Description

Documentary-style Comedy.Christopher Guest follows up his acclaimed ensemble comedies Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman with a docu-comedy about three folk groups from the 60s who reunite for a memorial concert in New York City following the death of a legendary folk manager. ... Read more

Reviews (147)

Guest just keeps on going, and going, and going....
Christopher Guest first came to prominence in 1984, as an assistant and star in Rob Reiner's hilarious "This is Spinal Tap".

Guest learned at the hands of the master, and the last 20 years of his career have been spent on mockumentary efforts ("Waiting for Guffman", "Best in Show", and, in 2002, "A Mighty Wind", where he decided to satirize the 60's folk music movement, something he and his fellow Spinal-Tappers had once done as a skit on Saturday Night Live). There are hallmarks in Guest's work. He utilizes a co-writer, the newly popular Eugene Levy (the best part of Steve Martin's recent "Bringing Down the House"), he has a regular cast of character actors that ad-lib their way through zany and satirical situations in all three films, and he conquers the art form of teasing fans and popular culture icons with gentle spoofing, double entendres, hidden meanings, and really great filmmaking.

Although I enjoyed the film in the theater, it really came into its own when I was able to watch the DVD where I could marvel at the details and depths of Guest and Levy's imagination, and the brilliance of their comedy. It's strewn throughout the film, but a lot is captured and hightlighed in the DVD's special features.

The premise of the film is simple:

Irving Steinbloom, aged icon of the 50's and 60's folk music scene, has died in New York. His son, who followed him in managing folk music acts, Jonathon (Bob Balaban)endeavors to create a "PBN" concert in his dad's memory, bringing together three of dad's oldest and most famous acts. We get to see the faded stars in their lives today, deciding to do the show, then practicing, traveling to the Big Apple and enduring some mild hoopla and memories. Finally, we see the big event.

It was easy to pick out the most outstanding performance of the film, it belonged to co-writer Levy (as Mitch), who completely convinces you, iron gray wig and all, that he is an unhinged, deer-in-the-headlights folk icon, with much of his early musical promise deadened by the cornucopia of meds he's taken over the last three decades, to try to capture some mental stability. To fully appreciate his performance, and the droll wit that drives Levy, see his ad-lib in the Special Features press conference, where Mitch does a completely credible and incredible speech, comparing Rap music to folk music. You gotta see it to believe it!

Strolling through the DVD also brought out the idiosyncrasies in the film and let me marvel at the comedic turns of the delightful Jennifer Coolidge (as Amber Cole, eastern European escapee and PR agent) and John Michael Higgins (as Terry Bohner. Leader of the "New Main Street Singers"). Both were completely over the top in "Best of Show", and even more laughable here. Both are amazing scene stealers, but you have to think back over the scene to realize it.

In the Special Features, you're really crushed to find deleted scenes that should have survived the film's editing (particularly Coolidge in a deadpan "piccolo" joke), memorable songs ("The Good Book", by the New Main Street Singers, is hilarious) and the unmatched wry and acerbic humor of commentators Guest and Levy. Guest, with amazing attention to detail, even filmed the concert portion of "A Mighty Wind" with TV cameras to be able to recreate the concert as it might have appeared on PBS or public access.

"AMW" is not for everyone. Those who won't want to probe for the humor or the double entendre or can't reminisce about the golden age and the innocence of folk music will probably think it dull, dull, dull. I've rated it four stars, because it pales in comparison to Guffman and Best in Show, but I must say, I really enjoyed the film.

Guest is a genius at understated, satirical comedy and at making gentle, loving jibes at pop culture stereotypes. Although "AMW" may be the lesser of his three films, it still proves that he is truly the king of film comedy. Can't wait for his next one!

A Mighty Wind.... A Mightier DVD!
Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean came down to Sydney, Australia for a special screening of 'A Mighty Wind' with a Q&A session afterwards. I was lucky enough to attend and was even luckier to hear the plans they had for the DVD.

First off, if you're not familiar with Christopher Guest's movies you simply have to know one thing, they are all Improvised. No script just acting on the spot. All Guest's movies (Best In Show, Waiting for Guffman) are in the style of a documentary (Mockumentary) where the storyline is plotted out before hand and the scene is just given an outcome which the actors then have to Impro. This makes the movie fresh and funny plus its what differentiates itself from other films, giving it a unique element.

The movie itself centres around when folk icon Irving Steinbloom passed away, he left behind a legacy of music and a family of performers he had shepherded to folk stardom. To celebrate a life spent submerged in folk, Irving's loving son Jonathan (BOB BALABAN) has decided to put together a memorial concert featuring some of Steinbloom's best-loved musicians.

There's Mitch & Mickey (EUGENE LEVY and CATHERINE O'HARA), who were the epitome of young love until their partnership was torn apart by heartbreak; classic troubadours The Folksmen (CHRISTOPHER GUEST, MICHAEL McKEAN and HARRY SHEARER), whose records were endlessly entertaining for anyone able to punch a hole in their center to play them; and The New Main Street Singers (featuring JOHN MICHAEL HIGGINS, JANE LYNCH and PARKER POSEY), the most meticulously color-coordinated "neuftet" ever to hit an amusement park near you.

Now, for one night only in New York City's Town Hall, these three groups will reunite and gather together to celebrate the music that almost made them famous.

Christopher Guest stated that the DVD was set to release in 6 months, making it around Christmas time or early January (Depending if Warner Bros decides to push it forward or hold it back).

The DVD is set to have feature commentary by both Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy (Writers). Also the whole 'Ode to Irving' show at New York City's Town Hall will be played in its entirety for all those fans of Folk Music out there. There will also be around an hour of Deleted Scenes (Additional Commentary), Trailer and Production Notes.

This DVD is definitely worth the buy. It may not be packed with Special features but the film itself is whats worth the money. If you loved Reiner's spin on Rock music with Spinal Tap wait till you see (if you haven't) Guest's take on Folk Music. With over 80 hours of footage shot and around 8 months to edit it, it really shows how passionate Guest is about his films and what he feels is the Creme da la Crème to make into a 5 star movie.

A must see movie. A must buy DVD.

Funny + folk-music + Eugene Levy
Why only 4 stars and not 5? I cannot believe that in 2004 there are still companies that package DVDs in flimsy cardboard cases rather than plastic clamshell keepsakes. And this is a film you'll want to keep.

If you only know Eugene Levy from the American Pie films, you will be pleasantly surprised with A Mighty Wind. I had no idea Eugene Levy could sing so well, or was capable of a serio-comic performance. I usually love his bit roles in films, and this one was way better than I expected. Aside from Levy, this is another of director Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, albeit an extremely good-natured and lighthearted one centered around a PBS folk-music concert. Guest is one of the few filmmakers who can make the mockumentary format work (aside from Woody Allen), and he leads a brilliant cast into a largely improvised framework that contains laughter and sentimentality.

I'm not a folk-music fan at all, but I enjoyed the music in the film a lot. It's pleasant rather than annoying and preachy.

"You can't get to heaven on the wings of a gun"
I got a lot of enjoyment out of this movie, and basically agree with most of the other positive reviews on this site, but my main reason for posting this review is to highlight the hilarious "Children of the Sun" video which is one of the special features. This is a Folksmen tune that they released in 1968, from their "Saying Something" LP (where they broke their covenant with the fans by not hyphenating the album title.) This was when the true folk era was dying out and bands needed to make the transition to something just a little more psychedelic sounding. (Of course, this is all fictional...) But the video just had my whole family (teenage sons included) doubling over with laughter, with the primitive but "far out" video FX, the trippy-cheesy lyrics and the earnest delivery of the songs Transcendent Message. As a 7-year old kid in 1968, my consciousness was saturated with that stuff, as my parents were into Donovan, the Fifth Dimension, the soundtrack to "Hair" and all the other earnest performers out there singing similar Anthems of a New Generation. The whole disc is full of great amusing material, but "Children of the Sun" really did top it all off quite brilliantly.

