| DVD Roundup March 2005
 With
DVDs Like These, Who Needs TiVo? -- Part Three
In the previous two installments I covered some of
the better TV shows now offered on DVD, but with so many new ones coming out every day,
it’s hard to be 100% up to date. TV on DVD now accounts for a large percentage of
each month’s DVD releases. Current shows are appearing alongside tried-and-true
classics and failed shows alike. If a show didn’t make it on TV, then perhaps it will
in the home-theater market.
Fox has a lot more than Buffy
Regular readers know that Buffy the Vampire Slayer (****)
and Homicide (****1/2) are my favorite TV shows on DVD. But Buffy is
finished -- the final season is now available on DVD, and though the series’ spinoff,
Angel (***) is a potentially excellent show, it doesn’t quite fill the gap.
Another Fox show has: Roswell (****).
I’m just like millions of other Americans who wish
that the crash in Roswell could not be explained away as a weather balloon but turned out
to be an alien spacecraft. I would be fine with us not being alone. The show takes as its
premise that such a ship did crash near Roswell, New Mexico in 1947, and that first three,
then four human-alien hybrids are growing up there as seemingly normal teenagers. Their
hand is tipped when Max, the leader, heals a human girl, Liz, who has been shot during an
altercation at her father’s restaurant. The three extraterrestrials end up taking
two, then three, then four humans into their confidence. The rest of the season plays as a
teen coming-of-age show with alien overtones. The kids have all the problems that normal
teens do, and then some. The second season grows darker as the hybrids discover that there
are others like them, and that not all of them mean well.
Roswell is enjoyable because the characters are so
likable, the plot twists so unexpected, and the scripts keep a viewer on his toes. The
video is razor-sharp anamorphic widescreen, with great contrast and color. The 5.1-channel
audio is full-range, with sometimes excellent use of the surrounds. The discs are housed
in separate, skinny cases that fit into an outer container, which makes them easy to find
and use. The first two seasons are out; the third and final season is promised for this
summer.
Fox and the paranormal
Fox has the granddaddy of shows dealing with the
paranormal: the X-Files (***1/2). Those seven expensive sets can now be found on
eBay and at the Amazon.com shops for reasonable prices. It also has another Chris Carter
show, Millennium (***1/2), starring Lance Henricksen as serial-profiler Frank
Black. Millennium is even darker than X-Files, and the episodes often have
ingenious plot twists. The video transfers, though literally dark, are clean and clear,
and the sets are packed in easy-to-use boxes that each contain six individual slimline DVD
cases. Episode commentaries, featurettes, and information on real serial profilers make up
the special features.
TV shows that died during broadcast are now being
resurrected on DVD. Fox has recently released the entire series Wonderfalls (***),
of which only four of the 13 episodes made were ever aired. The remaining nine are to be
found in this set, making one wonder if the network might not have been hasty in pulling
the plug. Wonderfalls is paranormal lite -- a young woman hears inanimate objects
talking to her, which involves her in solving other people’s problems. The widescreen
image is fine, and permits some neat split-screen effects to be clearly seen. Several
featurettes and some episode commentaries are offered as extras.
Fox is not all about fantasy and the paranormal --
detective and police action-adventure and suspense thrillers make up a large part of its
programming. These include NYPD Blue (****), The Shield (***1/2), and 24
(****). The third season of 24, just out on DVD, looks and sounds excellent, and
includes lots of commentaries and other special features.
Warner runs the gamut
When it comes to TV on DVD, Warner Home Video has something
for everyone. Science fiction is well represented by the complete Babylon 5
(***1/2), presented in stunning widescreen editions. Mystical, spiritual Kung Fu-oriented
stories can be found -- where else? -- on Kung Fu (****). Unfortunately, the
first season of that classic 1970s show was offered in a cropped widescreen edition, an
error that I hope would be corrected with the second season.
Warner has many other classic shows in addition to Kung
Fu. The Dukes of Hazzard (***1/2) has amazing staying power. Some series from
more than two decades ago now seem terribly dated, but this one, due to its reliance on
car stunts, still holds one’s attention. Wonder Woman (***), one of the first
shows to feature a strong female character, now seems camp and charming -- dated, but in a
warm, nostalgic way. The one older show that does not travel well for me is The Waltons
(**1/2), which now seems distant and mundane.
Other dramatic titles on Warner include E.R. (****),
Smallville (***1/2), La Femme Nikita (***1/2), Without a Trace
(****), and The West Wing (***1/2); comedy is represented by Mad TV
(***1/2). More seasons of these shows are promised for later in 2005.
All of the Warner shows are long on quality. Whether
widescreen or fullscreen, the video images are clean and crisp and the sound is always
adequate -- and often much better than that. Extras are spotty, depending on the series.
The packaging is largely the hard-to-handle foldout variety, though Nikita and Smallville
come in easier-to-use flip files.
My three installments of "With DVDs Like These, Who
Needs TiVo?" hit only the highlights, focusing on the best -- there are many shows I
have not been able to mention. I’m sure readers will call these to everyone’s
attention with letters that begin "How could you have left out . . . "
Maybe the next "DVD Roundup" will cover those.
…Rad Bennett
radb@hometheatersound.com |
