Drew
Carey Show: The Complete Series
(1995 - 2004/Warner DVD Set)/Fallout:
Season One 4K
(2024/MGM/Warner 4K Blu-ray Steelbook Set)/Murder,
She Wrote: The Complete Series
(1985 - 1996/Universal Blu-ray Set)
Picture:
C+/B+/B Sound: C/B+/B- Extras: C-/B-/B- Episodes:
C+/B-/B-
Here
are some old TV favorites, back again...
The
Drew Carey Show: The Complete Series
(1995 - 2004) is back as a full set collected form the individual DVD
sets issued long ago by Warner Bros. and you can read about the first
debut season at this link:
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5568/The+Drew+Carey+Show+%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%E2%
A
like the cast more than the show and its writing, where the humor is
semi-obvious and never goes to much further, but it is the type they
decided on and the cast had enough energy and talent to make it all
work for fans. I could only take the show in small amounts, but do
understand its appeal, which is fine, bu would argue that a more
multi-layered approach would have likely worked better. Instead, it
is in the Seinfeld
mode and a healthy long run hit was the result. No surprise Carey is
still a star and the rest of the cast moved on to more solid work.
Thus, the show is for fans only, but now they can get new pressings
of the older sets and that should keep all happy for now.
The
only extra is the previously released featurette Life
Inside The Cubicle
from the Season
1 DVD
already covered. Strange the rest of the releases had zero extras,
but if it is a filmed show, maybe we'll get something down the line
like that
Fallout:
Season One 4K
(2024) is the new TV series from the Westworld
team of Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, another one of those
post-apocalyptic tales where almost no resources are left and most of
the characters are barely surviving. The nuclear disaster happened
in the near future, so there is some more advanced technology that
did get made before innovation could continue and the result is a
series that plays against some cliches, formula and stereotypes in
the situations presented (no Mad
Max
imitations here or anything so simple) though it cannot avoid overlap
with that subgenre or themes the Westworld
revival (all reviewed elsewhere on this site) took up so well.
Actually
based on a videogame from 1997 that has a following and even
non-videogame people have heard of or run into at times, it is quite
the contrast to the recent Minecraft
film (reviewed in 4K elsewhere on this site) and one of the only such
adaption to take itself seriously versus the majority of videogame
takeoffs being loaded (for better and worse, depending) on comedy.
We are introduced to several continuing characters, with Lucy MacLean
(Ella Purnell) and Maximus (Aaron Moten) being interesting and
somewhat contrasting starting points. Then we meet the rest of the
characters and the supporting cast of mostly new actors hold their
own here.
As
well, veterans like Walter Goggins, Leslie Uggams, Matt Berry, Chris
Parnell, Fred Armisen
and Kyle MacLachlan also deliver and all this melds to create one of
the more surprisingly good series we've seen in a while. I'll stop
there so I do not ruin any surprises, but Fallout
is the kind of show you should start watching only knowing some basic
information and just let it happen to you. Rarely are series this
good and ambitious anymore, but here it is and if you are interested,
definitely check it out.
Extras
with this
Limited Edition Steelbook
release (per the press release, but to be seen after watching the
whole season) include Audio Commentary tracks exclusive to this
physical release.
Console
to Camera - The Fallout universe has a rich legacy
with tens of millions of fans around the world. Go
behind-the-scenes of Prime Video's new series and explore how and
why, after nearly three decades, it was the perfect time to make the
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. leap from game to screen.
Welcome
to the World of Fallout - An atomic past creates
wild new futures. The cast and filmmakers of Fallout discuss
the unique tone, characters and vast world of the post-apocalyptic
sci-fier, based on the beloved video game franchise.
Murder,
She Wrote: The Complete Series
(1985 - 1996) is a surprisingly impressive upgrade to the hit
detective series with Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, a mystery
novel writer who also does detective work in real life. Making the
end of an ear of one-hour Universal Television dramas that began
decades before, we have reviewed most of the series in the following
DVD Season
set releases:
Two
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3141/Murder,+She+Wrote+-+The+Complete+Second+Season
Three
through Eight
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6807/Murder,+She+Wrote+%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%E2%80%
Nine
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8215/Murder+She+Wrote:+The+Complete+Ninth+Season+(U
The
series ran 12 seasons altogether, so that is only two-thirds of the
show's run and I only still like the first few seasons. However, I
have to admit that the upgraded transfers make watching the show more
pleasant than ever, a little more than even I expected and you can
see the actors more clearly, that there is a little more money on the
screen than you might have remembered and this show had a greater set
of guest stars than The
Love Boat
and even the original Fantasy
Island,
which were fun, but not as good as this show.
