Inside the Actors Studio - Robin Williams - Buy from Amazon
I'm of two minds with regards to this episode. On the one hand, I really like James Lipton's interviews, as he asks insightful questions of the actors who appear on his show. Additionally, I've enjoyed most of Robin Williams' work over the years and was looking forward to learning a lot more about his methods and his craft. That didn't really happen. So those looking for a typical, thoughtful interview by James Lipton will be disappointed. On the other hand, those who want to see what at times feels like a 2-hour stand-up routine, they are in for a treat.

That is not to say we learn nothing from the interview. Over the course of the interview, they talk about how he got his started down the path to becoming an entertainer in university. How he developed his style as a stand-up comic. We also learn about a number of major roles in A HREF=http://www.the-numbers.com/people/RWILL.php>Robin Williams' career, include Good Will Hunting, Good Morning, Vietnam, and Mrs. Doubtfire. But each question is responded to with a short answer, followed by a comedy routine that lasts much longer. Much, much longer in some cases. Along the Entertainment / Informative spectrum, it lands much closer to the former, but this is not a really big issue for fans of the comedian.

Extras include the usual introduction by James Lipton, as well as roughly 35 minutes of additional footage from the night, with more intros. Apparently they filmed five and a half hours of footage for this episode, but even with the extras, less than half of that is presented here on this DVD. Hopefully it's the best half, but I'm sure fans will want more.

According to the packaging, the Robin Williams episode of Inside the Actors Studio is the most requested episode in the show's entire run. If you are a really big fan of the comedian / actor and love his improv, then this DVD is worth picking up. On the other hand, if you love the show for James Lipton's interview style, give it a rental first.

Long Way Down - The Compete Series - Buy from Amazon
A documentary series that is the follow-up to Long Way Round. That TV series followed Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman as they traveled from London to New York... going East. ... On motorcycles. This time around they are going from John O'Groats, a small town on the north coast of Scotland, to Cape Agulhas, a small town on the south coast of South Africa.

Over the course of 10 episodes, and 85 days, the pair traveled with their entourage through two continents, 18 countries, and nearly 15,000 miles. They had to deal with weather, injuries, bureaucracies, and more than a few Star Wars references. (Not only because Ewan McGregor was in the series, but also because the they traveled to Lake Como and Tunisia, where some of the franchise was filmed.) This is an incredible engrossing TV series and there are a number of amazing stories that are told, which I don't want to spoil in this review. The people they meet, the landscapes they travel through, the animals they encounter. It is amazing. It is the arguably the best travelogue I've seen that doesn't feature Michael Palin.

Extras on the 3-disc include a 45-minute special on the work that UNICEF does called The Missing Face. It's a very moving piece. Over on the third disc we find nearly 21 minutes of deleted scenes from the pre-journey prep to the very end, as well as an interactive map, information on UNICEF and more. (On a side note, some of the deleted scenes were incorporated into the show itself, hence the "Special Edition" label.)

The final verdict is... Skip it. I know, it might seem strange after the positive review to say skip the DVD, but Long Way Down and Long Way Round are coming out in an 8-Disc Box Set in just a couple of weeks, and it is a better deal and it is worth the wait. On the other hand, if you already have Long Way Round, then definitely pick up Long Way Down

Son of the Beach - Volume Two - Buy from Amazon
The second and final DVD release for this parody of Baywatch staring Timothy Stack as Notch Johnson. It has only taken 5 years since Volume One was release, but was it worth the wait?

Son of the Beach was produced by Howard Stern, which is either a big selling point, or a huge warning. It is also a shortcut to describing the humor on the show. As a parody of Baywatch, it is able to provide enough humor from that specific show, right down to those stupid 'Sexy Montages'. Timothy Stack plays Notch Johnson, a middle age, balding, slightly overweight man who is treated as if he's a real hunk. The rest of the cast includes Jaime Bergman as B.J. Cummings, the dumb blonde stereotype. There's Leila Arcieri as Jamaica St. Croix, the sassy black woman stereotype. Roland Kickinger as Chip Rommel, the German bodybuilder stereotype. And finally, there's Kimberly Oja as Kimberlee Clark, the smartest and most competent of the group, who naturally has the smallest breasts. (Okay, in reality Notch Johnson has the smallest breasts, but it is closer than it should be.) The humor on the show is certainly lowbrow, but that's part of the charm. If you are into bad puns and double entendre, then you'll likely enjoy this show.

