The Couch Potato Report - February 14th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report includes the Doctor, David and Maddie and the Richard Pryor Collection.
DOCTOR WHO is a British Broadcasting Corporation science fiction show about a mysterious time-traveling adventurer known only as "The Doctor".
Doctor Who first appeared on BBC television at 5:15 p.m. (GMT) on November 23rd, 1963. The BBC produced the show for the following twenty-six seasons, but with the show's ratings falling it was cancelled as an ongoing series in 1989.
A TV movie was produced in 1996, but that did not lead to a regeneration for the series.
Although novels and audio plays provided new stories for the Doctor's fans, the TV show remained dormant until last year!
The new series, starring Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor and former pop star Billie Piper as his sidekick Rose, debuted on BBC on March 26, 2005, and on CBC on April 5th, 2005.
Now, it has debuted on DVD in a six-disc set!
The DOCTOR WHO 2005 -COMPLETE FIRST SERIES box set features all 13 of the episodes starring Eccleston. There is also a wide array of special features and interviews.
While I admit to being a huge fan of DOCTOR WHO, I can't admit to having enjoyed all of the episodes from the series first twenty-six seasons. Some are great, yes, but some are quite cheesy, and even awful.
But I haven't got one awful thing to say about this new series, even if it is still cheesy at times. The two main actors are a treat to watch, the storylines are all interesting, and the show is filled with some very good special effects.
The DOCTOR WHO 2005 - THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES box set is the first release of 2006 that I am truly excited about! It is a great show that makes a great box set!
Another great DVD box that I am excited about is the four-disc set for MOONLIGHTING - SEASON THREE.
MOONLIGHTING ran for five seasons from 1985 until 1989. Each week we were given an inside look at the unique cases that an ex-model and a wise guy detective ended up with at their private detective agency.
Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd were the shows two stars and Season Three was the time when they were part of a perfect show.
Once the two of them became a couple in later seasons the show went downhill, but Season Three is all uphill!
From twenty-four hours on a murder mystery train, to a trip to New York to Atomic Shakespeare, MOONLIGHTING - SEASON THREE had, and has it all!
MOONLIGHTING remains one of my all-time favorite television shows, and this is a great box set!!
I wish I could say that THE RICHARD PRYOR COLLECTION was a great box set honouring a groundbreaking comedian who we lost late last year.
But even though the collection contains the very funny films WHICH WAY IS UP?, BREWSTER'S MILLIONS, CAR WASH and BUSTIN' LOOSE, its not a box set.
Instead, it is a single DVD - in a box - with two films on one side, and two films on the other. That is not bad for low retail cost of the item, but when I first heard about this collection, I was hoping for an expansive set with bonus footage and special features.
The only special feature I found in THE RICHARD PRYOR COLLECTION was the trailer for BREWSTER'S MILLIONS.
But, in the end, I can't complain about the lack of special features and such because, in the end, it is the films that make the disc worth owning.
And WHICH WAY IS UP?, BREWSTER'S MILLIONS, CAR WASH and BUSTIN' LOOSE are all films worth owning, and watching again. They are far from Richard Pryor's best film work, but anytime the late, great comedian makes me laugh is welcome.
And I laughed a lot at THE RICHARD PRYOR COLLECTION.
THE RICHARD PRYOR COLLECTION, MOONLIGHTING - SEASON THREE and the superb DOCTOR WHO 2005 - THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES are all available now at a store near you.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
Charlize Theron stars in NORTH COUNTRY as a woman who goes to work in a Minnesota Steel mine, to the dismay of her male co-workers.
Scott Baio is the title character in the goofy, but enjoyable 1980's TV show CHARLES IN CHARGE.
The first season of the medical ensemble drama GREY'S ANATOMY also debuts on DVD; and so does SAW II.
I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.
For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!
CBC axes 'Davinci's,' 'Wonderland'
TORONTO (CP) - Da Vinci's City Hall, The Tournament and This Is Wonderland, three of CBC's critically acclaimed but low-rated series, will not be renewed, a spokeswoman for the public broadcaster confirmed Monday.
