TV on DVD: Will 2006 Deliver More Of The Classics?
“Update Late 2009!”
With Blu-ray
in full swing and so much TV on DVD issued, we decided to check back on this
essay from the beginning of 2006 to see what did and did not materialize on
DVD. Out of our hoped-for selections,
not as many as expected. We have
included italicized notes and links in the few cases it is applicable…
When DVD first arrived, it was enough the studios had not
unanimously supported it. As they
eventually did, they seemed to think only motion pictures and some niche titles
would be the only kinds of titles to sell.
After Music on DVD (concerts, Music Videos, et al) shocked them all and
became a boom market, it was not long before TV followed, though that was a
more recent development and the big growth sector in 2005. 2006 continued that trend, but the switch to
HD has mixed up what is being released three years later. Any analog low-definition, videotaped show
really needs to be issued now.
Now any recent TV show is likely to pop up on DVD,
especially if it was a hit or has cult appeal.
Though some older shows have arrived on DVD, there are so many that have
not, that we get constant questions about when some big favorite will arrive. Last year, greats like Moonlighting, Kolchak:
The Night Stalker, Sapphire & Steel, Hart To Hart and
even The White Shadow finally turned up.
When General Electric bought Universal (long before selling to Comcast),
they ended the moratorium on their TV shows and many of their favorites finally
saw first-season release.
However, there are many great shows still not announced
and some of them are simply being held hostage for maximum sales until a TV or
feature film remake is produced in the current frenzy to recycle just about any
show around. Rarely do the new versions
turn out to be even watchable, but that has not stopped the trend. Unless the show is from the early 1980s to
date, its release is less likely unless the companies see the potential sales. As we enter the New Year, we thought we would
suggest and consider some great shows not yet announced or nearly so that come
up the most in our circles:
Alice – Based on Martin Scorsese’s hit film Alice
Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (now out in a great DVD from Warner Bros.), Linda
Lavin took over the role of single mother Alice Hyatt who, with her son Tommy,
breaks down on her way to the West Coast to start a singing career. She lands up working at Mel’s Diner and a hit
series was born. Paired by CBS with The
Jeffersons in record rating immortality, the show holds up very well and
Warner Bros. should put it out.
Though
Warner Bros. still have yet inexplicably issued any seasons of the show, they
did a nice single-DVD compilation we hoped would be followed by the original
seasons. You can read about it at this
link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3879/Alice+-+Television+Favorites
Animated
Laurel & Hardy + Abbott & Costello 1966 Series – Two
very popular cartoon comedy series of the time were made by Hanna Barbera based
on two of still the greatest comedy teams of all time. Larry Harmon (Bozo The Clown) voiced Laurel
and Bud Abbott voiced himself in these really funny series. Additional voices were provided by Mel Blanc,
Don Messnick, Janet Waldo and Paul Frees (sometimes on both shows) so why are
these shows not out on Blu-ray or DVD?
Why not do them as two shows in one set?
Ark
II/Jason Of Star Command/Space Academy – Along with Shazam! and
Isis, Animation house Filmation tried a
series of live action science fiction shows that ran for a while on Saturday
mornings in the late 1970s on CBS. While
the superhero shows are with Warner Bros., someone could issue all three shows
as one fun set with extras. Jason
reused sets left over from Academy when the show ended.
BCI
Eclipse gained the rights to all Filmation titles that had not reverted back to
original licensees and though we did not get Ark II until it was part of a box
set, we covered it in another way, followed by actual reviews of the latter
shows. Note that all these sets are out
of print as BCI folded, but plenty of low cost copies are out there:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7711/Sci-Fi+Box+Set+(Ark+II/Space+Acad
Jason Of Star Command
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5419/Jason+Of+Star+Command
Space Academy
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4874/Space+Academy+–+The+Complete
Batman (1965 - 67) – Fox has the shows, but Warner bros.
owns the rights and they do not seem to want the shows issued on DVD at this
time with a new era of the character launched.
