is. Anyway for what it's worth, this will fill an afternoon in.**3/4 ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Thought-provoking "coming-of-age" movie
Although the emphasis is on Marita Lorenz and Fidel Castro, their ill-fated affair, and the implementation of "la revolución", this movie is a well-written example of interwoven sub-plots of "event" and "character study". The script-writer has artfully woven together the historical backdrop of Cuba from the very early days of Castro's revolution, U.S. involvement on the island (reflective also of CIA activities in other parts of Latin America), glimpses into the various American anti-Castro activities, the tragic naïvité of a teenager rather uninstructed by both of her professionally very busy parents in the art of sound judgment, the dangers of lacking one's own cohesive belief system, the ease of falling prey to the cult of personality, and the painful process of coming of age in a harsh and complex world.

Marita's journey begins as a naïve 19-year-old idealistic dreamer. When she meets Fidel Castro, she has never thought through the concepts of rule of law, peaceful transitions of government, economic justice as opposed to systematized revenge, or true reform versus manipulative takeover in pursuit of totalitarian self-interest. She _wants to_ believe his promises of loosening the grip of terror "when Cuba is fixed..." but becomes gradually disillusioned with the capricious arrests and brutal removals of residents from their Havana homes on no grounds other than rumored suspicion of anti-Castro sentiments. Her inner struggle between her attraction to him, her hopeful wish that in time conditions might indeed improve on the island she has come to love, her own initially immature understanding of freedom and allegiance to one's country, and her painful growth toward coming to understand the components of true liberty are skilfully interwoven and portrayed with sensitivity.

Her inner journey is paced slowly enough to take the viewer into the mind of a young, hopeful, romantic idealist who gradually comes to see through the hypocrisy of endless promises -- her journey also provides a symbolic walk through the gradual disillusionment throughout the island with those same promises that never come to fruition.

Filmed in part in beautiful Old Havana and interspersed with hauntingly lyrical Cuban music -- even someone unfamiliar with Cuba would be touched by the beauty of the place and perhaps gain a sense of why (despite the tragic results of the revolution) Marita had such a lasting affection for the island, her Cuba Linda...

which part is fiction ?
what the movie portrays is shadow function of the US Govt. The best scene in the movie is when Castro offers his own gun to his 'little assassin'.

In the end, can't resist the temptation to know further, whether her son is really alive and became a doctor.

Based on a true story.
The movie begins with the caption "Based on a true story". However, it is very difficult to figure out which parts are true and which parts are fiction.

Here is a brief synopsis of this movie. The movie takes place in post revolution Cuba, at a time when Americans are allowed to enter Havana, the Casinos are fully operational, and the Cuban army is infiltrated with a few CIA agents. Anwar is the 19 years old daughter of a divorced couple,lives with her father who is the captain of a Cruise ship. Her mother is a CIA agent. The cruise ship comes to Cuba, and Castro wants to visit the ship because he's never seen anyhting so big. The daughter of the captain allows them to visit the ship once Castro(Mantegna) and his entourage disarm themselves. Within a few hours they fall in love and kiss on the deck. Anwar returns back to the US, and one day when she is home alone Castro's advisor stops by and tells her that there is a private jet waiting for her. She takes off and flies to Cuba to be with Castro, eventually she gets pregnant, and during the last few days of her pregnancy she faints and wakes up in the US and "unpregnant" accompanied by her mother and FBI agents. FBI an CIA agents convice her that Castro had the pregnancy terminated, and killed the unborn baby.

With vengeance in her heart, she joins a boot camp to receive training as a killer. She flies to Cuba with intentions of posioning Castro. However, the poison pills melts in her make-up bag, Castro understands what she is trying to do, and gives her his side arm, and calls her "My Little Assasin". But she is unable to kill him and returns back to the US, where she gets a slap on her face for not being able to complete the mission.

Eventually she finds out that her son is alive and is a medical student in Cuba. She buys a Levis Jean and goes to Cuba to see Castro and her son.

