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TREK!! BULLSHIT!! ANARCHY!! WOLVERINE!! X-MEN!! CARVEY!! NYPD BLUE!! CSI Blu!! HercVault!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
Dana Carvey, arguably the most utilized player during his six-plus-year run on “Saturday Night Live” between 1986 and 1993, starred in three truly awful 1994 big screen failures – “Clean Slate,” “The Road To Wellville” and “Trapped in Paradise” – before launching his 1996 TV “comeback” with ABC’s SNL-inspired primetime sketch half-hour “The Dana Carvey Show.” 
The great writer-producer Robert Smigel had just launched “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” as head writer, producer and the voice inside Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, had worked closely with Carvey during the performer’s long SNL stint, and signed on as showrunner and co-star on Carvey’s show.
Smigel’s participation, as well as that of future filmmaker Charlie Kaufman (“Being John Malkovich,” “Adaptation,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Synecdoche, New York”), future “30 Rock” showrunner Robert Carlock, and future stars Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Bob Odenkirk, Louis C.K., Dave Chappelle and the Ambiguously Gay Duo, no doubt motivated Shout Factory to issue all eight produced episodes (including the one that never aired) of this forgotten relic of March and April 1996.
There’s a LOT of funny here, and a lot of TV Funhouse in the show’s DNA, offering as it does rare glimpses of Smigel as a non-puppeteering performer. (Smigel employs the Triumph voice as a bald, bathing world leader at one point.)
The “Skinheads From Maine” sketch with Carvey and Colbert kills. Carell plays the host of an “Entertainment Tonight”-like show who could be the brother of “Anchorman” weathermand Brick Tamland.
And get this. Three years before the release of “Cruel Intentions,” a stunning blonde Selma Blair turns up for five seconds as a contestant in an “MTV Singled Out” parody.
The set comes with two extras:
* Deleted scenes reel (12:18). These include “Leftover Beatle Memories” with Carvey as Paul McCartney and Colbert as George Harrison; an animal-testing lab sketch with Colbert; a mad-cow hamburger sketch; Colbert as a half-naked Carl Sagan searching for a piece of chicken between his couch cushions; “World Leaders And Their Baths” with Stephen Colbert; Carell’s look at an automated Twister game of the future ; “Celebrity Bloopers and Dark Sides” with Carell as Dick Clark, Bill Chott as Ed McMahon, Smigel as Yakov Smirnoff threatening his manager with a baseball bat, and Carell as Richard Dawson blubbering drunkenly about how unhappy he is; “Profiles in Bravery” with Carvey as Adrian Zmed and Carell as an unhappy new father; and “Germans Who Say Nice Things” with Carvey and Carell as Hitleresque figures in turtlenecks.
* A new side-by-side interview with Smigel and Carvey (21:18). Learn that Smigel and Conan O’Brien were to serve as “Late Night With Dana Carvey” writers before Carvey decided against taking over David Letterman’s show. Learn that both Carell and Colbert were cast out of Second City, and that Smigel considered Carell’s the real “home run” out of all the show’s auditions. Learn that Smigel was impressed with Colbert’s impressions, particularly his Geraldo Rivera and Peter Jennings. Learn that voicing the Ambiguously Gay Duo was the first thing Colbert did subsequent to hiring onto the show. Learn that Bill Chott (“Wizards of Waverly Place”) was cast from an SNL audition tape. Learn that Colbert would bait the dour Kaufman with an outrageously cheerful demeanor. Learn that Carell committed so fiercely to his idiot prankster character than he would give himself migraines. Learn that Smigel lobbied for a “mature audiences” warning at the top of the show, but ABC rejected the idea, citing the difficulty of selling a show so labeled to sponsors. Learn that Smigel was not a fan of “Home Improvement,” the Carvey show’s lead-in. Learn that Colbert used “Carvey” clips to get his spot on “The Daily Show,” then used the “nauseated waiters” sketch to get Carell hired there as well.
Bullshit! is always funny, but its targets are looking more and more like straw men. New age medicine and dolphin healing are nonsense, you say?
In the half-hour on sleep, we learn the Slate Consumer reporter who examined mattress sets (some selling for north of $5,000) sleeps on a $60 inflatable bed.
Aside from new age medicine, dolphin healing and sleep, topics for season six include NASA (which the boys clearly don’t think is bullshit), being green, sensitivity training, world peace and nostalgia.
CBS didn’t forward the first six “Star Trek” movies on Blu-ray, so I can’t speak to the set’s extras, if any.
But this offers an excellent excuse to repost the franchise’s cinematic track record:
BOX OFFICE
(domestic grosses in millions)
$43.2 Nemesis (2002)
$52.2 The Final Frontier (1989)
$70.1 Insurrection (1998)
$74.8 The Undiscovered Country (1991)
$75.6 Generations (1994)
$76.4 The Search For Spock (1984)
$79.9 The Wrath of Khan (1982)
$82.2 The Motion Picture (1979)
$86.7 Star Trek* (2009)
$92.0 First Contact (1996)
$109.7 The Voyage Home (1986)
*first five days only!
CRITICS
(per Rotten Tomatoes)
21% The Final Frontier (1989)
36% Nemesis (2002)
49% Generations (1994)
50% The Motion Picture (1979)
55% Insurrection (1998)
76% The Search For Spock (1984)
82% The Undiscovered Country (1991)
84% The Voyage Home (1986)
90% The Wrath of Khan (1982)
91% First Contact (1996)
96% Star Trek (2009)
The old “odd-number/even-number” theory has been thoroughly disproven by the horrible 10th movie (“Nemesis”) and this week's fantastic new J.J. Abrams installment.
I think “Final Frontier” takes too much guff (largely because it followed the superb “Voyage Home”) while “Nemesis” (a horrible “Star Trek” film and the only one I can say I thoroughly dislike) gets too much credit because expectations were so low following the mediocre “Insurrection.”
Also out today: a set with just “Wrath of Khan,” “Search For Spock” and “Voyage Home.” A reminder of all Spock has been through, even before he was flung back a century.
For $9.99 (one crappy deal!), The Best of Star Trek comes with four excellent 1960s episodes (SPOILERS):
* “The City on the Edge of Forever”: Jim Kirk has to choose between the woman he loves and an Earth ruled by Hitler. (Indisputably “Trek’s” finest hour.)
* “Balance of Terror”: Spock learns the vile Romulans are actually a race of renegade Vulcans.
* “Amok Time”: Spock discovers he’s so hot for Vulcan temptress T’Pring he’s willing to sacrifice Jim Kirk’s life to bone her.
* “The Trouble With Tribbles”: Breedy, self-boning furballs expose Klingon misdeeds.
CBS didn’t send review copies, so I can’t tell you whether or not these feature original or remastered special effects. I’d certainly assume the latter.
Also for $9.99 (a similarly crappy deal) The Best of Star Trek The Next Generation offers (SPOILERS):
* “The Best of Both Worlds” (parts one and two): The fearsome Borg decide to plug a lot of their invasive hardware into Enterprise captain Jean-Luc Picard.
* “Yesterday’s Enterprise”: The Federation becomes a much darker place when a Starfleet vessel is sucked forward several decades into Picard’s era.
* “The Measure of a Man”: Data must fight for his rights in court when he refuses an egotistical Starfleet cyberneticist who wants to dissect him and learn how he ticks.
Penn & Teller should do an episode on this set, because the inclusion of “Measure of a Man” over “The Inner Light” (the series’ best episode, an amazing, moving and mind-bending tale in which Picard finds himself living a whole extra lifetime) is bullshit.
Herc’s Popular Pricing Pantry
$38.99 Next Generation!!
(which works out to $1.50 an episode instead of the $2.50 per episode charged on those best-of sets!)
$18.99 Complete Animated Trek!!
DS9, Voyager & Enterprise: $37.99 Or Less!!
From David Milch, creator of “Deadwood” and “John From Cincinnati”!!
NYPD Blue:$14.99/Season
In The Spring TV Event!!
X-Files At $19.49/Season in the SciFi Sale!!
Before Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Martin Starr and Jason Segal teamed up for “Knocked Up,” they all collaborated on “Undeclared”! Last week the complete series was $36.99; at the moment: $28.99!!
Pee Wee At $4/Season!!
Based on the book by “The Wire” mastermind David Simon!!
Homicide at $16.41/Season!!
(Individual seasons sell for %57.99 each!!!!)
If you want to own LOST in HD, you can save big by clicking on the Blu-ray Lost Sale!!
TV-on-Disc Calendar
Last Week
The Adventures of Black Beauty 1.x
Bleak House: The Complete Miniseries - Special Edition
Bleak House: The Complete Miniseries (Blu-ray)
Boston Legal 5.x
Bump: Lesbian Favorites
Chris & John's Road Trip
Crusoe: The Complete Series
Dexter 2.x (Blu-ray)
Doctor Who: Battlefield
Doctor Who: The E-Space Trilogy
The Donna Reed Show 2.x
Earth: Final Conflict 1.x
The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin: The Complete Series
Gavin & Stacey 1.x
Gigantor Vol. 1
Ivanhoe (1982): The Complete Miniseries
Jake and the Fatman 2.x
Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht 4.x
The Last Templar: The Complete Miniseries
Lipstick Jungle 2.x
McLeod's Daughters 8.x
Mythbusters Vol. 4
October Road 2.x
Saddle Club 2.x
Scooby Doo Where Are You 1.x Vol. 2
That Girl 5.x
Will & Grace: Best of Friends & Foes
Will & Grace: Best of Love & Marriage
This Week
Bullshit! 6.x
CSI 1.x (Blu-ray)
Curious George Goes Green
The Dana Carvey Show: The Complete Series
A Haunting: The Anguished
A Haunting: Spirits From The Past
A Haunting: Twilight of Evil
The Jeff Foxworthy Show 2.x
Kingdom: The Complete Series
Lovejoy 5.x
Pie In The Sky 1.x
Red Green Is Special
Speed Racer The Next Generation: Comet Run
Spin City 2.x
Star Trek: Best Of
Star Trek The Next Generation: Best Of
Star Trek: Wrath/Search/Voyage (Blu-ray)
Star Trek: MP, WOK, SFS, VH, FF, UC (Blu-ray)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 7.x Vol.1
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 7.x Vol.2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 7.x Vol.3
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 7.x Vol.4
Two and a Half Men 5.x
Next Week
Battlestar Galactica 2.x
Classic TV Western Collection
8 Simple Rules 2.x
Extreme Engineering Vol. 2
Friday Night Lights 3.x
Ghost Hunters International 1.x
The New Detectives 3.x
Peyton Place Vol. 1
Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s Vol. 1
Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Vol. 1
Sister Sister 2.x
Suspense: The Lost Episodes Vols. 1-3
Taggart: Death Without Dishonor
Taggart: Hellfire
Taggart: Hitman
Taggart: Ring of Deceit
True Blood 1.x
True Blood 1.x (Blu-ray)
24 7.x
24 7.x (Blu-ray)
May 26
Action Packed: Paramount Hourlongs
Cities of the Underworld 3.x
The Closer 4.x
The Closer 1.x-4.x
Designing Women 1.x
Forever Funny: Paramount Sitcoms
Gangland 3.x
Gunsmoke 3.x Vol. 2
Ice Road Truckers: Most Dangerous Episodes
The Invisibles 1.x
Land of the Lost: The Complete Series
Land of the Lost: The Complete Series (Limited Edition)
Law & Order: SVU 9.x
Manhunters: Fugitive Task Force 1.x
The Mod Squad 2.x Vol. 2
The Mod Squad: Two-Season Pack
Murder Most English: The Complete Series
The Universe 3.x
The Universe: Our Solar System
World War II: Behind Closed Doors
June 2
The Adventure of English: The Complete Miniseries
Army Wives 2.x
Blood Ties 1.x
Cannon 2.x Vol. 1
Every Picture Tells A Story
FBI Files 3.x
The Hunger 1.x
Highlander: The Animated Series
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+ Expand All
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Truly Trek's finest moment, and that final scene will stay with me forever.
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Too bad the following seasons were never released. Great show.
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It's about time it got released.
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That would be far more useful information in making a comparison.
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I knew they had some new Speed Racer cartoon, but I didn't realize the main character was now a lesbian.
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Surely there were outtakes from a drunken cast party they could have released...
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There are no original 35mm prints of film for TNG/DS9/VOYAGER. They were all post produced on tape, and the original film was destroyed. Thats the reality of 80-90s tv. You can't make it look higher resolution than it does today.
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Inner Light was a pleasant enough episode, but for me it wasn't the best. Would the story have been any different if Wesley Crusher got zapped by the probe instead of Picard? If the same plot happens regardless of which character is plugged in, it loses some of my interest.
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This show is the only reason I didn't slit my wrists when The Shield ended. One of the best new shows of last season.
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but later I heard that the live action was shot on film and that only the FX were taped. Later the live action film complete with FX were finally transferred to tape. How true that is for DS9 or Voyager, I don't know. But if it is true, there could be a High Def version of TNG with remade FX like was done with the original series. Has anyone else heard this? Or has the entire TNG series indeed been shot entirely on tape?
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Herc, you're slipping.
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I like it and all, but it's plagued with some shitty direction, like that fucking awful shootout with the Mayans where no one gets seriously hurt or killed, that instigated bar fight, and nearly every time Jax reads his father's journal. Also, some of the content of this show just doesn't feel natural, it's like they shove a lot of it in there just to justify it airing on FX. Honestly, if it wasn't for Ryan Hurst, Ally Walker and Katey Sagal (who were both fucking fantastic), I wouldn't have stuck with it for as long as I did. I'm glad I did though, certain things that go down with Maggie Siff and Ryan Hurst's characters made for some pretty gripping television last fall. Also, thanks to this show, I was introduced to one of the most beautiful cover's I've heard in years with Audra Mae's acapella version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".
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There's something about the show that just seems very fake and not genuine. I like Ron Pearlman but I think he's the problem. When he's going for true drama and grit it seems way too over the top, and therefore fake.
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Clean Slate was hardly awful. That film was very funny, and was the comedy fore-runner to Memento.
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...he's gotta do The Hobbits anyways, and hire Ian McShane.
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the more Gary learned about the paper etc, the less interesting the show got and then there was a kid
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Jesus Christ she brings out the animal urges.
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Sorry, but while 'Inner Light' is, indeed, an awesome episode of Trek, it is NOT an awesome _introduction_ to TNG. In fact, I would argue that the only one of those episodes that IS a great introduction episode is 'Measure of a Man.'
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TNG was filmed with 35mm cameras. This footage was then transferred to videotape for editing/compositing. So, every episode would need to be re-edited. Perhaps some effects would need to be redone as well, but I assume most of the effects were originally filmed as well.
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I'm so glad I had kids, otherwise I might never have found out about the existence of those gals. They sure are cute.
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Courtesy of westegg.com/inflation...
$51.4 Nemesis (2002)
$86.7 Star Trek (2009)*
$89.5 The Final Frontier (1989)
$92.2 Insurrection (1998)
$108.4 Generations (1994)
$116.8 The Undiscovered Country (1991)
$156.4 The Search for Spock (1984)
$176.0 The Wrath of Khan (1982)
$212.7 The Voyage Home (1986)
$240.7 The Motion Picture (1979)
*So far! -
Must've been thinking about Shatner's waistline again...
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Probably my third favorite TNG episode, after "BoBW" (counting it as one episode) and "Yesterday's Enterprise." "Measure of a Man" is definitely an upper tier episode, but it is a little weird that it's included with the other two.
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May 13, 2009 12:48:26 AM CDT
i agree clean slate was a good movie
by steve_guttenbergs_dick_icecream
and the carvey show was fantastic. i remember when it was new, it was almost like thay never cared about being picked up for season 2, just balls out hilarity before its time, with mega comedy stars of today being used before it was even cool.
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was far from the best episode of TNG.
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and give myself a hi-5 whilst watching it...ahem.
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May 13, 2009 7:50:44 AM CDT
YAY, I'M THE FIRST ONE TO ASK 'WHERE'S THE LOST TALKBACK'!
by pennsydeux
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I think it's a very good science fiction story, but not necessarily a good Star Trek story.
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second
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because it already happened--10 years ago. And it's also your half-brother. -boom- *LOST*
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Wolvie and the X-Men is 20x better than that piece of shit in the movie theaters right now!
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I do not think it means what you think it means.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man -
Dude, you should cut your balls off and give them to somebody who really deserves some. FF is so horrible I squirmed in embarrassment when I saw it, and I was ALONE at home watching on video. Jesus Christ!
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As a long-time skeptic and fan of P&T, I wish I could work up an interest in this show. I rarely disagree with their premises, but they rarely do anything but wave their arms and shriek "Bullshit!" - which isn't enough for some topics and is too much for many, especially in later seasons. Time to knock off the Bullshit, guys.
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