More holdups in the Bronx, more Brooklyn-bred fights, more traffic jams in Harlem backed up to Jackson Heights. Car 54, Where Are You? (1961-63), the sublimely silly sitcom created by The Phil Silvers Show/Sgt. Bilko's Nat Hiken, returns for 30 more episodes, The Complete Second Season, its final year.

Despite bizarre behind-the-scenes headaches that have the makings of a great Tim Burton or maybe John Waters comedy, the show itself is unaffected, as funny as ever, even better insofar as its ensemble cast of coarse New Yorkers is richer and loopier than before.

Shanachie Entertainment's all-region first season release was an obvious labor of love, and featured a funny and informative interview (by comedian Robert Klein) with two of the show's last surviving stars, Hank Garrett and Charlotte Rae. This set has an equally beguiling, one-of-a-kind extra feature, plus good video t...Read the entire review

There's a holdup in the Bronx,
Brooklyn's broken out in fights;
There's a traffic jam in Harlem
That's backed up to Jackson Heights;
There's a scout troop short a child,
Khrushchev's due at Idlewild!
Car 54, Where Are You?

- Car 54, Where Are You? Theme Song

Car 54, Where Are You? (1961-63), creator-writer Nat Hiken's hilarious follow-up to his phenomenally successful The Phil Silvers Show/Sgt. Bilko (1955-59), didn't get a whole lot of attention or respect when it was new. In recent years though, this wonderfully loopy, ahead-of-its-time sitcom, about a pair of misfit police officers working in the Bronx, has slowly but surely attracted a well-deserved cult following. (Its brief revival on Nick at Nite during 1987-90 certainly helped.) Filmed on location in New York, and at Biograph Studios on E. 175th Street, also in the Bronx, with mo...Read the entire review

Independent music label Shanachie has branched out from their usualdomain of releasing an eclectic variety of music CDs and entered the DVDmarket.  Originally limiting themselves to concert and music relatedDVDs, the outfit has recently started putting out movies on DVD. One recent release is Car of Dreams, a 1935 British comedy. The DVD packaging states that it is part of the "British Cinema Collection"a series that I hope they continue.

Car of Dreams is a charming attempt by the British movie industryto make an American=style musical comedy.  With cases of mistakenidentity, misunderstandings, and people spontaneously breaking into song,it has all the trappings of a Hollywood production but doesn't quite capturethe spirit.  Even so, the movie has a certain amount of charm andi...Read the entire review