|
|
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10
11
12
13
14
15
[...]
List Price: $84.98Price: $58.99You Save: $25.99 (31%)CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - The Eighth Season
Actors: Marg Helgenberger, Jorja Fox
ASIN : B001CQONKY
Sales Rank : 500
Brand : CSI:CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION:8TH SEASON (DVD
Studio : Paramount
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0097368924345
UPC : 097368924345
Release Date : December 14, 2008
Publisher : Paramount
Manufacturer : Paramount
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Paramount
Running Time : 720
Product DescriptionCSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a fast-paced drama about a passionate team of forensic investigators trained to solve crimes the old-fashioned way by examining the evidence. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is on the case 24-7 scouring the scene collecting irrefutable evidence and finding the missing pieces that will solve the mystery.System Requirements:Running Time: 733 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097368924345 Manufacturer No: 892434 Amazon.com The eighth season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation begins with the answer to the previous season's cliffhanger: Yes, CSI Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) survives. But fans of this top-rated crime procedural won't be able to breathe a sigh of relief. By the end of the 17 episodes--which originally aired during the 2007-2008 television season--two fan favorites will be gone. This year, CSI explores the complicated romance between Sara and head CSI Gil Grissom (William Petersen). But the storyline is weaved in so well with the gruesome cases that their relationship is never overpowering to the viewer. Though the show was truncated due to the Writers Guild strike, the flow of the series doesn't lose any momentum--not even with the loss of cast members or even episodes that center on peripheral supporting characters. Fellow CSIs Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger), Nick Stokes (George Eads), and Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan) return to help solve seemingly unsolvable cases. But not all of the best moments involve whodunits. Some of the most compelling vignettes revolve around Warrick, who is battling a nasty prescription drug addiction as he tries to navigate his way through a messy divorce. Longtime fans of the series may remember child genius Hannah West (portrayed chillingly by Juliette Goglia), who helped get her brother acquitted of a murder charge in season six. She is back after her brother is once again charged with homicide. Sara--who had wrongfully believed that Hannah was just an innocent little girl--finds herself unable to distance herself from this case. There is a crossover ratings stunt episode with Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia) visiting from CBS' other drama Without a Trace. While both LaPaglia and Petersen are formidable, there really isn't room for both of them on one show. And let's face it, Petersen's our guy. --Jae-Ha Kim
Reviews for the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - The Eighth Season
Price: $49.98Boston Legal - Season One
Actors: William Shatner, James Spader, Candice Bergen, Mark Valley, Rene Auberjonois
ASIN : B000EHSVBE
Sales Rank : 1354
Director : Allison Liddi, Arlene Sanford, Bill D'Elia, Charles Haid, Daniel Attias
Brand : Twentieth Century Fox
Studio : 20th Century Fox
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0024543241133
UPC : 024543241133
Release Date : December 23, 2006
Publisher : 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer : 20th Century Fox
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : 20th Century Fox
Running Time : 739
DescriptionLed by an Emmy Award-winning cast (James Spader, Denny Crane and Candice Bergen), "Boston Legal" tells the professional and personal stories of a group of brilliant but often emotionally challenged attorneys. Fast-paced and darkly comedic, the series confronts social and moral issues, while its characters continually stretch the boundaries of the law. Amazon.comThe classic combination of James Spader and William Shatner is just one of many reasons to savor the inaugural 17-episode season of Boston Legal. Making its highly rated ABC debut on October 3, 2004, this darkly comedic spinoff from The Practice looked like a formulaic reworking of creator David E. Kelley's previously successful series Ally McBeal, with similar plots and quirky characters enmeshed in personal and professional affairs of the heart at the prestigious Boston law firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt. It quickly became apparent that Kelley, co-executive producer Bill D'Elia, and the show's magnificent ensemble cast were onto something equally fresh, funny, and infectiously entertaining. 
Red Carpet Video: The Boston Legal
cast gives Amazon.com some behind-the-scenes scoop
and recommends their favorite DVDs and music.
