Topic: Tom's TV Pilots marathon

[Tom]

Noein: To Your Other Self (2005/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia (United Kingdom) Length: 604 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English, Spanish

Plot:
Fate and destiny collide in an epic battle across space and time!

In the near future, a violent battle takes place between the dimension La’cryma (protector of humanity) and the dimension Shagri-La, bent on the annihilation of all space-time. A group known as the Dragon Calvary is dispatched through space and time, searching for the only thing that can stop the invasion: the Dragon’s Torque.

In the present, twelve-year old Haruka and her friend Yuu, are contemplating running away from home when they meet a member of the Dragon Calvary named Karasu (Crow). He believes that Haruka possesses the Dragon’s Torque, and claims to be Yuu from fifteen years in the future...


Noein
1.01 Blue Snow
Writer: Kazuki Akane (Original Material By), Takahiro Kishida (Original Characters By), English Version)
Director: Kazuki Akane, English Version
Cast: Japanese Cast), Kudo Haruka (Kaminogi Haruka), Fujiko Takimoto (Goto Yu), Saeko Chiba (Hasebe Ai), Nazuka Kaori (Mukai Miho), Kouki Miyata (Fujiwara Isami), Keiji Fujiwara (Kooriyama Kyoji), Sayaka Ohara (Uchida Ryoko), Kazuya Nakai (Karasu), Kohei Kiyasu (Fukuro), Akemi Okamura (Kaminogi Asuka), Atsuko Tanaka (Goto Miyuki), Mai Nakahara (Nijo Yukie), Mai Nakahara (Nijo Yukie), Takako Honda (Kosagi), Daisuke Ono (Operator A), Yasumoto Hiroki (Operator B), Kondo Takayuki (Operator C), Kirii Daisuke (Operator D), English Cast), Melissa Fahn (Kaminogi Haruka), Yuri Lowenthal (Goto Yu), Dorothy Fahn (Hasebe Ai), Lara Cody (Mukai Miho), Bryce Papenbrook (Fujiwara Isami), Richard Epcar (Kooriyama Kyoji), Cindy Robinson (Uchida Ryoko), Crispin Freeman (Karasu), Robert M. Klein (Fukuro), Mona Marshall (Kaminogi Asuka), Ellyn Stern (Goto Miyuki), Cindy Robinson (Nijo Yukie), Steve Kramer (Kosagi), Steve Kramer (Operators)

I have never watched this series before. The pilot is a good start. Though a little on the slow side. The animation is great and it looks like it could be an interesting story.

Rating:

[Tom]

This covers my Ns.

[Tom]

Odyssey 5: The Complete Series (2002/Canada) IMDb | Wikipedia Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 935 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: Japanese, Portuguese

Plot:
The crew of the Odyssey, a space shuttle orbiting above the Earth's surface, looks on in horror as the Earth explodes before their eyes. Commander Chuck Taggart (Peter Weller), a geneticist (Sebastian Roche), Taggart's son (Christopher Gorham), a TV newswoman (Leslie Silva) and an astronaut (Tamara Craig Thomas) escape on a shuttle into space, where they're met by a mysterious being who offers to transport them back five years in time to try to save Earth. Armed only with a bit of computer code referring to "Leviathan," Taggart is determined to save the planet. But when the Odyssey crew discovers that even the smallest action on their part can quickly change the course of history in unexpected and potentially devastating ways, they must band together and proceed with caution for their rescue mission to succeed.


Odyssey 5
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Manny Coto (Writer)
Director: David Carson
Cast: Peter Weller (Chuck Taggart), Sebastian Roché (Kurt Mendel), Christopher Gorham (Neil Taggart), Leslie Silva (Sarah Forbes), Tamara Craig Thomas (Angela Perry), Gina Clayton (Paige Taggart), John Neville (The Seeker), Craig Eldridge (Matt Walsh), Ken Mitchell (Marc Taggart), Richard Blackburn (Ed Scrivens), Philip Williams (Gerald Wilkerson), Maria Vacratsis (Elaine Wilkerson), Kim Roberts (Dr. Egrari), Amari Myles (Corey Forbes), Peter Van Wart (Dr. Barantz), Matt Birman (Commander), Peter Sawyer (Controller), Otto Chung (Controller #2), Phillip Jarrett (Paul Forbes), Jim Codrington (Troy Johnson), Roger Peterson (Anchor), Lorry Ayers (Correspondent), Austin Schatz (Chaplain), John Andersen (Anchor #2), John Watson (Security Guard #1), Nicholas Carella (Diaz), J. Adam Brown (Wade), Alex Appel (Kayley), Erin Simms (Stacia), Katia Corriveau (Hooker On Top), Daneen Boone (Hooker), Chantal Cousineau (Female Grad Student), Matthew Finlason (Male Grad Student), Patricia Yeatman (Bernice Scrivens)

I was looking forward to revisiting this series in this marathon. I enjoyed this season when I first watched it. And I was sad to see that it was cancelled without a proper conclusion. But I still recommend checking out this series.

