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

Thursday, April 25

Young Sheldon - "A Fancy Article and a Scholarship for a Baby" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Sheldon’s published paper leads to a frenzy of grad school recruiting, and Georgie tries to speak more properly in front of his daughter.

Ghosts - "The Traveling Agent" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Pete discovers a power that he never knew he had – one that brings him closer to his buddy Jay (and further apart).

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 22)

Thursday, April 25

Rob McElhenney (Mythic Quest/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) - Catch Rob on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Carol Burnett (Palm Royale/Mad About You/Mama's Family) - Carol appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Tim Robinson (Digman!/Detroiters) - Tim is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Wendell Pierce (The Odd Couple/The Michael J. Fox Show/The Weber/The Brian Benben Show/The Gregory Hines Show) - Wendell appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred sits in with The 8G Band on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) - E! News has an interview with Jerry at 11pm on E!. He also talks about Unfrosted on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny guest co-hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Jason Ritter (The Class) - Jason is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Jim talks about Unfrosted on CBS Mornings some time between 7-9am. NBC's Today catches up with Jim in the 9am hour.
Vivica A. Fox (Mr. Box Office/Getting Personal/Arsenio/Out All Night) - Vivica talks about Not Another Church Movie in the 10am hour.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie talks about her new book Indulge: Delicious and Decadent Dishes to Enjoy and Share on a repeat of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Pam Grier (Bless This Mess) - Pam talks about Prime Video's Them: The Scare on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Luenell (Lopez) - Luenell stops by before her performance at the famous Apollo Theater in New York City on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Tichina Arnold (The Neighborhood/Survivor's Remorse/Happily Divorced/Everybody Hates Chris/Martin) - Tichina guest co-hosts The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.