Very subtle and very funny!
Compared to WAITING FOR GUFFMAN and BEST IN SHOW, the humor in this mockumentary is a bit subtler. It is funnier every time I watch it, as I catch more of the wry, understated humor with each viewing. The songs are catchy, too. You really care about what develops with the central characters played by Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara. This is a great comedy in keeping with Christopher Guest's other masterpieces! BUY IT! ... Read more

Description

With high hopes, the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Mel (Bonnie Langford) embark on an intergalactic tour bus for a prize trip to Disneyland, 1959.Their luck begins to change when the ship collides with an early satellite and everyone winds up in a Welsh holiday camp. Includes guest cameos by veteran variety performers such as England's Ken Dodd and American Stubby Kaye (Guys and Dolls, Who Framed Roger Rabbit).73 minutes. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

"THE DOCTOR OF ROCK AND ROLL"
This isnt a bad episode of Doctor Who but it is rather silly. The Doctor encounters a group of time travelling tourists. The Doctor follows them in his Tardis to the 1950's. Included with the travellers are 2 people on the run from some bad guys. A woman and a little girl. There the last of there race fighting for survival. The bad guys travel back in time to try and get the duo. The Doctor and his tourist friend wind up in a 50's vacation club. There you hear a lot of 50's music. Also wit hthem are agents from the us and britain investigating strange incidences. The Doctor helps defeat the bad guys and he and mel return in the tardis. One of the tourist has fallen in love withthe alien woman and eats some of the child food transforming himself into an alien himself to help keep that race from extinction. Like I said it isnt a bad epsisode butthere has been better. Worht a look just to see the 50's again.

"Where is he, your Uncle Sam?"
Hiding in plain sight in the middle of "Delta and the Bannermen" is a dotty old Welshman named Goronwy. He's a beekeeper, a collector of honey, and a student of human nature. Script writer Malcolm Kohll clearly had something different in mind for this character. Everything Goronwy says reflects directly on the story unfolding around him. He's a living, breathing, Basil Exposition. It's he who tells us that, just as an ugly pupa becomes a beautiful butterfly, so will Delta's hideous green baby become the new Chimeron queen. It's he who tells Billy -- and us -- that a newborn bee can become queen just by the right diet.

On the other hand, Kohll also sees fit to include a pair of bumbling CIA agents named Hawk and Weismuller. Contrary to Goronwy, absolutely nothing they say advances the story at all. In fact, "Delta and the Bannermen" stops dead whenever they're on screen. And that's "Delta and the Bannermen" for you. The sublime and the ridiculous, all aggressively sewn up in the same package.

This most small-scale of "Doctor Who" stories -- twelve evil black-clad soldiers menace a Welsh vacation resort in 1959 -- is also the most hyper and frenetic the show ever got. The whole thing is a gigantic car chase. I mean, here we have more spaceships and motorcycles and buses and cars and other vehicles all in one place for the first time since "Planet of the Spiders". If you thought all those Season 11 chase scenes were too much to handle, try this 75-minute caper on for size!

The guest cast is variable. Let's go back to Hawk and Weismuller for a minute. Weismuller is played by Stubby Kaye, the New York-born Broadway star ("Guys and Dolls") who somehow wound up living in England, trapped in the middle of Season 24. Not only is he wearing a New York Yankees jacket, but he's wearing a Yankees cap, too, just in case we missed the point. In 1959, the Yankees only finished in third place, and Kaye looks tired and over the hill, just like Casey Stengel. But he's charming in the role and it's nice to add him to the "Who" legacy. His partner Hawk, on the other hand, has the worst American accent this side of "The Chase", and is played by someone named Morgan Deare who, if the Internet Movie Database is anything to go by, was most certainly not from New York.

The rest of "Delta" can be boiled down to vignettes that are interesting, and vignettes that are not. Resort director Burton gives a totally pointless speech to his staff before he evacuates them. You'd have thought, to hear that speech, that the entire staff was about to get blown up by Bannermen! A few minutes before that, Burton's assistant clears his throat directly into the camera and sings "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along". Yes, this is 1959, we get it. Mel wears four different outfits, and that's just in the first thirty-five minutes.

Much better is the rock-and-roll themed incidental music, and would-be companion Ray, who's such a cute breath of fresh air. I love how she keeps explaining to everyone that Keillor, the ill-fated bounty hunter in blue suede shoes, was "ionized". Sylvester McCoy is also terrific in this. You can tell they still weren't sure where to go with his Doctor yet -- witness all those misquotes ("A stitch in time fills up space!" that were never again a staple of his character). And yet, he's gentle with Ray, avuncular with Billy ("For a primitive piece of technology, it certainly delivers the decibels!"), and devastating to Gavrok. His Part Two confrontation with the Bannermen leader, cleverly staged on a rickety staircase, features great line after great line. A few minutes later, he's back to discussing honey with Goronwy.

The story wraps up about five minutes before the end, leaving time for an extended denouement where all the (surviving) characters get something amusing to do. Even that much free time wasn't enough for Kohll, who added five or six scenes on top of that for his novelization. It ends with Goronwy telling us that, in the end, the new queen bee creates "a new hive, and a new life", and then he winks at the disappearing TARDIS.

There is almost something profound in the middle of all this silliness, but it all went by so fast that maybe I didn't have time to realize that it was a lot more silly than it was profound. Or vice versa.

"Here's to the future..."
The Doctor and Mel get mixed up in an Interplanetary Vacation Tour to 1950s Earth, only to get involved with invading Bannermen looking for the Chimeron Queen and Princess and eventually exterminate them. Delta and the Bannermen is part of the maligned and much critized 24th Season of Who. Some might say it's one of the worst and just part of Doctor Who's slide into cancellation. I have to admit that I didn't like it that much when I first viewed it. But, it's really not that bad. The problem with it is it doesn't know if it wants to be out-right silly or serious. There is some terrible dialogue, bad OTT acting and the 3 part format doesn't help. But there is some fun to be had. The 50s setting and score is nice, as with the entire location setting. There are a few decent effects and all the actors involved look like they're having fun(except for some viewers). This may not be every Who fans cup of tea, but there is some enjoyment when watching this silly outing. Plus, I believe McCoy's strengths are when the script has some sillieness involved with his character(Time and the Rani)rather than his mysterious portrayal in some later serials. And Bonnie langford, the most cardboard companion of the Doctor, isn't that bad either...

This is about the worst Dr. Who I've ever seen...
I watched a new tape of this episode just a couple of nights ago, and like some other reviewers have said, this episode is just plain silly. Episodes like this one and Paradise Towers almost seem to be just a parody of Dr. Who. There are very few people who are bigger Doctor Who fans than I am, and it's hard for me to give any Dr. Who episode just 2 stars, as I'll usually give them at least 3 stars just for being Dr. Who. But, this episode is just terrible, not to mention it's just a 3 part episode, which I guess is a blessing in disguise, as at least you don't have to sit through it for very long. I don't know if Sylvester McCoy was a good doctor or not, judging by the 3 episodes I've seen him in (Time & the Rani, Paradise Towers, and this one), but he really didn't have a lot to work with in these three episodes, as they are definitely not similar in quality to previous doctors' episodes. It's not a wonder that the show didn't last too much longer, if this is the best they had to offer. I don't think I'll be buying any more Sylvester McCoy episodes, if most are like this one. So, bottom line, my recommendation is to stay away from this one. Get one of the great Doctor Who episodes from the third, fourth, or fifth doctors like "Genesis of the Daleks" or "The Talons of Weng Chiang" instead.

The Doctor on holiday!
This episode was cheesier than Cheddar, England, but I loved it!
The Doctor and Mel win a trip to Disneyland in the 1950's, and, of course, as always happens whenever the Doctor tries to take a holiday, everything goes wrong!

They have to save an alien queen and her baby, and prevent the destruction of an entire race! But first they have to fix the bus.