Extras on the three-disc set include audio commentary tracks on 7 of the 21 episodes. There are more than a few dead spots found here, as the three participants, Timothy Stack, James R. Stein, and David Morgasen, spend a lot of time laughing at the jokes and staring at the women, but they do give a bit of information as well. Disc one has some behind-the-scenes footage from two episodes, while disc two has 10 minutes of highlights from the table read from the pilot episode, as well as five original promos. Finally on disc three there's 10 minutes of clips from audition tapes. Also, each disc has "Sexy Montage" highlights. The studio knows its audience.

It has been a long wait for fans of Son of the Beach between Volume One and Volume Two . The show keeps up its mostly high-quality lowbrow humor, and the extras are better than most shows. If you enjoyed the first release, there's no reason not to get this one. And if you haven't seen the show, but enjoy goofy humor that is heavy on the puns and double entendres, then check it out. Now if only Night Stand would come out on DVD.

South of Pico - Buy from Amazon
This DVD arrived nearly a month late, but it has been sitting in my late pile for just as long. Man, it is nice to get this one done.

South of Pico is an ensemble drama set in Los Angeles over the course of one day. We follow five characters, a limo driver (Kip Pardue) that has to deal with a wedding and a bride (Christina Hendricks) who might not be ready for marriage. There's also the doctor (Henry Simmons of NYPD Blue) who specializes in cancer research and who is trying to land a massive research grant. There's an immigrant laborer (Giovanni Lopes) who's working as many jobs as he can get to support his family. There's a waitress (Gina Torres of Firefly) who is starting a relationship with a regular customer of hers. And finally, a young boy (Soren Fulton) who is trying to connect with his dad. The film starts at the ending, which was a dangerous stylistic choice that I feel didn't work because it deflated the emotional impact the ending might have had if it were a shock. Also, there was not enough character development here, which further blunts the emotional impact of the ending. Finally, I've read about a dozen reviews for this movie that I've found online as part of my research for this review, and nearly all of them compare this movie to Crash, sometimes in a complimentary way, sometimes not. However, being compared so much to another film (and there are definitely some strong similarities) is not a good sign. If the movie doesn't feel fresh, it is harder to have any emotional strength.

Sadly, there are no extras on this DVD.

South of Pico is a good independent ensemble drama, but not one that is unique enough to stand out. Add in a DVD that is devoid of extras, and it is hard to recommend it for anything more than a rental.

Spin City - Season One - Buy from Amazon
I loved this show when it first aired, but it has been a while since I've seen season one. I'm amazed how strong it was, since most shows take a while to find their footing, if they ever do.

Michael J. Fox stars as Mike Flaherty, the Deputy Mayor working for the mayor of New York City, Randall M. Winston Jr., played by Barry Bostwick. He has the help of a number of talented underlings, as well as the assorted collection of TV sitcom screw-ups like press secretary Paul Lassiter, Stuart Bondek, and others. For the first half of the season, he also has to deal with his reporter / live-in girlfriend, Ashley Schaeffer. On a side note, this DVD release feels very much like two different seasons crammed into one. Things start with the Ashley episodes where Michael J. Fox and Carla Gugino were co-stars and the rest of the cast were certainly background players. It was clear from the start that the show had an overabundance of talent and it was only a matter of time before they started to come into focus more. Sadly, this meant Carla Gugino's role had to be cut back and eventually she left. And, I have to admit that despite liking the actress and the character, the show did improve.

