M - DVD

Walt Disney Treasures: The Mickey Mouse Club Presents Annette - 1957-1958 Season (Collector's Tin)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Nice Tribute to Annette 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a double dvd from the 3rd season of The Mickey Mouse Club in which Annette, due to her popularity on the show, had her own serial, called "Annette". In the serial, Annette played a shy country girl who comes to live with her aunt and uncle in a different town. Annette was immediately accepted by the kids at Old South High School but one of the girls was jealous of Annette and gave her a difficult time. There was an incident of a missing necklace and Annette was in the room alone when the necklace disappeared. There was a party at which the necklace disappeared, a hayride on which Annette sings her famous song, "How Will I Know My Love?" which launched her singing career. All the kids watching the show wanted to know how they could buy this song, so Disney had her record it. Then there was a barbecue and a fight. Annette leaves a note for her aunt and uncle and goes to the train station to go back to Beaver Junction where she came from. Mike saves the day by finding Annette before the train leaves and brings her back. At a school related meeting at Steve's house, Laura plays the piano to rehearse a song. The piano is out of tune. I can't tell you anything else, or I'll spoil the ending, which is a happy one. Annette's friends are some of the mouseketeers having roles in this serial who are Sharon Baird, Tommy Cole, Doreen Tracey, Bonnie Fields and Cheryl Holdridge. Steve and Mike are played by Tim Considine and David Stollery of Spin and Marty fame and Roberta Shore plays the part of Laura. Moselle is played by Shelly Fabares. The serial is split up. Half is on one dvd and half is on the other dvd. There are also two 30-minute MMC shows included on the dvds. In the third season, the MMC was only a half hour. Thus, there is a 30-minute MMC program which includes the introduction to the Annette Serial on the first disk and a 30-minute MMC program which includes the finale on the second disk. There is a wonderful special feature with Sharon Baird, Shelly Fabares and Glen Holt as they talk about Annette and how she touched their lives on one of the disks. On the other disk, there is another special feature which includes interviews with the Sherman Brothers, Tutti Camaratta and Annette from several years back. Enough cannot be done to honor Annette because she is one of America's sweethearts. I bought six sets of this dvd. It's wonderful.

Editorial Review:

Annette. To legions of Mickey Mouse Club fans she was magic. Chosen by Walt himself as an original cast member, Annette soon became the most popular Mousketeer and was given a daily series of her own. Showcased here is the entire fish-out-of-water series, about an innocent girl from the country who moves to the suburbs to live with her well-to-do aunt and uncle. Airing during the third and final season of The Mickey Mouse Club, the 20-episode series was unlike earlier series -- it featured original music including the song that helped launch Annette's music career. Enriching this celebration of Annette are the two complete Mickey Mouse Club episodes that introduced and concluded the series, plus a new tribute to her remarkable career and more. Featuring exclusive introductions by film historian Leonard Maltin, this is a timeless collection from generations past for generations to come.

Man vs. Wild - Season 1 (6 DVD set)

Amazon Price: $35.99 List Price: $39.95 Usually ships in 1 to 2 days By: Discovery Channel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

This show is fake--here's proof 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Do not confuse Man vs. Wild with Les Stroud's Survivorman, which is the real deal. In Survivorman, Stroud really is by himself in a survival situation, with nothing but the clothes on his back, limited supplies and his camera equipment so that he can film himself. Man vs. Wild, on the other hand, has become an embarrassment for the Discovery Channel, which now claims that all episodes of the show will be more honestly edited to show the viewer what is really happening (i.e., that the show is fake).

This is not to say that Bear Grylls is not a survival expert, but merely reflects the fact that much of the show is completely phony. For one thing, Bear is followed by a camera crew, who, contrary to the show's initial claims, regularly helps him out. For another, Bear is regularly aided by survival consultants. He did not, for example, build the raft that the show depicted him building. Most embarrassing of all to the Discovery Channel was the discovery that many of the situations that Bear finds himself in are entirely staged; they are not incidents that he just happens upon while surviving in the wild.