The movie portrays US government as the evil empire and Castro as the good guy. I guess you have to watch it on your own to find out which parts of this story are based on truth. Good Luck, your sentence will be about 90 minutes. ... Read more

Description

After a six-year absence, Ned Blessing (Brad Johnson) returns to his hometown with his sidekick, Crecencio (Luis Avalos). There he finds a lawless hell-hole governed only by six-shooters and fists. No one in town is willing to stand up to the Borgers, a despicable clan that rules the town with brutality and bullets. Into this charged atmosphere ride Ned and Crecencio to take on the Borgers with only the help of a mysterious Indian (Wes Studi) and the town coward (Tom Scott). ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Sopranos, writer-producer-director David Chase's extraordinary television series, is nominally an urban gangster drama, but its true impact strikes closer to home, chronicling a dysfunctional, suburban American family in bold relief. And for protagonist Tony Soprano, there's the added complexity posed by heading twin families, his collegial mob clan and his own, nouveau riche brood. The series' brilliant first season is built around what Tony learns when, whipsawed between those two worlds, he finds himself plunged into depression and seeks psychotherapy--a gesture at odds with his midlevel capo's machismo, yet instantly recognizable as a modern emotional test. With analysis built into the very spine of the show's elaborate episodic structure, creator Chase and his formidable corps of directors, writers, and actors weave an unpredictable series of parallel and intersecting plot arcs that twist from tragedy to farce to social realism. While creating for a smaller screen, they enjoy a far larger canvas than a single movie would afford, and the results, like the very best episodic television, attain a richness and scope far closer to a novel than movies normally get.

Alternately seductive, exasperated, fearful, and murderous, James Gandolfini's Tony is utterly convincing even when executing brutal shifts between domestic comedy and dramatic violence. The first season's other life force is Livia Soprano, Tony's monstrous, meddlesome mother. As Livia, the late Nancy Marchand eclipses her long career of patrician performances to create an indelibly earthy, calculating matriarch who shakes up both families; Livia also serves as foil and rival to Tony's loyal, usually level-headed wife, Carmela (Edie Falco). Lorraine Bracco makes Tony's therapist, Dr. Melfi, a convincing confidante, by turns "professional," perceptive, and sexy; the duo's therapeutic relationship is also depicted with uncommon accuracy. Such grace notes only enrich what's not merely an aesthetic high point for commercial television, but an absorbing film masterwork that deepens with subsequent screenings.

In its second season, The Sopranos repeatedly defies formula to let the narrative turn as a direct consequence of the characters' behavior, letting everyone in this rogue's gallery of Mafiosi, friends, and family evolve and deepen. That gamble is most apparent in the rupture of the relationship that formed the spine of the first season, the tangled ties between Tony and Livia, whose betrayal makes Tony's estrangement a logical response. Filling that vacuum, however, is prodigal sister Janice (Aida Turturro), whose New Age flakiness never successfully conceals her underlying calculation and opportunism. Soprano's relationship with therapist Melfi also frays during early episodes, as she struggles with escalating doubts about her mobbed-up patient. At home, Tony contends with wife Carmela's ruthless ambitions on behalf of college-bound Meadow (Jamie Lynn Sigler), as well as son Anthony Jr.'s (Robert Iler) sullen adolescent flirtation with existentialism--the sort of touch that the show handles with a smart mix of sympathy and amusement. --Sam Sutherland ... Read more

Reviews (3)

BADA BING...BADA BOOM...
My son is a big Sopranos fan, so I bought him the DVD set for the first season for Christmas. I myself had seen maybe two or three episodes on cable and had enjoyed them. So, when he began watching, I was right there watching with him. What a terrific show! It is absolutely gripping.

It is a marvelously creative series with a stellar cast. For those of you who have been visiting relatives in Antarctica for the past several years, the story revolves around the mob in New Jersey. It centers on one family specifically, the Sopranos, headed by Anthony Soprano (James Gandolfini), who is married to his loyal childhood sweetheart, Carmela (Edie DeFalco). Together they have two children, Meadow and Anthony, Jr. Tony's dangerously manipulative mother, Livia (Nancy Marchand), is bound for a retirement home, if Tony has any say.

Tony, however, has another family, comprised of a bunch of murderous henchmen, who occasionally march to the tune of a different drummer. He also has a Russian mistress. Trying to balance all this has given Tony panic attacks, so he goes to a psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), whose relationship with her client alternates between fear and fascination.

