Holly Wilson (Staite) takes care of her brother’s son Gabe (Lord) while he’s serving over in Iraq and also juggles a demanding job as a glorified assistant for her boss Lindy Lowe (Holly), a demanding fashion designer. While getting coffee for Lindy, Holly meets Jake Finley (Johnson) who works for his gruff father (Butler) at their family-owned store, which is in trouble. Jake believes in selling old school toys while his grinchy father pushes for boosting sales by stocking the hot new in-demand toy, the Intellytron robot. Both Holly and Jake are nice, good-looking people destined to be together but must overcome their mean-spirited bosses for this to happen. Naturally, Mrs. Miracle will be instrumental in these two crazy kids getting together.

Taking a break from the genre films and T.V. shows she’s known for, Jewel Staite brings her considerable irrepressible charms and charisma to the role along with a dash of neurotic humor, like when she tries to prepare meals for Gabe. We instantly sympathize with her and want to see Holly have a happy ending. It helps that she has good chemistry with Eric Johnson. They have a nice scene together where their characters take a horse-driven carriage ride through the city and reveal things about themselves. Johnson is a good-looking guy and Jake seems nice enough but he lacks depth, which is down to the screenwriting. Lauren Holly has a blast vamping it up as Holly’s vain, blowhard boss. Doris Roberts gets to play the benevolent angel who acts as matchmaker and champion of Christmas spirit with sass and what they used to call gumption.

Much like the underrated Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (2007), Call Me Mrs. Miracle champions classic toys that spark the imagination, like Slinky’s, train sets and board games, instead of sterile plastic toys that break easily. It is pretty easy to figure out how it will all turn out but the pleasure is watching the characters get there. Director Michael Scott does a nice job of bathing New York in warm, inviting colors and doesn’t rely heavily on emotionally manipulative music. Plus, any Christmas film that champions old school toys, small stores vs. the big chains and the true spirit of Christmas is okay in my book. Call Me Mrs. Miracle is a pleasant enough time waster and fans of Jewel Staite should enjoy it for the amount of screen-time she gets. The film has a certain low-key charm and comfy movie vibe that is a welcome relief amongst all the rampant commercialism of the holiday season.

Special Features:

None.

Sean (Logue) and Claudia (Price) Finnerty got pregnant and married at an early age. They’re now in their 30s with three kids: two precocious boys – Jimmy (Frazen) and Henry (Burbage) – and Lily (Bartilson), a mercurial teenage girl. Added to the mix is Eddie (Corrigan), Sean’s ne’er-do-well brother and their strict father (Riehle). At times, Grounded for Life comes across as a slightly hipper version of Roseanne with Logue and Corrigan giving it indie cred. Not surprisingly they are best thing about the show with Logue acting flustered when his kids do something bad and Corrigan playing the slightly creepy uncle always cooking up scams (like hooking up illegal cable in the pilot episode).

Logue has a real knack for physical comedy while Corrigan has an offbeat style of delivering his dialogue. Together, they make this traditional sitcom worth watching. However, the show’s secret weapon may very well be Megyn Price who brings an earthy sexiness to her role and has excellent comic timing. She plays well off of Logue and they are quite believable as parents making it up as they go along. Amazingly, they have chemistry right from the first episode.

One of the better episodes in the first season features Sean and Claudia going to see the Ramones with their kids even though one of them has to finish a school project and gets in trouble as a result. In a nice twist, it is the parents who are irresponsible, not the kids. The highlight of the episode is when Sean gets into an argument with a nun over the artistic merit of the Ramones.

In another episode, Sean tries to keep Eddie from hitting on Claudia’s best friend Nina who just caught her husband cheating. We get a funny flashback depicting a series of disastrous dates Eddie went on with women Sean set up for his brother. Over the course of the episode, Sean, his dad and his kids play a spirited game of Monopoly that is quite funny to watch. Corrigan gets a lot of screen time and interacts with Logue for some hilarious moments. Unfortunately, after the show’s run, Logue and Corrigan returned to appearing in and alternating between indie and studio films.

