The Couch Potato

“The Smurfs: Season One, Volume One”-Own it on DVD February 26, 2008

• Release Date: February 26, 2008
• Price: $26.98
• Rated: Not Rated (if it was rated, it would probably be G)
• Run Time: 345 Minutes
• Publisher: Warner Home Video
• Genre: Children’s, Animation
• Special Features: 19 Episodes, Bonus Episode “The Smurfs’ Springtime Special,” Smurfs: The Music Video
• Buy It On Amazon.com

Emmy award-winning The Smurfs finally comes to DVD to get viewers ready for the upcoming live-action movie trilogy. Obviously, the program is meant for children but those who have fond memories of watching the show as a child should definitely pick up the DVD as well.

The show follows a group of Smurfs in Smurf Village. The town members are varied but their names (Brainy, Hefty, Papa Smurf) give a pretty good indication of their personalities. Each episode, the evil wizard Gargamel and his cat Azrael try to trap and eat the innocent smurfs. Kids learn a valuable lesson at the conclusion of every episode.

Despite being over 25 years old, the cartoons still look pretty good for their age. The remastering isn’t perfect but is definitely acceptable. The colors are vivid and the audio is fine as well. All of the voice actors give great performances. In addition to 19 season one episodes, the DVD contains a bonus episode (”The Smurfs’ Springtime Special”) and Smurfs: The Music Video which is a clip montage set to the theme music.

Even though the cartoon is on the old side, kids should still enjoy The Smurfs. Parents will be happy with the DVD because their children will learn valuable lessons with each episode. At a retail price of just $26.98, you can’t go wrong. Recommended

(Average Viewer)

(Target Audience-Parents with young children and those who fondly remember the show)

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• 8/7 PM: 1) American Idol (14.8/23), 2) Survivor: Micronesia: Fans vs. Favorites (7.5/12), 3) Lost (3.5/5), 4) The Office, 5) Smallville (1.2/2)
• 9/8 PM: 1) Don’t Forget the Lyrics! (8.5/13), 2) Lost (7.8/12), 3) CSI (7.5/12), 4) Celebrity Apprentice (5.1/8), 5) Supernatural
• 10/9 PM: 1) Without a Trace (7.0/12), 2) Eli Stone (4.7/8), 3) Lipstick Jungle (4.1/7)
• Overall: 1) FOX (11.6/18), 2) CBS (7.3/12), 3) ABC (5.3/9), 4) NBC (4.0/6), 5) The CW (1.2/2)
• 18-49 Demographic: 1) FOX-7.2, 2) CBS-3.3, 3) ABC-3.2, 4) NBC-2.5, 5) The CW

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Around the Camps: After returning from tribal council, Jonathan and Cirie fight some more. Jonathan thinks she is way more manipulate than he is. Natalie doesn’t think Chet does enough for the fans. Mikey B agrees calling 2:00 his bedtime. He’s also bad for morale. Eliza is sick and thinks she is probably the next to go should they lose the immunity challenge. Ozzy and James think they made a stupid move voting off Yau-Man instead of Eliza. Eliza overhears and is obviously upset they would say such a thing. She tells us that she hates her tribemates and hopes they get even sicker than her and removed from the game.

Reward Challenge: Four players from each tribe must swim out one at a time to retrieve a lettered coconut that is in a cage underwater. One the tribe gets all ten of them, they must swim them back to shore and give them to the other four players, who must figure out the secret word the coconuts spell. The reward is four egg-laying hens. As usual, Ozzy dominates the challenge. Instead of just taking one coconut, he pushes most of the others to the edge of the cage so others can easily retrieve them. This allows the favorites to take a huge lead. James easily solves the word and the favorites win.

Exile Island: Kathy and Ozzy are sent to exile island. Kathy wishes she was on the favorites tribe and really enjoys learning from each of the players sent to exile with her. She doesn’t care about the hidden immunity idol. Ozzy makes an excuse that he is “looking for food” then sets off to find the idol. He finds it then replaces it with a fake idol that looks like a vampire stake.

Strategy: Eliza promises Parvati that she will stay true to her if she votes off Jonathan instead of her. Jonathan walks by at one point and hears her backstabbing him. Parvati thinks she’s just doing what she can to try to stay in the game, she’s still probably going home if they lose the immunity challenge.

Immunity Idol: Six tribe members must get in a metallic contraption, unlock each of their locks, then navigate it through a course to grab six sets of beads. They then must give them to the other two tribe members who must solve a puzzle with them. The fans struggle from the start while the favorites have no trouble at all. They get all their beads well before the fans. Eliza easily solves the puzzle and the favorites win.

The Vote: Mikey B calls his tribe misfits. He’ll keep Joel around until just before the merge, then backstab him. He wants Chet to go home but Joel would prefer Kathy be sent packing. Chet and Kathy have pretty much given up so Tracy lights a fire under them. She then talks to Joel about voting off Mikey instead of Chet or Kathy. She wants him to stop letting Mikey B run the show and also warns him that he’ll be gunning for him soon. Chet still thinks he’s going home. However, Joel pulls off the blindside of Mikey B and he is voted off by a 6-3 margin.

