Mission Impossible - Season 6

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STUDIO: Paramount
MSRP: $49.99
RATED: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME: 1119 Minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• nothing

The Pitch

"Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to enjoy this season."

The Humans

Peter Graves, Greg Morris, Peter Lupus, Lynda Day George, Valentin de Vargas

The Nutshell

"In Season 6 Jim (Peter Graves) and his team focus mainly on targets outside the reach of conventional law enforcement agencies, as they successfully bring master criminals, corrupt politicians, and syndicate bosses to justice."

The Lowdown

Even with key cast members leaving the series Mission Impossible season 6 turned out to be an enjoyable viewing experience. Martin Landau (Rollin Hand) who had become a fan favorite (with good reason) and along with Barbara Bain (Cinnamon Carter) had left the series after season 4, which left the remaining cast to carry the series. The only addition to the series came in Season 6 with the introduction of Lynda Day George (Lisa Casey) who became the lead female character for two seasons.



Season 6 also saw the start of the series focusing less on international affairs and more on the domestic front. This season also saw the series dealing with mafia related situations which did become a bit tiresome, especially when you are watching back to back episodes. Thankfully the strength of the stories and the terrific acting by the main characters elevated episodes that would have otherwise been average at best. What also helped season 6 was some outstanding guest star appearances including William Shatner in Encore where the IMF team goes to great length to solve a cold case. Shatner is always a treat to watch in some of these older shows like Twilight Zone or Ironside and his appearance in Mission Impossible is no exception. The same goes for Jack Cassidy (episode: Casino) who can portray sleaze bags in his sleep does not disappoint as a crooked casino owner.

A major surprise for me was Peter Lupus (Willy Armitage) who in previous seasons did not have much to do except stand around and look tough. Thankfully season 6 allowed his character to be more involved in the series and Lupas wound up delivering some of the best moments of the season. His best was the episode Double Dead in which Willy is taken captive and given truth serum.



Season 6 Episodes (22)

Blind
Encore
The Tram
Mindbend
Shape-Up
The Miracle
Encounter
Underwater
Invasion
Blues (aka Hard Rock)
The Visitors
Nerves
Run for the Money
The Connection
The Bride
Stone Pillow (aka Big House)
Image
Committed
Bag Woman
Double Dead
Casino (aka Vacuum, Rumble)
Trapped

My favorite episodes involved Peter Graves drunk. He did this in two episodes (Blind and Casino) and each time his stumbling and mumbling around made for some entertaining moments. Lynda Day George fit in right away as the new team member Lisa Casey and after a couple of episodes she more then earned her spot. Her best performance was in the episode Committed in which she has to replace a witness in a state mental hospital.

Mission accomplished.

The Package

Nothing here to see so move on.

7.5 out of 10

    

Hawaii 5-0 - Season 6

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STUDIO: Paramount
MSRP: $49.99
RATED: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME: 1200 Minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• nothing

The Pitch

"Book my poofy hair Dano."

The Humans

Jack Lord, James MacArthur, Kam Fong, Herman Wedemeyer, Harry Endo

The Nutshell

Det. Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) is head of a special elite police force in Hawaii. Jack and his crew only answer to the Governor and investigate a variety of crimes including blackmail, kidnapping, espionage and bank heists.

The Lowdown

Hawaii Five-O ran for 12 seasons (1968 - 1980) with the sixth season airing in 1973. One reason for the longevity is due to the fact that the central cast remained together throughout which must have been satisfying to viewers as the series remained a ratings success until the final two seasons. Even though the series pretty much stuck to the standard good guys need to be caught formula Hawaii Five-O was able to keep things fresh, which even today can be difficult to achieve (Law and Order does it by changing up the cast members every couple of seasons). I believe the reason for this series success is viewers enjoyed the fact that every week they were just going to get a story that would be solved in the same episode. Hawaii Five-O was not known for continuing storylines except for a couple of bad guys coming back to enact revenge against McGarrett or one of his men, but these were spread out over seasons not episode cliffhangers.


The season starts out with one of the best episodes of season 6. Hookman is about a would be bank robber several years ago lost both his hands and is now seeking revenge against four cops with the last one on the list being McGarrett. This episode shows why this series was one of the best mainly due to Jack Lord delivering yet another great performance (he always works best when an episode deals with his past). Revenge episodes are some of my favorite in the crime drama genre and the sixth season offered a couple of episodes with this theme.

Other topics covered in season six involve a serial rapist, embezzlement, jewel heists, your usual bank robbers, and the Five-O team dealing with a potential bubonic plague outbreak. Again, these type of stories are pretty standard today but back in the day when this series originally aired a lot of this material was considered heavy stuff.


Season 6 Episodes (24)

Hookman
Draw Me a Killer
Charter for Death
One Big Happy Family
The Sunday Torch
Murder Is a Taxing Affair
Tricks Are Not Treats
Why Wait Until Uncle Kevin Dies?
Flash of Color, Flash of Death
A Bullet for El Diablo
The Finishing Touch
Anybody Can Build a Bomb
Try to Die on Time
The $100,000 Nickel
The Flip Side Is Death
Banzai Pipeline
One Born Every Minute
Secret Witness
Death with Father
Murder with a Golden Touch
Nightmare in Blue
Mother's Deadly Helper
Killer at Sea
30,000 Rooms and I Have the Key

What I appreciate the most about this series is how they manage to keep a good pace with the stories and I never got the feeling that any of the episodes dragged out. I don't know about you but for me that is a big plus, especially when you are watching back to back episodes (a mini-marathon so to speak). The cast, as usual, is as solid as they come with each one contributing their own personality and thank goodness for that!

The Package

As usual nothing in the extras department.

