Videos: Alternative Season 6 Maintitle

Hi @ all,

here's a new video for you. I've created an alternative Maintitle for Season 6.
Hope you like it. It took me two days only to create the swirl-effect that was used during that season.

Falcon Crest DVD Cover

It seems, this is the Official Front Cover:




The German Falcon Crest Fanclub posted some information about the Cover (interesting for hardcore fans ;-) :

Package Design (Current Artwork Draft)

The falcon coat of arms does not exactly resemble the show logo:

• The redesigned logo is a simplified body, particularly without the detailed coat of arms in the center.
  
• The falcon's tail feathers are completely new to the logo.
  
• The falcon's claws are much too long compared to the original design.
  

The typefaces do not resemble any of the show's fonts:

• Instead of using any of the show's typical typefaces ("Letraset Romic", "Benguiat Book" and "Foxglove"), the show's title is written in the "Trajan" font; the other lettering is in the "Haettenschweiler" font.
  
• The burgundy color of the lettering does not resemble any of the show's typical colors (yellow and red from the early years, gold and blue from the later years).
  

The character pictures are a combination of various publicity stills:

• The pictures of JANE WYMAN, BILLY R. MOSES and JAMIE ROSE are from season 1 single portraits.
  
• The pictures of ROBERT FOXWORTH, SUSAN SULLIVAN, LORENZO LAMAS and ABBY DALTON are from the season 1 cast group portrait.
  
• The background of the compilation is awkward; it does not resemble any of the filming locations used for the series, but looks like a generic door to some undefined building.
  

Some of the photos in the row on the cover are not related to the original series:

• Obviously, photo 2 was not taken in one of the vineyards originally used as a filming location.
  
• The wine labels on the bottles in photo 4 do not resemble any of the Falcon Crest wine labels as featured on the show. They are, however, real wine labels for the wine produced by one of the major Napa Valley filming locations, Spring Mountain Vineyards.

"Castle" Review

On Pioneer Local there's an interesting review of ABC's "Castle" which stars Susan Sullivan as Broadway Diva Martha.


Nathan Fillion has compared his new show, "Castle," to "Murder She Wrote," -- and he's not entirely wrong. Subtract one prim, smart, steely and nosy Miss Marple-type English woman and insert an egotistical, smartass, fun-loving, womanizing man and you've got "Castle."

"Castle" -- which premieres March 9 at 10/9 C on ABC -- follows hugely successful mystery author Richard Castle who is bored by his own success to the point where he kills off the main character in his novels, sending his ex-wife and his agent into a panic. But he gets rejuvenated when he finds out that a serial killer is basing his killings on the deaths in Castle's books. Cue NYPD Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic, "The Spirit") who has read Castle's books and so recognizes the scenarios. Castle is brought in for questioning, and in what's a pretty ridiculous plot development, he's allowed to stay on as a shadow to the NYPD detectives to get material for his new book and help them solve the murders. (This was all made possible by his buddy-buddy relationship with the mayor, who apparently thinks Castle is the next best thing for New York City tourism this side of the Statue of Liberty.)

Castle and Beckett of course immediately clash, but in a way that means it won't be long until she socks him in the face, he grabs her and kisses her, and it starts to pour rain on them. They're the typical pairing of the loose canon guy and the more stern, exasperated woman. Just once, I'd like to see the woman get to be the wild card. Although at least Beckett's character isn't completely humorless. "Castle" gets credit for skipping the it's-ovbious-to-everyone-but-the-two-leads-that they-belong-together storyline and doesn't have Castle or Beckett pretending there's nothing between them. So far, their chemistry isn't off the charts -- Beckett's character is written a bit dry -- but it could improve.

The other women in Castle's life are his Broadway diva mother, Martha (Susan Sullivan, "Dharma & Greg") and his precocious teenage daughter, Alexis (Molly Quinn). The rule today is that whenever you've got a roguish divorced dad -- "24," Shark," "Lie To Me" -- toss him a teenage daughter to show his sensitive side. The rest of the cast, especially Beckett's co-workers, don't do much in the pilot but stare at dead bodies, but they include Ruben Santiago-Hudson ("Law & Order") as NYPD Captain Roy Montgomery, Tamala Jones as Medical Examiner Lanie Parish, Jon Huertas ("Generation Kill") as NYPD Detective Javier Esposito and Seamus Dever ("Army Wives") as NYPD Detective Kevin Ryan.

What elevates "Castle" above being just another crime procedural is Fillion ("Desperate Housewives," "Firefly.") He's an incredibly charismatic actor, and he brings all of that with him as Castle, who has an appreciatively flippant sense of humor. (At one point, he tries to stop a criminal by throwing his shoe at him.) Fillion is also just so darn likable. The whole show actually has a light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek approach that rescues it from its silliness. The murders aren't jokey, but there's not all the brow-furrowing that goes on in other crime shows. Remember "The Women's Murder Club?" I think one reason that show failed was that it collapsed under the burden of its own seriousness.