Da Vinci's season finale is scheduled for Feb. 28 and Wonderland's on March 15. The hockey comedy The Tournament has already wrapped up its second year.
"These are three programs that CBC believed in and attached significant resources to," said Ruth-Ellen Soles. "Unfortunately the audiences for all three have been in steady decline and did not resonate with Canadians. These decisions are always difficult but they had to be made."
Wonderland kicked off its third season last November with high hopes. Created by George F. Walker, Dani Romain and Bernard Zukerman, it starred Cara Pifko as Alice De Raey, a novice Toronto lawyer who has her eyes opened to the realities of practising law in the crowded, manic criminal courts housed at Old City Hall.
Last October, after seven seasons under the helm of creator-writer Chris Haddock, Da Vinci's Inquest morphed into Da Vinci's City Hall.
Nicholas Campbell's crusading chief coroner Dominic Da Vinci proved he could master the political ropes and won election as mayor of Vancouver, in much the same manner as the series' inspiration and consultant, former mayor Larry Campbell who is now a Liberal senator.
While the public broadcaster has often indicated that its Canadian cultural mandate is more important than ratings, it's clear that ratings matter a lot. Soles says Da Vinci had been averaging 394,000 viewers, Wonderland 376,000 and Tournament 268,000.
Da Vinci had lost about 40 per cent of its audience from its high point a few years ago.
ACTRA, the actors union, condemned the cancellations as short-sighted and "a startling display of incompetence by irresponsible CBC brass."
"CBC management is punishing these shows for a decline in ratings - a decline clearly brought on by its own brutal decision to lock out 5,000 professional workers last fall," says Stephen Waddell, ACTRA national executive director.
But Soles dismissed any connection to the lockout and subsequent delayed season launch. She said the numbers decline had started well before that.
"It's a shame because they're terrific programs. It just doesn't seem to be what Canadian viewers want to watch," she says.
"We're in continuing discussions now regarding all of the arts and entertainment programming, everything."
The CBC has reportedly ordered 13 episodes of Intelligence, a new series based on Haddock's recent Vancouver-produced CBC-TV movie. In addition, negotiations are under way for a TV movie spinoff of Da Vinci, similar to what happened when the North of 60 series was cancelled.
Festival to reunite 'Swingers' actors
DENVER (AP) — It's still money, baby.
The U.S. Comedy Arts Festival announced Monday that its centerpiece showcase next month will be a 10th-anniversary celebration of the 1996 film Swingers, which made "money" the coinage of cool. The festival, set to run March 8th-12th in Aspen, Colo., will reunite the film's cast — Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau (who also wrote the movie) and Ron Livingston.
Favreau, who in Swingers plays a New Yorker transplanted to Los Angeles as he painfully tries to get over a broken relationship, feels it was the story's exploration of universal themes for young adults that struck a big chord.
"It had a lot of sort of heat associated with how timely it was to what was going on in pop culture," he said Monday in a phone conversation. "It was a very personal story ... and I wrote it at a moment when I was really wrestling with those dilemmas and the whole idea of friendship and what the future might hold overcoming the depression and in overcoming a relationship or being alone in a new town."
The film was ahead of its time, Favreau said, setting the stage for the type of comedy found in more recent box office hits Old School and Wedding Crashers.
"Now it seems all so familiar, but at the time it was cutting edge and we were grouped with all that independent film stuff," Favreau said. But, he continued, "Vince and I and (director) Doug Liman too, and Ron, we've hit the mainstream as we're closing in on 40 years old and now we're the system."
Besides honoring Swingers, the 12th annual festival, sponsored by HBO, will offer 23 feature films, including Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion,Dave Chappelle's Block Party and Damon Wayans' Behind the Smile, 23 shorts and live comedy.
The festival announced earlier this year that actress Goldie Hawn and director James Burrows would be honored during the event.
