The following are two personal but unofficial Batty Awards I want to give out for Season 11.
As I have mentioned, I read multiple books in preparation for/in conjunction with this past season. The nominees for Outstanding Season 11 Book Rick Read are:
A Prime-Time Life by Aaron Spelling with Jefferson Graham
MASH: The Ultimate Guidebook by Ed Solomonson and Mark O'Neill
MASH: The Exclusive Inside Story of TV's Most Popular Show by David S. Reiss
Various Dennis the Menace collections by miscellaneous creators
The Sweeps: A Year in the Life of a Television Network by Cameron Stauth and Mark Christensen
Starsky and Hutch (A Golden All-Star Book)
Dallas: The Complete Story of the World's Favorite Soap by Barbara S. Curran
And the Batty goes to...
The Sweeps! This contemporary account of the 1983-1984 TV season is a television history book so good and so impactful that I regret not knowing about it sooner. Yet it was an invaluable resource for our special '83 NBC episode. It is not just insightful, though; it is one of the most entertaining TV books you will find. It is worth tracking down a used copy and adding it to your library.
Next up, I want to praise a DVD set. We watch the shows we cover by various means: streaming, home media, maybe sometimes over the air/cable sources. In this season, we made good use of an older DVD set I bought used:
The Batty for Outstanding Season 11 DVD Set Rick Watched goes to...
The Sonny and Cher Ultimate Collection (3-DVD set)
This 2004 set is an excellent compilation of various episodes of the different incarnations of Sonny and Cher. There are bigger collections and different versions, but this one gives you a good look at the show (one you can supplement with online uploads, many of them from old TV Land showings) with complete episodes. The old shot-on-video show isn't gonna look great on your giant HD TV, but the material is the thing.
Also, the set has a generous selection of extras, including selected scene commentary from Cher herself and a revealing set of interviews with producers Allen Blye and Chris Bearde. Anytime you see Paul Brownstein's name on a disc set, you can expect some bonus material, and this is no exception. I believe the set is out of print, but you can still find it at a cheap price if you don't want one of the pricy Time Life box sets.
The good news is, the original 1970s Columbo episodes are coming to Blu-Ray in November from Kino Lorber, and it's safe to assume they will be remastered, unedited, and will look great. Once upon a time, that would be enough. Maybe it still is!
The bad news is, when Kino announced it had the rights to the show, it also announced a slate of special features that included audio commentaries on every episode from a variety of authors and experts. hardcore Columbo fans were thrilled! However, when it came time to set a release date, things had changed. Kino reported that all the new extras were gone, including the commentaries--no, especially the commentaries, most would say.
Yet now, a couple months later, the official listing says the Music and Effects tracks are still available on the set, and the commentaries are not listed. What is going on here? No one knows. Kino doesn't "owe" anyone an explanation, and in fact it lowered the MSRP by about 20 bucks to compensate for the alteration of the set.
We don't know what happened, but we do know that all the extra material was already recorded. It sure doesn't make sense for Kino to yank this unless it was told to by some other entity. Would it be licensor Universal? No one knows, and licensee Kino is being a good partner by not saying anything else.
Of course this invites speculation. Some said the writers' strike was involved. Some said the Peter Falk estate must have objected. There is the matter of this recent settlement:
All we can do is guess. For now it seems that the episodes will come without the commentaries, and this is disappointing, but if you just want the show in HD, this is still a great set. If they had never announced the extras, maybe there wouldn't be any big deal (though Kino's loaded Night Gallery releases would make people wonder why they couldn't do the same for Columbo). The real mystery here is, what happened?
What do we have to look forward to apart from the return of the podcast for Season 11? Here are some educated guesses. Don't worry, I am not gonna start this off with a cheesy comment about the podcast being better than ever and the listeners being more appreciated than before.
I'll save that for the end.
*Amazon will continue to add shows from the Fox library now owned by Disney, shows that haven't been doing much anywhere else.
OK, you want names? Here are 3: The Fall Guy, Mr. Belvedere, Trapper John M.D.
*Meanwhile, Warner Brothers shows that were on Prime will show up on Tubi.
OK, you want names? Here are 5 series that were all on Prime Video for short periods of times, then disappeared and didn't turn up elsewhere:
CHiPs,Alice, Kung Fu, The Dukes of Hazard, Dynasty.
I confess, the last one is a Fox show, but since Fox owns Tubi, all the more reason to include it!
I'll go ahead and say 3 of those 5 will end up on Tubi in 2023.
*Prime Video will add two Warners shows of its own--Eight Is Enough and Welcome Back, Kotter--to its FreeVee lineup.
*Disney Plus will do very little for "us" in 2023, but it will do one awesome thing by adding the Japanese Supaidaman for the series' 45th anniversary.
*Hulu will continue to sit out the "classic TV" game for the most part, keeping what it already has but not adding much of note.