That is what I most love about this story, it isn't all gloom, doom, and machiavellian machinations. It takes place in a simple 1950's holiday camp, complete with hula-hoops and bouffant hairdos.

And we learn some interesting things about the Doctor, such as: he doesn't like to pay a toll any more than the next person, he's always willing to lend a shoulder to cry on, and there's a standing bounty on his head. And he can dance, if he's surprised into it.

All in all this wasn't one of the deep, thought provoking stories. But it had it's surprises. After all, this was the first time I'd ever seen someone boobytrap the TARDIS! Which, really, you would think someone would have done before! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Please release this on DVD. Please?
I agree with dalva76, this movie has everything. Atmosphere, a thunderstorm, a weird elderly couple and KILLER DOLLS!! AGGHHH!! RUn!! Run!!
Please put this on DVD, pretty please?

Welcome to the Doll House
Blah! I'm sorry, but this movie is seriously lacking in everything. This is much too bland and dim for Stuart (Re-Animator) Gordon. Granted, the movie IS pretty cheezy, it's just never fun OR funny in that cheezy way. It's dry, stale, and reaks of all those earlier toys/puppets-that-breathe-life-and-start-hacking-and-slashing-at-anything-and-everything movie's left-overs. One fatal weak-point would be the characters. A grumpy, bitter old jerk that screams at everyone in his sexy gold&black PJ's, 2 Madonna posers, a fat moron, an equally moronic kid, a shriveled up old master-of-the-house... all weak paper-cut-outs. Infidelic buffoons. You'd think at least one of them would stand out and be somewhat interesting or at least add a little zig to the boringness that surrounds... I mean, come on! This is supposedly a "B-movie classic"! Pfft... yeah right...

As for the "plot"? I've seen better stories regurgitated from Ed Wood. Nothing inventive, nothing creative, nothing funny or cool. This is definitely not a worthwhile B-movie opus. It's boring and shrewd to the core. Where's the cool cheeze? Where's the campy feel? Where's anything that could be considered classic? The rest of these reviewers that praise this crud are sadly misguided.

So, what have we learned, if nothing else, children? "**** YOU, CLOWNY!"

Are you a child at heart?
This movie is fun stuff! Six people get "caught" in a storm and end up staying the night at a house in the middle of nowhere's. Of course once it's bedtime for the guests it's playtime for the dolls. If you're a fan of the horror genre you'll regret missing out on this gem. Great kills, scares and even some laughs. If you can find it check it out!

Dolls are scarey
This movie is great. It has everything you could ever want.
Dolls [Aggggggh, they're alive!!!!]
An evil Stepmother [Boo!!!]
A mean daddy [Bad!!!!!!]
A little girl [Aw]
A nice fat man [what a sweetie]
An older couple [aw, again]
And two british hookers dressed like Madonna [Har de har har har]

Guess what the dolls do? They kill everybody who is mean. I wish they worked for me.

The original Living Dead Dolls...
I am a collector of Living Dead Dolls. If you aren't familar with them they are these creepy dolls that are made to look like demonic children. Go to a search engine if you want to learn more.

Anyhow, the movie "Dolls" really reminds me of my collection. The dolls in this movie are made from the dead, after all. They are also very eery. The special effects in this movie are unbelievable. You HAVE to see this film if you love collecting Living Dead Dolls. Oh, and watch out for the two girls in this movie that are dressed up like Madonna--very 1980's indeed!

I just hope this movie gets re-released soon. It deserves another shot at immortality with horror fans. ... Read more

Description

The paradise planet inhabited by the gentle Kinda people would appear to be ideal for colonization, so why is the colonization team disappearing one by one? ... Read more

Reviews (12)

One of the best Doctor Who's on video!
The cast is great, there are some great lines in this story! The cliffhangers have a lot to be desired,but that not the point.The snake of the Mara is a fake ,but who cares! If you watch this series for special effects you'll be disappointed! I watch the series to understand the Doctor and his companions better! Besides it's not TV anymore! Overall one of my favorites with Peter Davison and the companions! If you watch Nyssa ,you'll be disappointed ! Nyssa hardly appears in this episode of the series!

Peter Davison at his finest
When I read a review for "Kinda," all I heard was that Janet Fielding was real great in it and such praise like that. So, when I watched it, I found (to my delight) that most of the companions really didn't do much in this story. Nyssa mainly sleeps though the adventure in the TARDIS, Tegan has weird dreams and gets possessed, and Adric is trapped in the dome with the psychos. Who, in my opinion, really shines in this story is Peter Davison. While he gave a great performance in "Castrovalva," he had not established what his Doctor was going to be like. In "Kinda," we get our first look at the Fifth Doctor's personae. Doctor Todd is another outstanding character in the story, and is the Doctor's stand-in companion during this adventure. There's of course little things like huge rubber snakes that strain your suspended disbelief, but that's part of Doctor Who. Any fan of the Fifth Doctor or Peter Davison should watch this.

Buddhism meets Word For World Is Forest in this Who story
"Paradise, isn't it? The sun shines, the birds sing, food grows on trees?" On the lush forest world planet S14 (Deva Loka), the Doctor and Adric run into an Earth military expedition consisting of Colonel Saunders, Security Officer Hindle, and Dr. Todd, the surviving members of a former six-person mission on whether or not to colonize Kinda. The forest world concept is borrowed from Ursula LeGuin's 1970's story The World For World Is Forest, which was an indirect protest against the US presence in Vietnam.

Saunders is a typical imperialist type, dismissing the Kinda people as primitives and ignorant savages. He also quite the authoritarian. "Too many opinions! Meet a few difficulties and suddenly, everyone has an opinion. That's how things fall apart!" Todd, though, thinks the Kinda aren't primitive. She thinks they are telepathic. Hindle, though, is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and as soon as he's left in charge, he snaps, deciding that the trees and vegetation are the enemy and decides to enact the self-destruct sequence to their dome.

But Saunders returns after an encounter with the Kinda by opening the box of jhana, and far from being "the old red-faced one who shouts", is a diffident, nice old man who smiles more and is polite.

In a surreal sequence, Tegan falls asleep under a set of wind chimes, and has a very weird dream. She sees an elderly couple playing chess, the woman telling her "You my dear can't possibly exist." They debate upon whether she exists. "Besides, how do you I know that what you think you see is what [I] think [I] see?" Then, a tall ghoulish skeletal man appears and offers her out of the dream, if she'd loan him her body. She wakes up, and is quite changed in personality. And she boasts a new snake tattoo on her right arm.

The Kinda are a peaceful people, dressed in Pacific Islander type skirts. They are telepathic, but a select few have voice, such as the wise blind old woman Panna, and her disciple, the preteen Karuna. "No predators, no disease, no adverse environmental factors, the climate is constant within a 5 degree range, trees fruit in sequence all year around"...yes, they are the people in their Eden, where there's no sense of a chronological time. But in every Eden, there is a serpent.

The overall idea of the story is how people identify themselves and others by stereotypes and categories, creating the illusion of permanence. But dividing between "among-we" and "not-we" creates a duality (the scene with the two Tegans), which further becomes the source of illusion and suffering.

Tegan's dream experience is full of Buddhist subtexts. The old couple are (billed but not mentioned) as Anicca (the impermanence of things) and Anatta (egolessness), which details the futility of defining one's ego because there is no self, hence the discussion of perception (does Tegan exist?) and ego-identity. And the tall ghoulish man is Dukkha (suffering, insubstantiality).

Karuna's name means "active compassion" in Buddhism, and the Box of Jhana (meditation) is the way the sickness of the world is cured. And the great wheel of time symbolizes the rise and fall of civilizations, "gathering speed through the centuries, crushing everything in its path." And who turns the wheel? The Mara (the lord of death). "He dances to the music of our despair, our suffering is his delight, our madness his meat and drink." The wheel turns because Saunders' expedition wants to colonize Kinda. The timeless circularity of the Kinda lifestyle will end, and the colonialist linear, ordered lifestyle will begin.

