Reviews (2)

An Excellent, But Short-lived Sci-Fi TV Series
Michael Duggan, Carol Flint, Mark Levin and Billy Ray created an interesting concept for a new sci-fi TV program.Airing in the fall of 1994, their show was entitled "Earth 2" and was set 200 years in the future."Earth 2" painted a very dark future for mankind in which the Earth is no longer capable of supporting terrestrial life.Consequently, the surviving members of the human race have been living in orbiting space stations; but living in the sterile environments has created a sickness called the Syndrome.A wealthy woman named Devon Adair (Debrah Farentino) is convinced that the key to mankind's survival, including her Syndrome-infected son Ulysses 'Uly' Adair (Joey Zimmerman), is to once again live in a natural environment.Gathering 250 other Syndrome-infected families, she pursues the establishment of a colony on a planet named G889 orbiting a star 22 light-years away; but the current government has other plans for planet G889. Undeterred, Devon, her son and some of the other 250 families embark on a ship named "Eden Advance" for G889 to establish a community in advance of the main colonization; but the ship has been sabotaged.The ship arrives at G889, but the ship soon explodes.Stranded on G889, the ship's survivors attempt to settle and begin new lives on G889.The survivors include Devon, Uly, engineer John Danziger (Clancy Brown), his daughter True (J. Madison Wright), pilot Alonzo Solace (Antonio Sabato Jr.), Dr. Julia Heller (Jessica Steen), Earth-government representative Morgan Martin (John Gegenhuber), his wife Bess (Rebecca Gayheart) and Uly's cyborg teacher Yale (Sullivan Walker).

Unfortunately, lower than expected ratings for the series caused its cancellation after its first season; so only a total of 22 episodes were ever produced. These episodes include the following:

1. "First Contact (1)".The embarkation to G889, destruction of the ship and survivors reaching the planet's surface.G889 is inhabited by subterranean natives called Terrians.

2. "First Contact (2)".Uly is abducted by Terrians, but he is returned after they heal him from they Syndrome.

3. "The Man Who Fell to Earth (Two)". An astronaut who had previously crash-landed on G889, Gaal (Tim Curry), kills the commander (Richard Bradford).Solace has Terrian dreams.

4. "Life Lessons". Gaal tries to disrupt the survivors' encampment.

5. "Promises, Promises".Gaal abducts several Terrians; but the colonists free them. Gaal disappears underground and is never seen again.

6. "A Memory Play".The colonists discover a third escape pod with people infected by a woman that had been implanted by the government to sabotage the ship.Grendler saliva is the cure.

7. "Water". Devon & Dazinger search for water.

8. "The Church of Morgan". Morgan & Bess argue while Dr. Heller contemplates removing Uly's pineal gland; but Uly is becoming an evolutionary link with the Terrians.

9. "The Enemy Within". Dr. Heller injects some of Uly's DNA into herself, she goes nuts and is abandoned.

10. "Redemption". Dr. Heller rejoins the colonists thanks to Solace.

11. "Moon Cross". A woman, Mary (Kelli Williams), is found living among the Terrians, who want Uly to be their link with colonists.

12. "Better Living Through Morganite (1)". As Yale regains his memory, Morgan finds glowing rocks.

13. "Better Living Through Morganite (2)".Mary saves Yale from Terrian punishment after he's been captured (along with Morgan and Bess) and finds out he's not a criminal.

14. "Grendlers in the Myst". The colonists believe they have located a killer, but he's only the son of the real killer that's now only a hologram.

15. "The Greatest Love Story Never Told". Danzinger comes across a colony of reformed criminals

16. "Brave New Pacifica". Two scavenging Grendlers come across a box containing human blood.

17. "After the Thaw". Dazinger is possessed by a an evil Terrian's spirit.

18. "The Boy Who Would be Terrian King". A future version of Uly travels back in time to have Devon hide some his blood.

19. "Survival of the Fittest".Several colonists start to act strange after consuming a Grendler when they are stranded.

20. "All About Eve".Dying from a mysterious disease, the colonists find a crashed ship from 100 years ago whose computer may explain the cure.

21. "Natural Born Grendlers". Solace gets depressed about being marooned while Devon & Bess trade for supplies with a friendly Grendler.

