Author: Robert Greenberger

By Dayton Ward

June 1983: It was right around the end of my sophomore year of high school when some friends and I did what we often did on a Saturday: head to the nearby Cineplex to catch a movie. We’d already done our duty as Star Wars fans and taken in multiple screenings of Return of the Jedi along with viewings of Lone Wolf McQuade, Psycho II (we had to sneak into this one thanks to its “R” rating), and even Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone. Not much of the remaining fare tickled our fancy, except for one flick that we’d somehow missed to that point: Blue Thunder.

A movie about a super-advanced helicopter that seemed like it could be the flying cousin of KITT from Knight Rider, with that guy from Jaws (and Jaws 2!) as its pilot? Sure, we were in (we had to sneak into this one, too), and the film proved entertaining enough to wile away that particular Saturday afternoon. At that age, with VCRs still out of reach for normal peasants like me, I don’t think I saw it again until is showed up on one of the cable movie channels or even broadcast TV, and I do remember renting it when it arrived in one of the approximately 1,500 video rental stores which seemed to pop up in Tampa in the mid-1980s.

As a teenager with a job after school, I wasn’t watching a lot of television at that point, so I was only peripherally aware of Blue Thunder’s television spin-off when it premiered on ABC in early January 1984 with hopes of capitalizing on the film’s popularity. I was actually more dialed into the launch of Airwolf, which arrived on CBS just two weeks later as a not-at-all subtle attempt to cash in on the apparent fascination with super-cool helicopters. I only saw a handful of episodes of Airwolf in those days, owing to reasons already given, and I never watched a single episode of Blue Thunder. Indeed, I’d never sampled the series at all until ComicMix came calling with an invitation to review the new Blu-ray complete series set. So, here we are!

First things first: the series is not a sequel or follow-up or even a retelling of the original Blue Thunder film. Like many TV shows spawned from movies (The Odd Couple, M*A*S*H, Planet of the Apes, Fame, to name just a few), it’s a reworking of the film’s basic idea with conventional TV storytelling of the era in mind. Instead of an experimental helicopter designed for covert surveillance and overt response to major incidents such as civilian unrest or terrorism against large-scale public events, Blue Thunder in the series is a loaner from a fictional federal government to the Los Angeles Police Department for use during…well, that’s quite the question, isn’t it? Part police procedural and part 1980s action-adventure. it’s like CHiPs crossed with The A-Team. Despite the occasional “serious” storylines, the show’s approach is much lighter than the movie’s more serious, even ominous plot. Even the theme music in the vein of other upbeat action shows of the day.

Roy Scheider’s Frank Murphy from the movie is replaced by Frank Chaney as portrayed by James Farantino, already a twenty-year veteran of Hollywood whose most recent credits at this point in his career included his role as Commander Richard Owens, executive officer of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Nimitz in the 1980 time travel movie The Final Countdown.

(For those who haven’t yet seen this one, his role is somewhat pivotal. Just sayin’.)

Chaney, like Murphy from the film is also a seasoned helicopter pilot whose career includes service in the Vietnam War. Whereas Murphy’s bouts with post-traumatic stress disorder are a key plot point, Chaney’s wartime past is only mentioned a few times over the course of the show’s brief life and is a relevant point in only a single episode. This is in stark contrast to Chaney’s on-air counterpart, Airwolf’s Stringfellow Hawke, who also flew helicopters in Vietnam. His history, along with that of St. John, his brother, who has been listed as missing in action from the war, influences much of that show’s ongoing storyline.

A young Dana Carvey steps into the role first inhabited by Daniel Stern in the film. Whereas Stern’s Richard Lymangood serves as Murphy’s observer and flight engineer of Blue Thunder’s onboard computer systems, Carvey’s Clinton Wonderlove (really? really?). Even the nickname bestowed upon officers in this role, “JAFO,” has been understandably cleaned up for TV: “Just Another Frustrated Observer.” I leave it to your memory or imagination to decipher what the “F” stands for in the movie. In the beginning, Carvey seems miscast in the role, but as the series progresses, his character manages to have a few decent moments, including one predictable instance of him being forced to pilot Blue Thunder despite having no actual flying experience (Chaney talks him through it, because it really is just that simple, amirite?).

