The Chronic Consumer

I was a huge fan of the Moonlighting TV series when it was on in the late ’80s, and have wanted to grab the DVD collection for quite a while now. I picked up Seasons 1 and 2 when the combo set was first released a couple years ago, but I was so disappointed in the result that I took my time buying Season 3. Unfortunately, the disappointment continues with this box set as well.

First of all, this isn’t going to be a review of the episodes themselves. I’m just talking about the DVD collection here. For such a beloved, popular show that did some really cutting-edge stuff on primetime television two decades ago, this is a pretty cheesy box set. From the cheap packaging to the distinct lack of worthwhile extras, I can’t believe that this is the way I’ll be forced to remember Moonlighting .

There were only 16 episodes produced in Season 3, so this collection consists of four discs in plastic holders within a flimsy cardboard shell. Each disc is printed with the face of a main character against the backdrop of a gray moon: Maddie Hayes on Disc One, David Addison on Disc Two, Anges DiPesto on Disc Three, and Herbert Viola on Disc Four. There’s also a scant two-page printed guide telling you which episodes are on each disc.

There are just a couple of extra features included in this collection: audio commentary for four episodes (“Big Man on Mulberry Street”, “Atomic Shakespeare”, “The Straight Poop”, and “Sam and Dave”) and a 28-minute segment called “Memories of Moonlighting”.

I haven’t listened to the commentaries yet, so I won’t say anything about those, but I did see the “Memories of Moonlighting” featurette. That was pretty good, except that I wish Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd had had more to say. As it is, creator/producer Glenn Gordon Caron and other execs dominate the segment — and they mostly just talk about how the show was constantly plagued by production delays and how the network was constantly on their butts to get more episodes out. Kind of boring, really.

Anyway, as a Moonlighting fan, I’m glad that I have all these episodes at my fingertips and can relive Maddie and Dave’s adventures whenever I want. But at the same time, I can’t help but be a little sad that there wasn’t a lot more to this collection. Hell, I’d pay up for a really nice Moonlighting box set with all five seasons and tons of extras, and I think many other people would too. I guess it’s just too bad that we’ll never have that option!

Now that my son is learning to read, I’ve been trying to accumulate a small library of books that he can call his own. That’s why I thought it would be fun to buy him the “65 Years of Little Golden Books” box set, featuring six favorites from the classic collection. I grew up with Little Golden Books myself, so this can also fall under the heading of Nostalgia Purchase.

Anyway, the six books in this collection are: The Poky Little Puppy, Tootle, The Saggy Baggy Elephant, Tawny Scrawny Lion, Scruffy the Tugboat, and The Shy Little Kitten. In addition, the box set includes a blank book so kids can create their own story.

I was a bit surprised at how cheap these Little Golden Books looked and felt. They’re not even cut properly, so the pages end up sticking out beyond the covers, which is kind of annoying. I don’t think they were like this when I was a kid!

Otherwise, however, the stories and illustrations are just as interesting as ever, and I’m glad to say that my son loves all of the books already. We’ve read through them several times, and he always picks up something new on each pass through.

Overall, I think the 65 Years of Little Golden Books collection is a decent value. You get six books plus the blank one (which, frankly, I don’t think we’re going to use) for around $20, and they come in a box that helps keep them organized. I recommend buying this set — and as long as you don’t expect anything fancy in return, you won’t be disappointed!