Digital Digest: Big Shout! Announcements; More Family Ties to DVD; Superboy - The Complete Second Season DVD Review

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Digital Digest: Big Shout! Announcements; More Family Ties to DVD; Superboy - The Complete Second Season DVD Review

Welcome to Digital Digest! We've been having some pretty slow news weeks lately, but things are a bit different this week with some new announcements from the studios. And as usual, we've got a review, with this week's review being Superboy - The Complete Second Season. Let's get started!

DIGITAL NEWS

This week, the website The Wrap had some news about some big acquisitions made by Shout! Factory. Of course, we've all known that the studio has brought us some great surprises over the years, and once again, we're not being let down. First up, the studio has acquired the rights to the series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, and is looking to release a complete series set later this year. The even bigger surprise, though, is the acquisition of the series Fridays, which aired on ABC in the early '80s. While the series is largely forgotten, it was essentially ABC's version of Saturday Night Live, and even featured Larry David and Michael Richards... who'd later go on to work on some other series that I need not mention, of course.

One of the biggest surprises this week came courtesy of CBS, as they announced that they would finally be releasing Family Ties - The Complete Sixth Season on DVD (four years after the last release!). According to TVShowsOnDVD.com, we can expect to see this release on April 9.

As we've frequently mentioned on here, Warner Archive is dedicated to getting Night Court completed on DVD... so it should come as no surprise that they announced the next season of the release this week, to be released on Tuesday! However, you won't have to wait until then to get Night Court - The Complete Eighth Season on DVD... you can already order it now.

Finally, we're not quite done with Warner Archive. This week, they also finished up the series The Bill Engvall Show with The Bill Engvall Show - The Complete Second and Third Seasons. This set is already shipping from Warner Archive.

UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (January 29) has, as we previously mentioned, the release of Night Court - The Complete Eighth Season. We'll have a review of this set soon. Also, Sony lands their release of a series that aired on ABC last season with Pan Am - The Complete Series.

BLOG FEATURE REVIEW

Blog DVD Review: Superboy - The Complete Second Season (Warner Archive, $29.95)

by Pavan

After a six and a half year wait, Superboy has returned to DVD, this time from Warner Archive (instead of Warner Home Video)! With its successful first season having secured its status as a breakout syndicated hit, the series creators Ilya Salkind initiated some sweeping changes for the show's sophomore season. The biggest of the changes was the arrival of a whole new Superboy in the person of Gerard Christopher replacing John Haymes Newton. Bringing with him a fan's enthusiasm and delight for all things Kryptonian and aided by a writing staff that included true DC Comics superstar scribes (including Andy Helfer, Cary Bates, Denny O'Neil, and Mike Carlin), Christopher sent the show soaring up into ever-more super-heroic heights. Familiar four-color threats faced by our boy Kal-El include a now follicle challenged Lex Luthor (who makes Lana his bride decades before they did it in Smallville), Metallo, Bizarro, Mr. Mxyzptlk and Yellow Peri in this complete 26-Episode, 3-Disc Collection. Also starring Stacy Haiduk as Lana Lang and Ilan Mitchell-Smith as Andy McAllister.

The series was a half-hour weekly series that aired in first-run syndication for four seasons. I remember watching it on Saturday afternoons on WWOR locally, and I just loved it. As I mentioned before in the first season review, I have not seen this series in such a long time so most of it seems so new to me. Some memorable episodes include the season premiere "With This Ring I Thee Kill," where Lex Luthor is back and he has a new face and assuming the identity of a doctor who's created a weapon called the "Superboy" gun, he kidnaps Lana, forcing her to marry him, and uses the weapon on Superboy, paralyzing him, possibly forever. In "Lex Luthor: Sentenced to Death," Professor Peterson comes to Superboy's aid and the two believe that Superboy will, with time, be able to have full use of his legs and powers again, while Luthor's back in hiding, and with the help of a new assistant, taunts Superboy with his new bride. In "Young Dracula," a young vampire, on the run from his father, becomes a doctor in the Crescent County Hospital and his father sends an older, more powerful vampire to bring him back, and Superboy and Lana are trapped in the middle of the battle. In "Bizarro...The Thing of Steel," Superboy and Professor Peterson are witness to an astounding phenomenon when the professor's duplicating ray produces Bizarro, an altered, illogical duplicate of Superboy and Bizarro's backwards thinking gets him into a lot of trouble, and Superboy must stop him.

