Topic: Tom's TV Pilots marathon

[Tom]

Yes it does. The first season is also on it's way.

Then I don't know why you bought the pilot standalone? It's part of the first season set. When I bought mine, it was before they released the season sets (which I also own all of them). I think there was also a complete series set at some point with a good price. But at the time I already had most of the seasons.

[DJ Doena]

I was misled by the Amazon promo, I thought it was similar to Babylon 5 where the pilot is not part of the first season set.

[samuelrichardscott]

Little Britain
I like the humor of this series. The jokes got tired in the third series, but here it is still great. One of my favorite bits are the Dennis Waterman sketches. Also the prime minister sketches with Anthony Head are fun.

Rating:

The problem with most sketch shows is how quickly the jokes can become tired. I agree with you here. David Walliams was a judge this year on Britain's Got Talent and was very funny though from the small amount I watched. You might like "Barking" but it's a lot more hit and miss than Little Britain and features all the acts in their early years. Bo Selecta is recommended though!

[Tom]

Love Hina: The Complete Series (2000/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia FUNimation Entertainment (United States) Length: 625 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

Plot:
College isn't the only thing he can't get into!

How's a guy supposed to keep his nose in the books with so many sexy girls in his face? Keitaro moved to his grandma's apartment building to cram for a college entrance exam. Too bad nobody told him the complex is for ladies only and that he's the new manager!

The job has some perks: girls frolicking in the hot springs all day and lounging in their naughtiest nighties all night. It's definitely gonna be tough for Keitaro to focus on studying - especially if one of his titillating tenants turns out to be his long lost love! From the man who quickened your pulse with Negima! and My Santa, it's Ken Akamatsu's classic - Love Hina!


Love Hina
1.01 All-Girls Dorm with Outdoor Bath: Hot Spring (2000-04-19)

I know someone who absolutely loves this series and the manga it was based on. It's the prototypical harem comedy.
I never really got into it. It has some fun moments, but I always preferred "Ai Yori Aoshi" to this.

Rating:

[Tom]

This covers my Ls.

[Tom]

Mad About You: Season One (1992/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 489 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

Plot:
Get ready for romance and hilarious bickering in the Big Apple. Join Jamie and Paul Buchman (Academy Award® winner* Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser) as they navigate marriage in this 6-time Emmy Award-winning series.

*Best Actress, As Good As It Gets, 1998


Mad About You
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Paul Reiser (Original Characters By), Danny Jacobson (Original Characters By), Danny Jacobson (Writer), Paul Reiser (Writer)
Director: Barnet Kellman
Cast: Paul Reiser (Paul Buchman), Helen Hunt (Jamie Stemple Buchman), Tommy Hinkley (Jay Selby), Anne Ramsay (Lisa Stemple), Richard Kind (Mark), Leila Kenzle (Fran)

I have watched the first two season about eight years ago and I enjoyed it. I have further two seasons in my collection, but for some reason I never came around watching it.
I think the writing and the performances by the two leads is great, considering they often have to carry almost all scenes by themselves.

Rating:

[Tom]

MADtv: Season One (1995/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (United States) Length: 806 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Plot:
Relive the MADness of the first complete season of 'MADtv', dubbed by TV Guide as "the most mercilessly acute TV parody of the decade, perhaps of all time." It's wall-to-wall pop culture sendups in 19 trailblazing hours plus hilariously MAD-to-the-bone Special Bonus Features.

You'll find brilliant movie parodies, irreverent Madvertising spoofs and political smackdowns. Plus favorites like the Vancome Lady; UBS Guy; 'That's My White Mama'; the animated 'Spy Vs. Spy', Don Martin classics and 'Raging Rudolph'; and TV sendups of 'ER', 'Baywatch', 'Oprah' and 'Star Trek'. No wonder USA Today stated "No show is better than 'MADtv' at mocking TV."


MADtv
1.01 Season One

When I first saw this, I only knew three of the main cast: Orlando Jones, Phil LaMarr (mainly as voice actor, but also his role in Pulp Fiction which he reprises in this episode in a parody sequence) and Nicole Sullivan. It's her which I think brought in the best performances in this episode. And also the only laughs I had.

Rating:

[Tom]

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi: Complete Collection (2005/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia ADV Films (United States) Length: 325 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

Plot:
Crazier than crack, madder than a March Hare!

