Home Video Exclusives

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense


[An earlier version of this PT was originally posted on April 23rd, 2015 on JoBlo's "DVD, Blu-Ray & Home Theater Discussion" forum.]

Come back to a time when hippies were synonymous with peace and love; before the murderous Charlie Mason taint in "Mad Men"...



"Mad Men: The Final Season [7] Part 1" was released on home video on October 21st, 2014.

It streeted against "Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort" (which later got recalled), "Snowpiercer" and "Life After Beth".

This release originally came in slipcase which mirrored the three disc digipak inside. It came with two inserts. 1) Single sided, Digital Copy (UltraViolet instructions; code expires on October 21st, 2015. 2) A small insert; a double sided ad for season seven, part II of the show - Spring 2015.

It also came with a card stock backing; listing the contents - it mirrors the rear of the digipak inside. The card was gummied on the back of the slipcase.

- - -

There was only one exclusive and like the last time from Target.



Not a separate bonus, but rather incorporated in last the disc. Here on DVD it was added to the bonus contents on disc three. This was the Paleyfest panel from March 21st, 2014. It has a run time of 29:51 minutes and is presented in widescreen.

This event was moderated by Michael Schneider from TV Guide. Guest include stars Jon Hamm, Vincent Kartheiser, Elisabeth Moss, Christina Hendricks, Robert Morse, Jessica Paré and Kiernan Shipka. Series creator Matthew Weiner was present, but in the audience and did not participate.

The exclusive was for the DVD and Blu-Ray editions and sold for $19.99 (both formats).

As with the exclusive for season five, it was quite interesting. I had no problem finding a DVD copy for myself at the store. Sway.

- - - - - - - - - -

Rant.



I am sadden it came to an end.

This is a show that could've gone on for more years. It's moved from the 1950s to '60s. It can easily go from the 1970s into - at least the early '80s. Characters leave, age and some die. But that's just chasing sky now; Weiner wanted a conclusion.

Just think about it; Don (Hamm) will never know about Turbo and Ozone. [poppin' and lockin'] Years ago Weiner said he wanted to seen an elderly Don in a track suit in the 1980s trying to remain relevant. Why didn't that happen???

The final episode aired May 17th, 2015 on AMC.

Let me take a step back.

This is yet another TV show which had its season broken into two. I totally blame the SyFy Channel for bringing this evil onto the world. This started with "Battlestar Galactica" (2004 - 2009); the cable channel broke up season four into two parts, separated by a year; a legacy that lives to this day.

What sucks even more is that each part of season Seven is only seven episodes each. Couldn't they at least do ten each? This is one of American Movie Classics flagship programs. You would think they would spring for more. Nope.

This is the same channel that wanted no zombies in their undead show. I'm fracking not kidding. For season two of "The Walking Dead", AMC wanted to reduce the budget of their winner show. Have the production shoot on a sound stage, not outdoors. Have the zombies heard outside the farm house - not seen. Once that cable comment hit the web, folks were pissed to say the least. And it didn't happen, much.

So it does not surprise me that they wouldn't pony up to expand the final season.



Someone in the above pix is gonna have an office melt down and cut off a nipple. I think its easy to see which one; who's lookin' nervous? Hint... it involves a computer. Did we learn nothing from Joshua? It's a slippery slope from tic-tac-toe to global thermonuclear war to nipple severing. *nods* And someone here is missing an eye patch.

In case you're curious this season begins in 1969.

The foundations of Don's marriage to Megan (Paré) coming apart were seeded in the previous season. And it does in Seven P1. Yes, a spoiler.

I'm glad it went down the way it did. Don wanted his wife to happy and that meant him removed. He will continue to care for her. She's will be all right and so will he.

The breakup is so different than what happened with first wife, Betty (January Jones). That character can be rough; from sympathetic to full blown bitch. She's a woman-child. Plus her comments on the Vietnam War just ticked me off.

You wore your imperfections well, dignified. Spend your time alone.

- The Birthday Massacre

Now with Megan gone, Don is home by himself with only work keeping his solace at bay. What I would love to see in the final few are gone and seldom seen characters.

One of the themes in Part I is father-daughter relationship. Don's ties to Sally (Shipka) was quite nice, both definitely have grown. She's not a little girl anymore, her independence has taken root, much to Betty's dismay.



Whatever became of Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt) and Paul Kinsey (Michael Gladis) (top to bottom)?

When we last saw Romano he was fired from the agency in season three, still a closeted gay. Telling his wife that he was going to be late from work, hanging out in a gay park. Kinsey was seen in season five, ready for a trip to L.A. to become a writer.