The dialogue is top-notch, as is the studio jungle, and the dream sequences involving Tegan. Trivia: Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) only appears in the beginning of Episode 1 and the end of Episode 4 because appearing in all four went beyond the limit of episodes she could appear in per contract. Fortunately, her contract was renewed soonafter.

Nerys Hughes' (Todd) interraction with the Doctor is one of the best things here, but Simon Rouse is a bit OTT as Hindle. Sarah Prince shines out as Karuna, as does Adrian Mills (Aris) whose muted looks of confusion and sadness is well-expressed.

After taking my World Religions class, I finally understood the symbolism in this story. And here, I disagree with the Doctor. For me, paradise can never be too green.

"You can't mend people!"
"Kinda", first broadcast in 1982 (not 1975 - how did Amazon come up with that?) as part of season 19, is easily one of the best Peter Davison adventures, if not the entire series. A race of telepathic people, the Kinda, are in turn using and being used by a Terran survey team, all the while trying to avoid the foretold 'second coming' of an ancient and terrible evil, the Mara. Although it seems simplistic, the telling of the story is quite original and, like other recent adventures, geared more in a classic science-fiction vein. Ultimately, however, the whole thing is based around the concepts of Buddhism.

Sound strange? It is. But it's some of the best script-writing "Doctor Who" ever saw, with crisp, memorable lines and a villain whose horror is based not in how it attacks people, but how it takes them over. In truth, the sequel - "Snakedance" - is perhaps easier to watch, but "Kinda" has the real brilliance.

With the companions mostly out of the way (Nyssa almost totally absent, Tegan seeming to be pivotal but later sidelined, and Adric swapping allegiances) the bulk of the heroism is left up to Peter Davison. But that's no problem - Davison delivers his first solid performance as the Doctor, backed by an unusually superb guest cast. Nerys Hughes' Dr. Todd makes a great surrogate companion, while Simon Rouses mentally disturbed Hindle completely steals every scene he's in. With all this greatness, how can the story possibly fail? It doesn't. Excluding a couple of embarrassing moments, most notably the famous 'rubber snake' at the end, "Kinda" is four of the most absorbing "Doctor Who" episodes, and - unlike many others - will leave you thinking after you've finished watching.

EXCELLENT! Peter Davison and Janet Fielding are GREAT!
This was the FIRST doctor who video I purchased a bit ago (I now have almost 30). I sat down and I was totally tuned into it. Janet Fielding is unbelievably good in this episode, and Peter Davison plays a very good Doctor! The Mara, you could tell was fake, but thats how it was back in the eighties. BBC didn't have as much money as we did to make semi-good effects back then. Everyone acted so well in this episode, although Sarah Sutton was only in the first few bits of the first episode, and a couple seconds in the last part of the fourth episode. If you don't have this one yet, you should get it. I recommend seeing Snakedance as well, which is a sequel to the Kinda. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Action-packed film is entertaining and satisfying
55 Days at peking surprised me. Though not having the best of titles, I thought this was going to be a romance centered around the Boxer Rebellion. Instead, the film is more along the lines of Zulu, featuring constant large scale sieges and fast-paced action.

55 Days is not perfect by any means. The political talks drag a bit and at 2 and a half hours the film goes on a bit longer than it really needs to. The use of American actors as Chinese characters is also quite distracting and occasionally produces some unintentional laughter.

Still, the film is entertaining and absorbing. Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, and David Niven all deliver good performance. The battle scenes are the film's most memorable aspects and they are very well made, especially for its time. The film was obviously made at a large budget so the film, in technical terms, is superior to a lot of similar action films of its time. Those looking for a companion piece to Zulu might find 55 Days worth watching.

A Well-Made But Biased & Politically-Dated Film
When I first saw this film as a child, I was offended by it, being an Asian-American of Filipino/Chinese descent. However, seeing it now, with the understanding that this film was made during the height of the Cold War & the beginnings of the War in Vietnam, I can understand why it was made (though I still don't agree with it's political point of view!)

First, for general viewers who just want to see a well made, big-budget war picture with hints of romance, then this movie does deliver on that level. Charleton Heston is excellent as a flawed, temperamental loner & professional soldier who falls for Eva Gardner, a "fallen woman" of Russian nobility, while the foreign "legations" in Peking (what we would today call "embassies") are under attack by the Boxer Rebels (I Ho Chuan Society) during the rebellion of 1900 in China. David Niven is likeable as the British ambassador, even though he does come off as a bit pompous. The sets & costumes are well-done (especially when you consider that this film, set during the last days of the Ching Dynasty in China, was actually shot in Spain!), & the battle sequences are realistically staged. (For martial-arts buffs, there's even a martial-arts demonstration during the birthday of the English Queen!) So, if all you're looking for is a fast-paced war picture with great costumes & macho action performances, then, on that level only, this film delivers.

If you're a history buff, however, then this film definately is not for you! For one thing, all of the major European characters, (whose point of view this movie favors) are fictional characters. The only real-life historical figures are the ruling Manchus (played by caucasian actors in "Asian-face!") & the Japanese Colonel Goro Shiba. (He & the other Japanese are played by real Asian actors. I guess during the Cold War, the Japanese were our allies against "the Red Menace", thus worthy of respect, while the Chinese, who were Communists, were not worthy of respect when portrayed on film. But then, this movie also features the Russians in a positive light, so go figure!) There is also a scene where the German minister is killed on the street by a mob of crazed Boxers, but in real life, the real German minister was shot by a Chinese officer (one man!) who was sympathetic to the Boxer cause. This film also carefully omits the subsequent rape & sacking of Peking after the defeat of the Boxers, though focusing heavily on the Boxer's depredations against Christians & foreigners. (True history is balanced, not one-sided.) Lastly, according to this film, the British & Americans were in charge of the relief efforts during the siege. Actually, the Germans, under von Waldersee, were the real leaders of the International Relief Force sent out to defeat the Boxers & rescue the besieged legations.

Finally, for Asian-americans & viewers interested in serious political debate, this film is also a no no! The most obviously offensive aspect of this movie is the white actors playing Chinese (though again, this was made in 1963), but the other offensive aspect is that this film favors the colonialists' point of view! (The basic point of 55 Days is, colonialism is good & whenever natives fight back, they deserve to be supressed! It's the same kind of thinking that got us involved in Vietnam.) This movie was made during the beginnings of our involvement in Southeast Asian politics & it's obvious that this "historical" drama is really a pro-Vietnam propaganda film disguised as an epic action-movie!

Okay, the "Boxers" (or I Ho Society) were not saints. They did murder a lot of innocent people in their anger over the semi-colonialism imposed by the West & Japan on China during the 19th Century. But this film shows only one point of view. (A bad story-telling style for a supposedly "realistic" war picture.) However, for viewers who want to get a balanced point of view in one film about the Boxer Rebellion, well, good luck! Chinese movies on the subject tend to do the exact extreme political opposite of 55 Days (which is just as bad!) And remember, though there are historical inaccuracies in 55 Days, Chinese movies (or more accurately, Hong Kong movies) can be just as inaccurate about their own culture! Check out any of the '70's Shaw Brothers kung-fu films if you don't believe me!

So in closing, personally, I would recommend watching this film, but only if you understand it's (many) flaws. For a truly balanced perspective on the subject, after watching 55 Days At Peking, check out The Boxer Rebellion/Bloody Avengers, a Shaw Brothers kung-fu flick about the Boxer Rebellion which exaggerates the Chinese p.o.v. at least as much (if not more) as 55 Days exaggerates the European/Japanese p.o.v. The real-truth lies right in-between these two films. Be sure you get the letter-boxed version of 55 Days, because the pan & scan really cuts out some important details (more so than other films.)

OK action film marred by some faults
"55 Days at Peking" is a decent action film for a war genre fan or maybe some one who wants to see a different time period in a film. The film is pretty decent as far as its genre goes, but there were some problems in the storyline that made me give it no higher than three stars.

The first problem I had with this film was the inclusion of the mandatory American hero. It seems quite often whenever some thing is set in a foreign land and involves foreign - and is made in America - there HAS to be an American lead. Most of the other nationalities play a mostly minor role save for David Niven's character, who feels like a historic individual. I'm not saying the Americans weren't at Peking, but Charleton Heston's character feels a tad too cliche.

The second problem I had was the love story. It takes up a good part of the film and slows it down...in fact it very nearly made me lose all interest in this movie. Doesn't really do much to the story and leaves some holes open. Even when Ava Gardner's character meets an unfortunate circumstance, I couldn't feel sorry for her. I didn't care too much since the whole thing felt like a typical forced movie romance.

Finally, there are some historical inaccuracies. The battle didn't quite happen as the movie portrays it. These mistakes are all fairly minor, I suppose, and some might just flat out ignore it since the battle (and war, really) isn't well known.

On the whole, it wasn't that bad. There are some great battle scenes including a charge up a ramp behind a wheeled defense, firing shots through sliding windows, and the climactic assault with a huge artillery tower - this last part is my personal favorite, and for what it's worth I thought it was a pretty cool scene.

If you're a fan of to-the-last-man movies like the (superior) "Zulu" then you'll probably like this movie. Yes, some might not have compassion for the defenders since them being rescued meant an end to China's real independance, but I guess you really can't like the Boxers for trying to annihilate a group that includes women and children. Even if the Imperialists were morally bad guys, I can't hold compassion to the Boxers for their terrorist tactics. But enough of this...if you like this type of film, rent this and check it out.

Exciting epic produced on the grand old scale
"55 days at Peking", has certainly in the years since it's release in 1963 come in for it's share of flack over its romantisizing of history, fictional characters and depiction of Chinese nationals. In reality however I feel you must look at this film first and foremost as the first class piece of entertainment based on historical events it was intended to be. I certainly appreciate the great effort and attention to detail that was lavished on this stunning recreation of the events surrounding the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 in Imperial China.

As an ardent student of chinese history in general I can see that the focus is upon the foreigners that were present in China at that time and that the Chinese point of view is rarely explored in detail. However what must be appreciated in this Samual Bronston production is the vivid recreation of Imperial China, the earnest performances by the leads, exquisite costumes, the excellent action scenes, and sublime musical score by the famed Dimitri Tiomkins which all add up to an engrossing two and a half hours of viewing. Charlton Heston as Major Matt Lewis the tempremental soldier for hire, David Niven as the upright British Ambassador Sir. Arthur Robertson and especially the ever beautiful Ava Gardner as the "scandalous" Russian Baroness Natalie Ivanoff all lend a commanding presence in their roles. Ava Gardner as the "woman of ill repute" who falls for Heston's no nonsense Major during the seige of the foreign legations during the rebellion and ends up paying for her devotion with her life has I feel never been better. Ava proves her often underestimated talent here as she develops from shallow society lady out for a good time, into a human being who learns the value of self sacrifice for something you believe in. The wonderful Victorian costumes which suit her so well also emphasize what a great beauty she was in her movie heyday. The main criticism of this film has always been directed at the depiction of Chinese characters by caucasian actors. I feel that there is little to get offended by here as in particular the depiction of the Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi is actually done in a much more favourable light than how the woman actually was in real life. I feel Flora Robson lends a commanding presence as the Dowager Empress and her Chinese makeup, far from being offensive is fascinating and superbly done. Robert Helpmann also shines in his sinister role of Prince Tuan, the empress's chief advisor and evil genius. They are actors playing roles just like any other performer that portray a character not of his or her own nationality and they should be rightly seen as just that.

"55 Days at Peking", while certainly not historically accurate contains an exciting fictional story woven into historical fact. This does not necessarily make it a bad drama or production and indeed here we are treated to a great story full of action, romance and a vivid retelling of a dramatic story from a "human level" as was probably witnessed by those that lived through it. The depiction of the rise of the boxers into a violent nationalist movement, the actual rebellion and siege of the foreign legations in Peking resulting in much bloodshed and destruction , the vivid and beautiful recreation of life in the decadent Ching court under the Grand Dowager Empress, are all beautifully played out in a eye popping and engrossing drama. Samuel Bronston who was responsible for some great early 1960's epics such as "El Cid", and especially the classic "The Fall of the Roman Empire" here excels himself in recreating the times in 19th Century China. The sets are sumptous with Peking being magically brought to life on sets created in Spain.Rarely nowadays do yuo see such an allout effort in mounting a top class production. The Ching court as depicted here, while not up to later "The Last Emperor", standards is still wonderful and really portrays the beauty of court life that hid so much that was wrong with the ruling system in China at the time. Rarely have more vivid depictions of the lives of ordinary Chinese been portrayed and the rebellion sequences are second to none in their raw energy, savage depiction of the loss of life and the destruction caused.

"55 Days at Peking", is not perfect by any means but I feel it has been unfairly condemmed by the supposed political correctness movement. I really enjoy historical dramas, even of the romanticised kind and Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner really maintain your interest through the long running time with their excellent work in this film. Long before computer generated special effects this film sees one of the great sets built for a film during the 1960's and for that alone it is worth seeing apart from all its other good qualities. Enjoy a journey back to grand old film making of the old school when Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner do battle against the boxers in "55 Days at Peking".

Excellent only for critical analysis
This film has only one redeeming quality- it provides an excellent opportunity to discuss bias, historical perspective, director's artistic liscence, and distortion of historical events. I viewed this film knowing that the Chinese, poorly portrayed by Americans or British, were being presented from a completely demeaning perspective that simultaneously plays the Americans as the savior heros. I plan to use this in my 7th grade social studies class to demonstrate exactly how a series of events as complex and consequential as the Boxer Rebellion can be recreated so completely and utterly wrong. Watch this as you would a Disney film like Mulan, knowing that it will only get the gist of something, and not provide any reliable characters or history. ... Read more

Description

The Tardis materializes on a pseudo-Edwardian schooner in the middle of a space race run by the mind-reading Eternals. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

This was a keeper!
I really enjoyed this doctor who adventure. I am not a big fan of Davidson, but this story had such an enchanted twist to it, that I very often find myself playing the tape again. The theme about ships floating in space is different and the various captains of each ship make for an enjoyable and wildly entertaining episode. Tegan is as annoying as ever with her constant moaning and complaining, but does manage to lighten up as she prepares to attent a wonderful dinner aboard the boat of Iraq. I must say that I very much enjoyed the actress who played the captain "Irag." She was awesome and a believeable villan. If you are not a big Davidson fan, but you want to buy just one tape from this doctor, this is the one to purchase.

An "Enlightening" Review
This was always one of my favorite Doctor Who epidodes. It's mysterious, exciting, well written, and well played. A true Doctor Who classic. I'd put it in the top five of the greatest Doctor Who episodes. The "confrontation" between the Black and White guardians at the end is thought provoking, and an end is finally brought to Turlough's annoying two-facedness. The Eternals are brilliantly, even chillingly, well played. And while it has been mentioned that Captain Wrack (sp?) is far to emotional to be a true Eternal, I think that is easily explained by the mulitude of extreamly emotional people she is "feeding" off of. On the down side, the costumes of the Black and White guardians are less than impressive when compared to how they previously looked. I think a simpler aproach than the decked out outfits they were kitted up with would have worked better. But this is a small part of the overall story and doesn't really make that much difference.
This is a truly wonderful episode and a must for any Doctor Who video collection.

