Centennial (1978) is one of television's most memorable mini-series. Adapted from the best-selling novel by James A. Michener, who appears in an on-camera Introduction, the nearly 21-hour epic production tells the story of a small fictional town in Colorado beginning, before it was established, in the 18th century with coming of the fur trappers and mountain men, up to modern times. It is a magnificent achievement, shot in and around the beautiful vistas of the Rocky Mountains.
The entire mini-series is now available on DVD in a handsome 6-disc/12 episode boxed set from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Also included is a retrospective featurette that includes the memories of the production's cast and crew members.
The filming of Centennial was not without its problems. Not only did the production encounter unexpected hardships that caused its budget to soar, but also one of the actors died in a freak accident after only one day of shooting his role.
Centennial utilizes the services of four directors and also an all-star cast that includes Robert Conrad, Richard Chamberlain, Barbara Carrera (all pictured), Raymond Burr, Michael Ansara, Timothy Dalton, Sally Kellerman, Lynn Redgrave, David Janssen, Dennis Weaver, Andy Griffith, Brian Keith, Clint Walker, Henry Darrow, Mark Harmon, Sharon Gless and many others.
As much as I admire Centennial and still enjoy watching it, I do have a couple of minor "bones to pick" with the way the project was handled. My hunch is that these issues are the result of television network interference, rather than an artistic decision by the actual filmmakers.
I think that many of the roles in the mini-series were cast with actors who the network knew would garner high television ratings (e.g. Conrad, Chamberlain, Burr, etc.), rather than other "name" actors who might be better suited for that particular character.
Also, whereas the initial 3-hour episode should have begun with the story of Arapaho Lame Beaver (Ansara), it actually begins with the fur trappers (Conrad & Chamberlain), with the Lame Beaver saga being told "in flashback" during hour three. Unfortunately, these flashbacks stop the forward movement of the story.
Still, I can't recommend Centennial too highly.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released onto DVD new seasons of two of the funniest detective shows on television today.
Monk, Season 6 (16 episodes/4 discs) is just as funny, if not funnier, than the previous seasons.
Our favorite episodes this season include "Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan," which guest stars Sarah Silverman as an obsessive fan who has been stalking phobia-laden Monk (Tony Shalhoub) to the point where our hero has been forced to get a restraining order to keep her away. However, when her dog is accused of killing a neighbor, she buys the super sleuth's services in a celebrity auction in order to clear the name of her recently deceased pet.
Alfred Molina guest stars in "Mr. Monk and the Naked Man," which finds Monk having to solve a murder that took place on a "clothing optional" beach, while in "Mr. Monk and the Bad Girlfriend" he accuses the lady friend of Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) of murdering her business partner. Sharon Lawrence repeats her recurring role as the shady lady.
Selected episodes in the set feature audio commentary by various members of the cast and crew.
Monk remains one of the most entertaining shows on television.
Psych, Season 2 (16 episodes/4 discs) continues the hilarious detective series that stars James Roday as a young man with an amazing photographic memory and the ability to notice seemingly insignificant details, who pretends to be a psychic when it comes to solving his cases. He's assisted by his skeptical best friend (Dule´ Hill) and, reluctantly on occasion, his ex-cop father (Corbin Bernsen).
Among the more memorable episodes this season are "American Duos," in which Roday and Hill go undercover as they try to find out who is attempting to kill the nasty judge (Tim Curry) on an American Idol-like TV show, and "65 Million Years Off". In that clever episode, Roday claims, to everyone's dismay, that the bite marks on a murder victim were caused by a dinosaur.
The many DVD extras in this set include deleted scenes, audio commentaries, a gag reel and many "Making of" featurettes.
The Streets of San Francisco, Season 2, Volume 1 (11 episodes/3-discs) stars Karl Malden and Michael Douglas as homicide cops in the Golden Gate city.
This set has some interesting episodes, including ones in which the two detectives go up against a hired assassin, a very clever and ruthless bank robber and three desperate escaped convicts.
Guest stars in these action-packed episodes include Martin Sheen, Leslie Nielsen, Jessica Walter, Earl Holliman, Vic Morrow, Mariette Hartley, Ina Balin, John Kerr, Leif Erickson, Marshall Thompson, James Gregory and Peter Strauss.
In Walker, Texas Ranger, Season 5 (25 episodes/7-discs) star Chuck Norris does battle with violent drug dealers, vicious street gangs brutal mob bosses and sadistic white supremacists, but for Walker, that's all in a day's work.
One episode, "Cyclone," was certainly inspired by an actual, quite sensational, case in which a group of students were kidnapped and buried in their school bus.
From CBS DVD/Paramount Home Entertainment.
