Amazon.com

The nation's top-rated program got back to basics for its fourth season. The personal lives of the Las Vegas crime scene investigators would take more of a backseat to the stories themselves: the victims, the cases, the criminals. After a successful operation, William Peterson's Gil Grissom has regained his hearing--and his Manhunter-era beard--and is back in fighting form. "You're like your old self," Captain Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) notes in "All for Our Country." Just in time, as he'll soon be promoting one of his staff to lead CSI, and it's between Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) and Nick Stokes (George Eads). He also has a new politically minded sheriff with which to contend, Rory Atwater (24's Xander Berkeley). The latter will make his first of several appearances in "Invisible Evidence," while the results of Grissom's lead CSI decision will be revealed in "No More Bets."

That said, one CSI will enjoy a bit of a personal life this season--Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger), who'll begin seeing nightclub owner Chris Bezich (Nicholas Lea, Krycek from The X-Files) in "Early Rollout." The other CSIs, particularly the re-energized Grissom, will remain as married to their jobs as ever--although the latter's unspoken interest in Sara will be tested in "Butterflied."

Other episodes of note include "Feeling the Heat," with Stacy Edwards and Arye Gross, "Jackpot," with Henry Czerny and Re-Animator's Jeffrey Combs, and the instantly infamous "Fur and Loathing," which was written by Jerry Stahl (Permanent Midnight) and centers on the death of a "furry." As Grissom explains to Willows, "furries" are a "tribe of people who prefer to interact as furry animals." Stahl also penned "Getting Off," about the death of a clown, and continues to come up with some of this still-groundbreaking series' most colorful scenarios. --Kathleen C. Fennessy ... Read more

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As Lt. Horatio Caine (David Caruso) notes in episode 4 ("Just One Kiss"), "The evidence, as always, will speak for itself." In other words, CSI: Miami follows the same super-successful formula as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Fortunately, this instantly popular spin-off established its own unique identity from the start. Like CSI, the Dade County criminalists of CSI: Miami solve murders using forensic science. Unlike the Vegas crew, however, they're cops with the power to arrest, their coroner (Alexx Woods) talks to dead people, and almost everybody speaks Spanish. Sometimes their crime scene is a swamp, sometimes a resort hotel. Either way, the skies are always sunny--the gators always biting. Real-life Florida resident Caruso is joined by Khandi Alexander (NewsRadio) as Woods, Emily Procter (The West Wing) as ballistics expert Calleigh Duquesne, Adam Rodriguez (Roswell) as underwater recovery expert Eric Delko, and featured player Rory Cochrane as Tim "Speed" Speedle. Cochrane (Dazed and Confused) wouldn't become a full-fledged cast member until the 12th episode ("Entrance Wound"). Meanwhile, Kim Delaney (Caruso's former NYPD Blue cast mate) wouldn't join until the first ("Golden Parachute"), but left after the 10th ("A Horrible Mind"), reportedly due to a lack of chemistry with Caruso.

Just as CSI has made the most of its location with stories about showgirls and casino owners, so has CSI: Miami exploited its surroundings for all they're worth. Pilot episode "Cross-Jurisdictions" (a crossover with CSI), for instance, was loosely based on the murder of Miami-based designer Gianni Versace. Other notable episodes include "Camp Fear" with Joan of Arcadia's Amber Tamblyn as a detention camp cadet and "Dead Woman Walking" with Karen Sillas (Under Suspicion) as a victim of radiation poisoning. Like its parent program, CSI: Miami quickly became a ratings powerhouse and was followed by CSI: New York in 2004. --Kathleen C. Fennessy ... Read more

Reviews (16)

CSI Miami is one of the best
I love CSI Miami, David Caruso who plays Horatio Caine, does a wonderful acting job. He makes you believe in the CSI and that they are there to help and solve cases. He has a certain charisma that he portrays and that makes him very believable. This being a spin off CSI, i feel that this show does things better. It's location and the types of crime scenes that they have, are so much more better and make it more enjoyable to watch. If you haven't seen any episodes before think about buying the DVD, cuz u'll probably end up loving the show. I don't really like other shows like Law and Order and CSI for much, but the cast and type of crimes in this series make me love it alot.

Top Notch TV Series
CSI: Miami is a great "detective" show. The people behind this show tend to do a pretty good job of keeping things realistic and each episode typically features a plausable situation. While the show focuses more so on solving the cases and investigating the crime scene, they do tend to insert small pieces of sub-plot regarding each of the main characters, so the show is not without sufficient character development.

Typically, CSI: Miami is a good show to watch if you want to see the scientific side of things. Rather than most other police shows, which focus less on what goes on behind the scenes and more on the detective characters. However, while the main characters lack the focus of other shows, they are still enjoyable to watch. David Caruso does an excellent job with his performance as the logical and thorough Horatio Caine, while each of the other characters support him nicely.

I'd highly recommend this series to anyone who appreciates the scientific side of crime scene investigation. It's well worth your time.

Two Thumbs Up Almost as good as CSI Las Vegas
I enjoyed it alot. Took me awhile to adapt to the different Miami characters as opposed to the Las Vegas team, but I really enjoyed the series. Almost as good as the regular CSI.

Too bad
CSI : Miami is, in my opinion, the best TV series i have ever seen.
I've been waiting for this DVD release so long... Too bad : the only audio tracks are English and spanish. No french.

More than this : no subtitles, even in english.
Conclusion : I will not buy it.
So disappointing !

I just love C.S.I . Miami
does anyone knows if this DVD come with subtitles in english? ... Read more

Amazon.com

Meet the Parents found such tremendous success in the chemistry produced by the contrasting personalities of stars Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller that the film's creators went for broke with the same formula again in Meet the Fockers. This time around, Jack and Dina Byrnes (De Niro and Blythe Danner) climb into Jack's new kevlar-lined RV with daughter Pam (Teri Polo), soon-to-be son-in-law Gaylord (Stiller), and Jack's infant grandson from his other daughter for the trip to Florida to meet Gaylord's parents, Bernie and Roz Focker (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand in a casting coup). The potential in-laws are, of course, the opposite of Jack, a pair of randy, touchy-feely fun-lovers. The rest of the movie is pretty much a sitcom: put Bernie and Roz together with Jack, and watch the in-laws clash as Gaylord squirms. As with the original, there is a sense of joy in watching these actors take on their roles with obvious relish, and the Hoffman-Streisand-Stiller triumvirate is likeable enough to draw you in. But the formula doesn't work as well in Fockers mostly because much of the humor is based on two obvious gimmicks: Gaylord Focker's name, and the fact that Streisand's character is a sex therapist. As a result, the movie itself is more contrived and predictable, and a lot less fun than the original. The casting is grand, but one wishes more thought was put into the script.--Dan Vancini ... Read more

Reviews (189)

Since the movie is so impossibly boring...
and cliché, and predictable and tongue-in-cheek, and trited, and mindless, I'm going to summarize this movie as:
Utter Waste of Money and Time.
There's nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing positive to say about this movie. They were pushing it with the first one, however, it was passable and watchable. This sequel is one that should have never put out. It's so enclosed in its idiocy that it obfuscates the acting value of thespians of great caliber. Avoid!

