Sesame Street: Kids' Favorite Songs

Sesame Street: Kids' Favorite Songs Review

Sesame Street: Kids' Favorite Songs Overview

Movie DVD

Sesame Street: Kids' Favorite Songs Specifications

Kids' Favorite Songs kicks off with a cackle-worthy parody of Bob Dylan doing "Old McDonald," and from there the groovy gags keep comin' 'round the mountain. Everywhere Elmo turns on Sesame Street monsters spontaneously burst into song, and all because they want him to feature their favorite tunes on his forthcoming radio countdown. For Telly, winnowing the hits to one is akin to Cookie Monster choosing between a macaroon and a figgie bar: at first he's sure that "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" lights his fire, but then he says bye-bye to a black sheep. The street heaves a collective sigh pavementward when word comes down that the countdown is strictly a numbers gig, no music involved. Only Sesame Street could weave well-loved musical numbers around a simple numbers lesson with such wacky pizzazz, making this a countdown that's no letdown for high-spirited parent-preschooler combos. --Tammy La Gorce

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Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Broadway) (Keepcase)

Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Broadway) (Keepcase) Review

This is a filmed edition of an actual staged production in front of an audience. Angela Lansbury delivers an incredible performance. We highly recommend this, both for its virtuosity and authenticity.

John & Nancy Morse

Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Broadway) (Keepcase) Overview

Times are hard in 1846 London and one must make do. So Nellie Lovett adds something extra to the meat pies she peddles on Fleet Street. The secret ingredient: freshly murdered victims of her partner in crime, barber Sweeney Todd. Composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim refashions a macabre tale into a musical masterwork in this dazzling performance of the 1979 Broadway hit originally staged by Harold Prince. In her Tony-winning role (one of eight the show earned, including Best Musical), Angela Lansbury plays Nellie. George Hearn turns his stage role of twisted Sweeney into an Emmy-winning triumph. The score coils around itself in ever-tightening spirals. The lines ripple with black humor and madness. Enter Sweeney's tonsorial parlor. Attend the tale.

Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Broadway) (Keepcase) Specifications

Stephen Sondheim's Victorian horror thriller Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is generally considered his greatest work, macabre but darkly humorous with a viscerally powerful score that has found a home both on Broadway and in opera houses. George Hearn (who replaced Len Cariou of the original Broadway cast) plays the title character, a wronged man whose lust for revenge drives him to murder (an 18th-century legend who has been traced to a real-life barber), and Angela Lansbury plays his partner in crime, Mrs. Lovett, who finds a practical business use for Todd's victims. This combination of horror and humor is echoed in Sondheim's score: brooding menace ("The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," "My Friend"), achingly beautiful ballads ("Johanna," "Not While I'm Around"), clever puns ("A Little Priest"), coloratura arias ("Green Finch and Linnet Bird"), and intricate choral and ensemble numbers.

Continuing a fortuitous tradition of capturing the Sondheim legacy on video recordings, this performance was filmed before a live audience in Los Angeles during the 1982 national tour. Almost 20 years later, Hearn returned to the role opposite Patti LuPone in an acclaimed concert production. But Sweeney Todd is an especially compelling experience in this 1982 version, complete with the clever staging tricks (e.g., the barber's chair) and as close to the original cast as we're likely to see. --David Horiuchi

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Homicide: Life on the Street - The Complete Series (repackaged)

Homicide: Life on the Street - The Complete Series (repackaged) Review

First, I must say my wife and I love and cherish this series. Having never seen the series when it originally aired, and after purchasing the beautiful 'filing cabinet' series set, we poured over each season in order over a several month period one summer. On occasion we could have watched whole seasons in marathon sessions, but forced ourselves to only watch one or two episodes at a time just so we could appreciate and savor it even more.

***SPOILERS FOLLOW***

That said, I can't help but feel the writers of both the series and this closing movie really missed a golden opportunity. Recall the the whole series began with rookie Det. Tim Bayliss' being assigned a case that would haunt and torture him throughout the rest of the series - the murder of a little girl named Adena Watson.

Despite hours of air-time being devoted to the pursuit of this case, culminating in a stunning episode shot entirely in the interrogation room ("The Box"), the characters and viewer never discover the full truth surrounding Adena Watson's murder. As the series progresses Det. Bayliss would periodically be confronted with references and reminders of this painful 'first case'. Doesn't it make perfect sense that the very case that introduced this series to the world, and that left tantalizing bread crumbs throughout the seasons that followed, should be dealt with in the final episode of the series? Or at least been given time in the closing movie that followed?

Adena Watson was the perfect cliff hanger. As each season progressed I just knew that her case was coming back - when? we didn't know. And as the series neared it's end, it became clear that the writers were saving this one for the finale. And why not? It made perfect sense. Closing the Adena Watson case would be the ultimate in 'closure' for this show.

Now, don't get me wrong. I wasn't expecting everything to end with all the loose strands tied up in pretty bows. This wasn't Law & Order after all (a show we also enjoy for it's own merits). Many of Homicide's story lines ended messily. But so do many of the events of real life as well. And that is what made this series gritty and compelling. Nevertheless, of all the haunting cases in the series, this is the one that deserved some measure of 'closure' even if it wasn't going to be neat and clean.

I have to say, while we still look back on the series with fondness, there is a bit of disappointment that this golden opportunity was overlooked. After all, if even the Luther Mahoney story arc saw a measure of 'closure', I believe poor Adena Watson deserved it even more.

4 Stars for the Movie
5 Stars for the Series

Homicide: Life on the Street - The Complete Series (repackaged) Feature

• HOMICIDE-LIFE ON THE STREET

Homicide: Life on the Street - The Complete Series (repackaged) Overview

Considered the most realistic cop drama ever aired, Homicide: Life on the Street gives viewers a unique cops'-eye view of one of the most challenging jobs imaginable.

Created by Writer/Director Tom Fontana (St. Elsewhere, OZ) and Executive Producer Barry Levinson (The Perfect Storm, Oz) and based on David Simon's (The Wire) book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, HOMICIDE features TV's most powerful ensemble cast, including Richard Belzer (Law and Order: Special Victims Unit), Emmy®-winner Andre Braugher (Thief, Frequency), Yaphet Kotto (Alien), and Ned Beatty (Deliverance) with guest appearances from James Earl Jones, Robin Williams, Steve Buscemi, Peter Gallagher, Chris Rock, Wilford Brimley, and other star actors.

HOMICIDE garnered two Emmy® Awards, three Peabody Awards, three Television Critics Awards, two Writers Guild Awards, and was named to TV Guide's "The Greatest Episodes in TV History" and "TV's Greatest Characters" lists.

Now, one of television's crowning achievements is available in its entirety on 35 DVDs and includes all 122 episodes spanning seven critically acclaimed seasons, the three Law & Order crossover episodes, and Homicide: The Movie.

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