Saturday, January 12, 2013
Digital Digest: New Offerings on Online Streaming Sites; Perry Mason - Season 8, Volume 2 DVD Review
Welcome to Digital Digest! This week, we've got a review of the latest release of Perry Mason - Season 8, Volume 2, as well as all of our regular features. Let's get going!
DIGITAL NEWS
This week, we don't have a lot of DVD news, but we do have several items about new offerings on online streaming sites. We start with Hulu, which has slowly been adding some of their new material from the CBS library. Among their more recent editions, you can now watch every episode of series such as Family Ties, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Twilight Zone, MacGyver, and more for absolutely free! Also, they have added The Game and Frasier, but unlike the other series, these require a subscription to Hulu+.
Meanwhile, Netflix and Warner Bros. recently made an agreement, which already brought the series The West Wing to the service not too long ago. But more is to come, mostly in the form of dramas, as the service adds series including Revolution, Chuck, The Following, Longmire, Political Animals, 666 Park Avenue and Fringe. Hopefully, they'll eventually add some sitcoms from the Warner library... we know we'd sure love to see some!
Of course, if standard sitcoms and dramas don't interest you, there is also the option of watching some of the "unscripted" (that is a little debatable, of course) series from A&E Networks... and even though these recently disappeared from Netflix, a new deal is in place with Amazon Prime. New additions in this deal include Pawn Stars, Storage Wars and Dance Moms.
We do have one piece of DVD news this week, courtesy of TVShowsOnDVD.com. According to them, the MOD release of Rob - The DVD Edition will begin shipping on Tuesday. However, there is not a whole lot of other information known about this release just yet.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (January 15) has has no sitcom releases, but there are two releases of note. First, CBS has Perry Mason - Season 8, Volume 2. We have a review of this set today in Digital Digest. Additionally, Shout! Factory has the final season of an '80s detective drama with Simon & Simon - The Final (Eighth) Season. We hope to have a review of this set soon.
Perry Mason is back to bring order to the court room 15 more times in Perry Mason - Season 8, Volume 2. The latest release from CBS brings the final 15 episodes of the 1964-1965 season to DVD in a four disc set. And of course, just like all of the previous releases, you'll once again see Perry Mason take on some of the worst looking cases, where there is absolutely no hope of a defendant being found not guilty on their charges... but you can always count on Mason to come through and prove it.
A con man is in trouble after trying to swindle his wealthy aunts out of their fortune in "The Case of the Thermal Thief." In "The Case of the Golden Venom," Perry loses a case, and must now rush to save his client from being executed. A man may have gotten away with the perfect crime... may have, at least... in "The Case of the Telltale Tap." In "The Case of the Feather Cloak," Perry is embroiled in a case involving fraud, gold, and (of course) murder. Perry gets involved in a murder case involving a prep school in "The Case of the Lover's Gamble." In "The Case of the Fatal Fetish," Perry takes on a murder that results from art fraud. A door to door saleswoman is accused of doing more than selling goods door to door in "The Case of the Sad Sicilian." When a woman goes searching for her late grandfather's missing stash of stolen diamonds, she ends up becoming a murder suspect in "The Case of the Murderous Mermaid."
The episodes appear to be unedited. Runtimes are as follows:
Disc 1:
1. "The Case of the Thermal Thief" (51:33)
2. "The Case of the Golden Venom" (51:36)
3. "The Case of the Telltale Tap" (51:28)
4. "The Case of the Feather Cloak" (51:37)
Disc 2:
5. "The Case of the Lover's Gamble" (51:33)
6. "The Case of the Fatal Fetish" (51:34)
7. "The Case of the Sad Sicilian" (51:33)
8. "The Case of a Place Murderous Mermaid" (51:36)
Disc 3:
9. "The Case of the Careless Kitten" (51:35)
10. "The Case of the Deadly Debt" (51:35)
11. "The Case of the Gambling Lady" (51:41)
12. "The Case of the Duplicate Case" (51:36)
Disc 4:
13. "The Case of the Grinning Gorilla" (51:03)
14. "The Case of the Wrongful Writ" (51:38)
15. "The Case of the Mischievous Doll" (51:34)
The packaging for this set doesn't deviate from previous releases, with a large photo of Perry on the cover (who else?), and some color still photos of other cast members above him. On the back, there are some black and white cast photos, along with a brief series description. Inside the case, you'll find episode titles, descriptions, and airdates for each episode. Of course, you'll also find the four discs, each of which has the logo printed on the silver background (the CBS standard). Episode titles are also printed on each disc.