The Discovery Channel always prided itself on the accuracy and honesty of its shows (unlike, say, the History Channel), and so, because of this revelation, and after momentarily dumping unaired episodes of Man vs. Wild, now will only air the show with text disclaimers at the bottom of the screen explaining to the viewer what is actually happening, but in a positive light of course. So, instead of reading, "This scene was entirely staged," text will appear saying something like, "On some occasions situations are presented to Bear so he can demonstrate survival techniques."

After a huge controversy erupted when it came to light that Bear was not always sleeping in the campsites the show depicted him constructing (but was instead sleeping cozily in a nearby hotel room!), the Discovery Channel now requires Bear to admit such things. In one episode, after lighting a fire, he said, "I'm not staying the night, but this would make a good place to camp." Another fake part of the show was the success of Bear's traps. What would really happen is that the trap would catch nothing but an animal was brought to him by the crew so that he could act like he was successful. He now must admit (at least some of the time) when the crew is helping him.

People who actually know about real survival techniques often laugh at how Bear Grylls conducts himself, leaping about and running and unnecessarily risking injury at every turn. Les Stroud would be ashamed of him. In the end, Man vs. Wild can be entertaining, but it should be viewed as a staged show depicting somewhat useful survival techniques. It should NOT be viewed as a documentary depicting real survival techniques in action. If you still don't believe that Man vs. Wild is fake, go to Youtube and watch the clip entitled Man vs. Wild, Bear Grylls is a fake. It depicts good old Bear Grylls acting like he is trying to cross a "dangerous lava bridge" in the middle of nowhere. If you keep watching, the camera pans back and reveals that Bear is in fact just walking on some rocks immediately to the right of a busy highway! Deception at its finest.

Editorial Review:

Man vs. Wild Season 1 (6 DVD Set): Learn life-saving survival skills in some of the toughest, most treacherous environments on the Earth with a man no stranger to extremes, Bear Grylls. Drawing upon all his experiences as a soldier, mountaineer and seasoned adventurer, watch as Bear strands himself in popular wilderness destinations. Armed with a few supplies and the clothes on his back, see how he claws his way back to civilization while demonstrating survival techniques along the way. The following 10 Episodes are included: 1. Alaskan Mountain Range 2. Sierra Nevada 3. African Savannah 4. European Alps 5. Everglades 6. Iceland 7. Mexico 8. Kimberly Australia 9. Ecuador 10. Scotland

This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Magnum P.I.: The Complete Eighth Season

Amazon Price: $34.99 List Price: $49.98 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Universal - Model: MCAD61102098D Amazon Marketplace: 46 new & used starting at $28.74

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Best series ever! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Magnum, P.I. has to be the very best series ever done. The characters care about each other but are realistic in their interactions with one another. As soon as we (my husband and I) are finished with the series we will watch it again. I can honestly say I never tire of this show. It is worth having. I have started getting Sellecks westerns and Stone movies. A real treat!

Editorial Review:

Left for dead at the end of Season Seven, Magnum's back in the eighth and final season of Magnum P.I., the unforgettable Primetime Emmy® Award- and Golden Globe®-winning series nominated for an incredible 30 awards during its impressive eight-year run. For thrilling adventures, rejoin Tom Selleck as the stylish private investigator Thomas Magnum, along with Higgins, T.C., Rick and some of television's hottest guest stars, including Amy Yasbeck (Wings), Carol Burnett (The Carol Burnett Show) and Joe Regalbuto (Murphy Brown). This must-own 3-disc collector's set includes every Season Eight episode, as well as a bonus episode of The Rockford Files featuring Tom Selleck in a performance that led to his most iconic role. Take home Magnum P.I.: The Complete Eighth Season and say goodbye as the red Ferrari drives off into the sunset forever!

Mythbusters: Collection 2 (3pc)

Amazon Price: $18.99 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Image Entertainment - Model: IMEDDIS4113D Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $12.12

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Ever wonder if human teeth could stop a speeding bullet? You're about to find out! Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage are back to test a host of the most insane and dangerous myths ever dreamed of. No theory is safe from the scrutiny of the MythBusters, who take on the Hindenburg disaster, Tesla's Earthquake Machine, the Mentos mint-Diet Coke Internet myth and much, much more! From the wacky (can a hurricane blow the feathers off a chicken?) to the death-defying, Hyneman and Savage go where no reasonable people have gone before in separating the reality from the ridiculous!

