TV - Reviews by George Slv

TV - Reviews by George Slv

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Member	Item		Review/Comment
George Slv 27th Aug 2018		TV Roy Orbison And Friends: A Black And White Night (1988)	Review Barbara Orbison's gift to her husband to create a definitive stage performance. It collects several major musical stars to accompany Roy, although they do not do any solo performances. For example J.D. Souther recorded his "You're Only Lonely" inspired by "Only The Lonely", but he is only in the background with others as backup singers. Bruce Springsteen is in the foreground doing harmony vocals next to Roy and playing guitar. During some guitar breaks he and James Burton have an extended lead guitar duel. With so much star power together, everyone is having a whale of a time in this dynamic show. Barbara filmed it in black and white for the sake of the nostalgic effect. Aired on the Cinemax premium network, and released on video shortly. In 2017 Roy's sons created an extended reedited release with many extras on disc. It is cropped to 16:9, which is fine for distant shots but loses image in closeups. 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 24th Jan 2017		TV S.H.E. (1980)	Review Review Some reviews from old Movie Guide books. Reviews are dropped from later editions for minor films. Leonard Maltin 1993: James Bondish derring-do involving a woman superspy who crosses swords with a suave playboy head of an international crime ring. (SHE stands for security hazards expert.) Script by Bond veteran Richard Maibaum. Average. Steven Scheuer 1990: Slick production values, exotic location shooting, and the beautiful Cornelia Sharpe as a sexy female James Bond-type are the draws here. SHE (Securities Hazards Expert) is hot on the trail of international blackmailers who plan to jeopardize the world's oil supply if their demands aren't met. 2/4 Martin and Porter 2003: This average made-for-TV spy-action thriller has one twist .. a female James Bond. Beautiful Cornelia Sharpe is S.H.E. (Security Hazards Expert). She pursues Robert Lansing, the US syndicate boss, throughout Europe. Omar Sharif makes an appearance as a wine baron. 3/5 Richard Maibaum, James Bond writer, wrote a big-time screenplay but the result was weak. The entire film is available at Youtube at the moment but beware the shape is all wrong. 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 8th Dec 2016		TV M.A.N.T.I.S. (1994 - 1995)	Review When Fox TV was young a few people got a chance to see this superhero one-hour series. A variation on the suit that makes you invincible. It was typically well produced, with some weaknesses. In the 1980s media violence was increasing and people were expecting 1990s violence. But the tide turned, and here the producers purposely toned it down. But to the point of eliminating it and killing it. The M.A.N.T.I.S. would not don his suit til the last five minutes, then just walk onto the crime scene and take control. No hitting or fighting or throwing or smashing for Pete's sake. So a waste of time and it did not last the season. 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 2nd Mar 2016		TV Taking The Falls (1995 - 1996)	Review Two females run a private investigation company in Niagara Falls (Canajun side). Another valiant attempt to self-produce Canadian content, from Alliance which created some fantastic work in general. Cynthia Dale (of Street Legal) is the ex-cop PI, while Sandra Nelson is the lawyer half. The show is classed as a comedy-drama because, well ... how can females be serious in this kind of stuff. The Niagara Falls setting raised some hopes, however, umm, they never showed the Falls during the episodes or used the scenic environment. It was just studio work in Toronto. Uhhhh. It had none of the romance or vista or excitement you might hope for. Focused on the SEAMY side of life in this town, which ordinary people don't think about. Prostitution, underworld, sex slavery ... Just failed to capture the concept it should have. Actually hurt people's vision of this grand tourist attraction and wonder of the world. Could just as well have been Taking Hamilton. It was okay, that's all. Lasted 13 episodes, and not renewed. 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 29th Feb 2016		TV Amerika (1987)	Rated 7/10 Oh yes, anti-Communism. You know what's coming next. How many will there be on this site who will express disdain for it and for "McCarthyism" and such? To the rest of you: patriotic Americans succeeded in convincing the ABC network to run something to counter the constant pro-communist propaganda in the media. This was one mini-series, quite extended. The ratings were okay, but not spectacular, maybe because it was drawn out. So of course fodder for political commentators. But to make a long story short, soon after, the Disney Company bought ABC, and made sure nothing like that would ever be shown on TV ever again. That's how it works. The story showed how Russians came in and stormed Congress and massacred it. Kristofferson is the hero, who is first seen in prison, and when released gets involved in resistance. No there was not a victorious ending ... but for some that is a happy ending. Now you can be happy about Obama and things like the assassination of Chief Justice Scalia. 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 1st Feb 2016		TV P.S.I. Luv U (1991 - 1992)	Review Fans of Connie or Greg Evigan appreciated seeing this. A typically slick detective series with a humorous element because the Connie and Greg characters dislike each other. It just wasn't interesting enuf and was cancelled. Connie showed a lot of legs in this one with a miniskirt. 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 11th Jan 2016		TV Snader Telescriptions (1950 - 1952)	Review I gave the dates of production. They would have been shown on TV past 1951. The venture collapsed and the films were sold at a steal to one TV station around Ohio. But they had managed to create a historic library of the great performers of the day. They are now managed by Historic Films in New York. Not to be confused with Soundies, which were made for theaters. These Snaders have been packaged in various forms. There was a video volume devoted entirely to Nat King Cole. 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 11th Dec 2015		TV Second Chances (1993 - 1994)	Review A primetime soap I suppose, but more a mystery. One storyline would last a few weeks. Set in a sunny California town with extensive sets constructed. Such an impressive and attractive cast, what a disappointment it was to many people when it had to be cancelled. I thought the complex mystery plots were on the contrived side however. Megan was married for a time then. 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 29th Aug 2015		TV Summertime U.S.A. (1953)	Review From Teresa Brewer Center: Teresa Brewer and Mel Torme cohosted the show, and were seen in different resort settings on the twice-weekly live telecasts which aired each Tuesday and Thursday during the summer of 1953. The scenic backgrounds ranged from Manhattan, Atlantic City and Niagara Falls in the USA, to Scotland, Rio de Janeiro, Havana and the Casbah overseas. Teresa wrote: "When Mel Torme and I had a TV series in the 1950s, we usually sang one song together per show, which was nice." 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
George Slv 28th Jul 2015		TV Stingray [USA] (1985 - 1987)	Review A superb thriller series written by Cannell and other writers, one of Cannell's high points. But it only lasted two seasons, 23 episodes. Cannell's series often left fervent fans hanging with short runs, The Hat Squad being another. This one had quite a violent intense edge. Ray worked undercover helping people get out of trouble. 2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?