Land of the Giants - The Full Series (The Giant Collection) (1968) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm reading the reviews about people complaining about the price and I won't dissagree that it is too high. However the package is stamped as a limited edition which means that the series might be re-issued in individual packages like the other Irwin Allen shows after a while, but who knows. My guess is that a good part of the price is simply the packaging. The extra's are not a big deal, but this is the stuff you get with limited editions, so if you think it's to high you may want to wait it out and one of two things can happen. Either they re-issue it later at a lower price or not at all. It's anyone's guess.
I've checked some of the discs and I own the original Columbia House DVD's as well, and these look better than what Columbia released. The picture quality is excellent! That said there is a problem that another reviewer mentioned, and that is the first 3 episodes of the second season have the wrong theme music on them. 'The Mechanical Man' 'Six Hours to Live' and 'The Inside Rail' all have 2nd season intro's with the 1st season music. These episodes are available on the Columbia House versions and the intro's on those discs are correct.
Except for that, I've found that these discs play well and look good, but I've still to see the entire run. Except for the price, this is not a bad set and if you can get it cheap I recommend it.
Note: Land of the Giants is best enjoyed in production order rather than broadcast order. These discs as well as others always list the shows in broadcast order and often the network that originally aired the show (abc) screwed up the order terribly. I'm a long time Irwin Allen fan and I know he is not the best at character development or continuity, but what little there is is lost when the episodes are run out of order.
Try this: The first 5 episodes should run like this - 'The Crash' 'The Weird-World' 'The Trip' 'The Bounty Hunter' and 'The Golden Cage.' The character of Mark especially changes gradually and you see them slowly adapting to there new surroundings. Because the series was originally aired out of order the second episode 'Ghost Town' is way out of place. It is actually the 14th episode!
If you are a die hard fan this doesn't matter, but if you only marginally like the show try watching it in production order. It will make a difference!

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After their sub-orbital space craft is drawn into a space warp, the passengers and crew of the Spindrift, crash into a planet where everything is 12 times its normal size!

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)After the enormous success of the 1st season of Haruhi Suzumiya many including myself couldn't wait for the second season. But unfortunately fans would be waiting for 3 years for the second season. Was it worth the wait? That's up to you to decide.
If you are not familiar with the series or read the novels you must keep in mind that the 2nd season is intertwined with the 1st season. So some of the story lines in the 2nd season will shed light on a few things that happened in the 1st season.
By now many have heard about the infamous Endless Eight arc in the second season but let's put that aside for now. The season starts off with Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody, which is a very important episode and storyline in the Haruhi Saga. It's the first time we get to see Mikuru use her time traveling powers as she and Kyon must travel back in time 3 years. After they accomplish their mission the duo find that they are stranded and must find a way back home, which they do in a very interesting way.
Next is the Endless Eight storyline. Love it or hate it, E8 is a very important arc in the series. The SoS Brigade get stuck in a timeloop during their summer vacation and Kyon must figure out why Haruhi doesn't want their summer vacation to end.
The E8 arc is told in 8 episodes that are essentially the same but slightly different in tone, acting & mood. E8 also sees the growth of two characters, Nagato seems to be developing emotions & Kyon takes a step forward to being an active member of the SoS Brigade instead of a bystander.
The remaining episodes are dedicated to the Sigh arc, which is the making of the movie from the 1st season. You will find out why Nagato tackled Mikuru, why the cat started talking, what's the deal with Mikuru's different colored eyes & ultimately who put it all together!!
It is during these last few episodes that provide the darkest moments in the series to date. Kyon & Haruhi have a epic confrontation over, "creative differences" that threatens the world. Of course it is up to Kyon once again to find a way to tame Haruhi and put things back in order.
The animation is top notch once again, especially during the darker moments of the series. There is great dramatic lighting during the Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody, the night scenes of E8 and during the confrontation in Sigh.
The music is not as memorable as 1st season but Superdriver (the opening song) and Tomare (the ending song which means Stop) are energetic & catchy enough to be heard & watched over and over. I found the best score part to be at the resolution of the E8 arc.
I look forward to the English dub of the 2nd season. I am very curious as to how Wendee Lee, Crispin Freeman & Michelle Ruff will handle the E8 arc and the confrontation. Of course the Japanese va's are excellent as well.
In the end I wanted to really love the 2nd season of Haruhi, but I was found wanting a better effort from the stories. Personally, I felt the E8 arc should've been two episodes. I would've like to have seen a more fleshed out Sigh arc because it felt rushed. Then I really would've liked to have seen a set up of the Disappearance storyline.

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Haruhi continues her search for exciting ways to keep her world from being boring. Unfortunately, for Kyon and the rest of the SOS Brigade, they are forced to go along for the ride. On the night of the Tanabata Star Festival, Kyon is transported back in time by Mikuru Asahina to what may be the source of what led Haruhi to search for aliens, time travelers and espers.In the last two weeks of summer vacation, Haruhi leads the brigade on a dizzying list of summer time activities that leads the brigade into experiencing what they think is dejavu but they're actually re-living the same two weeks of summer over and over again. It's up to Kyon to figure out what's missing to get them out of this endless loop.As fall rolls around, everyone prepares for the school arts festival, but Haruhi isn't content with their class's survey project. She, instead, hatches her own plan for the SOS Brigade to film and screen their own. Step behind the camera to see what went on to create the cinematic 'masterpiece' that is The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00.

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Family Guy, Vol. 5 (Season 5, Part 1) (1999) Review

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(More customer reviews)This review wil not be helpful to other readers, but I just wanted to voice my displeasure with the repeated release of half seasons. This is an unacceptable format and is just one little screw you that the target audience of the show (college age - 35 year old males) will put up with for awhile. This will and has inspired resentment in friends of mine and has caused them to view recent seasons more harshly. This is still a great show, but when half a season costs $39.99, the listed price, that means the price of a full season would be 80$. With other shows, such as the simpsons, selling COMPLETE seasons for 20$ it makes it dificult to shell out cash for another half season of Family Guy. The goodwill the show has built up with its hilarity won't last much longer when it continually screws its fans. Either release full seasons or sell the half seasons at $20 or less.In summary buy this DVD if you love Family Guy, which I do, but beware that your only getting half a season. You may want to buy some Simpsons seasons instead and get twice the length of entertainment.

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Studio: TcfheRelease Date: 08/05/2008Run time: 379 minutesRating: Nr

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