High |Low | Both Shatner and Spader won Emmys for their original roles on The Practice, and the priceless pairing of the erratic, egomaniacal senior partner Denny Crane (Shatner, doing the best work of his career) and ethically challenged attorney Alan Shore (Spader, likewise) signaled the arrival of one of the finest comedic duos in TV history. Waging a two-man war on political correctness, the boisterous has-been Denny loves the sound of his own name (the mere mention of "Denny Crane" qualifies as ego-stroking foreplay), unabashedly subjects female associates to his lascivious advances, and (in creator Kelley's words) "trades on the currency of his reputation" as an undefeated trial attorney. As the show's fascinating heart and soul, Alan Shore is a walking contradiction, and Spader plays him perfectly as a charismatic, self-loathing lothario who'll bend the law to suit his higher purposes. Deeply cynical yet fiercely committed to his own complex and compassionate moral code, he's brazenly open about his sexual appetites as he savors the affections of smart, sexy associates Sally Heep (Lake Bell), and Tara Wilson (Rhona Mitra), whose relationship with Shore grows strained as the season progresses. While senior partner Paul Lewiston (Rene Auberjonois), senior associate and ex-Marine Brad Chase (Mark Valley), and junior associate Lori Colson (Monica Potter) struggle to maintain the firm's lofty reputation, the appearance of founding partner Shirley Schmidt (Candice Bergen) elevates Boston Legal to an even higher plane of serio-comic perfection. A former flame of Denny Crane's, Schmidt arrives in episode 11 (appropriately titled "Schmidt Happens") as common-sense negotiator with a rapier wit and a clanking pair of big brass cojones, fully capable of holding her own against the Crane/Shore juggernaut. And while "An Eye for an Eye" (episode 5) is a sublime example of Boston Legal's deft combination of lunacy and courtroom complexity, it's the deeper implications of episodes like "Tortured Souls" (15) and season finale "Death Be Not Proud" (tackling a dubious death sentence in Texas) that cast these rich and wonderful characters into sharper relief, baring their souls and the courage of their convictions. With surprising departures (Lake Bell, in episode 13), new arrivals (Kerry Washington, as new associate Chelina Hall, in episode 15) and stellar guest stars including Larry Miller (as the eccentrically unstable founding partner Edwin Poole), Philip Baker Hall, Frances Fisher, Carl Reiner, Freddie Prinze Jr., Shelley Long, and late-season regular Betty White, Boston Legal gained a large and loyal following with exceptional writing, timely social relevance, and that rare quality of chemistry that guarantees long-term appeal. Nowhere is this more apparent than the now-famous Spader/Shatner "balcony scenes" that quickly became an episode-closing tradition, with staunch Republican Denny Crane and passionate Democrat Alan Shore reflecting upon their careers, current issues, and their own devoted friendship over brandy and cigars. With these two actors together, virtually every episode ends on a high note of pensive introspection, and Boston Legal becomes even greater than the sum of its parts. DVD extras are minimal (two featurettes with cast and producers, plus deleted scenes from episode 1) but enjoyably worthwhile. --Jeff Shannon
Reviews for the Boston Legal - Season One
List Price: $59.98Price: $45.99You Save: $13.99 (23%)Bones - The Complete Second Season
Actor: Emily Deschanel
ASIN : B000RO6JYK
Sales Rank : 283
Brand : TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
Studio : 20th Century Fox
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0024543460459
UPC : 024543460459
Release Date : December 11, 2007
Publisher : 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer : 20th Century Fox
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : 20th Century Fox
Running Time : 917
DescriptionDetectives Bones and Booth create undeniable chemistry and humor while solving crimes using frequently clashing investigative styles. Amazon.comBeginning with the death of a senator and ending with a marriage, the second season of Bones builds on the momentum created during the Fox drama's debut year. Bones' sophomore season (which includes all 21 episodes that originally aired during 2006-2007) centers on the collaborations between FBI special agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz, Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel), whom Booth has nicknamed "Bones." While Booth doesn't completely believe in Bones' method, he can't argue with her success rate at solving crimes. As for Bones, she is meticulous at what she does and is a borderline genius, but she has issues. Seemingly oblivious to her own good looks, she is all but socially inept. Booth may be blunt, but he's comfortable dealing with the public. Bones, on the other hand, would rather be sequestered away with the dead, trying to figure out what happened before their uncertain deaths. Of course, while viewers can see that Bones and Booth would be a perfect couple, the characters aren't quite there yet. Their friendship becomes a little more complicated this season when it turns out that Bones' new demanding boss, Dr. Camille Saroyan (Tamara Taylor), is a former girlfriend of Booth's. And the two women aren't getting along. Still, everyone is able to work together to solve a series of crimes, such as identifying the remains of an all but unidentifiable teenage boy and dealing with a serial killer who is emulating the crimes depicted in Bones' latest mystery novel. (Yes, she's not only a brilliant scientist but also an ace author.) Like many television dramas where forensic evidence is a driving force in the plots, Bones offers up the gross-out autopsies. But it also serves up a lot of humanity in the way the characters interact with one another. It is giving nothing away to reveal that Bones and Booth are not the couple getting married in the season finale. But the episode does reveal that beneath their tough exteriors, marriage and all that it implies is something they wouldn't mind... perhaps even with each other. --Jae-Ha Kim
