It's Not Exactly Jesus In The Desert, But (Tatooine) Darth Maul Is Not Bad!

The Good: Generally decent likeness, Decent accessories
The Bad: Poseability
The Basics: Darth Maul has essentially two looks (three if you count dead...), this is his robe-clad Tatooine appearance which makes for a decent, but hardly perfect, figure.


The Bible tells of Jesus Christ going out into the desert, where he was tempted by the Devil. Star Wars Episode I illustrates Darth Maul on Tatooine where he fights Qui-Gon Jinn the first time and let's face it, if there is anyone who looks like the classic European art image of Jesus in the Star Wars films, it's Qui-Gon Jinn. Given that Star Wars happens a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, is it possible the Bible simply got the story wrong? Did Jesus go through a portal to fight Darth Maul in the desert? Or is George Lucas just having fun with obvious religious imagery? Either way, Darth Maul appeared on Tatooine in long robes and he was later immortalized by Hasbro in that outfit as part of the "Episode I" line of figures as Darth Maul (Tatooine).

Darth Maul, the apprentice of Darth Sidious in The Phantom Menace (reviewed here!), was the linchpin of "Episode I" marketing and merchandising. Sure, he looks cool, but let's face it, Maul is possibly the most overblown villain in Star Wars. He shows up, delivers perhaps eight lines, does some beautifully choreographed fights, and kills one Jedi before another slices him in half. There are Clone Troopers that have better kill records than Darth Maul and live to tell the tale! On orders from Sidious, Darth Maul took a trip to Tatooine where he attempted to kill Senator Amidala but ran afoul of Qui-Gon Jinn who held him off. Bug-eyed and creepy, this Darth Maul figure appears in his desert robes, hooded, with his lightsaber used more like a traditional single-bladed saber.

This 4" Darth Maul figure is decent, but problematically inflexible.

Basics

Darth Maul is sculpted in his black robes as he appeared during his brief appearance on Tatooine. His hands are molded to hold his lightsaber in a two-handed grip and, as a result, he can hold the lightsaber in either hand. He looks generally as he did in The Phantom Menace, his robes obscure most details and as a result, Hasbro was able to cheat most of the finer details. As well, because the robes are made of plastic, the figure is fairly inflexible. He stands flatfooted, but wobbles as he is poorly balanced. Still, he may be posed fairly well if one is willing to let him lean on his stiff robes.

The Tatooine Darth Maul figure stands a full 4" tall, to the top of his hood. Darth Maul wears black robes that are molded in a loose fitting look so his tunic beneath is competely covered. There are minimal facial details of Maul, but his red face and bugged-out eyes look out from his hood menacingly. Because his hood is raised (and molded into the figure) his horns are not visible.

The figure is mostly cast of solid plastic, but the outer robes are a softer, more rubbery plastic ostensibly intended to allow Maul to be flexible enough to move in battle poses. Unfortunately, the robes' plastic is still a bit too stiff for that and the Darth Maul figure is not easily posed.

Accessories

Darth Maul, as the new Dark Apprentice Of The Sith, comes with a lightsaber and a CommTech chip. The robes are not detachable, so they are not considered an accessory.

Maul comes with a lightsaber and this is the traditional red-bladed lightsaber recognizable to those in the know as a Sith lightsaber. The handle is almost as long as the blade because this is Maul's two-sided saber. However, this sculpt of the accessory has only one of the two blades lit. As a result, the 3 3/4" accessory is not as menacing as it could appear, though it is distinctly Maul's weapon and a great choice for this figure.

As well, this figure comes with the standard CommTech chip for this series of figure. For the "Episode I" figure line, Hasbro toyed with action figures that spoke to those who took them out of the package. Thus, each figure came with a chip that featured an image of the character and a voice chip. When placed on the CommTech reader and read, the CommTech player would play dialogue from Darth Maul on it. This chip has such phrases as Maul saying "At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi," "At last we will have revenge," and "It's the Jedi!" From George Lucas's mind to an actor's mouth to a little chip to play with, isn't it amazing? The chip utilizes the actual dialogue from the movie, so it sounds perfectly like Darth Maul.

Playability

The four inch toy line was designed for play, but Darth Maul is unfortunately designed in that regard. The Darth Maul figure is balanced fine until one moves the legs too far out of position. Ironically, though, when one continues to move the figure's legs, Maul stands again by leaning on the inflexible outer robes! But between the stiff outer robes and the slightly flexible underskirt, Maul either stands straight, falls over, or stands in an action pose leans on his robes.

Darth Maul has only eight points of articulation - pretty much the essential ones - but some of that is pointless articulation. The lowered flexibility pretty much mandates collectors pose the figure in very set ways and Maul's legs have very limited poseability and the neck articulation is completely pointless as the stiffness of the cowl prevents the head from turning. The Tatooine Darth Maul, as an action figure, has joints at the groin socket, shoulders, elbows, neck and waist. The waist essentially turns around entirely, but the rotation is pointless. There is no articulation in the knees or ankles, which matters less considering that the thigh joint can barely be moved. As well, this Sith may rotate his arms from the shoulder, but not extend his arms, though the effect of that is granted by the rotating (not bending) elbows. The result is a figure that may hold his lightsaber two handed and defend better than be posed for positions of attack.

Collectibility

Darth Maul is part of the 1999 "Episode I" collection of four-inch action figures. This series of Star Wars action figures was massively overproduced, but the '99 line was somewhat less overproduced. This Darth Maul is one of the harder ones to find. As a result, this might be the best Maul investment, though it is barely above the original issue price. Still, it may be found pretty easily.

Overview

Darth Maul was not a bad idea, but this figure's execution would have worked much better if the robes had been cloth, but it is still a decent Darth Maul action figure.

For other Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace action figures reviewed by me, please check out my reviews of:
Senator Palpatine
Deluxe Darth Maul with Sith Speeder
Gasgano with Pit Droid
TC-14
Destroyer Droid

6.5/10

For other toy reviews, please be sure to visit my index page on the subject!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.




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If Variety Is The Spice Of Life, Butterfinger Hot Cocoa Is A Decent Spice.

The Good: Tastes good, Intriguing idea
The Bad: Not the most environmentally impressive packaging
The Basics: Not a food to try to live on, Butterfinger Hot Cocoa is a good dessert on cold nights or just when one wants something different from standard hot chocolate!


As time goes by, I find myself happy to try new things, both to expand my knowledge and experience as well as to have new things to review. Sometimes, trying something new reminds me of something I have not had for quite some time. So, when my partner picked me up some Butterfinger Hot Cocoa mix, it made me think about how it has been quite some time since I reviewed the Butterfinger Crisp candy bars (that review is here!). Moreover, it has been quite some time since I have had an actual Butterfinger bar.

The thing is, I drink an awful lot and even in the summer, I seem to enjoy hot drinks more than the average person. As a result, I leap on new teas and cocoas with a vigor and a range of experience that makes my reviews a resource for those looking ahead to cooler months. And if there is a sale on Butterfinger Hot Cocoa mix this summer, it's a good time to stock up on it!

