Topic: Pete's Pilots

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Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Share the soaring adventure and romantic fun in this Deluxe 6-Disc DVD Set of 21 first-season episodes, including a Feature-Length Pilot and High-Flying Extras. As DAILY PLANET reporters CLARK KENT and LOIS LANE, Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher clash, cooperate and flirt while chasing the hottest stories in METROPOLIS. The hottest scoop of all is Lois's secret heartthrob, the superhero she doesn't know is Clark's alter ego.

Pilot
Mild-mannered Clark Kent arrives in Metropolis, becomes a reporter for the Daily Planet, and creates his secret Superman identity. His first challenge: stop Lex Luthor from sabotaging the Space Station.

My Thoughts:
This is a double length episode that started the series. I enjoyed every minute of this episode. It is a good introduction to the characters. I did find it strange that they had Lex Luthor with hair.... but that is ok... it didn't take away from the show for me. This season is the only one to have the character of Cat played by Tracy Scoggins.  I don't mind that she was in the only season... as Cat has always been my least favorite character of the series. I really enjoyed the scene where Martha Kent was making Clark's Superman outfit. Some of the costumes they came up for him was pretty funny... but there was actually one or two that I kinda liked. Of course not as much as the real costume... but cool for some newly made up superhero.  Another reason I really like this show... it focuses more on the lives of Lois and Clark... making Superman something Clark can do... not who he is.

My Rating:
Note: This review is from my previous Lois & Clark marathon

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Ironically enough, earlier today I happened to look up the Birds of Prey set at Amazon.com to see if it had come down in price again and it's nearly about what it's been...around $27 or so, if I recall correctly.  I'm waiting for that magical $20 price sticker to appear 

Roger... if you can you may want to check Amazon now... They have Birds of Prey: Complete Series for only $17.49 

[Rogmeister]

Thanks for the heads up, Pete.  Unfortunately, I'm in a rather bad way financially right now and can't really afford to buy anything but the neccessities at this time.

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The Lone Gunmen
The computer-hacking, conspiracy-exposing Lone Gunmen are always looking for that next big government cover-up that would bring their newsletter, The Lone Gunmen, national attention. Whether in their secret underground office or in the back of their old VW bus, this bumbling and often socially inept trio is routinely laughed at by their peers. Now with a young, idealistic new member and a mysterious and exotic female who is always one step ahead of them, the Lone Gunmen are doubly determined to protect millions of Americans by exposing truths that some would rather keep hidden.

Pilot
While investigating the death of Byers' father the Gunmen stumble onto a sinister government plot to ignite hostilities worldwide and increase arms sales.

My Thoughts:
While an entertaining show... it was never even close to the series that The X-Files (the series it spun off from) was. It is a show I can enjoy... but is one I am not surprised only lasted the one season. I really found it to be a pretty much average pilot and series. But I had to have it to complete the X-Files universe.

My Rating:

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Get lost in the hottest series of the year. From J.J. Abrams, the creator of Alias, comes the action-packed adventure that became a worldwide television event.

Stranded on an island that holds many secrets, 48 people must band together if they hope to get home alive. Now you can experience the nonstop excitement and mystery of every episode, from the show's stunning first minute to its spectacular finale, on a seven-disc set.

Presented in a widescreen theatrical format with 5.1 Surround Sound and bursting with more than eight hours of original bonus features - including unaired Lost Flashbacks from the final episode - Lost is a real find.

Pilot
During a routine trip from Sydney, Australia, to Los Angeles, Oceanic flight 815 is blown off course and crashes on a remote, deserted island. Convinced that rescue is coming soon, the surviving passengers set up camp on the beach and try to make the most of what they think will only be a short time on the island. One fo the 48 survivors, Dr. Jack Shephard, suggest that they find the transceiver in the front of the plan so they can radio for help. But when a terrifying howl comes from the jungle, it becomes apparent that this is no ordinary island.

My Thoughts:
This is a series that I only watch on DVD. Unfortunately I am very far behind as I still only have the first 2 seasons. While I still enjoyed the show. I discovered the re-watch value was just not as high as the first time I watched it. Maybe it was just that I really wasn't much in the mood to watch this today but I found it to be good but not as exciting as the first time I saw it.

My Rating:

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M*A*S*H
Korea, 1950. They were a MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) unit stationed three miles from the front. Incoming helicopters full of wounded brought the horrors of war to them daily and sometimes bullets flew right outside the operating room door. Hilarity and hijinks were all that kept them sane. Now journey back to that special place where friendships were forged, laughter was found and drinks were served.

