Don Movie Reviews

A Private Little War-This underrated 'cold war' episode featuring a gorilla-unicorn, is another taught thriller from the second season. In addition to the non-stop action (shootings, Mugatu bites, Klingon intrigue, etc.) we have a well-reasoned ethical debate about the dual perils of intervention and non-intervention by a superpower. Kirk even acknowledges some ambivalence about the arming of the Hill people (think Vietnam) at the end of the show. Other pluses in this episode are the culture of the planet, as well as Nona. Her healing scene with Shatner is pretty racy, even by today's standards. (4 stars)

The Gamesters of Triskelion-This episode, in which the enslaved crew are forced by giant brains to engage in arena combat, was a big step down from prior episodes. In fact, I would argue that the drop in quality attributed to the 3rd season really started here; only one of ten remaining second season shows was truly strong (A Piece of the Action). I for one would take the first ten shows of the 3rd season over the remaining ten from the second season.

But that's another story. The Gamesters of Triskelion is a very nasty episode. In addition to violence for it's own sake, there is the strong suggestion that Uhura is violated as the show fades to commercial. It's really unforgivable that the subject is never adressed in the rest of the episode. We also have one of the true bimbos of Trek in the nubile Shana, who is made to utter some truly stupid lines. There isn't much going for this episode; with a bit less action, it would belong in the latter part of season three.

Tidbit: Angelique Pettijohn, who played Shana, went on to adult film fame. (2 stars)

REVIEWED ITEM: Star Trek® Original Series DVD Volume 23: a Private Little War © / The Gamesters of Triskelion ©

A PRIVATE LITTLE WAR © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: Maintaining a balance of power to preserve both sides; cultural contamination

Notable Gaffe/Special Defect: In the long shots of Kirk battling the mugato, it's fairly apparent that the good captain has been replaced with a stunt stand-in.

Historical Milestone: The first (and so far the only) appearance of the dreaded mugato!

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None

REVIEW/COMMENTARY:

There ain't too much I can say 'bout this particular show, mainly 'cuz I had quite a bit o' trouble tryin' to figure what to discuss and opine about! All I can say is that the healing ceremony scene between Nona and Jimmers after the mugato attack seems almost- well, kinda naughty, if you get my drift. It's a scene that lends credence to those Hollywood legends regarding Gene Roddenberry's libido, and how he'd try to write subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) sexual undertones into his work. Then again, it could just be some amazing coincidence. Yeah, RIGHT...

Oh yes- Spock manages to recover from a gunshot wound that would've been fatal had he been fully human. That's right, kiddies- you're treated to yet another showcase of his amazingly different (and highly resilient) anatomy that the show's writers loved to exploit at least three times a season! I guess you could say that Spock is the Timex of Star Trek: he takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'!

THE GAMESTERS OF TRISKELION © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The folly of complacency; the human need for freedom; humanity's strange duality of both propensity for and abhorrence of violence

Notable Gaffe/Special Defect: Kirk is strangling a monstrous, saber-toothed humanoid with a leather strap. But if you take a close look at the piece of strap that's visible between Kirk's hands, you'll notice that it's completely slack!

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None

REVIEW/COMMENTARY:

The beginning of this particular eppie features one of the more memorable crew-versus-heavies hand-to-hand combat scenes. Al I'll say about it, is that it's reminiscent of somethin' you'd see on a WWE® pay-per-view event- just not as realistic. The three-on-one death match at the climax is also filled with some delightfully cheeseball moments of mayhem!

As you might expect: leave it up to Jimmers to get the ET babe-of-the-week as his drill thrall (sortuva gladiatorial DI) after he, Uhura and Chekov get captured by a trio of disembodied brains! And speaking of Jimmers, much of the entire show is one hammy bit of Shatnerian method acting after another! Watch his exaggerated look of surprised pain as he's punished repeatedly by his captors for his insolence! Watch him work on his drill thrall Shahna with that wonderfully herky-jerky delivery of lines (Jim, you smoothie, you)! And to top things off, he gets in top form as he lays down the big wager to his gray-matter-laden antagonists! How... can-you-NOT... enJOY-that?

Oh, how can I forget to mention one of old-school Trek's greatest intentional bits o' humor? Watch Chekov get somewhat fidgety and very uncomfortable over the attention his drill thrall (a rather... imposing alien female) is throwing at him! Hey, them's the risks ya takes when ya put that there uniform on, ya know?

'Late

This is another great Trek pairing.

