Author: Robert Greenberger

USA’s shows make up for small budgets with winning high concepts and appealing casts. Many of their series work entirely because of their superb eye for casting, using familiar faces and strong ensembles. These shows have also worked thanks to adding season-long meta-stories while solving case-of-the-week stories. As a result, the leads are generally put through the wringer, each taking a turn.

In the case of White Collar, the third season ended with Neal Caffrey (Matthew Bomer) on the run with an international manhunt launched to find the felon turned FBI advisor. The fourth season opened over the late summer of 2011, finishing up in the winter of 2012 and is now collected in White Collar the Complete Fourth Season, released this week by 20^th Century Home Entertainment. Bookending the sixteen episodes, it’s his FBI handler and now best friend Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) in hot water.
In between, the long-simmering matter of Neal’s past is finally brought to light as he learns more than he wanted to know about his father James (Treat Williams). In fact, those revelations set Peter against Senator Terrance Pratt (Titus Welliver) which plays out over the final eight episodes. Further complicating Peter’s career is the arrival of Assistant Special Agent (in charge) Amanda Callaway (Emily Procter). When James commits murder and leaves Peter framed for the crime, Neal has learned a harsh lesson and we have to wait until October to find out what happens next.

Along the way, the series continued to rearrange the deck chairs so friendships are tested and reforged time and again but at the core, there’s Neal and Mozzie (Willie Garson), Neal and Peter, and Peter and Elizabeth (Tiffani Thiessen). Of the core cast, Thiessen is left with the least to do with one exception, “Shoot the Moon”, when she and Peter both get kidnapped by would-be criminals. At the FBI, stalwart supporting cast members Marsha Thomason and Sharif Atkins do a fine job carrying the spears but have little of substance to do, which is a shame since Thomason’s Diana is intriguing.

The series does a nice job with guest casting, kicking off with the much missed Mia Maestro seen in the first two episodes as is Mekhi Phifer. And of course there’s Hilarie Burton, back as Neal’s lover Sara Ellis, who really should just settle with him but that would make boring television.

Some of the cases get hokey such as when Neal and Peter have to box in an underground boxing club or the last few episodes as they search for a valuable McGuffin within the Empire State Building. But given the beguiling performances and eternal twinkle in Bomer’s eye, you forgive a lot. The show may be starting to slow down as season five had its sixteen episode order trimmed to thirteen so enjoy these while you can.

The bonus features on the four disc set are largely made up of deleted scenes, found on each disc, along with the perfunctory gag reel. Tim DeKay—In the Director’s Chair looks at the star taking charge of an episode and the final episode, “In the Wind”, gets commentary from Bomer, DeKay, Garson, and series creator Jeff Eastin.

After a decade of low-budget cheesy special effects science fiction films, the early 1960s was particularly quiet, ceding to television series such as Star Trek and The Time Tunnel. But, also released in 1966 was an eye-opening spectacular that had a plausible premise, strong cast, and the next generation in film special effects. Fantastic Voyage may be remembered today for Raquel Welch in a tight outfit, it is also a step forward in cinematic SF. Thankfully, it preceded 2001: A Space Odyssey by two years.

At a time when miniaturization was making home technology smaller and more sophisticated, the idea of inserting a tiny sub full of humans into the body of an ill scientist seemed the next logical step. The body in question was the victim of an assassination attempt and his knowledge and life had to be saved so a daring experiment was to be undertaken. Forget that the sub is nuclear-powered and the physics doesn’t quite make sense, but this is an ambitious leap forward in man’s quest to understand himself.

Once entering the body they have to contend with antibodies, foreign matter, and a ticking clock. So of course things go wrong en route to the blood clot located in the man’s brain. Harry Kleiner’s screenplay (from a story by a story by Otto Klement and Star Trek’s Jerome Bixby) ignored the original intent for being a Jules Vernesque escapade and dashed the sense of wonder in favor of a dated Cold War vibe.

Richard Fleisher, a skilled and versatile director who helmed Barabbas, Doctor Doolittle, Soylent Green. and yes, Conan the Destroyer, brings his A game to the film, never letting the mind-blowing special effects overwhelm the adventure. He let his cast, led by Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch, Edmond O’Brien, and Donald Pleasence, actually act and treat this as a plausible mission. Harper Goff, who gave us the Nautilus in Fleisher’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, provided the designs for the Proteus while Ernest Laszlo  made the blood stream a hallucinogenic treat. Leonard Rosenman made a conscious decision not to add music until the crew was inside the scientist’s body so it added to the unreal feel of the location. All told, the film worked better than anyone expected earning it Oscars for Best Art Direction – Color  and Best Special Effects.