EPISODES: Helium Football: Field test helium-filled footballs to find out if they stay aloft higher and longer than regulation air-filled balls. Then face a firing line to discover the bullet-halting capability of human teeth.

Bullets Fired Up: See if celebratory bullets shot into the air can kill when they return to Earth, and find out whether low-grade vodka can be transformed into a top-shelf spirit with an ordinary household water filter.

Killer Whirlpool: Literature is filled with nautical tales of ships being sucked to deathly ocean depths by killer whirlpools, but could such a thing really happen? Then discover whether snowplows can blow a car off the road or if that?s just a snow job.

Crimes and Myth-demeanors 2: Test the most high-tech home alarm systems on the market, including stripping down to birthday suits, getting sprayed with dry-ice and donning a Big Bird-like yellow rug to evade burglary detection.

Deadly Straw: Test burning barnyard myths like whether a hurricane can blow the feathers of a chicken.

Earthquake Machine: Take on Nikolai Tesla, one of the greatest scientists and inventor of all time. Unbelievably coming up with a working prototype of Tesla's Earthquake Machine, the pair put a California bridge to the test.

Diet Coke and Mentos: Inspired by an Internet myth, the MythBusters pair various sodas and candies together until they create the most explosive cocktail possible. Then: Can putting a postage stamp on a helicopter's rotor blades send it into a tailspin?

Anti-Gravity Device: Celebrate the magic of the holiday season by loading strings of hot lights on a Christmas tree to see how long it takes for the tree to burst into flames.

Firearms Folklore: Test the likelihood that a criminal's bullet could hit and then jam the chamber of a policeman's revolver and whether a sniper could kill another by shooting straight down the enemy gun scope.

Holiday Special: Yodel to an avalanche in this special episode, then exhaustively test for the best Christmas tree-water cocktail to keep the needles from falling off.

Pirate Special: Test period swords, cannons, guns and the laundry-cleaning capabilities of grog.

Hindenburg Mystery: It's generally accepted that the hydrogen keeping the Hindenburg afloat sparked the infamous inferno, but could other chemical reactions actually have caused the blaze?

Underwater Car: The team willingly recreates many people's worst nightmare: being trapped in a car submerged in water after a crash.

Mission Impossible - The Fifth TV Season

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The last classic year of MI 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Sadly, this review site has become a hang-out for disgruntled "Fugitive" fans with a never-ending grudge against CBS/Paramount. Get a life!
This 5th series of MI is one of my favorites. They finally grow there hair/sideburns a little and start swinging with the '70's! Really strong writing, and a good variation of plots. Too bad Leonard Nimoy wasn't happy with his role, but he is a team-member of equal importance, and really shines in several episodes. Sam Elliott as a doctor is not a good replacement for strongman Willie in 10 episodes, but he is not as bad as I expected, just generally useless. Lesley Anne Warren is very young and new to acting, but she is gorgeous and wears some incredible mini-dresses & mini-skirts (and never wore a bra). Yes, I admit, pure eye candy, but she is effective in the mod episodes where Barbara Bain would have seemed, well, out of place. The next years are good too, but this seems like the last classic team, and the least repetitive with plots. (I mean, how many Eastern European or South American jails do they have to infiltrate, then escape?)

Editorial Review:

The hit series Mission: Impossible™ returns to DVD, featuring all 23 Season Five episodes! By the fifth season, the show's changing times meant changing crimes, as the emerging drug culture forced the IMF to spend more time in America, battling organized crime and drug czars. But the winning formula stayed the same: Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) gets his assignment, Barney Collier (Greg Morris) makes the required special effects, and Willy Armitage (Peter Lupus) supplies the muscle. And while Paris (Leonard Nimoy) has the makeup skills to become any character required, it's the team's newest member — the gorgeous Dana Lambert (Lesley Ann Warren) — who gives this season an added boost, and makes this set of Mission: Impossible™ the most thrilling DVD experience yet!

