Aaron Beierle's DVD Talk DVD Reviews https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/list/DVD Video DVD Talk DVD Review RSS Feed en-us Hot in Cleveland: Season 6 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/71168 Tue, 09 Aug 2016 18:55:31 UTC Rent It

The Show:

"Golden Girls" was wonderful and we thanked Betty White for being a "friend" in the '80's, years of being a foul-mouthed AARP member culminated in "Betty White's Off Their Rockers", a series that basically had a troupe of seniors pulling tricks on unsuspecting citizens - it's not about being funny as much as it is screaming about how wacky it is that seniors say the darndest things. While White does get a few laughs in a supporting role in this series, bring back the old Betty White.

Airing on TV Land (which is starting to get a little bit of momentum with "The Jim Gaffigan Show", which is the best sitcom on television, which I fear not enough people are watching because it's on TV Land), the series was produced by Suzanne Marin ("Frasier") and Sean Hayes, taken from an original idea by famed producer Lynda Obst. The series, which feels very Lifetime, is the definition of...Read the entire review

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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/71167 Tue, 09 Aug 2016 10:20:53 UTC Skip It

The Movie:

This has been the Summer of disappointment for studios at the box office and hopefully, that won't lead into the Winter of discontent. It's easy to see why it's been a bad Summer (-22%) and while revenue is up YTD slightly, how much of that is due to a rise in ticket prices? When the theaters are full of superhero movies and sequels, eventually audiences want to see something fresh. Studios think the movie theater is a "TINA" situation (there is no alternative),but it's increasingly easy for many to save the theater for only what they're most excited about and leave the "maybes" for at home.

As for children's movies, this year brought us "Ice Age 5". Five. Scrat is so over chasing the acorn at this point. Last Winter's "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip" (har har) is the fourth film in the series, which is remarkable for a series that I didn't think wo...Read the entire review

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Duck Dynasty: Season 8 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/70303 Wed, 30 Dec 2015 21:28:16 UTC Skip It

The Show:

Reality shows continue to dominate the airwaves, largely from the standpoint that they've managed to attract audiences and keep the costs down for the network. However, at some point audiences will likely start to tire of the same old shows season in/season out, or networks milking franchises for all they're worth and then some (does "Storage Wars" really need yet another spin-off?)

Eight seasons in, "Duck Dynasty" manages to still get the occasional chuckle, but the formula has started to noticeably wear thin. The show follows the Robertson family, who started a business over 20 years ago when Phil Robertson started making duck calls out of Louisiana cedar trees. Years later, the duck call business has since exploded, and turned the family into millionaires. I'm waiting for the episode where the family rings the bell at the NYSE with a legion of ducks waddling around the...Read the entire review

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Last Man Standing: Season 4 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/70292 Mon, 28 Dec 2015 20:07:58 UTC Rent It

The thing about Tim Allen is that he never really managed to break free from the two roles of Tim Taylor ("Home Improvement") and Buzz Lightyear. Allen certainly has done well over the years, but never really broke out of his displayed range. "Last Man Standing" sees the actor back on the small screen to good effect, although that's not entirely surprising given that the role is effectively a few roles removed from his "Home Improvement" persona.

The series (which was originally titled "Man Up" - that's not much better than "Last Man Standing", but at least gets more of a chuckle) stars Allen as Mike Baxter, the head of the creatively titled "Outdoor Man" company. Mike is politically conservative and, given the title, is the one male in a house full of women, including three daughters - his oldest daughter Kristin (a single mother), his middle daughter Mandy (a dim teenager whose main concern is...Read the entire review

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Mythbusters Collection 13 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/68997 Mon, 05 Oct 2015 21:12:25 UTC Recommended

Series:

A show that really stands as one of the most popular the Discovery Channel has ever created, "Mythbusters" is a touch of "Mr Wizard" (miss that show) and a few other elements, stirred up for modern audiences. In this case, the series stars Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, special effects experts who - with the help of their team - each week tackle popular myths, including internet legends and more. The group (and one of the reasons why the series works as well as it does is the chemistry between the two leads and between the group as a whole; all of them are different and bring something unique to the table, yet fit well together) has some limitations including a refusal to test on paranormal myths, but otherwise most things are fair game.