Reviews for the Bones - The Complete Second Season
List Price: $59.98Price: $43.99You Save: $15.99 (27%)The West Wing - The Complete Third Season
Actors: Martin Sheen, Bradley Whitford
ASIN : B0002WZN9Y
Sales Rank : 850
Director : Thomas Schlamme, Chris Misiano
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Warner Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780790787497
ISBN : 0790787490
UPC : 085393162221
Release Date : December 02, 2004
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Label : Warner Home Video
Running Time : 954
DescriptionCompelling and clever storylines focus on Bartlet's campaign and continue to reveal the inner workings of the White House in this innovative, multiple Emmy Award-winning drama series from producers John Wells ("ER," "China Beach"), Aaron Sorkin ("Sports Night") and Thomas Schlamme ("Sports Night"). The West Wing's third season had 5 Emmy wins including, Best Drama Series and Outstanding Special Episode. Amazon.comThere is no letdown in talent or skill for the third season of this blue ribbon drama. One could say these 22 episodes play as a continuation of the second season; there are no major new characters or earth-shattering plots and the Emmys rewarded the series with its third straight award for Best Drama (and unlike season 4, no one argued about the laurels). The third year starts with a stand-alone episode "Isaac & Ishmael", a special show created, shot, and broadcast 22 days after the 9/11 events. Although the final results tend to be sermonic, the fact the show was able to drop everything and commit to a new season opener is evident not only of talent, but of a disciplined work force operating at the top of their game. President Bartlet's (Martin Sheen) decision to run for reelection after the disclosure of suffering MS fuels the fire for the first half of the season. Depositions are filed against the staff, minor mistakes take on more significance, and the White House consul (Oliver Platt) has the run of the table warning of worst-case scenarios. The focus soon turns to the First Lady (Stockard Channing) as the potential "Lady Macbeth" of the scandal. Channing aces her role and turns her birthday celebration ("Dead Irish Writers") into one of the season's highlights. Assistant Donna (Janel Moloney), her boss Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford), and press secretary C.J. (Alison Janney) all have charismatic romances, but the ace supporting player this year is John Spencer as the relentlessly loyal Chief of Staff Leo McGarry. Whether delivering the hard truth, accepting the proverbial bullet for the President, or being our guide to how Bartlet ran in the first place (in another wonderful flashback episode, "Bartlet for America"), all roads lead to McGarry. Acting Emmys went to Channing, Spencer, and Janney, but the strength of this show is that the entire cast has glorious moments (Toby's taking on the President's mode of operation, Sam's belief in government, or the President's peculiarities of Thanksgiving are just a few). Recurring guest stars--the likes of Ron Silver, Tim Matheson, Mary Louise Parker, and Mark Harmon--deliver some of their career-best work. Crack writing, a breathless pace, plus you learn a bit about government. What else do you want from a TV drama? --Doug Thomas
Reviews for the The West Wing - The Complete Third Season
List Price: $59.99Price: $36.99You Save: $23 (38%)Brothers and Sisters - The Complete Second Season
Actors: Calista Flockhart, Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths, Rob Lowe
ASIN : B0018CWEVW
Sales Rank : 420
Director : n/a
Brand : Buena Vista Home Video
Studio : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0786936753912
UPC : 786936753912
Release Date : December 23, 2008
Publisher : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Manufacturer : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Running Time : 671
Product DescriptionEnter the fascinating world of the Walkers, and explore what is means to be an American family in the 21st century. Though they live very different and conflicting lives, the Walkers find unity under the family roof. Relationships bend but never break as they strive to find their own identities and embrace each other s differences. This is a series to watch, raves the San Francisco Chronicle. Welcome home a family you can root for in one of televisions most captivating and insightful dramas. Calista Flockhart, Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths and Ron Rifkin lead a stellar cast in ABC s critically-acclaimed hit Brothers & Sisters.