The writing for this series is splendid and the interweaving of comedic and familial moments with the darker, more violent ones provides the viewer with an intelligently woven plot. James Gandolfini is outstanding as Tony Soprano, a powerful mob boss, who can also be a teddy bear of a guy and a good friend, unless you are perceived to have been disloyal. Then, you may kiss your buns goodbye. Tony is mercurial, sexy, fearful, cautious, and, given the right circumstances, deadly. He is a fascinating and beguiling character. Edie DeFalco is warm, funny, loyal, and the glue that binds their immediate family together. Yet, she too has her own sting, and she knows the power that her husband has. She is not above using it herself, if necessary. The late Nancy Marchand was terrific as Livia, the manipulative, scheming mother.

While the first season was sensational, all I can tell you is that the second season is as good, if not better, than the first.

There are some major plot developments. Livia and Tony's uncle hatch a plan that can have murderous consequences for Tony. Carmela is doing all in her power, and I mean all, to help Meadow get into a good college. In her own sweet way, Carmela can be just as scary as Tony. Janice (Aida Turturro), Tony's sister, comes back home, wreaks havoc, marries the former mob boss's jailbird brother, and then leaves town with a bang. One of Tony's best friends becomes a snitch for the Feds. No wonder Tony continues to have anxiety attacks and still needs to see his psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi.

The writing continues to be intelligent, and the story lines are as well thought out and engrossing as ever. I absolutely love this series!

The first and second seasons DVD sets each come nicely packaged with four discs. The nice thing about the DVDs is that before an episode begins, if one likes. one may read a plot summary of that episode. The visuals and audio are crisp and clear. There are also some bonus features. There is a terrific interview with David Chase, the creator of the Sopranos, and some behind the scenes featurettes. All in all, this is a great show, and these are two great DVD sets to add to one's personal collection. I have already seen the first, second, and third seasons. I now can't wait for the fourth season to come out on DVD.

Best show ever!!
I hardly ever watch TV except for sports. But I was recommended to watch this by a friend and let me tell you, if you like goodfellas and shows like that then you will love this. The first season is the best without a doubt. The second season you really get into and then the third season starts off slow but the end is really great. This is by far the best TV series I have ever seen, even better than the simpsons(entertainment value wise). I tell you what, I can't wait for the fourth season to come out because I will get it right away.

the sopranos best seasons
by far the first and second seasons of the sopranos were the best and now there on dvd, nothing could be better. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Very Good Movie
This was a really great movie. Going into it I thought it might be aimed at a younger audience, but that wasn't the case at all, as there was some profanity and adult subject matter. At one part in the movie the 13 year old brain damaged son gets a hard on watching Pepper (Yasmine Bleeth) while having his feet massaged by his doting mother, much to everyone's embarrassment. The entire cast was excellent, Kevin Zegers in particular. Zegers was the movies principle character, and he played the part out beautifully. It reminded me of a similiar role that Leonardo DiCaprio played in Whats Eating Gilbert Grape, in that he was so convincing in the role you actually believed he was brain damaged just as DiCaprio pulled off his role as a retarded boy.
There were a few bonuses such as commentary and such, and the movie really is a must see (and own in my opinion.)

Odd Film, but Well-Done
I happened upon this film one evening while surfing the channels and could not stop watching it. The first thing that grabbed me was that it is very odd. A mentally challenged boy plays with a toy plane that seems to summon a flying and flamboyant couple to crash into the roof of the boy's unhappy household. At first, I could not tell if this film was a drama or comedy. The heated and serious subject matter of the two parents still burdened with guilt over their son's debilitating accident makes me lean to the former that has some lighter moments thrown in (the funny comments of Yasmine Bleeth's character, an airhead with plenty of wisdom). The couple who crash in (outgoing and sometimes silly) help the parents recapture their magic and prompt them to deal with their guilt. They also seem to fortell a brighter future for the family which has me believe this crazy couple were unorthodox "saints" or "angels" of sort (the film never clears this up). Still, a major outburst is needed before peace can be had in this household. An often suspenseful film that is beautifully acted.