Unfortunately, the series has been offered on "Collections" rather than full season sets. At this point, with more and more people watchin...Read the entire review

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Bar Rescue: Toughest Rescues DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/67823 Fri, 02 Oct 2015 18:38:55 UTC Rent It

Review:
"Kitchen Nightmares" on the BBC was a compelling reality series that saw chef Gordon Ramsay go to various small restaurants across the countryside and somberly assess the difficulties at the restaurant and sometimes sternly have to set the ship straight. The series was a highly engaging one that still stands up well.

"Kitchen Nightmares" came to the US and the result was an entirely different series. The Ramsay of "Kitchen Nightmares" and "The F Word" was replaced by the yelling Ramsay of "Hell's Kitchen". The series became locked into a formula (Ramsay comes to restaurant and sees disaster, owner yells at Ramsay for trying to change anything (help, in other words), Ramsay changes it anyways and owner suddenly is thrilled. Later on, it was discussed in the media that many restaurants featured on the show did not last and some were such a spectacle on the series ("Amy's Baking C...Read the entire review

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Welcome to Sweden: Season 1 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/67616 Tue, 07 Jul 2015 19:24:04 UTC Recommended

The Show:

"Welcome to Sweden" is a welcome change for a network comedy, but at the same time, one would be forgiven for thinking that it probably wouldn't have happened had it not been brought to the small screen by big names. Given the involvement, I'm guessing that the series probably also wouldn't have lasted more than a few episodes if it didn't attract even a moderate-sized audience. "Sweden" managed to capture a decent crowd of viewers and was quickly renewed for a second season.

"Sweden" is sort of the "fish-out-of-water" formula and while not quite as memorable as "Northern Exposure", the series clicks more often than not. The series is actually based loosely on the real life story of Greg Poehler, the brother of "Parks and Recreation" star Amy. In real life, Greg was a celebrity lawyer who dropped everything to move to Sweden with his wife, Charlotta and start anew. Eventu...Read the entire review

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American Dad Volume 10 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/69210 Sun, 05 Jul 2015 23:41:37 UTC Highly Recommended

The Series:

While Seth MacFarlane's "Family Guy" got all the attention, "American Dad" played right along with it, remaining underappreciated for nearly 10 seasons. The series focuses on ultra conservative CIA agent Stan Smith (voiced by MacFarlane), who constantly thinks that potential security threats are lurking everywhere (in the pilot, he waves a security wand over his daughter when she gets home and then throws her gum down the block as a precaution.)

The series initially was scolded for being too close to "Family Guy", complete with talking animals and - this time around - an alien. However, what people missed was an increasingly sharp and clever sitcom with plots that were more and more inspired as the years went on. If it sounds like I'm talking about the series in the past tense despite the fact that it's still on the air on TBS, it's because I am. While the cable network...Read the entire review

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Mountain Men: Season 3 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/68756 Thu, 21 May 2015 21:01:31 UTC Recommended

Shows about survival in difficult conditions have been increasing quite a bit lately. The genre has always been a compelling one, given the tension and drama inherent in watching people trying to sustain themselves in difficult conditions as well as the educational aspects. Many outdoorsfolk have talked about being saved by tricks or tips that they learned while watching shows like "Survivorman" and "Man Vs. Wild" (or the upcoming new series from "Man Vs. Wild" star Bear Grylls.)

The latest round of shows in the genre include Discovery's highly tense "Naked and Afraid" (as for that show, 21 days in the middle of nowhere with next-to-nothing, no clothes and with someone you never met - no way to earn additional items through challenges and no grand prize at the end just the potential of some mysterious entity raising or lowering your survival score), the return of "Survivorman" (which remains suc...Read the entire review

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Covert Affairs: Season 5 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/67521 Thu, 21 May 2015 17:42:38 UTC Highly Recommended

The USA Network has had a great deal of success with series such as "Monk," "Royal Pains" "Burn Notice," "Psyched," and "In Plain Sight" to name a few. The series tend to focus on a combination of drama and action, and in several cases a good deal of humor.

Often compared to the popular Fox series "Alias," "Covert Affairs" follows a similar base plot but doesn't live up to the same depth as "Alias." That's not to say that Perabo doesn't make for a sleek secret agent - it's actually a really fitting role that she seems more and more comfortable within. Additionally, the series has gotten darker and more serious in latter seasons and the result is richer and more satisfying. Perabo really does go along with the change in tone well, with a performance that is powerful at times.