The menus are very plain, but functional. The main menu has a large photo of Perry on it, along with a listing of episodes on the disc, a Play All Option, and Subtitles option. There are no other menus on the set, at all. Each episode has chapters placed in all of the appropriate places.
There is absolutely no problem with the video and audio quality on this set, and that is no surprise. We've had perfection through all of the previous sets, and we have it again. Of course, there is some grain and debris here and there, but you would expect that for a series this old. Each episode contains English subtitles.
DIGITAL NEWS
This week, we don't have a lot of DVD news, but we do have several items about new offerings on online streaming sites. We start with Hulu, which has slowly been adding some of their new material from the CBS library. Among their more recent editions, you can now watch every episode of series such as Family Ties, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Twilight Zone, MacGyver, and more for absolutely free! Also, they have added The Game and Frasier, but unlike the other series, these require a subscription to Hulu+.
Meanwhile, Netflix and Warner Bros. recently made an agreement, which already brought the series The West Wing to the service not too long ago. But more is to come, mostly in the form of dramas, as the service adds series including Revolution, Chuck, The Following, Longmire, Political Animals, 666 Park Avenue and Fringe. Hopefully, they'll eventually add some sitcoms from the Warner library... we know we'd sure love to see some!
Of course, if standard sitcoms and dramas don't interest you, there is also the option of watching some of the "unscripted" (that is a little debatable, of course) series from A&E Networks... and even though these recently disappeared from Netflix, a new deal is in place with Amazon Prime. New additions in this deal include Pawn Stars, Storage Wars and Dance Moms.
We do have one piece of DVD news this week, courtesy of TVShowsOnDVD.com. According to them, the MOD release of Rob - The DVD Edition will begin shipping on Tuesday. However, there is not a whole lot of other information known about this release just yet.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (January 15) has has no sitcom releases, but there are two releases of note. First, CBS has Perry Mason - Season 8, Volume 2. We have a review of this set today in Digital Digest. Additionally, Shout! Factory has the final season of an '80s detective drama with Simon & Simon - The Final (Eighth) Season. We hope to have a review of this set soon.
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
Blog DVD Review: Perry Mason - Season 8, Volume 2 (CBS DVD, $49.99)
by skees53
Perry Mason is back to bring order to the court room 15 more times in Perry Mason - Season 8, Volume 2. The latest release from CBS brings the final 15 episodes of the 1964-1965 season to DVD in a four disc set. And of course, just like all of the previous releases, you'll once again see Perry Mason take on some of the worst looking cases, where there is absolutely no hope of a defendant being found not guilty on their charges... but you can always count on Mason to come through and prove it.
A con man is in trouble after trying to swindle his wealthy aunts out of their fortune in "The Case of the Thermal Thief." In "The Case of the Golden Venom," Perry loses a case, and must now rush to save his client from being executed. A man may have gotten away with the perfect crime... may have, at least... in "The Case of the Telltale Tap." In "The Case of the Feather Cloak," Perry is embroiled in a case involving fraud, gold, and (of course) murder. Perry gets involved in a murder case involving a prep school in "The Case of the Lover's Gamble." In "The Case of the Fatal Fetish," Perry takes on a murder that results from art fraud. A door to door saleswoman is accused of doing more than selling goods door to door in "The Case of the Sad Sicilian." When a woman goes searching for her late grandfather's missing stash of stolen diamonds, she ends up becoming a murder suspect in "The Case of the Murderous Mermaid."