22. "Flower Child".Dazinger & Bess have strange symptoms after being sprayed with a native plant's pollen.

Overall, I rate "Earth 2-The Complete Series" with 5 out of 5 stars. It's a shame that this show was not given sufficient opportunity to continue past its first and only season.

G889 on DVD at last!
Long-awaited by fans to come to home video, Earth 2 chronicles the first months of survival for a small party of human colonizers stranded on what seems to be an ideal terraform world.Emerging from a mildly dystopian, bureaucratic, and ecologically disastrous future in which much of humanity has moved onto space stations, this planet - G889, or "Earth 2" - is a veritable Shangri-La.Sabotaged by a manipulative orbiting government, however, the crew is faced with a paranoid landscape in which they cannot trust each other at first, or the initial appearance of G889. Some of these colonists intended to make landfall on the planet, others didn't, and none of them anticipated the trials they would face from the planet, from each other, and from a distant but subtly menacing Earth.They must form a cooperative band to not only survive, but acclimate to this strange planet while trekking to the site of their planned advance colony before a large colony ship arrives.

After a decade in which the only available copies of these 21 episodes were those recorded from the original (and occasional syndication) broadcasts, and after recent petitioning by a dedicated core of fans, Earth 2 finally comes to DVD.Though not inherently creative (many of the show's aliens, incidents and general plot themes could be found throughout science fiction literature and films), Earth 2 did weave together disparate fiction conventions in unique and often charming ways to produce a literal wagon train in the stars.Underlying themes of environmentalism, indigenous rights, female empowerment, and repentance, though, added a substance to what might have otherwise been a bland, repetitive imitation of other science fiction.Although occasionally hokey and even melodramatic (i.e., time-lapse cloud footage and poor music video-quality "dreamscape" scenes do degrade the show at times), this short-run series remained entertaining, consistent, and resonant to real-world issues; it continues to be on the eve of its return to television via this 3-disc DVD set.The set is likely scant on extra features, as the series was filmed before making-of specials for television shows had become the ubiquitous smorgasbord DVD consumers have come to expect on current series' releases.However, the episodes alone are worth the purchase.

Fans of more recent television series, such as "Firefly" (though Earth 2 admittedly lacks the verbal wit and relative sophistication of Joss Wedon's sci-fi series), may enjoy giving these discs a spin.Readers of Niven's "Ringworld" series or Robinson's "Mars" series may also be interested in giving Earth 2 a try. ... Read more

Description

Enter the dangerous and sexy world of the undead when vampires clash with mortals and each other in modern-day San Francisco.Five clans of vampires are known as the KINDRED, and in their terrifying embrace, one becomes forever young…forever beautiful...forever doomed. From the savagery in the premiere to the climactic finale, the KINDRED draws you into a mysterious realm of Mafia wars, forbidden liaisons and inhuman hunger in a spellbinding saga of erotic danger and unworldly suspense! ... Read more

Reviews (76)

"We're All Around You"
KINDRED-THE EMBRACED only lasted 6 weeks as a television series on FOX before it was cancelled. Its short life was a shame because it was a show with great promise, and given more time, it could have been more than just a show with a cult following. I have always been a follower of films and shows about vampires and their mythology, therefore, KINDRED piqued my curiousity from day one. Based on the book ,"Vampire-The Masquerade" by Mark Rein-Hagen, the show set out to be hybrid between gothic and nightime soap. Having "sudser guru" Aaron Spelling as Executive Producer, helped to perpetuate, that aspect over the the gothic end of it. You know what though, the hybrid works, in spades.

The story centers around 5 "clans" of vampires that are fighting to control modern day San Francisco. They live among humans and interact as though they were human. Cop Frank Kohanek (C. Thomas Howell) suspects the truth and swears to bring down Julian Luna (the late Mark Frankel), whom he thinks, is up to no good. Luna, known as "the Prince of the city" tries to keep the masquerade intact, and to fight off a bid for his position as a leader, by sworn enemy Eddie Fiori (Brian Thompson). As with any serialized program, there a number of subplots that go along with the main thrust of the series. The show is populated with good looking actors for sure, but because of the vampire spin here, it's not just a Melrose Place clone. The show works well and it is Frankel who makes the show as Julian. The chemistry between him, Kelly Rutherford (as reporter Caitlin Byrne), and Stacy Haiduk ( as lover Lillie Langtry) makes for an interesting triangle

