Saturday, March 14, 2009
Blog DVD Review: JAG - The 8th Season (March 17)
JAG - The Eighth Season (CBS, $55.98) is coming to DVD for the first time on March 17th -- St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick's Day is pretty much entirely unrelated to the series, but as a fan of the holiday I thought it deserved mention. Anywho, this long running Donald Bellisario classic has nearly completed its run on DVD -- this season is the show's 8th, from the 2002-03 TV season; we're in the home stretch!
My attention from the series had well already drifted by this point in the run, but a couple of episodes piqued my interest. At some point in the season, word got out that a backdoor pilot was being tried, and depending on how it played out it may well develop into a series. As a fan of backdoor pilots I was naturally curious to see what would occur. What resulted was a two-part episode that led the way to one of my favorite series, and based on the ratings, one of yours too: NCIS. The two-part episode "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown" serves as an introduction to the NCIS team, albeit one somewhat different from what you see now. The Kate character had yet to be introduced, but the episode features the rest of the season one cast -- everyone from Mark Harmon (Lt. Leroy "Jethro" Gibbs) to David McCallum (the inimitable "Ducky") to Pauley Perrette (Abby). If you like NCIS, you need to own this set, period. The season also features appearances by Quantum Leap alum Dean Stockwell in a recurring role, Gavin MacLeod, and political commentator Bill O'Reilly.
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. I know I have a tendency to repeat myself in regards to this packaging thing, but those fragile plastic cases annoy me about as much as DVD packaging can be considered annoying. Cover art is a continuation of the patriotic theme, with the background color this season being purple.
Menus, while nothing to write home about, are certainly functional and effective. As the episodes are from the HD era, video is sharp and well-defined, with few video issues. Audio is an adequate English stereo track. I was really hoping for a move towards surround audio, but you take what you can get and the stereo track is a workhorse. Runtimes are in the mid 40's, a proper time for shows from the era. The episode edits disclaimer appears, but you should be used to that by now. It's the nature of the beast. There are no special features on this set.
If you like JAG, OR NCIS, you need this DVD set as part of your collection, and I highly recommend it. For those of you unsure of the series, I know the Sleuth channel is giving it heavy airplay ever since they ripped Miami Vice and other series off the schedule, and for those without the channel you can catch it mornings on USA. Recommended.
-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
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Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Monday, September 15
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to Pickleball" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The new neighbors who moved into Miss Kim’s old house are keeping the Butlers and Johnsons up all night. Meanwhile, Courtney tells Marty she is going on a date.
The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Pickle" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The Johnsons and Butlers are curious about their new neighbors’ lifestyle and their interest raises some surprising questions. Also, Marty feels pressure to enroll Daphne in the best preschool.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 15)
Monday, September 15
- Frank Grillo (Battery Park) - Watch Frank on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!/Friends from College/Playing House/Gary Unmarried) - Keegan-Michael appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Zach Cherry (Duncanville/I Feel Bad/Crashing) and Pete Holmes (How We Roll/Crashing) - Zach and Pete are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jennifer Aniston (Friends/Muddling Through/Ferris Bueller/Molloy) - Jennifer and Reese Witherspoon talk about The Morning Show on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - NBC's Today catches up with Michelle in the 10am hour.
- Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh talks about his latest movie Adulthood on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Queen Latifah (Living Single) - Queen Latifah is getting real with Drew about women's health on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) - Sarah appears on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Lacey Chabert (Still the King/Baby Daddy/Family Guy) - Lacey is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
- Persia White (Girlfriends) - Persia appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.
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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)
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