From dcljr at obkb.com Sun Sep 2 14:37:52 2007 From: dcljr at obkb.com (Donald Lancon) Date: Sun, 02 Sep 2007 09:37:52 -0500 Subject: [clarissa] detailed STTW:S2 DVD review Message-ID: <46DACAC0.8050306@obkb.com> UltimateDisney reviews STTW:S2. August 21, 2007 - Our newest DVD review looks at "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch": The Second Season, Paramount's recent 4-disc release of the Melissa Joan Hart sitcom's 26-episode, 1997-98 TGIF run. With smart writing, a unanimously talented cast, sufficient effects, a big imagination, a consistently entertaining atmosphere, and a vast roster of noteworthy guest stars, the series holds up as plenty diverting ten years later. While the DVD boasts terrific picture and sound, it delivers no special features, loses a few scenes, and most unfortunately, drops almost all of the recognizable '90s pop songs the show regularly employed for montages and such. Read the full review. The extensive (over 5000 words) full review is at the latter URL. Some highlights [edits and my comments in square brackets]: - - - [title info] [list of regular directors] [regular writers] [regular cast] [recurring characters/actors] [notable guest stars] Running Time: 562 Minutes (26 episodes) / Rating: Not Rated 1.33:1 Fullscreen (Original Broadcast Ratio) / Dolby Surround 2.0 (English) Subtitles: None; Closed Captioned Season 2 Airdates: September 23, 1997 - May 15, 1998 DVD Release Date: July 31, 2007; Clear Standard-Width Keepcase Suggested Retail Price: $38.99; Four single-sided, dual-layered discs (DVD-9) The fall of 1997 provided a rebirth for TGIF. ABC's Friday night programming block was beginning its ninth year on the air, [...] The other returning TGIF series was "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch", a sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart which fared well in its debut season. How well? Well enough for ABC to employ a similar palette -- teens and fantasy -- for its two new comedy programs, "You Wish" and "Teen Angel." [...] "Sabrina" was based on an Archie Comics series that achieved moderate popularity in the 1970s. [...] TGIF viewers weren't very likely to have connected Melissa Joan Hart's very '90s protagonist with Sabrina's print and Jane Webb-voiced animated incarnations of the past. They'd have been more likely to consider Sabrina a teenaged twist on "Bewitched", the 1960s-70s sitcom about a nose-twitching witch and her mortal husband. That isn't a far off comparison, as lighthearted situations, magic for laughs, and fantastic powers in an ordinary world are all in high supply for "Sabrina" as they were for "Bewitched." [...] Over the course of its seven seasons on the air, "Sabrina" underwent more cast changes than even longer-running sitcoms ever do; only Salem and her sarcastic feline [sic -- he obviously meant "Sabrina and her sarcastic feline, Salem"] would appear in all of the series' 163 half-hour installments. [...] The single greatest overriding thread of sophomore season "Sabrina" involves the titular teen's year-long efforts to earn her witch's license. [...] "Sabrina" clearly adheres to a formula, but it is not one enforced strictly enough to grow tiresome. A typical episode involves a magical dilemma (often a spell that backfires or just goes wrong), which Sabrina must overcome and unquestionably learn from. [...] Even a humdrum "A" plot is usually spiced up with a reliable "B" storyline, frequently centering on Sabrina's quirky aunts. There is no shortage of puns. [...] Keeping things lively in Sabrina's two worlds is a universally talented cast. [...] The four leading teens are played by actors who were 19-21 years of age in Season 2 and each is confident in handling comedic material, especially Hart, who's given the most opportunities to shine. The adult actors bring even more to the table, complementing their younger cast mates by retaining some commonly adolescent shortcomings. [...] In voice alone, Bakay makes the lazy, opportunistic Salem an endearing cad of a cat, even when the animatronic puppetry might otherwise introduce doubt. [...] If the laugh track is to be trusted, the jokes of "Sabrina" are designed to elicit chuckles more than hearty guffaws. An honest move, the moderate audience response probably contributes to the sitcom's diverting nature, in stark contrast to today's broader, more physically-oriented comedies that crank up the volume of laughter bursts to 11 without an ounce of sincerity. [...] Those who only enjoy TV shows that deliver the kind of extreme hilarity that can produce tears probably won't take to "Sabrina", but the rest of us can find plenty to appreciate in the series. The modestly-budgeted but sufficient visual trickery employed to convey magic holds up quite well ten years later. The scripts contain a level of intelligence not often found among present-day's primetime fare. The series embraces its sitcom nature, acknowledging the everything-resolved-in-22-minutes structure but packing in a lot of story and merriment. There's also an impressive roster of guest stars -- famous TV veterans, comedians, musicians, and other celebrities -- that is put to good use in nearly every episode. [...] Nearly five months after the show made its DVD debut, "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch" returned to the format in Paramount's The Second Season release. The lack of a "Complete" in the moniker isn't merely a stylistic choice. Though the package at least makes it clear, this 4-disc set is marred by a few scene cuts and a substantial number of pop song replacements. Viewers are asked to bid farewell to some of the hit '90s songs that featured into "Sabrina"'s soundtracks, such as Chumbawumba's "Tubthumping", The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' "The Impression That I Get", Savage Garden's "Truly Madly Deeply", OMC's "How Bizarre", and Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life." Also ousted are Canned Heat's "Goin' Up the Country", Henry Mancini's Pink Panther theme, Belle and Sebastian's "The State I Am In", and Salem singing the '60s "Wild Thing." At least most "live" performances are left intact, preserving songs from 10,000 Maniacs ("Rainy Days"), Backstreet Boys ("I Want it That Way"), and even Sabrina's quickly-formed Entry Number Five (who cover Blondie's "One Way or Another"). One exception is the Christmas episode "Sabrina Claus", which retains the audio excerpt and brief performance of Johnny Mathis' "O Holy Night", but drops his "Winter Wonderland" from a central montage, even cutting his singing bedroom cameo. Music nearly registers as a character on the show and the late-'90s setting of the series is considerably diminished by losing almost all of the pop tunes sampled. The series' typically salient montages are rendered far less memorable with the generic substitutions they are given. It's unclear who to get annoyed at for the edits: can one blame Paramount for being stingy or should one direct their irritation at the music studios, who often with no knowledge by the artist, demand additional fees for DVDs even if, well-married to a scene, the exposure is greatly to their benefit? I suppose many will argue that this is preferable to the route Paramount has taken for Melissa Joan Hart's pre-Sabrina Nickelodeon show "Clarissa Explains It All", which has been indefinitely shelved after just one season's release. But for anyone who remembers the original song selections, the edits are a severe disappointment. And they don't even allow "Sabrina" to reach stores at the types of low prices other studios are now treating catalog TV series DVDs to; Season 2 arrives with an SRP that's $9-$15 higher than other recently-released '90s sitcom sets that haven't been subjected to such cuts. A star (*) denotes my ten favorite episodes from the season. A pair of scissors (x) indicates that at least one scene from the episode is missing. Disc 1 *1. Sabrina Gets Her License, Part 1 (21:41) (Originally aired September 26, 1997) [...] 2. Sabrina Gets Her License, Part 2 (20:59) (Originally aired September 26, 1997) [...] (Note: Though this episode runs shorter than the others, it sounds like all it may be missing is the opening recap of Part 1 added for syndication.) *3. Dummy For Love (21:42) (Originally aired October 3, 1997) [...] *4. Dante's Inferno (21:42) (Originally aired October 10, 1997) [...] 5. A Doll's Story (21:42) (Originally aired October 17, 1997) [...] 6. Sabrina, The Teenage Boy (21:42) (Originally aired October 24, 1997) [...] Disc 2 *7. A River of Candy Corn Runs Through It (21:42) (Originally aired October 31, 1997) [...] x8. Inna Gadda Sabrina (21:19) (Originally aired November 7, 1997) [...] (Notes: This episode aired as part of time-translocation-themed TGIF, with Salem's time ball antics also figuring in "Boy Meets World", "Teen Angel", and "You Wish!". Salem's exit to Philadelphia, the setting for "Boy Meets World", is dropped and it's not even replaced by the syndicated version's litter box conclusion, rendering this episode shorter than the rest and with an abrupt jump from the '60s back to the '90s.) 9. Witch Trash (21:41) (Originally aired November 14, 1997) [...] *10. To Tell a Mortal (21:42) (Originally aired November 21, 1997) [...] 11. Oh What a Tangled Spell She Weaves (21:39) (Originally aired December 5, 1997) [...] x*12. Sabrina Claus (21:18) (Originally aired December 19, 1997) [...] (Note: The middle of Johnny Mathis' three appearances has been dropped, along with his rendition of "Winter Wonderland" that accompanied that central section. It's been replaced by an appealing instrumental "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing.") Disc 3 *13. Little Big Kraft (21:42) (Originally aired January 9, 1998) [...] 14. Five Easy Pieces of Libby (21:42) (Originally aired January 23, 1998) [...] 15. Finger Lickin' Flu (21:42) (Originally aired January 30, 1998) [...] 16. Sabrina and the Beanstalk (21:41) (Originally aired February 6, 1998) [...] 17. The Equalizer (21:42) (Originally aired February 13, 1998) [...] *18. The Band Episode (21:42) (Originally aired February 27, 1998) [...] 19. When Teens Collide (20:52) (Originally aired March 6, 1998) [...] Disc 4 20. My Nightmare, The Car (21:41) (Originally aired March 20, 1998) [...] 21. Fear Strikes Up a Conversation (21:42) (Originally aired April 3, 1998) [...] 22. Quiz Show (21:41) (Originally aired April 17, 1998) [...] *23. Disneyworld (21:32) (Originally aired April 24, 1998) One can easily see the hand that ABC's parent corporation, Disney, had in this episode, which is designed to promote the company's just-opened Animal Kingdom theme park. [...] 24. Sabrina's Choice (21:41) (Originally aired May 1, 1998) [...] *25. Rumor Mill (21:42) (Originally aired May 8, 1998) [...] 26. Mom vs. Magic (21:43) (Originally aired May 15, 1998) [...] VIDEO and AUDIO Like the '90s sitcom that it is, "Sabrina" is presented in 1.33:1 fullscreen. Picture quality tends to be quite good, lacking the inconsistency, evident thriftiness, or overly digital look of some of its kin from other studios. It's a little grainy and doesn't boast the sharpness or detail of a feature film, but by and large, the visuals are pleasing to the eye and match the appearance of original broadcasts, only enhanced by DVD's higher resolution. The lone audio option is a Dolby Surround soundtrack, which serves up the typical sitcom mix with some very slight reinforcement on the theme tune, select music numbers, and the rare sound effect. The presentation is a slight cut above ordinary, with the elements -- crisp dialogue, sharp sound effects, occasional song, and the unique laugh track of audience amusement in short, subdued bursts -- all registering terrifically. The biggest drawbacks are the lack of an English subtitles track (the provided closed captions do the job instead) and, once again, those unfortunate music substitutions. Disc 1's main menu reuses Melissa Joan Hart's iconic Season 2 front cover pose, but loses Salem. Special features, set up, scene selection? The DVD menus of Sabrina, The Teenage Witch: The Second Season offer none of these things. BONUS FEATURES, MENUS, PACKAGING and DESIGN Sadly, there are no bonus features whatsoever found here. For a show that ended just four years ago that's popular enough to release on DVD, the empty extras slate is fairly inexcusable, though it's not all that uncommon for retired sitcoms. There definitely is no shortage of content that could have been provided, like the bumpers from the night that Salem hosted TGIF, a featurette on the comic books that inspired the series, or an episode from either the '70s or more recent cartoon series. We don't get anything of the sort, presumably due to a low DVD budget and an apparent hesitance to dabble in rights-wriggling. With no set-up options to worry about, the still, silent menu screens are just about as simple as possible, merely supplying a star or group cast image, a list of episodes on that disc and the ability to "Play All." Should you select the Previews button upon the insertion of Disc One, you're treated to a single promo which spotlights eleven TV comedy series of the past available on DVD from Paramount. The four discs of The Second Season are packaged in a standard-sized keepcase, with Discs 2 and 3 held in a swingable flap in the center. The transparent nature of the keepcase allows episode descriptions to be seen when the discs are moved. The only insert is an annoyingly unfixed, double-sided order form for Archie Comics subscriptions and the company's first ever Sabrina graphic novel. Chapter stops appropriately coincide with commercial breaks, with four per episode. CLOSING THOUGHTS "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch" is, at least in its second season, a pretty entertaining and fun modern sitcom. Unfortunately, shy of not being released at all, this '90s/'00s comedy has been treated to nearly the worst DVD treatment imaginable, with a few missing scenes, a slew of disappointing music replacements, non-competitive pricing, and nary a bonus feature. Fans are bound to be thrown into dilemma: is it worse to go without "Sabrina" on DVD altogether or to pay the relatively high asking price for an inferior presentation with the hopes that future seasons are made available, maybe even in a better fashion? That's one for you to decide, knowing that ABC Family airs an hour of reruns each weekday and that while the series and Season 2 deserve moderate praise, this DVD release merits scorn for all but fine picture and sound. [links to related reviews -- 'Boy Meets World' and so forth...] [related products -- STTW TV movie, S1 DVD, soundtrack CD, etc.] Text copyright 2007 DVDizzy.com/UltimateDisney.com. - - - So, there ya go. Now we know which episodes need to be digitized from original, off-the-air versions! Seems to me, the 2 STTW episodes marked above as being edited, along with the other relevant content from the TGIF-crossover night (see 8. "Inna Gadda Sabrina"), should fit nicely on a DVD. :-) - dcljr P.S. - Looking at those running times, notice how closely they stuck to a c. 21:42 episode length (assuming that it's not the result of shaving seconds here and there for the DVD release)! From dcljr at obkb.com Sun Sep 2 14:43:21 2007 From: dcljr at obkb.com (Donald Lancon) Date: Sun, 02 Sep 2007 09:43:21 -0500 Subject: [clarissa] detailed STTW:S2 DVD review In-Reply-To: <46DACAC0.8050306@obkb.com> References: <46DACAC0.8050306@obkb.com> Message-ID: <46DACC09.7060706@obkb.com> I just said: > Now we know which episodes need to be digitized from > original, off-the-air versions! Seems to me, the 2 STTW episodes marked > above as being edited, along with the other relevant content from the > TGIF-crossover night (see 8. "Inna Gadda Sabrina"), should fit nicely on > a DVD. :-) Oh, wait... I guess they all need to be digitized from the "originals" because of all the music changes... Whatever. - dcljr From cbminfo at bellsouth.net Mon Sep 3 23:56:56 2007 From: cbminfo at bellsouth.net (Husky) Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2007 19:56:56 -0400 Subject: [clarissa] most popular Message-ID: I'll admit, I haven't searched youtube for every celebrity name. But I have searched for those I think are popular, Amanda Bynes, Allison Munn, Jenny Garth, etc.. I just did Mel, and I see a more indicator past the 10 pages. It looks like someone[s] has posted every episode and interview Mel ever made. Even found some weird commercials other than the rubber Ducky nude one. I don't believe there's any other celebrity better represented on youtube. Might be why they're finally cutting loose with Mel on DVD. Trouble is most of the youtube stuff is better than the DVD's. -- more pix @ http://members.toast.net/cbminfo/index.html From cbminfo at bellsouth.net Thu Sep 27 13:10:39 2007 From: cbminfo at bellsouth.net (Husky) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:10:39 -0400 Subject: [clarissa] Hart Pregnant Again Message-ID: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 9:12 PM PDT Your Keyword News Alert for [sabrina "melissa joan hart"] matched the following stories: ContactMusic, Wed, 26 Sep 2007 6:24 PM PDT Hart Pregnant Again http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/hart%20pregnant%20again_1044897 Actress MELISSA JOAN HART is three months pregnant with her second child. The Sabrina The Teenage Witch star and her rocker husband Mark Wilkerson al -- more pix @ http://members.toast.net/cbminfo/index.html