Christine Miguel's Blog

Posted by Christine Miguel

* Some of these are old-ish as the press release was lost among the clean up when I rearranged my office these past couple of weeks.

Note-worthy releases:

Remington Steele: Seasons Four and Five: Final two seasons of all 27 episodes on 5 disc DVD set.

Special features: Commentary by co-creator Michael Gleason and producers plus 6 Steele featurettes.

The Addams Family (1964) - Volume One: Relive the freaky family in all 22 episodes on the 3 disc DVD set.

Special features: 2 Featurettes, Audio commentary on selected episodes and theme song Karaoke version. *snap snap*

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964) - Season Two, Volume One: 13 episodes on 3 disc DVD set.

Special features: Special effects footage (from the 60s) and 3 Art/ Photo Galleries.

M*A*S*H (1983) - Season 11: All 15 episodes including the feature length series finale that broke the ratings record.

Special features: You have an option to TURN OFF the laugh track. - classic

Posted by Christine Miguel

Over this past weekend, I found myself in an Asian Mall that I hadn't visited in awhile.

Notorious for getting raided on a fairly weekly basis, the last time I went they were literally selling them out of CD spindles - completely In-your-face-and-not-hiding-it bootlegs. - No Jewel cover - just artwork burned on the disc themselves. However, I must say, they rank quite high on the customer service level as they tell you exactly how good the quality of the film is on the disc ... just so you know what you're buying.

In perhaps the most crowded of bootleg shops, the last time I ventured in they were selling TV dramas in baggies - yes - baggies ... now they've apparently stepped it up and packaged them fairly nicely in plastic boxes wrapped in cellophane. I decided to pick one up as it was a rare title and for 18 episodes on 10 discs for $35 - it's definitely better than my last purchasing experience. See previous blog entry.

So half expecting the discs to have purple undersiding, I was shocked to find a dual layer pressed DVD, plus DVD artwork insert.

.... No ... it couldn't be ... could it?

As far as I can tell, it's no different than a DVD purchased from Amazon. According to the box artwork, the series is distributed by STARS ... (from Hong Kong I think - I tried googling and came up with links to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) and when you play the disc, the distribution is by KBS Media - its origin network.

The weird part about this is, is that upon doing net research as to how much others are charging, I payed less than 70 - 75% of the retail value. - And of course, I can't find the exact release that contains 10 Discs.

When they said 'Slick packaging' ... they really meant it didn't they?

So the only downfall of this entire experience are the English subtitles, as they do not extend to the bonus features. My proficiency in Korean has greatly improved, however I still am not able to order anything off a menu without the waitress laughing at me.

Posted by Christine Miguel

In my quest to track down a rare foreign title with decent English subtitles, I found an obscure site that was advertizing the title I was looking for. Blind and exhausted in my search I almost immediately wired the money to the 'dealer' located in the Philippines only to recieve back ... burned DVD-R of the titles.

I'm too embarrassed to share with you how much I paid for it, only to say, I'd never do something like that again. It was, however, an experience I'll never forget.

I had previously looked EVERYWHERE for it; Combed through Asian Malls, Surfed the Net through online retailers and Ebay searching for the existence of one copy ... I only needed one copy.

I happened upon a message board that posted up lists and lists of titles people were wanting to trade and share with other users. That should've been my first clue that it wasn't going to be wrapped in cellophane. But like a junkie needing a fix, I was a collector hot on the trail of my latest find, another trophy to add to my proud collection ... and to me, it was within my reach.

Now, granted because the DVD-Rs DID have the title with fairly descent English subtitles, I was still able to enjoy the program. It doesn't change the fact that I feel very very cheated. Note to self; stay away from the message boards.

Posted by Christine Miguel

My co-host from our radio show informed me that Joy Sales, an HK DVD distributor has acquired a number of Fortune Star titles which they will be remastering and re-translating all the English subtitles to represent better its intended meaning.

Among the first of the batch are films 1-3 of culture-clash film Her Fatal Ways about a police woman in Mainland China sent to capitalist city Hong Kong to solve a crime.

It's a hilarious, over-the-top film classic that anyone with a wry sense of humour should take in once. I'm going to run out an buy a copy very soon.

Posted by Christine Miguel

I remember when it all started; Thanksgiving 2004.

My cousin-in-law who had just come back from the Philippines brought with her VCDs of a Taiwanese soap Meteor Garden subtitled in English. My cousin insisted I watch it and sent me on my way with the 4 episodes.

They sat for about a week while I cringed at the thought that they would be less than the North American dramatic standard I was accustomed to.

Boy was I completely wrong.

I watched all 4 episodes in one sitting and ended up in an Asian Mall crawling the stores for English subtitled versions to no avail. But thanks to the Korean TV drama wave that has been hitting the US, Asian TV DVDs are much more accessible through online retailers.

Bless the Internet.