While the idea of a new female CIA agent who's learning to balance her work life with her home life is compelli...Read the entire review

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Swamp People Season 5 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/66904 Wed, 11 Mar 2015 00:07:13 UTC Rent It

There are some shows on The History Channel where an argument can be made how much historical content they deliver - with Pawn Stars, one can point to the fact that the show's "characters" at least provide a good deal of detail about the information regarding all of the various items that find their way into the store. Still, while the History Channel has veered away from history more and more recently, it's still faring better when it comes to educational content than The Learning Channel, where no learning is taking place.

With "Swamp People", we get a title card before the episodes that informs us that "The way of life depicted in this series goes back 300 years." The way of life in this case revolves around a group of people living in the swamp who hunt gators. Hunting in general kinda goes back a ways, doesn't it?

Surprisingly there's not been a cross-over episode with "Swamp Loggers...Read the entire review

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Dharma & Greg: The Complete Season 2 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/67888 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 20:48:07 UTC Recommended

The Series:

"Dharma and Greg" follows the formula of creator Chuck Lorre perfectly: simple concept, solid casting and consistent jokes. None of his shows ("Big Bang Theory", "Two and a Half Men") reinvent the wheel or even come close to it. All of the shows are standard TV fare, but the difference is that significant attention has been paid to all the ingredients. The concepts have never really been the reason why Lorre's shows have been as successful as they have been, in my opinion, it's really the attention to detail at all levels.

"Dharma" follows the romance of Dharma Finkelstein (Jenna Elfman) and Greg Montgomery (Thomas Gibson). She's a liberal and he's a conservative lawyer. Her parents are hippies and his are wealthy and snobbish. The show certainly could have been a trainwreck without Elfman, who plays Dharma in a way that's fun and sweet without being way too lightweight...Read the entire review

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The Wahlburgers: Season 2 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/67874 Mon, 09 Mar 2015 17:22:36 UTC Rent It

The Show:

"Wahlburgers" is a thin concept in search of a show. When the series was first announced, it sounded moderately interesting as reality fare goes: Paul, brother of Donnie and actor Mark, runs a burger joint in Boston (and another restaurant right nearby, named after their mother.) There were hints in the first season that the series would focus on the potential expansion of the chain, taking Wahlburgers worldwide and the push-pull between Mark's desire to expand the chain and quieter Paul, who seems fairly satisfied as is.

What the show quickly became is an extension of the Mark-produced "Entourage", which was based on the actor's life. Or, better yet, the series could have been called "Keeping Up With the Wahlbergs." The "burger" aspect of the series becomes an afterthought and gets rather cold as the show starts shifting its focus elsewhere. Here's the saddest thing: ...Read the entire review

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Mind Games: The Complete First Season DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/67270 Thu, 15 Jan 2015 23:41:07 UTC Recommended

Review:

The first rule of watching TV today is very simple. It's don't become too connected to what you're watching, as it's become increasingly less likely that what you are watching will last past a season or two. The last few years have seen a number of terrific shows ("Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23", "Happy Endings", the underrated recent "Selfie") be cancelled. Jerry Seinfeld recently talked i n interview about how "Seinfeld" was allowed to go on as long as it did thanks to the demographics of the show's viewership. I'm not sure that even plays a factor anymore.

"Mind Games", a rather compelling new series on ABC, didn't even reach a full season (or half a season, at that.) The series starred Christian Slater, who I thought was terrific on Fox's clever (and cancelled) "Breaking In". On that series, Slater really revealed himself to be a surprisingly good fit on the small s...Read the entire review

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Breaking Amish: Season 2 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/67249 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 20:33:14 UTC Rent It

Review:

TLC's original "Breaking Amish" was one of the more controversial reality shows in recent years. The series focused on Abe, Jeremiah, Kate, Rebecca and Sabrina. The season followed the group of Amish young people as they left the life they knew behind and found themselves living together in New York City. Almost instantly, they were overwhelmed by the bright lights and hectic hustle-and-bustle, not to mention some of the various vices - alcohol and strip clubs, among other things.

The first season was undeniably fake in some regards, but it often had a quiet, rather hypnotic quality that at least made for engaging viewing. Yes, this is a TLC series (and my feelings on TLC were summarized beautifully by "South Park"'s "Raising the Bar" episode) and yes, there were fights and drama, but there was also a real feeling of melancholy.

