S - DVD

Sesame Street: Elmo Loves You!

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Editorial Review:

Elmo is making a very, very super special surprise card for someone Elmo really loves but a gust of wind blows it away! Rosita joins Elmo to chase after the card but they can't reach it. Can Super Grover use his heroic skills to save the day? Will Elmo be able to give his surprise card to someone very special? Join Elmo, Rosita and Grover as they learn about love, emotions and friendship in this love-ly tale featuring the new song "Elmo Loves You" and a special music video about signing "I Love You".

Stills from Elmo Loves You (Click for larger image)

Sabrina, The Teenage Witch - The Third Season

Amazon Price: $28.99 List Price: $38.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Paramount - Model: PARD131954D Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $14.94

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Unfortunetly CUT and Edited! 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

When I first read on the internet , that the sabrina DVDs would be edited, I never realised this as being a big problem. I hardly noticed anything in season two and in season one the 'a girl like you' song was missing, which was a bit crap to find out.

So anyway, after watching the edited versions of the first seasons , it didn't seem to me as too cut until I got season three. But season three has more problems then the previous seasons: Phantom Planet was credited on the dvd for an appearence that you could not see on this version. Before the band should have appeared, this version just fades to black and you get the Sabrina introduction. Then a lot of music gets replaced by simple instrumental songs that don't even seem to fit to what is happening. The halloween episode had a great moment in where the "monster mash song" was played. Also , this song was removed.

Apart from noticeble songs missing (and a few scenes) this dvd set is great and the show itself is huge fun to watch. If you know the show by buying the dvds , it might be new to you and you wont have to worry about anything. But fans that know the show from the original airings will definetly miss a few things and some people will dislike that more then I did.

Another thing that isn't that good about the dvd-set is, that there are no extras whatsoever. Not even animated dvd menus or a little commentary. If you love the show and are just happy of being able to watch it, you'll live with that too . ;)

(I hope that my english was good enough ;) )

Editorial Review:

When Sabrina Spellman is informed by her aunts, Hilda and Zelda, that she is a witch on her 16th birthday, she is hesitant to believe them. Having been sent to live with them in Massachusetts by her Warlock father and mortal mother, Sabrina learns the tricks of magic in order to receive her witch's license. Along the way, she gets into many scrapes while figuring out how certain spells work. She also has to keep the secret from her boyfriend, Harvey, friends Jenny and later Valerie, stuck-up nemesis Libby, and her ever-suspicious vice-principal, Mr. Kraft.

Saturday Night Live: Best of Steve Martin

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $9.98 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Lions Gate - Model: LGED21141D Amazon Marketplace: 46 new & used starting at $3.88

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 34 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

TWO OF MY FAVORITE ROUTINES HERE..... 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a review of the VHS version. I normally do not do movie or T.V. reviews, but I purchased this one and felt I should have my say. The only, and I mean only reason I purchased this one was for Martin's two routines featured here; King Tut and Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber. Of all the skits Martin participated in, these two are my favorite. In fact, they are my favorite skits of all the early SNL show I watched. I was not disappointed!
This particular VHS tape includes:

The Festruuk brothers (The Wild and Crazy Guys)
Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber
Senor Lopez
King Tut

It also includes routines by Father Guido Sarducci and the Blues Brothers which are actually pretty funny in themselves.

If you like these routines, you will be happy with this tape. If you do not, you won't. Do remember that taste in entertainment changes with age and try to keep a younger frame of mind when watching.

This tape is 73 minutes long. The quality is good and I certainly have no complaints. Perhaps I will graduate to DVDs one day, but not yet.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Editorial Review:

Although he was never a cast member on SNL, Steve Martin currently holds the record for number of times hosting the show. From his early days as a stand-up to becoming a household name, Steve Martin has played many memorable and hilarious characters such as "wild and crazy guy", Jorge Festrunk, Theodoric Of York, Tightwad 007, and paid homage to King Tut through song. He also played himself in sketches. Whether peddling a special kind of beauty cream, attempting to renegotiate his contract in the middle of a live show, or doing his infamous banjo-playing monologue with an arrow through his head, Steve Martin is undoubtedly one of the most successful hosts in SNL history.