Magnum, P.I. - The Complete Second Season

Amazon Price: $44.99 List Price: $49.98 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Universal - Model: MCAD27103D Amazon Marketplace: 54 new & used starting at $25.70

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 37 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Still a great show! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is a great show, Tom and the cast are awesome, very enjoyable even after all these years.

movie mad 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I now have the whole series of Magnum P.I. Much to my amazement my son
enjoys the series too. I am very happy with my collection.

magnum PI- The second season 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I bought this for my mother for Mother's Day. She is a huge Tom Selleck fan and she was thrilled.

cool 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

just great! action, british coolness from Higgins, mysteries to be solved under the hawaian sun with Magnum and his friends ... those stories take you on a cool vacation trip. very recommendable

My Favorite Season 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I love this 1981-82 Season of Magnum, PI the best throughout Magnum's whole 8-year run on CBS, since it had most of my favorite episodes like Try To Remember, Italian Ice, The Last Page, Wave Goodbye, The Taking Of Dick McWilliams, Texas Lightning, Three Minus Two, The Elmo Ziller Story, etc.

In addition to why I like Magnums Second Season the best, I also noticed that in the 1981-82 Season that it's funnier incidents would happen between Magnum(Tom Selleck), Higgins(John Hillerman), TC(Roger Mosley), and Rick(Larry Manetti), plus Magnum used the Ferrari more in the 2nd Season than he did in most other seasons, especially more than he did in the last 4 seasons of this show, which was another reason why I was so excited and dying to have Magnum's complete 2nd Season released on DVD.

In addition to that; this Magnum, P.I. DVD was complete and uncut like they were originally shown on CBS with the proper introduction, unlike the case when Magnum was shown in reruns on WGN, USA, and A&E, which had too many deleted scenes with too many added commercials in between, plus A&E, USA, and WGN didn't use the proper introduction to this season or most other seasons of Magnum on top of that, since USA, A&E, and WGN had revised all the episodes of Magnum, PI to use the Sixth Season introduction to every single episode instead, which really sucked, because that made the seasons less interesting to watch, since there wasn't much to compare to between each season all the way from the First Season to the Eighth Season.

But it was very interesting when you'd watch an episode from an earlier season and compare it to a later season, especially when the introduction between older and newer episodes are different, so you can compare to see how Magnum, Higgins, T.C., and Rick and them looked in the earlier seasons and how they ended up looking in the later seasons, which the introductions show you as well when they don't use the same intro to every single episode along with the fact that the same introduction to any show gets old and boring after while, unless of course the introduction changes eventually.

So now I am anxiously and eagerly awaiting for Magnum's 8th Season to be released on DVD. I also noticed that this was the season when TC started calling the grouchy ole Higgins "Higgy Baby" more often, but I think TC called Higgins "Higgie Baby" the most in this 1981-82 Season of Magnum more than any other season.

Therefore, this was practically the season when TC started using the name "Higgie Baby", which I always got a kick out of. So this review should be helpful to anyone who religiously watched Magnum every week like I did back then when this season was on CBS.

This also takes me all the way back to memory lane when CBS's motto was "Reach For The Stars" and when Magnum(Tom Selleck) was voted as TV's sexiest detective back in the early 1980's as well as his second year of being a superstar.

I was also interesting seeing
-Joanna Kerns in "The Last Page" episode before her days on GROWING PAINS
-Julie Sommars in the "Texas Lightning" episode before her MATLOCK days
-Beverly Garland in the "Two Minus Three" episode before her SCARECROW & MRS. KING days
-Jim Whitmore, Jr. in the "Billy Joe Bob" episode before his co-starring days as Hunter & McCall's geeky fellow officer(Sgt. Bernie Terwilliger) on HUNTER.
-Tyne Daly in "The Jororo Kill" episode before her CAGNEY & LACY days
-Football celebrity(Dick Butkus) in the "One More Summer" episode
-Judith Chapman in "The Woman On The Beach" episode before her days on YOUNG & THE RESTLESS and DAYS OF OUR LIVES

Additionally, this season takes me all the way back to memory lane to the recession we had back in 1981-1982 when Ronald Reagan was the president.

