The Corner Penthouse

Hot Springs Hotel was a late night softcore adult comedy series that aired on Showtime in 1997 and 1998. I've always liked the show because of its wackiness and likable cast of characters. It didn't hurt that Samantha Phillips is pretty and hot.... or maybe just pretty hot :-) Oddly, the simulated sex scenes are the one thing that I really DIDN'T like about the show. I don't see the appeal in people *pretending* to have sex. Anyway, I taped all 15 episodes during the series original run and was hoping that this "Complete Series" set could replace those videotapes. It should be noted that prior to this "Complete Series" set, only 14 of the 15 episodes were released on DVD - and they were released in two-episode pairs at a considerably high price (even higher now since those seven DVDs are out of print). I was smart enough to avoid those individual releases. I really wish that I were smart enough to avoid this "Complete Series" release, too.

For most, if not all, of the episodes, the audio and video gets more and more off sync as the episode plays on. By the end it is SO off sync that it can't even be watched. A good example of this is in Disc 1, Episode 1 ("Money Trouble"). Go ahead to 22:12, which is near the end of the episode, and you'll see that the words are not matching the lip movements at all! None of the episodes I taped off of Showtime in 1997/1998 have this problem.

I've also noticed on at least two occasions some rather crude cuts where footage is repeated twice, thus making the audio and video even MORE off sync. Here are two examples:

* Disc 1, Episode 6 "Beauty Pageant" - At 22:17 footage is repeated and jumps around. The episode I taped off of Showtime in 1997/1998 does not have this problem. In fact, the Showtime TV broadcast episode uses different footage than the DVD in the spot where all the editing occurs. On the TV broadcast, the contestants are on stage as the winner is announced. On the DVD, the stage is empty, but all of a sudden is filled with the contestants when the winner speaks.

Here are two completely safe for work video clips that show the defect, and what the video *should* look like:



* Disc 2, Episode 1 "Theo & The Model" - At 20:55 footage is repeated as the transition is made from the couple having sex to them lying in bed talking. The episode I taped off of Showtime in 1997/1998 does not have this problem. In fact, after the transition, in the TV broadcast, the camera pans from the bedside table to the couple; but this panning is cut on the DVD due to the odd editing that happens.

I e-mailed Taurus Entertainment, the company that owns the show and made the DVD, to find out if these problems were fixed and new DVDs were made. After several weeks, and a few e-mails, they never got back to me.

I know that these defects are in all copies of the DVD set because I found some copies of the episodes online that were ripped from someone else's DVD set, and they contain the same defects.

I also find it odd that the episodes on the DVDs have shorter runtimes than the episodes I taped from Showtime, even though there's an extra logo screen added at the start of each episode on the DVDs that wasn't on the Showtime broadcasts.

Oh, and it was kind of silly to devote a whole disc to less than 11 minutes of footage. With Disc 2 having one less episode than Disc 1, surely the Behind the Scenes featurette and Photo Slideshow could have fit onto Disc 2. Speaking of the photo slideshow on Disc 3, the images are really bad quality, with lots of jaggies and other low-quality artifacts. The images Taurus Entertainment has on their website for the series, as small as they are, are higher quality than what's on the DVD.

After waiting 10+ years for the entire series to be released on DVD, for the quality to be this poor is an absolute insult. As a big fan of the series, and as someone who expects quality from the DVDs and Blu-ray discs that I buy, I'm highly disappointed with the Hot Springs Hotel: The Complete Series DVD set.

For those who may want to know, here's a list of the episodes on the DVDs and a brief synopsis of each.

DISC 1
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1. MONEY TROUBLE (25:50)
Kat and Randy inherit the hotel from their Aunt Betty. We are introduced to Lacy, Kat's best friend and Theo, who they find hitchhiking by the side of the road. The initial excitement of owning this gorgeous resort is short-lived when they learn the back is ready to foreclose.

2. CHEERLEADERS (26:11)
Randy's desire to book a group of cheerleaders into the hotel overrides his logic, as he offers them a health conscious weekend with absolutely nothing healthy to offer. Kat attempts to distract the Coach of the team into a romantic weekend for Kat, as she and the Coach raise a little spirit on the sidelines.