Smallville - The Complete Sixth Season [Blu-ray]

Amazon Price: $39.49 List Price: $79.98 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Warner Brothers - Model: WARBR112622 Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $24.87

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Too Soapy, Too Whiny 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The preceding (fifth) season of Smallville accomplished two main tasks: setting up the Lex/Lana relationship and moving the show in a more action & sci-fi direction. One plotline succeeded, the other failed. Let's start with what went right in Smallville's Sixth Season, then end with why it became downright difficult to watch at some times:

-As Clark pursues escaped Kryptonian prisoners (a key season-long arc), his action-packed battles with the villians are sights to behold.
-The formation of the "junior" Justice League, bringing back favorites from seasons past and introducing a new hero who proved to be a "bullseye".
-A completely new aspect of Chloe Sullivan's character is revealed towards the end of the season.
-More "wink-wink" nods to the Superman cannon, including a certain bow-tie clad camera man and an episode that precludes a potential Clark/Lois relationship.
-The continued descent of Lex into pure evil, whether through flashbacks to his youth or his "33.1" secret projects.
-As usually, the season premiere and finale are both visually and creatively stunning. Much like the end of season five, the final scene will have you anxiously awaiting the Season Seven DVD's to be released.

However, despite those positive factors, the Sixth Season is severely lacking in some key areas:

-First, the Clark/Lana relationship is streched beyond the realm of good writing, where its "on-again, off-again" nature is apparent in nearly every episode. One week they may be together, while the next week they won't even speak to each other. This writing faux pas also hindered what could have been a dynamite Lex/Lana relationship. Even when genuine Clark/Lana moments are attempted towards the end of the season, they lack any emotional punch, as that relationship has been used again and again.
-Another problem with this season (as with the previous two) is the character of Lois Lane. If there ever was any doubt that Lois is on the show for her sex appeal only, this season put those doubts to rest. Whereas Lois should be used to hint at her ultimate relationship with Clark, so is all too often just "eye candy".
-Finally, the writers/producers spend way too much time on the concept of Clark's negative impact on the world (what I like to call "Clark whining"). Multiple times this season Clark is seen lamenting the very fact that he was ever sent to Earth...not a "Superman-esque" attitude whatsoever. I appreciated that a young Clark may grapple with those issues, but it seemed to be a much over-used dramatic technique.

To conclude, the Sixth Season of Smallville did not measure up to its past. Though doing a decent job of advancing the Superman "mythology", this season emotionally bankrupted most of the show's important relationships, thus providing little to no "tearjerker" moments that had been such a part of earlier seasons.

Editorial Review:

DVD Features:
Deleted Scenes
Featurette

The Simpsons - Christmas

Amazon Price: $9.99 List Price: $14.98 Usually ships in 24 hours By: SIMPSONS - Model: D2008993D Amazon Marketplace: 91 new & used starting at $1.84

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good. I Liked Most Of The Episodes! 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Last year I bought this Simpsons Christmas DVD and it is good and has some really good Christmas and winter themed episodes from The Simpsons and the best is Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, and I also liked Mr. Plow, Miracle on Evergreen Terrace, and She of Little Faith but didn't like Gift of the Magi which only had one funny moment but was mostly very unfunny! This DVD is good but lacking any good special features!

Perfect!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

It was exactly what I wanted when I purchased it and I LOVED watching these episodes but it really made me wish the Simpsons would do more Christmas episodes like this! I wanted more at the end.

Mr. Plow though it was not a Christmas episode was freaking hilarious.

"Could you try not to scrape my asphalt?"-Plow Customer
"Kiss my asphalt"-Homer
"Put it in H!"- Foreign Car Dealer!

Freaking hilarious, so I even loved having that on there even if it wasn't a real Christmas episode. The Christmas ones were wonderful too. I always sort of hated Miracle on Evergreen Terrace but after watching it again now on DVD I can appreciate it for what it is and it is very funny. I was just kind of poed at how Bart ruined Christmas, but the references to It's a Wonderful Life and the hilarious things that ensue in the episode after it all goes down are worth it.

The extra isn't really that great IMO. Mr. Burns had more great moments than that, but the episodes make up for that big time.

Easily one of my favorite DVDs.

