Perpetual Travelers

Claire Catherine Danes was born in New York City on April 12, 1979. She won a Golden Globe award for her portrayal of teenager Angela Chase in My So-Called Life and won critical acclaim for her performance in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet.

Growing up, Claire was encouraged by her parents to get involved in the arts at an early age. This led her to take up classes in dancing and acting (at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute).

After several Off-Broadway productions and a guest spot in Law & Order, Danes was offered a role in Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece Schindler’s List. However, she turned down the role because they could not provide a tutor for her. Her career took off when she bagged the role of Angela Chase.

With a considerable number of movie achievements under her belt, Danes went back to school and enrolled in psychology at Yale University. She dropped out after 2 years and went back to acting.

Danes resurfaced with well-received performances in movies like Igby Goes Down, The Hours, and Shopgirl. She was also part of the new cast of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

In 2007, Danes made her Broadway debut playing Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion.

Read more about Kendall Coffey and his law firm Coffey Burlington.

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It must have been fate that Bryan Singer would direct the new film Superman Returns, the fifth in the series of Superman films. Singer loved the George Reeves Superman TV series when he was young, and was a huge fan of the Dick Donner-directed films from the 70s and 80s that starred Christopher Reeves as the Man of Steel. “I identify with Superman. I am adopted, I am an only child, and I love the idea that he comes from another world, that he’s the ultimate immigrant. He has all these extraordinary powers, and he has a righteousness about him,” said Bryan.

After attending the School Of Visual Arts in New York City (but not graduating), he graduated from the USC cinema school (where, incidentally, he met John Ottman who wrote the score for Superman Returns), Singer’s first commercial success was as the producer/director of The Usual Suspects in 1995.That film saw him work with Kevin Spacey for the first time, and Singer and Spacey are re-united, again in Superman Returns, as Spacey plays arch villain Lex Luther, just out of prison and again set to rule the world.

However, it is as an adapter of comic books, bringing superheroes to life, that Singer has carved a niche for himself in the movie world.

In 2000, as writer and director, he introduced Wolverine, Magneto and the rest of the X-Men to the movie world in a hugely successful adaptation, before reprising the characters in the follow-up, X2. Singer left the X-Men franchise to develop Superman Returns and did not work on the 3rd film The Last Stand.

Now an established player in Hollywood with a number of big projects lined up for the future, who would bet against his favourite being the recently-announced sequel for Superman Returns in 2009?

Filmography

• Superman Returns (2006) (producer/director/writer)
• X2 (2003) (executive producer/director/writer)
• X-Men (2000) (director/writer)
• Apt Pupil (1998) (producer/director)
• Burn (1998) (executive producer)
• The Usual Suspects (1995) (producer/director)
• Public Access (1993) (executive producer/director/writer)
• Lion’s Den (1988) (director)

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Recipient of widespread critical and audience acclaim, I Love Lucy is by far one of the greatest, if not the greatest, comedy series in television history. It literally revolutionized the TV landscape forever with its creative thinking, live studio audience, experimental camera angles, and top-notch writing. Created by the talented husband and wife team of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, I Love Lucy became the most celebrated show of its time and helped usher in a whole new era in the American entertainment experience…

The I Love Lucy (Season 5) DVD offers a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere “Lucy Visits Grauman’s” in which Lucy is wrapping up her extended trip to Hollywood where she’s collected a number of oddball collectibles, such as a tin can run over by Cary Grant’s car and a napkin used by Lana Turner. But when Lucy learns that John Wayne’s imprints on a concrete block in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater have come loose, she decides to steal a real souvenir to take home… Other notable episodes from Season 5 include “Lucy Goes to a Rodeo” in which Lucy confuses Ricky’s performance on a “radio show” with his performance in a “rodeo show,” and “Paris at Last” in which Lucy’s trip to Paris is marked by her quest to find a famous artist whose paintings will one day be valuable, but the only artist she meets is a con artist who steals her blind…

Below is a list of episodes included on the I Love Lucy (Season 5) DVD:

Episode 128 (Lucy Visits Grauman’s) Air Date: 10-03-1955
Episode 129 (Lucy and John Wayne) Air Date: 10-10-1955
Episode 130 (Lucy and the Dummy) Air Date: 10-17-1955
Episode 131 (Ricky Sells the Car) Air Date: 10-24-1955
Episode 132 (The Great Train Robbery) Air Date: 10-31-1955
Episode 133 (Homecoming) Air Date: 11-07-1955
Episode 134 (The Ricardos are Interviewed) Air Date: 11-14-1955
Episode 135 (Lucy Goes to a Rodeo) Air Date: 11-28-1955
Episode 136 (Nursery School) Air Date: 12-05-1955
Episode 137 (Ricky’s European Booking) Air Date: 12-12-1955
Episode 138 (The Passports) Air Date: 12-19-1955
Episode 139 (Staten Island Ferry) Air Date: 01-02-1956
Episode 140 (Bon Voyage) Air Date: 01-16-1956
Episode 141 (Second Honeymoon) Air Date: 01-23-1956
Episode 142 (Lucy Meets the Queen) Air Date: 01-30-1956
Episode 143 (The Fox Hunt) Air Date: 02-06-1956
Episode 144 (Lucy Goes to Scotland) Air Date: 02-20-1956
Episode 145 (Paris at Last) Air Date: 02-27-1956
Episode 146 (Lucy Meets Charles Boyer) Air Date: 03-05-1956
Episode 147 (Lucy Gets a Paris Gown) Air Date: 03-19-1956
Episode 148 (Lucy in the Swiss Alps) Air Date: 03-26-1956
Episode 149 (Lucy Gets Homesick in Italy) Air Date: 04-09-1956
Episode 150 (Lucy’s Italian Movie) Air Date: 04-16-1956
Episode 151 (Lucy’s Bicycle Trip) Air Date: 04-23-1956
Episode 152 (Lucy Goes to Monte Carlo) Air Date: 05-07-1956
Episode 153 (Return Home from Europe) Air Date: 05-14-1956