*Glenn Gordon Caron will excite fans again with a Moonlighting tease, only to clarify that the show's streaming debut is "closer than ever!"
*The Night Court revival on NBC will not be successful, and it will do little to bring positive attention to the original series.
*People will spend most of 2023 fearing, not looking forward to, the Paramout Plus reboot of Frasier.
*2023 will be the year Quincy finally returns to streaming, but not on Peacock. UniversalComcastNBC will license it to Tubi.
*Crackle will continue to lose and re-add many of its Sony library shows several times a year.
*MPI will delight fans by finishing the DVD releases of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet...
...and then aggravate them by announcing a complete series with extras like episodes from the 1973 Ozzie's Girls.
*Warner Archive will not release any "new" live-action releases in 2023 but will sneak in an animated series that hasn't yet been on home video.
*The podcast will make its triumphant return for Season 11 and will find new ways to give our listeners voices.
*I will find a way to revitalize the Fame Game after Mike humbled it in 2022!
Earlier this week, I closed out February by taking another look at the suggestions I made for Black History Month in 2021--that is, 1970s and 1980s series that I'd like to see available on streaming and/or DVD. Well, I did a similar exercise last year for Women's History Month in March, and I want to see if any of these series actually materialized!
My comments from the original story are below (without the YT clips embedded in the previous post), with my new comments in bold:
Amy Prentiss: This was on our radar even before the passing of star Jessica Walter last week, but i bet a lot of people reading her obituaries thought, "Wait, she won her Emmy for what, now?" I recently heard Cy Chernak suggest that this Ironside spinoff was ripped off by Prime Suspect. In the series, the Emmy-and-Batty 9for a different project)-winning Walter becomes head of the SFPD and meets a lot of resistance. Also starring Art Metrano! Only several episodes, but it could get plunked on Peacock or packaged with other NBC Mystery Movie selections.
No sign of this one, but it has that NBC Mystery Movie cachet and could surface eventually...though I doubt it would be on Peacock, which isn't exploiting its own library much.
All's Fair: Not all Norman Lear shows have been part of the national consciousness. I don't expect to see a live recreation of one of these episodes anytime soon. I'd like to see a good, old original episode of it, though. The concept seems to be from another century now, and that's because it is! Bernadette Peters and Richard Crenna are liberal/conservative newspeople who are separated by age and background as well as political beliefs. It also stars Michael Keaton and Jack Dodson.
The Norman Lear shows always have some kind of chance, but for now we have to settle with episodes on YouTube.
Madame's Place: Let's not minimize the significance of Madame just because she was Puppet-American. This show is high on camp value but low on exposure in the last, what, 30-some years? I imagine it would have an instant cult following were it made available, but perhaps clearances make it impossible.
My comments from last year stand, but no official release yet. The series is easy to find online, though.
Double Trouble: I get a rush of nostalgia whenever I see a snippet of or promo of this 1980s NBC sitcom which had a seemingly endless rerun stint on USA Network soon after its original run. The Sagal twins starred, but stalwarts Donnelly Rhodes and Barbara Barrie were also in the cast along with scene stealers Jonathan Schmock and (future Arrested Development creative force) Jim Valelly.
This is kind of a limbo show in that no one runs it anymore yet I bet it would have high, "Ohhh, yeah, THAT show!" factor among children of the Eighties. It was an unexceptional sitcom about teenage life, but the twins were charming enough to make the show worth another look.
Unless there is some kind of funky rights or elements issue with this, I am going to go ahead and predict that this one ends up on Crackle at some point this year. I have no knowledge of that, but it seems like a good fit. If you're into Schmock and Valelly, check out this recent post.
Jeannie: How about a cartoon for our list? I Dream of Jeannie has never been out of syndication and is frequently a national presence on cable or on diginets, but this animated spinoff is way out of circulation. The series ran only one season of originals and subbed Julie McWhirter for Barbara Eden; in fact the entire cast was replaced and Jeannie "served" a teen surfer voiced by Mark Hamill.
Flying High: Anything with two-time Batty Award winner Connie Sellecca should be available, says I.
No sign of this one. It's a real long shot, I have to admit.
Gimme a Break!: Nell Carter's star vehicle is barely mentioned today but was one of NBC's more bankable shows during its grim pre-Cosby years. This show was a rerun staple in the 1980s. Yes, Antenna TV has carried it in recent years, and other stations, too, and, yes, it got a DVD release years ago. But the DVDs are out of print, and I feel that this series just isn't talked about as much as one would think a family-friendly 6-season, 137-episode sitcom would be. Hey, networks, looking for a throwback Black-themed sitcom and don't want to carry Cosby's stuff? Here's an option!