Special Features:

Everything from the previous box set is included with the notable exception of the audio commentaries on various episodes.

“Donal Logue: Meet the Finnertys” features the actor talking about his character and how he put a lot of himself in Sean. Logue talks about working with Megyn Price and sings her praises. He also speaks highly of Kevin Corrigan. There are loads of clips from the show mixed in with soundbites from Logue.

“Claudia: Not the Sitcom Mom” features the actress speaking fondly about her character and the show. She said that the producers felt she was too young at the time to play Claudia but got the role anyway. Price talks about working with the other cast members.

“Lynsey Bartilson: Life with Lily” She claims that the bitchy part of her character was the most fun to play. Naturally, she talks about working with her television parents and what she thought of them.

“A Collaboration is Born: Mike Schiff and Bill Martin” The two creators of the show talk about how they met and cut their teeth writing for 3rd Rock from the Sun. They also talk about the various characters and how they cast the show.

“Grounded for Life: The Bloopers” is a funny collection of the cast blowing lines and goofing around with Logue adlibbing like crazy.

“Grounded for Life: Parents in Training” features highlights of Sean and Claudia’s not so better moments as parents but with hilarious results.

In the episode, “Vanstock,” the gang goes on a roadtrip and, much to Kelso’s dismay both Jackie and Laurie tag along, which creates much hilarity. On the homefront, Midge (Roberts), Donna’s mom, gets Red (Smith), Eric’s dad, to watch her favorite soap opera and it is amusing to see him get drawn into the show. Danny Masterson and Kurtwood Smith really shine in this episode as they get to deliver some classic zingers.

“Sleepover” introduces Tommy Chong as Leo, the terminally clueless hippie who gives Hyde (Masterson) a job at his photomat. Leo is obviously a PG riff on his stoner character from the popular Cheech and Chong movies. Eric and Donna think about whether they should have sex or not and this episode highlights the sexy, girl-next-door vibe that Laura Prepon exudes as Donna. Jackie is often seen as the typical beauty of the show but it is Donna who is smart and beautiful while also willing to stand up for herself.

In “Kelso’s Serenade,” he tries to win back Jackie by writing a song for her, which allows Ashton Kutcher to show Kelso hit rock bottom, blubbering like a baby. His song is hilariously awful and Kutcher really sells it well, drawing a lot of humor out of its creation and execution. When Eric and Donna have a moment of miscommunication, she imagines their future to be like that of the classic sitcom All in the Family with Kelso as Meathead, Jackie as Gloria, Donna as Edith and Eric as Archie Bunker for a spot-on parody that also addresses the problem their characters have in real life.

Special Features:

All of the extras from the previous box set are included in this one except for the audio commentaries for three episodes.

The first disc has behind the scenes webisodes for six episodes from season two. They provide a little insight into how they were made. They were shot in front of a live studio audience and we see the cast and crew goofing around between takes and blowing lines while taping. It is interesting to see the inner workings of the show.

The third disc includes “Season One: A Look Back,” which is a brief recap of the highlights from what went down in the first season. This brings one up to speed when starting into this season.

Finally, there is “Season Two: A Talk with Director David Trainer,” which features the show’s director recalling when he knew That ‘70s Show had hit its stride. He talks about how it is the voice of a sole creator, Mark Brazill, who based it partially on his life growing up and his friends. There are lots of clips from the show with soundbites from Trainer.

Originally called Teenage Wasteland, That ‘70s Show is a sitcom about the lives of a group of teenagers living in Wisconsin during the late 1970’s. Eric Foreman (Grace) is the everyman who is unlucky with girls; Michael Kelso (Kutcher) is the not-too-bright jock/ladies man; Steven Hyde (Masterson) is the sarcastic practical joker and stoner; Donna Pinciotti (Prepon) is the sexy tomboy; Jackie Burkhart (Kunis) is the vain, rich girl; and Fez (Valderrama) is the borderline geek from another country whose full name nobody can pronounce.