"A Private Little War" is Trek's take on what was then our expanding participation in Viet Nam. Here, Kirk and crew journey to an idyllic Eden of a world populated by noble nomads and settled villagers and, unfortunately for everybody, fair game for the Klingon empire. Though barely on the edge of the industrial revolution, villagers are now armed with flintlocks, and have engaged in a genocidal war against the nomads -a noble band led by the heroic Tyree. A close friend of Kirk's on his last sojourn their, Tyree allows Kirk to hide within his tribe while he and McCoy investigate Klingon backing of the villagers. Spock is unluckily struck by one of the primitive flintlocks and spends much of the episode in the Enterprise's ICU. Down below, between ducking Klingon's, Kirk and McCoy bitterly debate the morality of bringing the tribes into technological parity with the villagers, with Kirk in favor of giving Tyree's people a fighting chance, and McCoy arguing how that would only prolong a bloody and suicidal war (almost a completely win-win situation for the Klingons).

This was a great episode, deftly referring both to Viet Nam and treatment of indigenous tribes in 19th century America. McCoy especially shines in his moments arguing with the Captain, while the script gives Kirk the coldly logical position normally reserved for Spock (it would probably have been too cold; perhaps that's why they had him shot down in the opening scene). Also look for 1960's TV fixture Nancy Kovack as Nona, Tyree's bewitching wife. Kovack had a recurring role as Darrin Steven's former flame on "Bewitched", exposing her to all sorts of nose-twitching witchcraft. As Nona, a "Kunutu" woman, she now gets to cast the spells.

"Gamesters of Triskelion" is perfectly campy Trek, with Kirk, Uhura and Chekov kidnapped during transport by a highly advanced race of beings (is there any other kind?) called "Providers" who force Kirk and crew to battle in mortal combat with other kidnapped aliens (one of them, a beautiful humanoid who's wicked in the ring). You'd think the Providers would have long tired of the repetitious gaming (they bet using "quatloos", but you never see one) and would have long settled on developing the slaves to try living normal lives as a more amusing form of entertainment. "Gamesters" is campy trek, using interior sets (even for outdoor scenes) and featuring Shatner in full "lounge mode" as he courts his fellow prisoner. One caveat though, this episode features a moment in which Uhura is assaulted just out of camera shot. It's very suggestive, but by the end of the episode, there's just about no closure. It was perhaps a bit too campy for its own good.

The best thing about this film is the main villain Ching Yi, with pointed boots and a stupid hat. Fighting is surprisingly weak, but gets better towards the end and the plot has a few interesting twists (though predictable.) Enjoyable film, but doesn't have to be seen more than once (ok, I've seen 3 times already...).
For some really energetic fight action, get Sammo Hung's masterpiece Warriors Two (the best kung fu film ever), also from 1978 (which makes Eagle's Claw look very slow and very very old skool). But still. Maybe Lee Tso Nam's best film (definately over-rated here, it's far from 5-star quality, or even 4,) so see it if you have to (worth a rental.)

Eagles's Claw is one of the better movies in Tai Seng's Martial Arts Theater collection. The film features the Eagle Claw and
Mantis styles of kungfu, and the fight scenes are well choreographed and also very well filmed. The cinematography is excellent not only in the fight scenes, but also in the rest of the film.

An evil Mantis and Eagle Claw kung fu master wants to destroy the Eagle Claw kung fu school. He attacks the school and mortally wounds the teacher of the school, but he is also injured himself. The evil master recovers from his injuries, but the teacher of the Eagle Claw school does not, and he dies. After the death of his teacher, one of the main disciples of the Eagle Claw school defects to the enemy, and joins the evil master and his clan. Meanwhile, the second disciple of the Eagle Claw school becomes the new leader of the school, and he prepares his school to fight the evil master and his henchmen, who still want to destroy the school.

The plot is interesting, but the middle of the movie is sort of boring. The end of the movie is much better though, and the fights near the end are the best in the film. The sets in this film are excellent, better even than most Shaw Bros. films. One of the best parts of this film is the villain, played by Chang Yi; he is so good that it makes you want him to win. The only flaws I found in this movie are that the heroes are not very good at kungfu, or acting, so it is sort of disappointing when they win in the end. This version of the film is widescreen and the quality is very good.

If you like Shaw Brothers Style of movies this is a must have. Picture quality and audio are fair as typical of poor quality transfers, but tolerable. Fighting and movie are classic old style kung fu and make up for above.

There is something wrong with this DVD at chapter 5 where Sonny takes a hit of weed from 2 pimps at first I thought the echos I was hearing was part of the scene but as soon as the scene continued into the high school scene with his confrontation with the hawks the echoing continued. It ends as soon as chapter 6 starts up with the 1st gang battle between the lords and the hawks. I decided to check the old tape I had of TEO Sonny Carson and the guess what, the echos were not present anywhere in the movie. That means somwhere between the master print and the DVD master somebody forgot to check for audio sync in the transfer. To top it all off all throughout the movie there is video noise on moving edges; I though only amateur/hobbyist of VCD/SVCD/DVD did this. This is a great movie about the tough times that young black Sonny Carson faced in Brooklyn and rose up from. But the production that went into this DVD practically destroys any enjoyable experience one can get from this movie. So my suggestion is to wait for a re-release (not likely) or buy the tape; then you yourself can make a better DVD version of the movie than the guy jonfilms@aol.com did. (jonfilms@aol.com is in the credits for digitizing this movies and I think he is responsible for the error in transfer from master to DVD print). Great movie gone to waste because of carelessnes in the video transposing process.

