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
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.
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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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