The episodes need some restoration work, but only an insane demand that
both studios could ignore is going to get this one released. It also makes one wonder what will happen
with the Van Johnson/Bruce Lee Green
Hornet series.
We have
since found out that the family/estate of William Dozier is suing both
companies for back payments of royalties, holding up this classic from seeing
any home video or TV appearances. We’ll
see how the case goes.
Beatles
Cartoon Series (1966) – With everything else Beatles issued in 2009, why
not this series? It has been out of
circulation too long and hardly ever issued anywhere.
Fantastic Journey – This show only ran 10
episodes in 1977, but had a great lead cast and interesting guest stars every
show. Jared Martin, the now major
independent director Carl Franklin and Roddy McDowell lead a series about an
expedition that goes into another dimension when passing The Bermuda Triangle. It’s a great time to put it out on DVD.
Hardy
Boys (1969) – While the Shawn Cassidy/Parker Stevenson live
action hit show has made it to DVD, this animated version has not and featured
the brothers as part of a larger rock band solving mysteries. With another revival on the horizon, why not
issue it now?
Honey West – The great Anne Francis in a
Spy/Detective series shot in glorious black and white could be issued in
complete series set and was a major forerunner of (with Hart To Hart) Moonlighting. Honey inherits a detective agency from her
father and finds herself each week in a great action puzzle of a case. Francis is one of the great forgotten stars,
but this DVD issued by VCI in later 2008 should change that:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7769/Honey+West+%E2%80%93+The+Com
Hot L Baltimore –
Short-lived sitcom based on groundbreaking stage play has not been seen in
years, but would be interesting to revisit in complete series DVD set. Set at a hotel with a strange set of live-in
residences, the show dealt with taboos a few years before the groundbreaking Soap
arrived.
Hot
Wheels (1969) – The infamous animated series was considered
nothing but a half-hour commercial by the U.S. Government and eventually
pulled. How times change! Would be nice to see it now and how it holds
up. With extras on the toys of the time,
it would make a nice Complete Series set.
The Immortal – Not to be confused with a
recent, silly series with the same title, this Christopher George series should
have been huge, but did not catch on.
Launched with a pilot TV movie, he plays a racecar driver who is being
kidnapped because his blood can cure all diseases and make a person ageless. Especially interesting in an AIDS era, this
action series is like a more sophisticated Fugitive, with great scripts
and acting.
Joe Bash – Peter Boyle is the title
character, a semi-corrupt police officer in Barney Miller producer Danny
Arnold’s bold attempt to do a situation comedy with a dark edge and no laugh
track. That was bold for its time and
the show did not last, but I bet it holds up very well now.
Logan’s Run – The
TV series version of the hit 1976 film has a surprisingly strong music score
(reviewed elsewhere on this site) and some other surprises. Not all the shows are strong, but they can be
amusing and the remake should encourage Warner Bros. to finally issue the
complete series, especially since the last few shows never aired.
The Lucy Show – Between the mega-success of I
Love Lucy and later success of Here’s Lucy, Lucille Ball proved she
could carry a show without the great Desi Arnaz with The Lucy Show and
has some of the greatest comedy moments in TV history. Plenty of bad copies of the show are out
there, but Paramount
needs to restore and issue high quality official DVDs of this show. It began as a black and white show with
co-star Vivian Vance as new characters; widows who live together with their
children in a big house to save expenses.
Then the show went to full color and has some of the best color in TV
history. Even after Vance left, Gale
Gordon’s Mr. Mooney remained as a slow burn hoot who was constantly driven
crazy by Lucy Carmichael. Between the
scripts, their wit, the delivery and the now unreal ability of Lucy to get huge
stares to appear on her show over just about any others, Lucy was pushing her
talents into new directions, to the limits and it shows.
MPI is now issuing entire Here’s Lucy seasons while CBS DVD finally started issuing the
series, beginning with Season One.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E./Girl From U.N.C.L.E. – The
famous spy series from the 1960s that has been in turnaround at Warner Bros.
for a few years as a feature film is long overdue for a comeback and a fun TV
movie with the original leads (Robert Vaughn and David McCallum) almost
relaunched a new show. If Bond can start
all over, this would be a great time to start issuing each season. Paramount
is finally issuing the original Wild, Wild West with Robert Conrad and
Ross Martin. Can Warner be far behind
with these shows?
