Saturday, December 17, 2011

Digital Digest: Growing Pains: The Movie and Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers DVD Review


Welcome back to one of the last editions of Digital Digest for 2011! Don't worry, we still have two more for this year, and we'll be back every Saturday next year, so we aren't going anywhere! In these last few weeks of the year, news and releases are really starting to drop off, but we do have some news for you, as well as a review of the separate releases Growing Pains: The Movie and Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers from Warner Archive. Let's get going!

DIGITAL NEWS

Manufacture-on-demand DVD products have become more prominent in the DVD market lately, and now, another studio is stepping in to the game. This time, the "new" studio to announce manufacture-on-demand releases is Lionsgate. The studio plans to release more than 100 TV and movie titles through the program, which began this week in a partnership with Amazon CreateSpace. The only TV series announced through this so far is ABC Family's Wildfire - Season Four, but hopefully there will be more to come in the future. You can check out this article for more details.

MPI is pushing forward with another release of Here's Lucy, as was speculated a few weeks ago. Now, the release date of February 28 for Here's Lucy - Season Five. The set comes at a $29.98 MSRP and can be ordered now.


UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (December 20) is the last day for studios to release new products leading in to the Christmas holiday, so it is a very light day with only two releases. First, MPI has the long-anticipated The Donna Reed - Season Four: The Lost Episodes. Also, Fox has Futurama - Volume Six (DVD/Blu-ray Disc). We hope to have reviews of these sets soon.




Blog DVD Review - Growing Pains: The Movie (Warner Archive, $19.95) and Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers (Warner Archive, $19.95)

There were dozens of family sitcoms in the '80s that came and went, and some stood the test of time better than others. One of those that really did stand the test of time was the sitcom Growing Pains. While it started as a series about a family where mom Maggie Seaver (Joanna Kerns) was out working while husband Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke) was the stay-at-home dad, it evolved significantly over the years into a series about a family that attracted a large audience every week. In 2000, eight years after the series ended (and during a brief period where reunion movies were huge), ABC broadcast a made-for-TV movie based upon the series, Growing Pains: The Movie. The movie also had a sequel in 2004, Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers. Now, both of these are available as separate releases from Warner Archive.

In Growing Pains: The Movie, we begin as Jason Seaver begins to catch fans up with what has happened in the past eight years while he is writing his latest book. At the same time, he is also preparing a big surprise for his 30th wedding anniversary, by reuniting the entire Seaver family, which doesn't seem to happen as often as the family has grown up. But in the midst of all of this, Maggie gets a very nasty surprise as she is fired as a staffer for the Congressman in the Seaver's district in Long Island. Unsure of where to head in life now, one of Mike and Kate's kids (they are now married, by the way) makes a suggestion that she run for Congress against the man who just fired her. The entire family works together for nearly a year to put together a campaign and see that she becomes Congresswoman Maggie Malone (using her maiden name, as she often did in the series). The runtime of this movie is 1:27:00.

Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers picks up four years after the original reunion movie, and is set in 2004. In this movie, everybody has gotten older, but in particular, Jason and Maggie have aged and are ready to retire. Part of the problem is trying to decide exactly what to do with their retirement, as Jason and Maggie have completely opposite ideas as to what they want. The situation only gets further complicated with the fact that they plan to sell their home, something that Mike and Carol are completely against. On top of all of that, all of the kids seem to be having problems that they can only turn to their parents to solve. The runtime of this movie is 1:29:00.

Both DVDs come in very standard packaging, but the artwork on the packaging is very professional, and even matches up with the artwork used on the season sets that Warner has released in the past. On the cover of each case, we have the title and a cast snapshot, along with a brief description of the movie and another cast snapshot on the back. Inside, all you will find is the disc, which has artwork similar to the cover artwork.

Both DVDs have incredibly bland and generic menus. The menus have nothing at all to do with the movies, and all we have is a picture of the Warner Bros. Studios water tower and an option of Play. There is nothing else, at all. As for chapters, they are placed every ten minutes throughout each DVD, which means that they do not necessarily correspond with the scene changes.

While neither of the movies were remastered for these DVDs, it really wasn't necessary to begin with. Both of them looked fine when they originally aired, and still look great now. It seems, though, that these were both done JUST BEFORE the beginning of the high-definition era, so they are in full-screen as opposed to widescreen. I'm pretty sure that is how they both originally aired on ABC. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital Stereo. And, while these were originally closed-captioned on ABC, they are not on these DVDs, which is unfortunate. The process for closed-captioning something for broadcast is different than it is for doing it for a DVD release, but those broadcast closed-captions would have in fact been available, and it is a shame that they couldn't find a way to use those.

There aren't any special features on the DVDs at all. What would have been nice to see would have been some behind-the-scenes footage about the production of the movies. I recall seeing plenty of this material on entertainment tabloid series such as Entertainment Tonight and Extra while they were producing the movies in Vancouver.

It is great to see both of these movies on DVD, particularly considering that I didn't think either one would ever make it to DVD. Aside from the fact that the DVDs were obviously very rushed and not a whole lot of effort was placed into them, both of these DVDs are perfectly adequate for fans. It would have been nicer if they had put both movies into one single set instead of creating two separate DVDs, though. While these reunion movies are not nearly as great as the original series was, it is still great to see them on DVD. Hopefully, these releases will spark more interest in the original series and we'll see more seasons of that released... in other words, hopefully, the "best is ready to begin!"