Basics

Butterfinger Hot Cocoa mix is a hot chocolate mix put out by Nestle. The box of hot cocoa packets is a pretty standard eight oz. box, containing eight one-ounce packets of hot chocolate. Trading on the general flavor of Butterfinger candies, Nestle emerges with a hot chocolate that is anything but the normal hot chocolate. Whomever at Nestle thought to try to make a drink out of the peanut butter and chocolate flavor of Butterfinger candies deserves a lot of credit for originality. Anyone looking for a very different dessert beverage will find a lot to enjoy with this.

Ease Of Preparation

Butterfinger Hot Cocoa mix is very easy to prepare, as most hot chocolate products are. Because each packet in the box is a single serving, one need only have a mug large enough to accommodate the powdered mix and some water with a little room for mixing it around. Because the powder has some mass to it before it is dissolved, I recommend using an 8 oz. mug.

Preparation is simple; empty the contents of a single packet from the box of eight into an eight ounce mug. Bring a pot of water to a near-boil - Butterfinger Hot Cocoa does not require boiling water, just very hot water. Boiling the water does not cook the powder, so if one does boil the water, there is no adverse consequence to the beverage. Once the water is hot, simply pour six fluid ounces of water over the powder and stir it up. It is that easy to make!

Taste

Butterfinger Cocoa is a treat that smells exactly like what it is. Mixing up the Butterfinger hot cocoa mix one is rewarded with the aroma of a giant Butterfinger bar being cracked open in front of one's nose. The chocolate scent is sublimated to the buttery, rich flavor of the center of a Butterfinger bar.

Tasting the beverage, is not quite as rewarding, but it is still delicious and sweet on its own. Not tasting like chocolate, the Butterfinger hot cocoa is buttery and sweet with a slight hint of the dryness that comes from eating Butterfinger candy bars. For those in love with the taste of Butterfingers, this is a close approximation of the candy bar flavor in beverage form, though it is missing some of the chocolate flavor that one might enjoy mixing with the peanut butter flavor of the candy bar. While Butterfinger hot cocoa has a nutty and flavorful taste, it is not exactly the flavor of peanut butter either.

As the beverage cools, the chocolate flavor comes out more, but the drink becomes far less of a satisfying thirst-quencher. This is a great comfort drink, though and it is a close approximation of the candy it claims to be mimicking.

Nutrition

Butterfinger Hot Cocoa is a chocolately drink, so any expectation that this is a beverage that is going to meet a lot of one's daily needs is fairly unrealistic. Still, there are worse beverages out on the market. One serving - a single packet - has 120 calories, thirty of which are from fat. With three grams of fat, this drink is not a dieter's beverage, but it could be worse. Butterfinger Hot Cocoa has no cholesterol or any vitamin or mineral nutrients (like iron or calcium), but it does have 160 mg of sodium. This is not a food to try to live off of.

It is hardly a surprise that Butterfinger Hot Cocoa is not a nutritious food product considering that the primary ingredients are sugar, corn syrup solids and vegetable oil. For those with allergies, it is noted on the package that the powder is made on machines that process soy and wheat, so the gluten-intolerant individuals will have to avoid this.

Storage/Clean-up

Butterfinger Hot Cocoa mix is ridiculously easy to store and clean up. Because the packets are individual servings and self-contained, as long as one does not store the packets underwater, they will last. My box of cocoa, purchased in May 2009, has an expiration date in March 2010, but it is hard to imagine this would not last past the expiration date so long as the packets inside are kept cool and dry.

Cleaning up Nestle Butterfinger Hot Cocoa mix is easy, as it is a powder which may be easily brushed up. If one spills it after it is mixed with water, it is likely to stain lighter fabrics and one ought to consult one's fabric guide for cleaning if that happens. Mugs, though, clean right out with hot water as this fluid does not stain ceramics.

Overall

A very original concept, the Butterfinger hot cocoa is a taste treat which fans of the candy will enjoy.

For other hot chocolate drinks, please visit my reviews of:
Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa
Nestles Chocolate Mint Hot Cocoa
Land O’ Lakes Chocolate Supreme Hot Cocoa

6/10

More food and drink reviews are available at the index page here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.





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More CG Robots And Megan Fox's Jiggling Breasts Cannot Save Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen!

The Good: Moments of special effect, Moments of story/character
The Bad: Predictable plot, Jumbled effects, Terrible acting
The Basics: With the second attempt to make Transformers an interesting live-action film, Michael Bay and his team give us nothing more than we've already seen before.


As a creative person, it always disappoints me to see things I know I have seen before coming out of supposedly talented individuals. Sadly, Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen is probably a flick that should have remained a film trailer only. Yes, I'd say it would not be wrong to make the movie trailer and have that be the entire cinematic experience in this case. This might not seem like a surprise, considering how my recent viewing of Transformers (reviewed here!) was enough to convince me not to drive down to a screening in IMAX that the director himself was at. Still, I went into Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen with an open mind and even preparation emotionally for some big, nonsensical action that pretty much defines Summer Blockbuster Season. Unfortunately, this sequel does not even insult the intelligence of the viewer by attempting to be surprising, original or even good.

Building on Transformers, Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen has the inevitable return to power of Megatron and the Decepticons and while the viewing experience for the mysticism introduced in the first film might make one think seeing Transformers was essential, Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen stands well-enough on its own to not truly need the first installment. The story of what happens between the two films is told in the graphic novels Defiance and Alliances in more depth. As a result, that's a few hours of one's life one may save by not wasting on the first film, though by the end of the two and a half hour sequel, one might wish they simply took my recommendation and passed on this film. It is worth noting, as well, that my critique of Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen is biased by the fact that I saw the movie on the big screen. The larger-than-life and often confused special effects are more fun on the big screen, yet will probably be less-overwhelming on the small screen when this arrives on DVD. I'm not sure if that made me rate it higher for the big-screen presentation, but I suspect it might.

Filling in the backstory of the denizens of Cyberton (a robotic race that later split into the Autobots and Decepticons), it is revealed that there was an older society of robots, known as the Primes. The Primes created an energy source, Energon, from stars, but their society fractured over capturing energy from stars with planets where life existed. The Primes thwarted The Fallen's ancient plan to destroy Earth's star by sacrificing themselves. Now, as Sam Witwicky leaves his girlfriend Mikaela behind, Sam heads to college while the Autobots search out and eliminate Decepticon forces on Earth that are still active. Sam, though, soon begins to suffer mysterious visions of symbols written in Cybertron glyphs.

As the Decepticons reanimate Megatron, Sam undergoes a nervous breakdown. On orders from The Fallen, Megatron and his forces regroup with a hunt for Sam as the remaining Prime understands that Sam's visions have to do with the location to the Sun Harvester, the weapon which will destroy Earth's sun. The U.S. military, Sam, the Autobots and former Section Seven agent Simmons converge in Egypt, but the Decepticons meet them there. After baiting a trap with Sam's captured parents, the Decepticons wage a battle which threatens to destroy the entire world.

