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John Adams (HBO Miniseries)

Actors: Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney
ASIN : B000WGWQG8
Sales Rank : 28
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : HBO
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0883929020065
UPC : 883929020065
Release Date : December 10, 2008
Publisher : HBO
Manufacturer : HBO
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : HBO
Running Time : 501

Description

John Adams is a sprawling HBO miniseries event that depicts the extraordinary life and times of one of Americas least understood, and most underestimated, founding fathers: the second President of the United States, John Adams. Starring Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Cinderella Man, HBOs American Spendor) in the title role and Laura Linney (You Can Count on Me, Kinsey) as Adams devoted wife Abigail, John Adams chronicles the extraordinary life journey of one of the primary shapers of our independence and government, whose legacy has often been eclipsed by more flamboyant contemporaries like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin. Set against the backdrop of a nations stormy birth, this sweeping miniseries is a moving love story, a gripping narrative, and a fascinating study of human nature. Above all, at a time when the nation is increasingly polarized politically, this story celebrates the shared values of liberty and freedom upon which this country was built.

DVD Features:
Documentary
Featurette
Production Notes

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Based on David McCullough's bestselling biography, the HBO miniseries John Adams is the furthest thing from a starry-eyed look at America's founding fathers and the brutal path to independence. Adams (Paul Giamatti), second president of the United States, is portrayed as a skilled orator and principled attorney whose preference for justice over anti-English passions earns enemies. But he also gains the esteem of the first national government of the United States, i.e., the Continental Congress, which seeks non-firebrands capable of making a reasoned if powerful case for America's break from England's monarchy. The first thing one notices about John Adams' dramatizations of congress' proceedings, and the fervent pro-independence violence in the streets of Boston and elsewhere, is that America's roots don't look pretty or idealized here. Some horrendous things happen in the name of protest, driving Adams to push the cause of independence in a legitimate effort to get on with a revolutionary war under the command of George Washington. But the process isn't easy: not every one of the 13 colonies-turned-states is ready to incur the wrath of England, and behind-the-scenes negotiations prove as much a part of 18th century congressional sessions as they do today.

Besides this peek into a less-romanticized version of the past, John Adams is also a story of the man himself. Adams' frustration at being forgotten or overlooked at critical junctures of America's early development--sent abroad for years instead of helping to draft the U.S. constitution--is detailed. So is his dismay that the truth of what actually transpired leading to the signing of the Declaration of Independence has been slowly forgotten and replaced by a rosier myth. But above all, John Adams is the story of two key ties: Adams' 54-year marriage to Abigail Adams (Laura Linney), every bit her husband's intellectual equal and anchor, and his difficult, almost symbiotic relationship with Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane) over decades. Giamatti, of course, has to carry much of the drama, and if he doesn't always seem quite believable in the series' first half, he becomes increasingly excellent at the point where an aging Adams becomes bitter over his place in history. Linney is marvelous, as is Dillane, Sarah Polley as daughter Nabby, Danny Huston as cousin Samuel Adams, and above all Tom Wilkinson as a complex but indispensable Ben Franklin. --Tom Keogh

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House, M.D. - Season Four

Actors: Hugh Laurie, Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard, Jennifer Morrison
ASIN : B001A4VH2U
Sales Rank : 35
Brand : Universal
Studio : Universal Studios
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0025195017084
UPC : 025195017084
Release Date : December 19, 2008
Publisher : Universal Studios
Manufacturer : Universal Studios
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Universal Studios
Running Time : 660

Description

Prepare for even more baffling, complex and shocking medical mysteries than ever before as every season four episode of House arrives on DVD! Reunite with the perplexing and prickly Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie in his two-time Golden Globe®-winning role) as he tackles impossible cases while putting a new staff of potential team members – including Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle), Peter Jacobson (The Starter Wife), and Olivia Wilde (The Black Donnellys) – through the medical wringer with his trademark sarcasm and irreverent bedside manner. Get ready for another dose of one of TV’s most original dramas and what Entertainment Weekly calls “One of the most compelling characters in TV history.”

