Home Video Exclusives

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - March 17th, 2020


Superman: Red Son
Exclusive figurine; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $29.99

Jumanji: The Next Level
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $32.99

Spies In Disquise (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/DC combo $34.99

Frozen II (available now)
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $34.99

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Sword And Sandal Quarter Part IV


[An earlier version of this PT was originally posted on April 25th, 2013 on JoBlo's "DVD, Blu-Ray & Home Theater Discussion" forum.]

The final installment of the four part mega "300" post will draw its last breath this day.

- - -

For theatrical stats; look up the February 6th, 2020 PT entry.

What does this outing hold? All of the exclusives for the July 31st, 2007 release have been covered. *nods*

This is most true.

But there was another... a box set.



Released on November 18th, 2008 was a three disc set with physical premiums; fifty-two page art and hardcover photo book with a personal message from Director Zack Snyder, a motion image (lenticular - King Leonidas throwing his spear) encased in lucite plus six photo cards showcasing the theatrical poster campaign.

It also came with an exclusive bonus disc, not a store exclusive - only available in this box set.

But more on that in a moment.



On release day, Best Buy had their own, the final exclusive for this motion picture, a comic book. A limited edition, mini, thirty-two page comic which came inside the box (only three available per store). This sold for $34.99.

Note, this was not a comic book adaptation (of a movie who itself was adapted from a comic); it was in fact, a reprint of chapter one of the source graphic novel - up to the point where Leonidas kicks the Xerxes' emissaries into the pit.

This was a sampler, part of a bigger official hardcover graphic novel book (published in 1999 from Dark Horse), released by Dark Horse Comics; story and art by Frank Miller.



Above are the cards which came with the box. All six foil cards were printed on card stock and are lobby card sized (5 x 7 inches). I bought my copy on release day, but had to make an exchange.

The third disc was scratched up. I made an exchange at Customer Service, but the replacement was just as damaged.

I was bummed to say the least. Yeah.

Since then I found an excellent person online for disc repair, resurfacing. The send-back is a couple of weeks later, but the resurfaced looks brand new, flawless mirrored surface. Very sway. I sent my third disc for fixin'

- - -



The third disc has a single featurette, "To The Hot Gates: A Legend Retold"; run time of 30:06 minutes. This disc also houses the film's Digital Copy.

The question: Are discs one and two any different than the two disc edition from the year earlier?

Nope, they are the same (I checked), just new packaging with premiums (plus the above mentioned third disc). There is a change though, the pressed labels on disc one and two are different than the two disc edition.



Above is the content sheet which was attached to the rear of the box - why yes, I kept mine.

- - - - - - - - - -

Footnotes.

November 2008 issue of Empire magazine (British), published the results of a world-wide poll of the "500 Greatest Movies Of All Time"; "300" ranked 337th.

- - -



Before you ask, no - none of this exclusive explosion happened for the sequel, "300: Rise Of An Empire" (2014). *shrugs* The movie made a lot of money.

Worldwide it made $330,780,051 on a budget was $110,000,000 (estimated).

Did some number crunching... worldwide profits. Global totals minus production costs.

The first film made $391 million. The second film made $220.7 millions. And those numbers does even count home video sales.

Suppose the studio was expecting a hundred million more for "Rise Of An Empire" and got all pouty when it didn't happen. And that becomes zero exclusives. Oh well.

The screenplay written by Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad and Michael B. Gordon (the trio wrote the first film). Composer Tyler Bates returns as well.

The only returning cast members are Rodrigo Santoro - Xerxes. Lena Headey reprising Queen Gorgo and Andrew Tiernan as Ephialtes.

I think it will match, because the idea is matching - characters and style and all that. Especially because they're calling it like a spinoff, you get bits of the first movie. There's a place where they meet, the first movie and the second movie, but it's a different director. I didn't see the movie yet, the final result, but the experience - I mean, Zack was pretty much involved because he wrote it and he's producing it. His hands are there, but Noam [Murro] will have his own take on directing it. I think it's going to be pretty awesome, and the fans are going to be pleased.

- Santoro

It's a solid flick, I own the DVD set. For me, the reason why it didn't do as well as the first film was time.

Seven years for a sequel to come out to theaters; the impact would've been larger if it happened within three years. The energy had waned and at that point and the visuals had been spoofed and utilized in other movies. It's was no longer 'new'... or impressive.

Oh well, that's it for "300". But it's not over, "Sword And Sandal Quarter" continues on April 9th, 2020 with a new period actioner. You'll have a horsey good time. Well... one party will. See you then.

[JohnIan101]

Target - March 27th, 2020


"5 Seconds Of Summer - Calm" exclusive 2 tracks $12.99
"Trolls: World Tour - Soundtrack" exclusive 3 tracks and vinyl color $24.99

[JohnIan101]

Target - March 31st, 2020


Star Wars: The Rise Of The Skywalker
Exclusive packaging, gallery book and bonus content; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $34.99

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - March 31st, 2020


Star War: The Skywalker Saga
Exclusive store release; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $249.99

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $34.99

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Now That's A Horsey Part II


Director's Cut was released on HD-DVD (region 0) on September 18th, 2007 for $34.99; same extras. And on Blu-Ray on the same date for the same price - same extras too.



DC was gotten by myself, many years later - bought from a swap meet with foil slipcover for roughly two bucks in July of 2011. A great deal. This came with no insert, but with an embossed foil slipcover - mirroring the wraparound.