Amazon.comThe second season of Brothers and Sisters saw the terrific top-notch cast hit their stride. The chemistry between Calista Flockhart's Kitty and the Republican senator she works for, played by Rob Lowe, is palpable, and their engagement this season makes for a charming thread entwining the tales of the rest of the Walker family. And what a year they're having. Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) has lost custody of her kids, but is now running Ojai Foods, and trying to navigate through the family issues that accompany the family business. Uncle Saul (Ron Rifkin) might be gay. Iraq vet Justin might be falling off the wagon. Affairs are lurking around every corner, tempting just about every Walker at one time or another. The sun around whom all the Walker planets spin, however, is still Nora (Sally Field), whose good humor and big heart go a long way toward giving the clan the glue it needs. When Justin apologizes for his snappish behavior at the family meeting the previous night addressing his drug use, Nora says, "No one expects you to be warm and fuzzy at your own intervention, dear."
This season, Nora gets some affairs of the heart herself, with a charming guest appearance by Chevy Chase as Nora's college draft-dodging beau, back in the states as a teacher but still exactly on Nora's not-quite-reformed hippie wavelength. But tension awaits in the form of Isaac (Danny Glover), Nora's political opposite, but absolutely her equal mentally and emotionally. It's satisfying to see a woman older than 35 have a real love life, with real sparks--and real consequences. --A.T. Hurley
Stills from Brothers and Sisters: The Complete Second Season (Click for larger image)
Reviews for the Brothers and Sisters - The Complete Second Season
![Weeds - The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51D47AzL1IL._SL160_.jpg)
List Price: $29.99Price: $17.95You Save: $12.04 (40%)Weeds - The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray]
Actors: Mary-Louise Parker, Justin Kirk, Kevin Nealon, Elizabeth Perkins
ASIN : B000Q6GUKC
Sales Rank : 348
Brand : LION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT
Studio : Lions Gate
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
Binding : Blu-ray
EAN : 0012236215691
UPC : 012236215691
Release Date : December 24, 2007
Publisher : Lions Gate
Manufacturer : Lions Gate
Availability : Usually ships in 1 to 2 days
Label : Lions Gate
Running Time : 283
DescriptionFunnier, darker and more daring, the second season of this acclaimed Showtime series reaches a higher ground. Golden Globe winner Mary-Louise Parker stars as Nancy Botwin, the soccer mom who had to learn how to deal - pot, that is - after the death of her husband. Now, her business is a hit. But keeping up with the neighbors in this suburban utopia isn't easy. She's joined up with a few of her closest friends, and together they're facing life's highs and lows - because even in paradise, nobody's perfect. Don't miss WEEDS, an addictive comedy, the highest grade TV has to offer. Amazon.comThe first season of Weeds ended with a shocker: Nancy (Mary-Louise Parker) found a dreamy new boyfriend, but he turned out to be a DEA agent (Martin Donovan). Luckily, she manages to find some pretty creative ways to "deal" with it. Despite that new obstacle, she decides it’s also time to "grow" the business to higher levels, and all these risky moves lead up to another fabulous season finale cliff-hanger. Elsewhere in suburban utopia, comic relieving brother-in-law Andy (Justin Kirk) tries to dodge his army commitments by joining Rabbi school, while the hilarious Doug (Kevin Nealon) battles it out with Celia (Elizabeth Perkins) to maintain power over the Agrestic City Council. Plot aside, Season 2 of Weeds took this potentially great show to the next level. No matter how hard they tried in the first season, the show’s makers had a heck of a time trying to shake the impression that they were mimicking the edginess of HBO’s original programming. (Some might have gone as far as to say they were trying a little too hard.) This time around, the characters and the story have grown into their own skins, and they offer something much more authentic and convincing. The second season also starts a great new tradition: Malvina Reynolds "Little Boxes" is still the opening theme song, but it is performed by a different artist for each episode (from Elvis Costello to The Shins). Just one more thing to keep us "addicted." --Jordan Thompson
Reviews for the Weeds - The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray]
List Price: $119.42Price: $89.49You Save: $29.93 (25%)Rome - The Complete First Two Seasons
Actors: Kevin McKidd, Ray Stevenson, Polly Walker, Kerry Condon, James Purefoy
ASIN : B000Q66PXE
Sales Rank : 897
Director : Adam Davidson, Alan Poul, Alan Taylor, Alik Sakharov, Allen Coulter
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Hbo Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0026359795527
UPC : 026359795527
Release Date : December 07, 2007
Publisher : Hbo Home Video