I must admit that I was disappointed with this film. It suffers from some common mistakes made in many blaxploitation films of this time. I feel that given the man's life, the same budget and actors, I could come up with a better film. Why...?

I never saw this movie before I purchased it. I was expecting something like Cooley High. I did not, and still, do not know much about Sonny Carson. The film ends right at the turning point of his life!

If you sat down in the theater in 1973/4 and watched this film, knowing nothing about him, after the film you would have walked out wondering why they made this film at all.

He gets out of prison and finds that all of his friends have either been killed, succumbed to drug addiction, or are incarcerated. The movie ends here.

We see nothing of the positive changes that he made. We don't know why he joined a gain in the first place. What motivated him? His parents seemed loving and he supposedly got good grades in school. It didn't appear that everyone in his school was in a gang either. Another enigma is his girlfriend, who appears to be clean-cut when we first meet her. When he gets out of jail, she's strung out on heroine. How did this happen? No explanations given in this film.

Instead the movie wastes valuable time showing long scenes of people dancing and other scenes of people singing gospel. This appears often in blaxploitation films... why? I don't like watching people dance and sing, it wastes time, and hurts the flow of the movie. If there was some purpose for the gospel singing i.e. Sonny had an apparent interest in church, that would be ok... but he didn't. And have you ever seen a parade where they allow street gangs to march in them?!?!?! Well you'll see it here!

As for the DVD: the video quality is good but the sound is a real joke! As noted by an earlier review. The synchronization is off by a fraction of a second and it is quite noticable. Think of a bad dubbing on a low budget kung-fu movie.

Buy this only if you are a die-hard collector of blaxploitation films, like me... otherwise steer clear of this one!

I finally got to see this Film recently&couldn't stop feeling the depth&Realness of the film.this Film is straight up in your face&doesn't hide from what went down back in the day.it touches on so many levels.Films like this truly Kept it real&also are a front runner to much of what we see&hear today.

I didn't find the sound bad on my DVD at all, in fact it was extremely good. Thomas Allen is my Don of choice and I have always loved his voice which was just fine, if not as youthful as the La Scala version which I also have on VHS and Laser Disc. The La Scala version is a must in a collection along with the film with Raimondi, however, this camera work was far superior to the La Scala version and the cast every bit as good, if not better. All the cast members were wonderful. Thomas Allen has the best movement on stage of any opera singer - he moves like a dancer. Vaness, Rost and James are superb as the rest of the cast! I must have 10 different versions of this opera and this is in the top 4 - 5. Highly recommend this version. The death scene was a bit disappointing but there is another 165 minutes of opera (total running time 173 min.) that are moving. The palette of color bothered me to begin with - costumes and sets drab - but by the end, I enjoyed the production because it brought focus to the excellent singers! I originally saw James do this at the Met as cover for Sharon Sweet and was I glad James had to sing! She is superior to Sweet in acting and voice. Buy this, curl up and enjoy one of the best casts of Don Giovanni ever! (Karita Mattila was listed in the booklet as a cast member; James must have been covering for her and the producers neglected to correct the cast notes.) James Conlon was a wonderful conductor and should do more opera. Highly recommend as the singing, acting and pace will propel you through this Mozart masterpiece. I loved it!

Now that I have seen all of the Don Giovannis currently available on DVD in North America (Conlon, Karajan, Losey, Harnoncourt, and Muti) in my opinion this is easily the best of the lot. Its one major flaw is the lame treatment of Don Giovanni's final scene w/ the Commendatore, more of which later. Of the other productions on DVD, principal competition comes from the Karajan version on Sony, which uses the exact same production and staging (by Michael Hampe). I must admit that I was rather disappointed when I realized that this was the case, as I found that staging to be rather cold, dark and uninvolving in the Karajan version. However, this version manages to inject much more life and warmth into the production, and while Hampe's staging will never be my favorite, this production manages to make the best of it.