Don't Believe the Negativity...It's Hilarious
I'm so tired of everyone looking for Shakespearian perfection in every film, bottom line, it's a dumb comedy, so turn your pompous search for meaningful dialogue and great script-writing
off and enjoy the laughs. It's a comedy, not Macbeth. I kept hearing how horrible it was, well guess what, surprise, surprise
the critics were wrong again! If you enjoyed the first film, you'll love the second, it was every bit as funny, if not funnier. I don't laugh easy either, but it had me rolling most of the film, in tears laughing at times. I know when to be critical and when to put the brain on pause and just enjoy a good old fashioned laugh. It has that Farelly Brothers-type gross out humor, if you enjoy that sort of thing which I do, then you'll enjoy this. If not, go rent 'Annie Hall,' and spend needless hours pining over the film's lighting and set direction, you know, 'the important things in film'...rolls eyes.

please, not a third time!
Gee, it's pretty sad to see actors of this caliber, who've been in so many memorable movies, get mired in this kind of horrible dreck.

But, this is what really offended me:in "Meet the Parents" there was one trained animal to provide a few cute jokes.In this sequel, not only did they feel the need to throw in a pathetic looking dogfor a few more "America's Funniest Videos" style laughs, they effectively used a child in the role of a third "trained animal".Sick.They must have figured that it worked well with "Mini-Me" in the "Austin Powers" sequel, so why not stick Robert DeNiro with a similar sidekick?The people who made this movie deserve a swift kick (or two) in the pants.

Clash of the Icons
Moviegoers flocked to "Meet the Fockers," making this star-studded sequel to "Meet the Parents" a box-office smash. Now that Gaylord "Greg" Focker (Ben Stiller) and his fiancée Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo) are finally getting married, it's time for Pam's conservative parents (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner) to meet Greg's freewheeling parents (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand). De Niro is once again terrific as Jack Byrnes, the suspicious ex-CIA operative (though Jack's obsession with the "circle of trust" has grown a bit tiresome). Stiller reprises one of his most humorous--and appealing--screen personas as the beleaguered male nurse. Hoffman gives the films best performance as Bernie Focker, a frisky lawyer-turned-househusband and Streisand is especially funny as Roz Focker, a straightforward sex therapist for seniors. Blythe Danner and Teri Polo are wonderful in their supporting roles and Owen Wilson's cameo appearance is a hoot. The DVD extras include deleted scenes, bloopers, and a Matt Lauer interview with the cast.

Total Mind Pollution... I would rather not give any stars
Listen to the people who didn't like this movie.I LOVED the first movie and watched it several times.The first movie had some crudeness in it, but most of the humor was just plain funny.This movie was nothing but crudeness and I think my IQ went down just by sitting through it.If you enjoyed this movie, you are extremely immature.There are some very funny movies out there, they just don't need to be as crude as this one.I think I only laughed once during the movie and I don't even remember when that was because most of the time I was sitting there debating on whether or not I should just turn the movie off. ... Read more

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

See how spoken and written words change the structure of water. This ground breaking work from Dr Masuro Emoto shows us that what we say, and feel and well as what we listen to has an effect on water, and because we are made up of water, it has an effect on us. This DVD shows how the water crystals are formed and the process used to capture the images of water as it is exposed to written and spoken words as well as music.This imagry was recently utilized in the movie What The Bleep Do we Know. This work has also been referenced by Wayne Dyer, Lee Carol, Gregg Braden, Drunvalo Melchizedek, and Jonathan Goldman to name a few. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Farscape is genre television at its most ambitious, inspired both by the cult appeal of Babylon 5 and the continuing success of the Star Trek franchise, but taking a visual and conceptual leap beyond those shows. Making extensive use of CGI, prosthetics, and state-of-the-art puppetry, courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, the Farscape concept has a freshness that makes it look and feel completely original. Among the first season's 22 episodes, "Premiere" introduces the characters and the basic premise: American astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) is flung through a wormhole and comes out in the midst of an interstellar prison escape on the other side of the universe. When the galactic cops (called "Peacekeepers") mark him as the new public enemy number one, Crichton is forced to ally himself with the convicts: hulking warrior D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe), blue-skinned priest Zhaan (Virginia Hey), fugitive peacekeeper Aeryn (Claudia Black), exiled king Rygel (Jonathan Hardy), and Pilot, the giant insectlike nerve center of their living ship, Moya.

In the action-packed and stylishly directed "Throne for a Loss," a race of mercenary criminals called the Tavleks kidnap the imperious Rygel. "PK Tech Girl" and "That Old Black Magic" feature a peek into the pasts of Rygel and Zhaan as they hide from the fleets of Peacekeeper soldiers in the galactic frontier known as the Uncharted Territories. Leading toward the climax of the show's first season, "Nerve" and "The Hidden Memory" make for a bold two-parter that reunites Crichton with his Peacekeeper Tech girlfriend, Gilina, and introduces the dreaded Scorpius, who uses his Aurora Chair torture device to extract what he mistakenly believes is vital knowledge from Crichton. The final episode, "Family Ties," ends with a cliffhanger guaranteed to bring viewers back for more, as the duplicitous Rygel plans to turn traitor, which eventually leaves the fates of Crichton and D'Argo up for grabs and Moya's young offspring under the control of the conflicted villain Crais, among other developments. ... Read more

Reviews (88)

The Creative World of FarScape Deserves a Fifth Season
A fascinating universe with many races and plots centered around a human that happened be pulled away from Earth in a worm hole. He ends up in a new complex world of aliens. The world is very well put together with much creativity and flare for the unusual. At times (especially when you first start watching the show) it may appear silly or corny. However, the characters and the world they are in really grows on you. I am now approaching the very final two episodes of season one and feel a little bit sad to leave this little fictional universe. I am looking forward to the second season. It is a great show and if you love Sci-Fi I cannot see how you would not be drawn to this creative work. The only drawback with the series is that it is difficult to jump into (i.e. it is helpful to have followed the series). Even though many episodes are self-contained there are several story lines that connect the episodes. I personally first saw episodes from season 3 and was thoroughly confused. When I bought season one I got the opportunity to follow the buildup of the characters and the plot. I love this show and highly recommend it! FarScape deserves to get a fifth season on the Sci-Fi channel. You will not be disappointed by the FarScape universe.

22 HOURS OF MOVIE QUALITY ENTERTAINMENT
Farscape is doing for TV, what the original Star Wars did for movies back in 1977. Only it has an advantage over the movie, it is not limited to the 3 hour time constraint movies have. Believe me, Farscape uses every second for plot development and adding a richness to the characters rarely seen in both movies and TV.

Like Star Wars, Farscape combines humor, action, & drama with state of the art F/X and creatures (two of which are regular characters). The characterizations are so strong you will forget that Zhann is blue, D'Argo has tentacles, & Rygel is a puppet. Farscape's tends to leave you with a feeling that you just peaked into the characters' lives, as opposed to have just watched a scripted TV show.