The 2 disc DVD set includes all 8 episodes of the series. 2 episodes never ran on television. The producers did a pretty good job trying to wrap things up, given the limited number of episodes, they had to work with to tell their story. Some threads are left to dangle for viewers to ponder A few episodes feature some then unknown actors (at least to me) that have appeared on other shows since then. Good writing and solid direction also highlight Kindred...I liked the program...and I am glad its available on DVD at a lower price (finally) Recommended

Glad I now own it!
Wanting something new in the vampire genre, I went on a search for films and came across Kindred: The Embraced. It seemed vaguely familiar. After viewing it, I realized that I had seen the initial episode when it originally aired, but when I purchased it I did so thinking I was doing it sight unseen.

I've since watched all eight episodes and can say that I am not disappointed. The fact that this series was based on sets of role playing novels is a mark in its favor. I say this because the series is not about the blood aspect of vampires or, as they are here, the Kindred. There is indeed action, tame violence, but if you're looking for gore and aggression, if that's what you want out of your vampire film experience, Kindred: The Embraced is not the place you'll find it.

What this series focuses on is the community that the clans of the Kindred have made for themselves, the peace they have forged to live without fear amongst humans. They have a set of laws designed to guard the Masquerade, a grand scheme to hide their identity from the world, and they have a prince to enforce those laws. That prince is Julian Luna, played by Mark Frankel, and he is the ultimate strength of the series.

The character of Julian Luna is a complex one. His sense of humanity has the potential to clash dangerously with his responsibility towards the clans. He is aware of what he must do, but knows that it comes with a price, whether it be for his people or for himself specifically. And his struggle to tread that line is where the emotion lies for the viewer. Frankel was a wonderful choice for the role of Julian Luna. He is, in many respects, the quintessential vampire--beautiful, charismatic, elegant and lethal.

My favorite episode is the last, "Cabin in the Woods." Therein lies the potential of the show. Julian's character has started to peak, we begin to see what he is capable of, and it is bittersweet to know that nothing will follow. It would have been remarkable to see what direction this show would have taken.

Certain aspects are not entirely realistic, such as the premise behind C. Thomas Howell's character, but it is easy to take that as a first season fault. And, really, it may also be because of the depth they were aiming for, which, if that is the case, is most forgivable.

The only thing that I did not appreciate was how the DVDs were put together. Credits run before and after every episode. Within each you get long pauses where commercials no doubt were and they are preceded with the name of the show against a black backdrop. I don't see the necessity of keeping the shows in the original format, but since I own no other TV series to DVD set perhaps this is not so specific to Kindred.

If you are thinking about buying Kindred: The Embraced without having seen it, with little knowledge of the background or the series in general, there is, in my opinion, scarce need for debating the matter. I bought it on impulse (a rarity, actually, for me) and it paid off. It's not all I've ever looked for in the vampire genre, but it fulfills some of my requirements and I not only enjoy it, but am most glad I now own it.

Vampire Drama
First of all, the series is loosely based on a series of books AND the rpg's that are so popular. (Yes, there were actually novels that didn't involve how to convert rpg characters)I say "loosely" because although the clan names and characters are similar, the tv series has it's differences. Those that enjoy watching Buffy will enjoy watching this mini-series. It's got some action, drama and romance all mixed together. It can be a bit gruesome at times, but it is tolerable. The cliffhanger at the end still bugs me, but in all honesty, it would have been hard to continue production without Mark Frankel(?) aka Julian Luna, the main character, who had died unexpectedly in a motorcycle crash. It's a shame really, because I believe this series could have really taken off with a little more work. Nonetheless, the story is good and is a beautiful tribute to his memory.

I is dumber for watching this.
After being a huge fan of the White Wolf genre, this was enough for me to quit just so White Wolf would not have the money to authorize anything like this ever again. If you want to bring a story as complex as the World of Darkness to life you do not hand it over to the idiot who made 90210.

Any White Wolf fan out there should cringe in horror that this was ever aired. DO NOT BUY IT, it is a waste of money. The Buffy series stayed closer to the Masqurade than this ever did.

I am serious, I had to drink heavily with other WW players just to make it through..........that way I could attribute the memories to druken hallucinations and a really bad hangover.