Here is where things get strange.

The Director's Cut has the content from the Best Buy exclusive, but that single featurette was broken into three parts.

1) "Homer: A Story For The Ages"
2) "Designing A Fighting Style"
3) "Flipping The Chariot"

Still presented in letterbox. Why was that broken up? Have no answer to give, a strange thing.

This same version was given a gift set box treatment - "Ultimate Collector's Edition" (DVD) for $39.98 released on the same date.



The discs are identical to the "Director's Cut". BUT... had different labels on the DVDs; Trojan and Greek battle shield artwork. That was a nice add on.

The box is sturdy cardboard, the skin as it were feels like blue leather - has texture. The door/flap has a built-in magnet towards the end to secure shut. Well, mostly - it's not that strong, but will keep it popping open. The interior has printed stitched leather. As you can see from the image; the two DVDs are held inside a folding digipack.

The selling point of this box was all the physical premiums it came with...

* A personal message from director Wolfgang Petersen on why the director's cut exist.

* Booklet with select pages from the David Benioff shooting script which includes various Petersen notations, twenty pages long. Seen above the open book - the blue booklet in the box set contents image.

* Ten behind the scenes art cards, the backs of each has photo information - comes inside thick/boxed envelope (on the far right, above Petersen's notes). It has a velcro dot keeping it close.

* Hardcover book; "The Art Of Troy: Director's Cut"; various photos and production artwork and sketches.

* Excerpts from "Troy: Embedded In The Trojan War" by David Petersen (Wolfgang's son); translated by John Howard.
It's about David being there during the difficult production, six pages.

The packaging has real weight when all the bonuses are inside. Like there's serious content inside. A lot of it is fluff. That hardcover is just a gallery. No regrets buying.

Got my copy for ten bucks years ago, can't remember when; years before the swap meet purchase.

Bought from Bed Bath & Beyond when they actually sold DVDs. Not a lot of them and not trivial items either. Box sets, special editions and TV shows seasons sets. Good stuff.

- - -

There was another collection. Released in Korea was a wooden box set - theatrical DVD. Only 2,000 were made. The box came with the two disc set (in a transparent case; no insert, details printed on the inside of wraparound), a certificate with serial number (showing artwork, the front view of the horse - back is blank) and a softcover booklet, "Troy" written in English.

The booklet has various production stills. The box was etched - in small letters, "Brad Pitt - Eric Banna" above "Troy". Above that, a silhouette a Greek helmet. The wooden case is hinged and made with care, flushed. Looks like rosewood, sway.

Do not own this, don't know the year released nor price. Quite nice looking. The only reason I know about this is from a YouTube video from SpecialCollector89 (it's in German) posted on January 19th, 2012. If you know how, "jzBTPEdQY2E". It's still there (as of writing), checked. Or type in "Troy Limited Collector's Wooden Box Set Korea" in search.

- - -

Yeah I would be somewhat remiss if I didn't cover this too - other notable 'Troy' productions.



The first was "Helen Of Troy" from 1956; directed by Robert Wise no less. Here Helen was played by Rossana Podestá. She was okay I guess. To be honest - I have this; Podestá was rather generic looking. She didn't make herself outstanding.

This streeted twice over on DVD. The first was on April 27th, 2004 for $19.98. This was however a snapper case, cardboard. Released from Warner Bros.

The second was done on October 4th, 2016 for $17.99, but I would avoid it. No different from the '04 release, but this is an MOD, official DVD-R, part of Warner's "Archive Collection". I keep repeating, why are they charging full price for a brunt copy?



The next was a two part, basic cable mini-series, also called "Helen Of Troy". Aired on the USA Network on April 20th and 21st, 2003. The two disc DVD set hit home video on August 12th, 2003 for $26.98 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Here Sienna Guillory played the title role.

She did a better job. I would say, Guillory did a better job than Kruger.

There was another, but it was a TV series episode from "The Time Tunnel". Season one, episode seven, "Revenge Of The Gods"; aired October 21st, 1966. I wrote about this sci-fi series in the Past Tense entry for "Custer: The Complete Series".

Just gonna copy and paste, I'm lazy...

Hidden deep within the Arizona desert is a top secret program, "Project Tic-Toc". At a cost of nearly seven and a half billion over ten years, it is America's first effort in utilizing an untapped resource, time itself. The complex houses some 12,000 personal in eight hundred floors of laboratories, computer processing stations, libraries, storage and dormitories; a pocket metropolis below the dunes.

A visit from Senator Leroy Clark (Gary Merrill) puts the exorbitant endeavor in jeopardy. It has yet to operate as advertised, lab monkeys and mice have been transported, none returned. Clark wants a functional demonstration or he's pulling the plug.

The machine wasn't ready; Dr. Anthony "Tony" Newman (James Darren) sneaks into the Tunnel room, powers up the leviathan hoping his new radiation bath will solve the tracking issue; bring him back to the present. Didn't work. Leaving him trapped in time... on board the Titanic hours before it sinks.

Friend and colleague Dr. Doug Phillips (Robert Colbert) hopes to rescue his compadre by entering the Tunnel himself. He does rescue Tony from immediate dangers, but both get lost in time. Jumping from one period/adventure to the next. The show ran for one season.