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the I Love Lucy (Season 5) DVD.

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Nominated for 25 Emmys and 14 Golden Globes, including three for Best TV Series - Comedy/Musical, Roseanne forever transformed the television landscape when it premiered in the Fall of 1988. Following on the heels of the upstart Fox network’s 1987 sitcom Married With Children (which Fox created with Roseanne and Sam Kinneson in mind), Roseanne took the traditional TV portrayal of a functional and happy American family and literally turned it on its head. The brainchild of Matt Williams, creator of Home Improvement (1991) and writer for such hit series as The Cosby Show (1984) and A Different World (1987), Roseanne broke the mold of the traditional sitcom family and replaced it with the quintessential ideal of dysfunction. Attempting to portray a more realistic version of the American nuclear family, Roseanne instantly struck a chord with television audiences, and the series skyrocketed up the ratings - remaining a regular in the Nielsen Top 10 for the first seven of its ten seasons…

Roseanne follows the lives a lower middle-class family living in a small Illinois town. The very definition of dysfunction, the Conner family is headed by quasi-trailer trash couple Dan (John Goodman) and Roseanne (Roseanne Barr). As Dan and Roseanne live out their less-than-ideal (yet loving) marriage, they struggle to deal with a host of problems such as lack of money, bad family relationships, and conflicts with friends and neighbors. Along the way, they deal with the typical growing pains that accompany the adolescent growth of their three children - Becky (Alicia Goranson, later replaced by Sarah Chalke of Scrubs fame), Darlene (Sara Gilbert), and D.J. (Michael Fishman). Roseanne’s younger sister, Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), is also a regular on the show, and she provides added comic relief as she struggles to balance her myriad career choices with her search for the right man… The early years of Roseanne are sitcom entertainment at its best, and the writers and cast alike, issue superb performances. However, the show probably lasted a season or two longer than it should have, which is sad. It’s like watching an old sports hero play just a few seasons past his prime…

The Roseanne DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the series premiere “Life and Stuff” in which television viewers are first introduced to the Conner clan. Roseanne must meet with Darlene’s teacher in order to discuss a problem of grave concern - Darlene’s incessant barking in the middle of class… Other notable episodes from Season 1 include “Dan’s Birthday Bash” in which Dan’s ideal night out is thwarted by a thug who picks a fight with Dan while he’s playing pool, and “The Slice of Life” in which Roseanne must deal with her guilt in having yelled at Darlene after Darlene is rushed into emergency surgery for appendicitis…

Below is a list of episodes included on the Roseanne (Season 1) DVD:

Episode 1 (Life and Stuff) Air Date: 10-18-1988
Episode 2 (We’re in the Money) Air Date: 10-25-1988
Episode 3 (D-I-V-O-R-C-E) Air Date: 11-01-1988
Episode 4 (Language Lessons) Air Date: 11-22-1988
Episode 5 (Radio Days) Air Date: 11-29-1988
Episode 6 (Lovers’ Lanes) Air Date: 12-06-1988
Episode 7 (The Memory Game) Air Date: 12-13-1988
Episode 8 (Here’s to Good Friends) Air Date: 12-20-1988
Episode 9 (Dan’s Birthday Bash) Air Date: 01-03-1989
Episode 10 (Saturday) Air Date: 01-10-1989
Episode 11 (Canoga Time) Air Date: 01-17-1989
Episode 12 (The Monday Through Friday Show) Air Date: 01-24-1989
Episode 13 (Bridge Over Troubled Sonny) Air Date: 01-31-1989
Episode 14 (Father’s Day) Air Date: 02-07-1989
Episode 15 (Nightmare on Oak Street) Air Date: 02-14-1989
Episode 16 (Mall Story) Air Date: 02-21-1989
Episode 17 (Becky’s Choice) Air Date: 02-28-1989
Episode 18 (The Slice of Life) Air Date: 03-07-1989
Episode 19 (Workin’ Overtime) Air Date: 03-14-1989
Episode 20 (Toto, We’re Not in Kansas Anymore) Air Date: 03-28-1989
Episode 21 (Death and Stuff) Air Date: 04-11-1989
Episode 22 (Dear Mom and Dad) Air Date: 04-18-1989
Episode 23 (Let’s Call It Quits) Air Date: 05-02-1989

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the Roseanne (DVD).

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