(4/5 stars)

To purchase Growing Pains: The Movie, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Warner Archive

To purchase Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Warner Archive

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Growing Pains on TV.com


CLICK OF THE WEEK

TheTVDB.com (www.thetvdb.com) - Recently, I was searching for a website that provides essential information about many TV series in a nice, clean, and easy-to-read format. In searching for this, I came across one that I had never heard of before, TheTVDB.com. As the name suggests, the website is a television database, where you can search for virtually any TV show that has ever existed and find information about those series. You won't necessarily find everything that you need on this site, but for virtually every series that you can even think of, you can find all of the information that is available from the Library of Congress, such as episode lists, airdates, production information, and (for many series) episodes synopses.

The website isn't necessarily an all-inclusive website, and definitely needs more additions to the database, but that is part of the reason why we have included this as the Click of the Week. The website is not created and run by one person or a small few, but this is a website much like Wikipedia where fans can update the database to make the website better and more detailed. The basic information that is provided on the site is very good, but the open interface allows it to infinitely expand to a greater website. As an example of what the website could be with more complete information, check out the page for The Office. It certainly isn't an all-inclusive page like individual websites dedicated to a series would have, but it provides a lot of the good "essentials" in a simple, elegant, and not over-bloated fashion. Hopefully, this site will become even more complete as time goes on, and become an excellent resource for TV fans needing to find basic information quickly.

That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, October 20

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Downsizing" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Calvin and Marty face permit delays at Westside Fuse Box, pushing back the grand opening, while Malcolm’s booming writing career sparks an urgent search for a new nanny. Over at the Johnson house, Dave is still struggling to bounce back after being fired.

DMV - "Stay in Your Lane" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When the insanity at the DMV causes a new hire to quit, Colette worries Noa will follow and tries to make things better despite colleague Gregg’s advice. Meanwhile, employees and customers struggle through a sweltering L.A. day with a barely functional air conditioner.

TV We Love - "The Brady Bunch" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Brady Bunch stars Barry Williams and Christopher Knight open up about growing up Brady, sharing never-before-told stories of America's favorite blended family.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 20)

Monday, October 20

  • Ryan Reynolds (Two Guys and a Girl) - Watch Ryan on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Laura Benanti (Life & Beth/Younger/The Detour/Go On/Starved) - Laura makes a special appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Jesse Plemons (No Activity/Bent) - Jesse is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Bugonia on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Emma Stone (The Curse) - Emma talks about Bugonia on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
  • Timothy Simons (Nobody Wants This/HouseBroken/Veep) - Timothy talks about Nobody Wants This on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
  • Tamera Mowry-Housley (Sister, Sister/Roommates) - Tamera talks about Hallmark's Baked with Love baking competition on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Danielle Fishel (Girl Meets World/Boy Meets World) - Danielle talks about ABC's Dancing with the Stars on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

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) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season

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)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season

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

10/19 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 20, 2025)
10/18 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at NBC Comedy Stumble; Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage Showrunner Talks When the Inevitable May Happen
10/17 - Apple TV's Palm Royale Returns November 12; Pop Culture Jeopardy! Moving to Netflix
10/16 - Kathleen Madigan Prime Video Special; His & Hers Premiere Date for Netflix
10/15 - ABC Wednesday Comedies Premiere Strong; Sebastian Maniscalco's Hulu Comedy Special Date
10/14 - Tubi's Breaking Bear Premieres March 2026; NBC's Stumble Trailer
10/13 - Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Final Season; Bat-Fam Premieres November 10 on Prime Video
10/12 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 13, 2025)
10/11 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at Upcoming Paramount+ Sitcom Crutch; Yellowjackets to End After Upcoming Season
10/10 - Prime Video Releases Trailer for The Mighty Nein; Season 2 Premiere Date for Cross
10/09 - Rachel Sennott's I Love LA Comedy Series Trailer; Kaley Cuoco Heads to MGM+
10/08 - Prime Video's Kevin Details; Trailer for Crutch with Tracy Morgan
10/07 - The CW's TV We Love Docuseries; Happy's Place Season 2 Trailer
10/06 - Dancing with the Stars Surging in Viewership, Especially Among Younger Viewers; Remembering Kimberly Hébert Gregory of Vice Principals
10/05 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of October 6, 2025)
10/04 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Cancels The Great North; Everybody Loves Raymond Cast Set to Reunite for 30 Year Anniversary
10/03 - MeTV Acquires Everybody Loves Raymond; Hazbin Hotel Season 2 Trailer
10/02 - CBS Presents Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion; Apple TV+ Renews Peanuts Specials Through 2030
10/01 - The CW's Six Brand New Movies Starting November 16; Hulu's Family Guy Halloween Special Details
09/30 - Sarah Sherman HBO Comedy Special in December; Huluween Programming for 2025
09/29 - Netflix Renews Haunted Hotel for Season 2; Christmas Comedy Series Sicilia Express
09/28 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 29, 2025)
09/27 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Scrubs Cast Comes Together for First Table Read for Reboot; Monopoly Game Show Moving Ahead
09/26 - Netflix Adds to Cast for Running Point Season 2; Stiller & Meara Apple TV+ Documentary
09/25 - Adam Pally HBO Comedy Special; Jimmy Kimmel Live! Returns with Huge Ratings
09/24 - Weigel's Newest Diginet WEST Launches Monday, September 29; New Baywatch Coming to Fox in 2026-27
09/23 - DMV Trailer for CBS; Mo Amer Returns to Netflix
09/22 - SNL Season 51 Guests for First Episodes; Prime Video's Bat-Fam Series
09/21 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 22, 2025)
09/20 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Paper to Get Linear Run on NBC; Saturday Night Live Announces New Hosts
09/19 - NBC Schedules The Paper and Stumble in November; Remembering Patricia (Pat) Crowley of Please Don't Eat the Daisies