In "Superboy's Deadly Touch," Lex Luthor strikes Superboy with a surge of solar energy that causes his powers to go out of control and Luthor plans to force a government pardon by promising to reverse the process. In "Superboy...Rest in Peace," an android is sent from the future to destroy Superboy and a female android, who knows Superboy's identity, assists him in defeating the android before he completes his mission. In "Run, Dracula, Run," Byron Shelly is mugged and loses the serum that keeps his vampire cravings at bay and when Lana and Andy go to help, Byron preys on Lana and they join forces to subdue Superboy. In "Abandon Earth," aliens claiming to be Jor-El and Lara come to Earth in search of their son Kal-El, known to the world as Superboy and their intentions are questionable, and Clark tries to ease the tension and resentment between the Kents and the aliens while he tries to acquaint himself with them. In the continuation on "Escape to Earth," the aliens take Superboy to their ship, where they're also holding Andy and Lana and when the aliens turn Superboy into Clark, Lana finds out about his secret. And in "Revenge from the Deep," an immortal being possesses Lana, and sets out to settle a score with an immortal man with whom she loved many years prior.

The episodes appear to be unedited. The episodes that run a bit longer (in the 21:50s) have a preview of next week's episode before the closing credits. Runtimes are as follows:

Disc 1:
1. "With This Ring I Thee Kill" (21:38)
2. "Lex Luthor: Sentenced to Death" (21:36)
3. "Metallo" (21:58)
4. "Young Dracula" (21:55)
5. "Nightmare Island" (21:57)
6. "Bizarro... The Thing of Steel" (21:55)
7. "The Battle with Bizarro" (21:58)
8. "Mr. & Mrs. Superboy" (21:55)
9. "Programmed for Death" (21:53)

Disc 2:
10. "Superboy's Deadly Touch" (21:56)
11. "The Power of Evil" (21:36)
12. "Superboy... Rest in Peace" (21:56)
13. "Super Menace!" (21:59)
14. "Yellow Peri's Spell of Doom" (51:58)
15. "Microboy" (21:55)
16. "Run, Dracula, Run" (21:59)
17. "Brimstone" (21:57)
18. "Abandon Earth" (21:55)

Disc 3:
19. "Escape to Earth" (21:55)
20. "Superstar" (21:56)
21. "Nick Knack" (21:55)
22. "The Haunting of Andy McAlister" (21:53)
23. "Revenge from the Deep" (21:52)
24. "The Secrets of Superboy" (21:55)
25. "Johnny Casanova and the Case of the Secret Serum" (21:56)
26. "The Woman Called Tiger Eye" (21:36)

The packaging feels like a Superman type release. The cover is styled like a comic book--a nice shot of Superboy in the middle with the Superboy logo on top and a light red comic book style background -- all similar to the first season's style. The back of the case has a shot of Superboy and Lana, with synopsis of the series and set. We also have four episodic photos and credits are listed below them. Last time we had a box holding slim cases, but not this time. Now we just have a case holding three discs. There is no artwork on the panels but the discs have artwork. Each disc has the same shot of Superboy from the cover art and the same red style background. Disc one holds episodes 1-9, disc two holds episodes 10-18, and disc three holds episodes 19-26.

The main menu has the light comic book style red background and the same photo of Superboy from the cover art. We have the choice of Play All or choose an episode title right on the main menu, similar to all Warner Archive releases. There are no subtitles and there are five chapter stops per episode.

The video is decent, but not spectacular. The audio is crisp and not too low. If you have the first season DVD, it is just about the same as that in audio and video. As mentioned, each episode runs just under 22 minutes, with most clocking in the 21:50s. The episodes are unedited because this series was aired in first-run syndication, so no need to worry about edits here I think. Less than 22 minutes is not a problem here. As I mentioned, chapter stops are available. We also have the Viacom logo after the closing credits. The one that says "Viacom" out loud.