In the first season, as iffy as the re...Read the entire review

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Impractical Jokers: Season 2 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/67163 Thu, 08 Jan 2015 20:44:38 UTC Recommended

Review:

Over the last decade or two, reality TV has dominated the airwaves and, it's not unexpected. The ratings were there and the shows were increasingly cheap to produce, given the fact that they didn't involve writers and the talent was cheap. The Learning Channel started broadcasting "Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo." (See "South Park's brilliant "Raising the Bar" episode.)

However, in recent years, ratings have sunk to new lows, even for some of the genre's biggest shows. Perhaps audiences have gotten tired of a dozen various singing shows, although to give the sub-genre credit, I didn't think "Idol"'s success would last as long as it has.

Where fatigue hasn't visibly set in (Fox's "Utopia", an expensive experiment that turned out to be an unbelievably obnoxious show that didn't last a full season), even blurred nudity wasn't enough to get people interested in V...Read the entire review

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Awkward: Season 3 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/66639 Wed, 12 Nov 2014 17:25:45 UTC Recommended

MTV should either close MTV2 (there's little on the main, the secondary channel seems increasingly pointless) or consider a major reinvention of the network. While the network has long since moved past its original intent as music television, what is left of the network has become almost astonishingly cheaper and junkier. "Awkward" is one of the few sitcoms left on the network (and one of only a couple of bright spots), which has become a mess of derivative garbage ("Ridiculousness", which is an unfunny ripoff of "Tosh.O"), cheap garbage ("Guy Court", "Girl Code") and a mess of various reruns ("Boy Meets World", "Martin" and others are seen during the slower periods.) Even "Jersey Shore" feels substantial in comparison to most of what can be found on the network today.

"Awkward", while nothing all that memorable, is at least a bright spot in what has otherwise become something of a programming w...Read the entire review

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Duck Dynasty: Season 4-6 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/66612 Mon, 10 Nov 2014 23:30:38 UTC Recommended

"A & E" has become something of a reality powerhouse in recent years. Despite arguments about the quality of programming heading South (which I'm not going to argue with, especially given how cable networks often seem as if their latest idea is to create carbon copies of prior ones - a new NatGeo show is called "Pond Stars" - apparently not enough creativity to call the show something that doesn't link it to the completely different History Channel show), cable channels continue to create hits like "Storage Wars" and "Duck Dynasty", which remain cheap to make and bring in the audiences that cable channels are looking for.

"Duck Dynasty" is the latest hit for A & E, and it's a rather amusing little series. The show follows the Robertson family, who started a business over 20 years ago when Phil Robertson started making duck calls out of Louisiana cedar trees. Years later, the duck call bu...Read the entire review

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2 Broke Girls: Season 3 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/66598 Sun, 09 Nov 2014 12:44:33 UTC Recommended

The Show:

"Two Broke Girls" is pretty much the same 30 minutes over-and-over again (literally, the show rarely veers from its core, down to the quota of jokes devoted to each character's traits (Han is short) every episode. However, it's a credit to the series that what is probably the most repetitive sitcom on television is often genuinely funny due to the writing and particularly the strong performances of the two leads (who have great chemistry.)

The series focuses on Max Black (Kat Dennings) and Caroline Channing (Beth Behrs), two girls who find themselves as unlikely friends after Caroline's father is busted in a Madoff-like financial scheme. She winds up moving in with Max in a low-key Brooklyn apartment. They work at a diner run by Han (Matthew Moy) and populated by Earl (Garrett Morris) and Oleg (Jonathan Kite). The oddest thing about the diner is that it - as well as the o...Read the entire review

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About a Boy: Season 1 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/66241 Fri, 10 Oct 2014 17:27:14 UTC Highly Recommended

The Show:

Things haven't gotten any better for network television, as advertising agencies are telling companies to switch to online video ("Omnicom Tells Advertisers to Shift TV Spend to Online Video), cable continues to see success and even Youtube is having random people draw astonishing audiences (Vanossgaming, a channel where a group creates often hysterical comedy in online gaming worlds, has over 9M subscribers.) Even if a network gets something right, there's no guarantee they'll be able or have the desire to really be patient for success ("Happy Endings".)