The sense of scope in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen is decent, but writers Alexander Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, teamed for this with Ehren Kruger, have certainly lost their spark on this one. While fans of science fiction will enjoy their tongue-in-cheek references to The Matrix, this is no The Matrix. While the authors rewrote the Star Trek universe quite effectively earlier the same Summer Blockbuster Season, they fail to convince the viewers of the jeopardy to Earth in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. While the idea of the Sun Harvester is not a bad one, there is never a single moment in the film where the viewer honestly believes that Sam, Mikaela, Major Lennox (and sidekick Epps!), and Simmons might fail. To be sure, the guys make a good stab at making the situation seem dire, but they borrow from the animated Transformers film that hit the big screen when I was a kid for their big sense of surprise (or at least the significant death) and that's just sad.

Yes, we've seen it all before. Even as I try to think of what I enjoyed about the movie, it is tough to consider objectively. While Devastator is a pretty wicked Decepticon revealed in the Egypt scenes, it was also in every preview I remember seeing. Yes, you get the best of the film from the trailer as this is probably the coolest, most innovative robot monster introduced in the film. And, without ruining anything, Devastator's exit from the film makes little sense. Simmons, working to save his birthland, calls in a secret weapon (amid some of the dumbest gonad-related humor seen on the screen in some time) which seems to hit Devastator in the shoulder. While this would certainly blow off an arm, it doesn't exactly explain how the evil robot is stopped, other than that it is knocked out of frame.

But this, then, comes back to the fundamental problem with the special effects; the effects are big and ballsy. This is a turn-off-your-brain summer blockbuster with lots of explosions and people running and a final forty-five minutes that have only about ten pages of actual dialogue. But the special effects are often too big and special effects are only special if they are rendered in such a way that the viewer can tell what is going on at any given time. Bay fills his screen with long shots of massive battles with robots and humans shooting everywhere, smoke blowing and giant columns being torn apart and he alternates them with close-ups of robot parts that lack a strong sense of identifiability. And some of the effects work only if one shuts their brain off; the robotic junkyard dog is very cool, but why its spine is covered in gore when it is torn out (even if it is lubricants) makes no real sense.

What also fails to make sense are the characters. Mikaela is little more than Sam's obvious love interest/sexy sidekick, but the writers and Bay give up on even trying to make their relationship make sense. In the midst of the huge battle, Sam orders Bumblebee to take his parents out of the war zone (they pop back up before the battle is actually over with no explanation, so Bumblebee pretty much stinks as a protector), turns to Mikaela and orders her to go, too. She says no and that's the end of it. Call me a romantic softy, but I think if I were trying to save the woman I loved from being crushed to death by psychotic robots with heavy artillery, I might not simply accept her "no" an let it go!

The relationship between Sam and Mikaela and Simmons' sudden desire to explore his heritage are all the character viewers get this round. Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen is dreadful on the character front and it devotes its time and energy to being plot-intensive (though there are not huge dissimilarities between the chase for the All Spark in Transformers and the search for the key matrix in this sequel) and special effects-filled. At least actor John Turturro as Agent Simmons illustrates that the actor wasn't about to waste all his time on screen. Turturro might not be terribly funny in the role as Simmons, but he works with the recognizable bits of a character arc well-enough that the viewer actually cares what happens to his character. Sadly, his is the only one viewers are likely to care about.

Personally, I feel sorry for Megan Fox as Mikaela in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. Outside Transformers, I've only seen Fox in How To Lose Friends And Alienate People where she played the over-the-top sex symbol and her role was to glide through her scenes looking beautiful. Michael Bay rides the camera over Fox's curves like a car magazine soft-core photographer and seems content to not have her speak much. Instead, Fox is put in a top with minimal support and run through the desert jiggling. Sure, with all of the explosions going on, there is plenty to draw the eye outside Fox's flopping breasts, but given the target audience, Bay knows where most eyes will be.

And those eyes certainly wouldn't be on Shia LaBeouf, whose acting is so wooden I continue to wonder how he gets work. Granted, LaBeouf is not being asked to recite Shakespeare or even make us care too much about his character, Sam, but when Kevin Dunn outshines LaBeouf as Sam's father constantly (and in the big scene of emotional resonance after Sam rescues him), one wonders how he keeps getting top billing.

On DVD, Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen arrives with a commentary track and an additional disc loaded with featuerettes. Many of the bonus features focus on the special effects, rather than the storytelling elements and those who watched the bonus features to the first Transformers are likely to feel a little cheated; there is not much different in the effects in this film. As well, there is the theatrical trailer to the movie.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen sets up for a sequel and while we can hope it might be better, it seems a vain hope. Given the chance to explore the characters of the Transformers universe, the writers returned to that franchise with more absurd plots (we never believe Earth's sun will be obliterated by The Fallen), more complicated special effects and more obvious exploitations of the franchise's most recognizable asset.

For other works by Alex Kurtzmen and Roberto Orci, please check out my reviews of:
Fringe - Season Two
Fringe - Season One
Star Trek
The Proposal
Lost

3.5/10

For other film reviews, please be sure to visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Refreshing Waterfall Mist: A Standard Conditioner To Accompany The Standard Shampoo

The Good: Inexpensive, Intriguing scent, Conditions hair fine, Scent lasts!
The Bad: Protects more than revitalizes hair, Packaging
The Basics: "Refreshing Waterfall Mist" is an adequate conditioner, but it is not one that is going to inspire the truly hair-conscious person to buy it.


It's hard for me - even as someone who has long hair - to get excited about a product I wash down the drain. Yes, even though I have taken to writing reviews of hair care products, I find it more of a challenge than a relief to write those reviews sometimes. For me, a shampoo has to clean hair and have a decent scent that endures. For conditioners, I want my hair noticeably protected. Having taken a job at a factory where exposed hair quickly dries out and becomes brittle when underconditioned, I have developed a fairly ideal position from which to evaluate conditioners. Having reviewed Suave's "Refreshing Waterfall Mist" shampoo (here!), it seemed natural for me to review the accompanying conditioner.

Suave has been expanding its line of inexpensive shampoos and conditioners. In virtually every market in the United States, Suave - like VO5 - shampoos and conditioners may be found on sale for $1.00 for a 15 fl. oz. bottle. Refreshing Waterfall Mist conditioner seems to be a fairly standard scented shampoo for all hairs that does not seem to rely on gimmicks and is ideal for a staple shampoo. Technically, this listing is for a four-pack of this shampoo; the content of the bottles is identical and often there is little price savings on the bulk pack. The 15 fl. oz. bottle is a cylindrical tube bottle with a flip-top lid that is easy enough to open with one hand, sort of. The bottle is not contoured and does get slippery when wet. Indeed, the shape of the bottle might not necessarily be problematic save that when it is wet, there is very little friction on the bottle and it slips from one's hand quite easily.

Even more problematic is the lid. The lid is a standard flip-top lid and so long as the bottle is not wet, there ought to be no problem with using one's thumb to flip the top. The issue, however, is that the top of the bottle is a pressure ring, not a screw on top. What this means is that when one applies pressure to the top to open the spout, the user is almost just as likely to flip the entire top off. This is annoying and my first experience with this problematic aspect involved carrying the bottles; the top came off of one though sheer force of gravity and perhaps the best advice I might give is to hold the bottles by the bottom.