The film’s unheralded star was actually Isaac Asimov, who wrote the novelization and corrected numerous logic and medical flaws which were later incorporated into the film, keeping it from being silly. His work was fast while the filming was repeatedly delayed so the book was out a full six months ahead of the film making many think it was an adaptation of his work.

All told, though, today’s CGI easily beats the traditional special effects, automatically making the film feel old. The Cold War stuff distracts from a human adventure and the writing is stiff in places while the direction is leisurely compared with today’s quick cut culture. But this was a pioneering effort that restored a modicum of respect for the genre, paving the way for Kubrick and those who quickly followed. As a result, the film is well worth watching.

Therefore, it’s good to see that the transfer to high def was pretty solid although not perfect. The mono mix is transferred nicely so both add up to a pleasant viewing experience at home.

As for the extras, an incomplete collection from the Cinema Classics Collection DVD are repeated here, including

Most but not all of the supplements from the Cinema Classics Collection DVD have been ported over to this Blu-ray release. They include: Commentary by Film and Music Historian Jeff Bond; Lava Lamps and Celluloid: A Tribute to the Visual Effects of Fantastic Voyage (17:40)which is a useful tutorial on how they accomplished it all; Whirlpool Scene: Storyboard to Scene (2:22); and the Trailer and TV Spots (13:07). Additionally, there is an  Isolated Score Track With Commentary from Bond, who knows his stuff accompanied by Jon Burlingame and Nick Redman.

Glee has always been somewhat infuriating in its realistic portrayal of teenage travails (doing it better than most other prime time series) but setting it in such an unrealistic setting since no high school runs the way McKinley does in fictional Lima, Ohio. These kids never have homework or need to balance their studies with extracurricular activities, especially those in time intensive groups such as the Cheerios or the sports teams.

Still Ryan Murphy’s band of misfits remains entertaining and a winning mix. The fourth season, out now on Home Video from 20^th Century Home Entertainment, finally addressed the aging cast, sending most away to college. Notably, Rachel (Lea Michele) was attending NYADA the performing arts college, while struggling to maintain her long distance relationship with Finn (Cory Monteith), who had surprisingly enlisted at the end of the previous season. Following her to the Big Apple was Kurt (Chris Colfer), who didn’t get into the school but was determined to make it somehow.

Back at school, new members were recruited and here were some true gems, starting with Melissa Benoist as Marley Rose, a true talent and cute as a button. Less interesting was the introduction of Puck’s half-brother Jake (Jacob Artist) who started off a bad boy but had his edge quickly shorn away. In fact, all the characters that arrived with nasty angles to their personalities got worn down into saccharine sweetness with Becca Tobin’s Kitty the last holdout.

The show short-changed everyone by glossing over their characters in favor of splitting the focus between NYC and Lima. The proposed spinoff for the graduates was never picked up so the emphasis needed to change, which is a shame since the issues both crews face are vastly different ones and the frequent trips home once more beggared the imagination.

The season differed from the first three in that it did not cover a complete school year, instead ending late in the school year but before the all-important national competition. Along the way, we watched Finn become a lost soul, leaving the service and filling in for Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison), who was off at a conference. The character’s search for a direction at the same time the actor was struggling with his personal addictions lends revisiting this arc a poignant feel. His late addition to the DVD cover art was a nice touch.

The major themes of the year including the struggles of growing up, bulimia/anorexia, cancer, marriage, fidelity, and similar trials. Each week they sang and danced their way through the issues, often in catchy ways that belied the seriousness of the issues. In many cases, trouble never met with consequences such as Kitty’s trying to convince Marley she was gaining weight or When Wade “catfished” Ryder.

As the season wound down, the absurdity got worse climaxing with Brittany’s suddenly discovered savant genius with math and being whisked off “now” to MIT. Other characters seemed to have nothing to do, with Jane Lynch’s Sue Sylvester emasculated and left to be supportive. The season wound down as they readied for Nationals and the impending graduation of other members of the glee club.

The film to high definition transfer is well done, as is expected from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. And for a series dependent on music, the audio is more than up to the task making rewatching moments work well.