"Castle" even has an out from its potentially repetitive plot device -- and it's an out that's written right in ABC's description of the show: "Once that case is solved, he and Beckett build on their new relationship as they look to solve more strange homicides in New York." So there's a plan for what to do beyond the imitation as the sincerest form of flattery killings.

"Castle" isn't remarkable, but like its star, its likable. Even the not so original hook of a killer's m.o. being the same as the deaths in a fictitious murder mystery series is fun. Come for the shoe throwing, stay for Fillion.

News about Falcon Crest coming to DVD

This is from the Falcon Crest Fanclub Website (www.falconcrest.org):

In a phone conversation, DIANA BEILER informs DFCF President THOMAS J. PUCHER about the latest news:

* Due to the overwhelming success of "Falcon Crest" particularly in Europe, the DVD release will take place in Region 2 only at this time, beginning in Germany on April 3. The next release will take place in Spain shortly after that. The release in the United Kingdom is roughly scheduled later in 2009; WARNER BROS. (U.K.) has not decided on the exact release date for their domestic market yet.
* WARNER BROS. has not made a final decision yet if and when there will be a Region 1 (U.S. and Canada) release.
* There are plans to release the following seasons on DVD also. The final decision, however, depends on the sales figures per quarter of the year, which each foreign WARNER BROS. branch has to report to the studio headquarters in Burbank, CA / USA. So it is highly important that as many fans as possible buy the season 1 DVDs as soon as possible to secure a release of the later seasons.

Falcon Crest Coming to DVD

Composer Angela Morley dies

Angela Morley, three-time Emmy winner and two-time Oscar nominee for her film and television music and one of England's best-known arrangers, died Wednesday, Jan. 14 in Scottsdale, Ariz., of complications from a fall and subsequent heart attack. She was 84.

Morley won Emmys as an arranger for two Julie Andrews specials (in 1988 and 1990) and a "Christmas in Washington" special (1985). Her Oscar nominations were for adapting the songs in the musicals "The Little Prince" (1974) and "The Slipper and the Rose" (1977).

She also composed several film scores including the animated "Watership Down" (1978) and, under her birth name of Walter Stott, "The Looking Glass War" (1969), "Captain Nemo and the Underwater City" (1969), "When Eight Bells Toll" (1971) and several low-budget British features in the 1950s.

Morley scored dozens of TV series episodes in the 1970s and '80s, receiving Emmy nominations for her work on "Dallas," "Dynasty," "Blue Skies" and "Emerald Point N.A.S."; she also scored "Falcon Crest," "Hotel," "Wonder Woman" and other shows. She also scored four TV-movies including the remake of "Madame X" (1981) and received 11 Emmy nominations in all.

She also contributed orchestrations to nearly three dozen films, among them such John Williams scores as "Star Wars," "Superman," "E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial," "Schindler's List" and "Home Alone." Williams employed her regularly during his stint with the Boston Pops in the 1980s and '90s; her arrangements are featured on more than a dozen Pops albums.

Born Walter Stott in Leeds, Yorkshire, he played alto saxophone in English big-bands of the 1940s but became a full-time arranger in 1950, eventually arranging records for such popular singers as Mel Torme, Rosemary Clooney, Marlene Dietrich and Noel Coward.

He wrote and conducted music for BBC Radio's popular "Goon Show" in the 1950s and was active on the British music scene as an arranger-conductor throughout the 1960s. He became Angela Morley in 1972 and conducted the BBC Radio Orchestra during the 1970s. She moved to the U.S. in 1980.

She is survived by her partner, Christine Parker; a son, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

FALCON CREST on DVD!!

It's finally happening!!
Falcon Crest will be released on DVD.

In a message dated Jan 16, 2009, WARNER BROS. Entertainment (Germany) informed the German Falcon Crest Fanclub (DFCF) board of directors season 1 will be released on DVD towards the end of April 2009. No bonus material will be included.

As soon as there are some details available you'll be informed.

Music Video "Cole & Melissa" with "Time after Time" by Cyndi Lauper

I've created a music video with some nice Cole and Melissa-scenes and combined it with one of my favorite tracks "Time after Time", performed by Cyndi Lauper and Sarah McLachlan (This version is from Cyndi's album "The Body Acoustic").
Hope ya like it.

I think, there was a great chemistry between William R. Moses and Ana-Alicia and in those scenes you can see how well they worked together.

Video: EP#116 Angela as a bad loser

This is a video from Falcon Crest's episode #116 "Gambit Exposed" (Season 5): Angela and Chase in a funny wine competition on Hawaii.

Video: Maintitle Season 4 - Alternative Version

Hi @ all,

here's a new video for you. I've created an alternative Maintitle for Season 4.
Hope you like it. I've tried to imitate the well-known FC Style that was used in that season.