Last year's festival reunited Cheech Marin and former film partner Tommy Chong, who appeared together for the first time in 20 years. The 2005 event also saw Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau receive the festival's Freedom of Speech Award while prone on a stretcher after he broke his collarbone while skiing
New CD Releases - February 7, 2006
Aceyalone Magnificent City (produced by RJD2) (Project Blowed/Decon)
Acid Mother's Temple Starless and Bible Black Sabbath (Alien 8)
All-Stokz A Bronx Tale (Papercha$e)
AM Syndicate Empire (Sickroom)
Arctic Monkeys When the Sun Goes Down EP (Domino)
AV Club AV Club (Insubordination)
The Avett Brothers Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions (Ramseur)
Latrice Barnett Illuminate (Ultra)
Belle & Sebastian The Life Pursuit (Matador)
Bola Abimbola Ara Kenge (Fast Horse)
Pat Boone Hopeless Romantic (ballads album; w/Chet Atkins) (The Gold Label)
Carol Bui This Is How I Recover (Drunken Butterfly)
Bullets for My Valentine The Poison (enhanced CD) (Trustkill)
Shauna Burns Every Thought (33rd Street/Bayside)
Burst Origo (Relapse)
Rachel Cantu Rachel Cantu EP (Q Division)
Century Faith and Failure (Tribunal)
Chamillionaire The Sound of Revenge (Chopped & Screwed) (Universal Motown)
Richard Cheese The Sunny Side of the Moon: The Best of (includes new versions of hits) (Surfdog)
The Chuck Norris Experiment The Chuck Norris Experiment (Devil Doll)
Clogs Lantern (Brassland)
Jason Collett Idols of Exile (Arts & Crafts)
Chick Corea The Ultimate Adventure (Stretch/Concord)
The Corrs Home (produced by Mitchell Froom; traditional Irish songs; w/the BBC Radio 2 Orchestra) (Atlantic/Rhino)
Cross Culture Proof Positive (Selectric)
The Danger O's Little Machines EP (Blackout!)
De/Vision Subkutan (Dancing Ferret)
deadboy and the Elephantmen We Are Night Sky (Fat Possum)
Jack DeJohnette and Bill Frisell The Elephant Sleeps but Still Remembers (Golden Beams/Kindred Rhythm)
Dem Franchise Boyz On Top of Our Game (Virgin)
Désolé A Story to Tell (Reybee)
DJ Reflex Sandunga Music (Cutting)
Doomriders Black Thunder (The Magic Bullet)
Dave Douglas Keystone (2005 album reissue) (Koch)
Everlovely Lightningheart Cusp (Hydra Head)
Frankel Chatterbox EP (Three Ring)
Burnt Friedman and Jaki Liebezeit (ex-Can drummer) Secret Rhythms 2 (guest David Sylvian) (Nonplace)
Frank Gambale Natural High (Wombat)
Gastr del Sol Harp Factory on Lake Street (Table of the Elements)
Gate The Dew Line (Table of the Elements)
A Global Threat Where the Sun Never Sets (BYO)
Sarah Harmer I'm a Mountain (Rounder)
Walter Hawkins Live Songs in My Heart (Coda)
Hem No Word from Tom (covers and new versions of originals) (Nettwerk)
Himsa Hail Horror (Prosthetic)
Charlie Hunter Trio Copperopolis (Ropeadope)
In Flames Come Clarity (Special Edition w/bonus DVD available same day) (Ferret)
The Ladies (members of Pinback and Hella) They Mean Us (Temporary Residence Ltd.)
Th' Legendary Shack*Shakers Pandelirium (guests Jello Biafra and Rev. Horton Heat) (Yep Roc)
Lesbians on Ecstasy Giggles in the Dark (remixes) (Alien 8)
Jackie Leven Shining Brother, Shining Sister (DualDisc) (Silverline/Immergent)
Lil Al Hood Raised (SMC)
Lil Uno The Streets (Toltec Music)
Lokyata Purified by Anger (Indianola)
Magnet The Tourniquet (Filter)
Mastodon Call of the (Relapse)
Matson Jones The Albatross Mates for Life, but Only After a Lengthy Courtship That Can Take Up to Four Years EP (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
Mean Reds/Wires on Fire Split (CD/DVD combo; live performance from bands' recent tour) (Buddyhead)
Jason Miles What's Going On? Songs of Marvin Gaye (Narada)
Lynn Miles Loves Sweet Love (Red House)
Minus 5 Minus 5 (aka "The Gun Album"; w/members of R.E.M., Wilco, the Decemberists, John Wesley Harding and more) (Yep Roc)
Misstress Barbara Come with Me... (mix CD) (Koch)
Monday Morning Fool's Paradise (Selectric)
Cindy Morgan Postcards (Reunion)
Mylo Destroy Rock & Roll (RCA)
Oceansize Everyone Into Position (Beggars Banquet)
Pauline Oliveros Primordial/Lift (Table of the Elements)
Beth Orton Comfort of Strangers (Astralwerks)
Penuckle the sun beckons... (Basement)
Prefuse 73 Security Screenings (guests Four Tet and members of TV on the Radio) (Warp)
Psychic Ills Dins (The Social Registry)
Remy Ma There's Something About: Based on a True Story (Universal Motown)
Sherri Roberts The Sky Could Send You (w/Phil Woods and Lew Soloff) (Pacific Coast Jazz)
Ray Russell Goodbye Svengali (Cuneiform)
San Quinn The Rock: Pressure Makes Diamonds (SMC)
Shrift Lost in a Moment (Six Degrees)
Sibylle Baier Colour Green (Orange Twin)
Slowride C/S (Deep Elm)
Sly and the Family Stone Different Strokes for Different Folks (covers and remixes of Sly & the Family Stone songs by Maroon 5, the Roots, John Legend and more) (Epic/Legacy)
Small Arms Dealer A Single Unifying Theory (Deep Elm)
State Radio Us Against the Crow (Nettwerk)
Stereo Total Discotheque (Disko)
Kelley Stoltz Below the Branches (Sub Pop)
The String Cheese Incident On the Road: Big Summer Classic '05, Fall 2005, Spring 2005 and Vegoose 2005 (SCI Fidelity)
Stroke 9 Café Cuts (acoustic versions of old songs, plus two new tracks) (Rock Ridge)
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives Live at the Ryman (2003 concert) (Universal South)
The Suspicions The Suspicions (Rip Off)
Swearing at Motorists Last Night Becomes This Morning (Secretly Canadian)
Telepathe Farewell Forest EP (The Social Registry)
Thrill Seekers Nightmusic (two CDs) (Water Music)
Bill Toms and Hard Rain The West End Kid (BT)
Truckfighters Gravity X (Meteor City)
The Derek Trucks Band Songlines (Columbia)
KT Tunstall Eye to Telescope (Virgin)
Univers Zero Live (Cuneiform)
Jason Whitton Thriftstore Cowboy (VAVV)
Mary Lou Williams Collective with Geri Allen Zodiac Suite: Revisited (Mary)
Joachim Witt Bayreuth 3 (Dancing Ferret)
Trisha Yearwood Jasper County (w/new Garth Brooks duet, "Love Will Always Win," not included on 2005 release) (MCA Nashville)
VA A Six Degrees Collection - Traveler '06 (new and exclusive tracks and remixes from Karsh Kale, Niyaz, the Real Tuesday Weld and more) (Six Degrees)
VA Asthmatic Kitty Compilation - Mews Too (Asthmatic Kitty)
VA Hi Power 2006 (Thump)
VA Idol Tryouts Two: The Ghostly International Company Vol. Two (two CDs; exclusive tracks from Matthew Dear, Dabrye, Mobius Band and more) (Ghostly International)
VA It Came from the Hills, V.1 (w/Nitro Tokyo, Forensics, Earthen Sea and more) (The Magic Bullet)
VA Lowrider 2006 Tour (Thump)
VA New Arrivals: Vol. 1 (w/Jill Sobule, Noe Venable and more) (Mpress)
VA Not Alone (five CDs) (Durtro Jnana)
VA Perfecto Chills Vol. 3 (two CDs; remixes of Massive Attack, Faithless, Postal Service and more) (Thrive/Perfecto)
VA Run the Road Volume 2 (compilation of UK hip-hop/grime artists; w/Lady Sovereign, Sway, Miss Beats and more) (Vice)
VA To: Elliott From: Portland (covers of Elliott Smith songs) (Expunged)