One big deviation from the movie is the addition of two more officers as part of Blue Thunder’s support team, in the form of football players turned actors Dick Butkus and Bubba Smith. As Richard “Ski” Butowksi and Lyman “Bubba” Kelsey, the pair is responsible for “Rolling Thunder,” an oversized van which serves as ground support for Chaney and Wonderlove. Following their NFL careers, Butkus and Smith would each appear in a variety of guest television and film roles over the ensuing decades. Smith is perhaps best known for his multiple turns as Moses Hightower in the Police Academy films. Many of those roles involved football of some kind, including one of personal Butkus favorites, “One of Our Running Backs,” a third-season episode of The Six Million Dollar Man.

Behind the camera, Blue Thunder boasts some very familiar names for fans of TV spanning the 1960s to the 1990s. Roy Huggins, creator of the classic series The Fugitive, served as an executive producer on the series. Jeri Taylor, writer and producer for numerous successful TV series across the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, including Quincy, M.E. and Magnum, P.I. as well as Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager (the latter of which she also co-created), co-wrote the first episode with David Moessinger. In addition to co-writing scripts for (among many other things) classic science fiction films such as Dark Star, the original Alien, The Return of the Living Dead, 1990’s Total Recall, to name a few, as well as the Blue Thunder film, he returned to co-write the series’ third episode. O’Bannon also provided the story for an additional episode and served as executive story consultant for a handful of other installments.

Translating Blue Thunder from a sinister government asset intended for nefarious purposes, as hinted at in the film, to an LAPD loaner wasn’t without its problems, mostly from a standpoint of, “Why is a helicopter with a freaking machine gun patrolling the city’s highways?” The original film offered a glimpse into the more sinister uses to which Blue Thunder and its array of surveillance equipment and weapons could be put. Conversely, the TV series, with rare exceptions, spends nearly every episode making the viewer wonder why such an advanced machine is being employed for comparatively mundane purposes. In 1984, this idea felt quaint, even silly, but in 2026, where modern police forces have availed themselves of all manner of military equipment and tactics? One can’t help but ponder the disturbing possibilities. This only rarely comes up over the course of the series, which is disappointing because the potential for that sort of storytelling seems like it’s right there, waiting.

None of this is helped by low budgets and noticeably subpar production values. One particularly egregious example is the “helipad” that is home to Blue Thunder, which is very obviously a soundstage set when depicted by the Blu-ray’s unforgiving high definition, especially when viewed from the office windows of Chaney’s boss, Captain Braddock.

Aerial photography can be pretty expensive, and the same was true back when the show was in production. In addition to using the same heavily modified Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopter from the film for the flying scenes, the series’ effects team like their movie counterparts also utilized scale models to create footage which could not be safely (or economically) accomplished within the series’ financial constraints. This translates into a lot of closeups of Blue Thunder’s individual components, most notably the machine gun as well as the surveillance cameras and microphones. This is usually accompanied by numerous shots of fingers flipping switches, turning knobs, or pressing computer keys in addition to the expected shots views of hands on the helicopter’s flying controls. Speaking of the cockpit, most scenes set there look exactly like what they appear to be: a mockup on a soundstage. You only rarely get the sensation that Chaney and Wonderlove are actually flying in a real helicopter. This and the model work were far more convincing in the film.

The budget rears its ugly head again and again in the form or reused flying footage, either from the original film or the series itself.  Indeed, I noted the same shot of Blue Thunder taking fire over a desert mountain range—complete with strafing hits along its right side—in four of the first six episodes.

Low ratings led to Blue Thunder being canceled after just 11 episodes. Meanwhile, Airwolf continued its adventures for three seasons on CBS before the network sold the show to the USA Network, where it limped along for an additional season before being permanently grounded. Both series found varying degrees of extended life over the years thanks to reruns on different networks such as USA and the Sci-Fi Channel as well as local television syndication. The Blue Thunder series was originally released on DVD way back in 2006 (did I really just say “way back” in reference to 2006?), and that seemed to be the limit to its post-broadcast appeal, but never underestimate monetizing nostalgia!

