Saturday, October 20, 2007
Mini-DVD Review: NCIS - Season 4 (Oct. 23); Solomon's Weekly Rant: The New Price is Right Is All Wrong
NCIS - The Fourth Season (CBS, $64.99) brings us the wonderful but overpriced 4th season onto DVD. NCIS follows the thrilling adventures of a cutting-edge crew of special agents who operate under the command of Letor Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), a former Marine whose skills as an investigator are unmatched. This highly trained, tight-knit team travels the world investigating murder, espionage, and terrorism. This 6-disc set includes all 24 action-packed episodes along with quite a few special features, from this one of a kind series.
I love this show; though not having access to a DVR did inhibit my ability to view the 4th season. As a result, some of these episodes are new to me. Most are familiar, however, and all are classic NCIS – a wonderful mix of drama, comedy, technology, puzzle-solving...it truly is one of the best shows on TV. The team starts the season without the help of Gibbs, whose retired in Mexico. And Ziva's the prime suspect in an assassination attempt. Not good. Gibbs would eventually return to the team, and Ziva is obviously cleared, and order is restored. Over the course of the season, the team has quite a few interesting adventures that you're sure to love.
Once again, the video and audio of the set is extremely well done. Yet another DVD release of a new show that benefits solely from the age of the series. All episodes are in anamorphic widescreen and feature 5.1 Surround Sound. Even with NCIS not really being a scenery-intensive show, programs presented like this really make me glad I recently invested in an HDTV system. CBS is known for their questionable attention to special features, but they really knock this set out of the park. Space constraints of the news blog prevent me from detailing each one in depth, but there are commentaries, cast round-tables, several featurettes (Ducky's World, Production Design of NCIS, Dressing the Sets of NCIS, Prop Master, The Looks of NCIS, and Season of Secrets)...incredibly well-done job on the part of the folks of Paramount/CBS DVD in an area where they're normally prone to dropping the ball. Keep up the good work.
Really, my ONLY complaint with this set is the price point. $65 is absurd. And every NCIS release that comes out at this price point I *WILL* complain about. It's too high. But apparently NCIS continues to sell extremely well. No doubt this is thanks in part to discounted retailers, such as Amazon, which frequently offer sets WELL below the MSRP. For example, as of this writing, you can pre-order through Amazon via the handy link at the end of this review – helping to support Sitcoms Online at the same time – and the set will only cost $39.99 – a nearly 40% saving. And at $39.99 – this set is well worth the money. RECOMMENDED.
-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
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Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, October 20, 2007
"The New Price is Right Is All Wrong"
By Solomon Davis
On October 15 Drew Carey took over as host of the popular game show, The Price is Right, and just watching for five days makes it clear that he is all wrong for this show. He has yet to look comfortable during the show and always has a frozen smile which shows that he is very nervous. During the show he can't stop touching the pocket of his suit jacket and it seems like he struggles to explain the rules of certain games to contestants like he doesn't have a full understanding of the rules himself. Drew also talks way to fast when explaining the rules to contestants which makes him come off more like a temporary fill-in instead of the new host. When watching him on stage you don't get the feeling that it's HIS show because of the errors he has made all week. This show has really become hard to watch and he needs a lot of improvement if he is going to take full control of the new era of The Price is Right.
Drew definitely has to cut down his mistakes because it gives him a goofy image. Such as when one of the contestants spun the wheel on her first try, the arrow landed on 50 and Drew asked her did she want to spin again? Why wouldn't she want to spin again if the chances of someone beating 50 is over 50%? He also doesn't seem sure of himself on stage and I don't think anyone is ready to watch an insecure game show host. I have never in my life saw a game show host who lacks confidence and is not sure how to act around contestants. I think CBS made a huge mistake in selecting Drew Carey to replace Bob Barker because he may turn this into "the disaster era" of The Price is Right by the way he has fumbled his way through the show everyday this week.
My Weird TV Moment of the Week:
Friday, October 19, 2007: Reporter asking Joe Torre at his press conference, "Who would you recommend to replace you as manager? Joe's response, "I'm not in position to recommend anyone since I just lot my job," he jokes.
Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.
DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, April 29
St. Denis Medical - "This Place Is Our Everything" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
A storm causes chaos in the Emergency Department; Alex is torn between an obligation to her husband and her co-workers' needs; Joyce goes on a spending spree with found money.
Night Court - "Blood Moonstruck" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
On the night of the blood moon, Abby and Gurgs help Julianne with a surprising romantic prospect; Wyatt finds himself in hot water when he fills in as Dan's replacement.
Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Adjust Your Crown, Sis" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Ella sponsors the membership of the new wife of a longtime dea-con into her social club, Incomparable Crowns, she begins to suspect something may be going on behind closed doors in the new marriage.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Ay-Bay-Bay" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Leah wants to try for another baby, but when Jeremy plays hard to get, Leah hatches a plan to seduce him; Mr. Brown has to babysit Kimberly's grandson who appears to be the perfect angel, until he reveals himself to be a mischievous handful.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 28)
Tuesday, April 29
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Watching Ellie/Seinfeld/Day by Day) - Catch Julia on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Mo Amer (Mo/Ramy) - Mo is a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Mary Lynn Rajskub (Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy/How to Be a Gentleman/Veronica's Closet/The Larry Sanders Show) - Mary appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Tina Fey (The Four Seasons/Only Murders in the Building/30 Rock) - Tina stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also talks about The Four Seasons on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Tim Bagley (The Great North/Teachers/Grace and Frankie/Web Therapy/Stril Mall) and Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe) - Tim and Andy are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Paul Feig (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch/The Louie Show/The Jackie Thomas Show/Dirty Dancing) - Paul talks about Another Simple Favor on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda talks about the Wanda Sykes: Please & Thank You Tour on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ed Helms (Rutherford Falls/The Office) - Ed talks about SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. He will also be on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Essence Atkins (Poppa's House/Marlon/Mr. Box Office/Are We There Yet?/Half & Half/Smart Guy/Under One Roof) - Essence joins Tamron Hall for a candid conversation on everything from her recent abstinence journey to her career longevity as a working mom, so check your local listings.
- Bill Bellamy (Mr. Box Office/Men, Women & Dogs/Cousin Skeeter) - Bill will be on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
- Stanley Tucci (Central Park) - Stanley drops by Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Jaleel White (Family Matters/Grown Ups) - Jaleel talks about his CBS game show, Flip Side, and shares stories from his memoir, Growing Up Urkel, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Erika Alexander (Run the World/Living Single/The Cosby Show) and Kim Coles (Living Single/The Geena Davis Show) - Erika and Kim join Sherri to discuss their latest projects, so check your local listings.
- Joe Manganiello (How I Met Your Mother) - NBC's Today catches up with Joe in the 9am hour.
- Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) and Erika Henningsen (The Four Seasons) - Will and Erika talk about The Four Seasons on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!/Friends from College/Playing House/Gary Unmarried) - Keegan-Michael is a guest on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Harry Hamlin (Movie Stars) - Harry appears on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
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