After a
dispute with Anchor Bay over rights, Warner issued the entire Man From
U.N.C.L.E. series in a massive,
highly comprehensive 42-DVD set in a briefcase via Time-Life which we reviewed
as follows, hopefully successful enough to get The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.
eventually issued:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6407/The+Man+From+U.N.C.L.E.
Maude – The only major Norman Lear/Bud Yorkin sitcom
with an edge Sony has not out on DVD yet, Bea Arthur is easily available in
several seasons of Golden Girls, but her greatest TV work remains as
Maude Finley, the nemesis of Archie Bunker and all time great liberal
character. The show remains one of the
great spin-offs of all time and the supporting cast (including a young Adrienne
Barbeau) has great chemistry.
Season
One arrived on DVD finally, as this review will confirm:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5165/Maude+–+The+Complete+First
Mannix – The original Mike Connors action detective hit
ran an amazing eight seasons and holds up well for its time. Action packed in its time, good-looking
copies finally arrived on DVD in 2008 starting with the first season:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7020/Mannix+–+The+First+Season+(CBS
Mike Hammer (1956) – When will someone
issue the original TV version of the Mickey Spillane detective show with Darren
McGavin? It ran three seasons, produced
78 black & white half-hour shows now surfacing on cable TV. That could be done in two to three DVD boxes,
but the entire show could be put on five double-sided discs.
Mission: Impossible – With the third Tom Cruise
film promising more action and big budget thrills where the money is actually
on the screen (imagine that) for all to enjoy, Paramount is long overdue to
start issuing the original series. A
whole new generation or two has not seen this series in its brilliant, uncut
form and the revelation would be an entertaining shock.
Season
One and Two
arrived on DVD finally, as these review will confirm, with the rest now
available:
One
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4632/Mission:+Impossible+–+The+Comp
Two
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5593/Mission:+Impossible+–+The+Complete
Nero Wolfe (1981) – In 1979, a TV movie
with Thayer David was produced that was designed to launch a TV series, but Mr.
David passed away before that could happen.
William Conrad from Cannon (finally on DVD) was signed to replace
him and a very ambitious, short-lived series of 14 expensively produced
episodes resulted. Though not a hit, it
is as compelling as the recent A&E version, itself a hit on DVD. Paramount/CBS DVD ought to issue the TV movie
and series in one set.
The New
3 Stooges (1965 – 66) – Forget the live-action film due out, can
someone find, restore and revive this underrated, funny animated series created
by the Moe and other family members?
Colorful and an underrated piece of Stooges history, This would make for
a good Blu-ray and DVD set.
Police Squad – The few episodes produced
were the basis for the three Naked Gun films and are more watchable for
some since O.J. Simpson is not in them. Paramount could do this
as a 2 DVD set.
This one
finally arrived:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5155/Police+Squad!+[In+Color
Quinn Martin Productions – The most untapped
catalog of great classic hit TV dramas has yet to see the light of day,
including The Streets Of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, Cannon,
Banyon and even A Man Called Sloan. After Paramount/CBS freed them from the Republic
holdings and kept them before licensing the rest of the titles back to
Lionsgate, they finally started arriving on DVD. To date, The Streets Of San Francisco
and The Fugitive are the only series to make it, with its First Season split
into two volumes:
V.1
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5409/The+Streets+of+San+Francisco
V.2
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6058/The+Streets+Of+San+Francisco
Fugitive
Season One, Volume One
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5892/The+Fugitive+–+Season+One,+Vol
Return Of The Saint – Already issued in an
elaborate complete series DVD box set loaded with extras in Australia and England, A&E is about halfway
through issuing the black and white Roger Moore episodes from the original Saint
series. If they could finish that soon,
they could issue this show by year’s end.