Each of the four discs in the Blu-ray set contains a mix of features such as the Glee Music Jukebox (1:03:28); Movin’ On Up: Glee in NYC (10:02), talking about the location shooting; Building New York (6:29); Jarley (8:53), a look at the new members Jake and Marley; and Deleted Scenes (15:24). Disc two has another look at those musical sequences in Glee Music Jukebox (1:01:48) offers a tour through the musical sequences of each episode on the disc, and Deleted Scenes (5:04). Disc three offers Glee Music Jukebox (1:29:35),  Glee On Film (11:56) looks at the cinema-centric episode; and, The Road to 500 (3:54), which is the number of musical sequences. The final disc gives us Glee Music Jukebox (1:15:52); Blaine’s Time Capsule (8:12), a cheesy message for his adult self; and Glee Premiere Party! (3:41).

The show may have lost some of its cache as a trendsetter and star maker but it remains an entertaining diversion. Personally, the Mike O’Malley scenes as Kurt’s father Burt dealing with his son remain the best material year after year but then again, I’m a father and not a star-struck teen. No doubt, most everyone will find something to identify with or sing-along to.

Everyone seems to love zombies these days. When I student taught, my eighth graders all wanted to write zombie apocalypse stories, fueled by AMC’s Walking Dead, countless video games, and numerous movies. Of course, to me, a zombie is far more supernatural, far rarer and the stuff of myth and legend. As a result, I’ve never really cottoned to these undead that owe more to George A. Romero’s 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead than voodoo tradition. That said, every now and then one of these tales rises to the top and screams for your attention.

Max Brooks’ clever account World War Z was one of those stories, a survival journal that was nicely written. As a result, it was optioned and after its troubled production, arrived this summer to beat expectations and prove to be an engaging bit of popcorn entertainment. Leave beside the dramatic issues plaguing it during production, what matters is the final product, out now on home video from Paramount Home Video.

The script ‘s challenge was turning the book into a coherent story for film and Matthew Michael Carnahan largely solved that by focusing on Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), a former United Nations investigator. Retired, he was enjoying the good life in Philadelphia with his Karin (Mireille Enos) and his daughters Rachel (Abigail Hargrove) and Constance (Sterling Jerins). One day the zombies arrived and he had to protect his family while at the same time, use his experience to help figure out what has happened and how to contain the uncontrollable. How do you stop someone who twelve seconds earlier was a normal person but was now out for your blood? And how did it all begin, was there a cure?

Deputized by Deputy Secretary-General Thierry Umutoni (Fana Mokoena), Gerry goes back on active duty and the roller coaster ride of a movie begins. There’s globetrotting, near-death experiences, explosions, screaming, and plenty of zombies. In a nice political touch, there’s a hint from Captain Speke (James Badge Dale), that Israel knew about this before the disease was unleashed.

Wisely, director Marc Forster keeps things moving so you never stop to realty-check some of the thinner plot points or even remember to eat your popcorn. He makes us feel this really could be the final zombie apocalypse story, the one that can’t be topped. Ever. Everything you want in such a film is here and then some.

Pitt’s everyman guy gives us someone to root for and he grounds much of the action through sheer force of personality. When the story stopped working, Drew Goddard and Damon Lindelof stepped in to revise the script, including its troubled third act and the two brought their genre cred with them and it helped strengthen what could otherwise have been a train wreck.

Overall, the film transfer is good but not great, more than sufficient to enjoy at home, coupled with stronger sound.

The combo pack offers the film on Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy while the high def disc comes with a 10 minute longer unrated cut that’s more of the same and you have trouble figuring out what was added. It also comes with a bunch of extras including Origins (8:21), a look back at the book and its impact; Looking to Science (7:28) for clues as to how such changes could really happen;  WWZ: Production: Outbreak (8:31), The Journey Begins (8:39), Behind the Wall (9:41), and, Camouflage (9:25), a nicely detailed look at the making of this feature. If you want even more, Paramount once more offers store exclusives: Wal-Mart has an hour of exclusive streaming content via Vudu; Target has an exclusive slipbox with an art book; and Best Buy has a different exclusive slipcover and alternative streaming content. Man, I hope this trick fails and they stop it before the next wave of releases.

When originally conceived by editor Mort Weisinger, Green Arrow was merely a pale imitation of Batman, a stigma that wasn’t lifted until Bob Haney and Neal Adams revamped him more than twenty years later. As a result, his background and origins were largely static until the Green Arrow Year One miniseries where writer Andy Diggle posited that Oliver Queen wasn’t entirely alone on the island where he washed ashore after a boating accident. It was this fairly late revisionist history that appears to have become the new template as it continues to be used in the New 52 era and became the foundation for the CW smash hit Arrow.