Editorial Review:

Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 10/14/2008

Survivor All-Stars - The Complete Season

Amazon Price: $18.99 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Paramount - Model: PARD879934D Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $14.94

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 64 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Survivor at its best 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Survivor is a reality show original. One of the first, and also one of the best. Out of the umpteen seasons that they've had, this one stands out by far as the absolute. It brings back some of the most memorable and successful "survivors" from the first seasons and pits them against each other. If you are a reality show fan, this should be at the top of your list. If your a survivor fan, you've seen it already, but it's time to watch it again. Fun and light viewing.

Editorial Review:

Although these all-stars may be familiar with the show’s premise, a few things have been changed for the show’s eighth season in order to offer some change into the mix. Players were divided into three tribes named Chapera, Saboga and Mogo Mogo, and marooned on separate beaches off the Panama coast where they cope with the most unpredictable weather yet. Promising to be the most manipulative season yet, SURVIVOR: ALL-STARS would not be complete without a little conflict between the players, and this time around, there is plenty of that to go around.. Commentaries on 10 episodes by (variously) Rob Cesternino, Jenna Morasca, Rudy Boesch, Tina Wesson, Lex Van Den Berghe, Alicia Calaway, Kathy Vavrick-O’Brien, Shii Ann Huang, Rupert Boneham, Jenna Lewis, Amber Brkich and Rob Mariano

Sesame Street - Fiesta!

Amazon Price: $9.95 List Price: $9.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Sesame Street - Model: SMVD49372D Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $5.13

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 48 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

It is a real Fiesta 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My kids enjoy watching this video, it is a lot of fun, very entertaining and it is rewarding to see that they learned to count with it...

Great Sesame Street video! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

We love this video - who doesn't love Sesame Street? - it is fun, upbeat and the songs are great. I don't know if my kids are really learning much spanish with it, but it is a great way to put the music and culture in front of them in an entertaining way!

Great for beginners 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My kids who are just beginning to learn Spanish have learned a lot of vocabulary from this DVD, highly recommended for second language learners!

great video for 18 month old 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This really keeps my 18 month's interest- the songs are catchy and entertaining. It has Linda Rondstat and Celia Cruz! It is a fun video he wants to watch over and over- it lasts about 30 minutes. It is not an educational video per se, although he is repeating the words in spanish (like the numbers)..it is pure entertainment and fun.

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

This is a fun way for children to learn Spanish. Sesame Street is just great to teach kids and to keep them engaged. The songs are great and make one feel happy.

Editorial Review:

Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 04/06/2004 Rating: Nr

Space Ghost Coast to Coast - Volume One

Amazon Price: $19.98 List Price: $19.98 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Warner Brothers - Model: DT6709D Amazon Marketplace: 65 new & used starting at $6.35

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

This isn't a talk show, it's a freak show! 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

What if the Tonight Show were hosted by a washed-up superhero?

That's the quirky idea behind "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast," which unforgivingly lampoons talk shows and empty celeb worship, with the pompous superhero Space Ghost and his ex-nemeses in the spotlight. It takes a few episodes for the idea to really start working, but then it's absolutely hilarious.

Middle-aged Space Ghost lives on the Ghost Planet, where he guards lava-man Moltar and sadistic mantis (or locust) Zorak. And he has a talk show, which he tries to keep relatively calm, but which is frequently disrupted by Zorak's evil ramblings, Brak's demands for attention, and Moltar getting bored and flipping channels.

All his guests are non-animated real-people: Michael Stipe, Terry Jones, Fran Drescher, Lassie, three stars from "Batman," the Ramones, Weird Al Yankovic, David Byrne, Matthew Sweet, Slash, Alice Cooper, Donny Osmond, and a ten-second cameo by Ashley Judd at the end of the first episode (which is arguably the best thing about it).

Along the way, chaos is spread on the set as Space Ghost deals with a giant sea-monkey running amuck, tries to keep Zorak from conquering Rome, tries to convince Adam West to turn into Batman, must rescue Moltar from the evil YOUR MOTHER, falls in love with Fran Drescher, tries to do a monologue, and tries to order a pizza. All while interviewing his celebrity guests: "How many clouds does Earth have?"

"Space Ghost: Coast to Coast" starts rather weakly; the first few episodes are straightforward parodies with no surreal twists. Then the makers got into their niche, and began sprinkling the short program with surreal subplots like Zorak using a spell to make Space Ghost ask stupid questions on the air ("Would you like to see me eat a live mollusk?"). Not to mention utterly random stuff ("The Tingler is loose in the theater!").

At that point, the short episodes become thoroughly entertaining, with the flat Hanna Barbera animation in stark contrast to the live guests, who are a mixed bag. Some (Michael Stipe, David Byrne and especially Slash) seem very uncomfortable, but since the interviews are meant to be awkward, it's not a big deal.

Others (Weird Al, Eartha Kitt, Matthew Sweet, Carol Channing) seem to be enjoying themselves, and even join in on the insanity ("Citizen Joe, we're thrilled to have you on!" "Pleasure!" "Planet." "Gooey." "Deer Tick." "Who knows?").

Space Ghost himself is pretty funny -- pompous, vain about his GI-Joe body, a bit of a snob (he spends half an episode abusing Palmer Mills), and somewhat insane("I am a talk show host. I can say lots of things: Tuna fish, parentheses, coochie-coochie girl Charo. Zingnut ranch!"). Zorak is... well, Zorak. He's evil, malicious, and quite funny.

"Space Ghost: Coast to Coast" may never win a LuLu, but it was a hysterically funny show that only lagged toward the beginning. Definitely worth watching.

Editorial Review:

Superhero-turned-talk show host Space Ghost presents all-new celebrity interviews with strange interactions from his bandleader Zorak and his cameraman Moltar. Live action guest stars include Weird Al Yankovich, Bobcat Goldthwait, The Ramones, Judy Tenuta, Hulk Hogan and more!

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Music Video

Sesame Street - The Alphabet Jungle Game

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $9.93 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Genius - Model: SMVD49366D Amazon Marketplace: 54 new & used starting at $4.53

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 41 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Not as expected 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This DVD was a bit disappointing after reading all the raving reviews about it. Music is good but the presentation of the alphabets was a bit confusing(was it meant to be a jungle???)

A bit disappointing 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I read the reviews for this product thinking it would be great and I was let down.
It didn't really strike me as very entertaining, and it doesn't hold my children's interests for very long either.
Some of the songs and skits are fun, but they're not tied together very well, and really the skits with Elmo, Zoe, and Telly aren't that great either.
I wouldn't buy it again.

Our daughter is learning letters with this 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not the greatest, but our 20 month daughter is learning letters with this. It is worth the money.

not one of the better Sesame dvd's 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

My daughter is almost 2 and loves sesame street! I bought this dvd for her to help learn the alphabet. She won't even sit through it for 3 minutes! It's boring and I tried making it fun but it isn't. I bought a different sesame alphabet dvd and she loves that one, and loves 123 count with me.

Editorial Review:

Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 04/06/2004 Run time: 30 minutes Rating: Nr

Silk Stalkings - The Complete First Season

Amazon Price: $17.99 List Price: $29.97 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Starz / Anchor Bay - Model: D12803D Amazon Marketplace: 52 new & used starting at $9.84

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Created by Stephen J. Cannell (The Rockford Files, 21 Jump Street, among others), the USA Network's Silk Stalkings was about as sexy as non-premium cable TV got in the early 1990s. Palm Beach homicide detectives Rita Lee Lance (Mitzi Kapture) and Chris Lorenzo (Rob Estes) investigate crimes they call "silk stalkings," murders that expose the seamy--and steamy--side of high society. Rita and Chris investigate the crimes, frequently by going undercover (so to speak) to expose macho men or their beautiful women companions, who tend to lounge about in swimwear or lingerie. During the first season, the detectives face ghosts from their pasts and push the edge of their profession (Ben Vereen plays their exasperated captain, a role later filled by Charlie Brill), all the while swapping sexual innuendo but dating other people with disappointing results. The platonic-partners schtick is nothing The X-Files or Moonlighting didn't do with more style, but the stars did have a chemistry that in later years their replacements were never able to re-Kapture.

In addition to the 22 episodes, the DVD set features 39 minutes of interviews with Cannell, an almost unrecognizable Estes, a straight-haired Kapture (both stars talk about each other, their departures, and other cast members), and a nostalgic Vereen, plus a joint reminiscence between Cannell and Vereen. --David Horiuchi