On a side note, during the episode Deaf Becomes Her, Mike Flaherty says, "You know Stu, I know you're being supportive, but when you do that, it just makes me doubt myself." I understand that sentiment myself and have quoted that line one numerous occasions.

Moving onto the extras, there are seven audio commentary tracks on six episodes, including two on the pilot. Also there are just over 30 minutes of highlights from the seminar for the show done in October of 1996 at the Museum of Television & Radio. It features Michael J. Fox and Gary David Goldberg answering questions about the creation of the show. Over on disc four there's a 36-minute retrospective featurette on the show that features interview clips from most of the cast, and much of the crew. It is in-depth, detailing the creation of the pilot, the writing, the casting, the directing. It also dealt with Michael J. Fox leaving the show, so I'm not sure if there will be featurettes like this for each season, but I hope so.

One final note to Shout! Factory, please give us subtitles.

It is very rare for a show to have as much talent involved in its creation, on both sides of the camera, as Spin City had. It has been more than a decade since I've seen many of these episodes, but I still remember a lot of them, and I still laughed at all of them. Additionally, the extras presented on Season One is more than many contemporary shows get, and the 4-disc set is easily worth picking up.

Stuck - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
First a quick note, I only have the DVD to review, so I can't do a detailed comparison with the Blu-ray.

Mena Suvari stars as Brandi, a nurse working in a Nursing Home who could be in line for a promotion. Stephen Rea stars as Tom, a man struggling to get by who just lost his apartment and is forced to live on the streets. While these two people's lives are on different trajectories, their paths collide... Literally. If you know the basic plot of the movie, you might think that's tasteless, but it fits with the tone of the movie. It is this tone that harms the movie the most, which is a shame since the performances by the two leads is great. Just a little tweak in the tone of the movie would have changed my recommendation to a solid one. I still think it is worth checking out, I just can't be as enthusiastic as I would like.

As for the DVD, there are no extras.

Stuck is the latest film from director Stuart Gordon, who has previously made The Re-Animator and Edmond, among others. This film's reviews were somewhere in-between those two films and it sported excellent performances, but with a tone that was uneven. Add in zero extras and I can't be enthusiastic with my recommendation, but I still think it is a solid rental, leaning towards a purchase.

First of all, the DVD looks great, as far as DVDs go, but I am watching it on my PS3, so it is being upscaled and that helps. It's a fine looking DVD and if that's your only option, then there's little to complain about. That said, the Blu-ray looks so good that it would be foolish not to buy the Blu-ray if you have made the leap to High Definition.

As for the extras, there are a huge amount on this 3-disc set, including the audio commentary track with the director, Andrew Stanton, which is on the Blu-ray, but as a Cine-Explore feature. Disc one also has the two short films Presto and BURN-E, both of which have serious replay value. There's a featurette on the sound design, which should be nominated for an Oscar (the sound design, not the featurette). There are two deleted scenes that run nearly 10 minutes, however, this is far less than what is found on the Blu-ray. Finally, there's a sneak peak at WALL-E's Tour of the Universe. Moving onto disc two, most of the extras from the Blu-ray are also here: BnL Shorts, more deleted scenes, featurettes on the look of WALL-E, the sound of WALL-E, the robots, the humans, and more. There's also an hour-and-a-half documentary on the history of Pixar that's also on the Blu-ray, but I missed it the first time around. I'm not sure how I missed an entire feature-length documentary, but I did. After watching it this week, I have to say I'm impressed. This is not the first such program I've watched about Pixar, but I still managed to learn something here. In the Robots section there are more short bits, a look at all of the robots in the movie, and a story called Lots of Bots that can see viewed as a read along, or a play along if your kids want something more interactive.

Disc three has the digital copy of the movie for portable devices.

WALL-E is one of the best movies I've ever seen and the 3-Disc DVD is a fantastic deal. The amount of extras found here make it a must have, except for one thing. The 3-Disc Blu-ray is simply the best High Definition release I've ever seen. Even if you don't currently have High Definition, I recommend upgrading your home theater system and buying the Blu-ray version.