Saturday, May 21, 2011
Digital Digest: The Red Green Show - The Midlife Crisis Years
It's another slow news week (yet again), but we're back for another edition of Digital Digest, as we are every Saturday. As always, we have all of your sitcom news and upcoming releases for you, and this week, we have a review of the Canadian-produced comedy series, The Red Green Show - The Midlife Crisis Years. Let's get going!
DIGITAL NEWS
The only news that we have this week is news regarding Mister Ed. Mister Ed - The Complete Fifth Season is coming to DVD very soon. In fact, it'll be out June 21 as a Shout! Select title, at a $34.99 MSRP. There is no word on what (if any) special features will be included, but our guess is that there will not be any, if the past two sets are any indication.
Speaking of Shout! Select, Ironside - Season Five was projected to be released a few days ago, but it hasn't been. In fact, there is no indication that Shout! Factory has any intention of releasing this anytime in the near future. That doesn't mean that the set won't be coming to DVD at all, but it just isn't scheduled... yet. But if anything changes, we'll tell you about it!
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (May 24) has many releases, but only one to note for sitcom fans, that being Melissa & Joey - Season 1, Part 1. The set comes at a $29.97 MSRP from Shout! Factory. We hope to have a review for this set soon, assuming that we receive a review copy.
BLOG DVD REVIEW
Get ready to head back to the Possum Lodge for more mayhem, half-baked ideas, and crazy contraptions. In the popular Canadian series, Red Green (Steve Smith) and his friends worked together on a series about home improvement and the outdoors, in a world where the crazy ideas somehow managed to work out every single time. The popular Canadian comedy series (seen on PBS in the United States), The Red Green Show, is back on DVD for three more seasons (seasons 10-12) of fun in The Red Green Show - The Midlife Crisis Years.
DVD Review - The Red Green Show - The Midlife Crisis Years
by skees53
The Red Green Show - The Midlife Crisis Years (Acorn Media, $79.99) brings fans 54 more episodes (seasons 10-12) of the hit Canadian comedy series to DVD in a nine disc set. It's a little bit like the American series Home Improvement combined with PBS style comedy, except in this series, the crazy ideas somehow manage to work. In this set, the guys are all facing their midlife years the best that they possibly can--by coming up with more crazy ideas to make life more manageable. This set also marks the debut of the twelfth season of the series on DVD in the United States (it is also available separately).
In the tenth season, Red hosts a foster child in the episode "Foster Child," but how good of a father can he be? The lodge offers a proposal for Toronto in "What a Dump," and that is to take their trash! Red and Mike try to declare the lodge a historical site in "Historic Site." Dalton appears on a trivia game show in "Who Wants to Be a Smart Guy." In "The Dandruff Foundation," the guys want to avoid taxes, and try to do so by aligning with a charity. The guys run out of their magic stuff--duct tape--in "No Duct Tape."
Onto the eleventh season, you can "barely deny" Harold's shock when he accidentally rents the lodge to nudists in "Back to Nature." In "Dalton's Hot Gift," Red begins to believe that Mike stole Dalton's birthday gift. The guys sell leftover cans from the Y2K scare in "Y2 Cans." Mike has to hide from an ex-con at a masked picnic in "Masquerade Marathon." In "Harold's Dilemma," Harold plans renovations at the lodge, but finds resistance from Red.
Finally, in the twelfth season, Red develops a unique pizza-delivery method in "The Possum Ponderosa." But that is nothing compared to Harold's new airline in "Possum Air." Harold wants to start a MENSA chapter in "The IQ Test." Red builds an outdoor escalator (why?) in "The Missile Crisis." In "Power Struggle," the guys decide to stick it to the power company and generate their own power. Harold enters a beauty pageant in "Mr. Possum Lake." The season ends with "Stupid Cupid," where Harold submits a tape to a video dating service.
