TV Show Info:
Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast:Annette O’Toole, Kristin Kreuk, Allison Mack, Erica Durance, Laura Vandervoort, Michael Rosenbaum, Tom Welling, John Glover, Aaron Ashmore
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: WB

Release Info:
Original Air Dates: October 16-present
DVD Box Set Release Date: September 9, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $37.99

I like Superman. When I was a kid I had Superman pajamas, underoos, and wanted nothing more than to become a reporter by day and a superhero by night. I wanted to have the hot chick at my side in either form, even if she wasn’t truly smart enough to see that tights don’t make a man unrecognizable. Alas, the superhero life was not in the cards for me.

After reading all the comics that I could get my hands on and watching all of the Superman movies, I’ve learned to be a bit more discriminatory about how this superhero is portrayed. I wasn’t a big fan of Lois and Clark, as popular as it was, and I think that is one of the things that kept me away from Smallville.

The concept, I will admit, is interesting. I like the idea of looking into Superman/Clark Kent’s life when he is a youth. So far, I have found nothing wrong with this concept. However, the whole secret identity feels blown, which wouldn’t work at all. The writing takes a lot of creative allowances and in the end there is no acting good enough to make it feel like the show it should feel like.

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TV Show Info:
Writer: Kenny Hotz, Spencer Rice
Director: Kenny Hotz, Spencer Rice
Cast: Kenny Hotz, Spencer Rice
Rating: Unrated
Studio: Comedy Central

Release Info:
Original Air Dates:November 2007 – Present (2002 in Canada)
Season Air Dates: 2007-2008
DVD Box Set Release Date: August 12, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $17.99, Wal-Mart for $17.86
Episodes: the first half of the first season

Considering the fact that I am not familiar with Canadian television, like most Americans I had no clue about this show until it hit Comedy Central last year. Had I known that you could make a show by being a gross guy I would be a millionaire by now. My friends and I used to have a show like this, but we called it life. We would dare each other to see who could do the most ridiculous things only to force the loser into awfully humiliating tasks. It was great fun. Our competitions ranged from eating contests to things at work that I can’t even talk about, to little silly things like who could spit the furthest. We took them seriously though. Hell, I even practiced! So, it is nice to see such an interesting show land on my desk.

The rules of the show are simple. Kenny and Spenny (Spencer) are roommates that live together. These contests occur frequently. The loser is forced to go through with some humiliating task, usually picked by the winner of said competition. Depending on the competition, the rules include an agreed upon time period and special rules in case they are necessary. The show is not funny just because of the outrageous competitions they put themselves in, but because of the personalities of Kenny and Spenny. If I wasn’t laughing at the contest I was laughing at one of the two guys. It makes for a great show, assuming it’s in the right demographic, which it seems to be doing just fine with the Comedy Central crowd.

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Writer: Matt Short
Director:Billy Burgess, Jonathan Haug
Cast: Karina Michel, Matt Short
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount/Spike TV
Release Date: July 15, 2008

MANswers is a man’s man kind of show. The entire premise of this show is to cater to men that are in puberty, college, or never really grew up. It’s easy to imagine men sitting around in bonding circles scratching, eating, and laughing while watching MANswers. Then again, maybe that’s just how my circle rolls. Either way this is one of those shows that tend to be (more often than not) gender specific.

I have not met too many women that find this show appealing. There are a few that can find the humor, but generally I find that most women don’t want to know “Which Nationality is most Willing to Put Out on the First Date”, and things of that sort.

The thing that makes this show work is that it’s mindless entertainment. You don’t need to think too much. All you need to do is be a guy and laugh. It’s simple and let’s face it, we could all use a little more simplicity these days. Spike Television is known for offering the best in guy programming, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before they went where they did. The reception was taken well enough to grant the show a second season, which apparently means I am not the only one out there watching MANswers.

Release Information:
Paramount and Spike have teamed up to offer you the 25 hottest questions from the first season of MANswers. This is a pretty basic disc to promote the show. If you’re new to the show, this is a good way to acquaint yourself with how it works. If you’re not new to the show, this gives you a chance to see some of your favorite moments all over again. It offers an inexpensive way to catch the best moments of the season without having to wait for your favorite re-runs to appear.

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Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Bill Bellamy, Peter Facinelli, Tiffani Thiessen
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Date:July 8, 2008

I like a television show that takes no brain cells to process what is happening. It’s what I like to call brain dead television. In movie form, this is often referred to as action movies. The rules are simple. All you need are some fast and happening cars, some hot (depending on how you see them) chicks, some guns, maybe some cops, and some violence. These shows usually qualify as cop dramas on television because it’s not an episode without someone getting shot at. It’s no wonder why I was chosen to write the Fastlane review. I was made for this.