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For Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), there's nothing like a good, tension-filled competition to pick his new team of doctors when his old trio of Chase (Jesse Spencer), Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) and Foreman (Omar Epps) leave his fold. Among the 40 newbies vying to earn the coveted spots in the fourth season of House, M.D. are Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn, the Harold & Kumar films), Dr. Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson, Transformers) and Dr., uh, Thirteen (Olivia Wilde, The O.C.). Taking a cue from Flavor Flav, House dubs the latter with that nickname simply because he can. Though frequently politically incorrect, House is almost always spot on when it comes to diagnosing rare diseases and ailments. His boss Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) puts up with his unorthodox quirks, which include antagonizing patients, berating his colleagues, and being an overall pain in the butt, because he's brilliant. The addition of the new doctors adds a bit of chaos early on. But once the contingent is whittled away to the select few, the storylines grow stronger and the chemistry between the old and new cast members gels. Originally shown during the 2007-2008 television season, House aired only 16--rather than its usual 24--episodes, due to the Writers Guild strike. Though a bit of momentum is lost in the last third of the season, the writers do an admirable job of piecing together loose ends without sacrificing plot or structure. In a nice homage to the Prescription Passion, the General Hospital-esque soap opera he loves, House at one point is afflicted with amnesia. The humorous aspect of the story is offset by urgency as he tries to remember what needs to be done to save a patient. On a separate episode, House kidnaps the star of the daytime drama (played by Sex and the City hunk Jason Lewis) because he's convinced the actor is dying. The season finale is heartbreaking, as one of House's 40 candidates is in a life-and-death situation that even the good doctor may not be able to cure. --Jae-Ha Kim

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Gossip Girl - The Complete First Season

Actors: Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Chace Crawford, Taylor Momsen, Kristen Bell
ASIN : B000W6ZUUC
Sales Rank : 49
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Warner Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0883929022540
UPC : 883929022540
Release Date : December 19, 2008
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Warner Home Video
Running Time : 60

Product Description

Want to know a secret? A really juicy secret? Look no further than the latest message from Manhattan's notorious blogger Gossip Girl. She keeps tabs on the city's most elite teens as they make the rounds from the preppiest school events to the most lavish, decadent parties. And between Serena and Blair's explosive friendship, Dan and Serena's budding romance, Nate and Blair's fairytale relationship (or is it?), Chuck's escapades and Jenny's introduction to the glamorous life, there's a lot to track! In this 5-disc, 18-episode Season One, friends, lovers, rivals and enemies abound. Even the darkest secrets don't stay hidden for long. You know you love it. XOXO!

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Bones - Season 3

Actors: David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel
ASIN : B001992NWO
Sales Rank : 41
Studio : Fox / MGM
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0024543526025
UPC : 024543526025
Release Date : December 18, 2008
Publisher : Fox / MGM
Manufacturer : Fox / MGM
Label : Fox / MGM
Running Time : 655

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Beyond Bones – Season 3

Boston Legal – Season Four
The Unit - Season Three
Saving Grace - Season One

Stills from Bones – Season Three (Click for larger image)

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Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Fourth Season

Actors: Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers
ASIN : B0018CWEXK
Sales Rank : 65
Brand : Buena Vista Home Video
Studio : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0786936754193
UPC : 786936754193
Release Date : December 09, 2008
Publisher : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Manufacturer : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Running Time : 740

Product Description

UPC:786936754193
DESCRIPTION:Grey s Anatomy is a drama about the intensity of medial training mixed with the funny, sexy and sometimes painful lives of people who are about to discover that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white. Real life only comes in shades of grey. END

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Season four of the hit ABC medical drama was on shaky ground right from the season premiere, which left Cristina (Sandra Oh) at the altar by Burke (Isaiah Washington, fired after the press-frenzied third season); Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek (Patrick Dempsey) downgraded to no-relationship-just-sex status; and George (T.R. Knight) pondering divorce from Callie (Sara Ramirez) to pursue love with his best friend, Izzie (Katherine Heigl). That last pairing made for one of the worst decisions in the series thus far; George and Izzie always worked so well as friends without the will-they-won't-they element, but suddenly throwing them into bed and watching them fumble their way to coupledom (an attempt that mercifully doesn't last) was painful to watch, in particular because Heigl, who had won an Emmy for the previous season, was reduced to a lot of whining and fretting. Meanwhile, Meredith's family issues come to a head when her half-sister Lexie (Chyler Leigh) begins her internship at Seattle Grace and instantly tries too hard to bond. And as she once again drives away Derek with her trust issues, Meredith finally gets smart and enters therapy (one of the redeeming elements of the season, with Amy Madigan as the hard-nosed counselor) to "get healed." The writers' strike became a welcome blessing for the show, which had seriously derailed before its hiatus; during the strike, creator Shonda Rimes has said she reexamined the direction of the show, making for an ultimately satisfying second half of the season. Standout episodes include "Forever Young," in which a high school bus crash leaves the staff pontificating their own adolescent cliques; "Lay Your Hands on Me," with a standout performance by Chandra Wilson as Bailey, whose crumbling marriage comes front and center when her toddler gets in an accident; and the season finale "Freedom," in which Meredith and Derek save two brain-tumor patients in love (Jurnee Smollett and Marshall Allman), leading to their own (lasting?) reunion, Bailey heads up an effort to rescue a guy who lay in concrete to impress a girl; and Callie finds herself attracted to the new cardiac surgeon, Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith). Bonus features include "New Docs on the Block," a look at the latest members of the cast; a set tour with Dempsey and Eric "McSteamy" Dane; bonus and extended scenes; and outtakes. --Ellen A. Kim

