Movieline Online

THE SHOW: The overwhelming success of television shows on the DVD format can be explained in part by the ability to cram countless episodes on one shiny plastic disc. But there’s also the added value of giving fans a chance to watch an entire series at their own pace – a weekend marathon or once every few days grazing. But a show like “The Tick,” whose unsuccessful run on the Fox network lasted only nine episodes, makes it even easier to take in the entire series in one hilarious viewing session. Created by Ben Edlund (who also wrote the comic book and the animated series), produced by Barry Sonnenfeld (“Men In Black”), and starring Patrick Warburton (Puddy of TV’s “Seinfeld”) as the big blue bug of justice, “The Tick” is a show for those with discriminating tastes in comedy. It’s almost too smart for its own good, even though its central character has the vocabulary of a PHD and common sense of an extra-wide toaster. Built around the idea that superheroes and their exploits are an eve...

THE FLICKS: Blue Underground’s latest contribution to the world of cult cinema on DVD is the Christopher Lee Collection, which is a bit of misnomer. Although the horror icon is the featured player in each film, he’s far from the driving force behind them. The box set could easily have been re-titled “The Harry Alan Towers Compendium” (the producer and screenwriter of all four films) or “The Jess Franco Jamboree” (the director responsible for three of four). Bored with his association with Hammer and his typecasting as Dracula, Lee sought out more diverse roles to satisfy his creative outlet. While the “Fu Manchu” films were an initial success, by the time Towers and Franco put “Castle of Fu Manchu” and “Blood of Fu Manchu” into production, the actor was backed into the same corner – covered in heavy make-up with very little screen time. Both films are saddled with Franco’s lasseiz-faire direction - unnecessary and disorienting camera zooms, pathetic stunts, and a dash of clumsy erotica...

THE SHOW: In case you didn’t know, “Alias” is the best show on television. No, really. It is. Now that the Simpsons have gone goofy, Futurama is off the air, and ER is ready for euthenasia, producer J.J. Abrahms and star Jennifer Garner’s serpentine spy drama has no competition. For those that still aren’t in the loop, Garner plays Sydney Bristow, a grad student recruited by the CIA (or so she thinks) to live the life of a full-fledged secret agent. The James Bond cliches are all here: dangerous missions, clever gadgets, and deadly hand-to-hand combat. But “Alias” succeeds where even its big screen cohorts fail by putting a human face on all this espionage. Sydney is far from infallible (even though she is tougher than “La Femme Nikita” and better looking than most Bond girls), and it’s how her work interferes with her real life that give the show its heart. I defy anyone to watch the pilot episode and not be hooked. TV doesn’t get any better than this. THE FEATURES: This 6-disc set in...