The travelers arrive at the siege of Troy; captured by Ulysses (John Doucette) who think they're Gods. His lieutenant, Sardis (Joseph Ruskin) is a traitor - and gets Doug captured by the Trojans. Left with little choice, Tony inspires the creation of Trojan Horse. The plan was made to get into the city and rescue Doug. It works.

Paris (Paul Carr) is killed by Ulysses who takes Helen (Dee Hartford) back. A moment later both travelers vanish to their next adventure.

Well Hartford was another generic Helen.

The series was well known for using footage from feature films to fill in gaps - make the production look larger. The wooden horse is footage from '56 "Helen Of Troy". This and reusing props from other Irwin Allen movies and TV series.

- - -



Lets talk about boobs!

Since this was mentioned briefly, the '04 big budget production that was "King Arthur". For the poster, actress Keira Knightley was asked if it was okay to alter her image. She said yes. And so they did, enhanced her cleavage beyond her frame.

I remember we had an interesting discussion when they said, 'We want to make them slightly larger and you'll get approval' and I was like, 'OK, fine.' I honestly don't give a sh!t. But then they showed me the first copy and these things must have been double-Es - and they were down to my knees. And I was like, 'I don't mind you making them bigger, but don't give me droopy breasts. They look like your grandmother’s t!ts.'

- Knightley

And that's where I'll close this entry - granny tiddies. Get that image out of your head, son. One more to go. One more post for "Sword And Sandal Quarter". Come back on April 23rd, 2020 for a legendary tale told many times over. Only this time with a higher budget.

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Now That's A Horsey Part I


Another brand new entry; welcome to month three of "Sword And Sandal Quarter". This time we get re-telling of a big a$$ wooden horsey with a deadly secret in "Troy".



The motion picture opened on May 14th, 2004. It was made with a budget of $175,000,000 (estimated); counting foreign receipts it made $497,409,852. The film opened number one at the box office, the following week it dropped to number two.

The feature opened against "Van Helsing", "Kill Bill: Volume 2", "Man On Fire" and "Mean Girls".

First DVD release originally came with a two page insert with chapter and special features listings. There was no slipcover issued.

- - -

This got released three times on DVD, but only one exclusive. But that was short lived.



Best Buy on street - January 4th, 2005 sold the "2 - Disc Widescreen Edition" with a bonus disc $15.99. There was a minimum of fifty per store. It came in a CD envelope inside of the case. I didn't get this exclusive until many years later.

There was a second part to that sale, shown above. Buy two movies off the selected list for twenty-five dollars, had to be on the same receipt.

You had fourteen titles to choose from; some 'then' current and older movies.



Inside the bonus disc was a single featurette, "Attacking Troy". I'll go into more details later.

There is no menu screen it just plays; 15:17 minutes long, presented in letterbox.

- - - - - - - - - -

Rant.

By the way, it was this entry that brought about "Sword And Sandal Quarter". Was doing some early research for "Troy" and discovered an error in my records. I had the exclusive absent for "Alexander" (2004 from Wal-Mart), one thing lead to another - here we are.

Back on topic.

What was old after some time - becomes new once more. "Troy" was released in that somewhat brief moment in Hollywood time where there was a resurgence of sword and sandal flicks. The last time was in the 1950s - 1960s. That period brought us such features as...

"Julius Caesar" (1953), "El Cid (1961), "The Fall Of The Roman Empire" (1964), "Quo Vadis" (1951), "Spartacus" (1960), "Ben-Hur" (1959), "Jason And The Argonauts" (1963), "The Robe" (1953) and "Cleopatra" (1963) to name just a few and I mean - just a few.

The 2000s and teens gave us "Gladiator" (2000), "Immortals" (2011), "Pompeii" (2014), "300" (2007), "Ben-Hur" (2016; remake), "Outlander" (2008), "Centurion" (2010), "Samson" (2018), "Agora" (2009), "Clash Of The Titans" (2010; remake), "Hercules" (2014), "The Last Legion" (2007), "Gods Of Egypt" (2016), "Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time" (2010), "The Legend Of Hercules" (2014) and more.



Some of the 21st century prominent flicks were "Kingdom Of Heaven" (2005), "Alexander" and "King Arthur" (2004). You get the point. Hollywood is circular after all.

I enjoyed "Troy", bought it three time over.

But I understand - some have issues, real ones. The siege was in its tenth year as written about in Homer's "The Iliad". Here the film simply jumps forward - not really showing any passage of time. That should've been made clearer.

Then woes on the Achilles character (Brad Pitt); he bounces from blood lust to remorse real quick. There isn't much of a character arc.

Plus Agamemnon (Brian Cox) comes off as a jerk just to move the plot along. This and Odysseus (Sean Bean) is barely a blimp in the movie. He was considered the brightest of the Greek kings (talented in tactical skills, speaking and politics), but he's pretty much ignored here.



Not perfect, yup. But still quite entertaining and excellent battle scenes. The thing that gets my attention is the hollow decoy - wooden horsey. This thing looks as it should, made from spare wood and parts of their burnt ships. The thing looks slapped together - even bound legs plates to maintain structure, same with the head.

That's what it would look like.

There have been various productions on the siege, often the horse comes across as highly constructed. Not here. I'm happy they went with realism than Hollywood glam.

What about the person who made this come into being?