While watching this box set, you will notice there is something right about Farscape. Over the course of the season, the characters grow from distrustful individuals to a functional team/family of sorts. Don't get me wrong, everyone on board the living ship has their own agenda, and one betrays the group at the beginning of the last episode "Family Ties." Season 1 slowly builds momentum then kicks into overdrive with episode 18 "A Bug's Life." The last five episodes will be difficult not to watch in one sitting. Whatever the creative forces behind Farscape tried to do, they definitely accomplished it!

If you never have seen Farscape and are hesitant by the price of this box set, I suggest getting the Best of Season 1 set (type B000067IVT in the search box) first. It contains 6 amazing episodes which are a great introduction to the series...you can always lend it out to friends later. Once you've experienced these episodes, you'll need the rest of the season & can order this box set then. Also keep in mind, Farscape is known for its cliffhanger season finales, & season 1 began this tradition in an explosive way. So it would be a good idea to keep Season 2, Vol. 1 (type B000068TOM in the search box) ready to order in your shopping cart.

Fantastic!
I do not watch that much TV. But I would gladly buy premium cable if need be, just to watch this series. It is much more than an addiction, well ok its an addiction. Don't miss out, I have all their DVD's and have not regreted the buy or more over the hours spent watching and watching again.

' Peacekeeper Wars'(season 5)-October,2004
You heard it,'Farscape'(season 5) returns to t.v.,'new episodes' on October,2004. I guess the public demand was high for this sci-fi series,the producers have decided to bring back 'Farscape'. Season 5,will be called 'Peacekeeper Wars'. If there bringing back 'Farscape',maybe they'll bring back the 'X-Files' as well! Hope the story lines for 'season 5' is as good as the past previous 4 seasons.......

Wow!
It just doesn't get better than this. Farscape is easily one of the best series to ever grace the tv screen. Even if you're not a regular sci-fi fan, I guarantee you will enjoy the intelligence, wit, superb acting, and sheer beauty of each episode. Farscape has it all: adventure, drama, suspense, and a romance unlike any other. It's an unforgetable roller coaster ride, and this dvd edition is exceptionally high quality with numerous special features.

You will NOT regret buying this! Welcome to crack tv. :) ... Read more

Amazon.com

Murder, and its tale-telling aftermath, is the compelling subject of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Since it premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000, CSI was a ratings triumph, spawning a spinoff (CSI: Miami) and positioning itself for long-term success. As the first season demonstrates, creator Anthony Zuiker's foolproof formula was established early on, bolstered by a fine ensemble cast and requiring minimal tweaking as the season progressed; its Las Vegas-based "criminalists" eventually became "CSI" steeped in the scientific minutiae of forensic investigation, but the series arrived essentially intact, with an irresistible (and seemingly inexhaustible) supply of corpses and the mysteries that surround them. Influenced by the graphic precedent of movies like Seven and Kiss the Girls, CSI matches morbidity with dispassionate methodology; viewers are so fascinated by the investigative process that they're unfazed by intimate autopsies and internal (i.e., digitally animated) views of traumatized flesh, bone, and sinew.

While keeping abreast of cutting-edge technologies, CSI combines the ingenuity (and fallibility) of villains with the appealing humanity of its heroes. CSI director and entomologist Gil Grissom (played by series coproducer William Petersen) is introverted but ethically intense; he's both mentor and moral compass for his night-shift team, including a former stripper-turned-CSI (Marg Helgenberger); a recovering gambler (Gary Dourdan); an eager ace (George Eads) with room for improvement; a workaholic (Jorja Fox) who can't always remain emotionally detached from her cases; and a chief detective (Paul Guilfoyle) who's a necessary link to police procedure. Like The X-Files, CSI supports its characters with feature-film production values, employing a Rashomon structure that turns murder into a progressively accurate study of cause and effect. Script quality is consistently high ("Blood Drops" and "Unfriendly Skies" are exceptional), direction is slick and sophisticated, and the mysteries are complex enough to invite multiple viewings. Despite a regrettable shortage of DVD features, CSI's inaugural season remains addictively worthy of its lofty reputation. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (84)

An absolute hit!
CSI is my absolute favorite show on television as of right now. When I saw that they had DVD sets out, I knew I had to have them. I got CSI Season 1 for a Christmas gift and I'm almost through it already!
The DVD set is a decent price for what's on it and it includes 6 disks.

The Episodes on the disk are as follows:

Pilot
Cool Change
Crate and Burial
Pledging Mr. Johnson
Friends and Lovers
Who Are You?
Blood Drops
Anonymous
Unfriendly Skies
Sex, Lies and Larvae
I-15 Murders

Farenheit 932
Boom
To Halve and to Hold
Table Stakes
Too Tough to Die
Face Lift
$35K OBO
Gentle Gentle
Sounds of Silence
Justice is Served
Evaluation Day
Strip Strangler

The only down about the DVD is the fact that it doesn't have much bonus material. But other than that I highly recommend purchasing this DVD. This season has the best episodes throughout the run of this show. The First Season is what made CSI as popular as it is! So go out there and get your hands on this DVD. If you are as much of a CSI lover as I am, you won't be disappointed!

The best television you can find!
Finally after three years, CBS and Paramount are realeasing the complete first season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. I have been watching every episode since the first and have enjoyed almost every one! Now, with this six disc set, i can watch the first season over and over again which has some of the best classic episodes.

Pilot
Cool Change
Crate 'n Burial
Plegding Mr. Johnson
Friends & Lovers
Who Are You?
Blood Drops
Anonymous
Unfriendly Skies
Sex, Lies, and Larvae
I-15 Murders
Farenheit 932
Boom
To Halve and to Hold
Table Stakes
Too Tough to Die
Face Lift
$35K O.B.O.
Gentle, Gentle
Sounds of Silence
Justice is Served
Evaluation Day
The Strip Strangler

These are the 23 episodes of the first season that will be included.
I have taped (on VHS) every single episode since the third episode of the series, but now i can watch them with much better quality. This is by far the best show on television!

Off To a Great Start
Although i just started watching CSI around the episode "I-15 Murders" it's my favorite show ever. I basically started watching it because my grandparents would tell me how cool and interesting the show is. I watched the episode i mentioned above and was just blown away the special effects especially for a show that just started were incredible.Over time watching this show i really liked the characters of Nick and Sara (George Eads, Jorja Fox)beacuse first of all Nick is soo good looking and really dedicated to what he does and Sara is a tough chick and i love that when a show has a tough female character. My favorite episodes are "Unfriendly Skies" and "Sex, Lies and Larve"basically because i feel they are great Sara episodes and show what CSI is all about.Sometimes the first episodes aren't that great when a show starts off but CSI's doesn't fail to be anything but excelent. Even if you've just heard about CSI and never watched and episode it's worth buying at any price the show is just that great.

CSI improves over time, but this was a great start.
Oh how I love C.S.I., even though it's getting watered down by spin offs, the original stays true. C.S.I. had some rocky beginnings, but the first season is still worth owning. Alot of the backstory comes from the first season, so if you watch it over and over again *like myself* you'll want to own this. There are some great episodes in this pack, that you'll want to watch again and again.