Whoa! Hold on to your hats and get ready for one wildly wacky, frenetically funny ride as reality takes an extended vacation in Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi!

Arumi Asahina and Sasshi Imamiya seem to be normal, 12-year-old kids living in Osaka. But in Abenobashi, we soon find out that nothing is what it seems! Suddenly, Arumi and Sasshi find themselves in a world like their own... only not. And as they try to fight their way back to the real world, they'll face menacing mushrooms, big-breasted space pirates, killer kung-fu fighters, a tripped-out transvestite, a sorcerer who seems to be in some sort of midlife crisis... and that's just the beginning!

They say there's no place like home, but this ain't exactly Oz, and it sure as heck ain't Kansas! So put the kids to bed, leave Toto with the neighbors and get ready to dive into the madcap, whacked-out world of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi!


Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
1.01 Mystery! Abenobashi Shopping Arcade

This is the first time I have seen any episode of this series. It started out a little slow. But towards the end it looked like it could be an interesting series.

Rating:

[Tom]

Married With Children: Season One (1987/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Television (United States) Length: 302 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

Plot:
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 loveable 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!


Married With Children
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Michael G. Moye (Original Characters By), Ron Leavitt (Original Characters By), Ron Leavitt (Writer), Michael G. Moye (Writer)
Director: Linda Day
Cast: Ed O'Neill (Al Bundy), Katey Sagal (Peggy Bundy), David Garrison (Steve Rhoades), Amanda Bearse (Marcy Rhoades), Christina Applegate (Kelly Bundy), David Faustino (Bud Bundy), Ritch Shydner (Luke Ventura), Diana Bellamy (Customer #1), Sue Ann Gilfillan (Customer #2), Linda Dona (Tawny), Victor Di Mattia (Arnold)

I grew up watching this show. I have to admit, I am so used to the German voice of Al Bundy, I still miss it when watching it with the original audio. Interesting note (at least for me): I have seen the German voice actor of Al Bundy (Rüdiger Barr) twice on stage. He had the lead roles in productions of "Kiss Me Kate" and "My Fair Lady", which I have seen in theatre in Munich.

Rating:

[Tom]

M.A.S.K.: Ultimate Collection (1985/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia (Australia) Length: 1875 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: Subtitles:

Plot:
Led by Matt Trakker, the Mobile Armoured Strike Kommand is a secret organisation that fights crime in an unusual way. By donning specially charged masks they have extraordinary powers to fight the villains of V.E.N.O.M., who pose a real threat to the free world with their own special equipment.

In addition to the masks, our heroes, and their counterparts, have super vehicles capable of a wide range of defensive and offensive actions, from changing a car into a jet or becoming a submarine.

Trakker meets each unusual situation by requesting his computer to pick the agents best suited for the job. As each agent has special talents some are better for a particular mission than others.

V.E.N.O.M., led by Miles Mayhem, always has their hands full when their evil plans for control are met by the crusading forces of M.A.S.K.


M.A.S.K.
1.01 The Deathstone
Writer: Jina Bacaar (Writer), Rod Baker (Writer), Creighton Barnes (Writer), Patrick Barry (Writer), Jack Bornoff (Writer), Del Bruckman (Writer), Barbara Chain (Writer), Kerry Ehrin (Writer), Herb Engelhardt (Writer), Mel Gilden (Writer), Ralph Goodman (Writer), David Gottlieb (Writer), Barbara Hambly (Writer), Trevor Meldal-Johnson (Writer), Fred Ladd (Writer), Chuck Lorre (Writer), Alt Matheson (Writer), R. Patrick Neary (Writer), Dianne Nezgoda (Writer), Jack Olesker (Writer), Glen Olson (Writer), Alfred A. Pegal (Writer), Jessica Radcliff (Writer), Ginger Roth (Writer), Jeffrey Scott (Writer), Karen Willson (Writer), S.S. Wilson (Writer), Erica Byrne (Writer)
Director: Mineo Gato, Kazuo Terada
Cast: Doug Stone), Mark Halloran), Brendan McKane), Graeme McKenna), Sharon Noble), Brennan Thicke)

I had a lot of M.A.S.K. toys as a kid. Together with the He-Man figures it was my favorite toys. Sadly I hardly saw episodes of this series as a kid. It only came early in the mornings (before 6 o'clock I think) and I never had a chance to catch it. But I had three retail video tapes of this series with one episode each. One of these episodes was the pilot episode. I have watched it countless of times as a kid.

