Reviews

Gilmore Girls has always been a quality program and the pride of the WB network. Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel are terrific together as mother and daughter and Graham continues to prove each week that she is one of the best actresses in all of television. The only problem we can see with this show are the constant liberal political references. ACLU and Pro Choice posters adorn the dorm room walls. Liberal politicians, authors, and columnists are frequently mentioned in adoring fashion. When a video tape of a Rosie O'Donnell TV movie is used as plot point this has reached an absurd level. Enough of this please. All this is of small concern when considering that last year in its fifth season the show enjoyed a cultural re-birth that was remarkable and beautiful. Lorelei and Luke moved their relationship ahead doing wonders for Luke's character. He has become less manic and more enjoyable to watch. But the best thing to happen to Gilmore Girls was the arrival of one Logan Huntzberger. Only very rarely does such a character come along. The producers and writers created Logan and Matt Czuchry brings him alive in a performance that is nothing short of magical to watch. The proverbial television jackpot has been hit here and the viewers are lucky recipients of the riches. Logan was a very rich, beautiful playboy with the women lined-up to get to him. Totally unapologetic he just went about enjoying all that the rich life could offer. Instead of being another spoiled, vapid rich kid the writers, however, also made him smart, sophisticated, well-read and interesting. Matt Czuchry is magnificent as Logan. Somehow this character can be rich playboy, extremely intelligent heir to a vast family fortune, and loving, caring boyfriend to Rory all at once. And it is all done with so much charm and class that we can't wait for Logan to appear in every episode. The fact that Czuchry is a superb actor is evident. He makes it all look effortless. Logan is always the smartest, coolest, most interesting person in the room. And he can more than keep up with all of the other fast-talking characters on this show. There have been so many wonderful scenes with Rory that show the great chemistry between Alexis Bledel and Matt Czuchry. If the chemistry between Lorelei and Luke is nice and relaxed the chemistry between Rory and Logan is electric and explosively charged. So thank you to the producers and writers for this great gift of Logan Huntzberger. And thank you to Matt Czuchry for bringing us what is now our favorite character on the show and now our favorite character on television period. He is that good. Note to producers and executives: This character has unlimited potential and is so much more interesting than procedural cops all over TV. If there is any justice in the entertainment world at all the viewers will continue to enjoy this character for many years to come. And Mr. Czuchry will enjoy a long and award-filled career in his chosen craft. He is remarkable and Gilmore Girls and all of the viewers are the better for it. Thanks.

FOX has done it again! The network famous for overhauling or even cancelling shows before they premiere has outdone itself this time. The original pilot that sold this show to FOX is not the episode we just watched. The pilot had a different (and much better) cast and was supposed to be a drama about the dynamics between the staff and guests at an upscale Hawaiian hotel. Then suddenly the dim 10-watt bulb that illuminates the FOX programming office flickered to life: Hey, we're FOX, it's summer! Let's make it a soap opera and maybe we'll get lucky like with "The O.C." Sorry, but "O.C." is state of the art and "North Shore" is stale and tired. Then FOX tried to promote their new show saying it was "The O.C. for the older, more sophisticated viewer" and it was the "Melrose Place" to the O.C.s "90210". What were they thinking under that 10-watt bulb? "The O.C." is witty and smart, charming, and classy. "North Shore" is none of that. "Melrose Place" was "Masterpiece Theatre" compared to N.S. All of the actors on Melrose and O.C. could give badly needed acting lessons to the cast of N.S. "North Shore" is slow, badly written, badly acted by some of the cast, and a complete disappointment. They ended up with "Baywatch" on FOX. Brooke Burns and Jason Momoa were actually "Baywatch" cast members. The lifeguard has bleached blonde hair and six-pack abs..just like well, you get the picture. Worst of all are Burns, who cannot act, and has a toothy smile that would shame the grill of a '58 Buick, and the horribly miscast James Remar. Remar obviously was added to play the older authority figure to all the youngsters just like David Hasselhoff on yes..."Baywatch" again. But he gave an eerie, weird take to his character like the hotel was in a "Twilight Zone" episode. His character is totally unlikable. So once again FOX has managed to mismanage a new show. The winners in all of this are the lucky former cast members from the original pilot who have now escaped this mess. The losers are the viewers and the current cast members. FOX will be a loser too if "North Shore" is swept away by a tsunami of viewer rejections....as it should rightfully be.