VA Totally Country Vol. 5 (BMG Heritage)
OCR Billy Elliot (two CDs; score by Elton John; includes three of his original songs performed solo) (Decca)
OST Curious George: Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film (w/new songs by Jack Johnson and G. Love) (Universal)
OST Date Movie (romantic comedy spoof w/Eddie Griffin) (Lakeshore)
OST Elizabethtown - Volume II (w/My Morning Jacket, Tom Petty, Ryan Adams, the Temptations and more) (RCA)
OST Transamerica (w/exclusive new song by Dolly Parton and songs by Lucinda Williams, Old Crow Medicine Show, Duncan Sheik and more) (Nettwerk)
DVD Hip Hop Elements (live MC, DJ and breakdancer battles) (Street Life Films/Koch)
DVD Rebel Roads (documentary on motorcycle culture; w/performances by Disturbed, Journey and Twisted Sister's Dee Snyder) (Immergent)
DVD Jim Brickman The Disney Songbook (Walt Disney)
DVD Brotha Lynch Hung Ghetto Celebrities Vol. 2 (Real Talk/Koch)
DVD Bireli Lagrene and Gipsy Project Live in Paris (Dreyfus)
DVD Mint Condition Live (Image)
DVD Sasha and John Digweed Present Delta Heavy (documentary of 2002 DJ tour) (System)
DVD Yonder Mountain String Band Mountain Tracks: Volume 4 (Frog Pad)
DVD VA Buddyhead: Punk Is Dead (music videos w/TV on the Radio, the Jesus Lizard, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and more) (Image)
DVD VA Get Crunk'd (behind-the-scenes footage of Lil Jon, Jazze Pha, Pastor Troy and more) (Koch)
DVD VA Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan (Image)
DVD VA Tribunal Records: The Video Collection (music videos and rare live performances from Facedown, Age of Ruin, Animosity and more) (Tribunal)
UMD 50 Cent The Massacre (Interscope)
Van Halen: The Next 'Rock Star'?
Sources tell TMZ.com that Van Halen is in the market for a new lead singer, and the marketplace will be the upcoming reality show 'Rock Star: The Series.'
Last October, Van Halen reps vehemently denied the band would use 'Rock Star' in a talent search for a new lead singer. The reps are now singing a different tune. Van Halen publicist Larry Solters told TMZ: "I'm not denying it. I'm not going to answer any questions about it."
Last year, the band INXS used 'Rock Star' to find a new lead singer. J.D. Fortune won the competition, and the band is now making a comeback with a hit new album and a sold-out tour.
As for Van Halen, the group has had three lead singers since it hit the scene back in 1978: David Lee Roth, who left the band in 1985, Sammy Hagar, who split in 1996, and Gary Cherone, who did just one album and tour with the band in 1998.
The next season of 'Rock Star,' produced by Mark Burnett for CBS, is scheduled to air during the summer. Neither Burnett nor CBS would comment on the Van Halen buzz.
Cash dividend: 3 "Line" DVDs arriving February 28
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Hoping to ride on the Oscar buzz for "Walk the Line," 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is rushing the Johnny Cash biopic to DVD in three versions February 28.
"Line" is up for five Oscars, including best actor for Joaquin Phoenix, who portrays the Man in Black, and best actress for Reese Witherspoon, who plays his wife and musical partner, June Carter.
Consumers can choose from a single-disc widescreen edition, a single-disc full-screen edition and a two-disc special edition packed with extras.
All three versions come with a commentary by director James Mangold and 10 deleted scenes.
The two-disc edition also comes with three extended musical sequences, three featurettes and collectible postcards.
The film won three Golden Globe Awards last month, for Phoenix and Witherspoon and as best picture in the musical/comedy category.
Coroner: Chris Penn Died Accidentally
LOS ANGELES - Actor Chris Penn died accidentally from an enlarged heart and the effects of a mix of multiple medications, the county coroner's office said Monday.
"There is absolutely no indication that this is anything but an accident," chief coroner investigator Craig Harvey said.