Manufacturer : Hbo Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Hbo Home Video
Running Time : 1320
Product DescriptionStudio: Hbo Home Video Release Date: 08/07/2007 Amazon.comFamily dysfunction. Treachery. Betrayal. Coarse profanity. Brutal violence. Graphic (and sometimes brutal) sex. No, it's not The Sopranos, it's Rome, HBO's madly ambitious series that bloodily splatters the glory of Rome just as savagely as Monty Python and the Holy Grail soiled the good name of Camelot (but with far fewer laughs; very few funny things happen on the way to this forum). Set in 52 B.C. (Before Cable), Rome charts the dramatic shifts in the balance of power between former friends Pompey Magnus (Kenneth Cranham), leader of the Senate, and Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds), whose imminent return after eight years to Rome after conquering the Gauls, has the ruling class up in arms. At the heart of Rome is the odd couple friendship between two soldiers who fortuitously become heroes of the people. Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) is married, honorable, and steadfast. Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) is an amoral rogue whose philosophy is best summed up, "I kill my enemies, take their gold, and enjoy their women." Among Rome's most compelling subplots is Lucius's strained relationship with his wife, Niobe (Indira Varma), who is surprised to see her husband alive (but not as surprised as he is to find her upon his homecoming with a newborn baby in her arms!) Any viewer befuddlement over Rome's intrigues and machinations, and determining who is hero and who is foe, disappears the minute Golden Globe-nominee Polly Walker appears as Atia, Caesar's formidable niece and a villainess for the ages. In the first hour alone, she offers her already married daughter as a bride to the recently widowed Pompey. Rome is a painstakingly mounted production that earned eight well-deserved Emmy nominations in such categories as costumes, set design, and art direction. Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter) was honored with a Director's Guild Award for the first episode, "The Stolen Eagle." But artistic considerations aside, instantly addicted viewers will agree with Atia, who notes at one point, "I adore the secrecy, the intrigue. It's most thrilling." Season 2 begins in the wake of Julius Caesar's assassination, and charts the power struggle to fill his sandals between "vulgar beast" Mark Antony (James Purefoy) and "clever boy" Octavian (Simon Woods), who is surprisingly named Caesar's sole heir. The series' most compelling relationship is between fellow soldiers and unlikely friends, the honorable Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus "Violence is the only trade I know" Pullo (Ray Stevenson), who somewhat reverse roles when Vorenus is overcome with grief in the wake of his wife's suicide. Season 2 considerably ups the ante in the rivalry between Atia (an Emmy-worthy Polly Walker), who is Antony's mistress, and Servilia (Lindsay Duncan) with attempted poisonings and sickening torture. Another gripping subplot is Vorenus's estrangement from his children, who, at the climax of the season opener are presumed slaughtered, but whose true fate may be even more devastating to the father who cursed them. Rome's second season does not scrimp on the series' sex and violence, in both cases exceedingly brutal. But in this cauldron of treachery and betrayal, words, too, are vicious, as when a defiant Atia ominously tells Octavian's new wife, Livia, "Far better women that you have sworn to [destroy me]. Go look for them now." In writing Rome's epitaph, we come to praise this series, not to bury it. Although two seasons was not enough to establish a Rome empire, it stands as one of HBO's crowning achievements. --Donald Liebenson
Reviews for the Rome - The Complete First Two Seasons
List Price: $59.98Price: $44.99You Save: $14.99 (25%)The West Wing - The Complete Fourth Season
Actors: Martin Sheen, Bradley Whitford
ASIN : B0007OY2N0
Sales Rank : 1117
Director : Thomas Schlamme, Chris Misiano
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Warner Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780790787503
ISBN : 0790787504
UPC : 085393162320
Release Date : December 05, 2005
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Warner Home Video
Running Time : 1000