The ad agency, now have a branch in Los Angeles, just saying.



I would like another appearance of Glen Bishop (Marten Holden Weiner), Sally's former... boyfriend? Boy friend? Friend. That would be nice. And at least one from Trudy (Alison Brie), Pete's soon to be former wife. There are other characters, like Midge Daniels (Rosemarie DeWitt) - Don's bed buddy from season one.

The above snaps were a happy coincidence; I don't believe Glen and Sally would suffer the same fate as Trudy and Pete. Glen has self-confidence without being cocky and not mired with indecision. Continuing...

Midge had an appearance in season four, now stuck in a failed marriage and a heroin addict. That episode took place in 1964. It's more than likely that Midge is dead at this time; complications with shared needles or an overdose. Too bad, I liked her.

One more thing, actress Jessica Paré has a doppelgänger. She looks like adult film star Stoya who in turn looks like Milla Jovovich. They should get together and hug, maybe kiss. But in a platonic way... or not.

Decided to close the year with a classy show that will be long remembered as the final Past Tense of the decade. What will come next? I honestly don't know - I only have so many available write-ups. Will need to get more... more that I care about and keep as part of my collection. I can tell you, I do have a number of exclusives for next year's "Limited Edition Horror" for October which was a surprise. It's doable.

There you go. Have decent Christmas with good friends and family with an excellent supper. And a safe New Years Eve wherever that may be. The next entry will surface on January 14th, 2021. Why a week later than usual? I'm considering a write up, a Tangent - but it's still hasn't arrived, a DVD collection from Germany. Could could late this month or early next, it was ordered in early November. Snail mail is named that for a reason and didn't buy from a store. *nods* A person, seller.

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Girl Power Part II




Just wait until these dissident discover the 1984 movie, "Blind Date". Joseph Bottoms, plays a blind man given experimental surgery, cranial implants which give outlines of shapes, no color or surface details. *Bionic sight* based on echo location which bats use. The main hardware is outside of his head, the device is disguised as a Walkman with headphones. The headphones has the sonic transceiver - which sends the data reflected back to the not-Walkman to be signaled to his implants as forms.

So? Actor Bottoms isn't blind. It's a decent, low budget flick, remember most for the car chase; a blind man behind the wheel, highly motivated - chasing the murderer who kidnapped his girlfriend... and he's gaining. It's on DVD and BD. The serial killer aspect was a subplot which became the dominate plot towards the end. And it co-stars a pre-bonkers and pre-obese, Kristie Alley.

Anyhow, people pointed out CBS' production of "Jericho" (2006) had hired a real deaf actress, Shoshannah Stern for the role of Bonnie Richmond. I don't really care. I just don't. Just be believable in the part. Does not have to be genuine; neither Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain, Tom Welling, Henry Cavill nor Brandon Routh could fly - to play Superman. This is all fiction, not real. It's Hollywood, make-believe land, all pretend. Stressing that, it's all pretend.

Summer of 2007; San Diego, Comic Con, the pilot was altered, no new reshoots then. It was now cut down to half an hour and screened for attendees. This version completely cut out Whitman's Becca to avoid more woes. Did not help, made some folks even more angry.

For the later broadcast, the pilot was reworked and had various reshoots to include the new actress and revamped character, not deaf. Neither of these previous iterations are included on Volume One; they probably wish it didn't happen. I am curious to see Whitman in the role.



Lucy Hale would later gain fame playing Aria Montgomery on "Pretty Little Liars" (2010). She now has a TV and theatrical career and currently co-host the yearly "Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve" on ABC.

The next woe came from creative differences - where the series would go. Early on, one of the excitements was getting Glen Morgan as one of the show runners. For those who are not genre fans, Morgan is a big deal. He was a writer and producer on such fan favorites as "The X-Files" (1993) and "Space: Above And Beyond" (1995). He even married star, Kristen Cloke from SAB in 1998. He was a producer who started the "Final Destination" horror franchise. And the producer of the well received, remake of "Willard" (2003).

He was not happy with the story line co-show runner David Eick was pursuing. Eick was at the time, best known as the co-show runner on Ron Moore's reboot of "Battlestar Galactica" (Sci-Fi Channel). So Morgan dropped out. Leaving Eick as prime runner, the others were Kaeta Kalogridis and Jason Smilovic. The series template is credited to Morgan, well he got paid.

It is Eick hands on what is Volume One. His vision presented in those eight episodes. He was building a conspiracy, a surreptitious group is trying to stop further cybernetic research... unless it is for them. Plus the back burner story line with Sarah Corvus, played by Katee Sackhoff - the first bionic woman who went unhinged. Both she and Jaime are dying, not from the obvious. Unlike the original series, Corvus and Sommers have nanomachines in their blood for regeneration called anthrocytes. A nice workaround, so they don't have to deal with bruises when they gets into skirmishes.

The interface for their brains and the hardware wasn't perfected. They're generating noise which is manifesting in pain, headaches. This will grow and grown until it is all consuming, nothing will ease it; go mad or suicide to make it stop. There is no solution... at least at this point. A price of being reborn - more time alive; Jaime would've died at a hospital, too severe were her injuries. But this conclusion is years away, a slow build-up and probably minor patches could come available later. Corvus is actively seeking her own resolution.

Before the strike, NBC made it known they were not happy with what was seen, the show's direction. He got fired. A replacement was announced, Jason Cahill would now take the helm for the rest of season. But it was too late. The strike took too long, resulting in the show getting canceled.

Why is that?

The show premiered on September 26th (aired Wednesdays at 9 pm) running for eight weeks, all aired - stopped in November. As mentioned earlier, the strike ended in February, the following year. It would take weeks to get new scripts since Cahill could not work with writers or even hire new ones to revamp/mend the show until the walkout was done. Then add to that time - weeks more to film episodes and post production effects, then ready for broadcast. It was struggling in the ratings, not that well known.

For the network, having to resume production was a headache to gain momentum when they would need to reacquire the public's attention.

Too much time had passed. Too much time to get more episodes. Too much time to attract new viewers. So much easier to start from scratch with a fresh show. Where would this had gone with Cahill? A good question. Don't know - it wasn't meant to be.

It was suppose to be a network hit. It had sci-fi for fanboys, an attractive lead for guys and mixed martial arts, an empowered girl for women and a love story mixed in. All the demographics were touched on - along with the nostalgia for the original 1976 series on top of that. How could this not be a hit?

During the early weeks of the strike came another problem. *shakes head* There were some serious confusion if Sackhoff was written off the show. Corvus was going to be a reoccurring villain. What happened here is all about scheduling, not fired. Sackhoff was still working on "Battlestar Galactica", her participation in "Bionic Woman" was filmed during her downtime.



Sackhoff made it clear, signed a five year contract and wasn't leaving the show. This was about future scheduling once TV production resumed. Galactica would get her main attention, her character Starbuck was one of the leads. There were juvenile rumors that she and co-star Ryan had bad blood and would not work together. Nope, fiction.

I enjoyed Ferrer as Bledsoe, leader of the secret government black project, the "Berkut Group" (the new OSI, Office of Scientific Intelligence from the 1976 series). The operation done to save Sommers from a fatal car crash was not approved by him. It was done by her boyfriend, Dr. Will Anthros (Bowers). The San Francisco, nightclub bartender got two bionic legs, right arm, right ear and right eye.

It was also good give her training. Fellow agent (not bionic), Kim was teaching her how to defend and be proactive in fights. That makes 100% sense, she's not a spy as said before, Jamie was a bartender before this happened. There were both good and bad decisions made.

Oh yeah, she had no idea Will was leading a secret double life. Jamie knew him as a college professor, not a government scientist. She is a college dropout, folks died, had to get a job to survive and to raise her little sister. Not helping is her second life, spy - Jamie is absent more than before which creates clashes at home.

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Girl Power Part III


Ferrer is the new Oscar Goldman, played in the original by Richard Anderson. He's a jacka$$ and blunt, he owns Jamie. All the augments are on lease to her as it were. I would imagine had the series went on, their relationship would have changed, becoming a stern father-figure, not unsympathetic. At the start, Jamie is forced to be an agent for them, not really voluntary. But that changes as time passes. She's making positive changes and WANTS to be there.

But like Agent Kim says to Dr. Anthros - Jamie is a wolf who believes she's a dog. And when that comes to full comprehension, she may go rouge like Corvus. 'Can't make her do something she does want to do'.

Will Anthros is the new Dr. Rudy Wells from the source series, played by Martin E. Brooks. Rudy wasn't having sex with his creation. But may have thought about it. *winks*

I really should.



Above is Linsay Wagner as Jamie Sommers from the '76 ABC series - in heels. In the original, she nearly died from a catastrophic sky diving accident. This was made as a companion series for the network's hit show - "The Six Million Dollar Man" (1973) there were crossovers. And were three TV movie sequels which aired well into the mid 1990s.

Wagner definitely had a hippy chick vibe.

