Saturday, February 07, 2009

Blog DVD Review: Route 66 - Producer's Picks (2/10)

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Review! Today we take a look at Infinty/Roxbury Entertainment's Route 66 - Producer's Picks. Route 66 ran from 1960-1964 and starred Martin Milner, George Maharis (1960-1963) and Glenn Corbett (1963-1964). See skees53's Blog DVD Review of Route 66 - Producer's Picks:

Route 66 - Producer's Picks (Infinity, $19.98) gives viewers a chance to get their kicks on Route 66 with eleven of the best episodes of the 1960s anthology series. The two-disc DVD set features episodes from each of the four seasons of the drama that starred Martin Milner and George Maharis (later replaced with Glen Corbett) traveling the open road in a Corvette, trying to solve every type of problem that everybody faced in America.
There are many great episodes in this set. In "Play it Glissando," the guys have to protect a woman from her husband, a jazz musician. A gambler (Walter Matthau) may have the ability to save the town in "Eleven, the Hard Way" The son of Tod and Buz's employer of the week (played by Robert Redford) is accused of murder in "First Class Mouliak." Suzanne Phleshette (The Bob Newhart Show) guest stars in "The Strengthening Angels." The guys have to save a heroin addict (played by Robert Duvall) in "Birdcage on My Foot." Martin Sheen is the leader of a gang in "And the Cat Jumped Over the Moon."
Peter Graves guest stars in "You Never Had it So Good," where Buz may be able to get off the road with his new executive career. It is a reunion of horror movie stars in "Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing," where Lon Chaney, Jr., Boris Karloff, and Peter Lorne play themselves. Leslie Nielsen guest stars in "Poor Little Kangaroo Rat." Alan Alda (M*A*S*H) and Tom Bosley (Happy Days) guest star in "Soda Pop and Paper Flags," where a man may have brought a fatal disease to a small town. Tod and Linc are inadvertently holding stolen cash in "A Cage in Search of a Bird."
The packaging and menus on the set are very basic, and when I say very basic, I mean VERY basic. The case is just the standard Amaray style DVD case with discs on both sides inside the case and a very simple series logo on a black background as the artwork. Inside, there are two discs that have artwork similar to the cover art: a black background with the series logo on it. Disc 1 contains six episodes and Disc 2 contains 5 episodes. As far as the menus, there is just one main menu that lists all of the episodes on the disc in white text with a Route 66 road sign in the background. Underneath each episode is a listing of guest stars for that episode, and the theme song plays in the background. So obviously, they went very simple on this set.
This DVD set doesn't contain a laundry list of bonus features, but it includes on really nice bonus that you basically NEVER see on DVD sets--many of the original commercials are left intact! This isn't the case for every episode (some only have a few commercials left intact, and a few have none at all), but in any event, this is a very rare and nice thing to see on a DVD set! There is one particularly humorous commercial left intact on many episodes for Phillip's Milk of Magnesia (one of the original sponsors) that probably didn't seem quite so funny at the time about a little girl needing a laxative. Exact runtimes for each of the episodes are as follows:

Disc 1:
Episode 14: Play it Glissando (55:01)
Episode 22: Eleven, the Hard Way (57:37)
Episode 35: First Class Mouliak (51:13)
Episode 5: The Strengthening Angels (57:37)
Episode 34: Birdcage on My Foot (51:39)
Episode 42: And the Cat Jumped Over the Moon (54:20)

Disc 2:
Episode 50: You Never Had it So Good (53:22)
Episode 68: Lizard's Leg and Owlets Wing (52:53)
Episode 72: Poor Little Kangaroo Rat (49:04)
Episode 93: Soda Pop and Paper Flags (54:03)
Episode 103: A Cage in Search of a Bird (49:46)

The video and audio quality on the set is fascinating considering the age of the series and the fact that it is being released by an independent studio. The black and white pictures is clean and crisp with only a few minor issues here and there, and the audio, presented in mono, is pretty loud and clear. The only drawback is that the episodes contained on the set are neither closed-captioned nor subtitled. Oh well.
This is a great DVD set for fans of classic TV series to own, especially fans of anthology TV series. Seeing this series on DVD was my first experience with watching the series, and I have been thoroughly impressed with the series. There are a lot of great story lines and a lot of great guest stars in the episodes! This set is probably a good starting point for those that have never seen the series, and fans that enjoy this set would want to consider picking up the season sets that Infinity has been releasing as well. So where can you get your kicks? Why, on Route 66, of course!

Reviewed by skees53
(4/5 stars)

To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Route 66 TV.com Page


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Saturday, May 10

none scheduled

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 5)

Friday, May 9

  • Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Watch Paul on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Matt Bomer (Mid-Century Modern) - Matt appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Asif Ali (Deli Boys) and Saagar Shaikh (Deli Boys) - Asif and Saagar are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Busy Philipps (Girls5eva/Vice Principals/Cougar Town/Love, Inc.) - Busy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory/Happy Family/Welcome to New York/Cybill) - Christine talks about Nine Perfect Strangers on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Holly Robinson Peete (Hangin' with Mr. Cooper/For Your Love/Like Family/Love, Inc.) - Holly swings by for a chat about her new film Hats Off to Love on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) and Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother/Free Spirit) - NBC's Today catches up with Sarah and Alyson in the 9am hour.
  • Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - In this a little bit extra episode Drew shares more of her conversation with Brooke at the news desk on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel joins Sherri to talk about starring in the new film Juliet & Romeo, so check your local listings.
  • Terri J. Vaughn (She the People/Mann & Wife/Meet the Browns/All of Us/The Steve Harvey Show) - Terri talks about starring in the new Netflix series She the People on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Julia Sweeney (Shrill/Work in Progress/Maybe It's Me/George and Leo) and Marsha Mason (Grace and Frankie/The Middle/Sibs) - Julia and Marsha talk about My First Ex-Husband on PIX11 Morinng News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

05/10 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Cancels Night Court and Lopez vs. Lopez; ABC Renews Duo of Game Shows
05/09 - Peacock Orders Dig from Amy Poehler; Apple TV+ Comedy Stick Premieres June 4; Remembering Ruth Buzzi
05/08 - CBS 2025-26 Schedule; Animal Control and Going Dutch Renewed by Fox
05/07 - Netflix's A Man on the Inside Bulks Up Cast for Season 2; The Studio Renewed by Apple TV+
05/06 - Netflix's Long Story Short Announces Cast; NBC Renews All Chicago Series for 2025-26
05/05 - Antenna TV's The Partridge Family Mother's Day Marathon; Rewind TV's 227 40th Anniversary Marathon
05/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 5, 2025)
05/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Cancels The Equalizer; Wisteria Lane Offshoot of Desperate Housewives in the Works
05/02 - USA and SYFY Announce Summer Premieres; CBC in Canada Renews 5 Series, Including Wild Cards
05/01 - ABC Summer 2025 Schedule; Audible Scripted Comedy Podcasts for Summer
04/30 - The Carol Burnett Show Mother of All Marathons; Netflix Renews North of North
04/29 - Lifetime Adds New Ripped from the Headlines Movie; BET+ Orders Season 2 of Series
04/28 - Fox Summer 2025 Schedule; Final Guest Hosts for Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Season
04/27 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of April 28, 2025)
04/26 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Cancels Poppa's House; Final Season 50 Hosts for Saturday Night Live Set
04/25 - Classic TV's Biggest Auction; Remembering Will Hutchins and Wink Martindale
04/24 - Jerrod Carmichael's 4th HBO Comedy Special; HBO's Pee-wee as Himself Premieres May 23
04/23 - Apple TV+ Announces Comedy Series Prodigies; ABC Renews Unscripted Series Slate
04/22 - Hallmark Channel's May For Moms Month; Prime Video Gets Korean Comedy Action Series
04/21 - Peacock's Twisted Metal Returns July 31; Poker Face Lines Up Big Guests for Season 2
04/20 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of April 21, 2025)
04/19 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Clueless Reboot in the Works at Peacock; King of the Hill Cast Reunion and Revival Preview at ATX TV Festival Next Month
04/18 - 2025 TIME100 on ABC; Atsuko Okatsuka: Father Premieres June 13 on Hulu
04/17 - BET+ Orders Martin Spinoff Varnell Hill; It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Returns in July
04/16 - And Just Like That... Season 3 on Max This May; MGM+ Comedy Series Adds Big Stars
04/15 - HBO's Harry Potter Series; Classic TV Comes to Life in NYC
04/14 - TV Stars Lineup for Summer of 69 Hulu Film; Jessica Kirson Comedy Special
04/13 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of April 14, 2025)
04/12 - SitcomsOnline Digest: FX Sets Premiere Date for Adults; Netflix Picks Up Monopoly Themed Reality Competition Series
04/11 - Bounce TV Renews Mind Your Business; AMC Networks 2025 Upfront Highlights
04/10 - David Spade's Prime Video Comedy Special; Brett Goldstein's HBO Comedy Special Filmed in New Jersey