The Equalizer: Season One - DVD review
Did you know they’re making a big screen version of The Equalizer? It’s true, and it seems like a really bad idea to me.
Not that there’s anything wrong with the show (as you’ll see in my review after the jump) it’s just that this type of lone, ex-spy hero bit has been done to death in the past 20 years, and there’s nothing really special about it anymore. And like all big screen versions of a TV show, it’s not only going to miss the boat by just being BIGGER than the show (big name stars, celebrity villains, explosions, explosion, explosions), it’s going to miss the point of what makes an audience love the original TV show in the first place. It’s not the plot or how they did the show, it’s that the show came at a certain time (in our lives and TV-wise), in a certain way, and it starred a certain person. Just look at the Charlie’s Angels movies or that horrid Beverly Hillbillies movie. It’s not that either of the original shows had original plots or any incredible innovation, it’s that they were of a time, the way we experienced them.
So I cringe when I hear there’s going to be a big screen Equalizer. Thank God we have the DVDs of the original.
This is actually one of those shows I thought would never come to DVD. It lasted a few seasons, but I thought it would be one of those “in the middle” shows: not short-lived enough to guarantee that there would be no DVD and not long-running enough to guarantee a definite release. But so many shows are being released now; I just hope this one sells enough that it makes Universal take notice and release the other three seasons.
Packaging: Nothing incredibly innovative, but that’s not an insult. Sometimes a DVD set is either overly intricate or overly flimsy. This is neither. There’s a plastic case that slips inside of an outside box, which has a picture of Edward Woodward and the skyline of New York City on the front. No booklet inside, but a lot of sets don’t have booklets.
Audio/Video: Both are quite good. It’s really nice to have Stewart Copeland’s music loud and in stereo. Surfing around the web, I’ve noticed that some people are saying that much of the original music that was used in the show is missing here, because they couldn’t get rights to the songs. Now, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen the show, so I’m not sure how many songs from that time period were used and in what episodes they might be missing from. If anyone has any concrete info on what songs are missing and from what episodes, please leave a comment below.
Extra Features: There’s only one commentary, and sadly, Woodward isn’t on it. It does have creator/producer Michael Sloane, and once you get past his constant explanations of what line was crucial to the entire plot of the series, it’s filled with some neat trivia. For example, CBS had no desire to cast Woodward in the role of Robert McCall (they wanted Robert Culp or maybe Ben Gazzara), but once they saw the test footage they jumped on board. There’s also an explanation of how some characters (such as McCall’s old agency buddy, played by Jerry Stiller!) didn’t return for the rest of the series.
It’s funny to see who guest starred on The Equalizer in its first season: Tony Shalhoub, Bradley Whitford, J.T. Walsh, David Alan Grier, Luis Guzman, Lori Petty, Esai Morales, William Zabka, Ed O’Neill, Christine Baranski, Charles S. Dutton, Kim Delaney, Patricia Richardson, even Adam Ant.
There is a good episode from the second season included in the set, “Beyond Control,” so that’s a nice bonus.
This set is a Godsend if you’re a fan of the show. Isn’t it great to be in a world where we can actually have The Equalizer on our shelves to watch over and over again, instead of having to wait for some local station or cable station to “buy” the series and start showing repeats?
Coca-Cola: “Dueling Parade Balloons”
On a cool Thanksgiving morning old (Underdog) and new (Stewie from Family Guy) parade balloons battle it out for a inflatable bottle of Coca-Cola. As they cross the skyline of New York City fists fly and heads are butted. But, in the end, neither is the one who claims the prize. That honor goes to the honorable Charlie Brown, who seems to have finally won something in his life.
This was a cute and gentle commercial by Cola-Cola, which rarely disappoints when it comes to Super Bowl ads. I never realized that the Underdog and Stewie Thanksgiving Day balloons had such angry looks on their faces. That was an advantage in this commercial as we saw the two balloons battling it out. I enjoyed when Underdog slammed Stewie against the building. Nice job overall.
Lost season 4 poster
The season four premiere of ABC’s hit series Lost is less than two weeks away. For weeks, fans have been looking for everything and anything to chew on in order to cope with the wait. ABC helped fans trough the withdrawal with those Missing Pieces mobisodes (the first one was awful but the others ones were pretty cool and even gave some explanations as to what happened between some scenes and episodes), the season four trailer (short and long versions), the 8:15 recap, and the viral marketing campaign that included a sort of online hunt. The latest piece of the puzzle? The season four poster.
A few days ago, Lost fans were treated with a 1600×2000 version of the season four poster over at DocArzt’s Lost Blog. You can see on the poster the current regular cast (no “Not Penny’s boat” people) on the island and the skyline of a city (some fans say it’s Tokyo) reflecting on the water (indicating that some of them make it off the island). Also in the water, you can see the number 6, referring to the famous “Oceanic 6″ group (those who make it off the island).
Are there other clues hidden in the poster? If you find some, post below to share your findings and theories with other Lost fans.
Lost premieres on Thursday, January 31, at 9 p.m. You can get a gimpse of what’s to come by checking out our What to expect in season four of Lost post.
Lauren Conrad Loves the Nightlife
Lauren Conrad Loves the Nightlife
Fresh off of the season finale of her hit show The Hills, Lauren Conrad got all prettied up and headed out for dinner with friends in Los Angeles last night (May 13).
Wearing a blue babydoll dress, LC opted to hit up the trendy STKhouse, where fellow reality stars Kim and Kourtney Kardashian were also seen getting their grub on.
As for The Hills, Lauren joined co-stars Whitney Port, Audrina Patridge and Lauren Bosworth at a mansion overlooking the L.A. skyline for the season 3 finale afterparty on Monday night.
Talking about the latest party in honor of their MTV reality series, Conrad told: “I think every year [the wrap parties] get a little bigger. Our first one was just a small one with a couple of cameras, so every year we get a few more photographers.”
“Finales are fun because we filmed for like eight months, and it all gets put together in a show and this is kind of the end,” she added. “[But] there’s such a build up to it. We’re always eager to see what fans think!”