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Post by MrsMaxwell on Nov 21, 2005 15:46:17 GMT -5
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Post by MrsMaxwell on Nov 21, 2005 16:02:00 GMT -5
OK, it's one of those damn subsciption sites, so here it is...
'Quantum Leap,' 'Hero' endure on DVD
By Steve Lackmeyer
The Oklahoman
I had to laugh when I read about the latest attempt by the old television networks to stay relevant. They think we'll pay for downloads of their shows. They're afraid that the unauthorized Internet downloads that hurt music sales and are being blamed for slumping box office receipts will affect them next.
Don't worry guys. Maybe you've forgotten to read the rating listings the past few years. But a lot of us quit watching your shows altogether and have no intention of "stealing" them through Internet downloads.
Some of us are enjoying the quality series you produced long ago -- before getting addicted to cheap, meaningless reality programming.
For me, that means spending nights watching DVD sets of two old favorites that are difficult, or impossible, to find on any of the 200 or so cable channels being beamed into my house.
"Quantum Leap" still captivates me by mixing science fiction with history and a bit of good will in every episode as Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) finds himself caught in a quirky time journey where he inhabits both the obscure and famous in various moments of time.
Assisting Beckett is a hologram of his wise-cracking friend, Adm. Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell). The first three DVD sets are available from the four-season series, and as I delve into the show, every episode is as enjoyable as when it first aired.
Special features include a documentary and trivia for true "Quantum Leap" fanatics.
Maybe some of you have bad memories of "The Greatest American Hero." I wasn't sure I'd want to see it again when my wife bought the set as an early Christmas gift. But it's easy to get hooked into the show, as the noble-minded yet meek high school teacher Ralph Hinkley (William Katt) gets saddled with being a superhero.
Each week, Hinkley, assisted by beautiful girlfriend and attorney Pam Davidson (Connie Sellecca) and tough-guy FBI agent Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp), battles the bad guys. Hinkley is no ordinary superhero; because he lost the instruction book for using his magical yet dorky outfit, he's a bit clumsy and slow on saving the day. Maxwell, meanwhile, is the ultimate in cool. He's politically incorrect in a way that would draw a whole new set of fans with today's young crowd.
Most of the cast comes back to share their fond memories of the show and their bitterness with the network executives who ruined the series in its third season. The DVD also includes a never-aired pilot for a revival of the series that would have replaced Katt's Hinkley with "The Greatest American Heroine."
Maybe if the network gods bring back Culp's Maxwell in his own show, I might check them out again. Otherwise, I'm quite content with my DVDs and won't ever be tempted to download "Survivor" and "The Apprentice."
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Post by billswoman on Nov 21, 2005 20:50:14 GMT -5
I LOVE these lines!!
"Maxwell, meanwhile, is the ultimate in cool. He's politically incorrect in a way that would draw a whole new set of fans in today's young crowd." ("Ultimate in cool..." I can't stop saying that, Bill RULES!)
and
"Maybe if the network gods bring back Culp's Maxwell in his own show, I might check them out again."
(Gads, wouldn't I just DIE if they did??)
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