Penn, 40, the younger brother of Sean Penn, was found dead in his Santa Monica condominium on Jan. 24, but the results of his autopsy and toxicology tests were not released until Monday.
The primary cause of death was "nonspecific cardiomyopathy," an oversized heart, with the "effects of multiple medication intake," according to a statement issued by the coroner's office.
"We know he had several prescriptions, including promethazine with codeine, which featured predominantly in his death," Harvey said.
Promethazine with codeine is known as a highly addictive prescription medication. Promethazine is an antihistamine that prevents vomiting, while codeine suppresses coughing and relieves pain, Harvey said.
"We don't know how much he ingested or when," Harvey said. "There are a lot of 'what ifs' to be factored in."
A full coroner's report with further details will be available in a few weeks, Harvey said.
Penn's heart weighed 700 grams, a few hundred grams more than an average heart. Harvey said Penn was not taking heart medication at the time of his death.
Penn appeared in such films as "Reservoir Dogs," "Rush Hour," "Starsky & Hutch" and "Corky Romano."
Norah Jones to make film debut
HONG KONG (AP) - Grammy-winning singer Norah Jones will make her film debut in the first English-language film by acclaimed Hong Kong art-house director Wong Kar-wai, a film industry consultant said.
Wong was originally scheduled to shoot Lady from Shanghai, featuring Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman, but has delayed the project until 2007 because they have not found a strong male lead actor, a film industry consultant attending the ongoing Berlin Film Festival told The Associated Press by telephone.
Details of the new movie weren't immediately available, but the official, who declined to be further identified, said it won't revolve around the hurricane Katrina disaster in the U.S. as reported earlier. It also won't be filmed in New York doubling as New Orleans.
The consultant spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid identifying his relationship with Wong and because the project hasn't been officially announced.
"The only cast member that is confirmed . . . is Norah Jones," the consultant said at the weekend.
The consultant also said the movie's earlier reported $50 million US budget is incorrect, but didn't provide an accurate budget figure.
It wasn't clear if Jones will contribute to the music in the movie.
Jones, 26, rose to fame with the success of her debut album Come Away With Me, which won eight Grammys. She is the daughter of Indian musician Ravi Shankar.
Wong is known for his subtle and beautifully shot movies like In the Mood for Love, Happy Together and 2046. His films also feature melancholy soundtracks. Wong won best director at Cannes for Happy Together, a gay love story.
Jones' management company didn't immediately return a reporter's call seeking comment.
AL FRANKEN FOR SENATOR
Al Franken, the "Saturday Night Live" alum and Bill O'Reilly nemesis, is inching closer to a run for the U.S. Senate in 2008.
Franken, who has a daily radio show on the liberal Air America network, was based in New York until a last month, when he quietly picked up and moved his residence and his show to Minneapolis.
The comedian says he's still undecided about challenging Republican Sen. Norm Coleman — but it appears that his reluctance is only a matter of convenience.
Once he announces his bid for office, he will have to give up his three-hour, daily radio show. Radio and TV stations are reluctant to carry programs hosted by political candidates since it opens them to charges of favoritism.
"I think I'm going to let it evolve," he told an Internet interviewer, alternet.org, a few days ago.
"I don't have to decide for a while, and I'm sort of doing the things that I'd have to do if I did run.
"So if I do make the decision to do it, I'll have done the things I needed to have done," he says.
"I'm learning — traveling within Minnesota, talking to people. I've been raising money for candidates in Minnesota and around the country."
Franken has already raised $168,000 in just over two months, according to a campaign-finance report. So far, he has given the money to six other liberal candidates — a classic strategy for politicians trying to build up a position for themselves within the party.
"Baywatch" washing up on DVD
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Beach-and-babes TV series "Baywatch" is finally headed to DVD.
A late-summer best-of set, with episodes chosen by star Pamela Anderson, will be the initial release, followed by complete series sets.
"Baywatch," which aired from 1989-2001, is again making headlines, with a big-budget movie in the works from director Eli Roth ("Hostel," "Cabin Fever").
The series gained fame for its look at the Southern California beach lifestyle as seen through the eyes of a team of sexy lifeguards.