Saturday, December 23, 2006

Book Review - 5000 Episodes and No Commercials: The Ultimate Guide to TV Shows on DVD 2007

Welcome to another Saturday edition of reviews! With over 6,000 TV DVD releases available, how do you decide which sets are worthy of picking up? More than just a list of TV--on--DVD releases, 5000 Episodes and No Commercials: The Ultimate Guide to TV Shows on DVD 2007 takes readers on a candid and humorous trek through the history of television.

5000 Episodes and No Commercials: The Ultimate Guide to TV Shows on DVD 2007

5000 Episodes and No Commercials: The Ultimate Guide to TV Shows on DVD 2007 (Watson-Guptill, $14.95)

With 5000 EPISODES of television of DVD, who needs to go to the movie theater?! Sales of TV DVDs are outpacing all other categories. The Simpsons, 24, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Alias, even old chestnuts like Columbo and Home Improvement are blowing out of the stores as fans and collectors rush to buy their favorite shows, compact and complete. Did you miss the third episode of Grey's Anatomy's second season? Not to fear: it's now on DVD! How do buyers know which shows are the best, which season contains that favorite moment, which episode features that guest star? 5000 Episodes and No Commercials: The Ultimate Guide to TV Shos on DVD 2007 (Watson-Guptill; $14.95; November 2006), by TV Historian Dave Hofstede, is a celebration of television's greatest moments, most memorable achievements, and silliest mistakes. Each entry offers a quick reference guide for finding the best scenes and episodes in each collection, and lets viewers know when to reach for the fast forward button. You'll also learn which sets contain bonus features, and which use syndicated-episode cuts and music substitutions. 5000 Episodes and No Commercials lists, reviews, and rates on a 0--5 star scale the DVD release of every prominent television series--including season sets, individual episodes, and "best of" compilations. The objective is to let fans know what is out there, and whether it's worth picking up.

346 pages ~ 6 x 9 ~ 0-8230-8456-6
$14.95 ~ Indexed ~ 2 Appendices
Watson-Guptill ~ November 2006

About the Author
David Hofstede has written twelve books on film and TV, including What Were They Thinking? and the successful companion volumes to The Dukes of Hazzard and Charlie’s Angels. He covers the film and theater beat for AOL’s Digital City Las Vegas website and serves as film editor for Cowboys & Indians magazine. He lives in Las Vegas.

My Review: This book is a pretty good off-line reference for the TV on DVD fan and collector. Each series profiled lists the seasons currently available (as of the fall 2006), star rating, the studio that released it, video and audio information, description of the series, great moments, fast-forward (episodes that you should skip) and extras. There is also a section of Christmas episodes and an index of personalities.

This paperback book will probably appeal to and be more useful for people that don't have internet access. A lot of information on TV DVD releases can be found at online databases such as TVShowsonDVD.com or the listings at Amazon.com . The information in this book, while well researched and presented, is just not incredibly detailed. There are many omissions (only 2 seasons of ALF, 1 season of I Dream of Jeannie, and 3 seasons or Roseanne are listed - no entries for Alice, Chico and the Man, Dinosaurs, Dream On, Hazel, The Job, Kate & Allie, Living Single, Titus, Welcome Back Kotter) in this book and with 50-100 new sets being released every month, information in this book will fast become out-dated. I would have preferred to see a book that profiled the top 50-100 TV DVD releases in great detail rather than short entries on hundreds of series.

-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller
3.5/5 stars)

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Amazon.com

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SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, April 25

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 21)

Friday, April 25

  • Kathy Bates (Disjointed) - Watch Kathy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish/Girlfriends) - Tracee appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Greta Titelman (Fantasmas/Search Party/Los Espookys) - Paul and Greta are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Yvonne Orji (Insecure) - Tamron Hall has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Yvonne who is now hosting Pop The Balloon Live on Netflix, so check your local listings.
  • Tiffany Haddish (The Last O.G./The Carmichael Show) - Tiffany co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Drew and Valerie are joined by Carla Hall in the kitchen to whip up some delicious cozy food on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Amy Schumer (Life & Beth), Jillian Bell (Bless the Harts/Idiotsitter/Eastbound & Down/Workaholics) and Brianne Howey (Dollface) - The cast of the new movie Kinda Pregnant join Drew to dish on their new film on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - Joel talks about Bravo's Love Hotel on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two

11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season

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