Pinball Machine Reviews

Reviews

"Mr. Belvedere" was created at a time when television didn't have to hit you over the head to make a point. It was also a time when TV dealt with moral issues and "Mr. Belvedere" consistantly puts out good moral lessons. A proper Britishman comes to be the housekeeper for George and Marsha Owens, he is employed full-time, she is a full-time student in law school. Immediately Mr. Belvedere clashes with George. This back and forth between George and Belvedere (his first name is Lynn) is played out very well as the couple's young son Wesley (9) begins to see both as his mentors; with his Dad remaining his main concept of manhood, but with Mr. Belvedere being a unique perspective to come to for ideas and advice. The Owens also have a teenage son (17) and daughter (15). There son is a nice enough fellow, but seems a sandwich short of a picnic much of the time. The girl is eager to be an independent woman. These children, too, benefit from Belvedere's reasoning skills. The series is everything television has stopped being. There is warmth, love, characters that you wish you knew in the real world, and a tremendous amount of belly-laugh humor. A standout espisode is "Pinball", one that does not show Mr. Belvedere in a good light as he becomes addicted to playing pinball and neglects his duties. This adds realism to Mr. Belvedere because he is not a superman who never falls, but a regular person who is generally reliable, but has his weaknesses, too. This first installment features the first season (which came in as a mid-season replacement) and the entire second season. Great for fans and newcomers.

Based on the character "Belvedere" created by Gwen Davenport and first portrayed on screen by Clifton Webb in the adapted films Sitting Pretty (1948), Mr. Belvedere Goes To College (1949) and Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell (1951), ABC's "Mr. Belvedere" finds the live-in butler (the late great Christopher Hewett) deposited with the Owens family, a somewhat provincial household in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. As Belvedere notes in his journal entry: "Although the individual members seem well intentioned enough, they do seem a bit out of touch with each other. But with a certain amount of patience and direction, I'm sure I can whip them into shape...even George. They're damn lucky to have me". Indeed. And thanks to Shout! Factory (props to DVD producer Brian Blum), the show's fans are lucky to have him finally on DVD. Mr. Belvedere - Seasons One & Two is a 5-disc (single-sided) set featuring the show's first 29 episodes (all 7 from Season One, plus all 22 from Season Two); Full Frame (1.33:1) video; plus the following Special Features: New Interviews with the Cast, and Saturday Night Live - Mr. Belvedere Fan Club sketch. The discs are housed in 3 slimcases inside a handsomely designed [brown] slim outer box. Disc 1 contains Season One Episodes 1-7, Disc 2: Season Two Episodes 1-6, Disc 3: Episodes 7-11, Disc 4: Episodes 12-17, Disc 5: 18-22 plus Bonus Features. The picture and sound are fairly good, despite some noticeable grain and a very noticeable sound drop in "The Letter" episode. There are chapters for the episodes which you can skip through using your remote. Season One Disc 1: Stranger in the Night (3/15/1985) The Outcasts (3/22/1985) Gotta Dance (3/29/1985) Gorgeous George (4/5/1985) What I Did For Love (4/12/1985) The Lost Weekend (4/19/1985) Sweet Charity (4/26/1985) Season Two Disc 2: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (9/27/1985) Tornado (10/4/1985) Cheerleader (10/11/1985) Requiem (10/18/1985) Delivery (10/25/1985) The Contract (11/1/1985) Disc 3: Vows (11/18/1985) Strike (11/15/1985) The Letter (11/22/1985) Pinball (11/29/1985) The Prize (12/6/1985) Disc 4: Speechless (1/3/1986) The Teacher (1/10/1986) The Dropout (1/17/1986) Rivals (1/24/1986) Wesley's Friend (1/31/1986) The Will (2/7/1986) Disc 5: Valentine's Day (2/14/1986) Heather's Tutor (2/21/1986) Amish (3/7/1986) Dinner For Two (3/21/1986) The Play (3/28/1986)

Great unique comedy show from the '80s! I recommend you get a dose of Mr. Belvedere!

This dvd takes me back to the 80"s I really have enjoy it you forget how funny it was. Mr. Belvedere and George Owens have really good chemistry and how could you forget Wesley Owens the original Bart simpson.