Inside the bottles is Refreshing Waterfall Mist conditioner and it is a light blue opaque gel, which resembles hand cream in its consistency. This conditioner is one of the thicker ones I have encountered and I have managed to make it stretch a little further than usual as a result. The scent is an intriguing sea scent. "Waterfall" is actually a fair name for this scent as this has the scent of water. The best way to describe the scent is that this smells like everything after one surfaces from swimming in a clear freshwater body. The scent is like having the concentrated smell of water up one's nose. The scent is identical to the same-named shampoo (sometimes the conditioners have a complimentary scent; this is not the case with Refreshing Waterfall Mist).

When in the shower and one's nostrils are opened by the steam (I tend to like very hot showers) this conditioner diffuses reasonably well. Thus, in the shower, one has water scented showers, which seems somewhat redundant. The point, I suppose is that this is supposed to make one feel refreshed. I cannot honestly say the conditioner energizes or refreshes me in that way, mostly because I don't go into the experience with that expectation. I find it more soothing than renewing.

When it comes to use, this is a simple conditioner and one need only flip the lid and dispense a small amount into the palm of the hand before applying it to the hair. The Refreshing Waterfall Mist conditioner requires a decent-sized dollop to condition a full head of hair. After one has cleaned their hair with a shampoo and rinsed it out, this may be applied to the hair. I have better than shoulder length hair and it takes approximately a heaping half-dollar-sized blob of conditioner to make it stretch through my mane. Like most conditioners, this does not lather and instead it is applied to the hair and scalp almost like a butter.

In the case of the Refreshing Waterfall Mist, as I've noticed often with conditioners lately, there is about a two-to-one ratio to the shampoo because conditioners do not dilute out from lathering. As a result, the 15 oz. bottle may last only three weeks with daily hair conditionings.

As a conditioner, it works well for the basic concept of a conditioner. Hair is protected, even in harsh environments. Hair that is conditioned daily using this conditioner is less brittle and less susceptible to split ends. What the conditioner does not do is add more bounce or body to hair. This is a fairly standard protecting conditioner, as opposed to a high style conditioner. So long as one knows that going in, it's a fine product.

I tend to like shampoos and conditioners that leave my hair smelling delightful, like whatever scent they have lured me in with. Given that the Refreshing Waterfall Mist Shampoo barely smelled like anything outside water to begin with, it was a bit of a surprise that it left a scent on my hair after it was rinsed out. I attended a concert last night and sat next to a smoker and when I returned home and began writing this review, I put my ponytail to my nose and I was surprised to find it smelled like this conditioner! This was even more surprising to me because I have already run out of the shampoo (damn fall-off top!) and so the only thing that would be leaving my hair smelling this way was this conditioner!

As it stands, Refreshing Waterfall Mist works fine as a day to day conditioner that will protect your hair, but for those looking for a bold scent or actual restorative or hair-type-altering qualities, this is not the conditioner for you.

This is a remarkably average conditioner.

For other Suave conditioners, please check out my reviews of:
Tropical Coconut
Fresh Mountain Strawberry
Ocean Breeze
Juicy Apple
Orchid Petal
Suave Professionals Rosemary Mint Conditioner

5/10

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Seventeen Episodes Of Crude Humor Almost Sell It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Seasons 1 & 2 On DVD!

The Good: Moments that are riotously funny, Danny DeVito, Moments of character, Daring quality, Price
The Bad: Very crude humor, Lack of character, Some of the acting.
The Basics: With seventeen episodes on three discs It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia presents a poorly-acted sitcom with hilarious shock value.


It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is a tough sell on DVD, though I will admit I enjoy watching it when it's on and I'm around a set that has cable. Now out on DVD as It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia - Seasons 1 and 2, is a shaky seventeen episode sitcom that trades on its vulgar humor and ability to shock. The show starts out with a daring, if somewhat vile, quality and progresses into something that is remarkably standard, if still edgy in its content. This FX comedy illustrates that the satellite network to Fox, is interested in producing daring comedies as well as their edgy dramas like Nip/Tuck.

Over three discs, this boxed set explores the owners of Paddy's Bar in Philadelphia. Two mid-twentysomethings and their two friends own and operate the bar while finding themselves getting into outrageous situations. Their problems are exacerbated by the appearance of Frank, the father of twins Dennis and Dee when he divorces their mother. He falls in with the slob, Charlie, and soon is misbehaving with the gang. Accompanied by Mac, the gang finds themselves getting into trouble, usually involving drinking, gambling and/or illegal activities.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is a sitcom that is not afraid to go where many other comedies are afraid to. The series opens with Paddy's being turned into a gay bar, which pits two of the gang who are neglected by the gay clientele against the other two, one who gets attention (which he's happy with despite not being gay) and one who's thrilled over the money they are making. In similarly edgy or depraved episodes, the show explores the abortion debate, has a character trying to get sympathy sex by claiming he has cancer, having Paddy's becoming a safe haven for underage drinkers, and finding one of the characters in an ethical bind over a fraudulent child molestation lawsuit. As well, Frank pops up and buys into the bar after the others go on a jihad against a Middle Eastern neighbor, the twins try a welfare scam, and they try to get rich by running for public office with the intent to get bribed.

This is not highbrow humor. Indeed, this is something very far from it. The show deserves credit for being edgy and it often is funny. So, for example, in the episode "Charlie Got Molested," when it appears that Charlie may have been victimized by his high school gym coach, the show rapidly becomes complex and surprisingly funny for a show trading on molestation humor. Dee and Dennis, who have studied psychology, stage an intervention where they try to force Charlie into admitting he was victimized. Charlie, for his part, suspects who is making the accusation and is mortified to discover they got the idea to sue the coach from one of Charlie's drunken rants! And Mac becomes obsessed with trying to get the coach to molest him now as an adult because he feels like he was left out and not attractive enough as a kid for the coach to molest.

The Mac part of the storyline turns the show from something that is on the edge of good taste well over the line and into territory that is disturbing, yet hilarious. Many of the episodes end up that way and the truth is the show manages to be funny.

What it doesn't succeed with is much of anything else. Honestly, almost no one looks to comedies for their moral center and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is unapologetic in its ruthless humor. The problem is, most of it hinges on the characters being self-centered slackers. The bulk of the humor in these episodes comes from most of the characters being lazy, self-involved and out only to better themselves. They generally do not look out for one another and as a result, they have no problem with scheming against one another. The last show I truly enjoyed that did that was Arrested Development and that was far smarter and classier in its execution than this show.

What drove me into the series was Danny DeVito, who begins his tenure on the show beginning with the second season premiere. DeVito plays Frank and it's a sufficiently different role from his prior ones to keep me watching. No, this is not DeVito reprising his role from Taxi and it's certainly different from his eccentric turn as the Penguin in Batman Returns (reviewed here!). Here DeVito is more subdued - until his character is angry - and actually has moments where he seems to be trying to learn the slacker lifestyle. It does not come naturally to Frank and it does not come instantly to DeVito. He lends the show some credibility and sense of perspective. And, as the seasons progress, it is DeVito who is increasingly given some of the show's best lines. DeVito's sense of comic timing is more seasoned than the rest of the cast, which is in its mid-twenties and his appearance changes the tenor some, giving it some points for acting at least.