3. TRAVELS WITH TRAVIS (26:03)
A good review from famed travel correspondent Travis Jones would go a long way for Hot Springs Hotel, but Randy has booked the Women Without Clothes club at the same time, on the same floor! Hilarity, and a little romance, ensues when Kat and Randy attempt to keep the two sides from meeting.

4. MOVIE PEOPLE (26:05)
Randy has cut a deal with a motion picture company for them to stay and shoot at the hotel. Only, he's arranged for their stay to be paid on deferment, which in Hollywood lingo means NEVER! Whenever Randy gets suspicious of them, they just give him a promotion on the film. How can he find time to argue with them when he's "auditioning" the most gorgeous girls in the world...and they're naked.

5. CORPORATE RAIDERS (26:08)
The "Queen of Takeovers" has aimed her sights on the Hot Springs Hotel. She's met her match in Kat, but unfortunately for the hotel, she takes full advantage of Randy's amorous ways and tricks him into signing away his half of the hotel, making a dangerous partnership between Kat and the Queen.

6. BEAUTY PAGEANT (25:51)
Travis makes a return visit when he stages the Miss Palm Desert beauty contest at the hotel. While Kat does all she can to keep Randy and Theo away from the contestants, her heart is being broken by the two-timing Travis.

7. ROCK STAR (26:01)
When a famous rock star want to lay low, Kat checks him into the hotel, incognito. If this works out, just think of the clientele that could grace these hallways. He's given a full line of credit and access to the entire staff; the place is his. Kat changes her tune when Lacey discovers out the rock star is flat broke. They immediately tell his fan club of his whereabouts and proceed to sell off every item they can get their hands on...right down to the very boxer shorts he's wearing.

8.BACHELORETTE PARTY (25:54)
Once upon a time, Lacey's best friend Stacy stole her boyfriend Chris away in the most devious manner. Now, years later, Stacy is engaged to Chris and has returned to rub it in Lacey's face by holding her bachelorette party at the hotel. The usually cool Lacey digs in her heels and goes toe to toe with her archenemy.

DISC 2
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9. THEO & THE MODEL (25:55)
Lacey's sister Diane arrives for a visit, with her modeling agent, Dan. It's hard enough for Kat to keep Randy away from this attractive young girl, but Theo is spending his vacation at the hotel and she must divert his attention as well. Lacey would help but she is far too distracted by Dan. But things are not always as they appear, for it seems Diane is the little heartbreaker, and it is Randy and Theo who should watch their backs...and all their body parts.

10. TO YOUR HEALTH (26:00)
Heath Inspectors make a surprise visit to the Hot Springs Hotel and Randy and Kat have to convince them that the hotel can pass inspection...by and means necessary, and that's where the trouble starts.

11. HOLE IN ONE (26:02)
Randy books a group of sexy women golfers to play in Hot Springs Hotel's first annual golf tournament. One slight problem...they have no course! But between the hotel's famously potent drink, the Waki-Tiki, and Kat's ingenious plan to turn the grounds into a golf course, the tournament is a rousing success.

12. A.W.O.L. (25:43)
Randy comes to the aid of three adorable female soldiers who are out in the desert on maneuvers. He offers them and afternoon of sun, fun and Waki-Tikis. Meanwhile Lacy has insisted on Kat taking the day off and getting a makeover. Upon returning, looking gorgeous as ever, Kat is mistaken for one of the missing soldiers by their Drill Sergeant...and that's when the fun begins. War is hell, but peacetime can be oh, so sexy.

13. LAYOUT (24:50)
Randy comes up with the brilliant idea to shoot the girls of the Hot Springs Hotel for a promotional calendar. It is a very hot and steamy shoot, as the girls sensuously bare it all for the camera.

14. GIRLS IN THE BAND (25:49)
Always the humanitarian, Kat goes to great lengths to throw a formal benefit to save the roadrunner. The evening has all the makings of a rousing success, until Randy informs Kat he has canceled the chamber quartet and booked a country western band in their place. Can the smooth talking, sweet singing cowboy Chuck, right the reins or will Kat send everyone riding off into the sunset?

15. FANTASY (25:53)
The fantasies of Randy, Kat, Lacey, Theo and the girls are revealed in a very "special" episode of Hot Springs Hotel.

DISC 3
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* Vintage Behind The Scenes Featurette (8:34)
* Slideshow (2:06, with 26 images)