Still, networks - for all of the negatives - still produce a good show now and again. "About a Boy" admittedly isn't something I had high hopes for, given that it could have been too syrupy or sitcom-y and it ...Read the entire review

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Revolution: Season 2 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/66189 Tue, 07 Oct 2014 22:38:16 UTC Recommended

The Show:

"Revolution" was promoted in the same manner that a Summer movie would be: it was another compelling-looking offering from producers JJ Abrams ("Lost"), Brian Burk ("Lost") and Eric Kripke ("Supernatural") - a series following a group of people who are forced to figure out how to live once the power goes out - everywhere. Jets, electronics, cars, everything suddenly comes to a halt around the world.

Visually, the series is highly compelling: it really does a very nice job creating the look of an overgrown major city and the rural chaos of roving gangs and other threats that have popped up as society has devolved with the loss of power. There's a haunted feel to even some of the brighter, daylight scenes throughout the series.

The first season saw Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos)'s life in a small community outside of Chicago shattered when Militia captain Tom Neville (G...Read the entire review

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$ellebrity DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/65219 Sat, 23 Aug 2014 18:10:25 UTC Skip It

The Show:

One of my favorite stand-up comedians remains Jim Gaffigan, whose takes on a number of common modern day topics are smart and sublimely funny without being R-rated. One of Gaffigan's best bits is a nearly 10-minute riff on McDonald's, which winds into a rant about everyone's personal "McDonald's" - "You may have never set foot in McDonald's, but you have your own McDonald's - maybe instead of buying a Big Mac you read US Weekly. Hey, that's still McDonald's, it's just served up a little different. It's all McDonald's, McDonald's of the soul. Momentary pleasure, followed by incredible guilt, eventually leading to cancer."

Gaffigan's discussion of McD's is not only a beautifully funny summary of the fast food chain, but a great poke at how the US Weekly, TMZ, Star, National Enquirer culture is taking the cult of celebrity that used to be so rich and classy and turning into ...Read the entire review

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Wilfred Season 3 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/65220 Sat, 23 Aug 2014 18:10:25 UTC Highly Recommended

The Show:

It's rather amusing going from one series that takes no risks ("Last Man Standing") to writing about a series whose core idea is a risk to the point where the series still never would have made it to network television. With cable taking more risks, the series made its debut on FX (then moved to FXX - I'm curious what FXXX may offer if another channel ever made a debut...)

Based on the Australian series of the same name, "Wilfred" feels a little like if "Family Guy" (the show was adapted for the US by "Family Guy" writer David Zuckerman) re-imagined by Tim Burton - Stewie and Brian all grown up. The series stars Elijah Wood as Ryan, a mild-mannered guy living in the suburbs who has grown depressed about his life, believing that he's gotten nowhere. In the middle of trying to attempt suicide, he's asked to watch his beautiful neighbor Jenna (Fiona Gubelmann)'s dog, Wilfre...Read the entire review

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Last Man Standing Season 1 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/65218 Sat, 23 Aug 2014 18:10:25 UTC Rent It

The Show:

The thing about Tim Allen is that he never really managed to break free from the two roles of Tim Taylor ("Home Improvement") and Buzz Lightyear. Allen certainly has done well over the years, but never really broke out of his displayed range. "Last Man Standing" sees the actor back on the small screen to good effect, although that's not entirely surprising given that the role is effectively a few roles removed from his "Home Improvement" persona.

The series (which was originally titled "Man Up" - that's not much better than "Last Man Standing", but at least gets more of a chuckle) stars Allen as Mike Baxter, the head of the creatively titled "Outdoor Man" company. Mike is politically conservative and, given the title, is the one male in a house full of women, including three daughters - his oldest daughter Kristin (a single mother), his middle daughter Mandy (a dim teena...Read the entire review

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Covert Affairs: Season 4 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/63970 Wed, 16 Jul 2014 15:02:27 UTC Recommended

The USA Network has had a great deal of success with series such as "Monk," "Royal Pains" "Burn Notice," "Psyched," and "In Plain Sight" to name a few. The series tend to focus on a combination of drama and action, and in several cases a good deal of humor. "Cover Affairs" doesn't have quite as much charisma as some of the network's other series, but certainly entertains and improves in this fourth season.

Often compared to the popular Fox series "Alias," "Covert Affairs" follows a similar base plot but doesn't live up to the same depth as "Alias." That's not to say that Perabo doesn't make for a sleek secret agent - it's actually a really fitting role that she seems more and more comfortable within. Additionally, the series has gotten darker and more serious this time around and the result is richer and more satisfying. Perabo really does go along with the change in tone well, with a perform...Read the entire review

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Mountain Men: Season 2 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/63974 Tue, 15 Jul 2014 21:52:08 UTC Recommended

The Show:

Shows about survival in difficult conditions have been increasing quite a bit lately. The genre has always been a compelling one, given the tension and drama inherent in watching people trying to sustain themselves in difficult conditions as well as the educational aspects. Many outdoorsfolk have talked about being saved by tricks or tips that they learned while watching shows like "Survivorman" and "Man Vs. Wild".

