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michaelrustage
Reviews
Miami Vice (1984)
Miami Vice
Miami Vice was a one of a kind show. Famous for it's fashion, music & glamour, it was a cop show like no other. Don Johnson & Philip Michael Thomas fitted the roles well & had a good supporting cast. Seasons 1 & 2 were great. Very fresh & very original. Season 3 however had a slightly different feel to it. The Daytona was replaced by the Testerossa which I personally didn't think was as nice. Crockett looked more of a ponce in this season & also had a hairstyle I didn't think suited him much. Season 3 also started to show some slightly poor episodes, but most were good. Season 4 was different yet again. Crocket's hair was now longer & Tubbs wore an awful beard, making him lose most of his coolness! Even though season 4 had the odd good episode, death & the lady, child's play & blood & roses, most were just absolute nonsense. By the end of season 4 I have to admit I'd gotten rather bored of this show which seemed to have completely lost it's way. However, Miami Vice returned for a 5th, & final, season. Season 5 was different yet again, & I personally think that this season was the best! Crockett was more distant, quiet, & scruffy, which I think suited the character much better. This season had no silly or cheesy stories, it was just great all the way through & seemed to find it's way again. Very different to season 4. I believe if the show had kept that quality it could have ran longer, but sadly it didn't.
Fawlty Towers (1975)
A fantastic example of how comedy should be done.
Like most people, I love Fawlty Towers and I personally think that it's one of the best ( if not THE best ) sitcoms around. John Cleese and Connie Booth really did leave the world a terrific example of how comedies should have been done. Fawlty Towers puts most comedies today to shame. This is because Fawlty Towers was very original. It was beautifully written and constructed, it had an incredibly fast pace and had characters that we loved. There is more material and humour in one episode of Fawty Towers than there is in an entire series of most comedies today. John and Connie had fantastic ideas and most importantly they knew how to present them. They took longer than 6 weeks to produce just one script. That explains why they were so good. The writers of Are you being served? for example took just 2 days to produce a script. That explains why they were so poor. I think a lot can be learned from the making of Fawlty Towers. I think the most important thing to learn though is to call it a day when you're at your peak. John and Connie were very wise to do that and because of that Fawlty Towers will never become tired. It's a shame no other comedy writers have ever done it.
My Family (2000)
Time to call it a day.
Having read that there are more series of My Family on the way I can't help but be concerned. The show has been rapidly declining with each series and has unfortunately already past it's peak point. With the show now heading dangerously close to the edge of ridiculousness and the majority of people fast losing interest I personally think that the BBC should think very carefully before proceeding with more episodes. It was OK up to about series 3 but since then it has just headed further away from reality and with each series there seems to be less and less family. Series 6 was a huge mistake. Only half the number of episodes and Robert Lindsay missing from most of them. What was the point in making it? The show is very soon going to come to an end because people no longer enjoy it which is a shame. The reason is because like I said, it's unreal and very unoriginal. Think about it. A dentist called Ben who doesn't understand his kids and he has an eccentric wife who can't cook. We've seen it before. Remember a sitcom called Butterflies? Also, the majority of jokes have also been done before. Remember when Ben is looking for the spider and he thinks he's spotted it but it turns out to be a black woolly glove? - same thing happened to Victor in One foot in the grave. I hope people continue to enjoy this show but I personally think they should call it a day as I and many other people are now ready to move on to something else.
ALF (1986)
A lovely show that met a terrible end.
I remember ALF very well. Seasons 1 and 2 were fantastic. It was a different kind of show for the time. The star was a 3 foot tall brown alien named Gordon Shumway aka Alf who crashed on earth and was taken in by the Tanner family. It was a lovely idea and it took off really well. The show had a nice feel to it and it was aided tremendously by good stories, sharp sarcastic humour and a fast pace. This was the formula for the show which managed to last for 2 seasons and steadily picked up impressive audience figures. Seasons 3 and 4 however did not have the same effect. In fact, quite the reverse. What happened? Maybe we'll never know. For some reason after season 2 Alf failed to deliver. The show became slow, dull, repetitive and no longer had the funny stories or dialogue. The writers had obviously ran completely out of ideas. The show wasn't the only thing to change. The actors changed also. They looked totally bored to death. Not surprising really since they were given nothing to work with. The show just went down and down during the last 2 seasons and even though it picked up slightly in places, it lost viewers and continued to lose them at an alarming rate until the network finally pulled the plug. I personally think that they should have left it alone after season 2 when it was popular instead of trying to keep it going when there was no material left and having to leave it because viewers no longer cared.
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)
Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!
If you love Fred Ward or action films then I highly recommend this. It's fantastic. I loved this film when I was a kid and now years later it's finally available on DVD. Go and buy it now! It stars Fred Ward as Remo, an ex-cop who is forced to work for a man who wants to rid the world of bad guys. For Remo to do this, he is taught deadly martial arts by Chun, an oriental master. Chun is played by Joel Grey. He was made up to look oriental in this film and he looks terrific. As Remo trains to defend himself, dodge bullets and run on thin air, he goes on many adventures during the 2 hours of the film. The fight on the Statue Of Liberty is very impressive and it's worth watching the film just for that. While Remo fights the bad guys on the Statue Of Liberty's head, it's hard to believe that it's fake. The head and arm of the statue was just a life size model. A huge set. But you can't tell. It was very well done. Any way, why am I telling you all this? Don't just hear about it. Go get it and watch it. You won't be sorry!
Highway to Heaven (1984)
Another lovely show from Michael Landon.
This series was great. It's a little unrealistic today as the stories in the shows were about friendship, love, trust, care and sympathy, all of which seem to have disappeared among most people today. In a world today where everyone is rude, greedy, unhelpful, unfriendly, impatient and aggressive, it's nice to watch this show and see how things really should be. Michael Landon did a great job in playing an Angel who has been sent down from God to help people. These are usually people who are ill or dying. Michael Landon always manages to help them make the most of what they have and always teaches us very good morals, something which kids aren't taught today. Michael Landon was an Angel in real life until he sadly passed away. It's a shame there aren't any around today.
MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday (1994)
Goodbye MacGyver!!!!
Sadly, this was the last time that Richard Dean Anderson played MacGyver. After a seven season TV series and one movie, MacGyver made his last appearance in " Trail to Doomsday ", the second and final movie. This movie was great but had a slightly darker atmosphere to the series. The whole thing seemed more serious and focused more on the story rather than action and MacGyver making things. Maybe it's because it was filmed in London. I've always found London a bit of a depressing place. This movie has a good story about MacGyver trying to find out who killed one of his best friends. But when he starts getting a little too close, they want him out of the way too. They try and kill him, but when that doesn't work, they frame him for murder so now he's wanted by the police. As usual, he solves it all in a typical MacGyver manner.
MacGyver (1985)
Probably the greatest action show ever!!!!!!
This show was something else and I highly recommend it to action show and/or Richard Dean Anderson fans. He plays MacGyver perfectly. What's great about this show is that it has everything. Cool guys, sexy babes, great stories, fantastic locations and never ending action. You never really knew what MacGyver was going to be up to next. One minute he would be in a desert. The next minute he would be in the snowy mountains. Then the jungle, then the city, then at an evening dinner wearing a tuxedo. This guy went everywhere and did everything. He also became famous for making things out of nothing which wasn't only fun but educational too. If you like action DO NOT miss out on this one of a kind show. It's totally terrific. I was sad when it ended and I was sad to discover that Dana Elcar, the man who played MacGyvers boss, passed away not too long ago. He was a great person and he shall be missed.
MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis (1994)
MacGyver does it again!!!!
I loved the MacGyver TV series and I also loved this MacGyver movie even though most people pick on it. It may not be 100% brilliant but it's great fun and has all the elements that made the TV show so great. Sadly, MacGyver is the only character from the TV show to appear in this movie. He teams up with Brian Blessed who I have always found amusing because of his booming voice and over acting. They go off to find the Lost treasure of Atlantis which nobody else believes exists. There is plenty of action and MacGyver as usual has to build things out of nothing to get them out of various pickles. The only thing that spoils this movie is the sets. The caves especially. They look like they've been built for a children's school play, but if you ignore that, you have a brilliant movie.
The Six Million Dollar Man (1974)
What a fantastic TV series.
I loved this show and still do. Lee Majors was perfect as Col. Steve Austin, an Astronaut who lost his left eye, right arm and both legs in a plane crash. These were then replaced with Bionic limbs which gave him super human powers. He could lift anything. Run at speeds of over 60mph and he could see things far away. Since this was in the 70s the special effects were rather bad by todays standards, but who cares? It was still terrific fun. The plots were very simple so kids could understand them but at the same time they were good ideas. I'll never forget when Steves boss Oscar was replaced with a robot which he had to kill in the end. As I said, a very simple idea but great fun for kids to watch. They also brought out some great SMDM toys which I still have today. I'll never part with them. They have to be some of the coolest action toys ever made. This TV show was ace and I give it 10 out of 10. Long live Steve Austin!
Us (1991)
A nice movie by the fantastic Michael Landon.
I found this to be a very pleasant film and it's a shame the TV series that this was the pilot for was never made. Michael Landon plays Jeff who has served 18 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit. He is then released and the movie shows how he deals with returning to his wife and son who thinks he's dead and his father who thought he was guilty. The performances are all very good and very believable. Michael Landon did some great stuff and it's a terrible shame he passed away so early. It's also a shame that there isn't anyone else like him today. He was a very unique person and a great role model. He always had an answer to peoples problems, he stuck up for himself and others verbally and physically if necessary and he was never afraid to show his emotions. I'm sure Michael Landon will be remembered for a very long time to come.