Saturday, November 24, 2007
Mini-DVD Review: Christmas Time in South Park; Solomon's Weekly Rant: Cartoons on Thanksgiving on Nick at Nite; NFL Thanksgiving Games
Christmas Time in South Park (Comedy Central DVD, $19.99) lets us all celebrate the holidays with our favorite foul-mouthed children from South Park, Colorado. The single disc release brings seven Christmas themed episodes of the Comedy Central hit series together in one compilation. Some may be confused and think that this has already been released on DVD, but it hasn't--there was a 2000 release called Christmas in South Park which was released by Warner Brothers that contained only three episodes, only one of which carried over onto this DVD. Many great Christmas classics are included on this DVD. Kyle thinks he is going crazy when a piece of crap (literally) starts talking to him in "Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo." The kids all decide to spend Christmas with Cartman's family when a family friend--Charles Manson--decides to break out of prison with Cartman's uncle in "Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!" Mr. Hankey returns in "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics." Mr. Hankey is too busy with his wife and three... nuggets... in "A Very Crappy Christmas," so it is up to the boys to return the Christmas spirit to South Park. Cartman has been naughty so he decides to help the citizens of Iraq, with the help of Jesus and Mr. Hankey, in "Red Sleigh Down." Kyle's brother Ike is going back to Canada after his birth parents come to take him back, but how will the boys react when they find out that the town is spending money to bring Ike back instead of buying Christmas gifts? Find out in "It's Christmas in Canada." Finally, Stan helps the Woodland Critters build a manger in "Woodland Critter Christmas," but it all backfires in the typical South Park fashion.
The DVD doesn't come in the standard type case that you would expect for a single disc release, but instead comes in packaging that looks like one of those Little Golden Books that we all used to read as a child. It almost makes the set appear to be a nice thing that you can watch with the whole family, but don't be fooled. After all, it IS South Park. The packaging includes a description and the original airdate of each and every episode and also includes a memorable quote from each episode. The video and audio quality of the episodes tends to vary from episode to episode, mostly because these episodes are taken from all of the first eight seasons, but in general there are no real issues to be concerned with. The episodes all appear to be unedited, running at their original 22 minutes each.
The DVD has nothing to offer as far as special features are concerned, and every single one of these episodes can be found in one of the previous season releases of South Park. So, this DVD may not be particularly impressive to the average South Park fan, but for those that must own everything related to South Park or those that simply love Christmas episodes are certain to enjoy the DVD. This isn't a bad DVD at all, but it would have been nice if they could have thrown in some holiday related special features to spice up the set a little bit. A release like this really shouldn't be a plain episodes only release, especially when every episode on it has already been released on DVD at least once. But if you can pick this set up at a reasonable price (under $10 or so), then you'd probably be happy with the set and be glad to have it. Head on up to South Park and look for the bargains!
-- Reviewed by skees53
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Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, November 24, 2007
"Cartoons on Thanksgiving on Nick at Nite; NFL Thanksgiving Games Being Treated Like the Super Bowl"
By Solomon Davis
I came home around 11:10pm on Thanksgiving night to watch some sitcoms like George Lopez and Fresh Prince and found out that Nick at Nite decided to air Rugrats movies after 11pm?? How many children would be up watching cartoons after 11pm? And to make things worse, at midnight there was a filler airing of SpongeBob which made me think it was 9am in the morning. Do the people at Nick at Nite think parents let their kids stay up later at night because there is no school the day after Thanksgiving? There are no children up watching cartoons after midnight and Nick at Nite felt the need to remove all the regularly schedule sitcoms to entertain kids after 9pm to 12:30am which is the dumbest programming decision by Nick at Nite in 2007. Maybe Nick at Nite can air Christmas cartoon specials like Jimmy Neutron from 1am to 6am on Christmas Eve since there are no kids sleeping on Christmas Eve.
NFL games on Thanksgiving Day are still a regular season game so why do fans have to watch musical performances at halftime like it is Super Bowl Sunday? The guys in the studio can easily just talk about what happened during the first half of the game and preview the upcoming NFL games on Sunday. But to extend halftime just so someone can get on stage and sing is just plain stupid. It's bad enough we have to stomach these pointless musical performances like Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake during halftime of the Super Bowl, so can we at least have a regular halftime show on Thanksgiving day?
My Weird TV Moments of the Week:
Sunday, November 18, 2007: On Sunday Night Football, the Buffalo Bills kicked a field goal to cut the New England Patriots lead to 42-10 in the 4th quarter and the coach of the Bills started clapping? Think they were going to come back?
Monday, November 19, 2007: Good Morning America - On "Melody's Money Minute," her holiday shopping tips was, "use CASH instead of CREDIT." She gets paid to tell GMA viewers that OBVIOUS TIP? HA!
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
Monday, June 30
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Sting" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Calvin and Marty send Courtney on a mission to find out information about Fuse Box’s impressive new rival. Meanwhile, Malcolm attends an event for his creative writing program at USC, where he scores a meeting with a book agent, Lisa (Angelique Cabral).
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Your Own Medicine" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Dave’s disastrous attempt to dunk a basketball, Calvin takes care of his injured neighbor. Also, Gemma befriends a cool mom group while babysitting Daphne.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 30)
Monday, June 30
- Don Johnson (Kenan) - Watch Don on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - George appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Christopher Sieber (It's All Relative/Two of a Kind) - Christopher is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Kel Mitchell (Game Shakers/Kenan & Kel) and Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) - Kel and Thomas are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Evan Handler (And Just Like That...) - Evan talks about And Just Like That... on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Hugh Jackman (Human Resources) - Hugh chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere/Nightcap) - Jeff talks about Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Amy Poehler (Duncanville/Parks and Recreation) - NBC's Today has Prompter Wars with Amy in the 10am hour.
- Kevin Hart (Lil Kev/Die Hart/The Big House/Undeclared) - NBC's Today catches up with Kevin in the 10am hour.
- Amy Schumer (Life & Beth), Jillian Bell (Bless the Harts/Idiotsitter/Eastbound & Down/Workaholics) and Brianne Howey (Dollface) - NBC's Today catches up with Amy, Jillian and Brianne on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Drew is introducing the newest Drew-crew member, Valerie Bertinelli on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Plus, Valerie is making a shrimp and veggie cups recipe from her latest cookbook, Indulge.
- Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario talks about Max's And Just Like That... on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Edwin Lee Gibson (The Bear/Unprisoned) - Edwin is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
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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