Excellent film/Highly Recommended
A small plane crashes onto the roof of a house.
A family torn apart by a tragedy involving there young son(Played by the talented Kevin Zegers)is on the verge of a Divorce until the strange Man and woman in the plane come into there lives and turn things around.
Christopher Looyd and Jasmine Bleeth are great as the soon to be married couple and John Ritter is great as the bitter husband and father of his brain damaged young son.
The film has a good underlying message that Love and a positive

attitude to traumatic events will conquer all.
Very good cast and a film well worth seeing

Interesting and worth a look
A good cast makes this strange little movie watchable and enjoyable. A pilot crashes his plane through the roof of a house occupied by a couple who are both sick of each other. John Ritter and Christopher Loyd are both terrific. This movie is a refreshing change of pace from the normal Hollywood formula films. It's worth seeing for that reason alone. Some will find it too slow but it really is unique. If only there weren't so many unanswered questions at the end. Who was Christopher Loyd supposed to be? Was he a con man? Was he a bum? Then how could he afford to charter his own plane? Why did he lie about owning an insurance company? John Ritter is perfect as a frustrated father/husband. He's kind of a jerk yet you really feel for him and care what happens during this night of strange events. This is kind of like watching a play. Definitely worth a look.

It's hearts in the right place.
Stars Christopher Lloyd, Yasmine Bleeth, John Ritter, JoBeth Williams, Kevin Zeger. There are some film's whose heart's are in the right places but just don't have enough ooomph to rise above the ordinary. This is such a film. What sounds like a B-monster movie is actually a comedy/drama about a group of people who do some self-discovering and resolve some issues over one fateful night. Ritter, Williams and Zeger, make up an Unhappy family,whose day to day live seems to be keeping their "special" son, Andy, happy and functioning. Mother is a bit too obsessive with taking care of her boy, whilst Dad is just plain unhappy. Then one day, when Andy make believes he crashes his toy plane into his toy house, a real plane crashes into their roof, and out comes an odder than odd couple (Lloyd, Ritter) on their way to Vegas for Valentines Day. What ends up happening is the Guests end up staying around for a while, and also bring a bit of magic and life back into the household and help with Andy too. The film's got some good messages in it, but it is a bit odd. As for plot holes, there are aplenty. At the start when Andy seems to make his toy plane crash, resulting in the plane crashing for real, we assume he must have some kind of magical power. We never learn anymore about it though. As for Lloyd's shady insurance agent, we never quite work out whether or not he is the shonky con-man Ritter suspects he is. Anyway for what it's worth, this will fill an afternoon in.**3/4 ... Read more

Reviews (2)

2005 DVD REQUEST
I was born in 1970 and watched 'Eight Is Enough' on TV and in syndication (PAX TV) for most of my life. When I grew up I always wanted to live in a neighborhood like the Bradfords and have friends like Tommy with three or more hot, available, sisters...unfortunately, when I did grow up it was during the 80's and I lived in Texas. Needless to say, life was nothing like the television show and still to this day, I have yet to find a community or a group of people that are as cool as the ones portrayed in this show. The last of the 'Star Wars' saga is coming out this month in the theaters and back then the original 'Star Wars' movie had just come out and 'Eight Is Enough', a show which epitomizes the values of an era that has long come and gone has not been given a DVD release like 'The Brady Bunch' or 'The Partridge Family'. I liked 'The Brady Bunch' and 'TPF' but it always seemed fake to me like 'The Monkees' and I never really got into it like 'EIE'. If whomever is in charge of the rights to this show would put it out on DVD with a really cool 1970's-ish cover (NO DOUBLE SIDED DVD'S!!!) and some cool special features I'd buy it in a heartbeat, and be eternally grateful. It's a shame that in the time that we're living in we don't have more positive family role models on television, and instead have channel after channel of reality shows and military/cop dramas that aren't nearly as cool as 'Chips', 'Magnum P.I.', or 'Simon & Simon', in my opinion. Oh, also, release 'Simon & Simon' on DVD and I'll buy that as well. I love that show!!!

First Season (1977)
I can't believe that with the popularity of -- and push for -- family programming, this marvelous show isn't on the shelves available for purchase.I sure loved it as a young kid, and I would love to have this one in my home for the rest of my family to enjoy.

Even though Betty Buckley wasn't on the show until the second year as Abby, the first short season was a decent offering.Dick Van Patten as Tom Bradford was maybe one of the best TV dads on television ever.