The videos were of great quality and brought back a lot of memories of the '80s! I would definitely recommend this DVD set for any who loved the series.

Reviews

My parents never went to movies together, but one day in 75 they took in Tommy. Throughout my childhood and into adulthood I would occasionally hear stories from my folks about how awful and bizarre the film was. My dad seemed to like to point out the scene with Ann Margaret rolling around in baked beans. Well, the combination of this bitter hatred for the film and the whole baked beans thing finally wore on me enough that I watched the film. I neither liked or disliked The Who, but decided to press on. Plus, I was familiar with Ken Russell by that point. I was quite dumbfounded when the film ended. What in the hell did I just watch? Was this a comedy? Was it supposed to be disturbing? Deep? Was there a message I was supposed to pick up on? It was totally insane. The movie really messed with me for some time until it hit me that I absolutely friggin loved it! For those who don't know, the movie deals with Tommy, who at a young age sees his father murdered by his mother's lover. This puts him into a kind of psychosomatic state of being deaf, blind and mute. Throughout his childhood and young adulthood he's mistreated and exploited by damn near everybody until he becomes a pinball champion. He gains a kind of cult following, and soon after he breaks the spell of his condition and sees himself as a kind of religious messiah, and pays the price for it. As you know, the film is a musical, but certainly unlike any musical you've ever seen. All dialogue is done through song-the characters sing all of their lines. I believe there is only one spoken word in the film, "Tommy' at one point. Russell cast singers and nonsingers in the roles. Many cameos by musicians like Tina Turner, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and of course, The Who themselves. Supporting actors are Oliver Reed, Jack Nicholson, and Ann Margaret(looking yummy as can be. I really fell in love with her after seeing this). Russell makes them all sing, whether they can sing or not! The movie is almost impossible to describe-it's disturbing as hell because it's surreal to begin with, but everyone acts like they're from an insane asylum on top of that. A scene where Tommy is molested by his uncle is played as comedy! Tina Turner is so over the top twitchy, wild, cartoony and crazy to the point that she's downright scary. In fact, the whole thing is zany, but I'm not sure if the movie is supposed to be funny, even to this day. I know parts of it are, but it's just such an overload of crazy stuff that you don't know what to make of it. How Ken Russell got all of these people to do this stuff is beyond me. The reputation of this movie is NOT good. It's looked at as a rape of the album(an absolutely fantastic album by the way), even by Pete Townsend(didn't he watch the dailies?). Yes the story is altered and new elements are added in. New songs are introduced as well. The film is given a twisted funhouse vibe that the album didn't have, and it's understandable that many folks weren't gonna dig this movie. Only the 70s(and Russell)could have produced a movie like Tommy. I've seen the movie a ton of times since, and even became a Who fan as a result. I don't have many hangups about the alterations to the story, the album's the album and the movie's the movie. In fact, I see the album as The Who's and the film as a Ken Russell film-two totally different entities. Kinda like how the Novel The Shining is Stephen King's, but the film is Stanley Kubrick's all the way. Both are quite different, but very cool in their own right. My friends all hated the film when I made them watch it, but I just love it for it's great music and it's total insanity. Of course my parents think I'm totally out of my tree for liking this one.

I've been watching this movie over and over and over again since I was about 8 years old. I've always loved it and always will. Yes, it's strange, a bit trippy, and those who are fans of the The Who's original recording will probably not like this. But I LOVE the performances of Oliver Reed, Ann Margaret, Elton John, Tina Turner, Roger Daltrey, and especially Jack Nicholson (how sexy was he as the doctor!). When Oliver Reed and Ann Margaret are singing "You didn't hear it, you didn't see it" to young Tommy and the way they're yelling it to him at the end of the song gives me goosebumps. Even though Oliver Reed and Jack Nicholson aren't the best singers, I like it, I think it gives the movie some realism and even some comedy. I'm a huge fan of the songs from the movie by all the guest artists! And the ending of the movie is great. Overall, I think it's fantastic, despite it's "flaws".