*sigh* Above is Orlando Bloom as Paris and Diane Kruger as Helen. Fine. I'll say it. She's not the caliber woman the film requires. Helen was suppose to be this highly beautiful woman, here - she is rather pedestrian. Some of the slave girls in the flick were hotter than her.

Yes I get it - this was about theft, but c'mon - Agamemnon could do so much better. She's not a hindrance to the story, it works. But lets be honest here, Kruger was miscast. Anyone from Laura Vandervoort, Amy Smart, Yvonne Strahovski, Olivia Wilde or even a dyed Emmy Rossum would've been better.

And those were not just names throw in - gave this some thought. My vote would be with Strahovski. She would've rocked the role, gorgeously - a talented actress.

- - - - - - - - - -

Notes.



Above is the first release; the widescreen edition. The full screen version had a different cover, same extras. You can see the covers in both of those Best Buy ads.

On September 18th, 2007 for $20.98 was "Troy: Director's Cut". This cut is nearly forty minutes longer (196 minutes) than the R rated theatrical (163 minutes). The expanded version has richer colors than theatrical DVD with a wee bit more nudity. More gore if you must know.

This is the better version. The new cut is a much richer film, granted not perfect - but way better in the places where it needs to.

[JohnIan101]

Target - April 21st, 2020


Bad Boys For Life
Exclusive poster art and packaging; BD/DVD/DC combo $24.99

[JohnIan101]

Best Buy - April 21st, 2020


Bad Boys For Life
Exclusive steelbook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $32.99

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense


Another brand new post; the final "Sword And Sandal Quarter" entry! We close with a little tale about this fellow named... "Alexander".



The motion picture opened on November 24th, 2004. It was made with a budget of $155,000,000 (estimated); counting foreign receipts it made $167,298,192. The film opened number three at the box office, the following week it remained at three.

The feature opened against "The Incredibles", "The Polar Express", "National Treasure", "After The Sunset" and "Christmas With The Kranks".

There was no slipcover, nor insert issued for the first release (theatrical cut).

- - -

Like with "Troy" (2004) this had multi DVD releases and one store exclusive.



Wal-Mart on street - August 2nd, 2005 had an exclusive bonus disc inside its own case for $14.44. This is for the theatrical cut, single disc. AND also on this date the "Director's Cut" set was released.

At this point in time the store had exclusives attached only to the full screen editions. Everyone complained about that move, then they ceased. Didn't buy this then; my copy came from eBay years later. So I'll say with relative confidence this was side packed with the full screen version.

There was no insert included with the exclusive. It has a single item, "Becoming Alexander" documentary. There were no chapters encoded, presented in full screen. It has a run time of 48:25 minutes. This doc aired on the Discovery Channel on November 21st, 2004.

- - - - - - - - - -

Rant.

Just wanted to make this clear - the movie bombed at the box office, HARD; domestically it made 34.2 million on a $155 million budget (not including the millions in advertising). "Alexander" kinda broke even with world wide grosses.

Is this a poor movie?



No. It's quite a decent flick with good action scenes and solid acting. It goes up and down with the various cuts (which you'll read about). I would call it a sway feature.

Had no issues with Colin Farrell as Alexander. He looks the part. NOW... Angelina Jolie as his mom, Olympias - felt like a soap opera diva. Holy crap, she should've dialed it down. You're expecting her to make sudden head moves with camera zooms on her face. Taa-Taa-DAAAAA!!

Val Kilmer as King Philip II was okay I guess. Didn't feel so - important. Not in a bad way. Just his character is... there and fills in the spot. Not a bad thing, not complaining. The same with Rosario Dawson as Roxana (Alexander's wife). Nice to look at, but not anything more.



The visuals; world building here is outstanding. It feels bigger than life. Huge, real built sets and CGI extensions. You want this to be a spectacle. Back in the day, it would be called a tent-pole picture, an event. And for that, yes this biopic does deliver.

The film covers the life of Alexander from childhood to becoming a global legend. His battle with the Persians, ascending the throne and his trek across Asia - creating the largest empire in the known world, nearly unstoppable.

The biggest part of the film is Alexander's friendship with childhood friend Hephaestion (Jared Leto). How that evolved over the years. I can't be the only one who took away - they were more than just friends vibe. If they were lovers, it would explain how enraged he became with Roxana over Hephaestion's death.



This movie was such a pet project of director Oliver Stone, his passion to make a good as possible. I love that kind of thing, too bad there isn't enough director's like that. Above left to right; Farrell, Elliot Cowan as Ptolemy and Stone.

I did enjoy Anthony Hopkins as our narrator, elderly Ptolemy; telling the story to his students long after the fact. One of the last alive who knew Alexander and was on the campaigns.

BUT there is a moment in the future scenes which took my attention, a background oddity. So old Ptolemy is telling his story and we see students and slaves working. Students and underlings transcribing his lecture. Slaves are holding up palm leaves... call it umbrellas for shade. Holding it up as Ptolemy and others walk about the outdoor teaching room, quite the sunny afternoon.

As Ptolemy is reminiscing we see a slave holding up one of those shades... but there's nobody there. Just walking in the background, nothing under his umbrella. ???

- - - - - - - - - -

Notes.




Lets cover the various DVDs.

As I wrote above, both the theatrical and director's cuts came out on the same day. The director's cut is actually shorter, edited down and new footage added; retailed for $29.98. Theatrical run time is 175 minutes. DC is 167 minutes.