Stills from Grey’s Anatomy: The Complete Fourth Season (Click for larger image)

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Dexter - The Complete Second Season

Actor: Michael C. Hall
ASIN : B000V86OKG
Sales Rank : 27
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Showtime / Paramount
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0097368925144
UPC : 097368925144
Release Date : December 19, 2008
Publisher : Showtime / Paramount
Manufacturer : Showtime / Paramount
Availability : Usually ships in 7 to 12 days
Label : Showtime / Paramount
Running Time : 636

Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 08/19/2008 Run time: 636 minutes Rating: Nr

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Dark and sinister is the new sexy, thanks to Dexter, which in its second season has proven to be the most successful series Showtime has offered up yet. Remember how much you squirmed in your seat during the season one finale? Believe it or not, the premiere of season two felt like it could have been a season finale--because jaws were on the floor when the credits rolled. For being a supposed sociopath, Dex is pretty broken up about the gruesome events that concluded last season. The one and only person who could possibly understand him is six feet under, and it seems our unlikely hero is losing his homicidal grip. He’s even having a little trouble slicing up a few of his latest victims (from a murderous gang member to a chainsaw-wielding fiend from his past). Enter Lila (Jaime Murray, Hustle), a lady with a sweet British accent and a few dark secrets of her own. She seems to accept Dex for who he really is, and he finds himself feeling relaxed for the first time in his life. In contrast, his relationship with his girlfriend Rita (Julie Benz) has been stretched almost to a breaking point. The problem is, he should be anything but relaxed. Someone picked a poor place to go scuba diving off the Florida coast, and came across an underwater graveyard: Dex’s primo spot for dropping dismembered bodies wrapped in heavy-duty trash bags. Word about the "Bay Harbor Butcher" gets out quick, and the F.B.I. sends the best of the best, Special Agent Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine, Deadwood) to work alongside the police to sniff out Miami’s latest serial killer. This guy is no schlub, and Dex may have met his match. And, yes, Dexter gets to work with Lundy on a daily basis, which provides some wonderfully awkward moments. It certainly doesn’t help that the intuitively paranoid Sergeant Doakes (Erik King, Oz) is hot on Dex’s trail.

Season two of Dexter is all about decisions. Lila or Rita? Old code or new code? Run or fight? Right or wrong? Well, one thing’s for sure: When it comes to writing, casting, acting, and production, the makers of this show made all the right decisions. Michael C. Hall is simply superb as the title character. You’ll never find yourself more willing to genuinely root for a serial killer. It’s bloody liberating. --Jordan Thompson

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Mad Men - Season One

Actors: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks
ASIN : B000YABIQ6
Sales Rank : 62
Brand : Lions Gate
Studio : Lionsgate
Region Code : 1
Format : Widescreen, Box set, Color, Dolby
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0031398229384
UPC : 031398229384
Release Date : December 01, 2008
Publisher : Lionsgate
Manufacturer : Lionsgate
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Lionsgate
Running Time : 600

Product Description

Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 07/01/2008 Run time: 616 minutes Rating: Nr

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Welcome to a world where Monday has a three drink minimum. Mad Men exists here and it's a fabulous place to visit, back before Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique really made much of an impact and before the Surgeon General put warning labels on cigarettes. It was an America on the brink of social explosion and Mad Men, which tells the story of a group of Madison Avenue advertising executives in the early 1960s, captures that surface stillness perfectly, complete with the growing tension barely contained below the surface.