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• ABC: 8/7-Grey’s Anatomy (encore), 9/8-20/20 (two hours)
• CBS: 8/7-Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular, 9/8-Ghost Whisperer (encore), 10/9-Numb3rs (encore)
• NBC: 8/7-Amne$ia, 9/8-Dateline NBC (two hours)
• FOX: 8/7-Bones (encore), 9/8-House (encore)
• The CW: 8/7-Friday Night Smackdown!
• My Network TV: 8/7-Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (movie)
• HGTV: 9/8-Color Correction, 10:30/9:30-House Hunters International
• Travel Channel: 10/9-Most Haunted
• TLC: 7/6-Take Home Chef (back-to-back new episodes), 9/8-What Not to Wear, 10/9-10 Years Younger
• E!: 10/9-The Soup
• BBC America: 9:20/8:20-That Mitchell & Webb Look
• Sci Fi: 10/9-Stargate Atlantis
• Discovery Channel: 10/9-Fight Quest (season finale)
• Spike TV: 10/9-World’s Most Amazing Videos
• Animal Planet: 8:30/7:30-Lemur Kingdom, 9/8-Escape to Chimp Eden, 9:30/8:30-Clinically Wild
• CMT: 8/7-Gone Country, 8:30/7:30-Country Fried Home Videos (season finale), 9/8-My Big Redneck Wedding (season finale)
• HBO: 9:30/8:30-In Treatment, 11/10-Real Time with Bill Maher
• VH1: 9/8-Best Week Ever, 9:30/8:30-Free Radio
• Comedy Central: 10/9-Comedy Central Presents (back-to-back new episodes)
• G4: 7/6-Attack of the Show, 8/7-X-Play, 9:30/8:30-Unbeatable Banzuke
• History Channel: 9/8-Shockwave, 10/9-Battle 360 (series premiere)
• The N: 8/7-Degrassi: The Next Generation, 8:30/7:30-About a Girl
• PBS (times may vary in your area): 8/7-Washington Week, 8:30/7:30-Now on PBS, 9/8-Bill Moyers’ Journal, 10/9-Great Performances
• DIY: 9/8-Hammered with John & Jimmy DiResta
• TV Guide Channel: 8/7-Idol Wrap, 9/8-Hollywood 411, 10/9-Celebrity Says
• Lifetime: 9/8-Your Mama Don’t Dance (series premiere)
• Style: 9/8-Fashion Police

All shows listed are new unless otherwise noted. First time listed is eastern, second is central.

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• Tonight Show with Jay Leno-Zoologist Dave Salmoni, Patricia Arquette, Punch Brothers
• Late Show with David Letterman-Woody Harrelson, Tommy Tiernan
• Jimmy Kimmel Live (encore)-Ben Affleck, Jon Stewart, Mary J. Blige performs
• Late Night with Conan O’Brien-Christina Ricci, Jason Sudeikis, Shooter Jennings
• Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson-Dweezil Zappa, Steve Mazan
• Last Call with Carson Daly-Neil Strauss, Regina Spektor
• Tavis Smiley-Eric Bana, author Samantha Power (”Chasing the Flame”)
• Charlie Rose-New York Philharmonic music director Lorin Maazel, Wired magazine’s Chris Anderson

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• 8/7 PM: 1) American Idol (15.2/23), 2) Deal or No Deal (6.0/9), 3) Big Brother 9, 4) Wife Swap (3.6/6), 5) America’s Next Top Model (2.4/4)
• 9/8 PM: 1) American Idol (16.8/25) and Back to You (7.6/11), 2) Law & Order: Criminal Intent (5.7/9), 3) Criminal Minds (5.5/9), 4) Supernanny (5.2/8), 5) Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious
• 10/9 PM: 1) Law & Order (7.7/13), 2) CSI: NY (5.3/9), 3) Men in Trees (4.0/7)
• Overall: 1) FOX (13.7/21), 2) NBC (6.5/10), 3) CBS (4.8/7), 4) ABC (4.3/7), 5) The CW (1.9/3)
• 18-49 Demographic: 1) FOX-8.9, 2) NBC-2.6, 3) ABC-2.4, 4) CBS-2.2, 5) The CW-1.5

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Date or Business Dinner?: The WURG crew goes out for steaks together. Montana sees Craig, a new rival news anchor that Ryan tried to get. She’s instantly attracted to him. Chuck and Marsh don’t like him because they think he is unprofessional on the air. Craig comes over to the WURG table and introduces himself. Montana hits on him but he’s more interested in Kelly. In fact, he asks her out for drinks. Chuck starts to wonder why. He tells Kelly that young men don’t go out with “legends” (as he calls her). He thinks that Craig is trying to poach her (his co-anchor’s contract is up) to cripple his show. Chuck tells Ryan his theory but he is far too attracted to him to think something is up. Chuck calls Craig and threatens him. However, Craig tells him that his co-anchor’s contract just got renewed and he actually likes Kelly.

Kelly is starting to wonder about Craig’s motives too. Ryan accidentally hints at the phone conversation they had with him so Chuck is forced to tell her that he called him. He also tells her that it is a real date but she just yells at him. Later, Chuck apologizes but Kelly postponed the date anyway. She really doesn’t want to go because she hasn’t dated in awhile and also doesn’t know what to talk about with a younger guy. Chuck talks her into going anyway.

Gary: While the rest of the WURG crew goes out for steaks, Gary has to cover a convention for those who like to dress up in animal costumes. He doesn’t want to go because even “Trekkies beat them up.” Gary winds up insulting all his interview subjects by making a one-liner about the animal they are dressed as. He then heads back to the news van but the animals approach him threatingly. They don’t like his attitude. He distracts them and gets in the van but is grabbed by another “animal.” When Gary reports live from the convention, he is forced to mention how fun it was and doesn’t show the interviews from earlier. At the end of the episode, he goes to the cops about the animals but can only describe their costumes.

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Strategy: James thinks Operation Condor is still in effect. Alex won’t campaign against his buddy Matt but Matt does. Adam tells Matt he has his vote to stay. Allison realizes that Matt and Natalie are strong and that this is the perfect time to get rid of them. She discusses this with some of the other houseguests and they seem to agree. James decides to switch to “Operation Brodown” (taking out Matt and Natalie). Natalie promises Sharon and Joshuah that if they keep her around, they will never go on the block.

James and Chelsia: James has rode his bicycle over 7,000 miles in an effort to promote peace. In an interview, Chelsia’s friend says James is her type. Julie then talks to the HOH couple. James put Matt and Natalie on the block because he was worried they would take Alex and Amanda off if they won the power of veto. He also says he hates many of the people in the house because they are so materialistic.

Vote: All three couples vote for Alex and Amanda so they are evicted.

HOH Competition: “Words of Love” The couples are split up and asked questions about the love quotes found throughout the house. If they are correct, they can eliminate another couple. If they are wrong, they are eliminated. The women face off first, then the men. Then the two winners of the preliminary round face off in the final round. For the women, Sharon is correct all three times, knocking out Allison, Sheila, and finally Natalie. Ryan buzzes in first for the guys but is incorrect (and eliminated). Joshuah then gets the next two right and wins. Since Joshuah and Sharon are partners, the final round is unnecessary. They become the new HOH couple.

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Larren Colum (Case #9):

• His progress from last week
• Offer #3-$149,000, No Deal
• #10-$75
• #3-$1,000,000
• #17-$50,000
• Offer #4-$115,000, No Deal
• #16-$400,000
• #7-$200,000
• Offer #5-$87,000, No Deal
• #19-$200
• Offer #6-$132,000, No Deal
• #5-$25
• Offer #7-$181,000, No Deal
• #1-$100,000
• Offer #8-$228,000, Deal
• His next case choice would have been #25 ($300, Offer=$413,000)
• He would then have switched to case #13 ($750,000), his original case, #9, held just $5)

Kristen McCrory (Case #18):

• #2-$75,000
• #16-$1,000
• #22-$25
• #7-$1
• #12-$750,000
• #5-$25,000
• Offer #1-$50,000, No Deal
• #21-$5
• #14-$5,000
• #19-$400
• #24-$75
• #9-$500
• Offer #2-$90,000, No Deal
• #13-$100
• #20-$750
• #10-$100,000
• #4-$1,000,000
• Offer #3-$56,000, No Deal
• #8-$50,000
• #26-$400,000
• #25-$200
• Offer #4-$102,000, No Deal

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• ABC: 8/7-Lost (encore), 9/8-Lost, 10/9-Eli Stone
• CBS: 8/7-Survivor: Micronesia: Fans vs. Favorites, 9/8-CSI (encore), 10/9-Without a Trace (encore)
• NBC: 8/7-The Office (one-hour encore), 9/8-Celebrity Apprentice, 10/9-Lipstick Jungle
• FOX: 8/7-American Idol, 9/8-Don’t Forget the Lyrics!
• The CW: 8/7-Supernatural (encore), 9/8-Reaper (encore)
• My Network TV: 8/7-Original Gangstas (movie)
• Comedy Central: 11/10-The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, 11:30/10:30-The Colbert Report
• Spike TV: 9/8-TNA iMPACT! (two hours), 11/10-Pros vs. Joes
• HGTV: 8:30/7:30-Carter Can, 9/8-Divine Design, 10:30/9:30-House Hunters
• VH1: 10/9-Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
• Bravo: 10/9-Make Me a Supermodel
• TLC: 9/8-American Chopper, 10/9-LA Ink (new time slot)
• G4: 7/6-Attack of the Show, 8/7-X-Play, 9:30/8:30-Super Big Product Fun Show
• BBC America: 8/7-Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares
• HBO: 9:30/8:30-In Treatment
• MTV: 10/9-Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew
• Discovery Channel: 7/6-Bone Detectives
• ID: 8/7-Life of a Crime, 10/9-Most Evil
• TV Guide Channel: 9/8-Hollywood 411, 10/9-Celebrity Says
• Speed: 8/7-Setup, 10/9-Pinks: All Outtakes, 10:30/9:30-Livin’ the Low Life
• Biography: 9/8-Biography

All shows are new unless noted otherwise. First time listed is eastern, second is central.

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