Tell the Doctor, winner takes all!
That's the message the White Guardian desperately tells Tegan in the final chapter of the Black Guardian/Turlough trilogy, which concludes with a fascinating concept dealing with immortal Eternals and mortal Ephemerals, in which being an Ephemeral is better. The Eternals are engaged in a spaceship race, where the craft are replicas of Earth vessels from various periods, with the officers and crew wearing uniforms conforming to a given period. The craft the TARDIS crew land on is an early 20th century Edwardian racing yacht, with the crew taken from 1901, the same year the first British submarine was launched. The prize? Enlightenment.

The Eternals don't have human ingenuity and imagination of their own, something that Ephemerals, or as Tegan says accurately, "human beings," are gifted with. The Doctor denounces them as parasites who feed on living minds.

Turlough's desperation is at a fever pitch here. He constantly beseeches the Black Guardian for advice, but by this time, the powerful being is fed up with the boy and has doomed him to living until he kills the Doctor. He looks more to the Doctor as his source of guidance and protection, but the weasel always working to better his position, especially when it appears he is joining sides with Wrack, the menacing pirate captain of the Buccaneer who has an equally menacing laugh. Kudos to Lynda Barron.

Tegan's her usual grumpy self, but she does show outrage when the Eternals react to the destruction of a rival competitor without compassion. Heck, I would be grumpy if I was being courted by a first mate who finds my mind fascinating.

In the dinner scene, the Doctor appreciates fine wine like he did in Day Of The Daleks. He also finds time to change his celery.

The best line is when the Doctor tells the seasick Tegan, "Brave heart, Tegan." To which the hapless Australian replies, "It's not my heart I'm worried about."

Marriner is the only Eternal who is the closest to likable, as he helps the Doctor aboard the Buccaneer. True, his obsession with Tegan makes him like a creep sometimes, but he is beginning to find out what it's like to be human. If he could choose, would he forsake his immortality in exchange for living with Tegan, or is his emotional insulation, as Romana would've called it, too advanced for him to actually care for her? It's almost like Wim Wenders' Himmel Uber Berlin.

The balance of power in the universe can be summed up in this exchange between the Black and White Guardian.

White Guardian: You will never destroy the light.
Black Guardian: Others will do it for me.
White Guardian: Destroy the light and you destroy yourself. Dark cannot exist without knowledge of light.
Black Guardian: "Nor light without dark."

That knowledge itself is enlightening.

The Best Dr Who Ever!
Enlightenment is surley the best Dr Who ever-Seriously! It is futuristic and is a joy to watch. Everyone puts in there best efforts and with a great storyline, GREAT musicand great outfits E.T.C It makes it probably the best Dr Who adventure of all time! COULDN'T RECCOMEND IT MORE!

Winner Takes All
Originally, I was never impressed with the final story in this Black Guardian trilogy. That's because I watched it as an edited movie, and it didn't seem to flow very well. But in its episodic parts, as on this tape, it works much better. I think the only problem I had with this story of timeless beings known as Eternals, racing through space in sailboats to reach the prize of Enlightenment was the performance of Linda Baron as Wrack, the pirate. It was a great performance, but all wrong for the character of the empty Eternal. She played the pirate over the top. Fun, but wrong for the story and character. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Loch Ness is the setting of this very traditional 1975 Doctor Who monster story, even though it was actually filmed in southern England with local atmosphere provided by Scottish character actor Angus Lennie (The Great Escape). The Doctor (Tom Baker) is called in to investigate a mystery involving the destruction of several oil rigs and it's not too long before the Loch Ness monster is revealed as the culprit. But it's actually just a biomechanical weapon being manipulated by the evil Zygons, who have been living at the bottom of the loch, plotting world domination. The organically designed sets and monsters are very striking, as are the visual effects, with one notable exception: Really Big Creatures have always been a bane for the series, with its limited budget, to pull off, and this story's reliance on an obvious puppet monster, especially during the climax, diminishes its impact. But there is still much to relish, particularly the dialogue of writer Robert Banks Stewart (who would go on to create the long-running BBC series Bergerac) that provides a number of gems, including the Doctor admonishing the Zygons that if they succeed in their plans, they'll "have to come out on the balcony sometimes and wave a tentacle." With much derring-do, the Doctor saves the day as usual but not before four exciting episodes of fun and action. --Ryan K. Johnson ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The Doctor won't let Zygons be Zygons
The opening story of the thirteenth season has the Doctor, Harry, and Sarah responding to the Brigadier's emergency call that he got at the end of the previous story. Three rigs by the North Sea have been destroyed in one month. First there's a radio blackout, then a weird sound that comes in, and then the rig is destroyed. UNIT is stationed in the nearby village of Tullock, Scotland to investigate.

Some curious markings from the wreckage of the Bonnie Prince Charlie, the rig destroyed at the beginning of the story leads the Doctor to do a study in orthodontology, with a cast of "a set of giant molars than can chew through solid steel as easily as paper." Could it be a manifestations of evil spirits that Angus McRanald, landlord of the inn UNIT is occupying, tells about to Sarah? "Bad luck comes to them who set foot on Tullock Moor" he tells her. But do evil spirits destroy oil rigs?

Another character is the Duke of Forgill, a cynical-looking man with a withering look who is not very pleased with the oil company for two reasons. One, most of his servants have left his employ to work for the oil company, making Forgill Castle a lonely place. Two, roughnecks from the oil company keep trespassing and poaching on his land.

Things get going when Harry is shot while attempting to help the survivor of the Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the climax of Episode One has a Zygon reaching out for Sarah while she's on the phone to the Doctor.

What makes this story interesting is the fact that the Zygons are shape-shifters, and the special effects of their transformations are well-done. The Zygons are aliens who like so many alien invaders, want to conquer Earth. However, the way they intend to do it involves a creature from ancient legend. Hint: UNIT are stationed six or seven miles from Loch Ness.

The Doctor's dismissive comment on oil is clearly inspired by the effects of the 1973 oil crisis. "Oil, an emergency? Huh! It's about time the people who run this planet of yours realize that to be dependent on a mineral slime just doesn't make sense!"

One error is the Doctor telling the Brigadier he's come 270 million miles just to help him. The outermost of the satellites of Jupiter, where the previous story took place, is 370 million miles, so he's off by a factor of 100 million.

The Zygons themselves are well-realized, macrocephalic, fetal-looking aliens with suckers on their body and prominent rib-cages. They were modelled after half-formed embryos in amniotic sacs. As for "Nessy", the director was not too happy with the model realization, so much of the script was rewritten in order not to see much of it. The interior of the Zygon ship, organic like that of the Axons in Claws of Axos, is very realistic and alien.

This would be the last appearance of Nicholas Courtney (the Brigadier) for eight years until he reprised the character in Mawdryn Undead and The Five Doctors. There would be two further UNIT stories without him--The Android Invasion and The Seeds Of Doom. Other trivia: the two bagpipe tunes heard playing are "Strathspey Reel" and "Flowers of the Forest." Also, as location shooting in Scotland proved too expensive, shooting was done around the village of Charlton in Sussex.

Not a bad opener for the season, with the usual cast solid and the Zygons and their ship well-realized, but there isn't that extra oomph to make it a great story.

Routine fun
The Bad

This story should be considered pure junk in any case. The Skarsean ranks up there with Dinosaurs in Invasion of the Dinosaurs and the Kroll as one of the most poorly realized monsters and the Zygons themselves are pretty generic aliens. On top of all that it's a pretty routine alien invasion story However.........................

The Good
it's a damn good one. In spite of the flaws. The location filming is excellent and the scenes in the Zygon ship are quite good. Also after being treated as comedy relief in the last few stories UNIT are returned to their proper form as a crack military investigation squad and not the cozy "family" it was portrayed as after Jon Pertwee's first season. And Nicholas Courtney seems to be enjoying himself unlike in Robot where he had this "Oh god this horrible stuff." look in Robot and someone finally dragged him to a barber. Harry get's more to do than previously and Ian Marter does good as the Zygon disgused Harry. Also despite it looking shoddy it was about friggin time Doctor Who delved into the legend of Loch Ness Monster. Not a classic but fun.

