Millenium finally arrives on DVD, Jul 18 2004

Much darker in tone and set on the west coast (as opposed to "The X-Files" primary setting in Washington DC), "Millenium" had a strong first season with Carter working with many of the folks that contributed to the strangest and darkest episodes of "The X-Files". My only complaint is that "Millenium" tends to take less risks than "The X-Files" by turning genre conventions on their heads and playing with the very format that it works within.

That said, "Millenium" didn't have as much time to grow up and it did so in a very public forum whereas "The X-Files" rose from obscurity to become a powerhouse series. Expectations were high for this fine series and comparisons to its sister production put "Millenium" at a disadvantage for most critics. Borrowing the look, feel and texture of David Fincher's "Sev7n" and combining it with the tone of its sister series meant that comparisons were going to happen.

Lance Henriksen ("Aliens", "Near Dark", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind") plays Black with an edge just poking up beneath his calm, placcid surface. His anchor to reality and sanity are his wife and daughter. Terry O'Quinn ("The Stepfather" and "The X-Files: Fight the Future") plays Black's "boss" the person that Black reports to throughout the first season.

Priced just right (unlike "The X-Files")"Millenium" looks quite good on DVD. The dark look of the series can be a challenge for transfer to DVD particularly when four episodes reside on each disc but the transfers look detailed with sharp image and nice contrast as well as solid blacks. There are some digital artifacts (due to the compression used and the high level of detail in the dark images) but they aren't distracting. We get a couple of nicely done commentary tracks that discuss the challenge of producing this series and a couple of nice featurettes that enlighten fans a bit more about the genesis of the series itself.

A nicely done set that will wet any fan's appetite for more, this is the first of set of the three seasons that will appear on DVD. Hopefully Fox will include the concluding one hour episode that aired as a part of "The X-Files" so fans of this series (who might not be X-fans)can have the closing chapter of the show.

Something old...something new wave..., Jul 18 2004

"Civilian" actually is quite good. It's better than the other two "mainstream" rock albums the band recorded. Although it's missing much of the complex interplay of previous albums, the solid songwriting and melodies make it a memorable final gasp from this once grand, great prog rock band. I have fond memories of "Civilian" probably because I caught them on their last tour to support it at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco. I seem to recall that they announced it was the last show of their tour (although they did do one in Los Angeles a couple of days later). Maybe I just misunderstood and they said it was going to be "one of their last shows". Anyhow, despite the fact that they had all had quite a bit to drink (as I recall I did, too), they played a nearly flawless set.

Deluxe reissue of classic album, Jul 18 2004

From the unusual percussive opening of "Runaway" with its use of the sound of breaking glass as the initial backbeat to the parade of recorders that sets up the stunning four part harmony of the middle eight, the opening track grabs your attention like no other Giant track before or since.

The odd "Inmates Lullaby" with its off kilter percussion and twisted nursery song melody jumps right out at you. It's an example of a band who believed in pushing the limits of what they could do musically and still not lose their audience. There isn't a weak track on the album and the inclusion of the two live tracks make this the ultimate "House" for fans. The sound quality varies a bit on these two live tracks (they were recorded by fans and cleaned up for release here) but the spirit and performances certainly make them worth it.

To top it off we get a replica of the original sleeve including the marvelous original "plastic window". The inner sleeve is a replica of the original with lyrics and notes on this new edition of the album. Although GG would continue to sail at this level for a number of other albums (including the marvelous "Free Hand" and underrated "Interview"), this captured the band at their peak. Highly recommended.

3 1/2 stars for odd assortment of songs, Jul 18 2004

While these are among the best tracks here even the bizarre "Peck the Ground Like a Chicken" has its moments. Andy's funny, acerbic comments in the booklet make this a memorable walk down the XTC tracks that might have been. It's a pity that Colin Moulding of XTC chose not to release a single disc of his surviving and unused demos as XTC fans could have created their own little XTC demos album putting "Mates" next to "Ship Traped in the Ice" or "Bumper Cars".