Rating:

[addicted2dvd]

I have been considering a purchase of Odyssey 5 for a while now. Never seen a single episode. I always thought the plot sounded interesting. I may have to try to get this one before too long.

[DSig]

'Odyssey 5' .. wow.  I remember seeing the first couple of episodes.  Then on the road and missed some then all of a sudden it was gone.

I really like Peter Weller.  Too bad he seems to almost always to be cast in horrible movies <G>

Thanks for reminding me of this.  Will put it on my amazon wish list and hope it can show up.

Edited: And not sure how but that got me segwayed to 'Starhunter - The Complete Series - Michael Pare'.  I really enjoy Michael Pare in 'Streets of Fire' and 'Eddie and the Cruisers'.  Have them both on VHS but have to get them updated.  

Thanks again .. i love segways .. not the riding kind but the rabbit hole kind.  You know what happens when you go down a rabbit hole <G>

DSig

[Tom]

The Office: Series One (2001/United Kingdom) IMDb | Wikipedia (United Kingdom) Length: 174 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

Plot:
BAFTA winning comedy about the Slough paper-merchant where life is stationery...
David Brent (Ricky Gervais) is a petty, pompous boss who thinks he's the funniest, most popular man in the world. Pedantic jobsworth Gareth (Mackenzie Crook) agrees with him.

They're both wrong.

Tim (Martin Freeman) really is popular and funny but the joke is on him, as he's stuck in the middle of their little world - a world in which he hates everything except the receptionist Dawn (Lucy Davis). Will Tim escape? Will Dawn choose the right man? Will MI6 ever call on Gareth to help them out? And will David Brent ever regret letting a film crew into The Office?


The Office
1.01 Downsize
Writer: Ricky Gervais (Writer), Stephen Merchant (Writer)
Director: Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant
Cast: Ricky Gervais (David Brent), Martin Freeman (Tim Canterbury), Mackenzie Crook (Gareth Keenan), Lucy Davis (Dawn Tinsley), Oliver Chris (Ricky Howard), Stirling Gallacher (Jennifer Taylor-Clark), Joel Beckett (Lee), Robin Hooper (Malcolm), Paul Sharma (Sanj), Yvonne D'Alpra (Joan), Ben Bradshaw (Ben), Angela Clerkin (Jackie), Jamie Deeks (Jamie), Neil Fitzmaurice (Alex), Jane Lucas (Sheila), Ewen MacIntosh (Keith), Emma Manton (Emma), Alexander Perkins (Ralph), Phillip Pickard (Phillip)

A great series. Though this is more of a one-man show than the American remake. When they started to make the American remake, I thought they will never get it to work as well as here. But I have to admit, that I enjoy the American version even more. But only after they started doing their own thing instead of trying to recapture what was done in the original series.

Rating:

[Tom]

I already reviewed the US series in this thread. You can find the review here.

[Tom]

Oh My Goddess!: OVA Series (1993/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 152 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Music Only: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

Plot:
Hapless college freshman Morisato Keiichi misdials when ordering take-out and gets an unexpected delivery – Belldandy, a live, honest-to-goodness Goddess!

Belldandy grants him a wish, and Keiichi decides that what he really needs is a girlfriend just like Belldandy!

And that's exactly what h gets. The mysterious "Ultimate Force" that enforces all Wish Contracts comes into play, and Keiichi and Belldandy are now inseparable.

That's when Keiichi remembers that his dorm has a strict rule: NO WOMEN ALLOWED!

Can Keiichi and Belldandy find a new place to live? Will anyone buy the story that she's a foreign-exchange student? Does Keiichi have the guts to put the moves on a babe who is LITERALLY divine? And most important, will he be able to survive the "help" he gets from her two meddling sisters, who clearly believe that no mortal is good enough for Belldandy!

Find out in "Oh My Goddess!" – the comedy worshipped by anime-fans world-wide!