X-Files meets Melrose Place
What happens when you combine the X-Files and Melrose Place? And add in some of the Sopranos for good measure? You get this wonderful TV series, Kindred the Embraced.

I enjoyed this show very much when it aired on Fox in 1996. I had forgotten nearly all of the plots from the episodes, so watching it again DVD was almost like watching it for the first time. Well worth the money considering all eight episodes sell for the price that you'd usually pay for just one two hour movie.

I thought that the series was canceled because there was a vast conspiracy to remove from the airwaves only the shows that I liked. But it turns out the real reason is that an actor who played one of the main characters died.

I think some of the less than stellar reviews come from people who just don't appreciate all of the genres this series mixes together. I enjoyed watching Melrose Place, but I suspect that Melrose Place type shows aren't that interesting to a lot of the people who were into the book and the role playing game that this show was based on (I never even knew there was a role playing game until reading these reviews).

On the other hand, if you liked Melrose Place, but don't like seeing lot of corpses and other X-Files type stuff, you probably also won't enjoy this series very much.

The very beautiful Kelly Rutherford who is one of the main characters in this series (but who doesn't show up until the second episosde) appeared on Melrose Place the next season, as the hooker who then became Michael Mancini's wife who then became his divorced wife who looked down upon Michael because of his loose morals.

The only downside of this series is that it just leaves you hanging without any sort of resolution. As one would expect from a TV series that was suddenly canceled. Also, the penultimate episode, "Bad Moon Rising," was pretty weak in my opinion.

Otherwise, highly recommended for a very enjoyable six and a half hour viewing marathon. ... Read more

Description

From Stephen King (Pet Sematary), Michael McDowell (Beetlejuice), George A. Romero (Night Of The Living Dead) and Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes) comes Tales From The Darkside: The Movie, an all-star horror anthology packed with fun and fright."The Wraparound Story" concerns a little boy who spins all the tales... to distract a modern-day witch who wants to pop him in the oven! ... Read more

Reviews (19)

TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE
TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE is a horror anthology that contains three gruesome stories that are bookended by a wraparound story."The Wraparound Story" is about a little boy who tells scary stories to a modern day cannibal in order to save some time before she cooks the little boy for a dinner party. "Lot 249" is about a college student who brings an ancient mummy back to life in order to seek revenge against the people who have done him wrong. "Cat From Hell" is about a rich man who hires a hitman to kill a cat that he believes has come to kill him. "Lover's Vow" is about a man who witnesses an act of murder committed by a demonic creature and is given the chance to live if he promises never to speak about what he saw. All these stories contain plenty of gore, humor, and scares to keep you on the edge of your seat! Plus, you have a great cast of actors in the movie!

sometimes great but not that great
it starts out as a lady comes home to cook a boy for dinner but the boy tells the lady three storys from the Tales From The Darkside book. the first one is Lot 249 with Christian Slater, Julianne Moore and Steve Buscemi, which this one is the best with of course Slater's character. then the next one is The Cat From Hell with William Hickey and David Johanssen, this one is ok but it sometimes shallows the movie with its annoying and mangling old people. the last one is A Lover's Vow with James Remar and Rae Dawn Chong, it starts off good with Remar but then ends up being a cheesy story with its lame gargoyle effects.

A Hilarious Black Comedy.
It's got gore, it's got cannibals, it's got a really sneeky kid who pushes a woman into a furnace. What more could you ask for? Each story is interesting and hilarious. This isn't scary at all, but it wasn't meant to be! From Stephen King (Pet Sematary), Michael McDowell (Beetlejuice), George A. Romero (Night Of The Living Dead) and Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes) comes Tales From The Darkside: The Movie, an all-star horror anthology packed with fun and fright. "The Wraparound Story" concerns a little boy who spins all the tales... to distract a modern-day witch who wants to pop him in the oven! This movie is better then the TV series. Buy or rent today!!!

