Room 222 – Season Two (1970 – 71/Shout! Factory DVD Set)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: D Episodes: B
Note: This DVD set is only available
exclusively from Shout! Factory at their on-line website store. You can find the link to that site below.
Though an
exclusive release this time, I am happy to see Room 222 arrive any way it can.
Shout! Factory’s Season Two
release offers all 26 solid episodes on 4 DVDs.
If you are not familiar with the show, try this link to our coverage of
the debut season:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8379/Room+222+%E2%80%93+Season+On
The show
continued to be a groundbreaking landmark series and the many issues about
people, education, race, the U.S.
and the future are more relevant than ever before. When watching, the first question one asks is
“why are we not seeing this kind of television and these kinds of issues and
questions being brought up on television as a normal state of broadcast?” The answers are sometimes obvious and not
always pretty, but the show’s very existence and success shows this is the kind
of TV people really wanted and still want.
Great to have another season on DVD.
Guest
stars and stars to be this season include Dana Elcar, Ed Begley, Jr., Holly
Near, Anthony Geary, Arthur Batanides, Naomi Stevens, Lillian Randolph, Lieux
Dressler, John Schuck, Bonnie Jones, Chuck Norris, Glynn Truman, Jason
Wingreen, Danny Goldman, Dick Patterson, Dwan Smith, Maxine Stewart, Jerry
Hausner, Jeanne Bates, Sorrell Booke, Phillip Pine, Morris Buchanan, Tim
Matheson, Kevin O’Neal, Bobby Griffin, Ken Sansom, Milton Selzer, Kurt Russell,
Barry Cahill, Hillary Thompson, Michael Lembeck, Jay Montgomery, Cindy Williams
and Christopher Cain, the father of Dean Cain who later became a director.
Of
course, Lloyd Haynes, Denise Nicholas, Karen Valentine and Michael Constantine
were great together and totally convincing as the regular staff, though other
fine actors played other teachers and fit in well. It is a shame this did not inspire as many
shows on school as we have police and medical shows, but maybe one day…
Unfortunately,
the 1.33 X 1 image is once again from strained video sources from the original
film footage instead of new film prints.
That is a shame because the show has a good look to it and deserves
better. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is also
down a generation or two, but not as bad as it could have been. Volume levels are something you should still
be careful of and expect background noise.
There are sadly no extras.
To order,
go to this link:
http://www.shoutfactorystore.com/
- Nicholas Sheffo