Oh My Goddess!
.01 Moonlight and Cherry Blossoms (1993-02-21)
Writer: Fujishima Kousuke (Original Material By), Hasegawa Naoko (Screenwriter)
Director: Gooda Hiroaki
Cast: Inoue Kikuko (Belldandy (voice)), Kikuchi Masami (Keiichi (voice)), Fuchizaki Yuriko (Megumi (voice)), Yanada Kiyoyuki (Tamiya (voice)), Futamata Kazunari (Ootaki (voice))

This is the first anime adaption of the manga. And I did enjoyed it. I also have read the manga (it is still running after over 20 years).
This series has only five episodes. And a movie sequel. The first three episodes introduce the characters and is fairly close to the manga. The next two episodes is an original story not from the manga.

Rating:

[Tom]

Once and Again: Season One (1999/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Canada) Length: 990 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

Plot:
Starring Golden Globe and Emmy Award®-winning Sela Ward and Golden Globe nominee Billy Campbell, Once And Again explored brave new territory with the compelling story of two families blending at the seams. The second marriage of Lily Manning (Ward) to Rick Sammler (Campbell) pushes both to the limit as they try for domestic normalcy while navigating divorce, parenting, financial hardship and many other life lessons.

From the creators of thirtysomething and My So-Called Life comes the complete first season DVD Collection. Enjoy all the moving moments and memorable performances of a brilliant supporting cast, including Shane West (A Walk To Remember) and Evan Rachel Wood (Practical Magic) once and again.


Once & Again
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Marshall Herskovitz (Story By), Edward Zwick (Story By)
Director: Marshall Herskovitz
Cast: Sela Ward (Lily Manning), Billy Campbell (Rick Sammler), Jeffrey Nordling (Jake Manning), Susanna Thompson (Karen Sammler), Shane West (Eli Sammler), Julia Whelan (Grace Manning), Evan Rachel Wood (Jessie Sammler), Meredith Deane (Zoe Manning), Todd Field (David Cassilli), Marin Hinkle (Judy Brooks), Kelly Coffield (Naomi), Kimberly McCullough (Jennifer), LaTanya Richardson (Counselor), Vanessa Lee Chester (Friend #1), Julie Marie Berman (Friend #2), Anna Mathias (Secretary), Suzanne Lanza (Assistant), Nicola Theodoropoulos (Soccer Coach), Jourdan Fremin (Laughing Mom)

I am still waiting for the third and last season of this great series to be released on DVD. The pilot is really good. I like how the two families are coming together and I think it is handled rather realistically. The two failed marriages are not necessarily one person's fault. Also the reaction of the children about this new relationship is handled well. I like all the actors here. All did a great job. Especially the child actors. Even the youngest (Meredith Deane) does a great job.

Rating:

[Tom]

Onegai Teacher (2002/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia Bandai Entertainment (United States) Length: 325 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

Plot:
Kei Kusanagi isn't your typical 15 year old high school student. He's actually an 18 year old with a rare disorder that puts him into what he calls, a "standstill". When he was younger, this disorder left him in a deep coma which stunted his growth for the next three years! Mizuho Kazami isn't your typical teacher either. She's actually an alien sent by the Galaxy Federation to observe the earth! As the sole human being in the knowledge of Ms. Kazumi's secret, Kei must... marry the alien?! Homework, dating, and a gorgeous wife - going to school has never been quite this fun!


