Reviews

Captain Kangaroo and I were born in the same year - 1955. I watched him religiously as kid and learned so much from this show. So much I didn't appreciate or realize I was learning until much later. For instance, my love of art I now attribute to the Magic Drawing Board doing his stuff to kids' songs. I also became a great reader, I think, mostly because of the Captain reading books to us kids. "Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel" was always one of my favorites, and I got a copy of it for myself when an anniversary edition was published a few years ago. Bob Keeshan as the Captain was always kind and wonderful, polite and intelligent. As an adult, I can't remember that he ever talked "down" to us kids. With Mr. Moose, Bunny Rabbit, Dancing Bear, Mr. Greenjeans, Grandfather Clock, the Magic Drawing Board, the Banana Man, and all of those that I'm probably forgetting, the show was truly "awesome" (a word I never use unless I *really* mean it).

FRIGHT NIGHT is a wonderful blend of horror-fantasy and day-to-day life reality. What would you do if you thought a vampire lived (un-lived?) next door? Charlie Brewster's dilemma is just that simple, until it's complicated by the fact that the vampire knows he knows. What follows is a great romp through everyone's disbelief, punctuated by the seriously scary moves of Jerry Dandridge, the vampire. Peter Vincent, the broken-down vampire-movie actor, is nailed by veteran Roddy McDowell. He almost steals the show (and well he could), but instead he plays his part as a major member of the ensemble, just as he should. This film is a must-have for any vampire movie collector.

After watching the Next Action Star reality TV series, I was pleased to see the winners' movie right away. I was leery of such a showcase of new talent, but I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled. Billy Zane, of course, was his usual great self, but Corinne and Sean held their own beside him. It was also nice to see Jared and Jeanne (also from the competition) in their cameo roles. Sean's character, not Billy's, is the hunted, and his frustration at discovering new rules in the game is well played. Corinne walks the tightrope well between her character liking Sean's and only being in it for the money. I loved how the game was played right to the last second. And then beyond! Not a great movie, but an entertaining one all the way and a great showcase for two folks on their first time out of the gate.

What can I add to what's already been said in the other comments? With the above quote and the unveiling of the KISS poster, WKRP IN CINCINATTI jumped in with both feet and made viewer (if not critical) history. Real people, losers who refused to be losers, teamed together to help and validate one another in great situations all in the little space of a couple of offices. Big theme and social consciousness issues without the big speech, hit you over the head approach. An ensemble cast with great writing and dialogue. Who cares whether or not it was low-budget? It was GREAT stuff. Favorite moments? Les wanting to commit suicide cuz the rumor is that he's gay. Herb painting his daughter's frog PINK. All the guys pitching in to get back the nudie shots the photographer took of Jennifer. The concert where the kids were crushed against the not yet opened gates. (I couldn't stop crying, watching that one.) Les feeding his dog, wearing the giant dog-trainer glove. The "phone police" blowing up the transmitter station. (That was my Dad's favorite.) But most of all for me, Venus teaching the cleaning lady's kid about the atom, using the analogy of gangs in the hood. The comedy capper on that one was Johnny waking up from behind some shelves and saying something like, "So that's how that works." And, yeah, folks -- Bailey was HOT and should've been showcased more. In closing, "Oh, yeah ... BOOGER!"

I remember watching JONNY QUEST when it first came on TV - in the Prime Time hours no less! As a kid I didn't quite realize how different from other cartoons this piece of greatness was. Now as an adult (although still a kid at heart), I understand what made it different and great. Firstly, it was a show about kids - Jonny and Hadji (and Hadji was from another country!) - where the adults treated the boys as Kids and not Babies. They went all over the world for their adventures, and "gosh!" I was learning about other countries and cultures, and I didn't even know it! And the science (although somewhat archaic now) was ahead of its time. Of course, that was only to be expected, coming from the genius of the great scientist, Dr. Benton Quest! And the artwork from Hanna-Barbera gave credit to it all. The locations were gorgeous and accurate as possible. The foreign peoples looked as they should, not just WASPs with slanted eyes. And the hardware was as sleek and shiny as the science could make it. After all these years, the show stands the test of time. I still thoroughly enjoy watching it, and I'm thrilled that the complete set of episodes is coming to DVD in May of this year. If you haven't seen it yet, here's your chance! Take the time - it is supremely well worth it!

THE TENTH KINGDOM is a marvelous movie, full of magic and wonder and a rainbow of stories and characters. It is well-made, composed of brilliant writing, spot-on acting, and superb cinematography. It is long, but that's only because it's so rich with everything any fairy tale ever had all rolled into one. The only, only, only thing that I personally thought was missing was a dragon. When the story took us to Dragon Mountain, I was really looking forward to seeing one or two dragons. Ah, me, nothing's perfect after all. If you haven't seen it yet, please do so. If you have, well, watch it again - there's so much there, you might've missed something the first time around.