The Late Show with Joan Rivers: Not to be confused with That Show with Joan Rivers, a more obscure talk show that has received exposure in the streaming era, probably by virtue of being fortunate enough to be available enough to be released by someone who is motivated to do something with old shows. Rivers was an excellent host, and while the work of her friend-turned-foe Johnny Carson is all over the place these days (and I'm glad for it), you have to scour YouTube for examples of Rivers' highest-profile pre-E! years series. It's worthy of more attention than just the infamous falling out with the King of Late Night.
Another long shot. Maybe some more episodes will show up on YouTube.
Tracey Ullman Show: It deserves to be remembered for more than just being the launching pad of The Simpsons. Ullman has had, what, a dozen shows with some variation of her name in the title? This is the one I'd like to revisit, one of the flagship early Fox Network programs.
The show is largely forgotten except for The Simpsons, and I don't know of even any hints of it appearing anywhere.
Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters: I'm sure it's impossible, but the Mandrells were huge in the early Eighties. Music, comedy, and more were the hallmarks of this variety series that ended too soon when Babs stepped out of the singing life to rest her voice. It was maybe the last of the big primetime network variety shows, and it was a solid performer for NBC on Saturday nights at a time when it didn't have a lot of hits. Plus it had Krofft puppets!
Music shows are tough, and I don't think this is coming anytime soon unless the Mandrells get some kind of big documentary treatment and maybe Time Life comes out with a big box set.
So overall, 2 out of 10 ain't bad when we are talking short-lived and long-unseen TV shows.
As we say goodbye to February (All together now: "Bye-bye, February!"), let's take a look at the list of 10 shows I suggested could appear on streaming video in February 2021--Black-themed shows of the BOTNS era to mark Black History Month. My original comments are below, sans the original embedded YT clips, with 2022 updated comments in bold:
Soul Train: As much a fixture this show is in the national consciousness even today--witness BET's fictionalized portrayal of Don Cornelius and the show's place in society--it has never been available on streaming as far as I know. There are hundreds of hours of a fantastic time capsule just sitting in CBS Viacom's vaults, part of the vast library of music history MTV Networks' parent company bought to (presumably) keep away from potential competitors.
Unfortunately, if BET, which has a fictional series based on the original series, maintains the Soul Train Music Awards, and has its own streaming service that has plenty of room for archival content, isn't going to do anything with the show, we'll probably never see it except in clips and retrospectives. I guess the best we can hope for is that CBS continues to ignore uploads of the show to free video sharing platforms.
That's pretty much exactly what has happened. No progress that I know of on this despite continued strength as a nostalgic "brand."
Frank's Place: Hey, speaking of shows CBS Viacom owns but isn't doing anything with, consider Tim Reid's short-lived but critcally beloved 1980s dramedy. BET aired reruns years ago, but it is missing in action right now, with nary a hint of a DVD release. How about popping this one on BET+, especially if doing so avoids the thorny music clearance issues that may preclude a home video effort?
No word on this, and Paramount Plus, which in a better world would be a home for it, seems to think Black History Month is better celebrated with recent reality shows than with series that actually got critical acclaim.
The Flip Wilson Show: it received limited "best of" DVDs that are now long out of print, and the reruns are MIA on cable and GET-TV. It's time to bring it back in some form, preferably original hourlong cuts with music, but even the half-hour Best ofs are welcome.
Julia and Room 222: I pair these two because Aspire had them at launch, and it's easy to understand why. The shows have a certain middlebrow patina of virtue, and if that sounds like a knock, hey, I especially love Room 222, and it irritates me that the network has dropped both shows (Julia turns up every now and then). Julia is known more for being "groundbreaking" in its depiction of Diahann Carroll's titular young professional Black woman, but its gentle nature and charm make it an easy watch. As for Room 222, Shout's season 1 DVD flopped, perhaps because consumers rejected the non-"remastered" prints, but perhaps because quality shows without bug syndication presence just don't always sell.
The good news is more episodes are popping up on YouTube, but there's no indication of any other DVD releases nor Aspire showing them again. However, I could see Fox-owned Tubi pulling them out of the vaults someday and showing them. So it's a little more likely than it was last year at this time, I think.
Paris: This 1979-1980 CBS police drama has an impressive pedigree; created by Steven Bochco, it also gave James Earl Jones his first role as a fictional TV series regular. It's not well regarded, but this description in Brooks and Marsh's The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows makes me want to see it even more:
What Paris lacked, unfortunately, was a little bit of believability. James Earl Jones, a highly respected actor, strutted through this role speaking in booming, stentorian tones as if it were Richard III.
Isn't that exactly what you want from James Earl Jones? This is an MTM show that should be accessible in the vaults somewhere.
No change here.
The New Odd Couple: I can't make a strong case for this, but, come on, it's Basically I'm just a sucker for anything Odd Couple.
I still think the OC name makes it a possibility with all the obscure stuff coming to streaming, but as mentioned, Paramount seems to have no interest in doing anything with shows like this. Maybe it will license them out someday.