As for this new Blu-ray set? The three discs contain no special features, which I suppose shouldn’t come as a surprise given that most of the main cast, except for Dana Carvey, had passed on. I mean it. There aren’t even trailers for other series in this vein, which feels like a lost opportunity when aiming this at collectors and fans of this era of television. As for the series itself, it was originally shot on film, so there was at least decent-quality material to work with when it was pulled from the vault and readied for its original DVD release.

For the Blu-ray, the series was further cleaned up with a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC transfer and a new lossless audio transfer to DTS-HD 2.0 Mono. To be perfectly honest, I read this off the packaging and other material I found online. I’m not the guy to tell you what any of that means, beyond that I think for a show that’s over forty years old, it looks and sounds pretty good on my TV. People who know more about this sort of thing seem to agree with me, which means that’s not too bad for a short-lived series that likely was considered disposable after is cancellation.

As a teen of the 1980s, I admit to an unhealthy obsession with favorite films and television series of that era, including some which arguably have not aged very well at all. Therefore, I can’t fault anyone who seeks to add the Blue Thunder TV series to their collection (seriously, you’re talking to a guy who still has both seasons of Buck Rogers In the 25^th Century and War of the Worlds on his shelf). If that’s you, then grab this one and hit the skies.

Or, you could just watch the original movie again.

When you have as rich a history as the world of Westeros does in George R.R. Martin’s unfinished A Song of Ice and Fire saga, and you have a hit television series adapting the novels, obviously, there is room for exploitation and brand extension. HBO and HBO Max have fulfilled a desire to see more of this world, first with House of the Dragon (the third season begins next week) and now the Dunk and Egg novellas.

For those unfamiliar, Martin penned three novellas featuring Ser Duncan the Tall and Prince Aegon Targaryen (nicknamed Egg for his bald head), which appeared in various anthologies between 1998 and 2010 with promises of more to come. These stories feature familiar landscapes and characters, as they are set about 90 years before the events of A Game of Thrones.

The six-part first season debuted on January 18, and a second season is in production, expected next year. Warner Home Entertainment is releasing A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Complete First Season tomorrow in Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD. These adapt the first novella, The Hedge Knight, and reintroduce us to the world as we focus on Dunk (Peter Claffey), an earnest knight now operating after Ser Arlan of Pennytree, his mentor, died.  Along the way, he is followed by Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), trying to have a life before the family’s expectations chain him to court.

While GOT deals with rival families and ruling Westeros, the goals here are far more modest and attainable. With the Targaryen’s firmly ruling, we focus instead on Dunk, who wants a sponsor so he can compete in a local tourney and prove himself. He needs better gear, a place to sleep, and asks little of the world.

He is surrounded by various levels from street urchins to princes, but it’s all from Dunk’s ground-level view of life. It’s refreshing in its simplicity (and certainly far easier to follow). Each short episode (none last more than 45 minutes) advances those goals as many come to recognize the purity of Dunk’s spirit, despite his inexperience in courtly manners or intrigue.

While the series is populated with interesting supporting players, it works because of the chemistry between Dunk and Egg. Despite their differing sizes and ages, they form an undeniable rapport.

The 4K t2160p transfer retains the grounded, tactile verisimilitude of the Game of Thrones universe, making practical sets and outdoor locations pop with excellent HDR contrast and deep blacks. The release includes an immersive Dolby Atmos audio track that brings the clashing of tourney lances and the ambient sounds of the medieval environments to life.

Unlike some HBO releases, the Special Features go beyond the extras found on the streaming service. As a result, there is more to enjoy, and these include:

• Building A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
• Welcome to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (Extended)
• A Knight in the Making documentary series
• Ashford Meadow Set Tour
• Blooper reel and character spotlights

Growing up, I learned many things, among them that John Carradine never met scenery he couldn’t chew and that his Billy the Kid vs. Dracula is one of the all-time bad movies. It’s also fallen into the public domain, so multiple versions can be found for sale. Joining the collection is this new 50th-anniversary Blu-ray from Shoreline Entertainment, which comes with just the film and nothing celebratory.

