Saturday, November 08, 2008

Blog DVD Review: Route 66 - The Complete 2nd Season

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Review! Today we take a look at Roxbury Entertainment's Route 66 - The Complete Second Season. Route 66 ran from 1960-1964 and starred Martin Milner, George Maharis (1960-1963) and Glenn Corbett (1963-1964). See skees53's Blog DVD Review of Route 66 -The Complete Second Season:

Route 66 - The Complete Second Season (Roxbury Entertainment, $49.98) -- takes you on a roadtrip through America, and allows you to see all of the drama and misfortune that two guys somehow manage to run into each and every week. For those unfamiliar with the series, Route 66 stars Martin Millner (as Tod) and George Maharis (as Buz) as two guys (from different backgrounds) that just happen to have come together to take a road trip (for several years, apparently) all throughout America. Every week, they end up somewhere different in America, going everywhere from California to Texas to Massachusetts. While they meet many different people along the way, they somehow manage to find themselves running into those that they'd rather not run into, including murders, racists, drug addicts, and other mentally unstable folks. Sometimes, while on the journey, they find themselves in trouble, and perhaps have their own life at risk. The series was perhaps one of the first dramas to take on serious situations that were relevant in the time, and many situations which are still very much relevant (if not more so) in the modern era. The Complete Second Season contains 32 original and unedited episodes on eight discs.
The season begins with "A Month of Sundays," where Buz finds love in a dying woman. In "Good Night, Sweet Blues," Ethel Waters plays a dying jazz singer that wants to get her old jazz band together one last time. In "Birdcage on My Foot," the guys have to deal with a heroin addict. It just so happens that there are people in a small Maryland town that look exactly like Buz (they happen to be played by Mahris' own relatives) in "The Mud Nest." In "A Bridge Across Five Days," Tod and Buz are working in a shipyard with a recent release from a mental hospital.
Tod is accidentally given a psychosis-inducing drug at a party that may cause suicidal tendencies in "The Thin White Line." In "To Walk with the Serpent," Tod and Buz face people that have plastic explosives. Slim Pickens guest stars in "A Long Piece of Mischief."
Julie Newmar guest stars in "How Much a Pound is Albatross," where she plays a woman cruising on her motorcycle (without any license tags). Ed Asner guest stars in "Shoulder the Sky My Lad," where the guys find that anti-Semitism is still alive and well. Buz is temporarily blinded in an accident in "Even Stones Have Eyes," and finds love at a school for the blind, but what will he do when he regains his sight and can no longer attend the school?
Cloris Leachman and Tuesday Weld guest star in "Love is a Skinny Kid." A school boy falls overboard on an excursion boat in "Two on the House," and claims he was pushed. The guys discover a woman with two identities at an amusement park in "Between Hello and Goodbye."
The set comes packaged just like the first season did, in a huge box containing two "volumes" of discs. Each disc within the set contains exactly four episodes and each case contains not only a listing of the episodes on each disc, but also an episode description, a list of guest stars, and filming locations. The only thing missing (and it isn't a huge deal) is original airdates!
The menus are very nicely designed, although there is a slight flaw, and that is in the fact that the episodes are listed in a circular fashion on some of the discs, which makes navigating the menus sometimes counter-intuitive. For example, you may sometimes have to use the "up" button on the remote to go down on the menu. I shouldn't complain, though, because they obviously put some time into creating these menus. While there are no scene selection menus, you will find chapters placed within each episode.
It is amazing to see how great the video and audio quality is on the episodes. The episodes aren't totally perfect, though, as there is some grain here and there, but the picture quality is generally clear and the audio sounds great. The episodes have all been remastered from the original copies this time, so you won't find anything unnatural in the episodes this time (like a 2000 era Sony logo or a 1980s Columbia Pictures logo). The only bad news is that the episodes do not contain subtitles or closed-captioning. Every episode on the set is (supposedly) unedited, with each running somewhere around 50 minutes or so.
The packaging says that the set contains original 1960s commercials, BUT I was unable to find these ANYWHERE on the set! I don't know if I merely overlooked them or if this was just a mistake on the packaging (the first season did contain such commercials). The other special feature that the set promises, however, can be found. That would be the cast biographies with video clips. This is a very nice feature for those that love guest stars. Basically, on each disc, you can go to a menu that lists every single guest star contained on the episodes on the disc that you are viewing. When you select a guest star, you get a filmography for that cast (usually not a complete one, just as much as they can fit on the screen), and you can watch a clip of that guest star in the episode. This is a very useful since the series is loaded with guest stars.
This is one of those series that I had never watched prior to seeing the series on DVD, but I am QUICKLY becoming a fan of the series! Generally, these older anthology dramas don't appeal to me, but this show is full of entertaining drama that contains plots that are actually relevant. The series is almost cinematic in quality and is very much enjoyable. Fans of true classics, as well as fans of good drama are certain to get their kicks on Route 66!

Reviewed by skees53
(4.5/5 stars)

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Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Sunday, December 3

Krapopolis - "Ty's Tail Tale" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Tyrannis is possessed by his deceased grandfather who rules with fear and a large scorpion tail, Shlub must fight to bring back the old Tyrannis; Hippocampus and Stupendous bring a pregnant pegasus home.

The Simpsons - "AE Bonny Romance" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Groundskeeper Willie is kidnapped to Scotland, Bart and the Simpsons follow, only to be faced with Homer's worst nightmare.

Bob's Burgers - "Fraud of the Dead: Zombie-docu-pocalypse" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
A documentary film profiling world-class archer Louise Belcher is interrupted by unexpected visitors.

Family Guy - "Baking Sad" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Meg discovers her tears produce delicious cookies; Peter and the guys launch a male talk show.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 27)

Friday, December 1

  • Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Watch Henry on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Brie Larson (United States of Tara/Raising Dad) - Brie is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Eric Idle (Suddenly Susan/Nearly Departed) - Eric appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Ms. Pat (The Ms. Pat Show) - Ms. Pat appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Angela Means (Cousin Skeeter) - Angela is a guest on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
  • Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Hank/Back to You/Cheers) - NBC's Today catches up with Kelsey in the 9am hour.
  • Brandy Norwood (Zoe Ever After/The Game/Moesha/Thea) - Brandy chats and performs on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk) - Patrick sits down with to chat about his book Making It So on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • Marcus Scribner (grown-ish/black-ish) - Marcus tells Sherri about his coming-of-age film, How I Learned to Fly, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Chris Redd (Bust Down/Kenan/Disjointed) - Chris discusses his upcoming film Candy Cane Lane on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Tiffani Thiessen (Saved by the Bell/Alexa & Katie/Good Morning, Miami/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Tiffani discusses her latest cookbook, Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers, and cooks on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-December)

Family Matters - The Complete Series Step by Step - The Complete Series ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
11/07 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/14 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

That Girl - The Complete Series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series

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