As Near To The Real Thing As You Can Get
When I first started watching Columbo, I often wanted to be a detective. When I first started watching Mike Hammer, I often wanted to be a detective. When I watched Magnum P.I., I often wanted to be a detective. Now I watch CSI, and I do not want to be a detective. In fact, after watching one episode, I went up to a guy I went to school with who is now a coroner, shook his hand and told him he was the better man. I told him he had more guts than I did, in that I would not ever want his job. This is not a TV show for those (like myself) who cannot eat pizza after seeing someone's charred body, as is sometimes seen on the show. CSI holds no punches. Shows like Columbo, Mike Hammer, and Magnum, while at times are bloody, give the viewer a more "romantic side" of the occupation so to speak, while CSI gives you an almost raw view of what it is really like to work in the detective field. In short, detective work really isn't a glamorous occupation. If someone's brains are blown out, CSI shows you up close, all the little noodles (which of course remind me of purple macaroni, thus disgusting me from eating macaroni for awhile). If a lady has her eyeball fall out, they show the eyeball up close (do you get the picture?) Still, this is a show that is very intriguing. Of course you want to watch it to find out if they catch the murderer(IF it is a murder, which on this program, sometimes it is not). Like most any detective show, it's the CSI teams' expertise in the field and their luck, that helps them put the pieces together, and CSI does it in such a manner as to make MOST of their shows believable. And the reason I stress MOST, is that sometimes, their shows do tend to go out there. I have beyond perfect vision in one eye, and perfect vision in the other, and even I would have a hard time seeing some of the things they seem to spot a mile away with their mini flashlights. But even with this one flaw, CSI is a show I look forward to watching week after week. I also love CSI Miami. CSI gets its entertainment value from the relief of the cases being solved. The first season of CSI was superb at the worst. It blew Law & Order out of the water, and continues to do so. CSI combines forensic science with action, drama, suspense, horror, occasional comedy (in the right moment) and intrigue. I would not recommend it for viewers under the age of 16 for the fact of the gore, and sometimes racy scenes. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The third season of Alias found super spy Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) waking up in Hong Kong with a monster hangover and two years in the future with nary a memory. What's worse, her world has been turned upside-down with the evil Sloane (Ron Rifkin) now a world-famous humanitarian and philanthropist, and, even worse, her true love Vaughn (Michael Vartan) married to a seemingly great gal. Nice way to go back to work, eh? After coming up with one heck of a cliffhanger in season 2, Alias proceeded a bit aimlessly through these 22 episodes, and as a result, the parts were truly greater than the whole. With Lena Olin no longer around as Syd's duplicitous mother, and the addition of admirable yet bland Melissa George as Vaughn's wife Lauren, Garner found herself for the first time without a compelling female foil to play off of. By dividing its focus equally between the quest for the enigmatic Rambaldi device, Syd and Vaughn's now-contentious relationship, and the uncovering of Syd's missing years, Alias lost a little of its power without a larger story arc. The loss of regular cast members Merrin Dungey (Francie/Alison) and Bradley Cooper (Will)--both of whom do make great guest appearances--also divest the show of the personal life that kept Sydney human and approachable. Still, Garner is stellar as always, the plot twists come fast and furious, and secret identities are revealed. This season does have a great panorama of guest actors including Ricky Gervais, Justin Theroux, Djimon Hounsou, David Cronenberg, Quentin Tarantino, Vivica A. Fox, and Isabella Rossellini as Syd's long-lost aunt. --Mark Englehart ... Read more

Reviews (57)

Not quite as good, but still a decent season
The third season of Alias picks up right where the second left off with Sydney waking up in Asia two years after the events in season 2, with no memory of how or why she got there. When Sydney makes it safely into CIA custody, she learns that fellow CIA agent and boyfriend Michael Vaughn( Michael Vartan)thought Sydney was dead,and moved on to marry another woman named Lauren Reed(Melissa George), her father Jack Bristow( Victor Garber) is in prison, Dixon( Carl Lumbly) is now the director of the CIA office she worked for, and her greatest enemy Sloan ( Ron Rifkin)is now a changed man who is running one of the most respected charity organizations in the world. Sydney manages to get Jack released, only to discover through videotape evidence from Jack that Sydney murdered a man in cold blood during the mysterious two years of her life that she went missing. This would begin the chain reaction of events for the rest of season 3 which include Sydney finding out who took the two years from her life and what happened during that time, as well as fighting her feelings for Vaughn.

I have been a huge fan of Alias for the last three years, and I have never missed a single episode. The first season of Alias provided for an original, sexy, and fresh spy thriller that was packed full of great action and dialogue. The second season of Alias managed to somehow be even better, and had an outstanding cliffhanger that left fans of the show feeling anxious to find out what happens. Season 3 did have a lot of momentum going in. But with Vaughn being married to the unlikeable Lauren Reed, and Sloan offering no suspense as a changed man, season 3 could not seem to find the same rythm as the previous two seasons. However, after the initial speedbump in the beginning of the season, season 3 still manages to offer plenty of twists, action, suspense, great cliffhangers, and the sexy Jennifer Garner. Overall, fans of the show will still be satisfied for the most part. The only problem, is that the first two seasons set the bar so high, that season 3 could just not go any higher.

The DVD package itself still manages to live up to its predecessors however. The extras are first rate with commentary from cast and crew, deleted scenes, and two featurettes. However, the blooper reel is what I am looking forward to the most. The blooper reels in the last two sets have been hilarious, and I have no doubt that the one for season 3 will be just as good. With great DVD features and a good overall season, the season 3 DVD set is definately worth owning.

A solid 4 stars...

Alias Season 3
Have you ever wondered what the world of espionage, high tech gadgets and the goings-on of the CIA is like, this should answer a few questions for you.

Alias the 3rd season was great, although it may not have been the most action filled year of the three, it was a building on Sydney's emotional aspects, as well as Vaughn's. I never missed an episode.It kept you on your toes, as well as on the edge of your seat.

Sydney is just a great role model, sure the clothes can be a bit scary, but the girl underneath is great, Jeniffer Garner, known as Sydney on Alias and in the movie Daredevil as kick-butt girl Elektra, also known for her lead role on the summer of 2004 hit 13 going on 30!

Alias had an awesome season, with a great cast, Ron Rifkin,Merrin Dungey,Michael Vartan,Greg Grunburg, Melissa George,Victor Garber, David Anders, CArl Lumbley, and Kevin Weisman. With plenty of great guest stars this season including: a return of Will, Bradley Cooper,as well as Mia Maestro,Isabella Rossellini, David Cronenberg and Quintin Tarentino.

In other words, what I'm saying is you have got to see these, they are great episodes.If you are waiting for the next season (season 4) in the states or just in the middle of season 3 in the UK, you have just gotta see this!!