The principal reason for the extra warmth of this version is the cast, which I find preferable to Karajan's in every instance, especially in acting and stage manner. Thomas Allen's Don Giovanni is superior in every way to Samuel Ramey's w/ Karajan - he is simply much more convincing in the role. Ferruccio Furlanetto plays Leporello quite nicely in both versions, but seems to be having more fun here. Even though Karajan had very strong Donnas in his version, Carolyn James and Carol Vanness are superb in the present version, and offer more sympathic portrayals overall (esp. James' Donna Anna). And Conlon's Zerlina (forget her name) is light years better than Kathleen Battle's undistinguished performance for Karajan. The rest of the case is equally fine - there is no real weak link anywhere.

Conlon's conducting is truly first-rate - everything is well-judged, lively and totally natural, without ever sounding dull or routine. In fact, based on this and on some recent live performances I've heard him conduct with the Boston Symphony, I'd say that among conductors Conlon is one of the best current Mozarteans, and is quite underrated in this regard. I hope he records more Mozart in the future...

As other reviewers have pointed out, this set's achilles heel is the extremely lame Commendatore scene. I don't know whether this is after peformance patch-up job as some seem to think (it seems like part of the original performance to me...) or if it is simply a completely unimaginative directoral concept, but whatever the case, it is a disappointment, especially since the rest of the opera is so solid. And the post-production special effects (worthy of a 1960's B-level sci-fi movie) are supremely cheesy, and totally unneccesary...

Technically, the DVD is pretty good. Picture is clearer and sharper than in the Karajan version, although there seems to have been a problem with one of the cameras, resulting in certain long-distance shots having some major distortion in the top left-hand corner of the screen. I did not find this to be a big deal, however, as it is confined to only a few shots. Sound quality is also pretty good. The orchestra is a little soft sounding at first, but the voices are very clearly recorded. Volume needs to be turned up a little more than normal for best results.

The subtitles are absolutely maddening, however. Apart from offering only a "bare bones" translation (just enough info to give you a general idea) their placement is rather erratic - sometimes they appear before a character sings their line, sometimes during, and sometimes they simply drop out all together (for example Zerlina's aria Batti, battti is completely absent of subtitles, as is the final chorus...). Really poorly done...

But aside from that and the Commendatore scene, I'd say this is the one to get if you want a Don Giovanni on DVD. There is another production of Don Giovanni on Arthaus - w/ Harnoncourt conducting. That version offers perhaps the best singer currently doing the role of Don Giovanni (Rodney Gilfry - absolutely riveting) but the Eurotrash staging and Harnoncourt's unbearably ugly and eccentric conducting completely take it out of the running for me. I give Conlon's 5 stars only because it is the best currently available - on an absoute scale it probably is closer to a 4, or 4.5. But I'm still waiting for a true 5 star Don Giovanni to come out on DVD...

Ce DVD est super. Allen est extra, Vaness parfaite. Rost est un joyau. La mise en scène est EPOUSTOUFLANTE. La fin du Don est extraordinaire. Achetez ce DVD, d'autant qu'il est théatral.

This film is ok. It is not one of Scooby's better movies. This film is my least favorite in the Scooby series. I do have it on VHS & DVD so I could have them all. I am only five to six DVDs away from having all of the Scooby DVDs. The only reason that I suggest buying this DVD is to have them all.

everybody who knows me knows I love me some Scooby Doo.Scooby is My Favorite&I never miss a episode&watch ever show.this one is fun&like the others I always enjoy the how they end.SCOOOOBYYYY DOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Can Scooby Doo get sick and tired of his Saturday morning show and take a job in Hollywood as a tv and movie star? According to Scooby Doo Goes Hollywood, yes he can and does. It starts with Shaggy (Casey Kasem) and Scooby Doo (Don Messick) are filming a new Scooby Doo epoisde. So Shaggy talks Scooby into going from a cowdly dog to serious star and do westerns and even have his won trailer. Shaggy and Scooby go to a network exective named C.J to not only get Scooby his own Tv show and even star in movies. They show him a film called How Scooby Won the West starting, prouced, written and directed by Scooby. C.J doesn't take them seriously and finds it a joke. To prove they are serious they both leave the show and start filming more films and showing them to C.J enough to make him decide that Scooby Doo should go back to his show. The films shown to C.J include Scooby Days and Scooby & Cherie.