Like
The
Lucy Show,
the series teleplays became weaker later and the producers made up
for it as much as possible with star power and talent. Fortunately,
the show was enough of an A-level prestige production and hit that
the guest cast is one of the strongest for a show of its time and
reminds us that shows are sadly not made like this anymore. That all
ended sooner than it should have and most one-hour dramas are far
more generic, plus very few detective shows are getting produced,
supplanted by police procedurals and much, much worse.
But
it is Lansbury who really gets to shine, only having been cast when
Jean Stapleton, who was first offered the series, turned the role
down because she had had enough of the weekly TV grind with All
In The Family
and its massive hit success. Stapleton thought it was also too soon,
so Lansbury always thanked her every time she saw her afterwards.
So sad they and many of the guests throughout the years here are
gone, but they are all sure captured here in great form no matter
what and fans will be very happy down to how nicely this box set is
designed in the style the show is known for and will fit great on a
bookshelf. Especially for superfans who might have some of the
tie-in novels produced to go with the show.
Also,
along with Magnum,
P.I.
that has an interesting tie-in set of episodes all in this set is
that both shows were the end of a great era of Universal
Television series that got going in the later 1960s. A great time
for TV productions from the studio, shows like this had the original
era go out on top before some of the hour-long shows got silly or
just were plain bad and did not work. Lansbury proved along with The
Golden Girls
and others that being older did not mean you were obsolete as an
actor or lead star. They were among such shows that changed things a
little for the better on U.S. TV and no doubt it even extended to
this show partly inspiring the animated Sylvester
& Tweety Mysteries.
The
series was still on top when Universal and CBS cancelled it, angering
fans and apparently surprising Lansbury, but reruns practically in
the same time slot on the same night on the USA Network were a huge
hit and that led to the four telefilms we get as bonuses here. Now
you can enjoy the show and better than ever.
Extras
include the four telefilms that brought Jessica back including South
By Southwest
(1997,) A
Story To Die For
(2000,) The
Last Free Man
(2001,) and The
Celtic Riddle
(2003,) plus The Great '80s TV Flashback, Bonus Episode: Magnum,
P.I.
Season 7: Novel
Connection,
Bonus Episode: Murder,
She Wrote
Snow
White, Blood Red,
Origin of a Series, Recipe for a Hit, America's Top Sleuths, The
Perils of Success, Bonus Episode: Amsterdam
Kill,
Bonus Episode: Big
Easy Murder
and Bonus Episode: Home
Care.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1, Dolby
Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition
image on the Fallout
4K
episodes are shot on actual 35mm Kodak Vision 3 series color negative
photochemical films with great results, using anamorphic HawkScope
lenses (and some Super 35,) making it one of the best-looking TV
productions being made right now. You have your share of digital
work as expected, but some shots even exceed my rating. Worthy of
the visuals on the Westworld series, I was a little surprised by how
good this was and could get. The
lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems)
mixes on all eight episodes are fine, including some moments where
the sound really kicks in. the combination is very good and well
done.
The
1.33 X 1 image on the Drew
Carey
DVDs are the same color-decent transfers from the previous DVD set we
covered and others we saw, looking good color-wise, but the
definition can be lacking with some soft detail, while the lossy
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound is a little weaker overall than
expected. From our research, though thew show can look like it was
shot on video of some kind. They apparently were actually shot on
35mm photochemical color film, so maybe if those negatives survived,
we might get a Blu-ray or even 4K set if sales were strong. With
Carey so great on the current Price
Is Right,
nothing would surprise me.
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers on the Murder,
She Wrote
episodes definitely improve in color and warmth versus the older
transfers on their DVD counterparts. The only thing is, you can get
scenes and shots that look softer, grainier or have some detail
limits that give the episodes an inconsistent look. Also there is
not any fancy form in the way the show was shot, though the first few
season could have some more visual darkness the series skipped on as
it became more successful. Still, when it looks good, it looks
really good. By later seasons, they are using more light sensitive
film to not have to use as much lighting, but that makes the show
look a little less solid, especially considering its genre. When you
look at the credits in the last few seasons, pulling on episodes from
previous shows, you can see the film used was maybe TOO varied, but
that was TV at the time before it went HD and 4K.
Fortunately,
the telefilms are shot better and look more consistent, the best the
show looked since its early seasons, to that's a plus and the time at
which they did the Magnum,
P.I.
Crossover shows is just before the show really started getting softer
and a little more lite than more serious detective show fans might
have wanted.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix on the regular
episodes sound about as good as they ever will, clean and only
limited in sonics here and there, depending on the episode. The four
telefilms are all in DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless
mixes and sound the best on the set, as a result. Try them with the
Dolby Pro Logic mode or the like and see what results you get. If
nothing else, all of the discs were recorded, mixed and edited to
very professional standards and that helps them hold up. They will
never sound better than they do here.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
