January 31st, 2010 by admin
Nominated for 2 Emmys and 2 Golden Globes, including Best TV Series – Drama, Felicity gathered a large cult following in its short four season stint. Premiering on the WB network in September 1998, the show (along with Dawson’s Creek) helped ignite a firestorm of highly successful original series on behalf of the upstart network, with such hit shows as Angel (1999), Gilmore Girls (2000), and Smallville (2001). The brainchild of writer J.J. Abrams (creator of the two hit series Alias and Lost), Felicity follows the life of a recent high school graduate, not through seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4, but through Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years. Similar in genre to its contemporary, Dawson’s Creek, Felicity’s cast is of approximately the same age, but the setting is college instead of high school…
Felicity begins when the star of the series, Felicity Porter (Keri Russell), graduates from high school. Having harbored a four-year crush on classmate Ben Covington (Scott Speedman), despite the fact they’ve never talked, Felicity musters the courage in the aftermath of their commencement ceremony to ask him to sign her yearbook. When Ben writes some surprising comments, Felicity decides to follow him to fictional University of New York (UNY) instead of pursuing her goal of pre-med at Stanford. Against her parent’s wishes, she enrolls in the school and moves cross country where she becomes roommates with Meghan Rotundi (Amanda Foreman), a girl whose lifestyle clashes with her own, and where she meets resident advisor Noel Crane (Scott Foley) who immediately develops a crush on her. When Ben learns of the true reason for Felicity’s enrollment, he’s both flattered and a little uncertain about Felicity’s mental stability. In the ensuing four years, Felicity goes through the basic trials and travails of a maturing college student, experiencing the ups and downs of life, love, and adulthood…
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January 30th, 2010 by admin
Having first aired after the 1999 Super Bowl, Family Guy really hit its stride via cable re-runs and DVD sales (prompting Fox to announce the launch of Season 4 in May 2005, following the show’s original cancellation following Season 3). An animated series building a similar cult following to The Simpsons and Futurama, Family Guy employs its own unique brand of humor distinct to its other animated peers…
Family Guy follows the life and exploits of Peter Griffin, an idiotic family man flanked by his intelligent and loving wife, Lois. The couple have two children – Chris (an overweight, mentally challenged teenage boy), Meg (a neurotic teenage girl with low self-esteem), and Stewie (a super-intelligent infant who believes his mother is his enemy). Together, the Griffins live with their human-like dog, Brian, in suburban Quahog, Rhode Island…
The Family Guy (Season 3) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere “The Thin White Line” in which Brian takes his therapist’s advice and decides not to be so self-centered and to help others. Brian’s new attitude leads to his employment as a drug-sniffing K-9 for the Quahog police force. But while on the job, Brian becomes addicted to cocaine, and while in rehab, he discovers that the Griffin family (and Peter in particular) are a bad influence on his life… Other notable episodes from Season 3 include “And the Wiener is…” in which Peter joins a gun club, and “Mr. Saturday Knight” in which Peter decides to follow his lifelong dream of becoming a knight with the traveling Renaissance Fair…
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January 29th, 2010 by admin
Initially broadcast in the Fall of 1996, Everybody Loves Raymond became an instant ratings boon its parent network, remaining a constant in the Nielsen Top 15 for its nine season run. Following the life of sportswriter Ray Barone (Ray Romano), audiences watch in hilarity as Ray and his wife attempt to deal with each other as well as Ray’s neurotic and dysfunctional family which includes Ray’s brother and his parents who live across the street…
The Everybody Loves Raymond (Season 3) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere in which Ray and Debra’s house gets quarantined after they spray for termites. Moving into Frank and Marie’s house along with the kids, they decide to give Ray’s parents a dose of their own medicine, but quickly learn that it’s near impossible to turn the tables on their annoying relatives… Other notable episodes from Season 3 include “Getting Even” in which Debra vows revenge on Ray for embarrassing her, prompting Ray to drive himself crazy in anticipation of her retaliation, and “Moving Out” in which Robert attempts to move out of his parents house and into a garage apartment only to realize that the couple he’s now living with are clones of the very parents he sought to escape…
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January 28th, 2010 by admin
Premiering in Fall 1996, Everybody Loves Raymond struck an instant chord with TV audiences, becoming a beloved fan favorite that would last for nine successful seasons. Modeled after other successful TV series that cast stand-up comics in starring roles – Seinfeld, The Drew Carey Show, and Home Improvement – all come to mind, Everybody Loves Raymond relied on the talents of comic Ray Romano, but also drew upon a vast well of hilarity present in his fellow cast members…
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January 27th, 2010 by admin
First telecast in the Fall of 1996, Everybody Loves Raymond became an instant favorite among TV audiences, a love affair that would last for nine memorable seasons. Following on the heels of a series of successful sitcoms starring stand-up comics – Seinfeld, Home Improvement, The Drew Carey Show, etc., Everybody Loves Raymond drew upon the comedic talents of Ray Romano who plays the role of the title character Ray Barone…
A successful Long Island-based sportswriter, Ray and his wife Debra (Patricia Heaton) enjoy a happy marriage and the company of their three children – daughter Ally (Madylin Sweeten) and twin sons Geoffrey (Sawyer Sweeten) and Michael (Sullivan Sweeten). But they also happen to live directly across the street from Ray’s parents, Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Doris Roberts), who take it upon themselves to enter their son and daughter-in-law’s house whenever they wish (without knocking) and dispense advice and sometimes insults. Joining Frank and Marie is Ray’s brother Robert (Brad Garrett), a divorced policeman, who periodically lives with Frank and Marie and is often jealous of Ray’s idyllic life. Together, they create the perfect loving and dysfunctional family…