Obsession-This below average show concerned a hemoglobin-seeking space cloud from Kirk's past. The episode certainly has a couple things going for it; like The Doomsday Machine the episodes explores obsession with past mistakes and the quest for redemption. Evidence of Kirk's fallibility and capacity for introspection are always welcome, and his humane decision to give Garrovick the second chance he never received himself is poignant. Unfortunately, the story itself is not terribly engaging. Call me shallow, but it's hard to get excited about these gaseous clusters! (see/don't see Metamorphosis and the Lights of Zetar as well) (2.5 stars)

The Immunity Syndrome-The giant amoeba episode has less going for it than its companion on this disk. While the hook is probably slightly more intriguing than Obsession's, this is really a 'face value' episode. It doesn't pack any subtle messages. If the episode were more engaging, I'd say no problem, but unfortunately this one is pretty dull. McCoy fans will appreciate his prominent role in this one though. (2 stars)

REVIEWED ITEM: Star Trek Original Series DVD Volume 24: Obsession / The Immunity Syndrome

OBSESSION PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: Obsession (no, really...); dealing with guilt; priorities; Making the right choice when caught in a dilemma

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: Four dead, one injured

REVIEW/COMMENTARY:

Oh, what to do: destroy a gaseous vampire-cloud that has killed half a starship crew and will doubtless kill endless more beings in the future, or transfer and deliver a highly-perishable vaccine to a world stricken with a deadly plague that could claim millions of lives? As might've guessed, that's the little dilemma ol' Jimmers has to turn around in his head here. Throw in his guilt over hesitating to destroy the same creature years before-- a seeming error that claimed the lives of several shipmates-- and the son of one of those crewmen, and Kirk is firmly entrenched in the stickiest of wickets! Fortunately, ol' Jim manages to overcome his single-minded obsession towards the deadly cloud-being, and saves the day once again! But not before he has that obligatory moment of self-doubt over the course of action he's taking, which naturally is chock-full of that Shatnerian method acting that you all know and love! McCoy's confrontation with Kirk following this precious moment adds a bit more meat to the ham sandwich with one of the series' most memorable bits of character-developing dialogue!

Also thrown into the mix: Thanks (once again) to his differing half-Vulcan physiology, Spock manages to survive the vampire cloud's shipboard attack with narry a missing red corpuscle (mainly 'cuz he doesn't possess any)! And there ain't many just-in-the-nick-of-time transporter rescues that are more suspenseful than the one that puts the final punctuation on this eppie's climax! Tricky stuff, that anti-matter...

THE IMMUNITY SYNDROME PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: A Macrocosm of the Immune System

Notable Gaffe/Special Defect: The shadow of the camera man can is just noticeable as he pans/dollies in for a close-up on Kirk's reaction to McCoy's intercom statement that the crew is "all dying".

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: none

REVIEW/COMMENTARY:
Continuing this disc's "killer-parasite-creatures-that-must-be-stopped-at-all-costs" format, the Enterprise enters and must destroy a giant space amoeba that threatens to destroy life on other worlds. Thanks to a little shuttle-bound research from Mr. Spock and a dollop of anti-matter, the Enterprise endeavors to act as a galactic antibody to keep the horrible cosmic disease from spreading even further out through the ether!

This particular show highlights the advantages of DVD technology: the high-pitched whining sound that pops up when the Enterprise enters the amoeba's outer membrane caused me to react in a similar manner as the crew did when the noise hit their ears- a bit annoyed, and a tad nauseous. Now, THAT'S interactive TV!

'Late

Volume 24 of the Star Trek DVD series contains two episodes that deal with the second season's ...plot. Unlike some of the less successful attempts at this kind of story in the second season the two episodes here have their moments and are quite good.

OBSESSION deals with Kirk's past and one of his greatest fears that has somewhat haunted him over the last 11 years. A mysterious vampire cloud, that feeds off the red bloods cell of humans, attacks the Enterprise crew. With it's distinct sickly sweet smell Kirk realizes it is the same monster that attack and killed his crew mates years ago when he was a Lieutendant. Upon realizing that this monster is alive Kirk drives himself into obession (hence the title) in an attempt to destroy this creature. He even disregards his orders to deliver greatly needed drugs to another planet. Kirk also punishes Ensign Garrovick (played by Stephen Brooks) (which Kirk sees a younger version of himslef in him) after the Ensign attempts and fails to kill the monster when disobeying Kirk. This episode really developes Kirk character and how (at times) he can be so self critical. OBSESSION is a slightly above average episode of Star Trek but barely. Without the nice dramatic moments between Kirk and Garrovick, plus Spock and McCoy's confronting of Kirk's actions, this episode wouldn't be so special.

THE IMMUNITY SYNDROME has stood up suprisingly well over the last thirty years. The story was very well written and scientifically accurate. The concept of The Enterprise discovering a single celled organism of massive size in the body of space is a really creative idea. To think that space is a body, that single cell is a virus and humans are mere antibodies in the whole thing is such a diverse concept. As the Enterprise encounters this massive cell that drains energy out of everything (including humans), the crew gains information of the cell and realizes it begins to reproduce like a virus, and pretty soon it will plague the depths of space unless it is destroyed. THE IMMUNITY SYNDROME is another one of those Star Trek episodes that would've been average had it not had a few special moments. This episode is actually very good the acting is well done and the story was well written and concieved.