6.0 out of 10

    

Gunsmoke - Season 3, Volume 2

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STUDIO: Paramount
MSRP: $36.98
RATED: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME: 480 Minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• nothing

The Pitch

"The fastest draw in the West."

The Humans

James Arness, Milburn Stone, Dennis Weaver, Amanda Blake, Barbara Eden

The Nutshell

"Matt Dillon is the Marshall (James Arness) of Dodge City, Kansas and along with Deputy Chester Goode (Dennis Weaver) he enforces the law in a town where gunslingers and bandits are plentiful.

The Lowdown

One of the most popular and longest running television series (1955 - 1975) is slowly making its way to DVD. The third season, volume 2 ran in 1958 and all the episodes are in black and white (trust me, this means a lot to fans of this series). Gunsmoke is just as popular today as it was during its initial run thanks in large part to TVLand who has been running this series for several years now (it used to run, and was the most popular program, on the Western channel but due to problems getting a new contract the series no longer runs on that channel.)

My favorite decade of Gunsmoke are the ones that were made in the fifties. These episodes had more grit and, unlike later years, the main cast was given material that seemed to focus more on the dramatic elements of a story and it also showed people struggling more which is truer to form then everyone living just like anyone else - this is the old west and afterall and the conditions were tough all over. This is not to say all was gloom and doom with this series as there are plenty of episodes in this particular set that allow for some good natured stories to be showcased and the great thing is these episodes made for a well-rounded season of television.


My favorite episodes are the ones where Matt has to leave Dodge City to chase some bandits or to deliver to another town a captured criminal. Even though there are only a couple of those episodes in this set they are so good it is worth purchasing this DVD just for them. After giving it some thought there is really not a weak episode in this set and a major reason for this is the talent involved.

Season 3 Volume 2 Episodes (20)

Claustrophobia
Ma Tennis
Sunday Supplement
Wild West
The Cabin
Dirt
Dooly Surrenders
Joke's on us
Bottleman
Laughing Gas
Texas Cowboys
Amy's Good Deed
Hanging Man
Innocent Broad
The Big Con
Widow's Mite
Chester's Hanging
Carmen
Overland Express
The Gentlemen

Let me get this fact out of the way - James Arness is Marshall Dillon and I can't think of anyone else who could have played this iconic character. In many cases, the straight man is the most boring and yet James manages to make Dillon not only interesting but a treat to watch. Dillon is a no nonsense guy who is as honest as they come and by today's standards he would be considered a square and yet Arness makes him a man you will respect. Amada Blake is perfect for the role of Miss Kitty, the charming red head who runs a brothel / saloon, who is the one who provides moral support for Dillon and the other characters.


 Milburn Stone has also created a classic character, Doc, who sometimes gets into situations that require him to not only take care of the injured but has to keep himself alive by outwitting the outlaws. Doc's character would in later seasons become more central to the series after the introduction of a new character, Festus (Ken Curtis), who did not appear until the fourth season (1959).

Which brings me to the weakest link of Gunsmoke - Dennis Weaver. Not only is Chester boring but he simply adds nothing to the series worth remembering. and his departure did this series a huge favor. Even with Chester around the third season of Gunsmoke is a definite must see.

The Package

The only extras are some sponsor spots that are worth one viewing.

7.5 out of 10

    

Jake and the Fat Man, Season 2

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STUDIO: Paramount
MSRP: $36.98
RATED: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME: 480 Minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• nothing

The Pitch

"The Tide of crime is about to turn"

The Humans

William Conrad, Joe Penny, Alan Campbell, Melody Anderson, Josie Over

The Nutshell

"Veteran district attorney "Fatman" McCabe (William Conrad) solves cases with the help of his easygoing private investigator partner Jake Styles (Joe Penny)."

The Lowdown

Jake and The Fatman ran for five seasons (1987 - 1992) on CBS and it is now best known for a skit about the series on a Family Guy episode. With Magnum P.I. done shooting in Hawaii, CBS decided to re-locate the series there and the only reason I can think of is in hopes it would add some much needed flair to an otherwise average series.


The move to Hawaii was covered in the first two episodes which deals with Jake visiting a friend who winds up murdered. Jake is wrongly accused and McCabe comes to assist. After the two-part opener  the remainder of the series is shot exclusively in Hawaii. Did this move to a new location help the series? Hard to tell mainly because the crime stories were your standard material found in every crime/detective series. To this series credit it did deal with situations in the seedier part of society - the porn industry and the black market which did make for some intriguing episodes.

Season two only had 11 episodes which does not give a lot of time in establishing more characters other than the two main leads but ironically this series works best with less. Even if you have not seen season one and you happen to pick up this set never fear because you find out in the season opener the direction the series is going to take with the two leads.

Season 2 Episodes (11)

Wish You Were Here (1)
Wish You Were Here (2)
I'll Never Smile Again
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
Why Can't You Behave?
Poor Butterfly
It Ain't Necessarily So
Someone to Watch Over Me
They Can't Take That Away from Me
Side by Side
Snowfall

The appeal of this series rests solely on William Conrad who portrays the gruff yet likable character McCabe with ease. Conrad's best moments is when he's putting someone in their place and yet he does it with a sense of humor that makes for some entertaining moments. It took awhile for me to appreciate Joe Penny's performance but half way through the season he grew on me. The problem with Penny is his acting range, the guy just doesn't have the talent needed to provide more than just mad or sad moments and it takes Conrad to liven things up. As a straight man Penny is solid but this series could have fared better with an actor who could flesh things out a bit more.


Jake and The Fatman is just an average series at best.

The Package

With just 11 episodes it is no surprise there are no extras offered.

5.5 out of 10