No difference really between the Japanese release and the English one as far as music goes and no additional discs in any of them that I've been able to discern.

Another fine selection of outtakes and also rans from Andy P, Jul 18 2004

Among the outstanding tracks are "When We Get to England", "My Train is Coming" (originally written for but rejected for the films "Buster" and "That Thing You Do"), a nearly note perfect "Strawberry Fields Forever" (with handy Dave Gregory playing all the instruments), "Autumn Comes Around" and the abandoned "Child's Crusade". Admittedly, track for track this isn't as strong as the first two "Fuzzy Warbles" releases but it has its charms. I loved Partridge's witty notes on each recording as well--it puts the material into the proper perspective.

Although not the best of the "Fuzzy Warbles" series to date (1, 2 and 4 are much, much stronger), it's a good release.

Outstanding album, Jul 17 2004

Harcourt's rich melodies and unusual arrangements make this album a unique experience. While it doesn't sound like anything by Brian Eno, it sounds like something Eno might have done if he had thought of it. Harcourt's whisper of a baritone voice with hints of the smokey qualities of Chris Rea immediately draw you into the melodies and the lyrics he's singing. The music is deceptive on the surface; many of the songs are as calm as a pool of water on a still, winter day while others have the undercurrent of a raging river.

I purchased this album and the follow up. It's no wonder he was nominated for the Mercury prize. He didn't win which is a crime but, unlike many of those artists that win Grammys as "best new artist" that disappear within weeks of winning, Harcourt's music will continue to improve and make an impression even if its on a small hardcore group of fans. I can't describe Harcourt's music any better so listen to the clips to get an idea of what you'll be missing before you forget.

Political satire and thriller rolled into one, Jul 17 2004

A platoon of soliders are betrayed by their military guide and captured by the North Koreans during the Korean War. Their subjected to mind control techniques to make one of them the perfect assassin. When they return home, the platoon's captain (Sinatra)begins having nightmares where his Sgt. Shaw (Harvey)kills two of his men in cold blood. In these dreams they are surrounded by the enemy in a lecture hall being conditioned for the mind control experiments. It's clear that the Sgt. has been conditioned to become a "sleeper" agent--impossible to detect because he doesn't know that he's now an agent for a foreign power. Additionally, Shaw's mother (Lansbury)uses the concerns over communists in the US government to launch her husband's (Gregory)bit to be put on the ticket for the vice-presidency.

This new edition comes with two featurettes. The first features director William Freidkin ("The French Connection", "The Exorcist", "To Live and Die in L.A.")in an appreciation of Frankenheimer's career. Freidkin discusses how "The Manchurian Candidate" broke with the conventions of political thrillers of the time. The second features 15 minute interview with Angela Lansbury about working on the film.

The animated menus is also new and the features from the first disc including Frakenheimer's marvelous commentary track are kept in tact. Do you need to upgrade to this new edition? Only if you didn't purchase the previous one. The previous edition had both the widescreen and full screen versions of the film and all the features here except the two previously mentioned featurettes.

New and improved but not pefect, Jul 12 2004

The remastered sound and picture looks very good and improves on the previous edition (which, admittedly, looked pretty good). We only get the widescreen version not the full screen as well (which is fine with me but some folks would want that version). There are some minor analog imperfections visible but, on the whole, the print looks very good.

"Blazing Saddles" looks good and has some tasty extras. The movie deserves 5 stars.

Outstanding season, Jul 11 2004

The second "Memento Mori" focuses on how Scully deals with some very bad information about her health. The show focuses much more on the rich characterizations of the show. Also, the tongue in cheek episode "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" suggests that the CSM was involved in everything from JFK's assassination to why the Bills kept losing the Superbowl.