The Ugly

You mean other than the Zygons.

An excellent leading story for the 13th season
After a very subpar Cybermen story,the Doctor, Sarah and Harry come back to Earth to help UNIT investigate destroyed oil rigs. What they find are people who aren't what they appear to be, an alien threat and one version of the Loch Ness Monster. This story is full of nice touches, including the Doctor's indignation at being called back about "mineral slime" until the Brigadier reminds him of the loss of life, a look at the Brigadier's Scottish heritage and Harry not being an imbecile. The Zygons are well written with a fascinating technology and deserved to come back, which sadly never happened onscreen. However, their one appearance is well worth getting. ... Read more

Description

Play along with the Kidsongs Kids as they imagine all of the wonderful careers they can have when they grow up! Climb aboard a firetruck and slide down the pole with real-life firefighters, take a cruise on a Coast Guard cutter, ride a bucking bronco and sample goodies at a candy factory as the kids explore all the fun things they want to be with songs like "Candy Man," "I Wanna Be a Fireman," "School Days," and more! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Still a Classic
My children are nearly 12 years about. She loved the BabySongs and KidSongs videos. Now my two year old is loving the same videos. Always classics - kids love them. And my husband and I sing along too.

CANDY MAN !!
Hal Schafer as the candy man is excellent. He puts so much energy into his character. Schafer is a wonderful actor and i am dissapointed that i havent seen him in any other videos!

Great Video
This kidsong video is of Kids that show you a variety of different occupations. It really shows the audience (kids of- course!) that you can be just about anything when you grow up. The video goes through occupations like a movie star, teacher, doctor, truck driver, candy man, police officer and fireman.

Nanny and Christopher Give Thumbs Up
My three-year-old grandson has watched this video dozens of times since receiving it over a year ago. He loves the songs, including, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," "Short'n Bread," "Skip to My Lou," and of course, "Old McDonald." The animals are a big hit with him, although I think the cow is actually a bull. The kids are cute, and all races are represented. And, even I am not sick of it, however, I am a Grandmother.

My daughter does not like Kidsongs videos. She says they are a bunch of 80's kids lip-syncing bad songs; and they are too short. My grandson and I disagree. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This smart, funny episode finds the Enterprise visiting the planet Iotia, where the starship Horizon accidentally left behind Earth materials a century before. During that time, as Captain Kirk (William Shatner) discovers, the Iotians have made much of one of those items, a book called Chicago Mobs of the Twenties. The planet's population has divided into rival gangs who dress, speak, and do violence like the spiritual descendants of Al Capone, plunging Kirk, Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and McCoy (DeForest Kelley) into a facsimile of Earth's colorful and dangerous past.

The episode is played for comedy: Kirk and Spock keep getting kidnapped by the warring hoods, each of whom wants the Federation team to use their technology to defeat the other side. The big payoff, however, is a summit meeting of bosses, where Kirk employs plenty of gangster-movie jargon to get matters settled. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Except on Tuesday
This gangster episode, and Tribbles, were the two Trek comedies that really worked. While I wouldn't exactly call the humor here subtle, it is intertwined in a fairly traditional action plot. We are able to enjoy Kirk and Spock's thuggishness for its own sake while simultaneously staying focused on the plot, for the simple reason that their behavior is called for by the story, rather than being a gimmick. The idea of a highly impressionable alien race who's cultural evolution could depend so thoroughly on a random event (the leaving behind of the book) is an interesting one as well. This episode is also helped by strong guest acting, most notably from Tayback.

The funniest of the original series
This is without question the funniest episode of the original Star Trek series. There is no funnier deadpan scene anywhere in television than the one where Kirk is "explaining" the fizzbin card game and asks Spock what the odds are against getting a royal fizzbin. His deadpan, yet truthful answer is, "I have never computed them." I laughed out loud the first time I saw that and still smile when I see it, even though I have seen it over fifty times.
The main premise is that a Federation vessel visited a planet before the Prime Directive was imposed and members of the crew interacted with the planet's inhabitants and contaminated them. Therefore, the primary task of the Enterprise is to repair the damage. The earlier Federation vessel left a book that described the Chicago gangs of the prohibition era and the inhabitants have modeled their entire culture after the book. Their clothing, buildings, speech and social structure are all modeled from the gangster movie cliches.
After many trials and errors, including Kirk trying to drive a car, there is a climactic scene where Kirk takes charge and unifies the government under one of the gang bosses. His pacing on a pool table while brandishing a machine gun and speaking one gangland cliché after another is one of the best scenes in the entire original series. His solution, where the Federation is described as an interplanetary gang, is funny and original. I have always wondered what the reaction of Star Fleet command was to his report of how he solved the contamination problem.
Funny, and essentially a spoof of a movie genre, this is one of the best Star Trek episodes ever, original series and beyond.

"A Piece of the Action," the 2nd funniest Star Trek episode
"A Piece of the Action" has the Enterprise visiting Sigma Iotia II, where a hundred years early the USS Horizon visited. Apparently this was before the Prime Directive, because one of the Horizon crew left behind a book: "Chicago Mobs of the Twenties." Now, once you get past the fact that (a) someone was toting a book into Deep Space and (b) it happened to be that particular book, you can really enjoy this one. Bela Oxymy wants the Federation to supply his gangsters with weapons so he can take over the planet, taking down Krako and the other bosses. My favorite part is when Kirk makes up a very complicated card game to play with the gangsters holding him hostage and Spock has to admit having never calculated the odds on the rarest of possible hands. Then there is also the bit where they try to drive an automobile. In the end, Kirk decides if you cannot fight them, join them. "A Piece of the Action" may well be the second funniest Star Trek episode, after "The Trouble With Tribbles," of course.

Excellence
In my opinion, A Piece Of The Action is in the top 3 episode category along with Mirror Mirror and the Corbomite Manuever. The whole episode is very deep and never uneventful. The action never stops. It employs humor in the form of "slang talk" which people like Spock and McCoy dont understand. I cant explain it all here, but I will tell you it is a very good episode.

One of the funniest and best Star Trek episodes
"A Piece of The Action" is one of my five favorite episodes of Star Trek. In "A Piece of The Action," Captain Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy beam down to a planet whose landscape is similar to that of earth. The boss of a bunch of gangsters demands that the trio from the Enterprise make a deal with him which would help him ward off some of his enemies. To put it short, the Enterprise crew has been tricked. There must be a way for Captain Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy to escape the planet alive, but they have a little bit of fun first.

"A Piece of The Action" is a great episode of the original series of Star Trek. It is well written and some parts of it are hilarious, especially the part when Captain Kirk drives a car for the first time. It's also amusing the way that Kirk talks in slang and has to repeat himself for the others to understand him.

William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy both give one of their best performances to make this one of the unforgettable episodes of Star Trek. I recommend "A Piece of The Action" to anybody. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

WOW!
David Duchovny hosts three more episodes of the popular adult series. Contains the episodes: "The Psychiatrist," "Four on the Floor," and "Emily's Dance."

