Saturday, November 01, 2008
Blog DVD Review: JAG - The Complete 7th Season (Nov. 4)
JAG - The Complete Seventh Season (CBS, $55.98) ) is coming to DVD for the first time on November 4 - Election Day! This long running Donald Bellisario classic series continues onto its seventh season to be released onto DVD. I have to be honest, as I feel I'm failing you otherwise if I'm not – in the series original run I'd lost the majority of my interest in the series by this point, preferring other ways to spent my evenings. By 2001-02, the television season in which the seventh season aired, I was watching other programs on other networks. This isn't to say that the 7th season was poor in any way; I simply had moved on. The resolution to the season-ending cliffhanger leads off season seven, with a resolution that would have ramifications on down the line. The season follows a fairly straightforward pattern, and there are no real stinker episodes. To be perfectly honest, I'm much more enthusiastic about the hopeful release of the EIGHTH season, as it contains the two-part pilot for NCIS - one of my absolute favorite series on TV. The seventh season features a few guest stars – Ian Ziering, of the original Beverly Hills 90210, appears in the episode Ambush. Corbin Bernsen (LA Law) appears in the episode Tribunal. Country singer Trisha Yearwood appears in the episode "In Country."
Moving to the technical side, packaging is, still VERY thankfully, the traditional outer box and slim cases; they haven't gotten around to tinkering with this one yet. Many CBS DVD titles are moving to those horrible translucent plastic cases with the fragile disc holders. Luckily, the slimcases-in-box setup is the ideal arrangement for sets with, say, 5+ discs - so hour-long dramas such as JAG stand the best chance of continuing to use this preferred packaging type. Video is presented nice and clear in anamorphic widescreen. The video, being from this decade, was filmed in HD and has no defects that I can detect. Obviously there's a little loss in the transition from HD masters to the somewhat limited DVD standard, but it's so extremely difficult to notice that it's largely irrelevant. Audio is great - and may I just state once more for the record that I feel JAG has one of THE best theme songs – it's simple, but so very effective and really captures the style of the show. The CBS DVD boilerplate disclaimer about edits does appear on the back of the box, indicating possible edits, but if there are any I can’t find them. The episodes generally run in the ballpark of 43:30 to 44:30, but the first episode of the season, "Adrift (Part 2)" runs a mere 40:38 – something there is CLEARLY not kosher - that's three minutes shorter than neighboring episodes!
The shortness of the "Adrift" two-parter finale clearly troubles me, but I don't have an original broadcast copy for comparison. Still, I strongly urge you to purchase this TV series if only for my own selfish reason - I really want the eighth season on DVD and low sales numbers won't accomplish this. If edits are a deal-breaker for you, you may be in for a disappointment here, but if you're a fan of NCIS and want that pilot two-parter in a few months, you need to buy this.
-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, October 17
Vampirina: Teenage Vampire - "First Vampire Friend" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Vee's fritzing knocks out a fang, an unexpected chain of events draws her and Britney closer- just as Elijah and Sophie race to fix the situation.
Vampirina: Teenage Vampire - "First Parents Day" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Parents Day sneaks up on Vee and Elijah, they struggle to keep their parents from meeting; Demi learns how to disguise his ghostly form.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 13)
Friday, October 17
- Charlie Hunnam (Undeclared) - Watch Charlie on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Chelsea Frei (The Paper/The Moodys) - Chelsea appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Maz Jobrani (Superior Donuts/The Knights of Prosperity/Better Off Ted) - Maz is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Kristin Chenoweth (Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin talks about Queen of Versailles on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - Zachary talks about Brilliant Minds on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Tony Shalhoub (We Are Men/Stark Raving Mad/Wings) - NBC's Today catches up with Tony in the 9am hour.
- Aziz Ansari (Master of None/Parks and Recreation) - Aziz talks about Good Fortune on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Penn Badgley (Do Over) - Penn talks about Crushmore: Essays on Love, Loss, and Coming-of-Age with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Mira Sorvino (Shining Vale) - Mira joins Sherri to talk about starring in Chicago the Musical on Broadway on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Cristela Alonzo (Cristela) - Cristela stops by Sherri's Laugh Lounge on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Penn Badgley (Do Over) - Penn talks about podcast Podcrushed on The Drew Barrymore Show, 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)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season
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