Rating:

[Tom]

Mein Leben & Ich: Staffel 1 (2001/Germany) IMDb | Wikipedia (Germany) Length: 352 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

Plot:
"Das Leben ist bescheuert - vor allem das eigene!" Alex hat nur einen Wunsch: Sie möchte ihre Ruhe haben. Die findet sie in ihrem Zimmer. Ein Raum, den ihre Eltern das letzte Mal betreten haben, als sie fünf war. Alex' jüngerer Bruder Sebastian, 11, ist genau das Gegenteil. Er ist fröhlich und hat eine positive Weltsicht. Alex glaubt, dass dies nur zwei Gründe haben kann: extreme Dummheit oder ein Hirntumor. Alex' Eltern, Anke und Hendrik, haben sich Anfang der Achtziger kennengelernt und leben seit 16 Jahren in der Kölner Südstadt - in einem eigenen (Reihen-)Haus. Hendrik arbeitet als Ingenieur bei einer Autofirma in Köln-Niehl. Anke hat eine Halbtagsstelle als Musiktherapeutin. Beide diskutieren oft, warum Alex so "anders" ist. Alex hat eine Freundin: Claudia, 15. Deren Eltern sind reich und geschieden. Sie ist die einzige, die sich von Alex' rüden, sarkastischen Sprüchen nicht verjagen lässt. Der Beginn einer wundervollen Freundschaft...


Mein Leben & Ich
1.01 Der Einbruch (2001-09-14)
Writer: Paula Roth (Writer), Paula Roth (Created By)
Director: Ulli Baumann
Cast: Wolke Hegenbarth (Alex), Gottfried Vollmer (Hendrik), Frederik Hunschede (Sebastian), Maren Kroymann (Anke), Nora Binder (Claudia), Sebastian Kroehnert (Niko), Susanne Czepl (Frau Ehlert), Maximilian Cress (Florian), Ulrich Simontowitz (Biologielehrer), Ludger Burmann (Hausmeister)

I first saw this series when I caught an episode of the third season on TV. I was surprised to see a good German TV show. I had thought they had died out.
It is very loosely based on "My So-Called Life", but it's an half-hour comedy series instead of an hour long drama series.
The first episode introduces the characters very well and it was a joy to rewatch it again.

Rating:

[Tom]

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2006/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 350 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
1.01 Asahina Mikuru no Bouken Episode 00 (2006-04-02)
Writer: Nagaru Tanigawa (Original Material By), Yutaka Yamamoto (Screenwriter)
Director: Tatsuya Ishihara
Cast: Original Japanese Cast), Tomokazu Sugita (Kyon (voice)), Aya Hirano (Haruhi Suzumiya (voice)), Minori Chihara (Yuki Nagato (voice)), Yuko Goto (Mikuru Asahina (voice)), Daisuke Ono (Itsuki Koizumi (voice)), Yuki Matsuoka (Tsuruya-san (voice)), Minoru Shiraishi (Taniguchi (voice)), Sayaka Aoki (Kyon's Little Sister (voice)), Kenichi Ogata (Shamisen (voice)), Eiji Yanagisawa (Kiyozumi Morimura (voice)), Kenichi Mochizuki (Yusuke Suzuki (voice)), Kimiko Saito (Old Lady A (voice)), Aiko Hibi (Old Lady B (voice)), English Voice Cast), Crispin Freeman (Kyon (voice)), Wendee Lee (Haruhi Suzumiya (voice)), Michelle Ruff (Yuki Nagato (voice)), Stephanie Sheh (Mikuru Asahina (voice)), Johnny Yong Bosch (Itsuki Koizumi (voice)), Kari Wahlgren (Tsuruya-san (voice)), Sam Riegel (Taniguchi (voice)), Steve Kramer (Shamisen (voice)), Michael McConnohie (Kiyozumi Morimura (voice)), Dave Wittenberg (Yusuke Suzuki (voice)), Merrilyn Crouch (Old Lady A (voice))

The episode order on the DVD set is different than the broadcast order. Mostly it is chronological here (except for this episode), whereas the broadcast order jumped around on purpose.
This first episode is not a regular episode. Everything happening here is a film the characters shot later on in the series. It's a nonsensical story.