Onegai Teacher
1.01 Tell me, Teacher (2002-01-10)
Writer: Yosuke Kuroda (Screenwriter)
Director: Yasunori Ide
Cast: Japanese Cast), Soichiro Hoshi (Kei Kusanagi (voice)), Kikuko Inoue (Mizuho Kazami (voice)), Ayako Kawasumi (Koishi Herikawa (voice)), Mitsuo Iwata (Hyosuke Magumo (voice)), Sayaka Oohara (Kaede Misumi (voice)), Hiroaki Miura (Matagu Shidoh (voice)), Yukari Tamura (Ichigo Morino (voice)), Naoya Uchida (Minoru Edajima (voice)), Rei Sakuma (Konoha Edajima (voice)), Tomoko Kaneda (Marie (voice)), Hiroshi Nakano (School Principle (voice)), Toshihide Tsuchiya (PE Teacher (voice)), Toshitaka Hirano (History Teacher (voice)), Naomi Shindo (Female Announcer (voice)), Kenji Hamada (Announcer (voice)), Tomokazu Sugita (Masaomi Yamada (voice)), Chinami Nishimura (Nacchan (voice)), Yumi Takada (Hatsuho Kazami (voice)), Satomi Koorogi (Maho Kazami (voice)), Omi Minami (Kozue Kusanagi (voice)), Masashi Ebara (Judge (voice)), Tomohisa Asou (Running Commentary Voice (voice)), Nao Takamori (Todoroki's Wife (voice)), English Voice Cast), Dave Wittenberg (Kei Kusanagi (voice)), Bridget Hoffman (Mizuho Kazami (voice)), Michelle Ruff (Koichi Herikawa (voice)), Kirk Thornton (Hyosuke Magumo (voice)), Michael McConnahie (Minoru Edajima (voice)), Julie Anne Taylor (Ichigo Morino (voice)), Melissa Fahn (Kaede Misumi (voice)), Tony Schnur (Matagu Shidoh (voice)), Karen Strassman (Konoha Edajima (voice)), Sandy Fox (Marie (voice)), Doug Stone (Principal (voice)), Tony Oliver (Student (voice))

The premise may sound ridiculous and a little controversial, but I enjoyed watching this series. The first episode is a good introduction.

Rating:

[Tom]

Onegai Twins (2003/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia Bandai Entertainment (United States) Length: 325 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

Plot:
Maiku Kamishiro grew up in an orphanage with no history of his family or of his past. Left with only a childhood picture of himself and another person in front of a house, he believes that the other person in the picture is his long lost twin sister. Upon discovering his old home, two young girls show up on his doorstep one day both claiming to be his long lost sister. Maiku's life is about to be turned upside down and with two pretty girls living under the same roof as him, how will Maiku be able to keep his mind on school and work while trying to figure out which one of these girls is his sister and which
one is the love of his life?


Onegai Twins
1.01 Three Twins? (2003-07-15)
Writer: Yousuke Kuroda (Screenwriter)
Director: Yasunori Ide
Cast: Japanese Main Cast), Daisuke Namikawa (Maiku Kamishiro (voice)), Mai Nakahara (Miina Miyafuji (voice)), Ai Shimizu (Karen Onodera (voice)), Michiko Neya (Tsubaki Oribe (voice)), Kenichi Suzumura (Kousei Shimazaki (voice)), Kikuko Inoue (Mizuho Kazami (voice)), Yukari Tamura (Ichigo Morino (voice)), Hiroaki Miura (Matagu Shidou (voice)), Ryoko Shintani (Haruko Shidou (voice)), Masumi Asano (Akina Sagawa (voice)), Kumi Sakuma (Futaba Mashita (voice)), Tomoko Kaneda (Marie (voice)), Japanese Guest Cast), Souichirou Hoshi (Kei Kusanagi (voice)), Tomokazu Sugita (Masami Yamada (voice)), Naomi Shindo (Kikuchi (voice)), Chinami Nishimura (Natchan (voice)), Takuo Kawamura (Gonta (voice)), Daisuke Ono (Man (voice)), Miyuki Uehara (Announcement (voice)), Yuko Goto (Female Student (voice)), Sayori Ishizuka (Female Student (voice)), Hitomi Nabatame (Female Student (voice)), Nobuyuki Tanaka (Male Student (voice)), Daisuke Kirii (Male Student (voice)), Masashi Ogawa (Male Student (voice)), Hirohito Tabata (Male Student (voice)), Satoshi Katougi (Male Student (voice)), Takashi Kubota (Male Student (voice)), Daiki Matsubayashi (Male Student (voice)), English Voice Cast), Johnny Yong Bosch (Maiku Kamishiro (voice)), Jan Irving (Miina Miyafuji (voice)), Lara Jill Miller (Karen Onodera (voice)), Jessica Straus (Tsubaki Oribe (voice)), Crispin Freeman (Kousei Shimazaki (voice)), Bridget Hoffman (Mizuho Kazami (voice)), Julie Ann Taylor (Ichigo Morino (voice)), Tony Schnur (Matagu Shidou (voice)), Therese Nguyen (Haruko Shidou (voice)), Sherry Lynn (Akina Sagawa (voice)), Philece Sampler (Futaba Mashita (voice)), Sandy Fox (Marie (voice)), Dave Wittenberg (Kei Kusanagi (voice)), Karen Strassman (Kikuchi (voice)), Jessica Gee (Female Announcer (voice))

This is a spin-off sequel to Onegai Teacher. Spin-off, because the main characters from Onegai Teacher are supporting characters here. Sequel because it is set after Onegai Teacher.
This is another series I enjoyed. Also this first episode is good. It had a few good chuckles.