I’ve been watching cop dramas since my daddy was forcing my mama to watch them while I was in the womb. In that time, I have seen some incredible shows and I have seen some duds. Fastlane lands somewhere in between. I imagine it will be quite popular with hormonal boys or virginal men, but I think the bright, flashiness of it all will also allow it to appeal to those with hyperactivity and attention issues, too.

Release Information:
It’s a shock that Fastlane made it for the 22 episode run that it did. It’s not that the show is horrendous, but considering each episode cost over $2 million to make it’s hard to imagine that it was worth shooting at all. The show ran from 2002-2003 before the ratings dropped and it was finally canceled. The cost had to do with the exotic cars, expensive soundtracks, and the guest appearances that were common on the show. Some of the guest stars include Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jake Busey, Fred Durst, Naomi Campbell, Tommy Lee, Biz Markie, Ali Landry, Mischa Barton, Jenny McCarthy, and Terrence Howard, and that’s not even half of them.

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Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: William Conrad
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: July 8, 2008

I remember Cannon well. It was one of those shows that I would watch every week. I suppose I am getting older because I rarely think of it anymore, but when it turned up on my desk I was all ready to get reviewing. The 70s put out some pretty okay television and in the earlier part of the decade that included Cannon. While detective and cop shows can largely be the same, I always viewed Cannon as an overly chubby Robin Hood. Sure he drove a fly car (and wrecked it equally as much as he drove it) and lived well, but he always made sure to charge his rich clients a little bit more, just so he could give the poor ones a deal.

Cannon was a complete loner. He didn’t have a sidekick or a partner. Hell, he didn’t even have a secretary. This guy did it all alone. He might have had a weight problem and wanted to work it alone, but like my granddaddy always said, “If you want it done right do it yourself…” I guess Frank wanted it done right. Say what you will, he did it right enough to make it for about five successful seasons.

Release Information:
Cannon was a fan favorite back in the first season, or at least it was for me. I think the thing that initially attracted me to Cannon, was the action. I was a rough kid and liked rough, action shows. My parents always seemed to like the guest stars that appeared on the show. It seemed that the first season brought out all the popular stars of the early 1970s.

This DVD release marks the first time that Cannon has been on DVD. This first season, volume one set includes twelve episodes from the initial season. Paramount, in conjunction with CBS, will be release this first box set on July 8, 2008. You should be able to pick this set up at most stores that sell DVD box sets. You can find this on Amazon for pre-order to be shipped on July 8, for $25.99.

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Writer: Kristofor Brown, Seth Rogen, John Hughes
Director: Steven Brill
Cast: Owen Wilson, Troy Gentile, Nate Hartley, David Dorfman, Alex Frost, Josh Peck, Leslie Mann
Rating: Unrated
Studio: Paramount
Release Date:July 1, 2008

I love comedies. Next to crime dramas and very strange titles that the people at Literary Illusions try to convince me to review, comedies are my thing. I enjoy the psycho rednecks like Jeff Foxworthy and LtCG (Larry the Cable Guy), but I tend to be versatile and open minded where comedy is concerned.

I also enjoy Eddie Murphy (his 80s stuff in particular), Martin Lawrence (though not in College Road Trip) and many other funny guys. Owen Wilson tends to be pretty good. I have missed a couple of his comedies that double as chick flicks, but Drillbit Taylor looked pretty safe, so I decided to pick up the review duties on this one.

Back in the day, one of my favorite comedy writers was John Hughes. The king of high school, teenage angst popped off numerous classics back in the 80s. When I think of all of the really big teen 80s movies, it seems his name is always attached. Favorites include The Breakfast Club (I was so Bender with a pot belly in high school…or maybe that’s now?!), Pretty in Pink, and Weird Science. Of course, Bueller is a definite classic as are so many other Hughes films. So, when I found out that Hughes had come up with the idea for Drillbit I couldn’t wait to see it.

Release Information:
Hughes was not actually given a writing credit on the film to my knowledge. I am not even sure how much he had to do with the project in terms of writing and decision making. This is where Drillbit differs from his teenage 80s classics where Hughes was heavily involved. Still, if you look close enough you can see the Hughes mark that is so obvious in his films.

