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"DALLAS: THE COMPLETE FINAL SEASON" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Available on DVD January 18 Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The classic prime time drama that helped define the 80s comes to a close with the fourteenth and final season of “Dallas.” In this season, we see plenty of skullduggery happening, including murders, dirty deals and even a visit from the Devil himself. J.R. and Bobby find themselves being forced out of Ewing Oil, and some familiar faces from the past threaten the well-being of the company and the family. It might have ended in the 90s, but the essence of the 80s is still rich with this final season of “Dallas.”
WHAT I LIKED
There’s a degree of decadence in “Dallas” that was never quite reached with other prime time soap operas. Maybe “Dynasty” to a point, but “Dallas” was just steeped in the 80s and made you love to watch dastardly people do dastardly things. It also continued to have of the best prime time antiheroes from the decade as well: J.R. Ewing. This season, as much as any other, focuses on J.R. and his ruthless approach to business.
It seems that J.R. had more meat in this season than the last couple leading up to the end. Bobby had been galvanized as the good brother, and his storyline gets its own level of darkness with outside forces, including a cameo run by soap opera vixen Susan Lucci. This allowed Bobby to play off of her rather than butt heads so much with J.R., freeing the symbol of “Dallas” to really get his hands dirty.
All of this culminates in one of the wackiest series endings out there... a visit from Joel Gray as an evil Clarence who shows J.R. what his life might be life if he didn’t exist. It’s a corny “It’s a Wonderful Life” knock-off done in a very different manner, and I for one liked it.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Well, this was the early 90s, and that meant the show was still shaking off the dust of the cheesiness of any prime time 80s drama. The hair, the fashions, the interior design were not so much as silly (like those of the 70s and 80s) but more plain bad.
Plus, the series showed its age with television conventions that we don’t see all that much any more since the advent of DVRs, modern CGI use (rather than video toasters) and cinematic style.
Still, this series is hella fun to watch, more so if you grew up during its initial run.
DVD FEATURES
None. They burned out of those in the single digit seasons for sure.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of 80s prime time dramas.
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"E.R.: THE COMPLETE FOURTEENTH SEASON" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Available on DVD January 11 Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The drama in the Chicago E.R. contineus for a fourteenth season. We see a fight for a new E.R. chief, originally filled by Dr. Moretti (Stanley Tucci), but struggles with changing the staff. We also see Dr. Lockhart’s (Maura Tierney) marriage erupt while she fights to stay sober and Dr. Kovac (Goran Visnjic) returns to Croatia. The season begins and ends explosively and violently, keeping the danger in the hands and at the feet of the doctors of County General.
WHAT I LIKED
The biggest praise that I’ve been able to hand down to “E.R.” is that it’s an exceedingly well made show. Ever since it started in the mid-90s, the show has pushed the limits of cinematic television, being ahead of its time during its early years. Into the fourteenth season, this trend continues, though sometimes the camerawork tries to be a little too kinetic for my tastes.
If you like the characters of this series, there’ll be plenty for you to chew on. The show manages to juggle the medical struggles with the personal ones. And while many of the extreme storylines are laid on a bit thick, it never quite becomes the freaky disease-of-the-week that current medical dramas stoop to. (You hear me, Shonda Rimes?)
Well acted and grim, “E.R.” lays on the drama thick. So if you like that sort of thing, you’ll get plenty of it in this season. Plus, it has a powerful (albeit predictable) cliffhanger to lead into the fifteenth and final season coming soon to DVD.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
While “E.R.” had alwasy been a well-made show, it was never something I liked watching. This falls to character, in that I’ve never connected with any of them on the show. The earlier seasons had the best ensemble, and this is nothing against the actors themselves. I just don’t find them terribly appealing. Like current medical series, the characters are just too flawed and unlikeable for me to really support throughout a series run.
DVD FEATURES
Like previous seasons, many of the episodes include “Outpatient Outtakes” (which are basically deleted scenes). Because the fourteenth season includes the 300th episode, there is a “ER at 300” special feature that looks back on this milestone in half-hour audience Q&A session. Finally, the special features are rounded out with a gag reel, all of which isn’t a bad catch for a fourteenth season of a series.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
E.R. fans.