The Gary Coleman Show: We talked about the whole Gary Coleman phenomenon a bit on our Diff'rent Strokes episode, but as big as the child star was, not much apart from the sitcom is still around. There are many TV movies still unavailable, and while Boomerang did show reruns of this cartoon series featuring Coleman as an angel (itself adapted from one of those movies, The Kid with the Broken Halo), it's not currently streaming anywhere.
No sign of this one.
I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali: Speaking of NBC cartoons, this 13-episode show was a flop, but it did feature the voice of Ali himself. In a time when a new book and/or HBO documentary about the boxing legend comes out every other month, to say nothing of the cult popularity of Mike Tyson Mysteries, it's surprising this isn't out there. Maybe the ownership--it was produced by an independent company--are in dispute?
No change here, either, despite Ali still being a frequent topic of documentaries.
Get Christie Love!: The TV movie that spawned the series is in public domain, or must be because it was a staple of every dollar store's "media" section in the DVD era, but since some scattered cable runs, I have only seen a batch of episodes on Brown Sugar when it launched. The show is a watered-down version of films like Cleopatra Jones, but...so what?
Nothing happening here.
I also mentioned The Insiders, but that doesn't seem on the way anytime soon. Overall, not much happened with this list, but we did see an explosion in short-lived series hitting streaming, mainly on Crackle with the likes of One in a Million. Free streamers like Crackle and Tubi continue to surprise us with new titles each month, so maybe some of this will appear eventually. And maybe Paramount will finally do something with Soul Train. Flip Wilson's arrival on DVD isn't priced for value, but it's something.
There is a lot of ambiguity about the status of Warner Archive. Oh, it's cranking out Blu-Rays in 2021 and probably into 2022, but as for its viability as a long-term concern, no one is really sure in the wake of the WB shop website (which was run by a third party for years) and the layoff/reassignment of key employees like George Feltenstein. There are reports that Feltenstein, the heart of the division, is a consultant with the company, but when answering listener mail on the recent final podcast, he couldn't give an emphatic reassurance that WA would continue to thrive.
Why am I bringing all this up? Well, the fact that it was the final podcast is concerning. I will miss the guys and their insight into not only new releases from the WA, but also home video in general and film restoration.
Unfortunately, for quite some time now, Warner Archive has concentrated on Blu-Ray upgrades, apparently in conjunction with an ongoing restoration and preservation effort for the vast Warner Library and the need for product for HBO Max. That is spawning a lot of great discs, but the "unfortunate" part is a good deal of the original mission of the WA was to put stuff out on DVD with an MOD model that put all kinds of obscurities into the hands of consumers.
The television-on-dvd efforts led to a lot of long-buried shows from the BOTNS era seeing a little daylight. I admit I found the Archive prices a little much for many of the shows which would have been blind buys for me, but I was an enthusiastic (albeit ultimately disappointed as the company abandoned it) supporter of Warner Archive Instant, a wildly idiosyncratic streaming on demand service scrapped when Warner gained a corporate parent that didn't want to deal with it. That led to Filmstruck, which scraped away most of the rarer movies and TV shows, and then that was killed off.
One of the shows that the guys at WA championed early was Search, one of our favorite shows of the era and partial inspiration for our podcast. I watched that on Warner Archive Instant along with programs like Flo, Beyond Westworld, The Man from Atlantis, The Jimmy Stewart Show, The Practice (1976), Harry O, Bronk... Good luck finding any of those on HBO Max. That's not even including the TV movies on there (and on DVD through the archive) and the pre-1970 series like Dr. Kildare, Cain's Hundred, The Man from Shenandoah, and Maya.
Where is all this stuff now? Still in the Warner vaults. Mr. Novak season 1 came out several years ago, and season 2 doesn't seem to be on the horizon as WA concentrates on animation and more recent fare. It's good that something like Head of the Class is remastered for disc and for HBO Max, but I miss the days when you could get something like McLain's Law out of nowhere. There are so many BIG WB shows not on streaming right now that I don't think we'll ever get the smaller ones. The final Warner Archive podcast is another reminder of all the stuff we won't get to see anymore, but at least most of these shows I mentioned here are still available on good, old DVD...for now.
In honor of Women's History Month, I compiled yet another list of unavailable (for the most part) TV shows from the 1970s and 1980s that should be available on streaming or DVD. The guidelines are the same as last month's Black History month post, but these shows are fronted by female leads. The following programs are unavailable on the major streaming services in the USA (unofficial uploads to sites like YouTube and DailyMotion are welcome but do not count) and have not received official DVD/Blu-Ray releases. Here we go:
Amy Prentiss: This was on our radar even before the passing of star Jessica Walter last week, but i bet a lot of people reading her obituaries thought, "Wait, she won her Emmy for what, now?" I recently heard Cy Chernak suggest that this Ironside spinoff was ripped off by Prime Suspect. In the series, the Emmy-and-Batty 9for a different project)-winning Walter becomes head of the SFPD and meets a lot of resistance. Also starring Art Metrano! Only several episodes, but it could get plunked on Peacock or packaged with other NBC Mystery Movie selections.