Rating:


The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
1.02 Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu I (2006-04-09)
Writer: Nagaru Tanigawa (Original Material By), Tatsuya Ishihara (Screenwriter)
Director: Tatsuya Ishihara
Cast: Original Japanese Cast), Tomokazu Sugita (Kyon (voice)), Aya Hirano (Haruhi Suzumiya (voice)), Minori Chihara (Yuki Nagato (voice)), Yuko Goto (Mikuru Asahina (voice)), Minoru Shiraishi (Taniguchi (voice)), Megumi Matsumoto (Kunikida (voice)), Natsuko Kuwatani (Ryoko Asakura (voice)), Eiji Yanagisawa (Okabe Sensei (voice)), English Voice Cast), Crispin Freeman (Kyon (voice)), Wendee Lee (Haruhi Suzumiya (voice)), Michelle Ruff (Yuki Nagato (voice)), Stephanie Sheh (Mikuru Asahina (voice)), Sam Riegel (Taniguchi (voice)), Brianne Siddall (Kunikida (voice)), Bridget Hoffman (Ryoko Asakura (voice)), Michael McConnohie (Okabe Sensei (voice)), Patricia Ja Lee (Schoolgirl (voice)), Merrilyn Crouch (Schoolgirl (voice))

The first regular episode (and the first broadcast) which introduces most of the characters. It's a good episode and a fitting introduction to the series.

Rating:

[Tom]

Midori no hibi (2004/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 325 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

Plot:
Seji "Mad Dog" Sawamura is the ultimate high-school punk. With his super-strong, invincible right hand, he can punch through cenemt walls and lay waste to entire street gangs. But street cred comes with a high price - every girl in the school is absolutely terrified of him! Just when he thinks he is doomed to fly solo forever, Seji's right hand becomes an actual girl! Midori Kasugano wished she could be by Seiji's side...but ended up somehow attached to his wrist. Seiji's fighting days may be over, but his girl-trouble days are about to begin!!


Midori no hibi
1.01 Migite no koibito (2004-04-03)
Writer: Kazurou Inoue (Original Material By), Hachi Yota (Screenwriter)
Director: Tsuneo Kobayashi
Cast: Japanese Cast), Mai Nakahara (Midori Kasugano (voice)), Kishou Taniyama (Seiji Sawamura (voice)), Reiko Takagi (Takako Ayase (voice)), Hirofumi Nojima (Osamu Miyahara (voice)), Sayaka Ohara (Haruka Kasugano (voice)), Makiko Omoto (Makie (voice)), Yukari Tamura (Shiori Tsukishima (voice)), Yuji Ueda (Shuichi Takamizawa (voice)), Toshihide Tsuchiya (Butler (voice)), Takahiro Yashimizu (Tsuyoshi Nishida (voice)), Yuji Kishi (Leader (voice)), Kaori Shinizu (Yoko (voice)), Kumi Sakuma (Yuka (voice)), English Cast), Kether Fernandez (Midori Kasugano (voice)), Drew Aaron (Seiji Sawamura (voice)), Mollie Weaver (Takako Ayase (voice)), Sean Elias-Reyes (Osamu Miyahara (voice)), Amy Palant (Makie (voice)), Joshua Popenoe (Shuichi Takamizawa (voice)), Vibe Jones (Yoko (voice)), Bella Hudson (Yuka (voice))

Always fun to watch. Midori is just so kawaii (cute). I also own the manga series.

Rating:

[Tom]

Monaco Franze - Der ewige Stenz (1983/Germany) IMDb | Wikipedia EuroVideo (Germany) Length: 490 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 1 Subtitles:

Plot:
Auf der Schwanthalerhöh' - so heißt das Münchner Westend - und damit nicht gerade im nobelsten Stadtteil geboren und aufgewachsen, stand Franz Münchinger, dem man wegen seines verwegenen, südländischen Aussehens allgemein in seinen Kreisen als "Monaco Franze" kannte, schon früh vor der Grundsatzfrage, ob er eher ein Krimineller oder lieber ein Kriminaler werden sollte.

Er entschied sich wie sein Freund Manni Kopfeck für den Kriminaler und außerdem für eine parallele Karriere als Stenz, der nun mal gerne weibliche Bekanntschaften macht. Diese wunderbare Verbindung aus ordnungsschaffender Arbeit und lebensfüllender Aufgabe hätte er gewiss heute noch, wäre nicht eine echte Dame aus der besseren Gesellschaft in sein Leben getreten, die sein Ein und Alles werden sollte: Geliebte, Ehefrau, Bemutternde, Schutzengel, Erzieherin.