An attorney ends up dead when the reading of a will doesn't go the way the family hopes in "The Case of the Careless Kitten." In "The Case of the Deadly Debt," an innocent (well, as innocent as it gets compared to murder) liquor store robbery becomes much more for a troubled youth when it takes a fatal turn. A real estate swindle turns to murder in "The Case of the Gambling Lady." In "The Case of the Duplicate Case," a fight over a family business leaves one brother being accused of stabbing the other in the back. Literally. A woman tries to protect her husband who is released from parole in "The Case of the Grinning Gorilla," but how much can she do when he is accused of a new crime? A man suspects his boss of embezzlement in "The Case of the Wrongful Writ," but of course, when his boss turns up dead, who is going to be accused? The season ends with "The Case of the Mischievous Doll," where a fashion model is accused of shooting a photographer who had been blackmailing her sister.
The episodes appear to be unedited. Runtimes are as follows:
Disc 1:
1. "The Case of the Thermal Thief" (51:33)
2. "The Case of the Golden Venom" (51:36)
3. "The Case of the Telltale Tap" (51:28)
4. "The Case of the Feather Cloak" (51:37)
Disc 2:
5. "The Case of the Lover's Gamble" (51:33)
6. "The Case of the Fatal Fetish" (51:34)
7. "The Case of the Sad Sicilian" (51:33)
8. "The Case of a Place Murderous Mermaid" (51:36)
Disc 3:
9. "The Case of the Careless Kitten" (51:35)
10. "The Case of the Deadly Debt" (51:35)
11. "The Case of the Gambling Lady" (51:41)
12. "The Case of the Duplicate Case" (51:36)
Disc 4:
13. "The Case of the Grinning Gorilla" (51:03)
14. "The Case of the Wrongful Writ" (51:38)
15. "The Case of the Mischievous Doll" (51:34)
The packaging for this set doesn't deviate from previous releases, with a large photo of Perry on the cover (who else?), and some color still photos of other cast members above him. On the back, there are some black and white cast photos, along with a brief series description. Inside the case, you'll find episode titles, descriptions, and airdates for each episode. Of course, you'll also find the four discs, each of which has the logo printed on the silver background (the CBS standard). Episode titles are also printed on each disc.
The menus are very plain, but functional. The main menu has a large photo of Perry on it, along with a listing of episodes on the disc, a Play All Option, and Subtitles option. There are no other menus on the set, at all. Each episode has chapters placed in all of the appropriate places.
There is absolutely no problem with the video and audio quality on this set, and that is no surprise. We've had perfection through all of the previous sets, and we have it again. Of course, there is some grain and debris here and there, but you would expect that for a series this old. Each episode contains English subtitles.
After releasing 15 volumes of releases with no special features at all, they finally included one this time! Unfortunately, it isn't much. On Disc 4, there is a "Law Day promo" (0:34), where Raymond Burr does a commercial for Law Day. In case you don't know what that is... and I know that I sure didn't... it is a day (May 1) that Dwight D. Eisenhower declared to celebrate laws and rights. Apparently, it is a day that pretty much only attorneys and others in the legal system are even aware of.
I have to wonder how many fans out there have actually gotten through all of the first 230 episodes already and are ready for this set... that is an awful lot to watch, and this CBS is releasing these so fast that it would be hard for anybody to keep up! Even so, it is almost sad to see that we're getting closer and closer to the end of this series. We've just got two more sets to go (both season nine), and it seems likely that we'll see the rest this year. But the funny thing is that these sets are consistently great... great episodes, great video quality, great audio quality, etc. And if this keeps up, Perry Mason may be one of the few series to be released all the way through without flaws.
(4/5 stars)
To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Perry Mason on TV.com
FOLLOW ME
Who to Follow: B.J. Novak (Twitter), "One time Larry David was seated at a table behind me at a restaurant"
Claim to Fame: Benjamin Joseph Novak, or "B.J." as his fans know him, is best known for being a writer, director, executive producer, and an actor playing Ryan Howard on the NBC series The Office... at least until the end of last season. These days, he is taking a little breather from all of that... but that doesn't change the fact that he has already made a name for himself.