Get the original album by the Who and for get this crap. The Who, Elton John Eric Clapton and Tina Turner are the only members of the cast that can sing or have any noticeable talent. Oliver Reed can't sing, Ann Margaret looks great but also can't sing, and so on to infinity. The big names here in can sing and have a presence on screen while the others slop their way around like some amateur night talent show. Be Warned - The origianl is better and this only serves to annoy and well you get the picture. The sets are overblown and very colorful but only serve to confuse as to whether this was intended to funny, sad or exactly what they were thinking. But definitley advise against buying. Don't even take it if it's free - it's bad.

This film has some of the wildest sets and costumes and shenanigans you'll ever see! Not to mention an amazingly outrageous cast. But most of the music is not well performed and the film doesn't come close to the effect of the original album. See it for fun. But stick to the original album for the best rendering. It all works better in your own mind than letting Ken Russell fill it in for you. And I LIKE Ken Russell! Check out "Women in Love" His masterpiece! That's the problem here. Ann-Margret is better in a lot of other stuff. The Who is better elsewhere. Eric Clapton is better elsewhere. So too Jack Nicholson, Oliver Reed, and everybody else. No one is up to par except Tina Turner.

Top buy i saw this movie when it first came out many years ago at the movies i am glad that you can still get it through Amazon and i find it great that you can watch it in tow ways on one side it is HD on the other side it is just like normal great idea.

Reviews

The pinball tables of this game are only fair. I thought this game would have been as good as the Williams Pinball game. It wasn't.

If you are a pinball fan, the Wii "Hall of Fame" collections can't be beat. The biggest difference between Wii and other video systems' pinball games is the "nudge" feature - you can use the Wii controllers to nudge the machine, just like a regular machine, and influence the movement of the ball. You can also tilt the machine if you're not careful. The Gottlieb Collection, like the Williams Collection before it, faithfully recreates the look of the machines and gives information on the history of each machine and instructions on how to maximize your score. The Gottlieb Collection also features some fun and goofy old-time arcade machines, including the Love Meter and the Fortune Teller. That being said, the Gottlieb Collection is not as much fun as the Williams Collection simply because the Gottlieb machines themselves are not as much fun, at least for me. Some of these machines are really old - from the '50s and '60s - and don't have as many bells and whistles (literally)as the machines created in the '80s and '90s. A couple of the games are great - Black Hole is my favorite. Most of the featured machines have multiple flippers, a couple have multiple levels, but many are of the type and era of "Jive Time" on the Williams Collection (although even Jive Time has a cool Wheel of Fortune feature). Play on these old machines can be a little slow as there's basically only targets and bumpers, and with some it's quite difficult to keep the ball in play for extended periods. I think if you are a fan of arcade pinball, this is a good game to add to your collection. If have limited experience with arcade machines, the Williams Collection might be the better one to start with. But either way, the Wii "Collection" series are far superior to most electronic pinball games.

As a follow up to the incredible Williams Collection, this is a very worthy successor. Lots of favorites are here, including the industry-shaking Black Hole. (Pity they couldn't have included the similar Haunted House.) Game play is quite similar to the Williams Collection, though one change in game play was somewhat annoying, namely completing the initial set of goals unlocks a DIFFERENT machine for free play, NOT the machine you are playing as is the case with the Williams Collection. This forces you to say, play several tables to complete the goals to find out which one will unlock Black Hole for free play. Other than that, I wasn't as annoyed by the table reflections as some. Complaints that the games aren't as fun are a limitation of the source material - Gottlieb pins were never as fun as the Williams pins, which typically had richer, deeper rule sets, better playfield "toys" and better sound. Still, Black Hole for one plays every bit as well as the real table and this should be a definite buy for any pin fan, especially at the price.

I thought this game was great. I have always been a fan of pinball games and it is close to realistic with the wii

I bought this game for my boyfriend and he absolutely loves it! We have an actual pinball machine in our basement that never gets used now that he has this game. The graphics are great!

Reviews

I'm an arcade/retro fan, and bought this title based on the arcade content. Unfortunately, the games themselves are very difficult to get to, and almost all of them must be unlocked by playing the games in a particular order and getting a good enough score on each (which is not terribly difficult, just tedious). Unfortunately, even after unlocking, there's no quick and easy way to launch the specific games one might be interested in, and you have to put up with annoying background dialog to boot. Not worth spending money on.