So now that Universal has all 8 seasons of MAGNUM out on DVD, I'm hoping it will inspire Warner Bros. to finally put the private detective drama MATT HOUSTON with Lee Horseley & Pamela Hensley out on DVD soon, since I've been waiting for MATT HOUSTON to be released on DVD for years now, especially throughout all the years I'd been awaiting for all 8 seasons of MAGNUM, PI to be put on DVD, since MATT HOUSTON was also a cool TV show that was in competition with MAGNUM throughout MATT HOUSTON's 3-year run on ABC, not to mention the amazing slight resemeblence between Magnum(Tom Selleck) and Houston(Lee Horseley).

Editorial Review:

Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 04/12/2005 Run time: 1083 minutes Rating: Nr

McLeod's Daughters: The Complete Seventh Season

Amazon Price: $63.99 List Price: $79.98 Usually ships in 24 hours By: KOCH Vision - Model: 6571 Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $44.62

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

McLeod's Daughters Season 7 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Ok I am totally into this show,and i am so sad about this being the last year for this series but all good things must come to and end. I have enjoyed the stories and the characters and one day i will get to Australia and see where it all happened. Thanks for such an enjoyable show.

Awesome Series! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a great show with interesting characters and storylines. It is addicting, I have all 7 seasons. However, all good things must come to an end, and although I am sad to know that series has ended, I am also interested in seeing how it ends. The final season is schedueled to be released in the USA on DVD in May 2009.

Editorial Review:

Who said life on the land was simple? The Australian outback adventure continues with 32 unforgettable episodes.

Now that Matt's trial is over can he win back the heart of Jodi? Or will she choose the handsome and mysterious Riley? Will Regan reconcile with her wild-at-heart sister, Grace? Will Alex finally propose to Stevie? Find out as the excitement continues for the women of Drovers Run.

Miss Marple - 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye)

Amazon Price: $31.99 List Price: $39.98 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Warner Brothers - Model: DE1689D Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $28.25

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Miss Marple 3 features 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Got this for my mom and I enjoyed it just as much as she did. Joan Hickson is Miss Marple come off the pages to life itself. If you're a Christie fan this is a must have for your library collection.

MYSTERY FUN 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

THESE ARE THREE OF CHRISTIE'S BEST STORIES.
MISS MARPLE IS A LIFE TIME PEOPLE WATCHER. THUS,
HER COMPARISONS TO PEOPLE OF THE PAST GIVE HER
CLUES TO PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS. VERY SMART AND OFTEN
MISTAKEN AS A MEDDLESOME SPINSTER. SHE IS IN FACT
QUITE ON THE MARK WITH HER PEOPLE WATCHING. TEA PARTIES
NOT WITHSTANDING. I ENJOYED THIS DVD VERY MUCH.

Agatha Christie Mystery Fan 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I am a great fan of the Agatha Christie Miss Marple mysteries that have been made into movies. This was a very good buy. 3 full length movies. Included was information about Agatha Christy on the 3rd DVD. I also enjoy the Poirot series with David Suchet as Poirot.

Editorial Review:

The beloved dowager detective Miss Marple (Joan Hickson) unravels three of Agatha Christie's most popular brainteasers: A Murder Is Announced, A Pocketful of Rye and the series premiere, The Body in the Library.

Martin - The Complete First Season

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 158 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Still funny after all these years... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

"Martin," the self-titled sitcom that shot popular stand-up comedian Martin Lawrence to universal stardom still remains one of the funniest and best television situation comedies ever!
The show first aired on Fox in 1992, but still draws huge laughs like its still airing today. Need proof?, TV-One airs it about 90 times a day because of the huge ratings it garners. This first season featured some classic episodes like "Forever Sheneneh," where resident ghetto chick Sheneneh Jenkins gives Kid of Kid-N-Play a date he will NEVER forget!, "Checks, Lies & Videotape," where Martin and Gina set up a corrupt minister (played by funny man David Alan Grier) who is stealing money from Martin's mother, Momma Payne, along with other church memebers for his personal financial gain. This season also featured the three-part episodes where Martin & Gina break-up and ultimately make-up (Martin singing "I Will Always Love You" still gets a chuckle).
This disc is well worth your money. Sixteen years after its premiere, it is still just as funny as the days when it first started airing!