The Pilot Episode
Hawkeye and Trapper raffle off a hot date with Nurse Dish to raise money to send The Swamp's Korean houseboy to school in the States.

My Thoughts:
This is another old favorite sitcom of mine. To this day this show makes me laugh out loud more times then not. This episode it a great opening for the series. It does a good job of showing you what to expect for the series. I have to admit I love how they fixed the drawing for the date with the nurse. 

My Rating:

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M.A.N.T.I.S
FROM THE CREATORS OF THE EVIL DEAD AND ARMY OF DARKNESS comes the crime-fighting saga that beats them all! Using a newly invented metal exoskeleton that provides superhuman abilities, wheelchair-bound Dr. Miles Hawkins (Alias' Carl Lumbly) embarks on a quest to rid his city of the ever-growing plague of crime terrorizing its citizens. This action-packed series broke new ground with television's first African-American superhero and became an instant cult favorite, now exploding onto DVD for the first time!

Pilot
Two rival gangs are being set up to disrupt an election.

My Thoughts:
This is a series that I only ever seen a handful of episodes of before getting the DVD set. But it looked like a fun series and the set was cheap enough... so I took the chance on it. At this point I still only seen a handful of episodes. It seems to be an enjoyable show... but I have definitely seen better. I would say at least to this point it is just average.

My Ratings:

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MacGyver
He's everyone’s favorite action hero... but he's a hero with a difference. Angus MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) is a secret agent whose wits are his deadliest weapon. Armed with only a knapsack filled with everyday items he picks up along the way, he improvises his way out of every peril the bad guys throw at him.

Making a bomb out of chewing gum? Fixing a speeding car's brakes... while he's riding in it? Using soda pop to cook tear gas? That's all in a day's adventures for MacGyver. He's part Boy Scout, part genius. And all hero.

Pilot
A mysterious explosion demolishes and underground lab. Can MacGyver single-handedly rescue the trapped scientists, and stop a deadly chemical leak?

My Thoughts:
This show is a weird case to me. It is a show I enjoy watching quite a bit really. But for some reason it is a show that is out of site out of mind. For some reason I don't go through the episodes of this show like I do most. More like I will get in the mood to watch some episodes. I will usually watch a handful of episodes and then forget about the series for a year or two. This is probably why I only have the first couple seasons of the series so far... though I would like to have them all. The pilot episode is a good introduction to the character. Of course you feel like... Yeah... right... like that would really work (in this case stopping an acid leak with chocolate bars)... but I think that is part of the fun of the series. Just to see the outrageous things he comes up with.

my Rating:

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Malcolm in the Middle
See how it all began for boy genius Malcolm and his disorderly, demented (and downright dysfunctional) family. Share the laughter and relive the fun with all 16 hilarious Season One Episodes — available for the first time in this exclusive 3-disc collector's edition.

Pilot
Malcolm introduces us to his world, dominated by omnipresent schoolyard bully Spath and made worse by his enforced friendship with Stevie, an asthmatic wheelchair genius. When a battery of tests reveals that Malcolm has an IQ of 165, he is moved into Stevie's special accelerated class, despite his protests that "around here being intelligent is exactly the same as being radioactive." On the bright side, Malcolm discovers a practical application for intelligence when he and Stevie spontaneously hit on a solution to Spath's persistent tyranny.

My Thoughts:
This is a fun comedy. Though I do think it is a bit out there with the dysfunctional family thing. Much like the next one I am about to watch. But it definitely has some laughs in it... and worth checking out. Unfortunately there was only the first season that was ever released.

My Rating:

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Married... with Children
Domestic bliss was never like this! Get ready for those outrageous Bundys in MARRIED…WITH CHILDREN: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON, featuring all 13 hilarious episodes from the show’s groundbreaking debut season, introducing everybody’s favorite dysfunctional household. This taboo-shattering hit series was often deemed too hot for TV, bringing a blue-collar brand of raunchy humor to America’s idyllic ‘80s TV family, where father definitely doesn’t know best!

Remastered and available on DVD for the first time ever, this collector's favorite lets you get reacquainted with this middle class clan of lovable losers - hard-working lug Al (Ed O'Neill), his couch-potato wife Peg (Katey Sagal). sexy teen daughter Kelly (Christina Applegate), hopelessly horny son Bud (David Faustino), and prudish neighbors Marcy and Steve Rhoades (Amanda Bearse, David Garrison) - as they try to get along without getting on each others nerves! For better or worse, the Bundy's may be broke, but this is one family that's rich in delightfully demented attitude, wild characters, and racy humor!