The first year was so brief, so it would be great if whoever owns the rights would release seasons one & two TOGETHER (like the "Dallas" set).Betty Buckly, after all, was one of the best things to ever happen to this series.

01 - Never Try Eating Nectarines Since Juice May Dispense (3-15-77)
Elizabeth is arrested for drug possession, and David (played by Mark 'LUKE SKYWALKER' Hammil in this episode only - Grant Goodeve took over in episode 2) moves out on his own.
**The title of this episode is really just a clever way that Tom and Joan remember the names of all their 8 kids - Nicholas, Tommy, Elizabeth, Nancy, Susan, Joanie, Mary & David (from youngest to oldes)**

02 - Schussboomer (3-22-77)
Mary's single friend (who's also pregnant--GASP!) stays with the Bradford family and clashes with Tom.Apparently Diana Hyland who played Tom's wife Joan, passed away around the time this episode first aired, forcing them to eventually have the mother character die--and allow Betty Buckly to join the cast as the woman Tom would soon marry!

03 - Pieces Of Eight (3-29-77)
Tom and Joan argue when she insists on continuing her photography career while his newspaper is shut down by a strike.

04 - Women, Ducks & The Domino Theory (4-5-77)
Tommy gets stood up by his date, and Tom and David pretend to be interested in their annual hunting trip (Charlene Tilton gust stars).

05 - Turnabout (4-12-77)
David dates an older woman, played by Adrienne Barbeau (she played Bea Arthur's daughter on "Maude" and Oswald's mother on "The Drew Carey Show")

06 - Quarantine (4-19-77)
The entire family gets quarantined at the house, forcing David to run errands for them "on the outside."

07 - 'V' Is For Vivian (4-26-77)
Tom's sister (Janis Paige) comes to visit and annoys Tom by encouraging the kids too much.

08 - Hit And Run (5-3-77)
Tommy accidentally breaks a window at a church, Joanie meets a land developer who is in conflict with Tom, and Elizabeth lands three dates for the same high school prom.

09 - The Gipper Caper (8-10-77)
Tom's friend 'The Gipper' challenges the Bradfords to a game of touch football. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

A slightly new direction, but strong as ever
The fourth season of 'Alias' had the distinctive misfortune of coming off the tail end of the show's much maligned third year.Add to that ABC's decision to change its timeslot from Sundays to Wednesdays and to hold off on airing the season until January, almost 8 months after season 3's finale aired.To say the least, Season 4 had its work cut out for it.

That said, I must declare that I was never of the persusion that Season 3 was a weak year.I thought that, like the two previous seasons, there were obvious faults, but overall, I think the show managed to sustain itself beautifully through the loss of the beloved Lena Olin.And on that note, it seems clear to me that the first half of season 4 suffered bad fan reaction for the same reason season 3 did: Spymommy go bye-bye!

I was able to get over that rather quickly.And thank God!Because I found so many reasons to enjoy Alias's 4th season that it's almost unbelievable to me that so many fans dismissed the first half without much thought.Yes, the first half of the season focuses more on individual episodes than a larger story arc, but fear not, for many of the pieces presented in the earlier episodes show up during the second, more cohesive half of the season.

In retrospect, Season 4 really offered fans a lot (whether they were willing to take what was offered is another story, of course...).First and foremost, the return of Lena Olin in the last two episodes of the season.My, oh my, was it good to see her again.We also get a decent amount of sisterly action and tension, both between Syd and Nadia, and between the sisters Derevko.The return of two things I missed sorely from season 1: Anna Espinoza and the big red Rambaldi ball. "In Dreams" (which marks Garner's directorial debut) provided a haunting appearance of Sloane's wife, Emily.And speaking of Sloane, who could not love the concept of Sloane Cloane? And Lastly, the old mix of emotional complexity, throbbing action, heartbreaking drama, artful storytelling, fantastic fight scenes, fabulous wigs and outfits, Marshall's infamous rambling, romance (that's not without its problems), and yes, Rambaldi, is all there for you to enjoy.

Finally, to those who brush off the first half of the season, I only have to say that you probably missed the point.'Alias' rebuilt itself because it had to.Whiny fans and the need for higher ratings forced these changes.The way I see it, everything that happened had to happen in order to get to where we're going.Anyone doubting the incredible power of this show, however, need only watch the last minute of the season finale to realize that, as most good Alias fans *should* already know, everything can change in a single instant.With perhaps the greatest cliffhanger the show has ever offered, "Before The Flood" will bring even the nitpicky whiners back to their knees in worship and praise of the most thrilling television show airing today.