Excellent and underrated horror anthology!
From the producers of " Creepshow 1 & 2" gives us another fine collection of bone-chilling stories, based on the popular 80's TV show that defined the era for Television fear. This movie is about a deadly wicked Witch ( played by Debraoh Harry) who plans on cooking a little boy ( played by Mattew Lawrence) but while she's preparing for the dinner, he reads her three horror stories. The first story is called " Lot 249" which is about a Mummy being resurrected by a Archeologist, the second story is called " Cat From Hell" which is about a hired assassin that has been hired by a old rich man to kill a cat that's really a murderer and the last story is called " Lover's Vow" which tells the story of a New York artist who saw his friend slaughtered by a winged monster and the creature spares the man's life by telling him a promise to not tell anyone about the creature or the murder. But then the artist keeps his promise, he suddenly runs into a woman and falls in love with her then marries her, but can he keep his promise forever?
Very entertaining, spooky and unique anthology flick from the minds of Stephen King, George Romero ( Creator of Night of the Living Dead, Creepshow and Dawn of the Dead), Michael McDowell ( Creator of " Beetlejuice"), Richard P. Rubenstein and Arthur Conan Doyle ( Author of " Sherlock Holms). A great cast such as Steve Buscemi, Rae Dawn Chong from "Commando", " James Remar, Julianne Moore, Christian Slater, Debraoh Harry, William Hickey, and David Johansen. And plenty of superb make-up effects by Robert Kurtzman, the third story however is basically a remake of the "Woman in The Snow" story from the Japanese horror classic " Kwaidan" and the ending to that story will scare the pants off of you.
This is a must see for anyone who loves " Creepshow", " Goosebumps", "Tales from The Crypt" or " Asylum".

Wonderful horror anthology.
Unlike the silly television series, Tales From the Darkside: The Movie, takes you on a heck of a ride as a boy spins three harrowing tales of horror to a modern day witch (Harry) who wants to pop him in the oven! The first anthology tale ,"Lot 249", is a tale in which a mummy is suddenly brought to live and gruesomely murders several college coeds. A very ugly mummy to say the least.
The 2nd tale is about an old rich man who hires a hitman to kill an evil black cat in "The Cat From Hell". Gore hounds will love this one!
The 3rd tale is probably my favorite, "The Lovers Vow". It is a very moving tale about a poor artist who is the eye witness to a live gargoyle. The gargoyle promises not to kill the man if he will promise to never tell anyone about seeing the gargoyle. The man agrees and promises to never tell a soul, and the gargoyle lets him live. But can the man truly keep his promise? Find out.
This movie is awesome. I love it. If you love bloody horror anthologies then this is just the flick for you.
Rated R for violence, gore, language, some nudity, and a scene of suggested sex. ... Read more

Reviews (463)

Something About Cheesy
Dune generates a lot of interest--witness the hundreds of reviews written about this SF Channel version and Lynch's early 80's film. I really liked the Lynch film, even though it's been dubbed a 'guilty pleasure' by Premiere magazine. The plot was not difficult for me to understand, even though I had not read the book first. What's wrong with this version?--though much more accesible to viewers, there's a cheesy quality (not always visible) that suddenly rears its ugly head, reaches out and bites the watcher. The women's clothes, for example, are jarring, distracting, often ugly and just plain cheesy. And stop the hat madness! William Hurt is a major disappointment (catch his helicopter rescue lingo--not sure if he's in Top Gun or straight out of WWII)and Jessica is bland and unconvincing as a drop-dead gorgeous witch (catch Francesca Annis in the Lynch film to see a woman who could cause a Duke to eschew marriage with another noble House). Paul Atreides does well enough, as does the Harkonnen Duke, but overall the casting of this mini-series can't compare to the film's. I'd call it well-meaning and often entertaining, but watch the quirky Lynch film to experience the mystery and wonder of Dune.

the other version
I am a hardcore fan of Frank Herbert's science fiction. Since other people on here have written very good reviews, I will try to keep mine short and to the point. Yes, I agree very much with what Amazon.com had to say. The architecture is impressive. The sets are very interesting and the costumes, I believe, were made by a cutting edge French fashion agency. This is the strength of this version - the sets and costumes. However.

The acting suffers greatly. Like most cg filled epics of our day, this one suffers from what I like to call "Video game cutscene syndrome." That is, that what should be an entertainment experience in its own right becomes little more than a computer graphics showcase (a non-interactive one, unlike a real video game). When acting is sacrificed for the sake of cg graphics, the result is little more than a crippled video game experience, one in which you are unable to control the action and must sit passively watching the equivalent of a video game cutscene. The acting is downright terrible, with the exception of the Baron and some of the development surrounding Duke Leto. This version, unlike the David Lynch one, is pure eye candy, nothing more, nothing less.