Which is better? Well...

Depends what you want. More of an action film would be the Director's Cut. Slower, character driven film is theatrical.

Director Oliver Stone wanted to keep working on his mega epic until he got satisfaction - which turned into four different cuts.



On February 27th, 2007, retailing for $24.98 was "Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut". It wasn't. This two disc edition has a run time of 214 minutes. It came with a single sided insert - "A Personal Message From Oliver Stone" explaining why he went back a third time, because..."It's a film that's been haunting me since the theatrical version first appeared in November 2004 in the U.S.". This also came with a non-embossed slipcover, mirrors the wraparound. The only bonus here is an introduction by Stone on why this cut exist. Yeah, okay. It also came with a theater voucher to see "300" (2007) for free (up to $10.50).

Revisited also had a Blu-Ray release; September 18th, 2007 for $28.98 (region A). Same extras as the DVD, plus one new - "Fight Against Time - Oliver Stone's Alexander", a seventy-five minute documentary. This is not on any DVD.

And was released on HD-DVD same date for the same price (region 0). Same extras as BD.

Still not happy, a final attempt was released on June 3rd, 2014 for $14.98 - "Alexander: The Ultimate Cut". This was a single disc release with a run time of 206 minutes. No insert or slipcase issued and no extras. It had a Blu-Ray release too on the same date for $49.98 (region A); digibook packaging.

Which is better here?

Can't answer that - to be honest it's kinda a blur.



Okay. I should since I mentioned it. Above is the weekly Best Buy ad including Revisited - to be clear, that theater voucher wasn't an exclusive, every store had it.

There you go folks. That wraps up "Sword And Sandal Quarter". Hope you had a great time with your leathers and swordplay. Dude, I don't want to know what you did with your hands. Come back here on May 7th, 2020 for a cosmic search for a lost colony - done without camp.

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Daggit Free Since 1979 Part II


Lastly there is "The New Adventures Of Beans Baxter" was a show on Fox from 1987 and died in '87. First off, there was no 'Old' Adventures Of Beans Baxter, there was some confusion at the time. It was an teen version of "Get Smart" (1965), only less ridiculous. Beans was the straight man to the insanity around him.



The story centers on a high school kid, Benjamin "Beans" Baxter Jr. (Jonathan Ward) who witnesses his father death, an exploding U.S. Mail truck - his father was a mail carrier. A misunderstanding has Beans delivering one of the packages his dad was to have delivered. As it turns out his father was a spy, a courier for CIA type agency, The Network. There is a sinister force who want that package; a top secret component to a nuclear device - will kill to possess.

Beans delivers the package after some odd encounters with strange men (who nearly murder him). To their amazement, Beans has pulled off an impressive job. The kid is told who his father really was and that he's alive. The death was faked - a kidnapping. He's being held by UGLI (Underground Government Liberation Intergroup). Headed by the villainous Mr. Sue (Kurtwood Smith).

Beans is offered an after school job from Number Two (Jerry Wasserman; yes, that Wasserman) - become a courier for them (who would suspect a kid as a spy?); be part of the team and part of the his dad's rescue. He accepts.

The half hour adventure/comedy has Beans trying to balance his school life with his spy job. Trying to keep his friend Woodshop (Stuart Fratkin) and would-be girlfriend, Cake Lase (Karen Mistal) in the dark. His mom, Susan (Elinor Donahue) and little brother, Scott "Scooter" don't have a clue who Baxter Sr. (Rick Lenz) was. And Beans wants to keep it that way until he can bring dad home.

Look this was a stupid, but entertaining. In fact, it was rather silly. Sue was an over the top bad villain, no matter how preposterous the story/scheme was - Smith played it dead serious. And that was funny.

The series was created by Savage Steve Holland who wrote and directed most of the episodes. Holland is the person responsible for such cult films as "Better Off Dead" (1985), "One Crazy Summer" (1986) and the Fox cartoon series "Eek! The Cat" (1992).

What made the show memorable was going beyond the concept, not having it all be about espionage. One of the episodes, UGLI agents discover that Beans is trying to get his driver's license and decide to make his life miserable. They had some down time and wanted to mess with their adversary for sh!ts and giggles. It is cruel, but funny.

One of the more bizarre offerings was their Halloween program where Beans discovers that Sue is mixing science with the occult to create deadly pumpkins to murder kids at the local pumpkin patch. It was too cartoony to be dark.

All and all, seventeen episodes were made and they all aired. Beans never did rescue his dad, but he did see him in a botched recovery, a two parter.

I'm reminded of Svetlana, a Soviet defector Beans helped. Now in a protection program - working in a convenience store, lamenting on her her lost love - 'Melancholy'. His pet name; "Head like melon. Face like collie." Svetlana was played by Shawn Weatherly, former Miss USA and [B[Miss Universe[/B] in 1980. She would later do season one of "Baywatch" (1989) as Jill Riley - killed off in a great white shark attack. She also did another series, but I'll save that for the next write-up; volume four of dead TV shows not on DVD.



Would be irresponsible not to mention Miss Mistal. Man, I had such a crush on her. She did such flicks as "Cannibal Women In The Avocado Jungle Of Death" (1989), yes - that's a real movie and "Return Of The Killer Tomatoes!" (1988) along side with a pre-famous George Clooney.