Segment: "The Psychiatrist." Linda, the client played by Demetra Hampton (Valentina [1988]), picks up men on trains and in hotel bars and accepts money for various active and passive sex acts but contends that it's the psychiatrist with the problem. Linda asserts, "You sit there in your big chair and listen but you feel nothing." The "Psychiatrist" (Denise Crosby) writes to Red Shoes lamenting, "Whom does he psychiatrist talk to?" (Actually, the role looks more like that of a psychologist, because she seems to rely on logo therapy rather than drugs.) The Psychiatrist goes to the hotel bar and hooks up with the same man (Georges Corraface) replicating the experience of Linda. On "The Man's" prompts, she progressively removes items of her clothing, accepting various amounts of money for each garment. But eventually she turns the tables on him by demanding that he touch her. Has she gotten in over her head or can she manage a real relationship with him? Segment: "Four on the Floor." An old movie featuring two couples who engage in group sex while on a vacation far from home serves as the inspiration for the story. The Red Shoes correspondent (Rachel Palmieri, I think) reports having seen the movie during a break from final exams preparations at college. Later, when she and her lover are involved in a car accident while on a double date with their best friends, they have to take shelter from the rain in an old abandoned building. Of course, they must all remove their rain-soaked clothing and huddle together to keep warm. Is history (as told in the movie) about to repeat itself? Segment: "Emily's Dance." Emily (Kent Masters King) is an aspiring dancer. Her technique is excellent and the film makers like her looks, but she can't let herself "get into" her performance. She gets a tryout on a project directed by Zalman King (Himself), who is assisted by Ashley Lowengrub (Herself) and which is choreographed by Tony Ciulla (Himself). Freedom Williams is the lead male dancer who also coughs up the rap stuff in the background. He sees her talent and tries to push her over the line where she will finally be free to express herself through her dance. Will he succeed or just break her spirit?...

Not sure if this is same version? Different Box
The one I have, I like the first story best with Denise Crosby from Star Trek Next Generation. She plays a psychiatrist and mimics her patient's wild adventure, except she is better. It is called The Psychiatrist. The next one is called Four on the Floor like the title, it is sexy, but as the other reviewer stated these are soft porn. The last one is Emily's Dance, it is really sexy dancing. The first story is the best. I was going to put it up for sale here, but since it has a different box, I will put it up in auctions with a picture.

My Review
This is one of the best porno movies that i have ever purchased it has some of the best details. And the picture is so CLEAR. The movie has some of the hottest girls I have yet to see in a movie. The one thing i didn't like about this movie is their wasn't enough hardcore. It was just a lot of softcore. I would strongly recemend this movie if you are into softcore, but i would look for something else if you want hardcore. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good Recapp of Olympic glories!
This was a good recapp of famous scenes from the Olympics. The video highlights how a lot of the Olympic traditions began and how the modern Olympics were restarted. It takes you through three hours of the greatest Olympic moments. I was a little dissappointed that we didn't hear the orginal commentary from the games, along with Bud Greenspan. It also didn't show enough of some of the more famous Olympians - there was not much on Greg Louganis or Jesse Owins, or Nadia Comaneci. Overall I liked this video but I was a little dissappointed.

Great Documentary
I originally saw this documentary on PBS and thought it was a great recap of the last 100 years of the Olympic Games. I am glad to see that it is now on video. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

A good McStory
This story involves the Doctor, on Earth, facing a bunch of hostile Androids, controlled by aliens intent on taking over the Earth, and the Doctor is fooled by android facsimilies of his friens....Sound familiar? It should. So far I could be describing the plot to several stories, most notably Pertwee's 'Spearhead from Space'. However, this story just goes to show where you can go with an unoriginal plot.

It is mostly the performances of Elizabeth Sladen as Sarah and Tom Baker as the good Doctor that elevate this beyond it's seemingly 'McStory' status. This is one of the best Doctor/Companion combonations ever in the series, so it's no wonder they spent three seasons together.

More similarities to other science fiction apparant here. The scene when the android Doctor and Sarah emerge from their 'containers' just screams "Invasion of the Pod People".

At worst, 'Android Invasion' is one of the better formulatic stories, and at best, it's a fun runaround worthy of being called good Doctor Who!

We are the vilage green preservation society.
As others have pointed out this is rather a standard android invasion type story with worked in rehashed pulp science fiction props and plots.

Having said that it is more of a comic horror type of story with Tom Baker literally hamming it up throughout. From the early moaning and groaning from Sarah Jane (are we there yet, are we there yet Type of complaining about getting back home) to the Marie celeste type village - could be in Epcot - through to the twisted Sontaran type aliens there is a lot of tongue in cheek humour. This also is a bit of a prototype of the later, not as good, Peter Davison story 'Four to Doomsady' which has a number of similarities but not as good sets or location.

This story is quite droll and if it was to be taken too seriously then I must admit it would not be such a good tale. I have not seen such a Doctor Who where Tom Baker is in such good comic form. It reminds me of a later UK tv show where he played a house doctor and obviously had a lot of fun doing it.

Do not judge this story too harshly. Given the context of the other stories of the season and the Tom Baker series it would not be terribly logical to broadcast a dummy.

Watch it in lightheart and you will get much enjoyment from it.
Originally broadcast 22 November to 13 December 1975.

a.k.a. Doctor Who and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
When Sarah Jane asks the Doctor if they are on Earth, the Doctor answers "possibly." Part of this has to do with the high radiation reading he gets from an instrument.

However, they see a UNIT corporal commit suicide over a cliff, and upon closer examination discover he has all newly minted coins and bills in his wallet. Upon closer examination of the village of Devesham, which Sarah recognizes, they discover it deserted. When people do appear, they do so in a robotic, clockwork fashion. Among those in the pub is none other than the corporal, alive and well! Sarah gets off a parting shot at his expense: "I don't you think you should be drinking so soon after breaking your neck."

Both decide to explore the Space Defense Station a mile from the pub, where to their bewilderment, they find their friends, Mr. Benton and Harry Sullivan, under orders to hunt them down. To add to the mystery, they are being led by Guy Crayford, an astronaut testing a new space freighter XK-5 who vanished, presumably killed by a colliding asteroid. "All our friends led by a dead man," the Doctor observes wryly. But Crayford is under the thrall of Styggron, a strange alien resembling a cross between a rhino and a boar.

The military vs scientists motif is explored as Styggron puts the emphasis on science as the thing that will help his fellow Kraals, while Marshall Chedaki insists on military might. All I can say is that if Chedaki were in charge of the operation, the Earth wouldn't stand a chance, as Styggron makes mistake after mistake. Chedaki's analysis of the Doctor as someone who has a history of supporting libertarian causes is half-accurate--I'd include a "left" in front of "libertarian."

The astronaut-suited androids with index finger guns is a revamp of the Autons, whose hands dropped down to reveal guns. At one point, the Doctor looks at a robot pointing its gun at him, and asks "Is that finger loaded?"

In the Phillip Hinchcliffe's gothic regime, this is a take on the original movie of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, down to the black pods and duplicates, and the paranoid atmosphere that anyone could be a duplicate. Barry Letts, who was Hinchcliffe's predecessor as producer, directs this one!

Continuity errors irk me to no end, and here's one. The bogus calendar in the village reads 6 July Friday. This is a problem if one considers the UNIT and contemporary Earth stories to be set in the exact year the story was broadcast. This aired from 22 November to 13 December 1975. The closest years with the calendar structure is 1973 or 1979. It can't be 1973, as the Doctor is still in his third incarnation, and it can't be 1979, as the Brigadier has retired by then. He is still in action in this story. The only possible explanation is that the Kraals first conceived of the plan on 6 July 1973, which would fit Crayford's disappearance two years ago. OK, that's sorted out then. Whew!

There are a few good moments, such as an android Sarah's faceplate falling off to reveal circuits beneath, and the difference seen between the cold emotionless robots and the actual humans with warmth and feeling.

This is the last series appearances of John Levene (Benton) and Ian Marter (Harry), the latter having died suddenly at his home in 1986.

While owing a lot to its sci-fi roots, The Android Invasion has consistency errors, all regarding the Kraal plans and the androids. Their plan make the use of androids redundant, so why use them? Not one of the better Fourth Doctor stories.

I just love this episode...
I truly enjoy the earlier Tom Baker (Sarah Jane) episodes. "The Android Invasion" is a wonderful example (when he actually wore the hat) and a great performance by Liz Sladen as they arrive and explore a seemingly deserted English village. When I sit down to watch a Dr Who, I often find myself reaching for this tape. The story has a special charm that is difficult to explain. I would recommend that all Dr Who fans add "The Android Invasion" to their library. It is one of my very favorite episodes!

Pretty good, but not fantastic
This is one of those "pretty good&qu