The show succeeds on every level. HBO famously passed on Mad Men, created by former Sopranos executive producer and writer Matthew Weiner. AMC picked it up, and thank goodness they did. From the first episode, Season One becomes an essential, utterly addictive television- watching experience. Beautifully filmed and masterfully written, the show manages to present the period honestly but with little nostalgia, and as soon as you get over the constant smoking, drinking and treatment of women as little more than "girls" who get coffee and answer the phone, the complexity of these characters (especially the dashing Jon Hamm as Creative Director Don Draper) will leave you completely captivated. Season One features clandestine office romances, shadowy pasts, a ton of adultery, closeted homosexuality and a lot more drama that seems risqué even for 2008. But again, one of the most impressive things about Mad Men is that everything is executed with absolute class, style and elegance. And bonus for the DVD viewer: Like The Sopranos, Mad Men has a ton of little moments and hints leading up to character revelations and plot twists that make watching the episodes over and over continually rewarding. –-Kira Canny

Stills from Mad Men (click for larger image)

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Dexter - The First Season

Actors: Michael C. Hall, Erik King, James Remar, Julie Benz, Rita Bennett
ASIN : B000Q6GUW0
Sales Rank : 93
Director : Michael Cuesta, Tony Goldwyn
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Showtime Ent. / Paramount
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0097368513648
UPC : 097368513648
Release Date : December 21, 2007
Publisher : Showtime Ent. / Paramount
Manufacturer : Showtime Ent. / Paramount
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Showtime Ent. / Paramount
Running Time : 650

Description

Dexter is based on the compelling novel "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay. Orphaned at the age of four and harboring a traumatic secret, Dexter Morgan (Dexter Morgan (Emmy- and Golden Globe- nominated actor Michael C. Hall from "Six Feet Under") is adopted by a police officer who recognizes Dexter's homicidal tendencies and guides his son to channel his gruesome passion for human vivisection in a constructive way - by killing those heinous perpetrators that are above the law or who have slipped through the cracks of justice. A respected member of the police force, a perfect gentleman and a man with a soft spot for children, it's hard not to like Dexter. Although his drive to kill is unflinching, he struggles to emulate normal emotions he doesn't feel, and to keep up his appearance as a caring, socially responsible human being.

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An interesting and original idea that's very skillfully executed, Showtime's Dexter is never less than watchable, often quite compelling, and sometimes thoroughly riveting. As the 12 episodes from the show's first season (packaged here in a four disc set) reveal, it's also the epitome of "high concept," a kind of Silence of the Lambs for the C.S.I. generation. Creator-executive producer James Manos Jr.'s title character, one Dexter Morgan (played by Michael C. Hall of Six Feet Under renown), works for the Miami Police Department as an blood spatter analyst, visiting crime scenes and helping figure out what happened. He has an avocation, too: during his off hours, he tracks down some very, very bad people who for various reasons have eluded the proper authorities. Seems his adoptive father, a cop himself, taught the kid how to channel his dark side in a "positive" direction; and so, having captured these evildoers (including a child molester-murderer and a recidivist drunk driver with a trail of bodies in his wake), Dex dispatches them with clinical precision, thus making him a serial killer who snuffs serial killers. But there's more--much more, as it turns out. By his own description, Dexter is "a monster," an empty shell who fakes all human interactions and admits to no real feelings for anything or anyone, including his foster sister (Jennifer Carter) and his nominal girlfriend (Julie Benz), a former crack addict and battered spouse who's as uninterested in sex as he is. There's an explanation for Dexter's weirdness, of course, one so deep and traumatic that even he isn't aware of it. It's gradually revealed over the course of the season as he and the cops (who include Erik King, Lauren Velez, and David Zayas, all first-rate) track down the so-called "Ice Truck Killer," a fellow monster whose grisly m.o. both fascinates and taunts our hero, leading to a genuinely shocking and squirm-inducing finale. Dexter can be a bit arch, with an ironic, too-hip-for-the-room tone that get a little old. Still, it's a safe bet that anyone who views this first season will be salivating for the second. Extras include audio commentary on two episodes, a featurette about real-life blood spatter analysis, and a variety of DVD-ROM items. --Sam Graham

Beyond Dexter

More TV Head-cases on DVD
The Book that Started It All
More from Showtime

Stills from Dexter: The First Season (click for larger image)

Browse Drama Online

John Adams (HBO Miniseries)

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House, M.D. - Season Four

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Gossip Girl - The Complete First Season

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Bones - Season 3

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The Wire: The Complete Series

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Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Fourth Season

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Dexter - The Complete Second Season

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The Tudors - Season 2

Mad Men - Season One

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Dexter - The First Season

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