In conclusion Star Trek Volume 24 has two good episodes with a few special moments. This DVD is worth getting but you may want to check out other more classic Star Trek episodes before this. Recommended.

REVIEWED ITEM: Star Trek® Original Series DVD Volume 29: Elaan of Troyius © / The Paradise Syndrome ©

ELAAN OF TROYIUS © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The advantages of proper etiquette; love versus duty

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: one dead

REVIEW/COMMENTARY:
Well, it ain't like you've seen this particular plot on the show before: Kirk falls for the babe-of-the-week, in this instance Elaan, an arrogant and ill-mannered alien princess who is betrothed to the ruler of a world that her people are at war with. Kirk falls for the babe, with the help of Elaan's pheromone-laden tears that the good captain wipes away. The babe attempts to take advantage of the situation by attempting to use Kirk to destroy her foes. Kirk becomes torn between his new romantic interest-who wasn't supposed to be his in the first place-- and his duty to his ship and crew. As expected, his devotion to his command wins out, though not without a little agonizing over what he'd given up. Spock and McCoy have a brief exchange of words over the proceedings right before the closing credits roll. Fade to black-or rather, black with white spots. Yep, just another day at the classic 'Trek script recyclery-whoops, I mean Gene Roddenberry's office at Paramount studios...
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THE PARADISE SYNDROME © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: friendship versus duty; a complex man's desire to live a more simple life

Notable Gaffe/Special Defect: After uttering "I am Kirok!", Kirk pounds on the stone obelisk, causing one of the raised-relief hieroglyphics on the monument to fall off.

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None

REVIEW/COMMENTARY: Keeping with this particular volume's theme, Jimmers once again falls for the hottie-of-the-week, a woman from a tribe of primitive American Indians apparently placed on some far-off globe by an advanced alien race. Throw in a bit of amnesia on the part of Kirk (with the help of a strange monument-like device), and a jealous medicine chief who is forced to give up the hand of the lovely lady to Kirk, and you have a somewhat different twist on the hackneyed 'James-Kirk's-Ill-Fated-Romance' formula. Not particularly original, to be sure, but at least you get to see a few memorable moments of sniping between Spock and McCoy as the former assumes command following Kirk's mysterious disappearance, and attempts to deflect an asteroid that is hurtling inexorably towards the planet. Will the Enterprise save the day again? Will 'Kirok' become Kirk once again? Well, apparently the answers are 'yes' and 'yes'-- if I recall correctly, this intrepid trio did do a couple eppies and half a dozen theatrical flicks after this adventure. Sorry if I ruined it for ya there. But hey, I gotta give it to ya straight up, ya know?

'Late

Elaan of Troyius, which loosely follows the plot of Taming of the Shrew, is boosted by a strong acting performance from Frances Nguyen. She also brings out the best in Shatner; their scenes together, which run the gamut of emotions, are fairly convincing. The episode also features more action than average, including a dramatic ending, and there are no huge holes in the storyline (although at times it's tough to know exactly what Elaan's motivations are.) The episode is also boosted by a strong score and good costumes for the Dohlman (if not her guards!) One negative aspect is the implicit sexism behind 'the taming'. Overall, a slightly above average episode (3.5 stars.)

Tidbits: This episode, the second of the season to be produced, was the 13th to be aired. This ties Bread and Circuses for the longest lag of the entire series, and is probably mostly due to the 'high tech' scenes involving the 'Klingon' ship making rapid passes while firing on the Enterprise.

The Paradise Syndrome-While I agree that several 3rd season shows revisited plots from prior seasons, it's also true that the final season produced some unique offerings stylistically and substantially. The Paradise Syndrome, in which Kirk lives with an indigenous tribe, is one example. Two aspects in particular make this episode unusual. First, I can't think of an episode which spans a longer period of time (months). Second we have extensive cultural immersion, involving just one crew member who can't even remember he belongs on a starship. Other peculiar aspects are the funky score and some disturbing scenes such as the final violence which ultimately excuses Kirk's to return to his ship.

While the tragedy here is not as effectively conveyed as in say, The City on the Edge of Forever, the final, extreme events are emotionally involving. This is one of Shatner's richer performances, even as he ultimately remains wed to his ship. A less sappy romance, without the hackneyed 'spurned rival' subplot, and better acting from the beautiful Miramanee could have made this a truly exceptional episode. Also annoying are the gratuitous 'meanwhile, aboard the Enterprise' scenes so common in the 3rd season, where we usually see feckless and out-of-character bickering about zero-hours and the like. Still, a slighly above average episode, for its novelty primarily (3.5 stars).

Tidbits: This is the episode which should have closed with Spock
saying'forget.' Several aspects of the asteroid subplot, including
plot constraints that it introduces, fail to meet even the low
plausibility standards of Star Trek.