All's Fair: Not all Norman Lear shows have been part of the national consciousness. I don't expect to see a live recreation of one of these episodes anytime soon. I'd like to see a good, old original episode of it, though. The concept seems to be from another century now, and that's because it is! Bernadette Peters and Richard Crenna are liberal/conservative newspeople who are separated by age and background as well as political beliefs. It also stars Michael Keaton and Jack Dodson.
Madame's Place: Let's not minimize the significance of Madame just because she was Puppet-American. This show is high on camp value but low on exposure in the last, what, 30-some years? I imagine it would have an instant cult following were it made available, but perhaps clearances make it impossible.
Double Trouble: I get a rush of nostalgia whenever I see a snippet of or promo of this 1980s NBC sitcom which had a seemingly endless rerun stint on USA Network soon after its original run. The Sagal twins starred, but stalwarts Donnelly Rhodes and Barbara Barrie were also in the cast along with scene stealers Jonathan Schmock and (future Arrested Development creative force) Jim Valelly.
This is kind of a limbo show in that no one runs it anymore yet I bet it would have high, "Ohhh, yeah, THAT show!" factor among children of the Eighties. It was an unexceptional sitcom about teenage life, but the twins were charming enough to make the show worth another look.
Jeannie: How about a cartoon for our list? I Dream of Jeannie has never been out of syndication and is frequently a national presence on cable or on diginets, but this animated spinoff is way out of circulation. The series ran only one season of originals and subbed Julie McWhirter for Barbara Eden; in fact the entire cast was replaced and Jeannie "served" a teen surfer voiced by Mark Hamill.
Flying High: Anything with two-time Batty Award winner Connie Sellecca should be available, says I.
Gimme a Break!: Nell Carter's star vehicle is barely mentioned today but was one of NBC's more bankable shows during its grim pre-Cosby years. This show was a rerun staple in the 1980s. Yes, Antenna TV has carried it in recent years, and other stations, too, and, yes, it got a DVD release years ago. But the DVDs are out of print, and I feel that this series just isn't talked about as much as one would think a family-friendly 6-season, 137-episode sitcom would be. Hey, networks, looking for a throwback Black-themed sitcom and don't want to carry Cosby's stuff? Here's an option!
The Late Show with Joan Rivers: Not to be confused with That Show with Joan Rivers, a more obscure talk show that has received exposure in the streaming era, probably by virtue of being fortunate enough to be available enough to be released by someone who is motivated to do something with old shows. Rivers was an excellent host, and while the work of her friend-turned-foe Johnny Carson is all over the place these days (and I'm glad for it), you have to scour YouTube for examples of Rivers' highest-profile pre-E! years series. It's worthy of more attention than just the infamous falling out with the King of Late Night.
Tracey Ullman Show: It deserves to be remembered for more than just being the launching pad of The Simpsons. Ullman has had, what, a dozen shows with some variation of her name in the title? This is the one I'd like to revisit, one of the flagship early Fox Network programs.
Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters: I'm sure it's impossible, but the Mandrells were huge in the early Eighties. Music, comedy, and more were the hallmarks of this variety series that ended too soon when Babs stepped out of the singing life to rest her voice. It was maybe the last of the big primetime network variety shows, and it was a solid performer for NBC on Saturday nights at a time when it didn't have a lot of hits. Plus it had Krofft puppets!
Nothing against Frederick Douglass and other influential figures, but we're staying in our lane, which is more about Scatman Crothers. We celebrate Black History Month with a list of 10 TV shows from the BOTNS era currently unavailable on major streaming services (episodes in "unofficial" form on YouTube/Dailymotion, etc. do not count) nor on DVD/Blu-Ray.
Soul Train: As much a fixture this show is in the national consciousness even today--witness BET's fictionalized portrayal of Don Cornelius and the show's place in society--it has never been available on streaming as far as I know. There are hundreds of hours of a fantastic time capsule just sitting in CBS Viacom's vaults, part of the vast library of music history MTV Networks' parent company bought to (presumably) keep away from potential competitors.
Unfortunately, if BET, which has a fictional series based on the original series, maintains the Soul Train Music Awards, and has its own streaming service that has plenty of room for archival content, isn't going to do anything with the show, we'll probably never see it except in clips and retrospectives. I guess the best we can hope for is that CBS continues to ignore uploads of the show to free video sharing platforms.
Frank's Place: Hey, speaking of shows CBS Viacom owns but isn't doing anything with, consider Tim Reid's short-lived but critcally beloved 1980s dramedy. BET aired reruns years ago, but it is missing in action right now, with nary a hint of a DVD release. How about popping this one on BET+, especially if doing so avoids the thorny music clearance issues that may preclude a home video effort?