The latest round of shows in the genre include Discovery's highly tense "Naked and Afraid" (as for that show, 21 days in the middle of nowhere with next-to-nothing, no clothes and with someone you never met - no way to earn additional items through challenges and no grand prize at the end just the potential of some mysterious entity raising or lowering your survival score), the return of "Survivorman" (which remains such a haunting, beautiful series) and "Moun...Read the entire review

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Moonshiners Season 2 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/65065 Mon, 14 Jul 2014 13:33:18 UTC Recommended

The Series:
A thought occurred to me while watching "Moonshiners": why not have moonshiners unite? Strength in numbers, combine to create a corporation, follow rules and reg (go legit), improve production, call it "artisanal" and "small batch" and slap a premium price tag on it. With multiple brewers, you have a portfolio of "brands" - a backwoods Jim Beam.

Of course, with going legit, maybe there's not the Discovery Channel series, but there's also not the pesky aspect of having to continually turn your production into a covert operation to hide it from potentially being busted by the feds. The series has apparently run into some controversy with the local police, who have said that there's not actual liquor being made in the series and that it's a dramatization (or else they would have shut it down already.) The series does walk a bit of a fine line and it's likely upsetting to law e...Read the entire review

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Laverne & Shirley: Eighth & Final Season DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/63671 Tue, 27 May 2014 21:55:48 UTC Recommended

The Show:
A spin-off of "Happy Days", "Laverne and Shirley" (which started in 1976) focused on Laverne De Fazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams), two Milwaukee single women who work at a beer bottling company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (before they moved to California in the last few seasons.) The show even resulted in an animated Saturday morning cartoon, "Laverne and Shirley in the Army", which was voiced by the leads. There were even albums, including the cleverly titled "Laverne and Shirley Sing."

Watching the series now - even after the show had past its prime - it's tough to see the golden age of television and not really be sure whether or not (in the age of the Kardashians), we'll ever see a return to the kind of television that was seen decades ago (or even in the '90's.) Even the worst of "Laverne and Shirley" - and, given the problems with the cast in this s...Read the entire review

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Breaking Amish: Season 1 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/63259 Mon, 26 May 2014 22:17:53 UTC Rent It

The Show:
"Breaking Amish" has become something of a franchise for Discovery Channel, which has taken the concept of throwing Amish young adults into a "Real World"-like situation and watching the fish-out-of-water drama. The first season was undeniably fake in some regards, but it often had a quiet, rather hypnotic quality that at least made for engaging viewing. Yes, this is a TLC series (and my feelings on TLC were summarized beautifully by "South Park"'s "Raising the Bar" episode) and yes, there are fights and drama, but there's also a real feeling of melancholy.

The first season of the show brought together a group that kind of worked well together - Abe, Jeremiah, Kate, Rebecca and Sabrina. The season followed the group as they left the life they knew behind and found themselves living together in New York City. Almost instantly, they are overwhelmed by the bright lights and hect...Read the entire review

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Off the Hook: Extreme Catches DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/64108 Thu, 20 Mar 2014 23:31:25 UTC Recommended

As someone who spent many days of their childhood on a lake with a fishing pole in their hand, it's rather wild to watch "Extreme Catches: Off the Hook", an Animal Planet series hosted by wrestler "Showtime" Eric Young. Not a series that doesn't deliver what the title promises, the show focuses on Young visiting with fishermen around the country who use unusual methods to get their catch.

Fishing is wonderful, although it's interesting having grown up with more the "River Runs Through It" style fishing - nothing else around, quiet, just casting by a river or lake. It sounds odd, but fishing is something that really takes a "sense" that builds up over time, being able to look at conditions and get a sense of the how, where and why of the lake. "Zen and the Art of Fishing", indeed - there certainly wasn't anything "extreme" about it and that simplicity is really one of the most enjoyable things ab...Read the entire review

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Swamp People: Season 4 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/64106 Thu, 20 Mar 2014 22:03:32 UTC Rent It

There are some shows on The History Channel where an argument can be made how much historical content they deliver - with Pawn Stars, one can point to the fact that the show's "characters" at least provide a good deal of detail about the information regarding all of the various items that find their way into the store. Still, I suppose at least one can say that there's more history on the History Channel than there is learning on the Learning Channel (TLC), right?