"10.5" managed to register a complete embarrassment for NBC. This is quite possibly the worst mini-series ever broadcast. The fact that it was on NBC, the supposed "quality" network, makes it even more unbelievable. The movie is corny, badly written, badly acted, melodramatic, and scientifically incorrect. There are too many absurd lines of dialogue and stupid scenes to count but here a couple of examples. In the middle of a national emergency the surgeon son of the FEMA director leaves his hospital to hunt down dad and argue about their poor father/son relationship. Another example is the FEMA director taking control of on-site remote operations at several different locations in an impossible time frame. The worst part of this movie was the President as played by Beau Bridges. Bridges is a fine actor but this was one of the worst portrayals of a President ever. Not one word, not one scene, not one facial reaction even comes close to looking realistic. In fact, all of the officials in this film, elected or otherwise, are cartoonish. The special effects are passable by television standards but the cliches and ridiculous situations in the script sink this disaster film fast.

We've all seen several portrayals of Sir Winston Churchill but none match the performance of Albert Finney. Indeed, every performance in this film is rich, textured, and compelling. The film is sumputuous and thought provoking without ever bogging down or slowing in pace. The dangers of being unprepared militarily are shown in the historical context of Great Britain in the 1930's. An analogy can be drawn for any current time or period in history. The acting, writing and production values are of the highest quality. This film deserves a rating higher than ten as it literally towers above normal movie fare.

This was a very entertaining movie that focused more on the love affair between Helen and Paris and international intrigues than the battles between Troy and the Greek city-states. There were several deviations from Homer's Iliad such as the placement of Troy on a cliff above the shoreline. In actuality Troy was several

miles inland from the bay on a broad agricultural plain. The battle scenes were very limited, probably to save money, but the Trojan Horse was nothing less than spectacular! One clear element in the film was the unmistakable portrayal as the Trojans being noble and gallant set against the greed, dishonesty, and brutality of the Greeks, especially King Agamemnon. John Rhys-Davies made a great King Priam of Troy. Seeing this film affirms the ancient saying "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts".

It seems that the main criticisms of TV action films are that they are predictable and made on lower budgets than theatrical releases. These criticisms are moot since you can always count on the good guys to win and one shouldn't expect big screen budgets on television movies. One must view the piece knowing these facts going in. This movie totally succeeded in providing enjoyable, escapist, action viewing. You could tell from the opening scenes that this would be a cut above the rest. It was the best original movie I've seen on TBS. If I had to find an area of criticism it would be to the director and teleplay for a couple of scenes that could have been deleted and a couple that needed some extra development. Now, the most enjoyable part of all was the super performance by Rob Estes as ATF agent Thomas Kellogg. Estes is a fine actor and he brought charisma and style to the role. Athletic and nimble he made the action scenes look easy. He was totally convincing. Joe Lando was fine as the older brother and there was a believable sibling dynamic between the two. The U.S. submarine crew also was very good and deserves mention. A very watchable and enjoyable film loaded with action. Hey TBS, how about some further adventures with the Kellogg brothers? Really enjoyed Estes and the film very much.

We couldn't tell if this movie was designed for little kids or kids and undemanding adults. It was a mess for sure. Kiddie plot, grainy and cheap production values and a lot of very bad overacting. Daphne Zuniga and Jack Wagner actually looked embarrassed to be there. Even for PAX-TV this was a low-brow entry. It looked more like a Disney Channel Saturday morning show.

Any movie that involves science fiction or any kind of mysticism must have complete accuracy in the parts of the film that use actual history as support of the plot. This film immediately ran into trouble when they referred to the lost British ocean liner as "HMS" Queen of Scots. Any screenwriter capable of selling a script to a major network such as TBS should know that "HMS" refers to British warships. The liner should have been "RMS" for Royal Mail Steamship. Also, they referred to the ship being lost before WWII in "October" of 1939. Hello! WWII began on September 1st, 1939! Aside from those terrible errors the film was a complete bomb. The acting was almost shockingly bad. Luke Perry looked aged and bored. Dan Cortese should have stayed at MTV. The final scene with the liner catching fire and sinking in about 30 seconds was perhaps the worst special effect I've ever seen on TV. 80,000 tons of metal just sinking in 30 seconds. Sure. I still can hardly believe how awful this film was. Man the lifeboats on this one!