For those of you who like the 'old-fashiioned' arcade games this is the one! I bought it for Kaboom which I really loved on my old Atari system and have really missed since I can no longer use the Atari console. Sadly, Kaboom is 'locked' and I have yet to get to it! Guess I'll just have to keep trying.

I love the arcade so I thought this game would be lots of fun. IN the end, it wasn't too hard to beat some of the high scores (I am NOT a major gamer) and it was nearly impossible to beat some of the other high scores. Also, the 'host' of each section of arcade games (they are grouped into themes) is sorta funny when you first hear them speak, but then they say the same things repetitively and quickly become obnoxious. I think this game is just OK when playing it on your own, but can be much more fun when playing it with friends/family.

First thing I hear when I enter the Arcade Zone is a very familiar voice. If you're familiar with the 3rd season of the anime "Digimon", you'll recognize Todd's voice. Yes, that is Brian Beacock, better known as Takato. And 2 other Viz/Saban/Studiopolis VAs make it to this game, Kate Higgins (better known as Sakura on "Naruto") and Liam O'Brian (Gaara on the previously mentioned show). The game is all right, some of the games are difficult. I guess the one thing that is keeping me from selling this at Gamestop is Takato.

This is a great game for the whole family to play and enjoy. There are several different games and you are sure to find one that everyone will like.

Reviews

These pinball games in this pak are just like the real thing. You can even change the settings of the tables to your exact preferences, even the condition of the tables from worn to new and inbetween. Would like to see them make some more new ones for PC's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

The Pro Pinball games are the best you can get without having a full-sized table in your game room (which we do). I loved these games when they were first released, and played them on Win95 and 98, but when XP came along, they were toast. I was very happy to see that they had been re-released for XP. Strangely, the first two games work just fine, but the newest in the series will not work on my computer. It installs, graphics are fine, but all keyboard entries are erratic and slow (I'm talking 10-20 seconds for response times!). The fix posted in the readme files, and the updates, didn't fix the problem for me, but may fix it for others. It's a bummer, because the third game is my favorite - however, I'll live with just the other two. It's still worthy - but frustrating to pay for something and not be able to play part of it!

Reviews

This is a real 3-D pin-ball series. A GREAT VALUE indeed.You can even see the reflection of the environment on the surface of the stell ball as it moves -- so cool are the graphics.But there are hiccups / delay in rendering when loading another module.Good overall game. Grat for family/friends too -- upto four players can play.

Accept no substitutes: Pro Pinball is the _only_ PC pinball simulation worth playing. And for an unprecedented low price, you get all three Pro Pinball titles: The Web, Timeshock!, and Big Race USA. Considering this: I bought Timeshock! and The Web together for $15 and Big Race USA by itself for $30 and am _still_ happy with the value I got. You can imagine, then, what kind of treasure you're getting with this package.Unlike other PC simulations of that silver ball, Pro Pinball offers tables that are so complex and realistic in their design they can literally hold their own against (and oftentimes outperform) modern pinball tables you might see at your local arcade. Gameplay in all three tables is complex, yet engaging enough that you can have absolutely no idea what's going on yet have a blast nonetheless. Once you figure out the rules to the tables, though, the games really take off, and that's where the addiction comes in. And no silly things like balls that change shape, ridiculously large multi-tiered tables, or illogical loops -- every gadget, ramp, and gizmo in these tables are completely believable and have been implemented in real, physical tables in the past. The balls move smoothly and realistically with alarmingly accurate physics, and a truer representation of pinball cannot be found, anywhere.The themes of the tables are also very well-designed and make you want to play "just one more game." The Web has a Blade Runner-esque theme and feels a bit derivative and dated, but it is also the oldest title. Timeshock! and Big Race USA are the real treasures of this package, and both complement each other very nicely, each giving you a very different pinball experience with Timeshock!'s serious, time travel story and Big Race USA's very light-hearted, humorous veneer.If you've _ever_ liked pinball, YOU MUST GET THIS PACKAGE. Failure to do so is a severe disservice to yourself. Those $15 will easily outlast any other PC game you've got. I've played and permanently shelved countless more expensive PC games -- but I still play Pro Pinball. And those tables are just as fun now as they were when I first bought them.