The episode runtimes run in the 22:14-22:36 range (with a few double length episodes), with runtimes remaining fairly consistent for each individual season. Exact runtimes are as follows:
Season 10:
Disc 1:
1. "A Very Merry Red Green Christmas" (44:49)
2. "Sausage Envy" (22:36)
3. "Foster Child" (22:35)
4. "What a Dump" (22:36)
5. "Winston's Wedding" (22:36)
6. "Man of the Year" (22:37)
Disc 2:
7. "Survivor" (22:37)
8. "Historic Site" (22:36)
9. "Twinning" (22:36)
10. "Lunar Eclipse" (22:37)
11. "Barter Starter" (22:37)
12. "Out of the Woods" (22:36)
13. "Cheap Jeep" (22:36)
Disc 3:
14. "DNA All the Way" (22:37)
15. "Who Wants to be a Smart Guy" (22:36)
16. "The Beaver Dam" (22:36)
17. "The Dandruff Foundation" (22:36)
18. "Damn You Emu" (22:36)
19. "No Duct Tape" (22:37)
Season 11:
Disc 1:
1. "New Job in Town" (22:34)
2. "Gladiator" (22:34)
3. "The Whooping Crane" (22:34)
4. "Back to Nature" (22:34)
5. "Dalton's Hot Gift" (22:34)
6. "Viva Las Possums" (22:34)
Disc 2:
7. "Y2 Cans" (22:34)
8. "The Ghost of Possum Lodge" (22:33)
9. "The Chainsaw Races" (22:34)
10. "Something in the Heir" (22:34)
11. "Daredevil" (22:34)
12. "Mike Goes Straight" (22:34)
Disc 3:
13. "Xmas in July" (22:34)
14. "Fishing Derby" (22:34)
15. "Masquerade Marathon" (22:34)
16. "Harold's Dilemma" (22:34)
17. "Red Green Does New Year's" (45:31)
Season 12:
Disc 1:
1. "Go Fish" (22:14)
2. "The Possum Ponderosa" (22:14)
3. "Possum Air" (22:14)
4. "The IQ Test" (22:14)
5. "The Day of the Sunflowers" (22:14)
6. "Reality Television" (22:14)
Disc 2:
7. "Possum Lodge Provincial Park" (22:14)
8. "The Silver Wasp" (22:14)
9. "A Lot Like Christmas" (22:19)
10. "Snowed In" (22:14)
11. "The Go Go Bars" (22:14)
12. "The Missile Crisis" (22:13)
Disc 3:
13. "Never Send a Man" (22:14)
14. "Power Struggle" (22:14)
15. "Mr. Possum Lake" (22:14)
16. "Red and Breakfast" (22:14)
17. "The Moosetrap" (22:14)
18. "Stupid Cupid" (22:14)
The set is packaged in three Viva-packs that are inside of a cardboard outer box. The cover art this time features Red inside of one of the many kludges that he invented, with a red and yellow background. Inside, each individual season set has the same artwork, and in fact, each disc contains the same artwork. Inside each of the season sets, there is a list of episodes, along with descriptions for the episodes.
The menus on this set are just like the previous set, and very basic (but functional). The main menu of each disc has a photo of Red Green on it with the theme song playing in the background, with options of Play All, Episode Selection (Disc 1 of each season), and an option for the bonus feature in the particular season (Disc 1 of each season). On Discs 2 and 3 of each season, all of the episodes are simply listed on the main menu. Chapters are placed in each episode at all of the appropriate places.
The video and audio quality of the set is on par with the previous sets, meaning that it looks OK, but not perfect. Again, as I mentioned in the review of the previous set, the series was supposed to be a parody of a really bad outdoor/home improvement series, so some of it is probably intentional (and for the best). The audio on each of the episodes is presented in stereo, and all of the episodes are closed-captioned.
The set doesn't contain a whole lot of special features, but there are a few. As was the case with the previous seasons, both seasons 10 and 11 contain production notes and character profiles written by the series star and creator, Steve Smith. These are fairly detailed, and interesting to read. However, when I first got this set, I notice that season 12 contained a different special feature: an introduction by Steve Smith. Unfortunately, this was very disappointing, as it is only 49 seconds long. He mostly just talks about Patrick McKenna's character leaving in season 10 and coming back in season 12. It is unfortunate, because I feel like there is so much more that they could have done with this segment.