The Flip Wilson Show: it received limited "best of" DVDs that are now long out of print, and the reruns are MIA on cable and GET-TV. It's time to bring it back in some form, preferably original hourlong cuts with music, but even the half-hour Best ofs are welcome.
Julia and Room 222: I pair these two because Aspire had them at launch, and it's easy to understand why. The shows have a certain middlebrow patina of virtue, and if that sounds like a knock, hey, I especially love Room 222, and it irritates me that the network has dropped both shows (Julia turns up every now and then). Julia is known more for being "groundbreaking" in its depiction of Diahann Carroll's titular young professional Black woman, but its gentle nature and charm make it an easy watch. As for Room 222, Shout's season 1 DVD flopped, perhaps because consumers rejected the non-"remastered" prints, but perhaps because quality shows without bug syndication presence just don't always sell.
Paris: This 1979-1980 CBS police drama has an impressive pedigree; created by Steven Bochco, it also gave James Earl Jones his first role as a fictional TV series regular. It's not well regarded, but this description in Brooks and Marsh's The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows makes me want to see it even more:
What Paris lacked, unfortunately, was a little bit of believability. James Earl Jones, a highly respected actor, strutted through this role speaking in booming, stentorian tones as if it were Richard III.
Isn't that exactly what you want from James Earl Jones? This is an MTM show that should be accessible in the vaults somewhere.
The New Odd Couple: I can't make a strong case for this, but, come on, it's Basically I'm just a sucker for anything Odd Couple.
The Gary Coleman Show: We talked about the whole Gary Coleman phenomenon a bit on our Diff'rent Strokes episode, but as big as the child star was, not much apart from the sitcom is still around. There are many TV movies still unavailable, and while Boomerang did show reruns of this cartoon series featuring Coleman as an angel (itself adapted from one of those movies, The Kid with the Broken Halo), it's not currently streaming anywhere.
I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali: Speaking of NBC cartoons, this 13-episode show was a flop, but it did feature the voice of Ali himself. In a time when a new book and/or HBO documentary about the boxing legend comes out every other month, to say nothing of the cult popularity of Mike Tyson Mysteries, it's surprising this isn't out there. Maybe the ownership--it was produced by an independent company--are in dispute?
Get Christie Love!: The TV movie that spawned the series is in public domain, or must be because it was a staple of every dollar store's "media" section in the DVD era, but since some scattered cable runs, I have only seen a batch of episodes on Brown Sugar when it launched. The show is a watered-down version of films like Cleopatra Jones, but...so what?
Bonus: The Insiders: I have long been fascinated by this apparent Miami Vice knockoff, though I sure wasn't fascinated enough to actually watch it when it aired. Like Vice, it's a Universal show. It is probably not worth flipping out over, but wouldn't adding something like this to Peacock for Black History Month be cooler than trotting out a handful of overplayed 1990s comedy movies?
Shout! Factory! gave us a decent DVD of the two CBS Captain America TV movies, and it is still available (and it is CHEAP), but the company's website lists the 1990 theatrical movie "Collector's Edition" as "Going out of print in 2020--Save while supplies last!"
Better act quick to get in on these massive savings--you can save a whopping ONE DOLLAR and get it for 13.98 instead of 14.98 right now. I might get 4 or 5 at that kind of discount!
Is it going OOP because someone else has licensed it for a new special edition or blu-ray? I don't know, but who is with me in saying we could use a Captain America/Captain America II Blu-Ray with extras? Original promos...making of documentary...Reb Brown and Connie Sellecca commentaries! Someone make it happen!
It's been a while since we did one of these posts, and TV Shows on DVD is no longer with us as a standalone website, though the site's operator are posting updates on Facebook. Do you know how hard it is to find TV shows on DVD info without TV Shows on DVD? I spent a while sorting through other sites--"Hey, Hawaii Five-0--no, wait, that's the current version..." before finding Geeky Hobbies, which maintains a cool list. I recommend you give them some traffic...but come back here for the curated list!
September:
Laugh-In season 6 (out now): This rounds out the series of individual season releases that followed the massive complete set. It doesn't sound like a BOTNS show at first glance--I think of it as a Swingin' Sixties deal--but this season was 1973, so I am declaring it eligible for the podcast!
And a certain BOTNS fave makes an appearance this season:
Magnum P.I. Complete Series (September 18): Same number of discs, same transfers (I assume)...yet more expensive than the 2013 version. In other words, this is not one of those Mill Creek budget repackaging releasings. I am not sure what the rationale for this is. Maybe it's one more attempt to extract some bucks before a Blu-Ray release.
Police Story Season 3 (September 25): It looks like this will be filled with cut-down syndication versions, but it's nice to see Shout! is continuing the series, albeit at a...methodical...pace. In this season: Kurt Russell, Sly Stallone, and some REAL TV stars like Danny Bonaduce and Cindy Williams.