The first season spans 1976 to 1977 and introduces us to these characters and the world they inhabit with the first episode establishing Eric and his tight-knit group of friends as they make their way to a Todd Rundgren concert. Right from the get-go it feels like these actors have worked together for years. They play so well off each other and have excellent comic timing, in particular Ashton Kutcher as Kelso with his dumb questions and silly pronouncements and Danny Masterson with nicely timed deadpan sarcastic quips. The first season tracks the gradually developing relationship between Eric and Donna as go from friends to boyfriend and girlfriend. A number of guest stars make appearances, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Mitch (The X-Files) Pileggi, but it is a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt that impresses the most as Buddy, Eric’s new lab partner who also happens to be gay, which leads Eric to temporary confusion as to his own sexual orientation.

One of the show’s reoccurring motifs is dream sequences demonstrating the colourful imaginations of the characters and the 360-degree scenes (also known as the Circle) that usually illustrate the teens smoking pot in Eric’s basement. As they talk about whatever comes to mind, the camera moves in a circle stopping on each character as they address the camera directly. It became a clever way to show them getting high without actually showing them lighting up with only puffs of smoke in the background as an obvious reference.

The diversity of the cast accounts for a large part of the show’s appeal with Topher Grace and Kutcher drawing the teenage demographic and established veteran actors like Kurtwood Smith appealing to an older generation who may also watch for nostalgic reasons – a trip down memory lane evokes simpler times. Smith is the show’s secret weapon as Eric’s gruff, no-nonsense father, Red. He gets some great zingers with his dry, sarcastic remarks and referring to those he dislikes as dumbasses and threatening to put his foot up the ass of anyone who crosses him, which is usually Eric.

The appeal of these characters is that they are archetypes that anyone can relate to. We’ve all known or been a jock or a geek or the popular kid. While That ‘70s Show is hardly groundbreaking television it is very entertaining and quite funny, which is all you really want from a show like this.

Special Features:

All of the extras from the previous box set are included in this one.

“Hello Wisconsin! – Season One” is featurette that takes a look at the show that was done at the time it was being made. The creators talk about the timeless nature of the show while the cast members talks about their characters.

“That ‘70s Trivia Show” features cast members testing your knowledge of various aspects of the show.

Finally, there is “Promo-palooza,” a collection of ads promoting the show.

The lives of the main protagonists both begin to dramatically improve as a result of the inspiration they offer to each other. The densely engrossing plot line explores and intertwines the themes of death, love, sex and social class, which are further embodied and developed in Rackham’s family members.

His pitiable wife, Agnes, is seemingly driven to madness and serious physical illness by her unfulfilling existence, although viewers are never quite sure if her symptoms are purely psychosomatic and driven by despair. Sophie, their young daughter, is neglected and lacking in nurture due to her gender in an age when male heirs were of paramount importance. His brother, Henry, suffers irreconcilable torture when his godly dedication to social reform becomes besmirched by unwilling attraction to the seductive Mrs Fox.

This tense drama is splendidly acted and the understated script leaves viewers answering questions with more questions until the very climax. Who are the heroes and who are the villains? How much responsibility can each of these characters be expected to take for their actions and how deserving are they of the ultimate consequences? In the end, who wins and who loses?

Special Features

Interviews with the Costumer, the Designer, the Director, the Director of Photography and the Make-up Artist make befitting special features, as each excelled in their fields with their contributions to making this drama so sumptuously believable and watchable.

In an additional Points of View feature, the Producer feels that this is the story that Dickens would have written if he had been allowed, which perfectly sums up the atmosphere of this enduring period drama.

The DVD has seven charming episodes which will delight toddlers and pre-schoolers as Charley takes them into the realms of his vivid imagination. James Corden, best known for his character ‘Smithy’ in Gavin and Stacey, narrates the series. He keeps a watchful eye on the cuddly Charley, whose sense of adventure can sometimes lead him into some comical situations.

Each seven minute episode sees the playful teddy bear embark on a new adventure along with his friends Bellarina the ballerina, Caramel the cow, Midge the teddy bear, Frozo the penguin, Rivet the Robot and Nibblet the rabbit – all gently guided by the narrator. Episodes include Charley donning his sheriff badge in Wild West Caramel, taking to the stage as Pop Star Charley and showing his artistic side in Art in the Park. Children will delight in exploring their own creativity and imagination as Charley inspires them to use everyday objects to invent new worlds in which to play.

Parents will love this DVD. It offers beautiful animation and short bite-size episodes that are gentle enough to be viewed before bedtime. James Corden, now a new father himself, adds a comical dimension and charms little ones and grownups alike with his gentle teasing of the fun loving Charley.

Special features

The DVD extras include a lovely introduction to Charley Bear and his friends, as well as a bonus episode to delight the teddy bear’s pre-school fans. The magical world of Little Charley Bear can continue away from the DVD player with a collection of downloadable colouring sheets as well.

It really is amazing what you can do with your imagination and Little Charley Bear is guaranteed to become a family favourite.

You can win a copy of ‘Are you there, Charley Bear?’ on DVD with us at WhatDVD.Net right here.

Fawlty Towers represents the height of British comedy; a pinnacle that, despite many attempts and pretenders to the crown from comedy shows such as ‘Only Fools and Horses’ and ‘One Foot in the Grave’, has never been matched. It is perhaps testament to the credibility of the show’s creators that they only made two series, stopping after just 12 episodes. Had a show been made today that was this popular, this successful, it would surely have been stretched out to produce series upon series, diluting the show’s effectiveness and damaging our memories of just how great the first two series truly were.

However, 12 episodes it was – even though it seems like more. In those 12 episodes came some of the finest moments of British comedy as John Cleese’s Basil Fawlty, a tour de ’force of offensiveness and calamitous decisions, makes hilarious mistake after mistake in his attempts to run the best guesthouse in Torquay. His long suffering wife ‘Sybil’, played by British comedy stalwart Prunella Scales, attempts unsuccessfully to keep him in check and stop him from offending the guests. Perhaps his greatest moment of poor customer services comes in the episode entitled ‘The Germans’, where Basil tries ever so hard to insult the guests from Germany, instructing all of his staff “don’t mention the war” but proceeding to prattle on about Hitler, Goering, Himler, the concentration camps, jokes about WWII pilots and his coup de grâce, the funny walk of the Nazi Goosestep.

The pace of the episodes always builds to a crescendo in this manner, with jokes, or situations, becoming more and more ridiculous as Basil goes one stage too far, then two, then jumps over the line marked ‘too far’ and runs off into the distance.

John Cleese is perfect for the role of Basil, with his elongated body making this type of physical humour and mild slapstick come easy to him. He is aided in the calamity by another British comedy legend, Andrew Sachs (who is perhaps more famous now for being at the centre of the Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand prank phone call affair). Sachs plays the butt of most of the jokes in his role as ‘Manuel’, a waiter from Barcelona who has a very limited grasp of English. This means that he doesn’t understand anything he’s told, including food orders, yet Basil often entrusts him with vital tasks.

Interestingly, Fawlty Towers has been shown all over the world but when it is shown in Spain, Manuel isn’t from Barcelona – he’s Italian!

This DVD set, containing all 12 episodes, is comedy show gold. Stand out moments include the scene where Basil insults the German guests (which you can watch below) and the famed Waldorf Salad episode, where a classic Fawlty Towers dinner show is on the cards for the American guests who order meals that Basil has never heard of.

Don’t forget, too, the scene that has also been immortalised in toy form by Corgi where Basil gives his car a ‘damn good thrashing’ with a tree branch.

The time was right for The Walking Dead, an adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s graphic novel series of the same name, about a small group of people trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. Director Frank Darabont and producer Gale Anne Hurd, no strangers to the horror genre, are the driving forces behind this show and wisely enlisted legendary makeup artist Greg Nicotero to create the gruesome carnage. His presence also gives the show additional credibility among horror fans. This isn’t going to be cheap, slapped-together gore effects, but realistically rendered stuff that nightmares are made of. The end result is an engaging tale of survival that isn’t just a bunch of gory set pieces but also about humanity on the brink of extinction.

After being seriously wounded by a gunshot, police officer Rick Grimes (Lincoln) wakes up from a coma in a hospital to find it in complete disarray and populated with the living dead. Driven to find out if his wife Lori (Callies) and his little boy are still alive, Rick arms himself and heads for the nearest large city – Atlanta – and quickly discovers that the world has been devastated by a zombie apocalypse. While the hospital scene recalls a similar one in 28 Days Later (2002), The Walking Dead quickly settles into a familiar Romero-esque tale of survival as Rick is reunited with his family and a small group of people that include his partner and best friend Shane Walsh (Bernthal). The Darabont-directed pilot episode sets the tone for the rest of the series as our group of survivors encounters plenty of zombies and also living people who are just as dangerous as the undead.

The Walking Dead has the look and feel of a feature film as it starts off on an intimate level but by the end of the first season its scope has expanded considerably so that we get an idea of just how bad the epidemic has gotten. There are some powerful images throughout the six-episode season, like the parking lot full of dead bodies all tied up and bagged in the pilot, or Rick and another survivor covering themselves in blood and gore so that they can make their way through city streets populated by zombies in the appropriately titled, “Guts.” All of this horrific eye candy is juxtaposed with the interpersonal relationships between the group of survivors, in particular, the love triangle between Rick, Lori and Shane. It is this humanity that makes The Walking Dead more than a simple gore fest and is perhaps the most Romero-esque aspect. However, where his stories were served in feature-length chunks, Darabont and his writers have the time to develop multi-episode story arcs and introduce characters that don’t make a significant impact until later on, possibly even in season two. This is one of the most interesting things about the show as we see what happens to these characters over time and how more of the nightmarish world they inhabit is revealed.

Special Features:

“The Making of The Walking Dead” is a 30-minute featurette on how the show came together. Darabont was drawn to the characters in Kirkman’s comic book and also the notion of a serialized zombie story. This extra takes us through the show’s genesis with the cast and crew talking about it with plenty of behind-the-scenes clips. Highlights include seeing Greg Nicotero applying zombie makeup.

“Inside The Walking Dead: Episodes 1-6” consist of five minute featurettes about each episode from the first season with cast and crew talking about their intentions for them.

“A Sneak Peek with Robert Kirkman” features the writer introducing more behind-the-scenes with clips from the show and the cast talking about it. There is some overlap from the Making Of featurette.

“Behind the Scenes Zombie Make-Up Tests” sees Greg Nicotero giving some insight into how they transform a person into a zombie. This is a fascinating extra as we see the process broken down for you to try if so inclined.

“Convention Panel with Producers” features highlights from the San Diego Comic Con with Kirkman, Darabont, Nicotero and others. They talk about how the show differs from its source material. The cast also join the panel and talk about their characters.

Also included is a trailer.

“Zombie School” shows how the extras are taught to act like zombies.

“Bicycle Girl” takes us through the genesis of a memorable zombie in the pilot episode.

“On Set with Robert Kirkman” features another location shoot from the pilot episode.

“Hanging with Steven Yeun” features the actor giving us a tour of another location and speaking fondly of his love for the comic book, which he was into even before the show was made.

“Inside Dave’s RV” features Jeffrey DeMunn taking us on a whimsical tour of his character’s Winnebago.

Finally, there is “On Set with Andrew Lincoln,” yet another tour of a location shoot as the actor takes a breather from filming.

Deadly Crossing began in the manner of what can only be described as a TV show. The opening credits of the film featured scenes from the movie itself, which was extremely off-putting, and worrying. My worst fears came to bear when I realised that this was indeed a TV show, a show that is being made right now in the USA.

That’s right, Steven Seagal is bringing his own brand of deft movement begets head smashing action to network television, minus all of the actual violence. Of course, Seagal fans will instantly spot a flaw with this plan. If you take the over the top, bone crunching violence out of a Seagal movie, what are you left with? Not much at all as it turns out.

Yes, Stevie still dispense his own brand of pointless and unintelligible wisdom while curtailing his movement as much as possible, but without the sudden bursts of atrocious inhumanity, you’re left feeling rather cold. It’s like having a porn movie edited for television… not a lot’s left.

So what happens in Deadly Crossing, or Southern Justice as the TV series is called, or ‘Russian Crossing’ as the pilot seems to be called in the USA (this is a worrying start already, bit of an identity crisis and the show hasn’t even aired yet)? Well, Seagal plays tough cop Elijah Kane, leading an elite team of cops battling the influx of drugs in Seattle. This team of cops is so elite that they don’t even wear uniforms at the police station, or park their police cars outside so as to remain ‘incognito’. Of course, they still park their unmarked surveillance vans outside the station, so presumably the criminals in Seattle are a special type of stupid.

Seagal’s team of elite cops are joined by a newbie as the season gets underway, a newbie who at first isn’t liked by the other male cops, but soon earns her place alongside them… oh for Christ’s sake, this is about as predictable and formulaic as you can possibly imagine, and there isn’t even any ass kicking of any note from the Portly one.

To make matters worse, the narrative of the film is split for some reason known only to the editor when the entire movie reverses 48 hours in an attempt to make it interesting… it fails.

This series lacks the humour and the characterisation of series such as Bones and Castle, and lacks the action of a Seagal movie. It’s somewhere in between, and it’s not a nice in between either.

The idea that London’s most famous Victorian detective, as penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, could work in a modern setting must have seemed crazy to all but the most visionary of people – thankfully Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat (two of the men behind the regeneration of Doctor Who) were two such visionaries. Sherlock Holmes, in modern day London, is both inspired and intriguing – and is an unquestionable success; one which apparently took a few people by surprise, including the BBC and star Martin Freeman (Doctor Watson).

Freeman may be better known as playing ‘Tim’ in the Office (or as the naked male porn star in Love Actually), but his role as Watson in Sherlock threatens to give the comedy actor a new shot at being typecast all over again. He is a youthful Watson, a man of action and a perfect foil for the brilliant, irrational and slightly unstable Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) – a man who could quite easily fill the role of The Doctor (Who, not Watson) himself without too much of a stretch.

Just like previous incarnations of Holmes before him, Cumberbatch plays Holmes with a degree of insanity – plagued by the fact that nobody is able to even keep up with him, let alone challenge him. Holmes is so bored in fact that he resorts to taking pot shots at his own living room wall with a gun, and keeping severed body parts in the fridge for ‘study’ – yes, this Holmes is only a slight nudge away from being one of the madmen he often catches. It’s this unpredictability – the sort of instability that followed David Tenant in his final few episodes of Doctor Who – that make this series so watchable.

Sherlock was only intended for a short run by the BBC, filming just three feature length episodes, but its runaway success ensured it was granted another series almost instantly – one which Freeman must fit in around his work on The Hobbit, where he plays Bilbo Baggins. Sherlock is edgy, it’s unpredictable and it’s brilliant. It displays writing at its very best and brings the legend that is Sherlock Holmes screaming into the 21st century for the Doctor Who generation.

I’ve mentioned Who a number of times in this review, but the parallels are there to be seen by all. The complex and in-depth style of writing, the cinematic shooting and the casting show very strong influences – as does the huge success of the show.

If you’ve ever thought of Sherlock Holmes as being a little stuffy, maybe even boring, think again. Sherlock, while staying true to the original’s intricacy and detail, is an action packed powerhouse of a series, and one that I’ll personally be following with glee.