Saturday, April 14, 2012
Digital Digest: Kojak - Season Four DVD Review
Are you trying to buy that Benson - The Complete Second Season DVD set, but not having much luck? It was supposed to be released on April 3, but it still is not shipping from amazon.com, and although it did briefly ship from Warner Archive, it is no longer even listed on that website. Well, our reviewer for this set has not yet received his review copy, but I did receive a personal copy which I purchased from Warner Archive. And even though I did briefly enjoy the episodes, it didn't take me (like the posters on our own message boards did in this thread) long to realize that this particular release is a disaster which was most likely pulled because it is full of defects. The first defect in this release won't be too noticeable if you aren't familiar with the series, but if you are familiar with it, you will notice that the entire first episode of the season was somehow left out. From there, things are generally acceptable for the remainder of the first two discs, but once you hit Disc 3, you'll find episodes which are completely out of order, and for some reason, the first two episodes of the third season at the end of the disc (which wouldn't be a bad thing if it was a special feature, but it is an obvious flaw). Most likely, this release has been pulled due to these issues, but we honestly don't know if that is the reason. We also have no idea if there will be any type of disc replacement program for the small number of people who actually received the set. Finally, we don't know when the release will finally be available (again, in the case of Warner Archive). However, we are going to withhold doing any review for this release for now in hopes that Sony fixes these problems before the set is actually released, and until then, we very strongly advise that nobody, even if you are a huge fan of the series, even consider purchasing this set. Hopefully, we'll be able to change this recommendation when/if there is an improved release.
Timeless Media Group has another very rare vintage police drama from the early '60s coming to DVD in August. On August 7, the studio will release all 30 episodes of the series 87th Precinct, with 87th Precinct - The Complete Series, under license from NBCUniversal. Since this show is so rare that even we don't know much about it, we'll share the information that the studio has provided through their press release:
"Manhattan's 87th Precinct forms the backdrop for this grim and gritty police drama based on the long-running series of novels by Ed McBain. Storylines focus on neighborhood crime, and the tight-knit lives of the officers of the 87th and their families: Steve Carella (Robert Lansing) and his deaf/mute wife, Teddy (Gena Rowlands), rookie Bert Kling (Ron Harper), long-time veteran Roger Havilland (Gregory Walcott) and the wryly philosophical Meyer Meyer (Norman Fell). Each gripping story features performances from the top rung of the acting profession, including Jack Albertson and Beverly Garland (Killer's Payoff), Robert Culp (The Floater), Dennis Hopper (My Friend, My Enemy), Jeanette Nolan (Idol in the Dust), Peter Falk (The Pigeon) and many more!"
Lieutenant Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas) is back in Kojak - Season Four, a six disc set containing 24 more episodes of the classic detective drama, with episodes from the 1976-1977 season. Now charging full-force into the late '70s, the series has evolved into an even edgier and more exciting series than it ad been in the past, and (hopefully) at the end of each day, Kojak will get to the bottom of each and every crime.
In "A Shield for Murder," a wealth political leader is determined to make sure that Kojak doesn't open up a two-year old matricide case, but why? A princess and her servant seek to recover family jewels in "The Pride and the Princess." A private eye who can't seem to stay out of Kojak's way returns in "Black Thorn." Kojak investigates the murder of a construction kingpin in "Where Do You Go When You Have No Place to Go?" In "Dead Again," a woman's pleas for help are going unheard, and perhaps by the time they are heard, it will be too late. Kojak's godson is mixed up in gang activity in "The Godson." In "The Condemned," a boxer is accused of murder, and decides to take church parishioners hostage.
A wealthy ecologist's wife plans the perfect murder in "When You Hear the Beep, Drop Dead." A Puerto Rican cop goes undercover in his old neighborhood in "I Was Happy Where I Was." In "Kojak's Days," what starts out as a simple death investigation becomes very complicated rather quickly. A gambling addiction causes a veteran officer to begin to behave unethically in "Monkey On a String." In "Kiss It All Goodbye," Crocker accidentally shoots a fashion model, putting his career in jeopardy. Kojak has to work with a female detective which he doesn't exactly like in "Lady in the Squad Room." A nun... yes, a nun... is out for revenge in "Sister Maria." The season ends with "Another Gypsy Queen," where a Gypsy woman wants to find and kill the man responsible for the mass murder of her own family.