It was the first of three additional sequels to "Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes!" (1978) which lead to the Saturday morning cartoon, "Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes" (1990) that lasted two seasons on Fox, twenty-one episodes; also not on DVD.

Sorry, sidetracked.

Mistal was the perfect girl next door. Hot, but approachable. That series promo image above was such a pain; hours of restoration to make mostly decent.

- - -



While I did watch the original when it first aired in 1978 and enjoyed it. Looking back as an adult, I cringe. Production looks uber cheap in places and massive logic problems. Plots built around stupid actions. And worse yet, repeating the same visual effects over and over again. Not helping was the terrible dialog as if a group of adolescents wrote the teleplays. Technobabble is fine to a point. Not where it becomes a cliché. Suspension of disbelief was strained. And the danger feels so fabricated, hardly a threat since it has no long term weight. Here today. Gone tomorrow.

And don't get me started on those damn daggits. Though I will say the opening theme music is fried gold. Stu Phillips' theme has gone to be iconic. And that music appears in one episode of reboot, where it fits so damn perfect, sci-fan had deep smiles.

Anyhow, there's a two parter "Lost Planet Of The Gods" - part two aired October 1st, 1978. Galactica discovers a hidden planet in a void; on the surface there are ancient pyramids made by humans - which somewhat leads them to missing colony - Earth. All the long/wide shoots were filmed in Egypt. All the scenes of them walking among the ruins was filmed in a small set.

You can actually see the creases on the wall where they painted the background. It was so corny and campy, not in the good way - too cheesy. I suppose the only decent part which had the main budget was the pilot - which got a limited theatrical release (poster above).

"They were searching for a star called Earth" - so not a planet (from the poster)?



I'm a big fan of Ron Moore's reboot. It took all the crappy tropes and jettison them. No aliens. Far less focus on the tech and more on the human drama. What would happen if such a genocide occurred? I am however not a fan of how it ended. They had months of downtime because Sci-Fi was too cheap to just make a full season order even though it was their hit series which brought in paid subscribers.

What we got was the best Moore could muster? From the very beginning he said the whole series was mapped out. They had built this story line about a special child, a hybrid baby that both sides wanted to possess. Nope. Meaningless, didn't matter - skip over any relevance.

So much was centered on this plot point, a huge plot point that got toss into the garbage.

And yes they reached Earth, but it's our distant past. The way it happens feels like a weak afterthought - tacked on finale.



Moore learned his lesson; the tacked on finale for "Caprica" (BSG prequel series) THAT was so rewarding. You're getting glimpses of what could've been; character fates and future story points which was totally natural - this is how things would go down. The last shot is the first (in that iteration) human looking Cylon. YES. That is what would've happened. The last few episode had purpose and real drama, but it as too late to save. But we got eighteen episodes, extending that universe.

It also sucks we didn't get that prequel Cyclon War series, "Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome". Man, that should've happened.

Oh well. Come back here on May 21st, 2020 for another brand new, two part Past Tense about a conspiracy reaching into the future - sights seen.

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Daggit Free Since 1979 Part I


Brand new post! This outing we get an oddity for "Battlestar Galactica".



Hard to impossible to pin down the release date. So in lieu of that I'll give the stats for Season One which is what this promo is for... yeah.

"Battlestar Galactica: Season One" was released on home video on September 20th, 2005.

Streeted against "The Pretender: The Complete Second Season", "From The Earth To The Moon: The Signature Edition" and "Over The Edge".



This came in an embossed foil slipcase holding five discs, each in their own thin case. There was a single ad insert. One side is an advertisement for six DVD seasons sets ("Monk", "Sliders", "Earth 2", "Cleopatra 2525", "Quincy, M.D." and "Dragnet" (original). The other is devoted to the Sci-Fi mini-series, "The Triangle" (aired ).

- - -

Promo originally came inside a white CD envelope, nothing else. No text nor images were printed on it.

The quasi-exclusive was given out to the press, studio execs and at conventions to promote the then upcoming TV series; best I can say, this came out in December of 2004. Why?

Got disc info when it was in the computer; created: "Friday, December 3, 2004 6:08 PM".



"Battlestar Galactica: Limited Edition Collectible DVD" was pressed, not an MOD. It has a run time of 6:56 minutes, presented in letterbox.

It has no menu screen and no chapters - just plays. It consist of seven TV spots for the Sci-Fi Channel's broadcast of the series; five of them are character profiles.

Did not know this existed until late January 2020, received on February 11th, 2020 - bought off eBay for a buck, a good deal.



Kara Thrace's ad profile above. Yeah the picture quality isn't that great. I don't understand why. Why wouldn't you want it to be grand?

Should be noted - NONE of these TV spots were included in the season one box set. It's exclusive to the promo disc. Great addition for collectors. As far as I know, these spots have never had a home video release (DVD, HD-DVD or Blu-Ray).

Sure. Was talking about it.

Season One was also released on HD-DVD (Region 0) on December 4, 2007; $99.98. It has an exclusive item; "Encyclopedia Galactica" a picture-in-picture bonus option, "U Control" feature. Watch episodes with technological stats and images. As understand it mostly repeats the stuff from the included featurettes (same as the DVD release).

- - - - - - - - - -

Void.

Gave this some thought, decided to add more from the last "Dead TV Shows Not On Home Video" exploration. He we are with Volume Three. More than pure filler. It's quality filler, thank you very much.