Editorial Review:

Martin Lawrence (Bad Boys, Big Momma's House) plays Martin Payne, a brash radio personality who always speaks his mind, often to the frustration of Gina (Tisha Campbell), his feisty but eternally forgiving girlfriend. Always around are Martin's "hang out partners," Tommy, Cole, and Pam (Tichina Arnold), a co-worker of Gina's. Find out wazzup in the outrageous world of Martin.

DVD Features:
3D Animated Menus
Audio Commentary
Outtakes

Mad Men - Season Two [Blu-ray]

Amazon Price: $36.95 List Price: $49.99 Not yet released By: Lionsgate

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

One of TV's best shows gets even better 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Frankly, I'm pretty despondent about the future of quality TV on the major four networks. The recent cancellation by ABC of the breathtakingly brilliant PUSHING DAISIES was the first major blow. When a show this great can get cancelled for weak (not genuinely bad, merely weak) ratings, you feel that something has gone wrong with commercial television. For one thing, TV history is resplendent with shows that started off weakly and then succeeded a couple of years into their run. THE X-FILES, SEINFELD, THE OFFICE, and 30 ROCK all started off with weak ratings, only to build an audience later. The second horrific piece of news undermining my confidence in commercial TV was NBC's announcement that starting next year Jay Leno will get FIVE HOURS (!) of prime time for a more politically oriented version of his talk show. First, why would we want Leno when we already have Stewart and Colbert? Second, this means losing FIVE HOURS (!!!!) of scripted programming on NBC each week. This is a recipe for disaster. And an act of despair. NBC clearly doesn't think it can produce 15 hours of quality TV a week, so it is trying to produce only 10 and then take the super cheap option with Leno. NBC, I have news for you: you get what you pay for.

MAD MEN could well be the model for successful quality TV shows in the future. Although it gets very low ratings, on AMC it is safe from cancellation because of its widespread critical acclaim. More and more, niche cable networks seem to be the place where quality TV series manage to thrive and avoid the constant threat of cancellation. AMC in fact has two superb series, MAD MEN and the very promising BREAKING BAD (which was seriously truncated by the writers' strike last year) and they've announced a new Sci-fi series based upon Kim Stanley Robinson's acclaimed Mars trilogy, about the settling of colonies on Mars. The series is taking its title from the first of Robinson's novels, RED MARS.

So, while I'm on the verge of giving up on ABC, NBC, and FOX (though under new head of programming Kevin Reilly its shows have become more interesting and he has so far resisted to kill shows prematurely as his predecessors did). CBS I gave up on years ago, since the network seems content to churn out an endless number of bland police procedurals. AMC, F/X, Showtime, HBO, ABC Family, the Sci Fi Channel, and similar networks may be where we all go in the future for the best shows.

MAD MEN became the first show not on one of the big four networks or HBO to win the Emmy for Best Drama this past summer. It will almost certainly win again this coming summer, since Season Two was even better than Season One. Moreover, during Season Two the show started building a buzz, culminating with a great appearance by Jon Hamm on SNL, including a skit with some of his MAD MEN guest stars. The show became part of our cultural sensibility, inspiring magazine photo spreads. I still think the show is one that people tend to know about rather than know. Thankfully people who do not have access to AMC can catch up on DVD (I watch it as it comes out, but my cable company shows AMC in low-def rather than high-def, so much of the show's physical beauty can only be recaptured on DVD or Blu-ray).

As good as the show was in Season Two, the sophomore season was even more brilliant. In my review of Season One, I mentioned that Jon Hamm's character Don Draper exemplifies Thoreau's statement that most people live "lives of quiet desperation." In Season Two, Hamm and his carefully constructed existence gradually begins coming apart at the seams. His Stepford Wife Betty begins to come apart at more than the seams. I really enjoyed January Jones in Season One, but primarily she was a beautiful manikin. In Season Two the human being inside is psychically rebelling against the roles she is being forced to play and the result is someone who is on the verge of collapse. One scene in particular was compelling. As she prepares for a dinner party she notices that one of the dining room chairs is wobbly. Moving the chair back and forth gives way to anger, as she displaces the stress of her life onto the chair and she begins to destroy and obliterate it. Indeed, the many moments where Betty loses control are among the season's finest.