2. "A Summer Madness" (49:40)
3. "Law Dance" (50:14)
4. "Out of the Shadows" (50:15)
6. "An Unfair Trade" (49:38)
7. "A Hair-Trigger Away" (49:38)
8. "My Silence Betrayed" (50:12)
13. "Dead Again" (49:42)
14. "The Godson" (49:40)
15. "The Condemned" (49:28)
17. "I Was Happy Where I Was" (49:42)
18. "Kojak's Days (Part 1)" (49:31)
19. "Kojak's Days (Part 2)" (48:24)
22. "Lady in the Squad Room" (49:32)
The packaging on this release is just a standard Viva-case, which is actually very nice considering how large this set would be otherwise. On the cover, there is a large photo of Kojak, and on the back, there are a series of episode snapshots and a general description of the series. Inside the cast, you'll find the six discs, all of which have the New York City skyline with a greenish tint. Each disc contains four episodes, except for Disc 3 which contains three (one is a double-length episode) and Disc 6 which contains five. And if you are interested in episode titles and descriptions, you'll find them printed inside the cast, along with original airdates.
The site is very user-friendly and easy for even web novices to navigate, and provides ratings and detailed analysis for all of the broadcast. One of the nice features that they have is a renew/cancel index, where they predict the likelihood of a series returning or not based not only upon the actual numbers, but also other factors such as how close the series is to making it to syndication, production costs for the series, and ratings relative to the rest of the lineup on the network or even the specific night which it airs. The cable ratings are very interesting to look at as well, and provide some surprising insights, such as the ratings for the week ending April 8, 2012 where the #5 cable program of the week was, of all things, a Saturday night airing of the Nickelodeon series iCarly. They even provide a daily cable top 100 ratings list, where you'll frequently find virtually daily "champions" including The Big Bang Theory on TBS, Family Guy on Adult Swim, and plenty of awful reality series featuring names which we honestly should never known or heard of such as "Kardashian." Although visiting to the website and leaving comments isn't going to save all three flavors of CSI (or whatever your favorite series is) from being canceled at the end of this season (and by the way, this site is leaning towards one or both of the Miami or NY series being canceled), it is still fun to see what is going on with the networks and where your favorite series stand.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Wednesday, May 25
Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "It Was All A Dream" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
After a much-needed night on the town with his boys and ten too many drinks, Calvin finds himself in a bit of a sticky situation. In a drunken state, he sends sexual text messages to Miranda and invites her over.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Clean Up Your Act" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Cora is fed up with the way the residents have been behaving - not cleaning up after themselves, bickering over the television, leaving the toilet seat up, and foul language.
The Ms. Pat Show - "Don't Eat That S..." (BET, 10:00PM ET/PT)
When Junebug gets swindled by a drug dealer, Denise decides to help him get his money back instead of telling Pat and Terry.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 23)
Wednesday, May 25
- Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy/American Dad!/The Cleveland Show) - Watch Seth on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jay Ellis (Insecure/The Game) - Jay appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jon Hamm (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Jon is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jay Pharoah (White Famous) - Jay appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri guest hosts The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
- Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Nick is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Hayley Orrantia (The Goldbergs) - Hayley talks about The Masked Singer on Reality Check at 4:30pm.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (February-May)
02/08 - Last Man Standing - The Complete Ninth Season
02/22 - Everybody Hates Chris - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
02/22 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
03/08 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season Eight
03/08 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
03/15 - Head of the Class - The Complete Fourth Season
03/15 - The Proud Family - The Complete Original Series - Anniversary Collection
03/22 - The Honeymooners Specials - The Complete Collection
03/29 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-5 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
03/29 - Young Rock - Season One
04/05 - Up All Night - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
04/26 - The Danny Thomas Show (aka Make Room for Daddy) - The Complete Fourth Season
04/26 - Jackie Gleason TV Treasures - 70th Anniversary Collection (including Honeymooners Rarities)
05/03 - No Activity - Season Three
05/31 - Becker - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
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