Before I conclude this review, there is one problem that I noticed with this set, and I don't know if it is just my copy or if it is a widespread problem, but for the season eleven episodes, Discs 1 and Discs 2 are mislabeled. On my set, I found all of the contents of Disc 1 on Disc 2, and the contents of Disc 2 on Disc 1. Hopefully, this isn't a widespread problem, and if it is, hopefully Acorn will come up with some fix (maybe even a "kludge") for it. In any event, all of the episodes are still included, even with the mislabeled disc.
This series is one of those really humorous series that you have to actually watch to understand it. It is difficult to describe what the series is to anybody, but if you watch it, you'll understand what it is all about--a home improvement and outdoors show parody (and that is oversimplifying it). It is a unique style of intellectual comedy that just about anybody can get into if they watch the series enough. I'd suggest checking out the series on a PBS affiliate (many of them air it) first, and if you like it, then checking out these DVDs. Of course, if you already know and love the series, then you can head straight for this set. It's great comedy that must be seen to be fully appreciated.
(4/5 stars)
To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
The Red Green Show on TV.com
LOOKING AHEAD
That's it for this week, we'll be back next week for more news and reviews in Digital Digest! Until then, keep it digital!
DIGITAL NEWS
The only news that we have this week is news regarding Mister Ed. Mister Ed - The Complete Fifth Season is coming to DVD very soon. In fact, it'll be out June 21 as a Shout! Select title, at a $34.99 MSRP. There is no word on what (if any) special features will be included, but our guess is that there will not be any, if the past two sets are any indication.
Speaking of Shout! Select, Ironside - Season Five was projected to be released a few days ago, but it hasn't been. In fact, there is no indication that Shout! Factory has any intention of releasing this anytime in the near future. That doesn't mean that the set won't be coming to DVD at all, but it just isn't scheduled... yet. But if anything changes, we'll tell you about it!
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (May 24) has many releases, but only one to note for sitcom fans, that being Melissa & Joey - Season 1, Part 1. The set comes at a $29.97 MSRP from Shout! Factory. We hope to have a review for this set soon, assuming that we receive a review copy.
BLOG DVD REVIEW
Get ready to head back to the Possum Lodge for more mayhem, half-baked ideas, and crazy contraptions. In the popular Canadian series, Red Green (Steve Smith) and his friends worked together on a series about home improvement and the outdoors, in a world where the crazy ideas somehow managed to work out every single time. The popular Canadian comedy series (seen on PBS in the United States), The Red Green Show, is back on DVD for three more seasons (seasons 10-12) of fun in The Red Green Show - The Midlife Crisis Years.
DVD Review - The Red Green Show - The Midlife Crisis Years
by skees53
The Red Green Show - The Midlife Crisis Years (Acorn Media, $79.99) brings fans 54 more episodes (seasons 10-12) of the hit Canadian comedy series to DVD in a nine disc set. It's a little bit like the American series Home Improvement combined with PBS style comedy, except in this series, the crazy ideas somehow manage to work. In this set, the guys are all facing their midlife years the best that they possibly can--by coming up with more crazy ideas to make life more manageable. This set also marks the debut of the twelfth season of the series on DVD in the United States (it is also available separately).
In the tenth season, Red hosts a foster child in the episode "Foster Child," but how good of a father can he be? The lodge offers a proposal for Toronto in "What a Dump," and that is to take their trash! Red and Mike try to declare the lodge a historical site in "Historic Site." Dalton appears on a trivia game show in "Who Wants to Be a Smart Guy." In "The Dandruff Foundation," the guys want to avoid taxes, and try to do so by aligning with a charity. The guys run out of their magic stuff--duct tape--in "No Duct Tape."
Onto the eleventh season, you can "barely deny" Harold's shock when he accidentally rents the lodge to nudists in "Back to Nature." In "Dalton's Hot Gift," Red begins to believe that Mike stole Dalton's birthday gift. The guys sell leftover cans from the Y2K scare in "Y2 Cans." Mike has to hide from an ex-con at a masked picnic in "Masquerade Marathon." In "Harold's Dilemma," Harold plans renovations at the lodge, but finds resistance from Red.
