Engine Sentai Go-Onger (2008-09)

Eden of the East: The Definitive Collection (2011)

Saki Morimi is a young woman who's soon to leave University. She and her friends are fearful of becoming NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training). The economic state of Japan needs the youth to pull them out of a fix, but, with so many NEETs around, the older generation are reluctant to let go of the reins.

Japan needs a saviour, so twelve people are secretly chosen to attempt the task, but there can only be one winner and there's a severe penalty for those that fail.

Akira Takizawa is number IX. Akira has no memory of who he is or why he's naked by the side of the road in a foreign country. More worryingly, he's no memory of the "game" in which he's a part and the clock is ticking.

The first half a dozen episodes each reveal a new aspect of the game or its players. Inside that reveal it effectively deepens the mystery surrounding the event, but everything is from the perspective of people who don't really know what’s going on, and as viewers neither do we. We're in the dark for too long and when the lights do come on the room isn't as exciting as I imagined it would be.

Part of the problem was that I was focussing too much on the mysterious organisation, trying to understand its goals, whereas it's the relationship of the two leads that deserves closer attention. So I stopped and went back to the beginning. I enjoyed it more the second time.

11 episodes, approx 24 mins each + 2 movies: Movie I: The King of Eden, approx 82 minutes; and Movie II: Paradise Lost, approx 92 minutes.

The box contains a third movie titled Compilation: Air Comminication. It’s a two hour recap of the series using footage from the 11 episodes with a new narration by Saki. It was designed to be watched before the two movies if you'd not seen the series or had forgotten stuff. Its inclusion is redundant, but it was cheaper to use the existing single release discs than press new ones, so it remains.

3 default states out of 5

Empire Sq (2007)

The blurb on the back of the DVD box states: There was a time when the people of your community knew your name, knew your family and they'd stop you in the street to talk about everything and nothing... Thank fuck those days are gone.
Featuring corpse-sex, monkey shaving, bum-love, super-heroes smashed to death on pavements, electric shock therapy, crack-whore surgery, swan eating... etc.

Sounds like fun. It isn't. Comedy can be offensive and still be comedy. Empire Sq is just offensive. Even the retro-cool pixel animation is appallingly bad.

12 episodes, approx 3 minutes each. Short but still too long.

0 out of 5

Everybody Loves Raymond: Season 1 (1996)

Comedian Ray Romano heads this traditional sitcom about sportswriter Ray Barone and his colorful family life in Long Island, New York. The title is coined in the pilot by jealous brother Robert (fellow comedian Brad Garrett) from a place of envy and sarcasm. Ray's wife Debra (Patricia Heaton) is a fleshed-out representation of a genuine homemaker who must handle three young children and the daily intrusions of her in-laws who live right across the street. The source of most of the conflict and comedy generate from Ray's parents (the oil & water pairing of Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle) who infest every facet of their son's life.

Like most great comedy it comes from truth as the writers add a spin on their daily happenings. To date I have seen every episode of Everybody Loves Raymond and it is interesting to see the transformations from season one to nine. Romano, not an actor, struggles in certain dramatic situations but with the aid of a strong supporting cast and a role written as close to his real life as possible, he succeeds. Early on his profession is exploited too much with a collective who's-who of sports guest stars. As the series progresses it becomes obvious that home is where the laughs reside as they do in my favorite season 1 episode "The Game" when the family attempts a board game because the cable is out.

As creator Phil Rosenthal has commented, the writers take responsibility and portray a sitcom suitable for the family but this certainly does not add any water-downed stigma. Everybody Loves Raymond creates comedy from colorful family life and while the show would continue to grow greater, this is where the laughs started.

Buyer's Guide:
Available as a 5 disc boxset containing episodes 1-22

3 chin touches out of 5