Saturday, March 23, 2013
Digital Digest: New George Lopez Show DVDs; Mill Creek Wrapping Up Carsey Werner Series; I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later DVD Review
DIGITAL NEWS
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
Unfortunately, before the movie could even begin, there was already a problem. Barbara Eden, of course, was ready and willing to play the role of Jeannie (not initially, but was eventually coaxed into doing it, and says that she has no regrets), but Larry Hagman was a little busy with something else in the '80s: he was playing J.R. Ewing on one of the biggest series of the decade (and in the scope of his career, bigger than I Dream of Jeannie), Dallas. So producers were forced to come up with another actor to play the role of Major Nelson. The only logical choice was to pick Wayne Rogers, an actor who looked nothing like the real Tony Nelson (OK, so maybe that was a bit sarcastic), and was best known at the time for playing in the first three seasons of M*A*S*H. Meanwhile, it only made sense that Jeannie would be a mother by now... so enter Mackenzie Astin as son T.J. Nelson. The movie wasn't completely without some of the original supporting cast, though. Bill Daily did return to play his role of Roger Healy, and there is even a brief appearance of Hayden Rorke as Dr. Bellows.
The plot of the film focuses on Major Nelson, who is about to finally retire from NASA... the day that Jeannie has been waiting her entire life for. Over the years, Jeannie has morphed into a stereotypical sweater-wearing housewife and wants nothing more than to spend time with her family. But a "last blast" into space before retirement upsets Jeannie quite a bit... so much that she decides to get a separation from Tony, and moves into her own apartment. Unfortunately, things get a lot worse when her evil sister, Jeannie II, decides that this is the perfect scheme to steal Tony for herself, so she teams with Haji (who is now a black guy who owns a fitness center in the US) to break Jeannie and Tony up for good, and when an emergency strikes in space, a little bit of blackmail could mean the end of Jeannie and Tony's relationship forever. The story was written, directed, and produced by some of the "big names" of 60s-80s TV, with director William Asher (Bewitched), producer Barbara Corday (Cagney and Lacey, also president of Columbia Pictures at the time), and teleplay writer Irma Kalish (everything). The runtime of the movie is 1:34:15.
The packaging for this DVD is in line with other Sony Choice Collection titles. On the cover, there is a photo of Jeannie in an elaborate costume (something she didn't really wear too much in the movie), and on the back, there is a snapshot from the movie of Jeannie kissing Major Nelson. There is also a brief description of the movie on the back. Inside, you'll find the one disc, which like all other Choice Collection titles, only has the title of the movie printed on a white background.
There are no menus on the DVD. Instead, it just plays immediately upon inserting the disc.
Considering that this movie has largely been in obscurity since it originally aired, the video and audio quality is surprisingly good. I didn't notice any major flaws in the quality at all, even though it certainly does look a bit dated.
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That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Thursday, May 29
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Tire Convention and the Moral High Ground" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie discovers that Jim’s annual tire convention trip isn’t what he says it is. Meanwhile, Mandy has doubts about the strength of her and Georgie’s marriage.
Ghosts - "The Not-So-Silent Partner" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sam and Jay are forced to cover when Mark demands to meet the silent investor in Jay’s restaurant who has been holding up construction.
Bob's Burgers - "Like a Candle in the Gym" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Linda forces everyone to go on a family walk; the kids stumble onto a bizarre conspiracy theory.
Grimsburg - "Blue Light District" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Roles get reversed in Flute and Summers' partnership after male sex workers start turning up dead.
Family Guy - "Cool Hand Lois" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Peter suspects Lois of betraying his trust with Quagmire at a swanky vacation resort.
The Great North - "Sunset Beeflevard Adventure" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Judy joins the cast of a dinner theater production; Wolf and Honeybee help Moon sell jerky door-to-door.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 26)
Thursday, May 29
- Ricky Gervais (After Life/The Office) - Catch Ricky on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Kaitlyn Dever (Last Man Standing) - Kaitlyn appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Bill Burr (F Is for Family/Townies) - Bill is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Glenn Howerton (Sirens/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/A.P. Bio/The Mindy Project/That '80s Show) - Glenn appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!), Paul F. Tompkins (The Great North/BoJack Horseman/DAG) and Joe Manganiello (How I Met Your Mother) - Thomas, Paul and Joe are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- The Cast of And Just Like That... - E! News has an interview with the cast at 11pm on E!.
- Tia Mowry (Family Reunion/The Game/Sister, Sister) - Tia has a big announcement to help you plan your summer vacation on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings. Plus, she catches us up on family and her hit TV show Tia Mowry: My Next Act.
- Megan Hilty (Sean Saves the World) - Megan joins the hosts for a chat about Death Becomes Her on Broadway on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program) - Sarah chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Chloe Fineman (Big Mouth/Search Party) - Featured host Vlad Duthiers attends an acting class and partners with Chloe Fineman, actor and comedian, in an attempt to land a film role on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
- Justina Machado (One Day at a Time) - Justina talks about the Broadway musical Real Women Have Curve on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Paul Scheer (Black Monday/Fresh Off the Boat/The League) - Paul is telling Drew all about his new memoir and answering questions from his wife June Diane Raphael on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Jack Innanen and Malik Elassal (Adults) - Jack and Malik talk about Adults on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
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)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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