Ending Begins: Season 4 of One of the Greatest Shows on TV
At the end of Season 3 of Alias, most fans considered it to be the show's weakest year.Even though I also thought that it wasn't as strong as the brilliant Seasons 1 and 2, I didn't think that it was as terrible as many people were complaining (although a lot of people just didn't like the fact that Sydney [Jennifer Garner] and Vaughn [Michael Vartan] weren't together).However, whether or not people liked S3, I think that most people can agree that the cliffhanger ending made us wnat to see what happened next.Sloane (Ron Rifkin) and his newly-found daughter Nadia (Mia Maestro) ran away from CIA custody to find one of Rambaldi's most powerful artifacts, while Sydney discovered something that her father Jack Bristow (Victor Garber) did not want her to find.Meanwhile, Vaughn had just discovered a Rambaldi prophecy stating that the Chosen One (Sydney) and the Passenger (Nadia) would fight to the death.So it is understandable that most fans couldn't wait to see where Season 4 took our characters.
Unfortunately, for the first half of the season, they didn't go far.In the season premiere, "Authorized Personnel Only", events pick up a few months after the end of S3, instead of right where things left, which has been done in all previous years.In the first episode, we do find out what was written on those papers that Sydney had found, but there is something not quite right about the answer we get.Furthermore, we don't know what it was that Sloane and Nadia found (at least not until the end of the year), but whatever it was, it was powerful, because the CIA gave Sloane command over a new black ops division in exchange for the artifact.The division was named APO (short for Authorized Personnel Only, which is the DUMBEST name for a black ops division that anyone can think of; personally, I'd have called it SD-0 or SD-X, but that's beside the point), and its members include Syd, Vaughn, Jack, Nadia, Weiss (Greg Grunberg), Dixon (Carl Lumbley, who was very underused this year), and Marshall (Kevin Wiesman).Another problem with this is that Sloane has somehow betrayed pretty much all of those people in the past, and many of them actually worked for him before at SD-6, when they were really working for terrorists against their knowledge, so it is very hard to believe that they are now all voluntarily working for this man again.After all, Sloane killed Syd's fiance and best friend, he had Dixon's wife killed, he injected Nadia with a serum to force her to find the Rambaldi artifact, and he betrayed Jack's trust.
And then, for the first half of the season, the episodes are completely self-contained (this was the first season in which every episode didn't begin with a "Previously" montage- in fact, very few episodes did this year).This wouldn't have been as much of a problem as it was if the episodes weren't sub-par for Alias standards.I mean, one of them even had pseudo-vampires!There are no vampires on Alias!!The dialogue, plots, and jokes were all below the quality they've been in past years, and I almost gave up hope for this show.
Then things started picking up again in the second half of the season.Major story arcs began developing, old characters were brought back (sadly, Sark [David Anders] was only in two episodes this year, and Will [Bradley Cooper] didn't appear at all, but it was good to see Anna Espinoza [Gina Torres] again), and the Rambaldi storyline was reintroduced.Also, we finally got some answers for questions that have been around since the first season.
If you are willing to look past the terrible first half of this year, the second half is a very good block of episodes.While they still aren't as good as the first two seasons, I doubt that any new episodes will be able to live up to those years.Until Season 5...

alisa season 4
HELL EVERY SHOW HAS ITS BAD SPOTS, WHAT THEY COULD NOT THINK OF ANY GOOD PLOT TWIST AFTER SEASON 3 OR ARE THEY JUST TRYING TO SLOW IT DOWN. NOT AS HOT OR ACTION FILLED AS SEASON 1 & 2 BUT MAYBE THE WRITERS HAVE A PLAN MOST DO OR SHOWS FLOP. FRIENDS TELL ME IT IMPROVES AFTER WEEK 11 I FEEL A TAD LET DOWN BUT IM A FAN AND ENJOY THE SERIAL PLOTS AND TWIST THAT ALWAYS CROP UP GOOD JOB. (I'M STILL WAITING FOR THE SPICE.) I WOULD ADVISE ANYONE TO WATCH THIS PROGRAM IF YOU ENJOY WILD RIDES AND FAST RACEY PROGRAMS ALIAS HAS IT ALL WATCH AND SEE I CHALLENGE ANY HARD CORE FAN TO DISAGREE EVEN IF SEASON 4 IS A BIT SLOW. BUY ALL THE OTHER 3 AND ENJOY ME AND MINE HAVE.