However, I will say it was a noble attempt. I can see how hard they tried. I can recognize this. Therefore, I give it an average rating.

Great Movie!
Great Acting,Great Script,Great Special Effects,Great Story!There are millions of Frank Herbert fans all across the world.Dune is one of those TV Miniseries that people will be talking about for years to come.Most Sci-Fi fans like Dune better than the original Star Wars trilogy.Most Star Trek fans said that they prefer Dune over all other Sci-Fi movies.Buy the Special Edition 3 DVD Set from Artisan Home Entertainment.Dune won an Emmy award for best tv miniseries."DUNE" is simply great!

A LETTER 4 JOHN HARRISON
Actor Mark Hamill would made a terrific aging Moneo for 'God Emperor of Dune'. He's a memorable sci-fi icon. He can act and inexpen... well,he's not as expensive as Mr. McBeal. But you'll get a great mixture of star,talent & economical value. Really gives an advantage to the REAL STAR of the movie(s)... THE STORY to the great FINALE of the Atreides saga.
Oh! about the movie..5 star for the daring effort of ARTISAN which no other company would try...just like NEW LINE CINEMA. BRAVO!!

Sci Fi Shakespere
There are a lot of arguments over hardcore David Lynch fans and fans of the movie compared to fans of this min series. So I am going to look at both in my review of this.

Good points of the Lynch movie:
Costumes, a lot of people consider this a strong point, they were from outer space, which was fitting. The makeup was a bit overdone, but worked for some characters, such as the mentats. The cinematography was interesting and original.

Bad Points of the Lynch movie:
It was choppy and poorly edited, they seem to jump over ideas and plot elements with little or no explanation. The baron wasn't believable, he was loud and thuggish, didn't seem at all like a leader a large group of people would follow. Sting was a poor choice for Feyd, Rabban was barely touched on. Some of the sequences were a bit cheesy, when they were riding the worms the music and the filming was almost laughable. Though I love Patric Stewart, he was too rigid as gurney hallek.
There is also the interesting note that David Lynch hated this movie and considered it his weakest project. Allegedly his name wasn't on the poster but was attached to the movie later due to contractual obligations.

The mini series

Good points:
It was much longer and had an open feel to it, didn't jump from place to place. They spent more time with some of the main characters. The empiress actually has a role rather than just a few lines. It followed the book, and added scenes that fit the story, i.e. the banquet on Arrakis, the Baron plotting with his nephews. The Harkonnens seemed more realistic; the Baron was a flamer, devious, and egotistical. Feyd seemed much more the spoiled sociopath that he was supposed to be. Rabban was thuggish and violent. Gurney Hallek was more animated and would play his instrument. The show had a feeling of a shakesperan play with the pacing and dialogue.

the bad
Two of the main actors weren't up to par. William Hurt was poorly chosen and seems more like a aide to a Duke than the Duke himself. Paul Artredes just seems lazy, like this wasn't the role he wanted, just the role he got. They didn't do what a lot of people were hoping for, more of a look into the Bene Gesseret. The Lady Jessica wasn't terrible, but also wasn't spectacular. She was a tough character though, someone who was basically a plant for another order who'd given up on her duties.

All in all I did like some aspects of the David Lynch movie, which is saying a lot, I hate David Lynch's other movies. But in a whole I don't consider it a good movie. It is a collection of ideas, interesting sequences, and good costumes, not a good movie. Even the extended versions make you feel like you are missing something. Although it could be argued that parts of it were better than the mini series, they are only parts, not a movie.

The mini series gave more of a broad view of the world of Dune. The characters are explored beyond what the book gave us. They also add scenes that were not originally in the novel, but they fit. Feyd's training on slave gladiators, Baron's plotting with his nephews, the banquet of the royal houses on Arrakis, the daily lives of the Freeman, etc.... For its shortcomings, it is a much better movie in the whole. ... Read more

Description

Enter the mysterious realm of the "Kindred," where 5 clans of vampires clash with mortals and each other in modern-day San Francisco. Follow this spellbinding saga of erotic danger and unworldly suspense from beginning to end with this complete vampire collection. ... Read more