Silk Stalkings will go down in TV history as the little cable show that really scored in the ratings. Rob Estes and Mitzi

Kapture had more genuine, honest and passionate on-screen chemistry than any TV characters I've ever seen before or since. It was magical. The friendship. The caring. The support. The professional competence of this team was just something to behold. The show also featured great supporting players like Charlie Brill and William Anton. But all good things eventually come to an end. When Rob & Mitzi left in the middle of the 5th season the new team was totally unable to continue on in any way even close their predecessors. To be charitable, they were awful. But it only got worse. As

the 6th season started Executive Producer David Peckinpah left the series. He had been the controlling force in the 1st 5 seasons. Season 6 gave us new producers, directors, writers, supporting players, and a new team of detectives. Across the board the show collapsed! We were supposed to

believe that a divorced couple were now the number one detective team in Palm Beach. We were supposed to believe that no one in the Police Dept. had ever even known Chris and Rita. The writing and directing were absolutely awful! Rob & Mitzi had more chemistry and heat sitting at their desks than Potter and Gunn could ever hope to muster. We tried to give the last team chances to impress but the fun and magic were gone. It was just impossible to replace the magic that graced the screen with Rob Estes and Mitzi Kapture. We still miss their characters but luckily have tapes to enjoy for years to come.

This is one of the finest TV movies you could ever see. The acting, writing and production values are top-notch. The performances are passionate with Beverly D'Angelo superb as the older woman with a teenage daughter and Rob Estes simply perfect as the young stud boyfriend. However, the best part of this film was how it showed the consequences of sexual abuse instead of going for the usual happy ending. It showed that abuse can happen in good families; involve good people; and wreck lives. It is thought provoking and entertaining. Congratulations to all concerned with this exceptional movie.

This comment will go against the grain of viewers who seemed to think the original cast of Suddenly Susan was so irreplaceable that the season 4 cast change was responsible for the show's fall. The fact is that the ratings for Suddenly Susan had fallen quite dramatically every year since the opening season. It was in a

downward spiral ever since leaving the post "Friends" time-slot. While you could get some laughs out of the show there was a total lack of chemistry between Brooke Shields and Judd Nelson. The relationship was totally contrived and forced. No spark at all. Kathy Griffin could be funny at times. The new cast brought some improvements. Rob Estes and Brooke Shields had great chemistry that lit up the show. There were some very funny moments from Eric Idle and Sheri Shepherd. Some of the early season 4 shows were awful. The cast really jelled later on in episodes not broadcast on NBC but seen in syndication. Rob Estes, especially, shows a talent for comedy with his performance becoming better with each episode. Look for more comedic roles from Estes. The bottom line is that this show would never win any awards no matter which cast was involved. It was a light, unremarkable show and that's about all.

Could it be possible for a film to have any more worn cliches as this film? Another airliner in trouble. Another heroic captain saving the passengers from certain doom. There was absolutely zero suspense and zero originality here. As the plane's pilot Jack Wagner was awful. All smirk and smarm and no hint of realism. When making your viewing reservations be sure to book another flight. This one was grounded for mechanical defects.

This movie was a very well made and enjoyable little film. The old story about crazed backwoods creeps is well played here. The heros inadvertantly drive in to trouble in a small Southern town. The hillbilly loons are well played and resist the over-the-top performances. In an early role, Rob Estes is terrific as Ryan, the city boy who joins forces with a Vietnam vet to save a young lady from the "hillbillies". These "hillbillies" will never make it to Beverly Hills. I really enjoyed this film....very entertaining.

This movie was a victim of mediocre writing and bad directing. Rob Estes was just fine in the role of an escaped killer. He was more than capable in the action scenes and managed to rise above the material. The film, though, was filled with cliches and some sub-standard supporting performances. The direction was jerky and clipped. This could have been an excellent action movie with an improved script. While still a watchable film, it was all Estes and not much else.

This movie was superior to most of its type. Rob Estes and Joely Fisher were excellent together and definitely made the film watchable. As with most Sci-Fi films some parts required the viewer to be very open-minded but Estes & Fisher overcame this element.