Alias Season 4 DVD set:An anachronism (like Rambaldi)?

Click on the "customer reviews" link to the left, and you'll see the following statement by Amazon near the top of the page:

"Availability: This title will be released on December 31, 1969. You may order it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives"

Is this strange message Rambaldi's attempt to communicate with future generations?Or is the Rambaldi artifact actually an imperfect time machine?Hopefully this will all be explained in season 5!

Warning to people of 1969:Don't waste your money buying this item!DVD players won't be around for at least 20 more years (though, under the right light, the discs are very shiny and pretty to look at!).

[Of course the World Wide Web doesn't exist in 1969 either, so why am I bothering to warn them?]

================================================================

ORIGINAL REVIEW (March 7th, 2005): Sydney goes so deep undercover that you can't see her AT ALL (or anyone else for that matter) on the Season 4 DVDs!

Any semi-verifiable ideas as to the release date?

first half was ok, 2nd half was just like old times.
The first 7 or 8 episodes of this season aren't what we've come to expect from Alias. Its very procedural with no real "goal" like there was in the other seasons. The major reason for this is because the network wanted the show to be more accessible so more viewers could jump on the Alias bandwagon. It worked and the show's ratings have gone up. But the cost was loyalty from the majority of Alias fans. I'm in the minority in that some of those stand alone episodes were GOOD to me. I love continuity as much as everyone else, but it was nice to get some breathing room for 2 months.

Also to add even more horror to fan loyalists was that ABC aired the first 9 episodes out of order so that even character development seemed non-existant but ITS THERE1 Just watch the episodes in production order. Hear me ABC? Put the first 9 episodes BACK IN THEIR CORRECT ORDER PLEASE!

After Rambaldi makes its return in the awesome episode "Echoes", the season picks up with "The Index" when Vaughn begins his quest to find his dead father and the arc for the season kicks off and leads straigh through the final 12 episodes of the season. This season has had some of the best episodes of the entire series run: In Dreams, Mirage, Another Mr. Sloane, Nightingale, The Orphan, The Index, Echoes, A Man Of His Word, Nocturne, Ice, and Welcome to Liberty Village. All great episodes! Sure this season has some obvious clunkers like "The Road Home". But the great gems like Mirage and Nocturne just make you forget all about it.

This season is a welcome after the awful romance storyline in Season 3 which focused the show on Lauren and Vaughn's marriage instead of the spy plots and family drama which is what made EVERYONE fall in love with this show in episode 1.

And we haven't even gotten to the final 3 episodes this season which promise to be UNBELIEVABLE with the return of a beloved cast member.

Alias Season 4 is definitely recommended by me. You won't regret it! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Very Good Movie
This was a really great movie. Going into it I thought it might be aimed at a younger audience, but that wasn't the case at all, as there was some profanity and adult subject matter. At one part in the movie the 13 year old brain damaged son gets a hard on watching Pepper (Yasmine Bleeth) while having his feet massaged by his doting mother, much to everyone's embarrassment. The entire cast was excellent, Kevin Zegers in particular. Zegers was the movies principle character, and he played the part out beautifully. It reminded me of a similiar role that Leonardo DiCaprio played in Whats Eating Gilbert Grape, in that he was so convincing in the role you actually believed he was brain damaged just as DiCaprio pulled off his role as a retarded boy.
There were a few bonuses such as commentary and such, and the movie really is a must see (and own in my opinion.)

Odd Film, but Well-Done
I happened upon this film one evening while surfing the channels and could not stop watching it. The first thing that grabbed me was that it is very odd. A mentally challenged boy plays with a toy plane that seems to summon a flying and flamboyant couple to crash into the roof of the boy's unhappy household. At first, I could not tell if this film was a drama or comedy. The heated and serious subject matter of the two parents still burdened with guilt over th