Finally, in the twelfth season, Red develops a unique pizza-delivery method in "The Possum Ponderosa." But that is nothing compared to Harold's new airline in "Possum Air." Harold wants to start a MENSA chapter in "The IQ Test." Red builds an outdoor escalator (why?) in "The Missile Crisis." In "Power Struggle," the guys decide to stick it to the power company and generate their own power. Harold enters a beauty pageant in "Mr. Possum Lake." The season ends with "Stupid Cupid," where Harold submits a tape to a video dating service.
The episode runtimes run in the 22:14-22:36 range (with a few double length episodes), with runtimes remaining fairly consistent for each individual season. Exact runtimes are as follows:
Season 10:
Disc 1:
1. "A Very Merry Red Green Christmas" (44:49)
2. "Sausage Envy" (22:36)
3. "Foster Child" (22:35)
4. "What a Dump" (22:36)
5. "Winston's Wedding" (22:36)
6. "Man of the Year" (22:37)
Disc 2:
7. "Survivor" (22:37)
8. "Historic Site" (22:36)
9. "Twinning" (22:36)
10. "Lunar Eclipse" (22:37)
11. "Barter Starter" (22:37)
12. "Out of the Woods" (22:36)
13. "Cheap Jeep" (22:36)
Disc 3:
14. "DNA All the Way" (22:37)
15. "Who Wants to be a Smart Guy" (22:36)
16. "The Beaver Dam" (22:36)
17. "The Dandruff Foundation" (22:36)
18. "Damn You Emu" (22:36)
19. "No Duct Tape" (22:37)
Season 11:
Disc 1:
1. "New Job in Town" (22:34)
2. "Gladiator" (22:34)
3. "The Whooping Crane" (22:34)
4. "Back to Nature" (22:34)
5. "Dalton's Hot Gift" (22:34)
6. "Viva Las Possums" (22:34)
Disc 2:
7. "Y2 Cans" (22:34)
8. "The Ghost of Possum Lodge" (22:33)
9. "The Chainsaw Races" (22:34)
10. "Something in the Heir" (22:34)
11. "Daredevil" (22:34)
12. "Mike Goes Straight" (22:34)
Disc 3:
13. "Xmas in July" (22:34)
14. "Fishing Derby" (22:34)
15. "Masquerade Marathon" (22:34)
16. "Harold's Dilemma" (22:34)
17. "Red Green Does New Year's" (45:31)
Season 12:
Disc 1:
1. "Go Fish" (22:14)
2. "The Possum Ponderosa" (22:14)
3. "Possum Air" (22:14)
4. "The IQ Test" (22:14)
5. "The Day of the Sunflowers" (22:14)
6. "Reality Television" (22:14)
Disc 2:
7. "Possum Lodge Provincial Park" (22:14)
8. "The Silver Wasp" (22:14)
9. "A Lot Like Christmas" (22:19)
10. "Snowed In" (22:14)
11. "The Go Go Bars" (22:14)
12. "The Missile Crisis" (22:13)
Disc 3:
13. "Never Send a Man" (22:14)
14. "Power Struggle" (22:14)
15. "Mr. Possum Lake" (22:14)
16. "Red and Breakfast" (22:14)
17. "The Moosetrap" (22:14)
18. "Stupid Cupid" (22:14)
The set is packaged in three Viva-packs that are inside of a cardboard outer box. The cover art this time features Red inside of one of the many kludges that he invented, with a red and yellow background. Inside, each individual season set has the same artwork, and in fact, each disc contains the same artwork. Inside each of the season sets, there is a list of episodes, along with descriptions for the episodes.
The menus on this set are just like the previous set, and very basic (but functional). The main menu of each disc has a photo of Red Green on it with the theme song playing in the background, with options of Play All, Episode Selection (Disc 1 of each season), and an option for the bonus feature in the particular season (Disc 1 of each season). On Discs 2 and 3 of each season, all of the episodes are simply listed on the main menu. Chapters are placed in each episode at all of the appropriate places.