Oddly, Green Arrow arrived on prime time first in Smallville (a tangential nod to Weisinger, who also guided the Teen of Steel’s adventures for the first few decades) and where Justin Hartley was a nice fit for that show, he was a little too pretty for this new take on the vigilante. The new show, returning for its second season in a few weeks, totally ignored all the mythology established in the other series and is forging a new path that is also designed to create a television universe as witnessed by the backdoor pilot for a Flash spinoff coming in November. And whereas Smallville started with the basic concepts introduced by Jerry Siegel back in the 1940s, it rapidly veered onto an original path to accommodate modern day audiences and an aging cast. By the end, the show barely resembled the source material.

Over the course of 23 episodes, Arrow started vaguely near the source material and continued to chart its own course further and further away. As a result, you can’t really compare the two as the new series now has no resemblance to the comic. That said, it makes for compelling television watching thanks to a strong writing staff anchored by Marc Guggenheim who has one foot in each world. He was aided by Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, no slouches at television production although Kriesberg’s run as GA writer didn’t quite work.

Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) was a shallow, stereotypical rich boy, playing fast and loose with women, living the highlife and refusing to accept the coming responsibilities of adulthood. Then came the disastrous boat accident where he watched his father take his own life to save Oliver’s and in so doing, passed on a book containing the names of sinners in Starling City. After a series of escapades that forged him from callow youth to super-hero, Queen has returned to his hometown to mete out justice.  His mother Moira (Susanna Thompson and sister Thea (Willa Holland), nicknamed Speedy; are delighted to see him but aren’t sure what to make of the man they barely recognize. Similarly, his lover, Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy);, has to forgive him for cheating on her with her own sister, who also perished on the boat. Then there’s his best friend Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell), who has taken up his place in Laurel’s heart and has daddy issues of his own.

An appealing cast with dark undertones makes this the quintessential CW show and a fun look at super-heroics. Queen’s journey is twice-told, first as the returning survivor turned vigilante and also through flashbacks as we watch him learn how to fight, think, and accept responsibility for one’s actions.

Dogging his heels is Laurel’s father, the nearly alcoholic Quentin (Paul Blackthorne), who also hates Oliver for the past and then there’s Tommy’s father (John Barrowman), who is a darker image of the green hooded hero and just as fast but deadlier.

Add in Queen’s bodyguard John Diggle (David Ramsey; yes, named after the writer), Felicity Smoak (the hot Emily Bett Rickards; lifted from Fury of Firestorm of all places), and Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), you have numerous touches of the DC Universe present, elements to keep the pot stirring. The season also saw the mobster daughter turned vigilante Helena Bertinelli (Jessica De Gouw) and in a nod to the Mike Grell era, Shado (Celinas Jade) plus Deathstroke/Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett).

Week by week, we saw the soap opera antics of the civilian cast although, as the season passed, the civilian and costumed worlds grew closer until they formed a Venn diagram of where the trouble in Starling City truly lay. Names were crossed off and the law collected their share of criminals. But something was festering deeper, underneath the city and Queen had to piece the clues together before the Glades, a dangerous and poor section of the city was about to be destroyed. Friendships were formed or betrayed, alliances formed and perceptions altered. By the final episode, it was clear that the city needed a champion and Queen was the man fate had selected. Thankfully, he knew the loner approach wouldn’t work and has been forming a team that may be all that stands between a brighter future or a bleak outcome.

The box set comes with four Blu-ray discs and five DVDs along with codes for the Ultraviolet edition of the first season. The high def transfers are clean, crisp, and reproduce the darker tones of the series quite nicely. An episode guide is a handy touch.

As for extra, there are a handful that are more middle-of-the-road than anything special. You begin with a bunch of Unaired Scenes; the behind-the-scenes Arrow Comes Alive! (29:35) with cast and crew gushing over the creation process; Arrow: Fight School/Stunt School (18:53), shows how important the action and stunts sequences are plus how several were accomplished.

DC’s chief creative officer Geoff Johns hosts the 2013 Paleyfest (27:26) event where the Arrow: Cast and Creative Team talk about how they lifted elements from the source material and greater DCU along with how they adapted to fan buzz and turned Felicity from one-shot into a welcome regular; and, finally, there’s a brief Gag Reel (2:26).