October:
The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler (October 2): Kino Lorber is releasing the two original Kolchak TV movies in fancy Blu-Ray packages, remastered and with extras. Could this pave the way for a Blu-Ray re-release of the entire series?
Love Boat: Season 4 (October 2): FINALLY the series continues! YASSSSS!
Unfortunately, it's in two split-season releases.
New Adventures of Gumby: The 1980s Volume 1 (October 2): These are pretty good under-the-radar releases, and it looks like the whole Gumby run will be out eventually. This Eighties version of the character is not to be confused with this Eighties version of the character:
Hopefully more releases will be announced as we get closer to the holiday shopping season.
Last week we looked at some of the BOTNS-era shows that hit DVD in recent months, but today we look at the future...uh, and at TV Shows on DVD to see some of the sets you might want to pick up in the next couple of months--you know, to amuse yourselves in between new episodes of the podcast.
Alice Season 5: First of all, though, let me mention this release that Warner Archive slipped out last week. The fifth season of the long-running sitcom features Robert Goulet, Jerry Reed, and another awkward transition in the "Flo spot."
Just as Belle replaces Flo at the end of season 4--not in between seasons, but with several episodes left--Jolene replaces Belle at the end of season 5--again, not at the end of or between seasons, but with serveral episodes left. Or maybe it's odd that I care so much about the cast dynamics on Alice. As long as Henry is sitting in the counter, I'm good.
August 15
Police Story Season 2: 4 years after season 1, Shout! is finally following up with more of the 1970s anthology series. Typical of a police show DVD--they're never around when you need them.
Rhoda Season 4 and Season 5: Shout! closes this series out this year. Season 5 will arrive in October, while 4 was already issued as a Shout Select title direct from the company but gets general release on this date. For the unitiated, "Shout Select" means "really expensive."
August 22
Ironside Season 4: Shout! is really full of PEP this summer, is it not? Your favorite wheelchair detective returns, this time in a general release set of season 4 as opposed to the really expen--uh, Shout Select version from 2010.
You know, I just checked a certain major online retailer and noticed it is charging 45 bucks for this set. So these general releases are still generally really expensive. You can just get them from major online retailers now. Well, I guess you can get a deal on shipping that way.
TV Party: The Complete Series: Seminal late 70s/early 80s NYC cable access show comes to video--and Blu-Ray, no less. That deserves a hearty...oi? I don't know; I ain't a punk rock guy. But I'm sure a lot of punks who have grown up and can afford 100-some bucks for the set will be thrilled!
August 25
The Magician: The Complete Series: VEI is listing this 1970s short-lived Bill Bixby show for an August 25 release, though it isn't listed anywhere else yet. A lot of people have been anticipating this since it was announced as a title VEI had licensed several years ago. Don't get Bill Bixby angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry. I mean, he might flub a trick or something.
Would you like to see us cover this on the podcast? Please say yes so that I have an excuse to buy this.
September 12
Night Gallery: The Complete Series: Universal repackages the 3 seasons into one spiffy complete box set for the first time, but the transfers and extras are the same...OR ARE THEY?
(Just trying to add a little element of the macabre)
September 26
The Paper Chase Season 3: It's great that Shout! is finally continuing yet another long-stalled series (2009 since previous releases of this one), but would it have killed them to include the handful of episodes in season 4 and just wrapped up the whole deal?
That's not a legal to provoke some deeper question, such as those asked by John Houseman's Kingsfield on the series. I actually want to know.
Greatest American Hero The Complete Series: If you missed your chance to get this great (I'd say "seminal," but I already used the word in this post, and besides, it really doesn't fit here) show earlier, well, guess what? You can get it again and pay about 2-3 times as much as you would have the first couple of times!
It's time again to look at upcoming DVD releases for shows of the BOTNS era. Actually, our last update only brought us to the end of May, so I'll begin with a look at what's out there now, and then I'll be back soon with a look at what's to come in the next few months. Awayyyy we go:
CHIPS Season 6: June 6 brought us the final non-epic season of BOTNS fave and season 1 ender CHIPS. And just out of the goodness of their hearts, the folks at Warner Home Video also made a Complete Series set available. No Jon? NO PROBLEM! As long as the heart and soul of the show, Robert Pine, is still around.
Actually, I tell you, I see Phil Silvers and Julie Newmar are among the guest stars, and I kind of want to see this.
Tales from the Crypt Complete Series: I remember very little about specific episodes. It was on HBO, so everyone kind of hoped to see some nudity, right? Or am I selling this way too short?
Father Dowling Mysteries Complete Series: A reissue of the largely forgotten ABC light drama. Should we cover this on the podcast? If so, the first thing I want to explore is why Tracy Nelson's character is called "Sister Steve."
Highway to Heaven: Messages from Above: A collection of two-part episodes of the series. That's a pretty good idea, now that I think about it. I would like to see some Very Special Episode collections of other shows.