This is still a great deal for Timeshock and Big Race USA but despite the earlier review be warned that there is apparently no cd music (or any music at all) on The Web. It DOES have a great soundtrack as I had this on the Mac some time ago but according to Interplay there are no music tracks offered in this version. I don't understand this but no explanation was given. It is the weakest table in any case but without music it makes a good coaster. I don't think it is a "tease" either as the game seems unavailable by itself. This seems to be a trend as Timeshock was also offered in "pinball madness 2" and it too turned out to be a stripped-down, no-music affair. In both cases this was never mentioned in the game description. So first you fiddle with your settings all night to find the problem... then you find out they just didn't bother to sell you the whole package... nice. Still a decent price indeed for the TWO working games.

For anyone who likes computer pinball this software package is like a gift from heaven. If you're a pinball fan and haven't played any of the titles published by Pro Pinball, you will be blown away by the realism, depth, and sheer FUN of these tables. This package contains full versions of Cunning Developments' first three pinball tables (in chronological order), 'The Web', 'Timeshock', and 'Big Race USA'. Of the three titles, only 'The Web' shows it's age in the graphics and physics during play. The table is still incredibly complex and has an excellent musical soundtrack. Truth be told, I have spent most of my time playing the two later tables, 'Timeshock' and 'Big Race USA'. 'Timeshock', according to most pinball sites you come across on the web, is the best and most entertaining pinball simulation in existence for the PC. I heartily agree. With a sci-fi storyline, your mission is to collect crystals from four different time zones and put them together to travel to the dawn of time and prevent a "timeshock", which will happen in the future. The table is a perfect balance; challenging yet not impossible, complex but not unintelligible, and most importantly, very addicting! I have played this table probably over 200 times and I have only gotten 3/4 of the way to the final goal. But does this discourage me? No! Through practice you will improve and learn strategies to get better, which is the best part. The graphics and sound are incredible, and the level of control and custimization you have over the table is vast indeed. A classic worth the price of this package by itself.'Big Race USA' is the newest table in this package, and carries on the tradition of quality that Timeshock brought to the PC market. More light-hearted in theme than Timeshock, in Big Race USA you play the part of a taxi, cruising across the United States from New York to San Francisco, and then back again in the "Big Race". Along the way you undergo challenges from 4 different other cars (dragster, sports car, monster truck, and mini-beetle, each with their own charming personality and voice), as well as the imperious Police Car, which has a hilarious Darth Vader fetish and wheezes lines like, "You're old and weak, taxi", or "I have you now". The table is a bit more complex than Timeshock, but reading the manual (included on the CD) will give you the necessary tips to start racing your way to success! The graphics and sound are top-notch, and this table is a nice change of pace and a worthy successor to Timeshock.When I found out amazon.com was selling this software package for this price I had to do a double-take. You cannot beat this price! This software package is the best pinball value for the PC I've seen to date. If you are a pinball enthusiast and want the best pinball sims on the planet, get this software package, you won't be disappointed!If you'd like to try before you buy, check out the demo versions of any of these tables to see how realistic and fun Cunning Developments has made these games. Enjoy!

Reviews

I have played many video pinball games and "The Web" is still my favorite. When you play the game you forget that you are playing it on a computer. The graphics, special effects and ball action are so real it is as if you were standing at the machine itself. The one thing that will remind you that the game is being played on a computer is the video segments within the game. It is exciting, realistic, strategy oriented & rewarding espically when you get scores above 2,000,000,000. When you reach that level, points pile on faster than you can imagine. That is if you are good enough to keep things going!The developer(s) of this software have to be true pinball "Buffs." My hat if off to the writers of this software for their knowlege of the game and ability to deliver such a realistic and addicting product. If you play video pinball and do not have this game, stop what you are doing right now and get it as soon as possible. You will not be sorry.

The Web is probably my favorite of the ProPinball Series. The graphics and sound are ideal. I never get tired of this one.