January Jones's amazing performance as Betty gets a bit less acclaim than she deserves in part because of Elizabeth Moss's job as Peggy Olson. I think many people watching MAD MEN began in Season Two to realize that Peggy, as much as Don Draper, was central to the meaning of the show. I have very little evidence for this, but I believe that the show will end with Peggy Olson heading Sterling Cooper. The show started with her first day as an employee of the company, working as Don Draper's secretary. We've seen her become a successful copywriter for the company and at the end of Season Two even has the office next to Don's. I believe that a logical ending of the series, mapping al the changes that took place in national sensibilities in the sixties, would be for Peggy to become head of the company that at the start of the year was so completely male dominated. This does not mean, however, that Peggy's personal life has kept pace with her professional life. In fact, Peggy remains a bit of a mess. The season did end, however, with perhaps the best scene in the entire run of the show so far. Peter tells Peggy that he hates his marriage and that he loves her. Shockingly, Peggy tells him that she had had his baby and given it away. My feeling was that in telling Peter she was not trying to be cruel so much as she was trying to definitively close the door on one part of her life and open another. Peggy is one of the most wonderfully complex characters on TV. While Don Draper has artfully created a public self, Peggy has not. She has primarily resisted the roles that people have tried to provide for her. She has not yet become her own person, but you feel that she might. I also find her and Don Draper's relationship to be delightful. They are not close friends or perhaps not even friends. But a flashback in which Don visits her in the hospital when she is suffering from post-partum depression (intensified by the fact that she didn't even know she was pregnant) and essentially orders her to get her act together and get out of the hospital. Don is not always presented as a good person, but he has his moments, and the tough love he gives Peggy at the moment helps her turn her life around.

I mention Don, Betty, and Peggy, but one of the delights of MAD MEN is the very deep cast of characters. Joan Holloway (played by the beautiful Christina Hendricks) has a new fiancé, but it doesn't appear to be the healthiest of relationships (one of the most shocking moments in Season Two occurs when he rapes her in Sterling Cooper offices). The deeply closeted Salvatore starts gradually to confront his own sexuality and his attraction to men, including a coworker, while his "beard" marriage struggles. Roger Sterling struggles to overcome health problems in order to marry a much, much younger woman.

But at the heart of the show Don Draper remains the dominant character. Jon Hamm's performance as Don has been brilliant from the very beginning. On "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" series creator Matthew Weiner explained that Hamm instantly stood out in auditions, but the network wanted an established actor in the role. They were adamant that they did not want an unknown actor in the show's central role. Weiner finally issued an ultimatum, that without Jon Hamm as Don Draper, he was unwilling to proceed with the series. Weiner's wisdom in casting Hamm has been proven many times over. It is almost impossible to imagine this show without him. Don is one of the most artificial and complex characters in the history of TV. Just as he creates ad campaigns, so he has created the persona Don Draper. Season Two shows Draper having serious doubts about whether he wants to persist in playing the character he has created for himself.

I read a bit over a year ago that the plan for the show was to move a couple of years into the future with each ensuing season. If so, Season Three should pick up sometime past the Kennedy assassination, perhaps with the early part of the Vietnam War. Clearly the show intends to reflect the enormous social upheaval that took place in the decade. It also represents many of the now almost comic aspects of the pre-sixties world. For instance, in one scene Don, Betty, and their kids are enjoying a picnic on a blanket in a lovely country locale. As they finish, Don stands up and shakes all of their trash off the blanket and onto the ground. This was very definitely before Lady Bird Johnson's attempt to beautify America by picking up trash. I'm sure that Season Three will show many new changes.

This is easily one of the 3 or 4 best shows on TV. I put it up there with my own favorites PUSHING DAISIES, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, and LOST. Notice that of those shows PUSHING DAISIES was on ABC and has been cancelled, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS was on DirecTV in the fall and will be on NBC in the winter and spring, and LOST begins its penultimate season on ABC. I think in the future fewer and fewer of my favorite shows will be originating on the big four. AMC, with MAD MEN leading the way, is one of the last, best hopes for television