Disapointing Third season for Alias
After two incredidibly good seasons, Alias came back to earth in season 3, which Alias creator JJ Abrams himself admitted being terrible. Indeed, Lena Olin's absence from the cast was deeply felt, as well as a lack of exciting ideas. The first half of the season about Sidney's disappearance was plain boring. Still, the second half rocked and gives hope for season four. So season 3 is not a complete failure but is still a huge disapointment compared to the prfection of season 1 and 2

Alias - The Best Show On TV
I started watching Alias since the pilot episode of the first season. Then later on I got excited over the show because its the best show on television right now (on sundays that is). Alias is my #1 favorite show to watch any time and any where. Now that I own the first two season on DVD, its great collecting the DVD to watch over and over. I am so addicted to this show, more than words can say... Also I buy the Alias magazines which comes out every two months. I love having Alias on DVD to watch at home. Its a priceless item for such a fan of Alias. Seasons 1 & 2 were great, and season 3 was full of twists and turns which was really a shocker to learn that Sydney Bristow (aka Jennifer Garner) has a half-sister whom dad is Arvin Sloane. And finally Syd & Vaughn back together in the last epiosde of the season. 2 thumbs up for Alias! The most addicting show ever!!!

Fan Commentary.... Priceless!
Many critics agree that Season 3 was not this show's most shining moment. But all the more reason to pick up the DVD though! Why? Because the "fan commentary" on this set comes from none other than TelevisionWithoutPity.com's "Alias" recapper extraordinaire, Regina, who--along with a winner of a Chicago radio contest--recaps the premiere ep of Season 3, "The Two." As the saying goes, hilarity ensues.

Credit the show's producers with allowing snark of this magnitude to be attached to the official product by buying a set. At least they have a sense of humor and an ability to not take themselves too seriously. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Accompanied by a menagerie of products, Ken Burns's expansive 10-episode paean, Jazz, completes his trilogy on American culture, following The Civil War and Baseball. Spanning more than 19 hours, Jazz is, of course, about a lot more than what many have called America's classical music--especially in episodes 1 through 7. It's here that Burns unearths precious visual images of jazz musicians and hangs historical narratives around the music with convincing authority. Time can stand still as images float past to the sound of grainy vintage jazz, and the drama of a phonograph needle being placed on Louis Armstrong's celestial "West End Blues" is nearly sublime.

The film is also potent in arguing that the history of race in the 20th-century U.S. is at jazz's heart. But a few problems arise. First is Burns's reliance on Wynton Marsalis as his chief musical commentator. Marsalis might be charming and musically expert, but he's no historian. For the film to devote three of its episodes to the 1930s, one expects a bit more historical substance. Also, Jazz condenses the period of 1961 to the present into one episode, glossing over some of the music's giant steps. Burns has said repeatedly that he didn't know much about jazz when he began this project. So perhaps Jazz, for all its glory, would better be called Jazz: What I've Learned Since I Started Listening (And I Haven't Gotten Much Past 1961). For those who are already passionate about jazz, the film will stoke debate (and some derision, together with some reluctant praise). But for everyone else, it will amaze and entertain and kindle a flame for some of the greatest music ever dreamed. --Andrew Bartlett ... Read more

Reviews (118)

The Best Series on Jazz, Despite Its Flaws
I am a jazz musician, son of a jazz musician, am conservatory trained, and this series stands toe to toe with the best lectures by the best music historians and music theory experts I have studied with. If Ken Burns chose to follow a the pillars of jazz in depth rather than give ten minutes to every musician to come along in the past hundred years, we are better for it. If you want ten minutes on each musician, read liner notes. Mr. Burns series will be remembered precisely because it does go into such depth. Bird, Duke, Pops and Dizzie do not come clear to you without much study. We should be grateful for the fact that this series is anything but shallow. It is true to the art. If this series, because of such depth, asks more of viewers than they want to give, then let such viewers only seeking entertainment seek that. Americans, everything is not entertainment.

Jazz itself, from its outset and to this very day, asks more of you than any other music. A series about it should do no less.

This series is not perfect. Jazz is also imperfect. As Thelonius Monk said, there are no wrong notes. So are there no bad jazz documentaries, as long as they are unflinching, whole, and about the forces that shaped the music. This one is. It's only real flaw is that it is too in love with its own story and the music. That is entirely forgiveable.

If you have any interest in jazz, buy or rent this series and watch each one like a student, and learn in wonder at the extraordinary music brought to us by African Americans. It is one of the glories of American culture, and of the world, and we should join Ken Burns, his historians, critics and musicians in joyously celebrating the collective creation of the geniuses that graced our land in the past 100 years.

"History," "Documentary," "Theory of" are not in the title.
The negative reviews of this series assume that Burns is compiling a documentary, writing a historical survey, or undertaking some theoretical analysis of jazz. Burns is above all a biographer. His primary interest is in the life of a particular artist, solider, athlete, explorer, etc.: the overall trajectory of their lives--the choices they make, the risks they are or aren't willing to take, their sufferings in the face of prejudice, misunderstanding, and failure--and how the individual life fits within the larger social context. Hence his emphasis on annecdote, personal letter and photograph, character analysis, and why he has baseball players and actors and club owners as well as scholars and musicians commenting on these people. And why he traces the entire career of someone like Louis Armstrong or Billy Holiday, rather than devoting more time to contemporary muscians whose story it is still too young to be told. Everything else is secondary to this main concern, and to miss this focus is to miss the point of all Ken Burns' documentaries. To grasp it is to experience life within a wider, wiser, almost epic, context. The so-called jazz expert who is miffed over some apparent omission, or overemphasis, or seeming bias, is like the librarian who has all the books catalogued and all the facts at their fingertips but can't see that they might refer to something outside the four walls of their narrow expertise.

Provides a very useful orientation
Jazz is a relatively recent interest for me--maybe half a dozen years. I'd learned about scattered fragments of jazz, but never developed a systematic understanding, a clear orientation--though a couple of times I'd tried: I bought Gary Giddons' "Visions of Jazz," for instance, which is very good but just didn't capture my imagination.

Ken Burns' "Jazz" gave me what I've been wanting for years--a clear, evocative, comprehensive way into the genre as a whole.

Okay, it may not be the last word on the history of jazz. Yeah, some things really irritated me--like the slighting, mentioned by many, of Bill Evans, and the excessive excision of many white musicians to make the generally accurate point that jazz springs more from the experience of Black Americans. (Hint to Burns: You make your argument stronger by showing how apparently contrary data fit, not by leaving them out.) But over all, I found this a very helpful overview. And I enjoyed getting to know the biographies of, and the personal relations among, the players.

You won't likely get such an orientation from buying a few of the original CDs *instead* of the "Jazz" series. Few of us have the ears or training to discern what's taught in this series. You'd be highly unlikely to realize that, for instance, what was new with Be-Bop is improvising on the underlying chord changes rather than the melody. You'd really have to be perceptive and paying attention to notice what distinguishes Kansas City jazz from New Orleans jazz from New York jazz from West Coast jazz. And *no* album can place *itself* in history. For instance, you cannot learn from listening to an album featuring Coleman Hawkins-or Charlie Christian or Kenny Clarke--that *before* that album people played very differently. In short, you'd have to be far better trained musically and far more observant than most of us are, and listen to dozens (if not hundreds) of albums, to learn what this series teaches.