DescriptionFollow the re-election of President Bartlet to his second term and witness the gripping personal crisis that forces him to chose between the best interests of the country and those of his family. Compelling and clever storylines reveal the inner workings of the White House in this innovative, multiple Emmy-Award-winning drama series from producers John Wells ("ER," "China Beach"), Aaron Sorkin ("Sports Night") and Thomas Schlamme ("Sports Night"). The West Wing's fourth season received 15 Emmy nominations and 2 wins including, Best Drama Series and Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. Amazon.comThe winning streak for this veritable show continues through its fourth year. As with many long-running series, The West Wing faces the inevitable--a cast member chooses to leave. But this show handles Rob Lowe's exit with such well-executed grace, a could-be-harmful experience (or at least sudden) is turned into an asset. The season begins with three staff members marooned in the heartland (played mostly for laughs) and ends with a dramatic cliffhanger even more powerful than the initial season's shooting. In between are 20 excellent episodes packed with the series' trademark wit and pace, and an uncannily ability to create excellent moments for the entire cast. The election nears and West Wingers brace for the final onslaught including a make-or-break debate. There's a horrible genocide in Africa changing the course of the Bartlett administration and a covert assassination with effects lingering throughout the season. There's also the now-annual flashback episode, this time to the first days at the White House (with another comforting appearance by Kathryn Joosten as Mrs. Landingham). The series also has its first episode set mostly outside the West Wing when C.J. (Alison Janney) goes back to Ohio for a high school reunion and visits her father (Donald Moffat) who is starting to feel the effects of Alzheimer's. Lowe's Sam Seaborn picks a new fate at the spur of the moment and is eventually replaced by the very person whose verve he was swept up by--a harried, vastly intelligent campaign manager, Will Bailey (Josh Malina, best known for his work in creator Aaron Sorkin's previous show, Sports Night). He's an excellent fit for the West Wing, both fictionally and for the series. Part of the show's success belongs to the continuity, helped immensely by high-caliber guest stars continuing long runs on the show, including Mary-Louise Parker, John Amos, Marlee Matlin, Tim Matheson, Timothy Busfield, Lily Tomlin, Anna Deavere Smith, and Ron Silver (hey, that's a pretty good cast for their own show). One-time guest stars are also used to the fullest. Notice how a single-episoe appearance by Christian Slater (as a naval attaché who strikes Donna's fancy) turns into a three-episode arc. Matthew Perry delivers an Emmy-nominated performance in a key role in the season's final arc. This fourth season was capped by the departure of creator-writer Sorkin and producer-director Thomas Schlamme, plus another Emmy win for Best Drama, its fourth straight. Many were surprised or even angered that the series kept up the winning streak. Perhaps the series was not as relevant to the times as four years earlier, but the proof is in the pudding--the series was still in rarefied air by the end of this season. Luckily, Sorkin and Schlamme were invited to air the commentaries for the DVDs, here on three episodes. It allows them to talk about their departure, a subject barely mentioned in the two making-of featurettes. One deals with speechwriters and other with Stockard Channing's role on the show. Note: the documentaries and deleted scenes are hard to find. Look for the pointer (>) at the bottom right of the special features menu of the sixth disc. --Doug Thomas
Reviews for the The West Wing - The Complete Fourth Season
List Price: $59.98Price: $40.49You Save: $19.49 (32%)The Sopranos: The Complete First Season
Actors: James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Dominic Chianese, Nancy Marchand, Michael Imperioli
ASIN : B00003CXOP
Sales Rank : 1717
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : HBO Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780783118017
ISBN : 0783118015
UPC : 026359927324
Release Date : December 12, 2000
Publisher : HBO Home Video
Manufacturer : HBO Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : HBO Home Video
Running Time : 680
DescriptionOn January 10th, 1999, America was introduced to two families that would make history: The Soprano family headed by Tony Soprano, and The Soprano "family" headed by ... Tony Soprano. ' 'Four Stars! The first gotta-watch, gotta love, Gotti-like TV series of 1999. Across the board it's an A-plus.' ' - The New York Post ' 'Achieves a fresh tone to match its irresistibly winning concept.' ' - The New York Times DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Biographies
Featurette
Interviews
Amazon.comThe Sopranos, writer-producer-director David Chase's extraordinary television series, is nominally an urban gangster drama, but its true impact strikes closer to home: Like 1999's other screen touchstone, American Beauty, the HBO series chronicles a dysfunctional, suburban American family in bold relief. And for protagonist Tony Soprano, there's the added complexity posed by heading twin families, his collegial mob clan and his own, nouveau riche brood. The series' brilliant first season is built around what Tony learns when, whipsawed between those two worlds, he finds himself plunged into depression and seeks psychotherapy--a gesture at odds with his midlevel capo's machismo, yet instantly recognizable as a modern emotional test. With analysis built into the very spine of the show's elaborate episodic structure, creator Chase