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Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Erik Estrada, Robert Pine, Larry Wilcox, Paul Linke, Brodie Greer, Randi Oakes, Lew Saunders
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release Date: June 3, 2008

I remember watching CHiPs when I was younger. Didn’t everyone watch CHiPs when it was on television? I used to sit in front of the television, just thinking about the day when I could get on my own cool motorcycle and trek across the lands bringing peace to the people whenever possible. Eventually I learned that I wasn’t the real life CHiPs type. As hard as I tried I ended up more like Larry the Cable Guy (no jokes, I’m smarter) and less like Eric Estrada.

That might have been one of the coolest things about having to watch CHiPs. It brought me back to those days when life was less complex and nothing mattered more than a simple storyline and a few laughs. It also says a lot about television at the time when CHiPs was popular. I have to wonder whether it would be popular at all if it were on today. I think the answer might be that it wouldn’t be. The main draw for people was Eric Estrada. Once you got to the show, you found it wasn’t half bad, but without that Estrada leader I doubt many would have bothered to check it out at all.

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Cast: Kirk Franklin, John Legend, Dr. Bobby Jones, J Moss, Patti LaBelle, Pastor Shirley Caesar
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: April 29, 2008

Every now and then we receive something for review that no one at Literary Illusions is really interested in seeing. When this happens the DVD or product is usually given to the writer with the least seniority to handle. The idea is that eventually, they won’t be the last in line and they will not have to do DVDs that no one else will review. As the last in line, Celebration in Gospel - Spirit in Song was mine. This just prompts me to recommend that Literary Illusions start taking applications for reviewers post haste. I am only one man and I’m not sure I can handle another repeat performance of a dry, over-edited piece of junk again.

The premise of this BET series is simple enough and from what I can tell, people seem to really enjoy the television production of Celebration in Gospel . However, this heavily edited piece of television history is likely not worth the cost of the DVDs that it was placed on. I don’t recall seeing anything on the cover that explains that this DVD is edited from the performances that were shown on television though I heard this common complaint from the people that seem to like this show. For me, it didn’t really matter though the addition of Steve Harvey might have added some comedy to the boredom that I was forced to endure while watching this crap.

Release Information:
Celebration in Gospel - Spirit in Song was made available by Paramount Home Video and BET on April 29, 2008. This DVD, which likely has limited release availability, is able to be found at most DVD venues online, including Amazon, where it is available for $20. Why anyone would want to pay $20 for a DVD that lasts an hour and has been edited more than an episode of Sesame Street where the Muppets smoke crack is beyond me, but if you want the DVD you know where to find it.

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Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Sean Patrick Flanery, Catherine Zeta Jones, Daniel Craig
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Release Date: December 18, 2007

Fans of Indiana Jones seemed to be quite excited when this particular series of DVDs hit the shelves. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones is a series of movies that offer just what the title says, the adventures of a young Indiana Jones. For one reason or another I just never got into these when they came out back in the 1990s. I suppose I just had better things to do. Either way, I never had any intention of watching these movies when they first aired and I had forgotten all about their existence until I was asked to review this set of movies.

Like most people on the planet I have seen the traditional Indiana Jones movies. When I heard about these again I was the most curious about how they would compare. I couldn’t help but feel like these were made to cash in on the success of the original films. That being said, it didn’t mean that these would be terrible. They could still have a good quality if the writing and acting were above the par I was expecting.

The movies were originally on television, so add that to a possible new nail in the coffin. As most people are able to realize, television movies are usually not of a quality that is even worthy of something that needs to be on DVD. To their credit, I will say that these have since been reedited by George Lucas. I have no idea what the original edits are like as I never saw them. I will just be going off the Lucas edits for the eight movie set that I was given to review.

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Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, John Mahoney, Jane Leeves
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Release Date: December 11, 2007

Frasier is one of those shows that everyone has heard of at least in passing. You probably have to live under a rock to not be familiar with the show. Even if you haven’t seen it you still may be somewhat familiar with Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) if you used to watch the hit show Cheers.

Frasier was the popular Boston psychologist who would frequent the bar with his wife (ex-wife on Frasier) Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth). After the show ended, Frasier was such a popular character, he was able to pack his bags and move to a new town and a new show.

Over the years, I have watched Frasier on and off. Despite not being a loyal viewer, I always had a great time watching the show. It was hard not to laugh at the antics of the characters and their various personality differences. Back when it was running on the air, it was one of the most popular 30 minutes on television.

Having lasted eleven seasons, now with the release of its tenth season, almost the entire series has been released on DVD. Naturally, fans are clamoring to get their hands on this set. Since I had the chance to watch the entire set recently, it’s easy to see why people are in such a rush to get their hands on season ten. It’s a completely entertaining series and offers plenty of laughs throughout the four discs and 24 episodes.

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