As I watched over a period of a couple of weeks, I bought several of the CDs that Burns produced to survey the music, and I found them very instructive. No, as listening experiences, they're not as good as some of the various albums on which the cuts originated. But that's not the point: They are very good ways to get an overview, to get oriented, to know where to go next.

After seeing this series and studying the accompanying CDs, when I go into the music store and start perusing the jazz disks, I find that I recognize a whole lot more and can surmise a whole lot better what's what and what would interest me. For instance, tonight I saw "From Spirituals to Swing," a three CD set of Carnegie Hall jazz concerts in 1938 and 1939. A month ago, the list of personnel would have meant near-nothing to me--I probably wouldn't have even known what I was looking at, and I doubt I would have looked at the thing for more than thirty seconds. Now, though, I studied and comprehended the personnel and got all excited--"This I gotta hear." So I bought it, and it's great.

Now, isn't that reason enough to recommend this series?

That the overall interpretive framework of the series may need correction is not a trenchant criticism, in my opinion. To get a comprehensive understanding of anything, you have to start with *some* systematic framework, which you can then modify, maybe even refute, as you encounter further data. Logically, the first such framework you acquire has to come from someone else, unless you are a genius of extremely wide learning.

No, Ken Burns' "Jazz" isn't the only guide to jazz you'll ever need--as others have noted, some of the omissions are glaring. But it's fine place to start.

If you really want to get a sense of jazz, this is an excellent investment, in my opinion. Yeah, it's pricey--but cheaper than, say, an adult education course on jazz appreciation at your local community college (if you include texts and other supporting material). And if you don't want to spend the money--well, you can hint real hard to your significant other that you'd like it for your birthday or Valentine or some such thing.

Postscript: I almost didn't buy this because of the characterization of Wynton Marsalis's role by several other reviewers here. I'd never much liked his music--it always seemed too cerebral, almost architectural, for my tastes--chilly, not very visceral. (That's just my personal taste--I also find most of Ella Fitzgerald--except her duo wok with Armstrong--a bit emotionally distant, unlike Sarah Vaughan or Billie Holiday or Carmen McRae or many others.)

I was skeptical about any documentary that made Marsalis the central story teller.

Well, two things: (1) He just isn't the central story teller here. He does not have anything approaching the majority of commentator air time. It is certainly true that he plays a role analogous to Shelby Foote's in "The Civil War"--he is a unifying presence, especially in the early going and toward the end. This is just good film making--to establish "characters" whose presence throughout helps give unity to the piece. (2) I really liked Wynton in this documentary. He came off as much earthier, more laid back, mischievous, funnier and more fun, than I ever would have imagined. And he is really quite illuminating, especially when he explains various musical concepts--like the "Big 4." (I went back and listened to "Thick in the South," thinking maybe I'd like his music more now. Nope. Still feels too thought-out, too chilly, to me. Oh, well.)

Could have been so much better
I guess it says something that I have gone back and watched Burns' "Civil War" documentary more than a dozen times since I first saw it, and have only watch "Jazz" once since the first time. The Civil War documentary certainly is rife with factual inaccuracies but by & large gets the essential story of the conflict right. "Jazz," on the other hand, treats its subject as though the last 40-50 years never happened. It is as though the Civil War documentary would have lingered over the years 1861-1863 incessantly, then sped through the last two years ("Oh yeah, there were a couple of battles, Atlanta burned, Lee surrendered, the war was over. The end." Something like that) as though they didn't matter.

As I found the documentary going into its umpteenth hour and we STILL weren't out of the 1930's yet, I had a bad feeling about where this was going. You would have thought that Louis Armstrong had been annointed as the Jazz Pope and he ruled over the world of jazz for 40 years. In his proper context, Armstrong is very important, but Burns seems positively fixated on him. He dwells on every facet of Armstrong's upbringing & early career. Unless he planned on making a 60-hour documentary, there was no way Burns could hope to do justice to the more recent history of the genre, and sure enough he basically hits the fast forward button once the be-bop era is coming to a close.

Personally, I cannot stand fushion jazz, but nonetheless some mention needs to made of a style that was dominant in jazz for almost as long as the swing style, for crying out loud. Also, relying almost exculsively on Wynton Marsalis (doing his best impression of a crochety old man on his front porch, railing at a world that has passed him by) really was not a good idea & imbues the entire documentary with a hopelessly retrograde flavor.

I watched it once, and came away disappointed. I watched it a second time, hoping that I could find more to appreciate, but only found that it continued to disappoint. I don't know if it merits any future viewings, and that is indeed a shame, because it is a subject that deserves better treatment than this.

Excellent for what it is
It's surprizing how vociferously some "snobs" condemn "Jazz" simply because it's not as comprehensive as they seem to think it should be. From reading these reviews you would think Ken Burns is a half-step above a holocaust-denier for not including Roland Kirk or Eric Dolphy. "Jazz" is a wonderful, inspiring and, yes, traditional look at the art form. Newcomers shouldn't be dissuaded because it's not as complete as it should be. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A 26-episode World War II documentary, Victory at Sea is one of the most important series in the history of television. Made in 1952, the show was a huge success, winning many major awards and even spawning albums featuring the orchestral score by Richard Rodgers, best known for his musicals with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II. Produced with the full cooperation of the U.S. Navy, each 26-minute program consists of black-and-white wartime film set to a narration by Leonard Graves. The two years leading up to America's entry into the war are dismissed in episode one, while the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor gets a show of its own, the raid depicted in a brilliantly edited montage that almost certainly contains "docu-drama" footage. Each episode contains at least one powerful stand-alone sequence in the tradition of Serge Eisenstein (Battleship Potemkin), these action-suspense set-pieces giving the programs an urgent, surprisingly modern feel. Indeed, the emphasis is at least as much on entertainment as information, the factual content delivered in poetic narration, the score transforming the war into a more than usually serious Hollywood adventure. The documentaries are nothing if not wide-ranging, covering parts of the land war despite the title, and including everything from the Atlantic convoys and U-boat "Wolfpacks" to war in Alaska, the South Atlantic, and the Far East, the Pacific War, and the Fall of Japan. There is an attempt to include other nations--certainly the D-Day episode acknowledges the British far more than Saving Private Ryan--but inevitably the focus is on America's war.The very dated narration gives a fascinating insight into how America saw WWII in the early 1950s, while the dynamic cutting and often genuinely remarkable wartime footage make Victory at Sea still gripping today. Twenty years later, Granada's The World at War would become the definitive television WWII history, but this release offers a unique opportunity to see a series of great importance from the very early days of television. --Gary S. Dalkin ... Read more

Reviews (31)

5 stars for content but ZERO stars for TERRIBLE AUDIO MIX
I loved the content. Other reviewers here have verbalized my feelings concerning the quality of the video. However, the sound mix is so poor that if you set the volume to an appropriate sound level for the very nice music you are completely unable to hear the voice of the narrator. Even if you have your finger on the volume control constantly you are unable to dynamically raise and lower the audio volume to try and hear the narrator without blasting your ear drums with the elevated music sound level. I would advise anyone buying this DVD set to consider it acceptable ONLY if you listen to it with a 5 channel speaker set up with a dedicated center channel (for speech, etc.) where you are able to individually raise and lower that channel of sound. Even then you may be astonished just how much boost the center channel is going to need compared with the other sound channels. Frankly, this DVD release needs to be redone as far as the audio is concerned! Other than that, the video is great....