Carrdine has said on more than one occasion, “I have worked in a dozen of the greatest, and I have worked in a dozen of the worst. I only regret Billy the Kid Versus Dracula. Otherwise, I regret nothing.”

Carradine is actually a fine actor with the right material. I recently observed him in his earlier Captains Courageous. But, as a working man, supporting a family (including several who became actors themselves), he took whatever job he could get. That said, maybe it was director William “One-Shot” Beaduine or the script by Jack Lewis, although credited to Carl K. Hittleman, who did nothing with the part.

There’s nothing wrong with a vampire, even Dracula, operating in the Old West, but the cherry-picking of the lore is a disservice to what has come before. He’s a bat and bites pretty women and is susceptible to the crucifix and wolfsbane, but little else. Carradine had previously worn the fangs in House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945) and did a far more credible job. Here, he doesn’t even attempt to project the old-world European charm he once had.

For reasons unknown, Dracula is traveling the American frontier in the late 19^th century and finds a portrait of Betty Bentley (Melinda Plowman) so captivating that he decides to make her his next bride. He kills her relatives, with whom he had been sharing a stagecoach, and impersonates her uncle. An older couple, also newly in town, recognize the charismatic figure and do everything they can to protect Betty after Dracula has claimed their own daughter (although killed, she doesn’t rise as a vampire).

Betty’s fiancée just happens to be the notorious Billy the Kid (Chuck Courtney), trying to find peace working the Bentley Ranch. However, when Dracula makes his move, you can be sure there will be gunplay, fangs, and more. The finale is set in a silver mine so one might expect the ore to play a factor in the climax, but that’s not the case.

Courtney is a fine stuntman and a stiff as an actor, more familiar to viewers as Dan Reid, the title character’s nephew on The Lone Ranger. The rest of the cast are character actors recognizable from other productions in the 1950s and 60s.

Shot in eight days, it has a rushed, sloppy feel. Stereotypes masquerade as characters, and the dialogue is about as perfunctory as you can get.

No details on how the transfer was made, but the 1080p is serviceable with adequate audio. Lacking any special features, this is as bare-bones a disc as it is a horror film. Keno has a superior Blu-ray edition, released in 2019, complete with audio commentary.

Iron Man: Super Smash
By Dean Hale and Douglas Holgate
96 pages/Abrams Fanfare/$12.99

The team behind the entertaining Iron Man: Something Strange is back with a new graphic novel for younger readers, this time pairing Shellhead with the jade-jawed giant himself, the Hulk. In this whimsical adventure, Iron Man senses the Hulk has something against him, and he takes Thor’s suggestion to heart, that the pair bond through smashing things.

For the remainder of the story, the two travel together as they smash monsters, robot monsters, and rocks. Iron Man tries to get the hang of random violence rather than using his technological know-how to resolve problems. The Hulk is bemused and frustrated by his fellow Avenger. Over the course of the story, it becomes clear one person is behind the mayhem, and the reveal is a nice use of a lesser Marvel villain, one our heroes have little familiarity with but makes long-time readers smile.

The pace is brisk, and the artwork nicely complements the tone. And in a first, I believe Dean Hale has the Hulk be intentionally sarcastic in this not-too-bright incarnation.

There are nice lessons on friendship and responsibility carried throughout the story.

In the back, there are a few pages devoted to the process of going from script to finished artwork, which is a nice bonus for the young readers who will enjoy the adventure.

The British Are Coming Vol. 1
By Rick Atkinson, Nora Neus, and Frederico Pietrobon
320 pages/10 Speed Graphics/$35

Adapting prose storytelling to a graphic novel is tricky. Sure, it’s easier to visualize colonial America than describe it in words, but you also need to ensure readers know what they’re looking at and why. In this adaptation of Rick Atkinson’s same-titled book, so much context is missing that it’s a breezy, empty read that won’t enhance the reader’s knowledge.

We open in 1773 and the night of the infamous Boston Tea Party. So, right from the start, we’re missing vital information. This needed to begin with the 1765 Stamp Act, which really set the colonies on the path to independence.

We meet people with a close-up and an arrow providing us with a name, but nothing else, so when John Adams, for example, shows up on page 4, he’s a lawyer and nothing more, little seen again in the narrative.