Jamie received both legs, right arm and bionic right ear. She had no eye mod, unlike Steve Austin (Lee Majors), Six Million. One of the points made, Jamie cost cheaper than Austin since her bionics were smaller. Yeah, wouldn't that make her parts MORE expensive?

"The Bionic Woman" was one of the rare shows which was saved by a different network. It was made for ABC, but got canceled after two seasons. It was brought back for a final season on NBC.

All and all, fifty-eight episodes were produced and all three seasons are on DVD.

To be honest, it was kinda filler, the gimmick got old pretty quick.

Let the hate flow!



There were comments on why the remake failed. This is one of my favorites...

American women felt threatened by Michelle Ryan as The Bionic Woman because they were worried that she was more beautiful than they were. American women were not as threatened by Lindsay Wagner as The Bionic Woman because she was not quite as beautiful as Michelle Ryan and because, in their minds, at least Lindsay Wagner wasn't some foreigner who came to American television and threatened to steal the attention of their men.

- KatieCruise

Ryan is an English actress. This was her American debut. She is quite feminine, no mistaking that, but not the level KatieCruise is... projecting.



I knew her as Katherine Reimer, the psychiatric nurse from the BBC mini series (six installments), "Jekyll" (2007). A re-imagining of the classic gothic horror novella, "Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Above is Dr. Tom Jackman/Hyde (James Nesbitt), Claire Jackman (Gina Bellman) and Ryan. Too bad there wasn't more, it was pretty good. A different take on the material; Tom is the last living descendent of Dr. Henry Jekyll from 1886.

Reimer was the go-between for Jackman and Hyde who communicated with each other via a voice recorder. Tom had no choice since he wasn't always sure when Hyde would surface. So a deal was struck, supply him with money and Reimer as his aid - conditional freedom; no broken laws, no killing and have protective sex, no STDs; Jackman has a family.

The episode that stood out was the clandestine group "Klein & Uterson" had hired a mercenary to hunt down Hyde. Making the solider be this dangerous bada$$. Hyde is confronted by the professional and dispatched him as if he was a fly. Hyde is super strong and has a penchant for singing **Disney** tunes. The combo was funny and sinister. Imagine someone singing "The Lion King" while they're ready to cut you into pieces.

This next was more practical and I do agree...

There should have been a 2 hour long pilot with her only becoming bionic in the second hour of the show so we can see her go through experiencing her new powers.

- CreatorOf2002

That should've happened, building drama and character.

Then we had Majors who didn't like the reboot. His comment is - mixed? Kinda feel, he had a grandpa moment.

It's not as good as the one back then. It's too dark, too sci-fi and too edgy for kids.

and

Lindsay was warm and you felt more in tune with her. The new show has this little English actress and you couldn't warm up to her as you did with Lindsay.

- Majors

You know, TV shows are not always geared towards kids. And Ryan was fine, not bohemian and that's okay.

This last quote did hit the nail, a legitimate problem.

The trouble lies in the casting and the concept. Ryan seems too inert, not nearly aggressive enough for the role. This becomes clear when she faces off with "Battlestar Galactica" star Katee Sackhoff, who plays the first rebuilt Bionic Woman - gone bad. Not only is Sackhoff infinitely more likable as an antiheroine, she pops off the screen while Ryan doesn't. They got the wrong bionic woman. Either that or they need to let the bad bionic woman get a whole lot more screen time. When the two do battle in the pilot, you can't help but think, "Why am I rooting for the bad girl?"

- The San Francisco Chronicle on the first episode



Did find an odd bit of trivia while researching. Michelle Ryan was approached by Playboy for a pictorial. She declined, the magazine wanted her in character. What the hell does that mean? Wanted to see her nude, bending stuff or running fast? Still wrapping my head on that.

Would've like to have seen that, she's a busty gal. Don't give me that look, it's a guy thing. By the way, I don't know what's the name of that hair style (above), but I do like it. Quite feminine.

Alright one more...

while it's fine to have a villain who is more colorful than your hero, it's not so fine to have a supporting actor who makes your star vanish whenever they're on screen together. It makes you think that what this remake of a spinoff really needs is a spinoff of its own.

- USA Today also on the first episode

I would've watched that, the adventures of Sarah Corvus. Being evil or good in flux, depending on her mood. Sarah was one of the better characters on the show. And in case you're curious. Price tag? You could call Jaime Wells Sommers, the Fifty Million Dollar Woman.

Okay there you go. A brand new post with more to come. I'm adding new exclusives that I want for my collection and content for you! A win win. Sway! Come back here on January 28th, 2021 for a movie that relates to a topic here, football. It was fun and charming - things "Friday Night Lights" wasn't. See you then.