The series does not have the most impressively defined characters and part of the problem with It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is that because they are mostly morally ambiguous and out for their own gain, they are almost universally unlikable. And while the Bluth family in Arrested Development was unlikable from a human standpoint, they were entertaining and they made some sense. The denizens of Paddy's just seem like a stereotype about young people these days and it does not ring quite as true. The principles of the show include:

Dee Reynolds - Dennis's twin sister. She drinks a lot and is a bartender at Paddy's. She has not finished college, though she took courses that had her geared up for a psychology degree, and is trying hard to find acting gigs in Philly. She takes acting classes and meets a lot of men, though she ends up single constantly either because of who she is hitting on or because of her own issues,

Dennis Reynolds - Dee's twin brother and one of the co-owners of Paddy. He is a college graduate and generally the most successful of the gang. Despite being exceptionally narcissistic and a liar (actually all of the principles in this series are liars), he is open-minded and sometimes even tries to do the right thing. As part of a welfare scam, he ends up trying crack with Dee, which gets them condemned to the worst work at the bar,

Mac - A co-owner of Paddy's and childhood friend of Charlie. He is gullible, his father is in jail on drug charges, and he is awkward with women and claims to be spiritual, despite being somewhat short tempered,

Charlie Kelly - A co-owner of Paddy's and long-time friend of Mac, he's given the worst jobs around the bar. Often disheveled and living in a gross apartment, he is ill-informed, illiterate and the most overt liar of the bunch. He spends much time lusting after a waitress,

and Frank Reynolds - Dennis and Dee's father, he has a lot of money following his divorce from their mother. Frank planned to do good with his fortune but decided he'd rather emulate his kids and their self-absorbed lifestyle. When the opportunity presents itself, he buys into the bar, moves in with Charlie and schemes to destroy his ex-wife while starting a gambling ring at the bar.

None of the characters are particularly likable and they are certainly not easy to empathize with. The show frequently illustrates terrible consequences to the lies, schemes and indifference of the main characters, but in this boxed set there are no episodes that focus well on the consequences to those peripheral to their machinations. Sure, Charlie might get his comeuppance in one episode, but those he hurt along they way just stay hurt and inconsequential after their departure from the episode. It makes it quite difficult to like any of the characters.

The other half of that is in the performances. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia does not have a magic cast. Instead, Glenn Howerton (Dennis), Kaitlin Olson (Dee), Rob McElhenney (Mac) and Charlie Day (Charlie) fill their roles but do not add anything distinctive or interesting to their characters. Indeed, there are moments in both seasons where they either completely telegraph their jokes or they miss the beats to make their performances carry any real humor. In short, the performances are not as funny as they could be and that drags the show down some.


On DVD, the series looks good, at least. Bonus features include commentary tracks on a few of the episodes, outtakes, two featurettes, a "making a scene" special and clips from the original pilot that was used to sell the series. There are no deleted scenes and while the featurettes are informative, they are not earthshattering. This is about all one might expect from a series that very few people have yet heard of or seen.

In the final analysis, it's a tough sell. Those who like Strangers With Candy are likely to find the humor in this appealing. If you're looking for something a little more highbrow or less . . . well, filthy, this boxed set will not fit the bill.

For other works with audacious humor, check out my takes on:
Family Guy Presents Partial Terms Of Endearment
The Hangover Part II
Glee Season Two, Volume One

6/10

For other television reviews, be sure to visit my index page that has organized listings of all the television sets I have reviewed by clicking here!

© 2011, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.





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All The Free Fluff One Could Ask For: Syracuse New Times Leaves Me Unimpressed.

The Good: Occasional freebies/exclusive coupons
The Bad: Very addy, Reviews tend to be uninsightful, Fluffy articles.
The Basics: Disappointing and more packed with ads than substance, the Syracuse New Times is pretty much a waste of paper.


Have you ever seen those free newspapers that look like inserts from bigger newspapers that are given out in trendy spots? Ever wondered who reads them and why? Well, the Syracuse New Times is one such newspaper; it is a (in newspaper terms) half-page, magazine-format newspaper designed to keep young, hip people in Syracuse, New York up-to-date on the goings on in Syracuse. Unencumbered by anything remotely heavy, the Syracuse New Times is a weekly publication that can be found free throughout Syracuse, New York.

For those who comment on my verbosity, I'm trying something with this look at the "Syracuse New Times;" a quick pan. This newspaper impresses me week after week with just how little substance can be packed in alongside advertisements and classified ads. The forty-eight page magazine is a newsprint magazine (the analogy to a newspaper insert is quite a good one) and over half of the magazine is classified ads and advertisements for restaurants and clubs in Syracuse. Geared toward the college town crowd, this publication is easily found downtown and informs readers - through the ads - who is performing at what clubs in the city and which new clubs are opening.

In between the drink night specials advertised are fluffy, light diction articles that are focused on local entertainment, food and drink and reviews from people who seldom like anything but the most obscure works. The Syracuse New Times is supposed to be the pulse of Syracuse to help those in the city organize their leisure time, but it reads more like an alternative newspaper with music reviews of local c.d.s or alternative radio type albums; mainstream artists only have their music reviewed when they are coming to Syracuse and have a new disc out.

Similarly, the movie reviewer for the Syracuse New Times alternates between gushing over the current blockbusters and leaving the reader with absolutely no impression how a movie is. She is excellent at encapsulating plot, but she makes no distinction between good casting and good acting and when she is not busy recommending whatever film is going to be number one at the box office that weekend anyway, she writes plot-heavy reviews that do not qualify a film. This leaves the reader with little impression as to her reviews and whether or not a movie is actually worth going to see; it is almost as if she is afraid to lose her free screening passes by actually panning movies she does not like, so she simply avoids writing about how a film is.

The food and drink critics seem to be mixed; they have a great eye for acknowledging what is trendy and current and they always seem to know the new hot spots in Syracuse. This makes the magazine a useful resource for those coming to Syracuse looking for somewhere to go. The magazine also critiques some of the nicer restaurants in Syracuse and those tend to be useful as well (though they often go to places I cannot afford!). But some of the reviews focus overly on drinking, appealing more to the college crowd than me (as a teetotaler). In general, the weekly food guide is decent for getting an idea of a new place to try. The reviewers there at least tend to have a discriminating palate.

Unfortunately, the food reviews are perhaps a page out of the entire magazine and the rest of the magazine is filled with relative fluff. Articles include things like beach guides for local beaches, video game previews for the next month, and interviews with performers coming for stage productions coming to the Syracuse stage. The interviewers seldom ask tough questions of the people being interviewed or even questions that have not been asked (when it is a major celebrity coming to Syracuse) that fans couldn't find elsewhere.