You can find Volume One and Volume Two here. All of them still not out for fans.



Yeah, I know - the image is distorted - it was the best pix I could find and that took work to make it semi-presentable.

"Flying Blind" - This former show aired on Fox in 1992. It told the story of Neil Barash (Corey Parker) fresh from college (moved back home in New York), he gets a job working with his father Jeremy (Michael Tucci) at Hochman Foods, a confectionery company. It's rather bland, a vanilla existence.

A chance encounter on the Staten Island Ferry with a red head changes his life forever. Trying to dump a guy, Alicia (Téa Leoni) feign a relationship with the first guy she sees - Neil. Not sure what just happened; he follows her to her loft and is introduced to her eclectic friends, roommate and her carefree life stye. She decides to make a change in her life after so many disposable, superficial boyfriends, Alicia gives Neil a try. Barash gets an injection of life he so craves - with strings attached.

The show is at its heart a situation comedy. Neil discovers why his girlfriend lives such an easy existence; she's a trust fund girl. Her father is an international assassin (implied CIA; played by the late Peter Boyle). Some of the stories; the twin of Alicia's dead boyfriend moves in and tries to push Barash out. Losing his job at Hochman (downsizing) he lucks into a new one - working for an independent film company, doing a bit of everything. And a former boyfriend of Alicia's tries to kill him for getting in the way of his true love.

Two of the cast members would later work together on the high profile NBC series, "Heroes" (2006). Greg Grunberg played his brother Barry; later as LAPD police officer Matt Parkman. Cristine Rose played Neil's mother, Ellen - later as Petrelli matriarch Angela.

What I liked was Neil's parents reactions to Alicia; pretty obvious that she's a sensual person, don't want to say slutty. They didn't hate her or try to break them up. They were kind to her as she was to them. They were concerned and hoped that she would be a phase. Which by the finale she was. OR not. *smiles*

Last episode jumps months after they broke up with Neil getting ready to marry a women he doesn't really love. Alicia shows up and things become... well unknown since it was canceled.

You could very well say, rightly so - this show was the forerunner to ABC's "Dharma & Greg" (1997). Except Neil was nowhere as confident as Greg Montgomery (Thomas Gibson). By the way, only season one has been released on DVD in 2006. Season two had an M.O.D. (manufacture on demand) DVD-R release on November 11th, 2014. The rest have yet to come to home video.

"Flying Blind" is actually a spin-off of another Fox show "The Marshall Chronicles" (1990); both created by Richard Rosenstock. *shrugs* Didn't watch that - turns out it lasted six half hour episodes (also not on DVD). Téa Leoni's birth name by the way is Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni.

Why bring it up? Leoni did an excellent romcom for Fox; the TV movie, "The Counterfeit Contessa" (aired April 4th, 1994). She played a Brooklyn girl, Gina Leonarda Nardino - who got mistaken for a visiting contessa, Sofia di Sarzanello (Karla Tamburrelli). Nardino kept up the illusion because she want to see how the other side lives, even for just a couple of days. And falls for a wealthy man. We know how this goes... she later finds genuine happiness with his brother. Co-starring Nicole de Boer, before she played Ezri Dax on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". *nods*

Got curious. Yup, the whole movie is there. Go to YouTube, type in "Fox Night At The Movies - Counterfeit Contessa" in search. Or if you know how, "dT0qUZFJm54". It's still there (as of writing), checked. Uploaded on November 25th, 2014 by Old Skool Television. The telemovie is more charming than it has to be. You'll smile a lot. It's also on Amazon's streaming service.

Anyhow "Flying Blind" was funny, witty and sexy. I'm puzzled why this wasn't picked up. It did decent enough on the ratings (by Fox early 1990s standards). All twenty-two (half hour) episodes aired.

- - -



"Big Day" was an ABC sitcom from 2006. The entire series covered a single day - the wedding of Alice and Danny, that evening. As if they mashed "Twenty-Four" (2001) with the movie "Father Of The Bride" (1991; yeah the remake). Each episode takes us closer to the hitch. But ever growing mistakes and disasters loom for the couple and family. From an inexperienced wedding planner to a trip to a strip club to the neighbor kid's birthday party to a lost wedding ring to a paint ball fight.

All the things that could go wrong - that do. So bad, it ends with the couple just eloping.

It starred Marla Sokoloff as Alice; Josh Cooke as Danny; Wendie Malick as Alice's mom, Jane; Kurt Fuller as the dad, Steve; Miriam Shor as older sister Becca, Stephen Rannazzisi as Skobo the groom's best friend and Stephnie Weir as their inept wedding planner.

It was because of the show I learned that Sokoloff is a singer - she released an independent solo album "Grateful" in 2006 as in she released it herself, no label. It's excellent, pop music. Seek it out. Sokoloff is probably best known as the secretary, Lucy Hatcher from another ABC series "The Practice" (1997). Man, she's so adorable.

Not her first music gig, she was a lead singer in a band called "Smittin" until they broke up in 2003. As far as I can tell, "Smittin" never got an album. You can their songs find them on YouTube. It's okay, I guess - she did better work solo.