With "Swamp People", we get a title card before the episodes that informs us that "The way of life depicted in this series goes back 300 years." The way of life in this case revolves around a group of people living in the swamp who hunt gators. Doesn't hunting in general go back quite a ways?

Surprisingly there's not been a cross-over episode with "Swamp Loggers", but "Swamp People" did - not surprisingly, given what reality sho...Read the entire review

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Counting Cars: Season 2 - Vol 2 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/64103 Thu, 20 Mar 2014 17:02:56 UTC Recommended

"Pawn Stars" certainly has become a huge hit for the History Channel, not only collecting solid ratings for the network, but spawning a series of shows both entertaining ("Counting Cars", "American Restoration") and amusing but uninspired ("Cajun Pawn Stars"). History isn't done yet trying to squeeze more juice out of "Pawn", staring a UK version at the end of 2013.

"Pawn" follows the Harrison family - Richard ("Old Man") Harrison, Rick Harrison, Corey Harrison. They're joined by Corey's childhood friend, Chumlee, and other cast, er - employees. The series follows the employees as they encounter customers who bring in rare and exotic (and sometimes weird) items to sell. When the employees run into difficulty regarding knowledge of an item, they call on a series of experts - in the case of cars, they call on Danny Koker, of the Vegas auto restoration shop, "Count's Kustoms".

The series is ...Read the entire review

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Smash & Grab: The Story of the Pink Panthers DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/62903 Thu, 02 Jan 2014 22:48:47 UTC Recommended

The Movie:

A compelling and often fascinating documentary feature, Havana Marking's "Smash and Grab: The Story of the Pink Panthers" ("Smash and Grab" from here on out) plays out like a real life Guy Ritchie (although director Danny Boyle has actually indicated a strong interest in adapting the story) movie. This is not a documentary about the world's most successful diamond thieves told by a bunch of investigators and officials (although we do hear from them), this is a documentary about an incredibly successful gang of thieves, with their story often told in their own words.

The international criminal group, dubbed "the Pink Panthers", was made up of more than 200 people, organized into smaller cells and despite their independence, seemingly remarkably well-organized. Their heists are often aggressive and bold, including a literal smash-and-grab where they use luxury cars to ram ...Read the entire review

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Hot in Cleveland: Season Four DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/62258 Thu, 02 Jan 2014 17:46:53 UTC Recommended

Review:

"Golden Girls" was wonderful and we thanked Betty White for being a "friend" in the '80's, years of being a foul-mouthed AARP member culminated in "Betty White's Off Their Rockers", a series that basically had a troupe of seniors pulling tricks on unsuspecting citizens - it's not about being funny as much as it is screaming about how wacky it is that seniors say the darndest things. The series is While White does get a few laughs in a supporting role in this series, bring back the old Betty White.

Airing on TV Land (and I couldn't tell you what channel that's on on my cable, although admittedly the young network has had some mild hits, not to mention the core line-up of classic shows), the series was produced by Suzanne Marin ("Frasier") and Sean Hayes, taken from an original idea by famed producer Lynda Obst. The series, which feels very Lifetime, is the definition of com...Read the entire review

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Counting Cars: Season Two - 1 DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/62899 Thu, 02 Jan 2014 01:40:06 UTC Recommended

"Pawn Stars" certainly has become a huge hit for the History Channel, not only collecting solid ratings for the network, but spawning a series of shows both entertaining ("Counting Cars", "American Restoration") and amusing but uninspired ("Cajun Pawn Stars"). History isn't done yet trying to squeeze more juice out of "Pawn", staring a UK version at the end of 2013.

"Pawn" follows the Harrison family - Richard ("Old Man") Harrison, Rick Harrison, Corey Harrison. They're joined by Corey's childhood friend, Chumlee, and other cast, er - employees. The series follows the employees as they encounter customers who bring in rare and exotic (and sometimes weird) items to sell. When the employees run into difficulty regarding knowledge of an item, they call on a series of experts - in the case of cars, they call on Danny Koker, of the Vegas auto restoration shop, "Count's Kustoms".

The series is ...Read the entire review

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