With about ten pages of substance - it's tough to call it "substance" when the ten pages of articles are spread out among the first twenty pages of the magazine and interspersed with advertisements - the Syracuse New Times then degenerates into simple lists. The bulk of the weekly magazine is filled with current "events;" local musical acts and what bars they are playing at, book signings (on the rare times there are in Syracuse!), the week's theater events, and listings of local sporting events. The lists are very basic "who, what, when, where, cost" listings and there is little sense of organization - outside chronological order to the listings.

The lists are followed by classified ads, which are pretty standard classifieds: missing items, relationship ads, job and apartment listings, etc. All that separates the listings from the classified ads are the boxes around each classified. Given how addy the paper is anyway, it's tough to get through anything after the first few pages. The only reason I pick one up occasionally is that the Syracuse New Times gives away free movie tickets occasionally. I've never won them, but I keep trying!

It's too bad the paper is wasted for so little substance. Not a good read, the Syracuse New Times is ideal for travelers or college students looking to find where the young, "cool" people are in Syracuse at any given night. For those of us past that part of our lives, it's easy to pass this magazine by.

For other magazines reviewed by me, please check out my take on:
Catholic Digest
Consumer Reports
Star Wars Insider

3/10

For other book and magazine reviews, please be sure to check out my index page on the subject!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

Data's Witless Exploration Of Romance Is "In Theory"

The Good: Interesting special effects, Good acting
The Bad: Fragmented, Poor character development, Predictability
The Basics: "In Theory" is a necessary step in Data's character development as he falls in love and lets the audience down with the backwards step he takes in the process.


Fans of Star Trek The Next Generation had the opportunity to enjoy a great deal of character growth with Data, the android crewmember of the starship Enterprise. There were certain milestones which are obvious and we, as viewers, come to expect: Data's defining his existence, Data's first pet, Data's first genuine emotion, etc. "In Theory" was the first chance the writers of Star Trek The Next Generation had to have Data's first real romance.

"In Theory" finds Data getting involved with Lieutenant Jenna D'Sora, a mousy security officer who has - apparently - been Data's friend for some time. Recently broken up from a boyfriend, she latches onto Data with romantic feelings. Feeling it is time for him to grow, Data designs a romantic subroutine specifically for Jenna and himself and they develop a relationship. As they grow together, the Enterprise enters a dark matter nebula and begins to experience problems. The episode progresses with a scientific anomaly being investigated while Data explores the nature of romance.

"In Theory" marks the directoral debut of Patrick Stewart and it is somewhat unfortunate that he drew this episode. In essence, this was an episode that was bound to happen (it was alluded to in "Ensigns Of Command" in the third season), but it could have been done quite a bit better. The main flaw of this piece is that it completely neglects the character development Data has had for almost four years. The resolution to the episode involves one of the single most insensitive and poorly conceived lines of the series.

That line, delivered from Data to Jenna as an acknowledgment of where their relationship has gone, entirely negates the sensitivity Data has illustrated at other times in the series. This is a huge disappointment given how very important Data acknowledges romance to be in other episodes. So, this episode we have been anticipating, where Data makes another significant leap forward, it ruined by writing which reverts Data to a more insensitive, more mechanical android than he has been.

Add to the ridiculous regression of Data the entire fragmentation of the storyline. When the romantic plot runs thin, the scientific anomaly of the nebula dominates and when it becomes obvious that that plot cannot hold itself, it abruptly ends and the romantic plot takes back over. So where there is usually a nice blending of a-plot and b-plot, here they are kept almost entirely segregated and the episode flows in a very inorganic way. Indeed, the episode does not flow and it has the feeling of sticking together two plots that do not belong together. The truth is, the way the plots are presented, neither one could have sustained an entire episode. "In Theory" feels like the plots are unable to sustain themselves and that feeling throughout the episode is as incongruent as Data dating D'Sora.

The only part of the episode that makes real sense is the predictability of it. What happens to Data and D'Sora's relationship, while it's easy to see it coming, it makes sense because of how little the two characters have in common.

The special effects in the dark matter nebula are decent and they add an air of creepiness to that whole plot.

All that saves this episode from being a one out of ten is the acting. Patrick Stewart did a fine job directing, but he got a lame script to work with and that worked to his detriment. Brent Spiner does fine as Data and even with the ridiculous character twists, he makes Data interesting to watch by utilizing an amazing command of his body and facial expressions. Colm Meany and Rosalind Chao play the O'Briens with enthusiasm and humor and it's especially nice to see them again.

Michelle Scarabelli is the standout, infusing Jenna D'Sora with a level of humanity and depth that is otherwise lacking from the episode. Scarabelli makes us believe in D'Sora long enough to hold our interest for the parts of the episode she is present in.

In the end, though, even Scarabelli's performance is not enough to save "In Theory." It's a listless, backwards episode that could have been done much better. Fortunately, Patrick gets his chance to deliver better and Data's exercise of romance is not repeated.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete Fourth Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the fourth season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

3/10

For other Star Trek episode, movie or boxed set reviews, please be sure to visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2007, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.





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Inaction Figures That Leave Us Wanting Something More: Senator Palpatine.

The Good: Well detailed, Good balance, Interesting accessories
The Bad: Severely limited poseability, Massively overproduced.
The Basics: While it looks realistic and balances well, Senator Palpatine is a tough toy to get excited about, even for fans of the Star Wars saga.


On The Simpsons, there was a parody of The Phantom Menace that illustrated well the deep sense of dissatisfaction with the overbearing political nature of that Star Wars film. Stripped of the fantasy and epic sense, the movie was more a series of fairly lame political machinations that collapsed when anyone stood against them. Of course, it was a cunning power grab that began the downfall of the Republic, but it is still a tough sell to viewers who grew up on the original Star Wars Trilogy. So, to make figures of the politicians, even the principle ones like Senator Palpatine, is pretty much bound to only please the serious collectors. And now that the mania surrounding The Phantom Menace is a decade behind us, it is much easier to look at the phenomenon objectively. Let's start with admitting that Hasbro released some pretty lame action figures. One of them was the pegwarmer Senator Palpatine.

Senator Palpatine, who utilizes the trade blockade of the planet he represents, Naboo, to ascend to the Chancellorship of the Galactic Republic in The Phantom Menace (reviewed here!) is essentially a politician. For sure, he is the most important politician seen in the Star Wars Saga, but this is like collecting the "Swiftboat" John Kerry as opposed to the Senator or Presidential Candidate figures of the same. Fleshing out the obscure corners of the Star Wars toy universe, Senator Palpatine impressed few collectors upon his release and now sits dusty wherever toys go unsold.

This 4" Senator Palpatine figure is generally decent, but it is the least inspired of the Palpatine figures. For sure, it fleshes out the full Star Wars universe fairly well, but how many Palpatines can one play with at any one time? As well, posed as he is, this is a figure that is limited to strongly disagreeing with resolutions on the Senate floor and not much more. Ultimately, it ends up as a pretty average action figure who is then hampered by his own costume to plunge his enduring value down.

Basics

Senator Palpatine in this form is a blue robed, pointing politician from any of the few scenes he was in in The Phantom Menace. He stands flatfooted with slightly flexible robes and a left hand molded with the index finger extended. He has a slightly furrowed brow and looks all right.

The Senator Palpatine figure stands only 3 3/4" tall, reminding toy enthusiasts and children that you don't need to be all that tall to take over the galaxy if you're sufficiently conniving! Senator Palpatine is appropriately coifed in robes and boots with a friendly uncle appearance to him. This figure is made of a combination of hard plastic - the main body and limbs are solid - and has soft plastic robes. The figure is cast the hard plastic, then colored appropriately.

This toy is a decent sculpt, capturing the facial features of Ian McDiarmid quite well. However, while the robes are detailed with padding and button details, the facial features are slightly simplified and details that later figures would capture, like fingernails, are not cast into this toy.

Accessories

Senator Palpatine, being a Senator and politician, requires very few accessories. As a result, this figure comes with a Senate Cam Droid and the standard CommTech chip for this series of figure. The Senate Cam Droid is a tiny (5/8" in diameter) disc-shaped choking hazard that realistically recreates the floating droids that capture all of the action of the Galactic Senate when its members debate. This tiny droid is attached (but may easily be detached from) to a three-inch tall translucent plastic base that allows those with even limited imagination to imagine the droid is hovering in midair. On its own, this accessory falls right over, but it may be placed in Senator Palpatine's right hand to appear to be videoing him or whatever he wants it to look at. This is both a pointless accessory and the only one a Senator Palpatine figure could realistically have.

The other accessory is a CommTech Chip. For the "Episode I" figure line, Hasbro toyed with action figures that spoke to those who took them out of the package. Thus, each figure came with a chip that featured an image of the character and a voice chip. When placed on the CommTech reader and read, the CommTech player would play dialogue from Senator Palpatine on it. This chip has such phrases as Palpatine saying "The Republic is not what it once was," "The senate is full of greedy, squabbling delegates," and "You see your Majesty, they will elect a new chancellor." Great moments in Star Wars politics!

Playability

The four inch toy line was designed for play, but Senator Palpatine is terribly lame in that regard. This is not a literal thing, the Senator Palpatine figure is fairly well-balanced when in a flatfooted position, even though he looks like he is speaking while about to run. Even with the Senate Cam Droid in his right hand, he is pretty balanced. However, moving his feet even slightly out of a flatfooted position completely mortgages his stability. Not to worry, the casting of this figure makes his leg articulation pointless; the stiff vest Palpatine wears under his robe descends just enough to prevent the legs from moving with anything remotely resembling realistic leg movement. This Senator Palpatine cannot kick, but one might imagine moving his legs to stamp in an annoyed fashion.

Despite having the flexible robes, Senator Palpatine is a poor figure as far as poseability goes. He is graced with only six points of articulation and that is a huge letdown considering the overall quality of the figure. The lowered flexibility pretty much mandates collectors pose the figure in very set ways. Senator Palpatine, as an action figure, has joints at the groin socket, shoulders, neck and waist (mid-torso, actually). There is no articulation in the knees or ankles, which matters less considering that the thigh joint can barely be moved. As well, this politician may rotate his full, straight arms, but nothing else. The result is a figure that may rotate slightly and point up and down. Good times for play.

Collectibility

Senator Palpatine is part of the 1998 "Episode I" collection of four-inch action figures. This series of Star Wars action figures was dramatically overproduced and was largely sold in massive clearance bins after the hype over the movie had died down. As a result, Senator Palpatine may be found exceptionally easily even now on the secondary market for less than the original issue price. In other words, this Senator Palpatine is a poor investment and is more ideal for collectors and children who actually want a Senator Palpatine to play with!

Overview

Senator Palpatine is a fair idea, poorly executed for play and overproduced for collectibility. If you're buying a lot of figures and there is a Palpatine in it, it might be decent to keep is, but otherwise this is not a Star Wars figure worth going out of your way for. At all.

For other Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace action figures reviewed by me, please check out my reviews of:
Deluxe Darth Maul with Sith Speeder
Gasgano with Pit Droid
TC-14
Destroyer Droid

4.5/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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Someone Really Jumped The Gun With The Best Of Pete Seeger!

The Good: Good vocals, Some lyrics
The Bad: Musically bland, SHORT, Not all Seeger's best, Some truly annoying presentations.
The Basics: Fifty years of singing and songwriting is reduced to nine poorly-recorded tracks that Pete Seeger fans will quickly tire of. Easy to avoid!


No one can reduce the career of Pete Seeger, who has been recording albums for over fifty years, to a single disc with only nine tracks, call it The Best Of Pete Seeger and be taken seriously. That's the bottomline and it doesn't matter when this album was originally released, the 1994 Vanguard Records compact disc The Best Of Pete Seeger seeks to do just that. This is a cheap, obvious attempt to capitalize on the commercial viability of Pete Seeger and his music.

Even more insulting than trying to convince . . . well, apparently anyone who has never heard of Pete Seeger or his music, because no true fan of Seeger is going to fall for this! . . . anyone that this album is the best Pete Seeger produced in the forty years (at the time it was released) of his recording career is the fact that only a single song on the album is written by Seeger! As well, one of the tracks is such a chorus of reigning names in folk-rock music that Seeger's voice is drown out after the first few seconds! If you're going to attempt to reduce the vast career of an artist like Pete Seeger to a single disc, it should at least have Seeger performing all of the songs! Vanguard, apparently, did not agree with this concept.

With only nine songs on the c.d. clocking out at a paltry 34:14, The Best Of Pete Seeger is anything but. First, Seeger only wrote a single track on the album and co-wrote another, which is ridiculous considering he is an incredibly prolific singer-songwriter. He was not involved in the production of the album either, so this is mostly the presentation of Pete Seeger as a performer, not an artist. Seeger sings the primary vocals on all but one of the tracks and he plays banjo or guitar on the songs as well. But on "Down By The Riverside," he is merely leading a chorus made up of Odetta, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, Theodore Bikel, Bernice Johnson "and others" (the crediting for this album is terrible!). There is little that is distinctly and uniquely Pete Seeger on The Best Of Pete Seeger and that is just wrong!

As well, on songs like "It Takes A Worried Man" and "Oh Marry Don't You Weep," Seeger is preoccupied with leading the audience in singalongs. The result is that these recordings are not the most inspired or even direct versions of each song. The whole idea of yelling out to an audience seldom works for me on "live" albums and here the little stories Seeger is recorded presenting before "Never Wed An Old Man" and the way he finds different chords for the audience to sing along to in "Oh Mary Don't You Weep" replays poorly. The result is a collection of songs that are hardly as good as they could be in addition to a poor selection of songs.

As for the song selection, this is a ridiculously small sample of songs Pete Seeger performed in his career, in addition to being a poor sample of Seeger as a writer. The album lacks any songs that made Seeger a force to be reckoned with for labor rights. "Where Have All The Flowers Gone," "Oh Mary Don't You Weep" and "Down By The Riverside" are all great antiwar songs, but even with a limited experience with the works of Pete Seeger, there is something seriously lacking to have no songs of environmentalism or pro-labor on this disc.