The video and audio quality of the set is on par with the previous sets, meaning that it looks OK, but not perfect. Again, as I mentioned in the review of the previous set, the series was supposed to be a parody of a really bad outdoor/home improvement series, so some of it is probably intentional (and for the best). The audio on each of the episodes is presented in stereo, and all of the episodes are closed-captioned.
The set doesn't contain a whole lot of special features, but there are a few. As was the case with the previous seasons, both seasons 10 and 11 contain production notes and character profiles written by the series star and creator, Steve Smith. These are fairly detailed, and interesting to read. However, when I first got this set, I notice that season 12 contained a different special feature: an introduction by Steve Smith. Unfortunately, this was very disappointing, as it is only 49 seconds long. He mostly just talks about Patrick McKenna's character leaving in season 10 and coming back in season 12. It is unfortunate, because I feel like there is so much more that they could have done with this segment.
Before I conclude this review, there is one problem that I noticed with this set, and I don't know if it is just my copy or if it is a widespread problem, but for the season eleven episodes, Discs 1 and Discs 2 are mislabeled. On my set, I found all of the contents of Disc 1 on Disc 2, and the contents of Disc 2 on Disc 1. Hopefully, this isn't a widespread problem, and if it is, hopefully Acorn will come up with some fix (maybe even a "kludge") for it. In any event, all of the episodes are still included, even with the mislabeled disc.
This series is one of those really humorous series that you have to actually watch to understand it. It is difficult to describe what the series is to anybody, but if you watch it, you'll understand what it is all about--a home improvement and outdoors show parody (and that is oversimplifying it). It is a unique style of intellectual comedy that just about anybody can get into if they watch the series enough. I'd suggest checking out the series on a PBS affiliate (many of them air it) first, and if you like it, then checking out these DVDs. Of course, if you already know and love the series, then you can head straight for this set. It's great comedy that must be seen to be fully appreciated.
(4/5 stars)To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
The Red Green Show on TV.com
LOOKING AHEAD
That's it for this week, we'll be back next week for more news and reviews in Digital Digest! Until then, keep it digital!
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, April 1
St. Denis Medical - "Anything to Push Zaluva" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron's teasing makes Joyce question whether her friendship with a pharmaceutical rep is genuine; Alex has trouble letting Serena take on a new task; Matt finds a mentor in Bruce.
Night Court - "Hot to Trot" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby's friendship with her ex-boyfriend's mother leads to romantic complications; when Julianne's wealthy aunt passes away, the gang vies for a piece of her inheritance.
Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "Love At First Swipe" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
C.J. and Janine receive marital advice from an unlikely source; Peanut seeks help with his newfound online lover.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Failure 2 Launch" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Assisted Living is the new situation comedy by Tyler Perry about three generations who must make a new start in the rural backwoods of Georgia.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)
Tuesday, April 1
- Adam Scott (Ghosted/Veep/Parks and Recreation/Party Down) - Catch Adam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He will also be on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
- Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Aparna Nancherla (The Great North/Lopez vs Lopez/Corporate) - Vinny, Paul and Aparna are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) and Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Chase and Kathryn are guests on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9:30pm on Bravo.
- Will Ferrell (The Office) and Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - E! News has interviews with Will and Jennifer at 11pm on E!.
- Román Zaragoza (Ghosts) - Román talks about Ghosts on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny talks about Dying for Sex on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) and Michael Cera (Life & Beth/Arrested Development/I Was a Sixth Grade Alien) - Michael and Michael talk about Sacramento with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) - Hannah talks about Hacks on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Tasha Smith (Survival of the Thickest/Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse/The Tom Show/Boston Common) and Tone Bell (Survival of the Thickest/Fam/Disjointed/Truth Be Told/Bad Judge/Whitney) - Tasha and Tone talk about the new season of Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Kathryn Hahn (The Studio/Tiny Beautiful Things/Central Park/Happyish/Transparent/Free Agents) - Kathryn is dishing on her new comedy series The Studio on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Wilmer Valderrama (That '70s Show) - Wilmer and Freddy Rodriguez chat about their podcast Dos Amigos on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda talks about Netflix's Running Point on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Paul Walter Hauser (The Afterparty) - Paul is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
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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)
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03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
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