The first season set was loaded with special features because it was a Warner Home Video set, but on this season we have nothing. That was expected though since this is a Warner Archive made ondemand set. View our first season set review for details on the special features that were on there.

I'm so glad Warner Archive decided to continue this series on DVD. The DVDs are pressed versions right now, so hurry before and get your copy before they turn into DVD-R's. We have two more seasons left and I'm sure Warner Archive will continue it, so continue or start your collection by getting the first two seasons. I thought I'd never see it again on DVD, so thank you Warner Archive. It was fun to watch. This is a great show for fans of the Superman franchise. It's different and focuses on Clark as a boy, so you'll want to see what happens! you can help beat Lex Luthor by ordering from the link below!

(3.5/5 stars)

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

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Superboy on TV.com

FOLLOW ME

Who to Follow: Seth MacFarlane (Twitter), "The Official Twitter Page of Seth MacFarlane - based on the novel Push by Sapphire"
Claim to Fame: For the longest time, Seth MacFarlane was one of the most famous people you didn't know. He started his career two decades ago at Hanna-Barbera and did some other animated work for children, until he decided to try something different, by creating and voicing many characters on the series Family Guy. The series couldn't quite succeed on the Fox lineup and was eventually canceled... only to end up back on the Fox lineup a few years later and even turned into one of the most profitable assets that any studio could ever have.
Why You Should Follow Him: When we think of other animators, we often think of one dimensional people who bring us a animated series, but can't really do much else. MacFarlane has proven that wrong time and time again, even getting a chance to host the Academy Awards (no offense to Matt Groening, but you wouldn't see him doing that). Much like the comedy that MacFarlane brings his fans on Fox's Sunday night "Animation Domination" lineup, MacFarlane never fails to entertain on his Twitter feed. He truly is a funny (albeit a bit raunchy at times, much like Bob Saget as we featured a few weeks ago) guy, and his Tweets are usually good reads.
Pick of the Tweets: "I Dream of Jeannie wouldn’t be believable today. Not 'cause the girl is a genie, but 'cause the guy is an astronaut." (December 1, 2012)
And a Little Bonus: Not only is Seth on Twitter, but even his father (featured on the Family Guy episode "Road to the North Pole") is on there as well. While he doesn't Tweet nearly as often as his son, you can really tell where some of Seth's sense of humor comes from.

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

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, December 20

Happy's Place - "Ho-Ho-Howey" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When the tavern's health insurance is threatened to be canceled, Gabby has a plan; she'll persuade her friend Danny to host his company party at Happy's, but the catch is everyone must call Bobbie "Gabby" and Gabby "Bobbie."

Bob Hearts Abishola - "The Canadians of Africa" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Abishola doesn't appreciate it when Bob gives her unsolicited parenting advice about her "unhappy son."

The Conners - "The Dog Days of Christmas" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dan meets his in-laws for the first time when Louise's family comes to visit; Darlene helps Becky with a parenting problem.

Children Ruin Everything - "Ego" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
After Felix gets in trouble for defacing school property, Felix's teacher Mr. Dongall makes James feel like a parent.

Children Ruin Everything - "Memories" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT)
In a mockumentary style episode, Astrid realizes how hard she was on Nisha during her teenage years and tries to make up for it by arranging something special for Nisha's surprise birthday party; James misses the good old days of work.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 16)

Friday, December 20

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters/HouseBroken/Catastrophe) - Sharon is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Dwayne Johnson (Young Rock) - Dwayne appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Colton Dunn (Superstore) and Diona Reasonover (Clipped) - Colton and Diona are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - NBC's Today catches up with Zachary in the 9am hour.
Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy talks about Mufasa: The Lion King on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. He can also be heard on The Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Kerry talks about The Six Triple Eight on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on Sherri, so check your local listings.
James Marsden (30 Rock) and Ben Schwartz (The Afterparty/Space Force/Parks and Recreation) - James and Ben talk about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jamie Lee Curtis (The Sticky/Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney talks about Max's Fast Friends on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Access Daily with Mario & Kit has the best of Henry and Kit Hoover, so check your local listings.
Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - The Talk celebrates 15 seasons with a special finale episode; friend of the show Howie Mandel makes his 21st appearance on the show when he stops by one last time with a surprise for the hosts on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.