and his formidable corps of directors, writers, and actors weave an unpredictable series of parallel and intersecting plot arcs that twist from tragedy to farce to social realism. While creating for a smaller screen, they enjoy a far larger canvas than a single movie would afford, and the results, like the very best episodic television, attain a richness and scope far closer to a novel than movies normally get. Unlike Francis Coppola's operatic dramatization of Mario Puzo's Godfather epic, The Sopranos sustains a poignant, even mundane intimacy in its focus on Tony, brought to vivid life by James Gandolfini's mercurial performance. Alternately seductive, exasperated, fearful, and murderous, Gandolfini is utterly convincing even when executing brutal shifts between domestic comedy and dramatic violence. Both he and the superb team of Italian-American actors recruited as his loyal (and, sometimes, not-so-loyal) henchmen and their various "associates" make this mob as credible as the evocative Bronx and New Jersey locations where the episodes were filmed. The first season's other life force is Livia Soprano, Tony's monstrous, meddlesome mother. As Livia, the late Nancy Marchand eclipses her long career of patrician performances to create an indelibly earthy, calculating matriarch who shakes up both families; Livia also serves as foil and rival to Tony's loyal, usually level-headed wife, Carmela (Edie Falco). Lorraine Bracco makes Tony's therapist, Dr. Melfi, a convincing confidante, by turns "professional," perceptive, and sexy; the duo's therapeutic relationship is also depicted with uncommon accuracy. Such grace notes only enrich what's not merely an aesthetic high point for commercial television, but an absorbing film masterwork that deepens with subsequent screenings. --Sam Sutherland
Reviews for the The Sopranos: The Complete First Season
List Price: $59.98Price: $44.99You Save: $14.99 (25%)The West Wing - The Complete Fifth Season
Actors: Martin Sheen, Bradley Whitford
ASIN : B000BB1MIM
Sales Rank : 1462
Director : Thomas Schlamme, Chris Misiano
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : Warner Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9781419812842
ISBN : 141981284X
UPC : 012569712768
Release Date : December 06, 2005
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Warner Home Video
Running Time : 946
DescriptionFollow the drama when the government is temporarily passed from a Democratic Administration to the Republican Speaker of the House, as President Bartlet copes with the kidnapping of his youngest daughter, Zoey. Amazon.comTwo administrative changes rocked The West Wing's fifth season. Offscreen, the ship of state steered a tad off-course with the departure of series creator Aaron Sorkin and director Thomas Schalmme. Onscreen, President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) relinquished the power of his office to Speaker of the House Glenallen Walken (John Goodman) in the wake of his daughter's kidnapping. In the season opener, "7a WF 83429," Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) wonders if this wasn't a mistake. What if the citizenry prefer Walken to Bartlet, he ponders. What if Walken comes off more presidential? Is he kidding? Sheen's Bartlet is the president of Hollywood's dreams, and the stuff of Rush Limbaugh's nightmares. (In a character profile included as one of the bonus features on this six-disc set, Bartlet is described as an amalgam of John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton!). Not to worry, though, Bartlet is back in the Oval Office by the end of the season's second episode, "The Dogs of War." The next order of business: choosing a vice president to replace the disgraced John Hoynes. Enter Gary Cole as "Bongo Bob" Russell, who, as the season unfolds, will confound misperceptions of him. Hoynes himself (Tim Matheson) returns in "Full Disclosure," in which the former vice president dishes dirt on Bartlet and chief of staff Leo McGrarry (the late John Spencer) in advance of a tell-all book. Formidable and usually unflappable press secretary C. J. has an intensely personal reason to spearhead damage control and thwart Hoynes' publishing plans. Allison Janney, as C. J. earned The West Wing's sole Emmy this season. One of her showcase hours is "Access," a format-breaking episode presented as a Frontline-type "day-in-the-life" documentary. Other memorable episodes that helped to right The West Wing's course include "The Supremes," featuring Glenn Close as a Supreme Court nominee; the battle-of-wills episode, "Shutdown"; "Gaza," in which Donna (Janel Moloney) is severely wounded during a fact-finding mission to the Middle East; and "Memorial Day," a flashback episode that echoes "Bartlet for America" from season 3, and which ends the season on a strong note, and almost make viewers forget the Sesame Street Muppet cameos in the episode, "Eppu Si Muove." Almost. --Donald Liebenson
Reviews for the The West Wing - The Complete Fifth Season
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10
11
12
13
14
15
[...]
|