That's My Mama Complete Series: Sony's strategy, as best as I can tell, seems to be to take DVDs that were out of print and combine them into one package that is more expensive than the earlier individual season sets together. In 2017. This is one of the lesser known "blackcoms" of the era but worth a look...at a better price.
Rockford Files Complete Series (also Blu-Ray): Mill Creek saves you money and shelf space by cramming scores of episodes on like 3 discs. It's a lot better than paying
McCloud Season 1: Reissue of the first portion of the Dennis Weaver NBC Mystery Wheel series.
Jake and the Fatman The Complete Series: Did you know this series ran for 5 seasons with over 100 episodes? Talk about something that just vanished after it went off the air. And it's pretty hard to lose sight of William Conrad (Sorry).
TJ Hooker The Complete Series: Another Sony series (though this release is from Shout) that has seen some cheap DVD releases now getting a really expensive "deluxe" set. If you need every TJ Hooker, though, here it is.
Diff'rent Strokes Season 6: Hot off the presses this week is the latest release of this series, and it's a doozy. Maggie and Sam! Smoking! Kidnapping! Mr. T! Milton Berle!
Our last post looking at future releases of BOTNS-era TV shows on DVD took us up through March 14, so it's time to see what we have on tap for the spring. There isn't a whole lot out there beyond reissues, but there might be something on the list to interest you. Remember to let us know if you'd like us to cover any of these series in an upcoming episode!
April 4
The Carol Burnett Show: The Best of Tim Conway: Various rights and clearance issues make complete season sets a virtual impossibility, so in the meantime, enjoy a perpetual, confusing array of lesser releases!
Diff'rent Strokes: Season 5: Two words for you: "Bicycle Man." The show really kicked it up a notch with the Very Special Episodes this season. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll never look at Gordon Jump the same way again.
May 2
Vega$ The Complete Series: All together in one package. Amazon has it for 50 bucks right now, and that's not terrible $ for 67 episodes.
May 9
ALF: The Complete Series: ALF, of course, starred in one of our episodes in the first season, but the DVD world is giving him much less respect than we did. The earlier DVD release was substandard, featuring syndication cuts. This version, sadly, appears to be no different. Maybe some Melmacian bootlegs are floating around.
Lou Grant Season 5: Shout! finishes off the great newsroom drama with the final season. -30-.
Mannix and Streets of San Francisco (Complete Series): I wish CBS would make these available for streaming somewhere because these sets are a heckuva lot more $ than that Vega$ one.
May 30
Hart to Hart: Complete Series: Imagine having every episode at your fingertips! Like the one where...Uh, or the one with...Uh...(Suffice to say I'll have to do some brushing up if we ever cover this one on the podcast).
TV on DVD has slowed down considerably in recent years, but there are a few things on the horizon for fans of the BOTNS era of television. Here's a look at what's coming out the next few months:
January 17
Love Boat Season 3 (Volume 1 and 2): "Exciting and new"? You be the judge, but keep in mind it's been 7 1/2 years since the last official release of the series. Plus CBS adds insult to injury by splitting the season in half. That's like asking Isaac to tend bar (and point at the camera) with one arm tied behind his back.
January 24
Hooperman Season 1 and 2: Well, at least they're coming out the same day, but I wonder how many who buy season 1 aren't interested in season 2 and vice versa. Get your dramedy from Olive Films. Wait, no, sorry. Get your groundbreaking dramedy from Olive Films.
February 7
227 Season 1: Mill Creek presents this budget-priced re-release. See where the epic saga began!
Dynasty Season 1: What do you do when you finish a long-running series on DVD? Well, you just start over from the beginning, apparently.
Quantum Leap: Complete Series (also on Blu-Ray): Previous releases were marred by music replacements, so unless this Mill Creek repackaging fixes all of that, you might want to leap back in time and record the show off air.
Twilight Zone (1980s) Complete Series: I haven't seen any of these in years, but the price for this repackaging is pretty good...or IS it?
February 14
Kojak Season 1: Who loves you, baby? Universal loves you enough to give you a chance to buy this all over again at the same high price instead of doing a discounted complete series set.
February 21
Lou Grant Season 4: Only 20 episodes this season, but it's great to see Lou continuing on DVD, and I think it's safe to say Shout! will put out S5, maybe by the end of the year. I'd have to do some research, but I think this set will have the episode in which the reporters face a moral dilemma and Lou has to yell at somebody.
March 14
CHiPs Season 5: No roller disco this season, but you will get punk rock (Ponch sings!) and Bruce Jenner (filling in when Erik Estrada holds out in a contract dispute)!
Newhart Season 8: Honestly, I had no idea the show was this far along on DVD. Kudos to Shout! for seeing it through and delivering this final season.
What on this list excites you? Would you like to see us cover any of these series on an upcoming BOTNS?
