Reviews Written By: A3LQ1QGKINGR21provided by Amazon.com |
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 | Doctor Who - The Aztecs | |
 | "Highly Reccomended" | 2006-02-06 |
| I've been re-acquainting myself with DOCTOR WHO through the continuing DVD releases, and I found this one to be a revelation. Amazon already has the plot synopsis on this page, so I won't repeat the story details, but I will say that this one is far, far more exciting than I was expecting. It's like a mini-Shakespeare play inserted into the fantastical world of DOCTOR WHO, but it works surprisingly well. The BBC has a reputation for classy drama productions, and I'm guessing they instinctively know how to pull something like this off much easier than one of DOCTOR WHO's more usual way-out alien environments. Unlike most DOCTOR WHO stories, the science-fiction elements are minimal; aside from the Doctor's time machine that gets them to the past, there's next to none at all. The story begins when the travellers are seperated from their time-machine; from there, it's about the local intrigue they get involved in out of necessity, to stay alive long enough to get back to it and escape. Like all DOCTOR WHO stories, it's broken into multiple episodes, with cliff-hanger endings that defy you not to watch the next installment. Of course, this is a very old set of episodes, from an entirely different country with its own style of TV and in black & white. I imagine it's quite different to anything American viewers are used to, even ones who like old-school TV shows. In fact, it's *very* like a stage-play written for television - but what a great play it is! It reminds me of a great episode of "Masterpiece Theatre", full of double-crosses, court intrigue, and all the staples of classic drama. If that sounds appealing to you, by all means get this. It's actually a shame that this is filed under sci-fi in a way, because it's a much richer production than a lot of what gets dumped in that genre. The bonus features are impressive for something 40+ years old. There's a making of documentary with the guest stars; a commentary by the surviving regulars; optional on-screen captions; and a feature on restoring the picture quality - all of which describe how productions like this were made. I found them all entertaining and informative. There's also a mini-documentary on the Aztec civilization, from a vintage British kids' show (which shows how little really smart kids' fare there is these days), and a silly feature about making cocoa, animated "South Park" style and using the voices of the original guest cast. It's all very impressive stuff that really adds to the DVD's entertainment and re-watching value. Incidentally, the previous one-star review states that DOCTOR WHo didn't actually look like this on first broadcast, but he's mistaken. This is precisely the presentation and style of how it looked on, and the picture quality is stunning. | ||
 | Doctor Who - Horror of Fang Rock (Episode 92) | |
| "VERY Highly Reccomended!" | 2005-10-14 |
| If you're like me, you'll remember watching DOCTOR WHO every day on PBS, unable to resist tuning in again after the previous day's nail-biting cliff-hanger. If that sounds like you, then this DVD is a must-buy. This one's an excellent example of what DOCTOR WHO did best, and why it kept so many of us entertained for a half hour every afternoon. DOCTOR WHO was never a lavish production, and it was always best when it knew how to work with its limitations. It never had a big budget or gigantic sets, but this adventure shows how that was used as an advantage. In this one, a small cast of characters gets trapped in a spooky haunted lighthouse, with a monster slithering in the shadows, killing them one by one..... The Doctor has to figure out how to defeat the monster, while the body count starts climbing. It's a classic recipe for suspense, well-executed - and I'd seriously reccomend this to many modern, over-financed film-makers as an object lesson in how to do that right. It doesn't hurt that the actors are all top notch (especially series stars Tom Baker and Louise Jameson), and that they're given some great snappy dialogue. This is supposedly a science fiction show, but the result is some great combination of horror, murder-mystery, and Masterpiece Theatre. The picture and sound quality are amazing, considering how old these shows are. But I honestly found some of the DVD bonus material took away a little of the show's excitement by examing it in more detail than I wanted to know. If you're at all interested in production trivia, you'll probably love the lengthy interviews with the production crew, and the technical notes - but I thought they took away some of the 'magic' of the show, even more than seeing the strings holding up a spaceship. And, while I thought it was cute, I didn't see the relevance of the sketch starring the little puppet fox. Its obvious, watching it nowadays, that DOCTOR WHO was made in a very different time and place than the one we live in now, here in 21st Century USA. But no matter what's changed in television and technology, this show is still exciting, and loads of fun to watch. It's even better on DVD, because there's none of that awful waiting for tomorrow to see how each cliff-hanger resolves itself. If you're like anyone in my household, you won't be able to resist watching it all in one go. | ||
 | Doctor Who - The Claws of Axos (Episode 57) | |
 | "In the September 13, 2005 review here.........." | 2005-10-10 |
| I wouldn't take the comments below, about the picture quality, too seriously - since the review was posted almost two months before the DVD's actual release date. Perhaps I'm old-fashioned, but it kind of ruins your credibility, reviewing a release that won't be available for several more weeks. These episodes have been out on VHS in the US, and on DVD in the UK, already - but there's no way a review of *this* DVD's picture quality could be made yet. I'm already buying it based on the feature, and I'm definitely curious about how well the picture restoration will look. But if the picture restoration is part of *your* buying decision, I suggest waiting 'til it's actually released so someone can comment on it accurately. | ||
 | Can | |
| "Reccomended!" | 2004-07-06 |
| WOW - there aren't many bands who deserve a DVD this good, let alone ones that actually *get* one! Basically, we get it all here - TV performances, live show footage, studio sessions, a documentary, new and vintage interviews, new and remixed music from the various members, plus loads more. Oh, and while the CD doesn't contain any group performances, I really enjoyed the music! As someone who hesitated buying, I suggest you don't make the same mistake. If you like CAN at all, this won't let you down. | ||
 | Brian Eno & John Cale - Wrong Way Up | |
| "Excellent!" | 2003-04-19 |
| I first bought this around the time it came out, and I still listen to and enjoy it as much as I did when it was brand new. I highly reccomend this! | ||
 | Doctor Who - Colony in Space | |
 | "Pretty good!" | 2003-01-18 |
| Jo Grant (the Doctor's assistant) is taken on a trip in the TARDIS for the first time (in a wonderful sequence that encourages the viewer feel her excitement). The planet they arrive on is seriously drab though, and once they've arrived, the story begins to ramble a little over the course of three hours. (Amazon.com has already provided a tidy plot summary, so I won't detail it here.) Even by DOCTOR WHO standards, the effects and sets are amazingly cheap. It's reccomended only to the serious enthusiast of that peculiar genre of "British Telefantasy". But the story is solid, the characters are easy to get attached to, and it won't insult your intelligence. It's a diverting three hours or so, even if it doesn't wind up being DOCTOR WHO at its best. | ||
 | Brian Eno - Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks | |
| "Excellent!!" | 2002-02-06 |
| This CD is great - it makes you feel like you're floating in space, which is just what it set out to do. Don't pass this one over because you think it's just "muzak" - it's so much more imaginative than background music, although it certainly works as that. The whole CD's great, but I have to mention two tracks in particular. "An Ending (Ascent)" is one of the loveliest pieces of music I've ever heard - it's that good. And for sheer dreaminess, you can't beat "Deep Blue Day" - too bad most people associate that one with the "swimming for suppositories" scene in the movie "Trainspotting". Do yourself a favor if you like soft music - get yourself this CD! | ||
 | Ringo Starr - Beaucoups Of Blues | |
| "This is GREAT!" | 2002-02-05 |
| I don't know what there is to complain about - this CD is great! I admit I didn't buy it with great expectations, but I really liked the tune "Beaucoups of Blues" on Ringo's "best of" CD, so I thought it might be worth a listen. I'm glad I gave it a chance! The songs are mostly wonderful, and it's all done with good humor and class - even if it does lean toward the campier end of country music. Which is OK, because that's definietly in the country tradition. It's obviously not a deep, meaningful, searching album like a lot of the early Beatle solo albums are (which, let's face it, it can't help but be compared to), but it IS an enjoyable listen. And there's nothing wrong with it being "just" a fun CD. Buy it! | ||
 | Human League - Secrets | |
| "Nifty, but pedestrian" | 2001-10-31 |
| The League comes back again, after another lengthy layoff. And Thank God, because what we really need right now is some glorious, uncynical pop music that's more concerned with being fun than shifting units. But while I wish I could say the Human League were in top form, they didn't bring a set of top-drawer tunes with them this time. Like blindfolded kids whacking at a pinata, Phil, Joanne, and Susan occasionally hit upon a catchy tune, like the amazing "All I Ever Wanted," and "You'll Be Sorry". Particularly fun is "Love Me Madly?", with its hysterical lyrics - ("You're like the woman out of 'Species'/ I think I'm going to go to pieces"/ You;re like a coctail set Atilla/ a kind of Halcyon Guerrilla" - indeed!). More often the album gives up nice but pedestrian tunes like "Never Give Your Heart" and "Reflections." Lucky for us, Phil and the girls are in particularly good vocal form here, handily salvaging a lot of tracks. And Phil's new collaborators on synths, Neil Sutton and David Beevers, come up with some great instrumentals to break up the vocal numbers; these little vignettes are cool enough to make you wish they'd been fleshed out into fuller songs. | ||
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