The show's original title was "A Day In The Life". It pretty much bombed in the ratings, the network hardly promoted the show. Thirteen half hour episodes were made, one didn't air. In 2007 there were plans afoot to bring the series to the big screen - the an adaptation failed. Then once again in 2008 too. Then yet again in 2010 - take a guess... *shakes head*

Anyhow, I would buy this on release day if it came out. It was fun show. Too bad it fell into the memory hole.

[JohnIan101]

Target - May 12th, 2020


Birds Of Prey
Exclusive packaging; BD/DVD/DC combo $24.99

[JohnIan101]

Target - May 19th, 2020


Onward
Exclusive storybook; 4k BD/BD/DC combo $34.99

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War
Exclusive steelbook; BD/DVD/DC combo $19.99

Hunger Games Collection
Exclusive steelbook; BD/DC combo $49.99

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Pocket Full Of Important Doodads Part II


I should, the movie did bomb after all.

The film centers on technology developer Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck). He gets the hard jobs; reverse-engineer competitor devices for companies to sell that tech without breaking copyright laws. He excels at his career choice. Part of the trade is corporate secrets, stay - a secret.

This takes place in the near future where technology exist that can erase memories. The perfect solution to keep these quasi-illegal endeavors under wraps.

Memory of what he had pieced together and built is axed, just a fat paycheck remains. Money he uses to play and live large, the playboy lifestyle, not shy about it in the least.



Jennings is approached by billionaire James Rethrick (Aaron Eckhart), an old friend who offers him an eight figure check in exchange for three years of this life working on a covert personal project. Just on the edge of memory erasure.

So much money he could retire. Michael agrees.

Three years later...

No memory, just the knowledge of a ton of money coming to him. Then he is horrified to discover just before the mind wipe he had waived his check. Zero. Squat. Three years for nothing. This is something he would never do. He loves money. What happened to him - why did he turn it down???



Jennings starts to backtrack his moves - which is his skill; clues leads him to the research facility Allcom where he meets Dr. Rachel Porter (Uma Thurman), a bio-scientist at the firm... his girlfriend when he worked at the company. Soon his world comes crashing down.

Michael is frame for something he has zero knowledge of - treason and the murder of physicist William Dekker (Serge Houde). His pursuer are times two; the FBI wants him as does Rethrick who fears Jennings will reverse-engineer his memories.

The only clues Michael has are various random objects that were given back to him once the task was completed

What was so terrible that he built/figured it out for Mr. Rethrick?

He uncovered the future.

Michael Jennings built an optical time machine based on the futures of the person operating the machine; those things that will be seen.

The person who controls that device will control the world; know the stock market in advance, political conflicts, world affairs and global weather. Think CoronaVirus; you knew about it months ahead and took steps to be there when it happen to profit from it. Having a surplus of specialty mask and gloves - going for the highest bidder and knowing how much to have, not getting sold out.



Jennings' only help is Porter who is now also a target. The solution is in those objects. What makes them so special to be singled out?

This is at its heart, a detective movie with a sci-fi spin - outthink the future. Because at a later date, Rethrick will cause a nuclear war because of political discord he brought about. All because of that visionary contraption.

It's a solid flick, entertaining. Too bad it failed to find its audience. And sadly had gotten lost among the home video potpourri. Each week getting a bit more buried under newer titles. Do check it out.

The movie reminds me of a so-called real temporal device. Yes.

An alleged gadget that could view into the past - just like watching a television broadcast. Huh? Yup, this is a rabbit hole.

The "ChronoVisor" was a quantum access machine. Physicist, Father Pellegrino Ernetti from the Vatican created visual time machine in the 1960s. Claimed he could tune in past events. Like how telescopes work. The night sky you're seeing is not real time.

You have a distant star, that you're looking at. That star is some 500 light-years away. What you're seeing - with your telescope is how that star looked five hundred years ago. NOT the current moment. You are viewing the past. That makes telescopes, visual time machines, but you have zero control over what moment you're viewing.

Father Ernetti took that concept into overdrive with his machine. He claimed he and his team saw the crucifixion of Christ, even took a snap of the event. The betrayal of Judas. Saw Napoleon. Witnessed a speech by Roman philosopher Cicero. And watched Roman poet Quintus Ennius' play, "Thyestes" as it happened.

It was purported that rocket scientist Wernher von Braun was part of the team. The story goes that the Vatican pulled the plug and had Ernetti recant his claim since they feared the tech would be abused.

Was it BS? Father Pellegrino Ernetti was a published author and an intellectual. Why would he lie about something so bizarre?

There have been efforts to uncover that device - if it existed at all.

The principle was based on electromagnetic radiance. All things radiate, broadcast as it were. This mechanism could focus on that radiance and transfer that data into moving pictures with audio.

Deeper into that rabbit hole you get conspiracy - that the Vatican didn't end it, but rather subcontracted the tech to the CIA in the '60s. The machine could see the future too. Some thinking that "Project Looking Glass" is related to the contraption; another rabbit hole that invoves recovered alien tech mixed in. Gets really bizarre the more you look into it.

- - -



This something I'm still fuzzy on.

Is Uma Thurman attractive?

There are times when I would say, she's hot. But a lot of the time - she's... a plain jane. I know I'm not the only one thinking this. Her appeal is very much a roller coaster. Hot then not.

And there you go folks. Come back here on June 4th, 2020 for another brand new entry! You get a killer of serial killers. Did I spill the beans?



Yup, director John Woo isn't into the exchange. We've all been there. So many Thanksgivings, so many. See you then.