Seit zwanzig Jahren führt der Monaco Franze eine glückliche Ehe mit seinem Spatzl Annette, doch zum Glück gehört einfach, dass der ebenso leichtsinnige wie leicht sinnliche Mann halt das Abenteuer braucht. Und weil er mit seinen neunundvierzigeinhalb Jahren unter Abenteuer nur junge Mädels versteht, die angesprochen und im gleichen Augenblick erobert werden wollen, ist diese folgenreiche Geschichte einer Mesalliance eine immer währende komische Schule der angewandten Toleranz.

Alle 10 Folgen der TV-Serie von 1983 auf 3 DVDs.


Monaco Franze
1.01 Ein bissel was geht immer
Writer: Helmut Dietl (Writer), Patrick Süskind (Writer)
Director: Helmut Dietl
Cast: Helmut Fischer (Franz Münchinger ('Monaco Franze')), Ruth-Maria Kubitschek (Annette von Soettingen), Karl Obermayr (Manni Kopfeck), Christine Kaufmann (Olga Behrens), Erni Singerl (Irmgard), Gisela Schneeberger (Elli), Alexander Hegarth (Dr. Schoenferber), Georg Marischka (Boettner-Salm), Enzi Fuchs (Frau Gralhuber), Klaus Guth (Dr. Braun), Thomas Gottschalk (Ricky), Cleo Kretschmer (Waltraud), Kristina van Eyck (Ellen Braun), Ulrich Beiger (Portier), Anja Hauptmann (Frau Schoenferber), David Rappaport)

A classic Bavarian TV series from the early 80s. But for some reason I have never seen it. But I heard about it a lot. Of course I know a lot of the actors from other TV series.
I really enjoyed this first episode. I can see why it was so successful.

Rating:

[Tom]

Monk: Season One (2002/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Universal Studios Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 561 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Plot:
He's ingenious, he's phobic, he's obsessive-compulsive. Emmy®* and Golden Globe®** Award winner "TONY SHALHOUB is a riot" (TV Guide) in Monk, the show that critics are praising as "fresh, exciting and utterly original." (Chicago Tribune)

Monk's hilarious, offbeat antics have made him unfit for duty but he's back as a police consultant to help out on their most baffling cases. The brilliant but neurotic Monk is now fighting crime as well as his abnormal fears of germs, cars heights, crowds and virtually everything else known to man in "the best detective show to come along in decades." (New York Post)

"Nothing on TV generated more fun than this" (Los Angeles Times) and now you can enjoy the entire first season of Monk on DVD.

*Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (2002)
**Best Performance by an American Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy (2002)


Monk
1.01 Mr. Monk and the Candidate
Writer: Andy Breckman (Writer)
Director: Dean Parisot
Cast: Tony Shalhoub (Adrian Monk), Bitty Schram (Sharona Fleming), Ted Levine (Captain Stottlemeyer), Stanley Kamel (Dr Kroger), Gail O'Grady (Miranda St. Claire), Michael Hogan (Warren St. Claire), Ben Bass (Gavin Lloyd), Jason Gray-Stanford (Lt. Deacon), Kane Richotte (Benjy), Rob Labelle (Sheldon Burger), Vincent Gale (Jesse Goodman), Fred Ewanuick (Jake), Shawn Reis (Ian Sykes), Dion Johnstone (Lieutenant Gitomer), Chris Shyer (Carl), Edmond Wong (Cop at Kindergarten), Alexis (Elevator Gal), J.B. Bivens (First Cop), Dax Belanger (Second Cop), Esme Lambert (Angry Old Lady), Stellina Rusich (Trudy), Carmen Aguirre (Uniform Cop), Ray Galletti (Cop at Rally), Doris Chillcott (Jason's Mother), Michelle Addison (Nicole Vasques), Dean Marshall (Cop in Lobby), John Sampson (Jason Rondstadt), Guyle Fraizer (Detective)

Monk is a series I enjoyed watching, but I thought it stayed on air too long. The series got a little tired later on.
Nice surprise: There is an actor I revcognized here which I didn't know the first time around. Fred Ewanuick, who plays Hank on "Corner Gas".

Rating: