DVD Picks & Pans: More TV Dinners

Military.com - Tom Miller

The latest DVD releases illustrate again how television is stealing the big screen's traditional thunder. Quick, name one female movie character from 2008 that's as intriguing as Grace Hanadarko from TNT's hit drama "Saving Grace." Of this week's movie releases, only "The Bank Job" looks interesting (and I'll get to it next week.) This week is all TV all the time. Again.

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Saving Grace: Season One
DVD-2008 ($49.98, Fox Home Entertainment)

Police drama has come a long way from Joe Friday to Grace Hanadarko. Joe Friday was a no-nonsense, straight-arrow 24/7/365 cop. You could no more imagine Joe Friday with a woman than the Pope.

Grace (Holly Hunter) drinks too much, smokes too much, curses too much, and . . . is promiscuous. She also has a scruffy angel named Earl (Leon Rippy) trying to turn around her life and save her soul.

Joe Friday would run Earl in as a vagrant. Anyway, his soul was never in any danger, and I imagine he talked directly to God.

Who would you rather watch?

Grace and her colleagues—among them best friend and forensics expert Rhetta Rodriguez (Laura San Giacomo), partner Ham Dewey (Kenny Johnson), and detective Butch Ada (Bailey Chase)—solve the occasional crime, but the real attraction here is the pile-up that's Grace's personal life and the tantalizing question of redemption. I use the word "question" advisedly because I'm not sure that, despite Earl, Grace needs redemption.

Yes, Grace is promiscuous. Yes, she's in an adulterous relationship with her partner. Yes, she flashes her elderly neighbor. And, yes, she drinks too much.

But . . . There's more to Grace than the sum of her sins. Watch and you'll see.

"Season One" includes all thirteen first season episodes including the pilot on four discs.

Military.com Rating: ***

(Bare bones DVD.)
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Eureka: Season Two
DVD-2008 ($39.98, Universal Home Entertainment)

Imagine a town full of Doc Brown's from the "Back to the Future" trilogy. That town would be Eureka.

The premise here is that such a town exists, and it is accidentally discovered by U.S. Marshall Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) when his car breaks down nearby. After helping the local folks out of a jam, Carter agrees to stay on in Eureka as sheriff.

As viewers of the show know, Eureka was the brainchild of President Harry Truman, who enlisted Albert Einstein to help recruit the world's smartest people to live and work in one place. The idea was that all those geniuses would invent all sorts of amazing things that would not only make the country stronger militarily but also would enhance the quality of life. The existence of Eureka, of course, is a closely-guarded secret.

The experiments don't always work as planned and Sheriff Carter is kept busy saving the town from itself. He's also raising his teenage daughter Zoe (Jordan Hinson) which is the source of some good-natured conflict.

The concept is intriguing; the execution is quirky, if predictable; and the characters are likable. The cast is excellent—especially Ferguson; Salli Richardson (government agent Allison Blake), and Erica Cerra (Deputy Jo Lupo). (The Sci-Fi Channel has renewed the program for a third season beginning July 29.)

This set includes all 12 second-season episodes plus over five hours of bonus material.

Military.com Rating: ** ½

(DVD extras include deleted scenes, a gag reel, podcast commentaries, "Live Smart, Eureka" PSA's, SciFi.com Webcasts, "Happenings Around Town," and "Inside the Writers' Room.")

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Las Vegas: Season Five
DVD-2008 ($59.98, Universal Home Entertainment)

Like its namesake city, the NBC drama "Las Vegas," is glitzy and sexy. The series, which ran from 2003 to 2008 (now cancelled), features James Cann as Ed Deline, the boss at fictional upscale casino, Montecito. Deline, an ex-CIA agent, was elevated to the top job from his post as Head of Security, and while other issues relating to casino operations are dealt with, the security and surveillance operations are the heart of the show.

Cann leaves the show during the fifth season, and his protégé Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel) takes over as President of Operations. McCoy is answering to a new owner as the Montecito is bought by a mysterious Wyoming billionaire rancher, A.J. Cooper (Tom Selleck).

The excellent ensemble cast also includes Molly Sims as Ed's daughter Delinda who works as Entertainment Manager and becomes pregnant by Danny in Season Five; James Lesure as current head of security Mike Cannon; and Vanessa Marcil as casino host Sam Marquez. Guest stars in Season Five include Cheryl Ladd, Rachel Boston, and James Blunt.

Despite NBC's controversial decision to pull the plug, "Las Vegas"—with its bright lights, beautiful people, and fast-paced action—lives on in syndication (TNT) and on DVD. "Season Five" includes all 17 episodes on four discs.

Military.com Rating: ** ½

(DVD extras include a gag reel, webcasts, "Hot Stuff" and VFX featurettes.)

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Evening Shade: Season One
DVD-2008 ($39.99, Paramount Studios Home Entertainment/CBS DVD)

Burt Reynolds could play male sex symbol ("Cosmopolitan" centerfold), tough guy ("Deliverance"), good-old-boy ("Smokey and the Bandit"), and even a cynical porn director ("Boogie Nights"). But, wisecracking, good-old-boy seems to be his natural milieu.

Reynolds might protest—once they're rich and famous, many actors decide that what they really want is the respect of their peers—but Bo "Bandit" Darville is his signature role. Furthermore, it's instructive that when he sought to rehabilitate his career in 1990's "Evening Shade," he returned to the generic good-old-boy role.

In the CBS comedy that ran from 1990 to 1994 (100 episodes), Reynolds plays Wood Newton, a former professional football player who returns to his home town of Evening Shade, Arkansas, to coach high school football. CBS surrounds Reynolds with an excellent ensemble cast that includes Marilu Henner as Newton's city attorney wife Ava; Michael Jeter as unlikely assistant coach Herman Stiles; Charles Durning as Dr. Harlan Eldridge; Ossie Davis as Ponder Blue; and Hal Holbrook as Evan Evans.

The easygoing comedy won Reynolds an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his starring turn. Jeter also won a supporting actor Emmy, and the series garnered eight Emmy nominations overall. Guest stars appearing during the first season include Billy Bob Thornton, Sally Kellerman, Kenny Rogers, and NFL great Terry Bradshaw. Finally available on DVD, "Season One" includes 24 episodes on five discs.

Military.com Rating: ** ½

(Bare bones DVD)

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Military.com DVD Picks & Pans Smorgasbord Ratings Guide
* Have the Rolaids handy
** Two words: fast food
*** Tasty
**** Succulent

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Copyright 2009 by Tom Miller