Vocally, The Best Of Pete Seeger is not Seeger's best recording either. The opening to "Deep Blue Sea" has some almost inaudible talking from Seeger, but beside that the album is generally listenable. This is unfortunate for "Hold Ground" where Seeger yells out the refrain to the audience in a salty voice and it just sounds terrible. Outside that, the album is dominated by Seeger's tenor vocals and he clearly sings all of the lines. He yodels on "Never Wed An Old Man" and that is interesting, but not enough to make picking up the album worth it. Vocally, the rendition of "Down By The Riverside" with the full folk chorus is interesting and enjoyable, but still not worth buying the album for.

Usually, I do a lyrical analysis as well, but given that Seeger is only fully responsible for "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" on this album, there hardly seems to be a point. Most of the songs are wanderers folk songs, making observations or telling musical storysongs as opposed to fighting for political change. "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" is, of course, the wonderful song which develops over the stanzas to trace the absence of flowers to the loss of men in war and the presence of flowers at tombs and it remains as clever and timely today as it did when it was first released.

So there, for those who have argued for brevity in my reviews, there it is. Vanguard Records does a huge disservice to the life, voice and career of Pete Seeger by releasing The Best Of Pete Seeger, which is not a collection of his best songs - written or presented - and seems more to be a pointless cashgrab.

For other Pete Seeger albums, please check out my reviews of:
American Industrial Ballads
We Shall Overcome: The Complete Carnegie Hall Concert June 8, 1963
God Bless The Grass

1/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page on the subject for organized lists!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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"Peppermint" Herb Tea By Celestial Seasonings, A Good Tea Less Than One Of Their Others.

The Good: Good mint flavor, Nothing detrimental in the nutrition department, Good aroma
The Bad: Decaffeinated, Needs sugar for best effect
The Basics: A good, though not amazing peppermint tea comes from Celestial Seasonings all natural Peppermint tea.


When I first started reviewing Celestial Seasonings teas, I was so happy to be able to review one of my favorite seasonal teas, "Candy Cane Lane" (reviewed here!) that I rushed right into reviewing it. Now, as I sit down to review Celestial Seasonings regular Peppermint 100% Herb tea, I find myself quite glad that I did. My reason for that joy is simple: the Peppermint tea is good, quite good in fact, but I know there is something better out there.

In all fairness, the Peppermint tea ought to be evaluated on its own, on its own merits and with only its own strengths and weaknesses in mind. Unfortunately, having had a better peppermint tea from Celestial Seasonings, it's hard not to make the comparisons. But to bottomline it up front: Peppermint is a fine tea flavor and I'll gladly drink it by the pot . . . as soon as I run out of Candy Cane Lane.

Basics

Peppermint is a 100% Natural Herb Tea from Celestial Seasonings. As an Herb tea, the ingredients are naturally caffeine free as they never had caffeine in any of them. This is a plus for those looking out for their health as decaffeinating tea is often a process that is less healthy than using naturally caffeine free ingredients. I am still hunting down a mint tea that has caffeine but for the life of me, I can't seem to find the one recommended to me . . .

Peppermint comes in Celestial Seasoning's standard stringless tea bags, which are paired together with easy to separate perforations that allow one to separate the tea bags. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and leave them connected. A box of Peppermint herb tea comes with ten pairs (20 individual) of tea bags.

Ease Of Preparation

Despite being an herb tea, Peppermint is prepared pretty much like a standard black tea. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, thought it cannot be reused well to make a second cup of Peppermint, as there is a significant loss of flavor. The second cup often comes out only about 1/2 as strong as the first, provided the first steeping was not over the recommended time. If the first steeping is longer than that, the second attempt to brew gets even weaker. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well.

To prepare Peppermint herb tea, bring a pot of water to a boil and pour it over the tea bags. Fortunately, the good people at Celestial Seasonings are good enough to remind us in the directions to "pour boiling water over . . . tea bag IN A CUP" (emphasis mine). Presumably, this will keep those of us otherwise inclined to brew tea in our cupped hands from trying that. This tea takes four to six minutes to steep according to the directions and in my experience, it needs the full six minutes to get up to strength. The Peppermint flavor gets no stronger after seven minutes but there is no significant benefit to letting it steep longer than ten minutes.

Taste

Well, the Peppermint tastes like peppermint, which is a plus. Hot and without sugar, Peppermint has a subtle, light minty flavor that brings that special numbness to the tongue that mint is known to do. It also has a slight dull aftertaste of herbs and a standard tea flavor. This is where the necessary comparison to Candy Cane Lane comes in: the Peppermint is good, but its flavor is not as strong as the other tea.

With a single teaspoon of sugar in the mug, this tastes like the aftertaste of, well, a peppermint candy. It's like Candy Cane Lane embodies the candy cane, the peppermint candy and Peppermint represents the aftertaste, the memory seconds later of a peppermint on the tongue. Even more accurately, Peppermint tastes like tea that has been stirred up with a candy cane and imbued with a minty taste as a result.

Cold, the tea is good, though the flavor is more intriguing and minty. Indeed, without a temperature, Peppermint is sharper and has a menthol minty flavor that is delicious. It tends to need sugar when cold to cut the almost bitter mint quality it has otherwise. I'm not sure why the mint flavor overcomes everything else when it's cooled, but it certainly does. I never added milk to this tea, hot or cold, though milk may be added to this tea without any adverse effects (at least in terms of chemical composition).

Nutrition

The ingredients to this tea, rather refreshingly, start with peppermint, which is doubtless why that is the dominant flavor of the tea. Considering it is the ONLY ingredient, it makes one wonder why the tea tastes less strongly peppermint than Candy Cane Lane or why there is a vaguely tea flavor to it, but there you have it. The only ingredient is peppermint, it's simple enough.

In terms of nutrition, this tea is devoid of it. One 8 oz. mug of this tea provides nothing of nutritional value to the drinker. There are no calories (save what one adds from sugar, which I recommend), no fat, sodium, or protein and no caffeine. This is not a tea where caffeine in the tea will wake the drinker up, but the mint flavor just might!

Storage/Clean-up

Peppermint Herb tea is very easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. The tea itself might stain a mug if it is left there for days on end, but otherwise may be cleaned up easily by rinsing out the vessel. Of note is that this tea will leave an aftertaste in the mouth or in a cup, so if you clean out a mug by simply swishing water through it, odds are your next cup of whatever will have a hint of mint to it.

Overall

Peppermint would have lived up to what I expect from a mint tea, had I not had Candy Cane Lane first. It's good, it will leave the person drinking it feeling warm and refreshed and it has a distinct aroma that will remind one of a childhood peppermint patch, but it's just not as strong and enduring a mint flavor as the other Celestial Seasoning option.

Anyone who likes mint tea will likely enjoy this one.

For other Celestial Seasonings tea reviews, please check out:
Honey Vanilla White Tea Chai
Decaf Mint Green Tea
Acai Mango Zinger

6.5/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.




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