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TV shows are a big deal on DVD now, and for a good purpose. Consumers are snapping up the boxsets of their favorite shows, and I love being able to enjoy my favorites without commercials. DVD also makes a good home for retro shows that have since gone off the air or entered syndication. Cheers: Season One is coming soon, and boxsets of MASH have already started hitting store shelves. But what about your truly eccentric TV? Although I can�t imagine the profit margin being high at all, Artisan has gone out and begun releasing episode discs of Tropical Heat (aka Sweating Bullets), two episodes per disc and two discs hit the market at the same time. While not as good as a boxset, I bet fans are happy to have something like this on DVD at all, and I�m sure VHS tapes of this stuff was never made available. Tropical Heat stars Nick Slaughter (Rob Stewart), ex-DEA cop fired from his job for being a renegade. He �retires� to the fabulously beautiful island of Key Mariah and opens a private investigation office. An early case has him teamed up with local travel agent Sylvie, a woman with both beauty and brains. Together they act as rough cop/thinking cop, the classic chemistry between total opposites. Hilarity ensues. Most of the cases involve drug smuggling, murder or both. Along with the other mullet-clad residents of Key Mariah, Nick and his greasy ponytail are out to fight crime the hard way � in a million dollar sports car! Actually, that�s Yuppie and the Alien from GTA: Vice City, but the plot line here is similar. Taking familiar stereotyped and generic plots from your usual police dramas and action shows and moving them to a tropical locale � that�s Tropical Heat for you. If you�re reading this, then you�ve probably already bought the disc of Episodes 1 and 2. And if you�re reading this, that probably means you�re investigating the further purchase of Episodes 3 and 4. If you enjoyed the first disc, then I suppose purchasing the second is a no-brainer. The episodes stay mediocre in quality, but more of the same so nothing really changes between the two discs. The first episode on the disc (Episode Three overall) has Nick and Sylvie investigating the killing of some dead exotic birds, which has the owner in a tizzy. This leads them to an animal smuggling ring that is promptly fought. Roll tape. Episode Four is the �drama episode� in which Nick confronts his past, this time in the form of an old flame. It�s too bad that the relationships in the episode, meant to be the axle on which the rest of the episode spins, are completely flat and unbalanced. The chemistry is awful, and the cheesy acting here works against Tropical Heat, making the delivery heavy and over-played. Melodrama at its finest. Just to keep the audience happy, there�s some random murder and blackmail inserted here too. Episodes Three and Four are more of the same to be sure, and the acting styles stay consistent with the hammy escapades we saw in Episodes One and Two. While the role of Nick seems to get slightly more funny and less idiotic, the role is still pretty generic and the �acting� certainly isn�t much to get excited about. Key Mariah looks gorgeous as usual, but the residents have gotten even more dirty and �early 90s� in appearance. Hot pink shirts and mullets on the surfer dudes everywhere. Overall, if you own Episodes 1 and 2, then you know what to expect. If you aren�t already into Tropical Heat then my advice is easy � don�t. It really is nothing more than a generic cop show with beaches and bad acting. Go for Homicide or NYPD Blue boxes instead if you desire good television on DVD. The transfer is slightly less than what we got for the first two episodes. The colors seem to be more muted, and the occasional pieces of scratches and dust pop up. The skin tones look more red than they should be, but that might also be the fact that everyone has a tan � I never saw the show on TV, so I can�t compare to that. For an early 1991 TV show, it certainly looks OK. That is, if you really want to see Nick Slaughter clearly. The audio is clear and defect free. No distortions and the background music can be heard nice and clearly� possibly a fault. With an eclectic mix of wailing cheese guitar/butt-rock and generic surfer-rock, Tropical Heat sports a soundtrack not exactly easy on the ears. But no matter, because it�s audible and the sound presentation is fine. The only extra feature is Chapter Selections, and possibly the $8 online price tag. No commentaries, documentaries etc. that gets on the other TV boxsets from other companies. Tropical Heat fans deserve better! Must keep straight face� If you already own the first disc, then there�s no reason not to buy the second. The show apparently has an underground following, so I suppose Artisan is doing a favor in releasing this at all. But for those curious but uninitiated into the world of Tropical Heat, I say don�t bother renting or buying. It�s really nothing special, particularly with so many great TV shows hitting DVD and all costing a bundle. Might as well save your money. WRITER: Dave Jesteadt �Gameniki |