Volume 29 of The Star Trek DVD Series features two of the show's early episodes from it's haphazard third and final season.

Although it is not necessarily a terrible episode of Star Trek, to be honest I have never been to fond of ELAAN OF TROYIUS. The story is rather weak as is the totally unconvincing love story between Kirk and Elaan The Dohlman Of Elaas. The story basically has Kirk and the crew trying to get the two planets (who have been at war for many years) Troyius and Elaas to be at peace with one another by wedding the royal members. However of course the ship turns into a battelfield between Elaan and Petri the Troyan negotiator. Elaan and her guards act completely barbaric and Krik tries to teach her some disipline. Of course Kirk falls in love with Elaan after he touches her tears and they make him her love slave. It's pretty far fetched if you ask me and thats why this episode suffers. The love story is simply not realistic and in the end Kirk acts if he lost true love to the Troyan leader. Uhh? he was seduced and became a tool! There was no love! I'm sorry but I just think this episode was just downright lame besides Elaan isn't that attractive in my opinion. Still this episode is worth one view, you never know you may like it?
There is a good scene with The Klingon battle cruiser but other then that this episode is a dud to me.

On the otherhand THE PARADISE SYNDROME is one of the third seasons finest episodes. Kirk and the crew beam down to a planet that is being threatened by a collision by an asteroid. They find Natives American inhabitants as well as a strange Alien Obelisk. Kirk accidently gets trapped inside the Obelisk and triggers a device that gives him amnesia. Found by the natives Kirk states he is Kurok (from his damaged memory) and the natives believe he is a god from the Obelisk. He seems to settle in fine with the natives as he becomes the new tribe medicine chief and marries the priestess Miramanee. Meanwhile on the Enterprise Spock and the crew attempt to figure out how to stop the asteroid from colliding with the planet. This episode was extremely well written and the casting was superb. Some nice acting scenes between McCoy and Spock, and Kirk and Miramanee make THE PARADISE SYNDROME one of the best episodes from Star Trek's final season. The ending has a nice tragic effect to it as well. Superb!

Overall Volume 29 has some good and some bad in my opinion but it's all classic Trek so it is worth getting regardless. Besides PARADISE SYNDROME is a lcassic Star Trek episode that is well made especiallt for the third seasons stabdards. Recommended.

I have been a fan of Rodney's for twenty years. However, I can't defend him here. The movie is a dud. High school production methods, looks like it was shot with a cam-corder in one day.
No wonder it never made it to the theaters, they couldn't get distribution, no one would handle it.
If you're a die-hard RD fan, then here are the films you want to see, in descending order of quality:

1. Back To School
2. Caddyshack
3. Easy Money

That's it. He's still great live, though. Saw him at Radio City Music Hall in May, 2001 and he lit the place up.

Rodney Dangerfield's MY FIVE WIVES falls flat about halfway into the film. Until that point, Rodney keeps it moving with his ever-sharp one-liners. Despite looking and sounding his 78 years of age when he made MY FIVE WIVES, time had not robbed the great funnyman of his gift.

MY FIVE WIVES loses steam as it stumbles to a conclusion. Instead of keeping Dangerfield and his jokes the center of attention, the film concentrates on its "plot," which concerns a land swindle and organized crime. Despite a supporting cast including comedians John Byner and Andrew Dice Clay, there's not enough funny stuff going on when Rodney's not on screen.

In one MY FIVE WIVES scene, Dangerfield and the five young women he's married wear thong bathing suits. I'll give Rodney credit for doing a semi-nude scene at his age. Come to think of it, two of his wives don't look so hot from behind in those swimsuits, either, and they can't blame age.

No Oscar material here but one heck of a funny movie.
Rodney Dangerfield has never been funnier! The plot is silly but very entertaining and captures to hold audience. Hey, when we want to see a comedy we want to see a comedy and this movie does it pretty well.

For the World is Hollow and I have touched the sky-This episode, featuring an oracle and a McCoy romance, is fairly weak.
The episode has a schmaltzy, soap opera feel, and not much happens. The predictable, Oz-like ending doesn't help. Don't call me a hater, but one of the biggest problems-along with the dialogue and lack of action-is Deforest Kelley's passionless performance as a man in love. (2 stars)

Day of the Dove-This action-packed and creepily atmospheric episode concerns a fight to the death (and beyond?) aboard the Enterprise against the Klingons. We are dropped right into the episode, with immediate violence, which pulls us into the episode's urgency and ominousness. The parties really appear quite powerless to stop their decent into total warfare. We are given our richest depiction of Klingons here, most notably in the thoughtful Kang (played by Michael Ansara). The lighting and nervous score contributes to the sense of doom and insanity aboard the ship.

This episode also has a stronger moral foundation than many 3rd season shows. We see people forced to set aside their differences and mutual suspicion in order to break the cycle of violence. Also present are the ideas that some entities thrive on hate, hate corrupts absolutely, and that laughter is sometimes the best medicine. One of the few negatives to be said about this episode is that the conclusion is ho-hum, convenient, and rushed. Better handled, it could have been one of the few 3rd season episodes to end on an uplifting note. By this point in the show, however, momentum was starting to build, as opportunities were allowed to slip away. more on this in reviews of later episodes.

Tidbits: A fraction of the scene in the corridor between Chekov and Kang's daughter shows up in the movie Koyaniskatsi. (4 stars)

Volume 33 of the Star Trek DVD series contains two of the third season's flawed yet decent episodes. Both episodes suffer from Star Trek's third season syndrome but nonetheless are classics.

FOR THE WORLD IS HOLLOW AND I HAVE TOUCHED THE SKY finds Kirk, Spock and McCoy venturing to the Yonada planet (which is really a space ship on a collision course with an asteroid). The oracle which is a relentless computer controls the ship and it must be stopped to save the good people of Yonada. Meanwhile McCoy discovers he's suffering from a disease and only has a year to live. Upon arrival on Yonada, McCoy meets up with Natira (Kate Woodville) and falls in love. This episode marks the first time McCoy ever brushed with romance really. You would think it would be more of a landmark episode but it isn't really. Mainly cause this plot was done before and way better on THE PARADISE SYNDROME. A nice enjoyable episode but nothing to special here. Average at best.

DAY OF THE DOVE probably should have been a terrible episode of Star Trek because of it was one of the cheapest Star Trek episodes ever produced. However strangely it ended up being one of the third season's most popular episodes. Probably cause of the presence of Klingons and the fact that most of the episode is packed with action and fighting scenes. The appearance of Mike Ansaras as Kang the Klingon Commander also boosts this episode's status. However DAY OF THE DOVE suffers from a weak plot line. The idea of a bizarre entity feeding off the hatred of Humans and Klingons is kinda far fetched and the ending of this episode is utterly weak. Although it is a classic and a enjoyable show with Klingons and action and all, but when you get down to the nitty gritty this is an average episode of Star Trek at best.

Overall a nice collection but not really classic. Both episodes are totally watchable though and DAY OF THE DOVE is actually a favourite of many. The appearance of Klingons almost always set the stage for a good Star Trek episode. Highly recommended!

"For the World Is Hollow..." is a hackneyed plot - a Star Trek staple plot, for that matter - but well done. The Enterprise encounters an asteroid that isn't an asteroid - it's a hollow, artificial planet, carrying the descendants of a distant race to their eventual new home, run by a computer that overdoes its protective job of caring for them and has gone a little megalomaniacal. The high priestess of the artificial planet - who, like her people, does not know she is inside a hollowed out asteroid, or that her god is a computer - takes a fancy to Dr. McCoy, who has recently discovered (will the cliches never end?) he has only a few months left to live, and as a result accepts her proposal of marriage and retires from Starfleet service to spend his final days with her. Needless to say, Kirk and Spock have to rectify the entire situation. The episode is nicely produced, for how [inexpensive] it is - the entire third season was [inexpensive] - and Kate Woodville is endearingly naive and regal as Natira, the asteroid-planet's priestess/McCoy's new bride. The sets and costumes are quite attractive and colorful.

"Day of the Dove" is great fun, more for its cast and the gusto with which they perform their roles than for the story itself. Kirk and Co. find themselves lured by a fake distress signal to a planet where only a half dozen Klingons survive. The Klingons blame the Federation for having lured them to the same planet with a fake distress signal, and killing most of his crew. After Kirk gets them safely rounded-up and under guard aboard the Enterprise, all hell breaks loose: an unseen power hijacks the ship outside the solar system at Warp 9, in circles, and releases and arms the Klingons and the Enterprise crew with swords; the two rival races fight to the death, over and over again, since the same unseen third party seems also somehow to keep repairing their injured bodies. Kirk, one way or another, has to gain the trust of the Klingon leader to identify and eliminate the alien invader responsible for the carnage, before they are trapped in eternal warfare with each other.

"Dove" is a real scenery-chewer, and one of the [least expensive]-ever episodes of the series. Only the Enterprise core cast and a handful of Klingons are ever seen - everyone else, we are informed, has been sealed off (conveniently and cheaply) below decks - leaving them to roll their eyes and gnash their teeth in artificially induced fury for most of the hour. Michael Ansara, who never disappoints, is ideal as the Klingon captain, Kang, and Susan Howard - in one of her final performances before permanently retiring from acting - is appealing and interesting as his emotionally torn wife, Mara.