Why You Should Follow Him: Sometimes, when we think of Twitter, we think of stereotypical pretentious hipsters. And I think that we can all agree that Novak's character of Ryan was just that... well, at least in the later seasons of the series. While we won't stereotype Novak in that way, his Twitter feed is a fun one to follow. Much like his fellow cast members from The Office, he maintains a Twitter feed where he just tries to be himself, and isn't always out there constantly hyping how great he is or reminding people to watch such and such (although he does at times). Instead, what you'll find is a very down-to-earth Harvard graduate who just so happened to make it to fame keeping a fun and often funny Twitter feed.
Pick of the Tweets: "Numbers are our friends. For example, Six from Blossom" (September 12, 2012)
I have to wonder how many fans out there have actually gotten through all of the first 230 episodes already and are ready for this set... that is an awful lot to watch, and this CBS is releasing these so fast that it would be hard for anybody to keep up! Even so, it is almost sad to see that we're getting closer and closer to the end of this series. We've just got two more sets to go (both season nine), and it seems likely that we'll see the rest this year. But the funny thing is that these sets are consistently great... great episodes, great video quality, great audio quality, etc. And if this keeps up, Perry Mason may be one of the few series to be released all the way through without flaws.
(4/5 stars)To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Perry Mason on TV.com
FOLLOW ME
Who to Follow: B.J. Novak (Twitter), "One time Larry David was seated at a table behind me at a restaurant"
Claim to Fame: Benjamin Joseph Novak, or "B.J." as his fans know him, is best known for being a writer, director, executive producer, and an actor playing Ryan Howard on the NBC series The Office... at least until the end of last season. These days, he is taking a little breather from all of that... but that doesn't change the fact that he has already made a name for himself.
Why You Should Follow Him: Sometimes, when we think of Twitter, we think of stereotypical pretentious hipsters. And I think that we can all agree that Novak's character of Ryan was just that... well, at least in the later seasons of the series. While we won't stereotype Novak in that way, his Twitter feed is a fun one to follow. Much like his fellow cast members from The Office, he maintains a Twitter feed where he just tries to be himself, and isn't always out there constantly hyping how great he is or reminding people to watch such and such (although he does at times). Instead, what you'll find is a very down-to-earth Harvard graduate who just so happened to make it to fame keeping a fun and often funny Twitter feed.
Pick of the Tweets: "Numbers are our friends. For example, Six from Blossom" (September 12, 2012)
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Sunday, January 25
Shifting Gears - "Dog" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Matt refuses to let Carter bring a dog into “his” house, Riley starts to wonder if it’s time for her and the kids to find their own place. Meanwhile, Gabe seeks Riley’s advice amid second thoughts about moving in with Amelie.
Shifting Gears - "Friend" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Matt’s reunion with a high school friend stirs up more than nostalgia when he meets their equally opinionated spouse. Meanwhile, Riley spirals when Klatch gets a negative Yelp review. Tuc Watkins, Jim Rash and Jesse Williams guest star.
Shifting Gears - "License" (ABC, 10:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When he finds out Carter’s getting driving lessons, Matt’s plan to prove he’s the better teacher hits a snag when he learns his license is expired. Meanwhile, Riley’s two worlds collide as she struggles to keep both her business and family afloat.
Shifting Gears - "Loyalty" (ABC, 10:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Matt’s dream build turns into a nightmare when controversy between Stitch and the client threatens to derail everything. Meanwhile, Riley hires Carter at her coffee business and quickly learns that working with family brews more tension than drinks.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 19)
Friday, January 23
- Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) - Watch Chris on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Dulcé Sloan (The Great North) - Dulcé is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - Michael talks about Shrinking on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Kim Fields (The Upshaws/Living Single/The Facts of Life/Baby, I'm Back) - Kim is back with the Tam Fam as she closes out a huge chapter as Regina Upshaw in Netflix's hit comedy The Upshaws on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings. She shares more about her next journey with her new global wellness brand “Refresh by KF” and guides the Tam Fam through a wellness exercise designed to help you slow down, reset and refocus.
- Jennette McCurdy (Sam & Cat/iCarly) - Jennette tells Drew about her latest book Half Her Age on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
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08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
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