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"GROWING PAINS: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The second season of the classic 80s sit com follows the Seaver family with their three kids as they try to live in a more progressive world. Mike continues to be the trouble-maker, Carol the brain and Ben the baby of the family. Mike gets a car and a job, Carol gets a boyfriend and a taste of popularity and Ben learns some very adult lessons about which numbers he should and shouldn’t be calling. Meanwhile, Jason and Maggie deal with the struggles of being modern 80s parents – from debating a school dress code to facing a midlife crisis.
WHAT I LIKED
Like most people in my generation, I watched “Growing Pains,” not just in its prime time slot, but also when it hit syndication after we got home from school. We all remember it as being cheesy and often squeaky clean (in spite of the hilariously named best friend Boner and the mascot being the Dewey Hooters... I still contend that the “Growing Pains” writers just weren’t cool enough to know what they did there), but we tend to forget how loveable and topical the show was.
In the past couple decades, with Kirk Cameron’s often overblown prayer-warrior reputation, the show has been tarnished, but watching these episodes brings back a flood of memories. As an adult with kids of my own, I realize that the shows are relateable not just to me as a high school kid of the 80s but also to me now.
The 80s were a time when radicals from the 60s were trying to rationalize being a mature parent, and this is very much the case with Jason and Maggie Seaver. The generation has switched up again, and those of us who were running around in the 80s are now making that shift. Like their kids, Jason and Maggie don’t always make the best decisions, but they are written to be very human.
“Growing Pains” is a funny show, and it’s still fresh in its second season (though there’s a taste of a few “very special episodes” spearheaded by Kirk Cameron’s serial do-good-ness). They deal with some relatively heavy issues, but the pacing and balance is good, making funny shows without the awkward shift in tone we saw in earlier 80s shows.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
As much as I loved this series, and as much as I rediscovered how much I loved this series by watching it again, the warts are very apparent. Shows were still shot on video back then, giving it a cheap look, and the weight of a sit-com framework (with everything resolving in 22 minutes) does push the cheesy envelope at times.
But still, you expect these warts on anything from this era. Were you not a child of the 80s, this might be unbearable. But for those of us who were... it’s a sweet return of a classic.
DVD FEATURES
None.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Children of the 80s who watched Mike, Carol and Ben grow up 25 years ago.
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"THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR: THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
As Will Smith sailing into box office history with the release of “Independence Day,” he bade farewell to “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in 1996. The sixth and final season reaches DVD, collecting the last 24 episodes of the show. Will and his cousins eventually face going off on their own, but not before Will starts working for Hillary, Carlton struggles to get into Princeton, Ashley faces the question of teen sex and Geoffrey learns about a son he never knew he had.
WHAT I LIKED
I never watched “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in its initial broadcast. I was just a bit too old to really get into it, and I was too busy with a college schedule than to make time to watch it. That’s nothing against the show, but I don’t have the deep-seeded love for the series like I do for something like, say, “Growing Pains” (see above for more on that).
Still, I have warmed up a bit to “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” For the most part, the show just tries to have fun. It crams a couple lessons down your throat, which is to be expected from 80s and 90s television. But on the whole, the shows are funny.
This was definitely Will Smith’s show, and in its sixth season, it was even more his show now that he was a bona fide movie star with “Bad Boys” under his belt. But the supporting cast continues to be what makes it work. Without Alfonso Ribiero as his foil, Smith would have had nothing to work with. Consider me a Carlton fan. Hillary, not so much, but damn if Ashley (or rather Tatyana M. Ali) didn’t grow up looking fine.
The best part about this season, though, is the final episode, which has some fantastic call-outs to other classic sit-coms. There’s also a clever Bloopers episode near the end of the run that’s pretty fun to watch.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
While I do enjoy watching Will Smith in most of his blockbuster films, in his initial sit-com, a little went a long way. Like Jack Black, Smith’s shtick gets old fast. And holy hell, there’s a lot of yelling on this show. I don’t mean yelling at each other. I mean just yelling... Will screaming... Carlton screaming... though oddly none of the female characters screaming. Go figure.
The problem with a TV and movie star executive producing and leading his own television series is that there’s no one there to tell him to dial it back. And Will Smith overdoes it all too often here.
DVD FEATURES
None.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Anyone who grew up with this show in the 90s, and big fans of Will Smith.
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"DALLAS: MOVIE COLLECTION" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Now that all 14 seasons of the classic prime-time soap opera have been released on DVD, the only things left are the television movies related to the series. And now, those too have a home on your video shelf. “Dallas: Movie Collection” includes the prequel “Dallas: The Early Years,” which was released in the middle of the show’s run in 1986. It tells the story of J.R. and Bobby’s ancestors and how they struck oil in Texas.
Additional movies include 1996’s “J.R. Returns,” featuring the return of J.R. following the controversial and ambiguous ending to the series. Then, after J.R. and Bobby stand off in that installment, the final TV movie “War of the Ewings” (1998) bring the brothers back together as they fight for their company against long-time “Dallas” villain Carter McKay.
WHAT I LIKED
These TV movies are not for anyone who knows nothing about J.R. Ewing and the “Dallas” phenomenon. However, it is a great collection for fans of the series to see the final wrap-up of the drama. While “Dallas: The Early Years” is entirely forgettable, “J.R. Returns” and “War of the Ewings” serves as a fun denouement to the saga.
The latter films brought back J.R. in fighting shape and had a greater focus than any of the later season of the show. Rather than having to string a plot across more than 20 episodes a season, there’s a short 90-minute window in which J.R. can hatch his scheme. Plus, they serve as great reunion episodes in which characters like Sue Ellen get some more meat in the plot.
These final films are also an interesting look at the series two decades from when it began, effectively continuing the story for a different generation. Sure, Larry Hagman looks old as Methuselah, and it’s a bit unsettling watching him get it on with the sultry 90s-era Tracey Scoggins, but that’s manageable for how superior these stories are to some of the episodes in the last three or four seasons of the show were.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
For the most part, “Dallas: The Early Years” was a dud. While it came out half-way through the series, “Dallas” was already an institution and deserved better. More than any other film in this collection, this was for the die-hard fan who wants to see a period piece about how the Ewing name was made. But it’s long and drawn out, and none of the characters have the same pizzazz as those in the show itself.
The only real complaints I have with the other two films is the rehashing of a few plots, including J.R. getting shot and a faked death. Plus, as great of a long-time villain Carter McKay is, his scheming so late in the game just seems to be a bit of overkill.
DVD FEATURES
Included in the set is 2004’s “Return to Southfork,” which features Larry Hagman and the other big hitters in the “Dallas” cast reunited to talk about the history of the show and reminisce on the memories. This is a neat little retrospective that knows its place and doesn’t get too cheesy. It’s made for the fans, especially those who have seen all 14 seasons, and it really shows how the series changed over the years.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Dallas fanatics.