Rating:

[Tom]

Skipping the mini series "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit". You can find my review here.

[Tom]

Otto: Die Serie (1995/Germany) IMDb | Wikipedia (Germany) Length: 319 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

Plot:
Hier ist sie endlich: Otto - die Serie! Entstanden aus knapp 30 alten Filmen der Edgar-Wallace-Reihe und aus über 300 neuen Otto-Waalkes-Szenen.
Otto Waalkes meets Edgar Wallace - wahrlich eine unheimliche Begegnung der dritten Art. Wie kam es dazu? Alte Bilder wurden neu montiert und betextet, die daraus entstandenen Stories unterbrochen, kommentiert, uminterpretiert.
Als Moderator seiner vielfältigen Abenteuer wird Otto außerdem von Fall zu Fall gängige Formen der Fernsehunterhaltung parodieren: Vom Quizmaster bis zum Sonntagsprediger.
Der Seriencharakter wird durch das wiederkehrende Personal und die stereotypen Motive der Wallace-Filme ebenso wie durch Ottos ständige Präsenz als handelnder Held und kommentierender Moderator gewährleistet.
"Otto - Die Serie" auf DVD? Das bedeutet Ablachen ohne Ende!
Das sind mehr als 5 Stunden Comedy pur!


Otto - Die Serie
1.01 Folge 1
Writer: )
Director:
Cast: )

I first watched this series when it first aired in the 90s. It's from and with the famous German comedian Otto Waalkes. In this series the stetches were mainly Otto inserted (Forrest Gump style) in the German movies based on Edgar Wallaces books, which were quite famous. These movie also made Klaus Kinski famous.
The insertion works quite well. Probably the series came about because of the success of Forrest Gump.

Intro:


Rating:

[DSig]

The Office: Series One (2001/United Kingdom) IMDb | Wikipedia (United Kingdom) Length: 174 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

Plot:
BAFTA winning comedy about the Slough paper-merchant where life is stationery...
David Brent (Ricky Gervais) is a petty, pompous boss who thinks he's the funniest, most popular man in the world. Pedantic jobsworth Gareth (Mackenzie Crook) agrees with him.

They're both wrong.

Tim (Martin Freeman) really is popular and funny but the joke is on him, as he's stuck in the middle of their little world - a world in which he hates everything except the receptionist Dawn (Lucy Davis). Will Tim escape? Will Dawn choose the right man? Will MI6 ever call on Gareth to help them out? And will David Brent ever regret letting a film crew into The Office?


The Office
1.01 Downsize
Writer: Ricky Gervais (Writer), Stephen Merchant (Writer)
Director: Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant
Cast: Ricky Gervais (David Brent), Martin Freeman (Tim Canterbury), Mackenzie Crook (Gareth Keenan), Lucy Davis (Dawn Tinsley), Oliver Chris (Ricky Howard), Stirling Gallacher (Jennifer Taylor-Clark), Joel Beckett (Lee), Robin Hooper (Malcolm), Paul Sharma (Sanj), Yvonne D'Alpra (Joan), Ben Bradshaw (Ben), Angela Clerkin (Jackie), Jamie Deeks (Jamie), Neil Fitzmaurice (Alex), Jane Lucas (Sheila), Ewen MacIntosh (Keith), Emma Manton (Emma), Alexander Perkins (Ralph), Phillip Pickard (Phillip)

A great series. Though this is more of a one-man show than the American remake. When they started to make the American remake, I thought they will never get it to work as well as here. But I have to admit, that I enjoy the American version even more. But only after they started doing their own thing instead of trying to recapture what was done in the original series.

Rating:

I loved the original 'The Office'.  I got turned on to this while i was living in the UK in 2002 and 2003.  It is simply brilliant and very edgy.

Dsig

[Tom]

Otto's Ottifanten (1997/Germany) IMDb | Wikipedia (Germany) Length: 370 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

Ottifanten
1.01 Rock'n Roll und Schokoküsse

Ottifanten are cartoon characters created by Otto Waalkes, a famous German comedian. This series is based on them and first aired in the nineties. I had watched some of the episodes when it first aired. I enjoyed them. The best humor comes from the baby, whose thoughts are voiced by Otto Waalkes himself.

Rating: