Northern Exposure - Season 3 (9 episodes)

Lacking much time, I have to rely on memory and summary here:
In general, the series ebbed this season but is beginning to flow again. I do, however, miss the dream sequences. And I find Chris really annoying. It makes me reflect on my college experience: I originally watched NE b/c I heard that it was created by some dude from Hampshire College. Chris is obviously *the* archetypal Hampshire student, and I probably used to like his character a lot. In theory, I still don't have all much bock with the dirty philo-hippie type, but he annoys me b/c of the way he discredits the system and eschews 'formal education'. If you went to Hampshire, you still had some formal education, dude. A pretty expensive one, at that, and you probably weren't so smart when you went in. *And* folks in a real town just don't converse anything like that. But I digress.
"The Body in Question" 5-
"Roots" 6+
"A-Hunting We Will Go" 6+
"Get Real" 3+
"Seoul Mates" (not so original a plotline anymore) 4-
"Dateline: Cicely" 5
"Our Tribe" 2-
"Things Become Exinct" 4
"Burning Down the House" 4-

Eragon

Based on my only being able to plod through about five pages of the book upon which it was based, I expected this film to be pretty darn horrible. So, I had a bottle of wine on hand to aid the viewing experience. ...which helped greatly.
While the plot is absolutely derivative of Star Wars (Uncle Ben! Obi Wan!), Lord of the Rings, and the Earthsea Trilogy (read that, instead), it did feature some pretty decent special effects (and minimal cheesy ones), and a really cute baby dragon (which was conveniently allowed to bypass puberty in the flap of a wing). Nevertheless, the plot and characters did not stray from logic and character for the sake of drama as much as many blockbusters do and thus did not offend my sensibilities *nearly* as much as, say, Spiderman 3.
I don't know why everybody was so impressed by it being written by a seventeen year old, though. It *obviously* was written by a seventeen year old. There's not a shred of originality in town, and the plot pivots on the notion that dragons (the only ladies around) cannot live without their riders, but the riders can live on without their dragons. (Oh, to live the fantasy life a seventeen year old white boy!) If it were a book, I would have thrown "Eragon" the movie across the room like I did "Return of the King".
Still -- merci au vin -- it was not as bad as I reckoned it would be. Rated 6-.

Jane Eyre (1970)

Dang, there are lots of versions of this fine novel. While I agree that the actors were *really* too old, I didn't find this version as bad as these "experts". (Granted, I have otherwise only seen the Orson Welles version.) I appreciated how Jane asserted herself as an equal and how this adaptation presented more of Jane's life after Thornwood. And the acting showed (the) depth (of inappropriate age). The '70s TV production values were somewhat of a distraction, but this is probably the only time I have noted restraint in over-orchestrating from the noted composer. Rated 4.

Orca, The Killer Whale

You know, I thought that this movie would be complete crap. I figured that it would be a "Jaws" ripoff (not that I've seen "Jaws"). It certainly wasn't terribly good, but it certainly had its own story, and it wasn't a horror flick. Interspecies melodrama involving fishing boats on the high seas... "Free Willy" may have stolen a page or two from this flick. It was nice to see Richard Harris in a non-mumbling role, and the (not Bo Derrick) female character was not 100% disposable (by 70s standards). Rated 5-

Help!

I know that "A Hard Days Night" is a cinematically superior film, but I've always had a soft spot for "Help!" Perhaps it is because it was so difficult to come across in my formative years. (A recurring theme waiting for the DVD.) But the goofy comedy has always given me a thrill.
Finally on DVD, the image is restored to its colorful glory. (Watching the appropriate "Anthology" episode, featuring pre-renovation clips, concurrently really drove this home.) I wished that it had had more special features, however. A few little documentaries hardly seemed worth the extra disc... The documentaries were fair enough, but I'd've thought that there would have been more in the vaults to bring forth for the fans. Even the "lost scene" is a misnomer. No scene here. Just discussion of it interspersed with some stills. *sigh*
Film: Rated 2

Beatles Anthology - Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Part 2: British Beatlemania, Rated 2
Part 3: US Beatlemania, Rated 2
Part 4: through Help!, Rated 2

I was not in the country when this series was shown on TV, and the thing that strikes me most watching the DVDs is how much *music* there is. Yes, they're a musical group, but I've never seen such a thing so close to music videos (not integral to a plot) on Prime Time. Especially with the end credits, I wonder if they actually showed the whole thing (as opposed to the usual, where the credits are squeezed into a portion of the screen while a voiceover blots out the music).
I also appreciate the even-handedness showing Beatlemania in other parts of the globe. I am so used to hearing that The Beatles were nothing, really, until they broke it big in America. We may have accepted them as superpowers, but really we were just late to catch the phenomenon.