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
Sunday, May 18
The Simpsons - "Estranger Things" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Bart and Lisa stop watching Itchy and Scratchy together, Marge fears that they'll start to drift apart.
Family Guy - "The Fat Lotus" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Peter suspects Lois of betraying his trust with Quagmire at a swanky vacation resort.
Krapopolis - "Ty Died" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Ty is tired of his family thinking he's not important enough to be assassinated.
Bob's Burgers - "Mr. Fischoeder's Opus" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Tina becomes the new advice columnist for the school newspaper; Teddy takes on more than he can handle when he volunteers to build a float for the Bounty of the Bay Parade.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 12)
Friday, May 16
- Lunell (Lopez) - Watch Luenell on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She will also be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:39am.
- Benito Skinner (Overcompensating) - Benito appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) and Jerry O'Connell (We Are Men/Do Not Disturb/Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Mayan and Jerry are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Luke Kirby (Étoile) and Gideon Glick (Étoile/The Other Two) - Luke and Gideon talk about Étoile on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Stanley Tucci (Central Park) - Stanley talks about his new series Tucci in Italy with GMA co-anchor Michael Strahan on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm. He will also be on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - Howie talks about America's Got Talent on Live with Kelly and Mark (check your local listings) and on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your lcoal listings.
- Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa talks about her latest project Mama I'm a Big Girl Now on Sherri, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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