Pilot
In this pilot we meet Al and Peg Bundy, a very dysfunctional Chicago family. In the pilot, Al and Peg, who have no friends, meet their new neighbors Steve and Marcy Rhoades. Steve and Marcy are a very happily married couple until they learn from the Bundys.

My Thoughts:
Like that last one (probably even more so then the last one) this is definitely a dysfunctional family. This show has it's share of laughs but is another show that I like to watch when I am in the mood... but can only watch a handful of episodes before I tire of it. At this point I only have the first season set and a best of disc. The pilot episode sets up the series well. And it was funny how they "infected" their happily married neighbors.

My Rating:

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The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Over its seven-year run, The Mary Tyler Moore Show won twenty-nine Emmy Awards, more than any other comedy in television history. Now get ready to run back the dial to 1970 and rejoin the gang from WJM - the lowest-rated (but most hilarious) evening news show in Minneapolis. Relive all the laughter with Mary, Lou, Murray, Ted, Rhoda and Phyllis as the first season of this classic TV show arrives on DVD!

Love is All Around
New to Minneapolis and rebounding from a broken engagement, Mary takes a job in the WJM-TV newsroom.

My Thoughts:
Now we get to  a classic sitcom. And one with lots of laughs. The show's cast works together so well. I love the chemistry between Mary and Lou. And I can't help but to laugh at how Murray goes after Ted. This episode is a great introduction to the show. I laughed out loud more then once. I especially enjoyed the interview Lou gave to Mary. How she answered all the questions out of order.

My Rating:

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Incident On and Off a Mountain Road
"You've always got to expect the unexpected...and do the unexpected." It's the chilling advice a young woman ('Bree Turner') thinks about late one night on a lonely stretch of mountain road.The warning, from her survivalist ex-husband, becomes all too real when a car accident leaves her alone, hurt and hunted by a backwoods maniac called "Moonface" ('John De Santis'). She's learned how to live. She's been trained how to kill. But when trapped in a monster's killing ground, will she know how to survive the most horrific confrontation of them all?

'Ethan Embry' and 'Angus "The Tall Man" Scrimm' co-star in this grisly shocker directed by 'Dan Coscarelli' and adapted from the short story by 'Joe R. Lansdale' (BUBBA HO-TEP) that 'The New York Daily News' hails as "tantalizingly creepy and scary good!"

My Thoughts:
This was a very strong start to the series. A very good story similar to ones like Texas Chainsaw Massacre.... what with the backwoods maniac.  I really liked the twist ending to this episode. DVD quality is great... and is completely loaded with extras. Masters of Horror is well known for all the gore that is in some of the episodes... and even though there is some decent gore... it really was pretty light for this first episode.

My Rating:

Note: This Review was taken from my Masters of Horror Marathon Thread.

[Rogmeister]

I also have the first season of "Malcolm In The Middle" and I liked that show the limited number of times I watched it.  For some reason, while I liked that one I never really liked Married: With Children.  

I also enjoy The Mary Tyler Moore Show a lot though I was surprised when I found out that Betty White didn't join the cast until the fourth season.  I have the first four seasons...I believe they've released the fifth season now (not sure of the sixth) so I need to pick that up eventually.

[addicted2dvd]

I am a little behind on The Mary Tyler Moore Show also... I only have the first 3 seasons... though I definitely want to get more. I would like to eventually have them all.

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Medium
From the creator of Moonlighting comes the hit suspense series starring Patricia Arquette in an Emmy® Award-winning portrayal of a woman haunted by visions of murder.

Every day, Allison DuBois wonders if her psychic power is a gift...or a curse. As a consultant to law enforcement, she uses her mind to uncover the dark secrets of vicious killers. The risks to her life are enormous. The strain threatens her family. But how can she refuse to listen when the dead cry out for justice? Experience all the nerve-wracking suspense and heart-touching drama in this five-disc set that includes all 16 thrilling episodes of Medium: The Complete First Season.

Pilot
Wife, mother, and psychic Allison DuBois (Patricia Arquette) can communicate with the dead and is convinced she can use her gift to help solve crimes. She's put to the test when she gets a call from the Texas Rangers.

My Thoughts:
This is one of my favorite current series. This series is what made me a fan of Patricia Arquette. This DVD set has both the Network Version as well as an extended version of the pilot. Today I watched the Extended version... which has about an extra five minutes.  This is a good introduction to the characters. I like how they did her husband in this show... while he supports her and believes in what she can do... he also is quick to remind her that she can't believe that everything in her dreams are meant to be true.

My Rating: