Emmy Awards

Mike Mignola and Guillermo Del Toro team up once again to bring everyone's favorite wise-cracking, crime fighting demon to the screen in an animated adventure that finds Hellboy, Liz Sherman, and Abe Sapien pitted against a powerful horde of supernatural baddies. When a sprawling mansion becomes overrun with ghosts and werewolves, Hellboy is forced to put in some serious overtime to ensure that the situation doesn't get out of hand. Add into the mix a villainous vampires and a malevolent goddess, and you've got a recipe for Hellboy's most thrilling assignment to date. Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, and John Hurt all return to voice the same characters they portrayed in Del Toro's rousing live action film. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Helen Mirren delivers a standout performance in this TV miniseries as Jane Tennison, a London police detective. Tennison is trying to track down a sex-crazed killer who is murdering prostitutes, while at the same time doing battle with her male colleagues for her fair share of respect and responsibility on the force. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) investigates the connection between a teen's murder and a pedophile ring in this third installment of the acclaimed BBC series Prime Suspect. Reassigned to a new district and a new department -- vice -- Tennison is drawn back to homicide when her squad discovers the immolated body of rent boy Connie (Greg Saunders) in the flat of timid transsexual Vera Reynolds (Peter Capaldi). The trail soon leads to James Jackson (David Thewlis), a vicious pimp with mysterious connections to Edward Parker-Jones (Ciarán Hinds), the director of a youth shelter where young Connie hung out. Forced to work alongside her old nemesis Sgt. Bill Otley (Tom Bell), Tennison spars with her superiors, who want her to focus on vice and resolve her homicide investigation posthaste. But when a TV reporter (Kelly Hunter) shows up with evidence that Connie was going to provide her with the names of his famous clients, Tennison must race to uncover the real motivation behind Connie's murder. The only installment other than the first to be written by series creator Lynda LaPlante, Prime Suspect 3 was filmed for the BBC and originally aired stateside on PBS. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Helen Mirren returns as police detective Jane Tennison in the fifth cycle of the award-winning television series Prime Suspect. Tennison is transferred to Manchester, where her superiors, unsure of what to do with her, initially put her in the public relations department, explaining police work to schoolchildren. Tennison wants a more substantial assignment, and she gets her wish when she is sent out to investigate the murder of a drug pusher. But Tennison quickly discovers the case is more complex than she imagined; a 14-year-old boy has claimed responsibility for the murder, but she believes the true culprit is a man known as "The Street" (Steven Mackintosh), who controls Manchester's drug traffic and has a number of lieutenants to cover his tracks. Tennison also finds herself in potentially hot water when she becomes romantically involved with DCS Ballinger (John McArdle), who is her superior -- and also a married man. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

From Paramount Home Video comes this collection of highlights from the second season of the world's most popular reality television show. Survivor: Season Two -- The Australian Outback: The Greatest & Most Outrageous Moments features host Jeff Probst along with all of the contestants from Debb to Tina. Footage from reward challenges, immunity challenges, and tribal councils is included, as well as interviews with the castaways. Released in 2001, the program runs 122 minutes. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

New Jersey Mafia boss Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) continues maintaining the facade of being a respectable suburban husband and father while operating a vast criminal organization from the confines of the Bada-Bing Club during Season Two of The Sopranos. Now that the treacherous Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) has been placed under arrest by the feds, and with his far-from-supportive mother Livia (Nancy Marchand, who died during this season) has been exiled to a nursing home, Tony thinks that his family problems are over. No such luck: Breezing in from Seattle is Tony's seriously disturbed, sexually promiscuous and thoroughly untrustworthy sister Janice (Aida Turturro), the closest thing that any mob family has had to a "black sheep". There's more trouble from the dangerously impulsive Richie Aprile (David Proval), older brother of Tony's predecessor Jackie Aprile Sr., who is resentful that a younger man has taken over the Aprile branch of the DeMeo crime organization. Richie also has a mad-on for Tony's trusted protégé Christopher (Michael Imperioli), whose own prestige within the mob continues to grow by leaps and bounds, especially after he engineers the family's elaborate "pump-and-dump" stock scam. Christopher himself has developed a close relationship with Adriana La Cerva (Drea de Matteo), and never mind that she is one of "Uncle" Tony's mistresses. Though the FBI agent within the family's ranks has been whacked, there is still someone feeding information to the feds. It breaks Tony's heart to discover that his trusted torpedo Big Pussy (Vincent Pastore) is the turncoat, but business is business, and Tony is obliged to stage-manage Big Pussy's demise during a now-famous boat trip. Nor is this the end of the intramural carnage: despite having become engaged to her former flame Richie Aprile, Tony's sister Janice settles a bitter argument with Richie in typical Soprano fashion. Result: No wedding, and no Richie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The biggest news surrounding Law & Order's fifth season was the acrimonious exit of series regular Michael Moriarty, who, since the program's inception, had upheld the "Order" part of the program as Executive Assistant DA Ben Stone. According to the script, Stone quit the DA's office in disgust and despair after a witness to whom he'd promised protection was murdered. In truth, Moriarty had long been dissatisfied with the diminishing amount of screen time afforded the DA's office -- and he was also worried that then-U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno would make good on her promise to purge network TV of "excessive violence," a move he felt would emasculate reality-based series like Law & Order. With the departure of Ben Stone, a new face was added to the series' judicial lineup: Assistant DA Sam McCoy, played by Sam Waterston. Like his colleagues, McCoy was a basically decent, but decidedly imperfect, human being; famous for walking a very thin line between ethics and legal flim-flammery, he was also a renowned womanizer, having slept with virtually all of his former law partners -- a fact that added a fascinating dimension to his relationship with State's Attorney Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy). Despite its so-so ratings, Law & Order had enough viewer support and industry clout to survive its fifth season, passing the 100-episode mark with "Progeny" (although NBC, refusing to acknowledge the existence of the series' 1990 pilot episode because it had been commissioned by CBS, insisted that "Rage" was Number 100). One indication that the series was supported by its network was the fact that the producers were given enough production money to complete 23 episodes, rather than the standard 22. In what was rapidly becoming a Law & Order tradition, the 1994-1995 season ended with the exit of still another character. In the season finale, "Pride," Detective Mike Logan Chris Noth was yanked from homicide and reduced to pounding a beat on Staten Island after punching out a homophobic councilman. In real life, producer Dick Wolf decided not to renew Noth's contract, feeling that the actor had reached the limits of his character -- and that the world-weary Mike Logan did not provide enough contrast with his equally hard-bitten, acerbic partner Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach). Although Noth never returned to the weekly version of Law & Order, he was able to persuade the series' producers to fashion a spin-off TV movie, 1998's Exiled, which tied up the loose ends of Logan's career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation was inaugurated with a shakeup in the Las Vegas crime-lab unit, with overnight-shift supervisor Gil Grissom (William L. Petersen) appointed head of the unit after former skipper, Capt. Jim Brass, made a misfired decision that brought about the death of rookie "criminalist" Holly Gribbs (Chandra West). New team member Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) was brought in from San Francisco to aid in the investigation of Gribbs' death, causing friction between Grissom and his second-in-command, Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger). Meanwhile, the friendly rivalry between team members Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan) and Nick Stokes (George Eads), both of whom were jockeying for a promotion, served to accelerate the solutions of many of the crimes depicted therein. Although the team was generally successful in bringing perps to justice, at least one case remained frustratingly unsolved: a string of murders made to look like suicides, clearly committed by a "signature" killer with an intimate knowledge of forensic procedure. As season one drew to a close, Grissom wondered if he would ever catch up with this elusive murderer, whose deliberately planted false clues resulted in far too many wild goose chases for the team -- and whose equally deliberate real clues proved that the team was up against some sort of homicidal genius. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bart, Homer, and the rest of the family are back in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season. Each of these 22 episodes is presented in 1.33:1 full frame and sports solid colors and dark black levels. Since the second season of the show was in the early '90s, some imperfections abound including grain, dirt, and some bleeding colors. Otherwise, these episodes are all in very good shape. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround in English as well as Dolby 2.0 Surround in English and French. While 5.1 remixes are certainly welcome, The Simpsons isn't really an effects-heavy show and as such doesn't utilize a ton of directional effects. Overall the fidelity is quite low, though otherwise the mix is clear of any hiss or distortion. Also included on these discs are English and Spanish subtitles. Fox has made sure to add a few extra features onto this set, starting with commentaries on every episode by creator Matt Groening and various other crew members. Each of these are a goldmine of production information about the story and creative process, along with a lot of hearty laughs. Two music videos for the songs "Do the Bartman" and "Deep Deep Trouble" are included with optional commentary, plus two "awards show segments" featuring animated material from the Emmy Awards and American Movie Awards. Two video featurettes ("David Silverman on the Creation of an Episode" and "Interview") are fairly light peeks at the creation process with interviews by Groening and James L. Brooks. Finally there is an extensive still gallery with over 100 images of sketches and conceptual drawings. There are also some hidden extras featuring some weird foreign language clips. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide

It seems that with each subsequent DVD release of The Simpsons, 20th Century Fox successfully manages to edge up the standard in regards to both presentation and extra features -- and with the release of The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season, that trend thankfully continues. Each episode is presented as originally aired in 1.33:1 full-frame, offering bright, solid colors and little evidence of edge enhancement. The image is stable and the menus easy to navigate. Audio is presented in a selection of either closed-captioned English Dolby Digital 5.1 or Spanish or French Dolby Digital Stereo with optional English or Spanish subtitles. Though the show's visual scheme doesn't necessarily offer an abundance of directional effects, the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is clean and bold throughout.

Of course, one of the main draws of each release thus far has been the bonus features, and as stated before, this one certainly doesn't disappoint. By this point, commentary on all episodes is almost expected, and creator Groening and crew serve it up with enthusiasm, wit, and entertaining insight (Groening also provides an entertaining introduction to the season). Illustrated commentary on select episodes offers the inclusion of a "telestrator" in order to give the commentary a more visual flare, but ultimately serves little purpose aside from distinguishing Patty from Selma and giving the restless creative souls a chance to doodle on the screen. For those who seek bonus features that are a bit more "hands on," animation showcases on select episodes offer a peek behind the scenes of The Simpsons as it passes through the various stages of creative visual process. It's a great learning tool for aspiring animators, with the picture-in-picture presentation giving a great feel for the various stages of animation. A look at the animatics will also be of interest to those who seek to know more about the creative process behind this enduring sitcom. Commercials offer a look at everyone's favorite yellow family as they pitch various products, and deleted scenes are fun to watch, if for nothing else than completist purposes.

Featurettes on this release are a real treat; from the controversy over the New Orleans song in "A Streetcar Named Marge" (which writer Jeff Martin claims was simply a riff on a similar tune in Sweeney Todd) to "Bush vs. Simpson" (in which Jim Brooks details the war waged by former first lady Barbara Bush and the awkward meeting that followed), it's great to hear the creative forces comment on the sometimes mixed public reaction to the wildly satirical series. A promotional piece hosted by Groening discusses the characters and appeal of the series, and fans will certainly relish the opportunity to hear the residents of Springfield speak in Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, and Castilian Spanish, thanks to a special language feature on the first episode of the season. Thanks to a great presentation and an impressive selection of bonus features, this set is a great addition to the collection of any true Simpsons fan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide