Saturday, August 25, 2007

Mini-DVD Review: Man About the House - First Two Series; Solomon's Weekly Rant: ESPN Classic; Weather-Mania on Local News

Welcome to another edition of mini-DVD reviews. This week we take a look at BCI Eclipse's Man About the House: The Complete First and Second Series. Man About the House is the britcom that Three's Company was based on! See the similarities and the differences between the two series when you get this DVD. See my mini-DVD review of Man About the House:

Man About the House: The Complete First and Second Series (BCI, $29.98) brings the first 13 episodes of the Britcom that Three's Company was based on to America on DVD for the first time! In England, the seasons are usually very short. Also they don't call a season a season, they call it a series for some reason. "Series" one had 7 episodes and "series" two had 6 episodes. This britcom lasted for six series from 1973-1976. And like Three's Company here in the U.S., it gave away to two spin-offs...George and Mildred (The Ropers was the spin-off here) and Robin's Nest (Three's a Crowd was the spin-off here). This series starred Richard Sullivan as Robin Tripp (equivalent to Jack Tripper), Paula Wilcox as Chrissy Plummer (equivalent to Janet Wood), Sally Thomsett as Jo (equivalent to Chrissy Snow), Brian Murphy as George Roper (equivalent to Stanley Roper), Yootha Joyce as Mildred Roper (equivalent to Helen Roper), and Doug Fisher as Larry Simmonds (equivalent to Larry Dallas).
Most of the episodes in these first two series are similar to some episodes from Three's Company. Three's Company had based a lot of the episodes early on on Man About the House. Some of those episodes include the pilot called "Three's a Crowd" where Chrissy & Jo find Robin in the tub and he moves in. "And Mother Makes Four" where Chrissy's mother comes to town the day Robin moves in. In the U.S. it was Chrissy Snow's character whose mother came to visit...as Chrissy in this series is really our Janet Wood. "No Children, No Dogs" where Robin is lumbering a puppy, which is not allowed in the building. "It's Only Money" where the trio's rent money has disappeared. "Colour Me Yellow" is similar to the Three's Company episode "Jack the Giant Killer," where Robin battles a big bully at the saloon. So, all of Three's Company's first season episodes except for Roper's Niece were based on Man About the House episodes. Some other episodes that were similar were "In Praise of Older Men," which was similar to the season two episode of Three's Company titled "Chrissy's Date," where Chrissy dates an older man who later turns out to be married. And the episode "Two Foot Two, Eyes of Blue" was similar to the Three's Company episode from season two titled "The Baby Sitters," where Robin and Chrissy babysit.
Each episode has that Thames logo before each episode that runs like 8 seconds or so. The runtimes for each episode vary. The highest is 25:23 and the lowest is 22:20, but I doubt anything is edited. Most of the episodes run in the 23-24 min range. There are two chapter stops per episode. The first chapter is the first part of the episode and the second chapter is part two of the episode. This series had bumpers saying end of part one and start of part two...and they are intact on this DVD. The video looks good, but it isn't perfect! The audio is decent, nothing too bad about it and you can hear everything fine.
Packaging has a slip cover outer box that holds the actual case. I think that is pointless. The cover for the box has the trio with the show logo above them and above that we see Jo's pink panty, Robin's blue boxer, and Chrissy's pink bra. The color scheme is like a lime green. The back of the box has synopsis of the show with four small cool screenshots (two of them are familiar to Three's Company fans, the shaving of the balloon and Robin in that apron that looks like a bra). We also have a shot of the trio near the couch. The case's cover and back is the exact same as the box. What is the point of this slip cover box?? The case only would have been OK. Inside the case we have the two discs in a separate holder. The left side of the case has a episode guide booklet for us so we have the synopsis of the first two series. Disc one's artwork has Robin's blue boxers and disc two has the girls' pink bra and panty. The overall color of the discs is lime green, like the set.
The menu screen has Play all and Episodes. The main menu has the theme playing in the background (and it loops), with a photo of the trio in the middle and moving images above that. Episodes is where we can choose the classic episodes. They are listed in a separate sub-menu and the theme is also playing in the background there.
Unfortunately this set has no special features. Oh well, at least we can finally watch some episodes and compare them to Three's Company.
I highly do recommend any fan of britcoms or Three's Company to pick this set up. It is a fun show and hilarious, though it is not as good I think as Three's Company. It is cool to note the similarities and differences to the American version. Head on over to the Mucky Duck Saloon (their Regal Beagle) and have a blast watching this DVD!
-- Reviewed by Pavan
(4/5 stars)

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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Man About the House TV.com Page
Jack's Bistro: Three's Company Page


Solomon's Weekly Rant
Saturday, August 25, 2007
"ESPN Classic is the Sports Version of TV Land; Weather-Mania on Local News"
By Solomon Davis

ESPN Classic needs to take programming tips from The Golf Channel because that will allow viewers to see what they are supposed to on a sports classic network which is classic sports. I never see The Golf Channel air programming about swimming or horse racing because the programmers at that network know that they are supposed to air everything that has to do with golf. So if ESPN Classic can stop trying to become the sports version of TV Land by airing programs that has nothing to do with classic sports, the channel would actually become more watchable. ESPN Classic wants to air programs like American Gladiators, World Series of Poker, and sports movies instead of classic pro sports. The network has tried to stay somewhat in the neighborhood of classic sports by airing classic bowling but that's not really something most of us want to see when we think of classic sports. So just like TV Land, the network is trying to be too creative in grabbing more viewers that they actually forgot the name of their network. So maybe the actual goal of the network in the next year will be to change the title of the network to TVandSportsLand which would be a better fit for the type of programming they like to present to viewers.

Why does it seem like whenever there is a heatwave during this time of year our local news stations turn into The Weather Channel? The last time I looked at the calender I noticed that this is the month of August so a heatwave can't be that big of a story. I strongly believe that everyone on this site has experienced being outside when the temperature is over 90 degrees so for news like this to be the very top story as soon as the news comes on is very confusing. It's not deadly stuff like 105+. We don't need to see video footage of people walking down the street wiping sweat because that's what they are supposed to do this time of year. It's a shame that these news directors don't understand that a news story about a heatwave is only major news if it's in the month of December not August.

My TV Highlight of the Week: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - Lauren Jones on the premiere of Fox's now canceled Anchorwoman.
My TV Lowlight of the Week: Monday, August 20, 2007 - Emmit Smith fidgeting and studdering on the air on his second show as a ESPN studio analyst.

Agree or disagree with Solomon? Discuss it here.

DISCLAIMER: Remember, Solomon is not the voice of SitcomsOnline. He is just stating his opinions and does not reflect what SitcomsOnline says or thinks. It is just his 'View' but it is always quite entertaining.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, September 15

The Great North - "You've Got Sail Adventure" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Wanting a chance at casually making out, Judy suddenly finds herself with three separate dates to handle simultaneously; Beef goes to meet a friend he met online, only to find out that he's a cruise ship captain, and therefore a dire enemy.

The Simpsons - "Cremains of the Day" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When someone in Homer's life passes away, he and some guys from Moe's go on a road trip to scatter the ashes.

Universal Basic Guys - "Sunset Cruise" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When David, Andrea, Mark, and Tammy go on a cruise together, David and Andrea unexpectedly rekindle their romance; Mark's preoccupation with reeling in a big fish leads to him catching a whale that jeopardizes the safety of the entire cruise.

Bob's Burgers - "The Right Tough Stuff" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Gayle tells the family she's sending in an audition tape to be on Tough Stuff Island, Linda is determined to make her tape boring to save her from being humiliated on a rejection reel; Bob struggles with his new electric grinder.

The Great North - "Look Who's Squawking Adventure" / "Am I The Ice Hole? Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
When the eagle Moon is pet sitting escapes, he enlists Beef and Wolf to go searching for it; Honeybee and Beef bond on an ice fishing trip and try to find a compromise between quiet fishing and fun games.

The Conners - "Sober Sex, Plastic Silverware, and Losing My Religion" (The CW, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Part of Becky's recovery program mandates she make amends with people she has lied to over the years, leading her to meet up again with a former high school friend; Darlene visits with Pastor Phil; Louise continues planning her wedding.

The Conners - "The Wedding of Dan and Louise" (The CW, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
A weather report forecasting that a tornado is headed for Lanford creates chaos and surprises on Dan and Louise's wedding day.

The Conners - "Peter Pan, The Backup Plan, Adventures in Babysitting, and a River Runs Through It" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The Conner home is decked out for Halloween, despite the leak in the roof that forces Dan and Louise to cancel their honeymoon; Becky surprises the newlyweds and takes them on a virtual adventure around the world.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 9)

Friday, September 13

  • Brian Tyree Henry (HouseBroken/Atlanta) - Watch Brian on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Dax Shepard (Bless This Mess) - Dax appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Al Franken (LateLine) - Al is a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher at 10pm on HBO.
  • Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Hank/Back to You/Cheers) - Kelsey will be on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
  • Sanaa Lathan (Family Guy/The Cleveland Show/LateLine) - Sanaa and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor talk about the enduring power of friendship in their new Hulu film The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Dana Delany (The Comedians) - Dana discusses her television series Tulsa King on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Josie Davis (Charles in Charge) - Josie will be on Good Day LA on FOX 11 in Los Angeles at 11:30am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series Check It Out! - The Complete Series Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD) Young Sheldon - The Complete Series

04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

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