We could
not wait on anyone in the U.S.
to do it, so we covered the original Australian box from Umbrella
Entertainment:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6250/Return+Of+The+Saint+–+25th+An
Room 222 – The half-hour show ran five
seasons and was a favorite of many, including in later reruns, but has not been
seen in years. Even when badly edited
(is there extra footage to be restored and make the show more coherent or is
that rumor?) it had solid ratings and remains one of the best TV shows about
high school ever made. Since we posted,
Shout! Factory issued Season One a few years later and we covered it here:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8379/Room+222+%E2%80%93+Season+On
Shaft: The Series – He’s one bad mother, but the
TV series version with original lead Richard Roundtree has exceptional scripts
and should have been a bigger hit in its time.
They had to be to make up for the violence they could not show and money
they did not have to spend. The result
is yet another gem Warner Bros. needs to release.
The Six Million-Dollar Man/Bionic Woman –
Already issued in first season sets in England, when are we getting
these? How loyal are fans? How well regarded and remembered are the
shows? When word got around that someone
on crack wanted Jim Carrey to play Steve Austin, one of the biggest reactions
of outrage and fury to date associated with any remake was let loose and the
idea was squashed. Carrey is talented,
but the idea is to hire a serious actor who is likable and heroic, which is not
what Carrey is known for.
Rights
are now further complicated by The Weinstein Company, who got the rights to the
original book when Universal was preoccupied!
We’ll see how this works out.
Star Maidens – A cult show people loved who
saw it, with women in the future hunting humans, especially men. Even the soundtrack has been issued, but not
the series. How can you pass up a cool
show with a song that has “sex world” in its lyrics?
T.H.E. Cat – 1966 thriller series lasted
only one series of 26 half-hour shows, but is regarded as one of the better
Spy-era series. Created by the great
writer Harry Julian Fink (Dirty Harry, Ice Station Zebra), it is
overdue for DVD release.
Underdog (1966)
on Blu-ray – Released in scattered single DVDs, is it not time to remaster the
show for Blu-ray and do a complete series on Blu-ray and DVD? Did Disney’s horrid live-action feature film
bomb do that much damage?
Valley Of The Dinosaurs – One of the most mature
and intelligent animated series Hanna Barbera ever made, a family is in the
wild and gets so lost, they land up in another world of the past and make
friends with a kind family of the past.
Out the same season as the live-action Land Of the Lost, this
series was one of the first on TV (especially children’s television) to use
electronic instruments in its theme song and the scripts are exceptional. Warner Bros. has been issuing classics out of
that catalog and this gem needs to be dusted off, yet even the horrid Land
Of the Lost feature film on Blu-ray and DVD was not enough to get this out
on DVD. Why?
Welcome Back Kotter – With the advance sales of a
single DVD compilation much higher than expectations, Warner Bros. should
release the show season by season with tons of extras, including
behind-the-scenes rehearsals that we know are in the vaults.
The
first season finally arrived, but no more since we posted this review:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5511/Welcome+Back,+Kotter+–+The+Comp
WKRP In Cincinnati – The
original show ran for four seasons and has been kept off the DVD shelves by the
issue of royalties and permission to use the many hits songs that surfaced in
each show. One plan was to painstakingly
take out the music, but you would think the RIAA (Recording Industry
Association of America) and the owners of the show and music could make some
kind of one-time special deal on the show, even if that meant royalties going
into some kind of special back-up trust for artists. Otherwise, the show should not be issued in
versions no one is going to like.
Sadly,
it was issued with much of the music removed, but is still funny. The creators even explain where some of the
missing music was placed in the extras:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5293/WKRP+In+Cincinnati+–+The+Comp
Needless to say this is far from a complete list, but it
is a major sampling of some of the very best and most interesting shows you
have not heard much of or of in a long time and in many cases, are long overdue
for DVD and even Blu-ray. Sometimes, it
is sadly a matter of good prints not being readily available or the studio or
owners not knowing what they have. In
other cases, it is not obvious and the shows are maybe available on
out-of-print VHS if that. We’ll see how
many of these shows come out by the time we update again.