Nora Neus and Frederico Pietrobon leisurely take us from event to event between 1773 and March 1776, leaving some juicy stuff for volume two. But it’s a limited view. Nothing occurring below Virginia is discussed, the first Continental Congress is ignored, and the vital impact of the January 1776 publication of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense is entirely missing. We periodically go to England to see King George III froth, but the divide between colonists—rebels and Tories—is missing.

Instead, we are treated to leisurely depictions of marching, their rebellion suffering from degrading conditions due to little funding, and way too much time spent on the ill-fated attempt to conquer Quebec, and too little time on the theft of cannons from Fort Ticonderoga.

It appears Neus took the dialogue from primary sources, correspondence, and journals, but it’s formal and doesn’t at all sound like people speaking to one another or even the reader.

The book is nice to look at, easy to read, and robs the subject of the grit and personalities that shaped a new nation. Better the reader find the source material or watch the recent Ken Burns documentary series.

Shatter the Universe
By Diana Ma
316 pages/Abrams Amulet/$19.99

The Mighty Morphing Power Rangers has always been a mystery to me. I understand the concept, but found the initial series, when imported to the USA by Saban, cheap with bad storytelling. But those colorful costumes and theme of unity and power proved irresistible in the 1980s.

The franchise has endured, going through periods of high volume and attention, constantly reimagined and rebooted.

Here we have a series of novels that focus on the various Rangers, giving them the spotlight in ways the shows never could. This one follows Force of Chaos, which explored the Rangers’ origins from Yellow Ranger Trini Kwan’s point of view. For continuity buffs, this hews closely to the established stories in the BOOM! Studios comics.

Following the defeat of Rita Repulsa, Trini and Black Ranger Zack Taylor are dating in peaceful Angel Grove. However, alternate reality Rangers arrive to break them up, as their romance in this universe threatens to destroy the Morphin Grid.

Trini must decide between saving her relationship and protecting the universe, while fighting against her evil alternate self, Lady Lunara. Unlike any other version of the property, the prose books allow the characters to actually have, you know, character. Diana Ma provides just this in a light, fun manner.

The book leans heavily into the relationship between Trini and Zack, a multiracial dynamic that is not typically explored in mainstream television. Their romance is constantly interrupted by the alternate-reality Rangers doppelgängers, here with a singular goal: to break up Trini and Zack because their relationship threatens the Morphin Grid.

It’s interesting to learn that the Trini/Zack relationship is a rarity across the multiverse, which makes this coupling unique enough to give meaning to the threat.

Trini’s internal narrative is well-developed, with Ma expertly weaving in iconic elements like the Zeo Crystal and classic villains like Rita Repulsa and Goldar. That said, as a teacher, Trini sounds way younger than the 16-year-olds in my classroom.

We Are Pan
By Andre Frattino, Yasmin Flores Montañez, and Fabi Marques
184 pages/Top Shelf Productions/$19.99

One of the best parts of mainstream publishers widening the breadth of graphic novels now available for readers of all ages. One of the hottest categories seems to be creating nonfiction, exploring memoir, and little-known tidbits of history.

I was far too young to be aware of the problems with Cuba at the dawn of the 1960s. But, from 1960 to 1962, some 14,000 Cuban children were flown from Cuba to America, parents tearfully sending them to safety and a better life than what was offered under Fidel Castro’s brand of Communism. They feared the alternative, as talk raced across the tiny island nation that Castro intended to take the children and educate them as he saw fit.

Operation Pedro Pan is lovingly explored in the new graphic novel, We Are Pan, which draws on real-life stories from numerous interviews Andre Frattino conducted. There are siblings, lovers, lost souls, and dreamers among the many children whose stories are nicely intertwined.

Additionally, the combined efforts of Father Bryan O. Walsh of the Catholic Welfare Bureau and Cuban ex-pats and Americans, including James Baker, helped secure funding and make the arrangements. What’s interesting to note is that the program operated in total secrecy until the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote a story about it in 1962. Imagine running an op like that today.

Frattino, artist Yasmin Flores Montanez, and color artist Fabi Marques take their time introducing us to the lead-up to Castro’s revolution and its ramifications, then each family makes the emotional choice for their children’s future. For most, it’s fine, and they’re safe, but as you will see, not everyone makes it to America.

This is Frattino and Montañez’s first graphic novel despite their careers in illustration and storytelling. It’s a terrific way to introduce themselves to the reading audience. Kudos to editor Heather Antos for guiding them through the process, resulting in a compelling book.

It’s a well-told story, spotlighting bravery in many forms, with ramifications still felt today as the survivors tell their stories. The book opens with a Foreword by writer Alex Segura, whose mother was a part of the operation.

Disney Descendants: A Lost Revenge
By Kalynn Bayron and Asiah Fulmore
176 pages/Abrams Fanfare/$16.99

Fairy tales require a suspension of belief, a willingness to accept the impossible as possible. It gives us a sense of wonder that magic is real. Tapping into that, Walt Disney adapted these fairy tales for modern-day audiences with charming animated musicals and turned them into a set of idealized characters that have been endlessly exploited ever since.

In 2015, that roster of familiar heroes, villains, and comical sidekicks was more than doubled with the creation of Descendants. Here, we stretch our disbelief to accept that all the Disney characters share a universe and now, 20 or so years later, they all magically have offspring of approximately the same age.

Not having children during this run, I knew of the spinoff but didn’t realize how many musicals, short subjects, cartoons, prose, and graphic novels have mined the territory. The sixth such film is due later this year on Disney+, and the latest graphic installment is coming soon.

The focus is on Uma, daughter of Ursula, a pirate captain sailing the seas in and around the United States of Auradon. The theme here is an exploration of acting as others expect you to, or carving your own destiny. To the surprise of her VK (Villain Kids) peers, Uma has gone straight, fighting for what’s right, much to her (mostly unseen) mother’s chagrin.

In the sprawling continuity, this is a prequel to Descendants 3: Rise of the Red, explaining how Uma became headmistress of Auradon Prep. It pits her against Captain Hook’s daughter, Harriet, with her beloved friend Harry, the son of Hook. What starts as a search-and-rescue mission becomes something more when Hazel kidnaps her sister, CJ, and uses her as bait.

If you’re at all a fan of this franchise, you get it and can be entertained and captivated. If you’re an outsider, just dipping your senior toe into the realm, you need something annotated, which the graphic novel fails to provide. It expects you to know, which I find insular.

Kalynn Bayron makes her GN debut here and acquits herself well, with good dialogue and nice pacing. The art from Asiah Fulmore mostly works, although there are too many panels that need art direction for clarity. It’s light and carries strong messaging for the tween readership.

Talking fast and being whip-smart got you noticed at the turn of the century. Aaron Sorkin set the pace with The West Wing, but it met its match on October 5, 2000, when the WB invited us to visit Stars Hollow, CT (population 9,973), and stay a spell. The Gilmore Girls was unlike any dramas on the air at the time, mixing humor and pathos while using its colorful cast of characters, and I do mean characters, to explore family, both found and blood.

It generated buzz and turned Lauren Graham into a star, and propelled other members of the cast into the public conversation while the production team of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino became major players. In the years since its conclusion in May 2007, its pull rivaled that of a black star, generating memes galore and a rabid, growing fandom. Such was its demand for more that Netflix accommodated them in 2016 with the four-part A Year in the Life.

The conversation among fans continues as seen in the recent film Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, where the characters engage in a lively debate over who was the better boyfriend for Rory (Alexis Bledel).

To satisfy that demand, Warner Home Entertainment has just released Gilmore Girls: The Series, which collects all seven seasons and the miniseries in a twenty-eight-disc box set that demands to be watched. And in so doing, your first thought is ‘my how young everyone looks’. But you also watch the series find its footing as Lorelai (Graham) returns to her parents (Kelly Bishop and Edward Hermann), asking for money so that her brilliant daughter can attend a prestigious private school. Her mother agrees, but in return, demands their presence every Friday for dinner.

Over time, we come to understand why Lorelai fled home as a teen, had Rory at 16, and made her way, working at the nearby Independence Inn, rising to become its manager. She has built a support system with Chef Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) and the prissy front-desk clerk Michel (Yanic Truesdale). She goes to town for endless cups of coffee at Luke’s diner, bantering and flirting with Luke (Scott Patterson), beginning the Will They/Won’t They dance that carries on way too long.