Other episodes such as that involving Leonard Betts which leads to some bad news for Scully and even the convoluted mythology episodes all have resonance and power. We also meet Jeremiah Smith (the marvelous Roy Thinnes who was in one of my favorite shows from childhood "The Invaders"--by the way Fox where is that one DVD?)who cures with the touch of a hand. Strangely, though, there's more than a handful of Jeremiah Smiths and they all work in the social security office gathering information. For what you ask? You'll have to watch the episodes to find out. The grand finale for season 4 was a suspenseful cliff hanger that threw everything you knew about the show into a torando of new information and misinformation. Mulder, Scully and the audience really didn't know which way was up at the end of "Gethsemane".

Picture quality on season four is actually better than on seasons one and two. I have to disagree with Mitch who wrote that season four is something of a let down. For me, it continued a string of outstanding seasons that became the foundation for one of the best shows on television. Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan, Frank Spotnitz, John Shiban and Howard Gordon all contributed great scripts during this season (frequently co-writing many of them). I'm not surprised to see that Spotnitz and Shiban had the same writing instructor at the AFI. It's clear these talented writer/producers learned a thing or two that helped focus their tremendous talent during this season.

The imperfections of season four are few and far between. There are a few episodes that just barely missed the boat in the quality department and those few that did only missed it by a beat or two. "Home" a controverisal episode that got Fox into hot water is a tad overrated and, for my money, one of the lesser episodes this season. It pushed the envelope but dramatically didn't have the pay off it could or should had. It's an example of an interesting concept that just doesn't gel as an episode.

The extras include two episodes with commentary, deleted scenes (which can be viewed as part of the episode if you go to the special features menu for that particularly episode), a documentar/featurette (depends on how you define it) on the series and a booklet with the titles (which is helpful for me since I can rarely remember the titles of these episodes),credits and a photo from the episode as well as a listing of the full episodes and their air date through season 7.

The show continued on with a string out strong seasons through season 6. Season 7 had a number of great episodes but the show was beginning to run out of steam and the uncertainty about Duchovny's part in the show clearly had an impact. Season 8 picked up steam again with a pair of fresh characters (Agent Dogget played by Robert Patrick does a great job being the skeptic to Scully's believer. Agent Reyes introduced mid-season acts as a nice counter balance to both). While season 9 didn't quite live up to the other seasons, it had a number of fine episodes in it as well. Luckily, Carter pulled the plug just at the right time for the show.

With "The X-Files" movie set for release in 2006 (Carter and his crew are in pre-production as of mid-2004), ther's bound to be renewed interest in the series. Hopefully, Carter can come up with a movie that can stand up to the best two or three part episodes that ran throughout the best seasons.

Fair balanced account of Kirby and Lee but is lacking, Jul 11 2004

Ro's book, though, lacks an important part of the story--illustrations of the art form itself and pictures of those who played key roles in this ongoing story. Kirby's cover art gives a sense of his work but it doesn't provide context; we don't really know (except by Ro's description)what the early comicbooks looked like prior to Kirby's arrival. Some examples to contrast the change in storytelling over time might have been helpful as well. There are enough of these "classic" comic books that must be in the public domain by now so that he could have included them as examples for readers not as familiar with the changes these giants of the industry created.

Ro's book comes across as pretty accurate although there are a few minor errors and omissions that crop up. Still, with as large a canvas as he's working with, he's done a very good job of summing up what made the comic book world tick from the 30's through today. Comic books were America's attempt at creating a cultural context, in a sense its own mythology and legends that so many older cultures have. Their enduring popularity has as much to do with the snapshot they provide of life or what they reflect from the real world as their value as escapist entertainment.

This book on Kirby, Lee, Ditko and others really is much broader than a cultural history; it focuses on many of the movers and shakers that changed the industry. While it's Kirby's story, it's also, in a sense, about the rise of the American culture that has come to dominate much of the world. Although it might not be called definitive, it does give a sense of Kirby's (and others as well)contribution to an emerging American art form that was once derided for corrupting the morals of society.