Victory at Sea DVD Is Awesome
I recently purchased this DVD and was very skeptical after reading all the comments about the sound track. However, I didn't find any issues with either the sound track or the narrative for all four volumes. I have a Panasonice DVD Player with the Dolby Digital,DTS Digital Surround and MPEG, and the music score by Richard Rogers is one of the reasons for buying this DVD. It is a " Must Have" for military history buffs. If you have a PC with a DVD/CD ROM Combination, you can use it to view this DVD and adjust the sound track to blend in with the narrative.

Sound issues and the original
I have the original soundtrack on LP, with the NBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Richard Rogers himeself. It's my father's and needless to say, it does not get much play time for preservation sake. I also own both CDs "Victory at Sea" and "MORE Victory at Sea," (BMG Music 1992) both conducted by Robert Russel Bennett and contain slightly arraigned versions of the very familar complete soundtrack by the RCA Symphony Orchestra and is remixed in extremely good Dolby Surround. The original soundtrack is fairly clear and does sound a little tinny and was recorded in mono. (Unless it was a dual issue in both stereo and mono. I only have the mono.) While a properly mixed original soundtrack would sound great, IMHO, the Dolby version would sound even better. What I'm getting at is, it's not the soundtrack's fault this apparently sounds so bad. I really wanted to buy this, but I think I'll hold off and wait and see.

One star too many!
What an unmitigated hustle this dvd collection turned out to be. Equal portions of venom and spite are hereby awarded to History Channel and NBC for this travesty. My 5.1 dts sound system did nothing to alleviate the worse than poor sound quality/balance issues. This legendary series and it's participants certainly deserve better than this quick and dirty rendition gives. Maybe the capital "H" seen in the lower right hand corner of the teevee screen actually stands for "hustle". I would gladly purchase a remastered and remixed set but for now am left with this doorstop.

Good atmospheric and stirring stuff!
I came across the soundtrack many years after first hearing snippets from it on the original T.V series of the same name.
I was enthralled by the sheer vibrancy and 'now-ness' of this great piece of modern classical music. You can easily picture the great ships of both the American and Japanese fleets as they engage in the greatest sea battle of all time. The spinning, swooping aircraft as they play thier all important roles of hunter/killer.
The evocation of individual men and women enjoying a rare respite from battle in some of the quieter passages, shore leave. All part of this amazingingly descriptive music. It will continue to be an important piece by sheer virtuosity of the skillful interplay of individual instruments producing an altogether sucessful blend of sombre, stirring and gentle, very easy to listen-to-again and again music. I cannot praise it enough! ... Read more

Reviews (27)

If you have no time or are a beginner, buy this
8 minute arms are fast and easy, and you can do it without weights or with weights (or soup cans if you don't have weights). 8 minute legs are easy, and you use your chair or couch, perfect for the beginner. 8 minute abs are a bit difficult, definetly work your way into those. 8 minute buns are not for the weak kneed, you definitly need an exercise mat. All the workouts are so fast, it doesn't even feel like your working out.

I think I like it...
When I looked at the title, I thought - what the hey - only 8 minutes. I can do that.

I rec'd it from AMZN a couple days ago and brought it home, popped it in the DVD player and away I went. So far so good.

The workouts are fairly precise, SHORT and short. Short is good for those of us who don't care to work out except for a nice walk outdoors.

The lead guy is tolerable - he's built which makes me have the illusion that if I do these workouts 8 min. each day I'll become buff :) His outfit often takes attention away from the video though....it's white w/ black stripes and suspenders - straight out of the 80's. The music? Blechhhh. Corny corny corny. BUT - you're not getting this for the music - you're getting this because it's ONLY 8 minutes a day, which if I can handle it? Anyone can :)

The "legs" workout is alright - I've only done it once so far. The "buns" workout rocks. Really felt the results, especially the next day. The "arms" workout is just OK without weights, but adding even 2 or 5 pounds to each arm really makes a big difference.

One of the best things about this is that it's short but it also has a constant countdown in the corner of the screen. It keeps track of how many seconds you have for the current exercise and how many minutes total you have left for your workout. I really like that.

I plan on alternating "buns" and "legs" every other morning and doing "arms" each day regardless.

All in all I would recommend this DVD set. I also ordered the Winsor pilates DVD and will enjoy seeing the difference in presentation and results. BUY this - certainly doing 8 minutes a day is much better than doing nothing at all. If not for your physique, for your self esteem :)

8 Minute Workouts Review
Terrific! These are virtually perfect. Who doesn't have just 8 minutes? If I don't have time to workout I can at least find 8 minutes to do one of these workouts.

Each of the two DVDs includes bonus workouts that range from 10 - 20 minutes long. So if you don't have time to do a full workout, you can do a 10 minute sample and one of the 8 minute workouts. This is a great addition to the DVDs.

I highly recommend these. The 8 minute buns and abs really take some time to build up to their level, but since the exercises are not timed to the background music you can work at your own speed! And they have minute and second countdowns in the lower corner of the screen so you can take a 5 or 10 second break until the next set of exercises starts! These are AWESOME.

Love this DVD
I have tried many other workouts but this one gave me the best results in a shorter amount of time. Each workout is 8 minutes long so it is easy to fit into your busy day. I have had knee surgeries on both knees and cannot do most of the excerise programs on the market but with the 8 minutes workouts I have lost one inch off my waist, legs and buns in 6 weeks. This DVD is excellent!

Just What I was Looking For!!!!
on the days that i go running i like to come back and do a quick toning exercise... just so i feel like i covered all the bases. i was bored with doing the normal crunches and am not familiar enough with free weights to put together my own routine. these videos are perfect.. eight minutes is a perfect amount of time and it's nice to have some instruction. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Four extremely beautiful people do extremely horrible things to one another in Closer, Mike Nichols' pungent adaptation of Patrick Marber's play that easily marks the Oscar-winning director's best work in years. Anna (Julia Roberts) is a photographer who specializes in portraits of strangers; Dan (Jude Law) is an obituary writer struggling to become a novelist; Alice (Natalie Portman) is an American stripper freshly arrived in London after a bad relationship; and Larry (Clive Owen) is a dermatologist who finds love under the most unlikely of circumstances. When their paths cross it's a dizzying supernova of emotions, as Nichols and Marber adroitly construct various scenes out of their lives that pair them again and again in various permutations of passion, heartbreak, anger, sadness, vengeance, pleading, deception, and most importantly, brutal honesty. It's only until you're more than halfway through the movie that you'll have to ask yourself exactly why you are watching such a beautifully tragic tale, as Closer is basically the ickiest, grossest, most dysfunctional parts of all your past relationships strung together into one movie. Ultimately, it falls to the four actors to draw you deeper into the story; all succeed relatively, but it's Law and Owen whose characters will cut you to the quick. Law proves that yet again he's most adept at playing charming, amoral bastards with manipulative streaks, and Owen is nothing short of brilliant as the character most turned on by the energy inherent in destructive relationships--whether he's on the giving or receiving end. --Mark Englehart ... Read more

Reviews (259)

4 great actors, 4 great stars
This is the story of four people: two men and two women. It souds plain simple, but the story is not so. It is not the typical story of a love quadrangle. It's a story of power, pride, self-confidence and, of course, love.

The greatest and the lowest of human condition. All for love, but all for gaining the higher respect and best appearance in front of the rest of the world.

The story is fantastic but, what to say of the actors? It is not only Portmann to take care. I think Julia Roberts makes her best acting ever. Jude Law is plain correct but Clive Owen is the great discovery for me. It is clear that this is "a film for actors", to show the best of them and they really succeed.

The only problem is that these two facts (story and acting) hide a poor direction and some minor aspects. Personally, I think the producer did the budget and realized he has nothing to spend in such details.

But it is a very recommendable movie to spend the afternoon at home. I saw it in the cinema and I had such a great impression that I hired it to see it again (and I haven't done it in more than ten times).

Shockingly Disappointing
I don't understand how anyone could enjoy this film.It was by far the worst movie I've seen this year.In fact, it was so bad that I doubt I'll be able to enjoy watching the main 4 actors ever again.

Although some people feel that watching 4 people destroy each other is beautiful, I find it to be depressing.This movie is about 4 "lovers" who use each other uncaringly, cry a lot, use the "f" word multiple times in every sentence, and who are completely unlikeable.It's like the director thought that having 4 beautiful people in a film was enough.I love a good drama, but this wasn't even close.

The plot is as shallow as the characters.The ending is very silly; we find out information that the film makers thought would create a "Usual Suspects" type of ending, but it all falls flat and seems contrived.Amazon has many better DVDs for sale than this garbage.

Mike Nichols at his best...
Genre: Dark Romance

Genre Grade: A+

Final Grade: A

This was a great movie - except it's possibly one of the most verbally sexual movies I've ever seen - but I can handle a little sex talk! There were about, I dunno, eight people or so who walked out of the movie because of the offensive language and sex talk. This movie breaks many barriers and talks about problems in relationships and tries to take a closer look at the raw emotions of affairs. The acting was Oscar-worthy from each person, Clive Owen coming out on top in my opinion. Natalie Portman was amazing as well, and Julia Roberts actually gives the audience something new.

This movie is extremely depressing, and is not a date movie unless you want to walk away feeling hopeless. It leaves us with a despairing look at humanity and our own desires, and the film brings to light things that are normally left in the bedroom or simply remain unspoken. Definitely worth seeing just for the performances (especially the amazing encounter between Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, and then later the discussion between Jude Law and Clive Owen), the AMAZING dialogue, and just because of the fact that Mike Nichols directed it.

Great Performances save this film!
This movie is hard to follow.No question about that.Most movies that are adapted from Broadway plays don't fair well on screen unless they're made from the classic playwrights (Tennessee Williams, David Mamet, Eugene O'Neill, etc.).Many of the negative reviews here on Amazon.com expecting more action are justified.However, I found the movie to be better than expected.Mike Nichols is one of Hollywood's finest directors.And with four of the best actors around, he does very will with the challenging subject matter.Natalie Portman has become the "Harrison Ford" of the Star Wars genre by breaking out into a great Oscar nominated role.British TV star Clive Owen also breaks free of his shell with his excellent performance.Juila Roberts & Jude Law round out this excellent cast.If you can stay with it for the performances, you'll be amused.

One of the worst movies I've ever seen
I was really excited about seeing this, since it got such good reviews. Boy, was I surprised. This movie is so depressing, with everyone cheating on each other and getting hurt. There was a review that said that this is a real love story, but if that's true we all might as well throw in the towel. If you like feeling like you want to slit your wrists, then watch the movie. If not, definitely look elsewhere. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Culled from 30 years of material, this collection of moments from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson contains some of most inspired bits of lunacy ever recorded. Whether cajoling with Hollywood's biggest stars or normal folk with special talents, Carson was a master of finding the right joke, with timing second to none. Along with bits of his opening monologues, skits, and early standup appearances from the likes of David Letterman and Eddie Murphy, there are many highlights with perhaps the perfect Carson guest--exotic animals that stole the show. This collection was released shortly after Carson's reign ended in 1992. Although most of the tapes from his first decade are lost, there are plenty of highlights from the '70s through the '90s. Also included is Carson's touching and historic "Final Show," which finds the host simply talking to his audience and showing highlights--or just the faces--from his years on the set. Although many followed--and a few have even succeeded--Carson's Midwest charm made him the king of TV in a period when America was defined by television.

The DVD edition adds some superlative extras, including "Danger Johnny" segments from his first decade, short bits on the history of the show and the host, and more behind-the-scenes glances, including an intriguing way to watch the final show via unedited feeds from isolated studio cameras. Also included is the 1982 NBC special "Johnny Goes Home," which follows Carson on a tour of his rural Nebraska homeland, and a slightly edited version of the penultimate show, in which his last two guests, Robin Williams and Bette Midler, are on fire. These extras make the DVD, produced a decade after Carson left, a must-have piece of entertainment and pop history. --Doug Thomas ... Read more

Reviews (16)

The Man Behind the Desk
In today's era of David Letterman and Jay Leno, younger generations should remember that Johnny Carson (along with his "Tonight Show" predecessors Jack Paar and Steve Allen) defined the talk-show format which made late-night television an enduring and immensely profitable enterprise. From 1962 to 1992, Carson reigned supreme as a comedian and broadcaster. Unlike Letterman and Leno, Johnny did his homework when it came to nightly conversation. No matter who sat on the couch, he remained an astute and observant host. "The Ultimate Johnny Carson Collection" is an expanded three-DVD set of "Tonight Show" highlights selected by Johnny himself, with the welcome addition of his final two programs. The set also includes the 1982 NBC special "Johnny Goes Home" -- a nostalgic, affectionate look at Carson's return to his hometown of Norfolk, Nebraska. Loaded with extras (and some recently discovered film clips from the early 1960s), the DVD collection provides first-rate material at a reasonable price. If this set leaves you wanting more, the six-DVD "Timeless Moments" series is highly recommended -- allowing viewers to see previously unavailable Carson monologues, interviews and sketches in their entirety.

Still the King!
As one of the millions that sorely miss the wit and wisdom of Johnny Carson, I was especially pleased to receive this "best of" DVD collection. The three DVD's feature the best moments from the show - divided by decade - from the 60's through the 90's, and also include the complete second-to-last show (with Bette Midler and Robin Williams) and the final show, along with a documentary on Johnny I had never seen before. T