But the Palladinos, who wrote or rewrote almost every episode, gave it a twist, filling Stars Hollow with idiosyncratic characters that gave the town its charm and set it apart from the network competition. Interestingly, the pilot received financial support from the Family Friendly Programming Forum’s script development fund, a rarity. Amy Sherman-Palladino not only used rapid-fire dialogue but also made the issues small and personal, focusing more on the aftermath of the blowups than on the matter at the center.

Across the 112 hours and 12 minutes, you can enjoy the antics as well as the growing cast as Lorelai and Rory each find their foils, rivals, and potential life partners. There are many wonderful relationships developed across the series, from Rory’s warm relationship with her grandfather to her rivalry with Paris (Liza Weil) at Chilton. While Lorelai’s simmering romance with Luke has its ups and downs, it’s Rory’s relationships with three distinct men that let the viewers watch a girl become a woman and try to find herself.

It begins with Dean (Jared Padalecki), then Luke’s nephew Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) roars into town and becomes the bad boy everyone wants to love. He’s followed by Logan (Matt Czuchry), who represents the life her grandparents enjoy.

As the series entered its final season, the WB and UPN merged into UPN, and the new entity couldn’t make a deal with the Palladinos, who left the show in the hands of writer/producer David S. Rosenthal, and you could tell. It missed the snap and spark of the preceding seasons and was wisely overlooked when the Palladinos came back.

The miniseries picks up years later, and while it was nice to revisit, we see how time has been kinder to Lorelai but less so to Rory, who is struggling to be an independent adult. That said, it was nice to see everyone back again, except Hermann, who, sadly, passed away, and his character and performance are well remembered here.

All the episodes make their Blu-ray debut in this sturdy box set, and the high-definition transfer has a fine 1.33:1 ratio, looking crisp and colorful.

Special features from the DVD sets have been ported over, and sadly, nothing new has been added. The witty Gilmore-isms” booklets being included in the DVD sets of the first four seasons are absent, which is a shame since the series’s allusions are one of its charms (and an education for many viewers, even today). The Dolby Digital English 5.1 audio track works just fine to capture the dialogue and the music that is a character in its own right.

Olive: Lost in Inner Space
By Vero Cazot and Lucy Mazel
256 pages/Abrams ComicArts/$38

Autism is a challenge to depict in comic form; so much depends on the artist’s strength, since it’s all about nuance. Take Olive, for example. In Paris, she arrives at school as a 17-year-old, forced to adapt to a world alien to her. The school has worked to accommodate her needs in exchange for maintaining respectable grades. We meet her when the opposite has happened, and she is now being forced to share her dorm room with Charlie, a fairly normal teenager. The counseling sessions helps provide insights into Olive’s past.

Olive lives in her head, a wonderfully creative space she shares with a large rubber duck, Noel, and the transparent whale Rose. When reality overwhelms her, this is her safe space until the day an astronaut crashes into her realm.

The 2024 French album arrives in glorious color, courtesy of Vero Cazot and Lucy Mazel. Broken into four parts, we trace Olive’s attempts to figure out how the astronaut got into her world, which leads her to mount a rescue mission to locate him. Fantasy bleeds into reality when it becomes clear that astronaut Lenny Popincourt has crash-landed on Earth and is missing.

Over the course of the story, Olive searches in both realms, aided in our reality by Charlie, who accepts Olive’s condition and supports her efforts with good cheer. In exchange, Olive begins to open up and, in a rare act, invites her home for Christmas.

The story in both realities slowly unfolds as Olive can’t understand how this other person has invaded her private realm, even though clues about their connection are presented early on.

It’s a charming coming-of-age story as well as a fine fantasy tale; that is, until the final section, where Olive manages to cross into Siberia on her own (when did she get a passport, considering her aversion to the world?) in search of Lenny. But it’s a minor quibble over a lovely tale of magical realism.

Mazel’s art and color help make both realities distinctive and ground the teens well. This is a fanciful tale that is a fine page-turner.