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January 26th, 2010 by admin
Winner of numerous Golden Globes and Emmys, as well as the recipient of innumerable additional nominations, ER is widely considered one of the best television dramas of its era. Created by Michael Crichton, the show chronicles the inner-workings of a Chicago hospital emergency room. With subplots involving the characters’ various relationship woven into an action-packed plot involving the trauma ward, ER is a fascinating look at current America…
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January 25th, 2010 by admin
The recipient of 25 Golden Globe and 110 Emmy nominations, including seven for Outstanding Drama Series, ER is considered one of the best “reality” dramas in television history. First airing in September 1994, the hour-long NBC trauma ward series vividly depicts the intense stress typical of a hospital emergency room. Created by Michael Crichton, the author of such bestselling books as Jurassic Park and Timeline, ER fulfills Crichton’s vision of an up-close and personal glimpse of the technologies and humans who run America’s ERs…
The ER (Season 3) DVD features a number of dramatic episodes including the season premiere “Dr. Carter, I Presume” in which Carter begins his internship at the ER with a difficult day filling in for Peter as the ER surgery consultant. Meanwhile, several plotlines related to the staffers’ personal lives take twists when Carol runs into Shep and his new girlfriend and Peter runs into an old friend at a barbecue… Other notable episodes from Season 3 include “No Brain, No Gain” in which Peter fights to save the life of a gang member already declared dead by Doug, and “The Long Way Around” in which Carol is held hostage during a robbery at a local store…
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January 24th, 2010 by admin
One of the more popular “reality” dramas on prime time TV, ER follows the lives of several of emergency room doctors and staff personal working a bustling Chicago ER. The makes a concerted effort to reveal the true details of the inner-workings of an emergency room. From the high point of saving lives to the boring minutae of paperwork, the highs and lows of hospital ER work are examined. The initial years see several characters appearing regularly. Among them are doctors Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle), Douglas Ross (George Clooney), and Susan Lewis (Sherri Stringfield); Lead Nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) and resident intern John Carter (Noah Wyle)…
The ER (Season 2) DVD features a number of dramatic episodes including the season premiere “Welcome Back, Carter!” in which Carter arrives late for his new position in the ER while Mark gets comfortable in his new position among the senior staff. Meanwhile, the ER tries to patch up the victims of a rival gang war, and new medical school students arrive in the ER for their rotations… Other notable episodes from Season 2 include “Hell and High Water” in which Doug happens upon a young boy trapped in a drain pipe rapidly filling with water, and “A Shift in the Night” in which Mark is forced to carry the load of the ER by himself when Doug is out with whiplash and Susan is out on business…
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January 23rd, 2010 by admin
Nominated for 25 Golden Globes and 110 Emmys, including 7 for Outstanding Drama Series, ER has long been one of the best prime-time shows on television. Premiering in September 1994 on NBC, the hour-long hospital drama vividly illustrates the intensity and fast-paced stress endemic to hospital emergency rooms across America. Brought into being by Michael Crichton – famous Hollywood insider, novelist, and brains behind such films as Jurassic Park, Twister, and Timeline – ER fulfills its creator’s ultimate vision (it took over a decade of pitching the show before network executives bit) for a close-to-life glimpse of the technology and the humanity omnipresent in the ER. Since its inception, many cast members have passed through the halls of ER, many of them having gone on to become big stars in Hollywood…
ER follows the exploits of a group of emergency room staff who work in a busy Chicago hospital. The show attempts to examine every detail of the ER experience. From the exhilaration of saving a life to the tedium caused by mountains of paperwork, all the highs and lows are covered. In the show’s first year, a number of regular faces staffed the ER. Doctors Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle), Douglas Ross (George Clooney), and Susan Lewis (Sherri Stringfield) were regulars in the ER along with Head Nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) and Benton’s medical student understudy (and later ER doctor), John Carter (Noah Wyle)… Any given episode tends to run multiple plot lines throughout the show, interweaving scenes in short snippets intended to heighten audience emotion and create the aura of a stress-laden atmosphere. The show’s high drama, coupled with subplots of the staffers’ personal lives and the display of cutting edge medical technology, combine to make ER one of most adrenaline-inducing programs in television history…
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January 22nd, 2010 by admin
This Christmas, discover your inner elf… At least, that’s the tagline for Elf, one of the funniest films of 2003. Packed with a cast of Hollywood all-star talent, Elf is guaranteed to make you laugh. The touching story about an adopted elf who discovers he’s really a boy is sort of a bizzaro-Pinocchio story that opened to such widespread critical acclaim that it unanimously swept zero Oscars at the 2004 Academy Awards ceremony! Nevertheless, Elf is worth the price of admission. Although Christmas Vacation still holds the title as the top Christmas comedy, Elf is still a great night’s entertainment…
Buddy (Will Ferrell) is an oversized elf working away at the North Pole. Always wearing a smile, he dwarfs his comrades and never seems able to find his niche in the toy-making arena. Eventually, Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) is forced to reveal the truth to Buddy. He’s actually a human. He’s not really an elf at all. The elves love buddy just the same, but Buddy feels the need to strike out on his own and try to find himself – and maybe even his family too…
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