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
Wednesday, February 24
The Goldbergs - "The Lasagna You Deserve" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Beverly enlists the help of Barry and Erica to teach Adam to be more assertive, but Adam feels guilty after taking it too far. Meanwhile, Murray resolves to be a better friend after learning that Vic doesn’t think he can confide in him.
American Housewife - "Getting Frank with the Ottos" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
To celebrate the momentous 100th episode milestone of his podcast, Franklin (Evan O’Toole) invites Katie and the family to make guest appearances on his show, “Getting Frank with Franklin.” After witnessing his intrusive tactics with Taylor and the others, Katie is determined to keep her interview light and fun but is surprised when her mom, Kathryn (Wendie Malick), joins her. Meanwhile, Greg asks Lonnie (Matt Shively) to be his campaign manager to help strengthen his social media presence.
The Conners - "Panic Attacks, Hardware Store and Big Mouth Billy Bass" (ABC,
9:00PM ET/PT)
Darlene starts to feel the pressures of her new job which result in a health scare. Meanwhile, Dan attempts to help Ben out at the hardware store but the two don’t always see eye to eye on running the business.
Call Your Mother - "Sunday Dinner" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Jean brings the family together for Sunday dinner and invites Jackie’s older boyfriend. Meanwhile, Celia tries to prove to Freddie that Jean isn’t her biggest fan.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 22)
Wednesday, February 24
- Awkwafina (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens) - Watch Awkwafina on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Chloe x Halle (grown-ish) - Chloe x Halle appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Arsenio Hall (Arsenio) - Arsenio is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Stanley Tucci (Central Park) - Stanley appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Tracey Wigfield (Great News) - Tracey will be on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Beth Behrs (The Neighborhood/2 Broke Girls) - Beth appears on A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
- Ted Danson (Mr. Mayor/The Good Place/Becker/Cheers) - Ted is a guest on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Bianca Lawson (Saved by the Bell: The New Class/Goode Behavior) - Bianca appears on The Real, so check your local listings.
- Lauren Ash (Superstore/Super Fun Night) - Lauren is dishing on the final season of Superstore on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
- Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster/Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) - Soleil talks about the revival of Punky Brewster on Peacock on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
- Jason Biggs (Outmatched/Mad Love/Drexell's Class) - Jason talks about Fox's Cherries Wild on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
- Tim Allen (Last Man Standing/Home Improvement) and Richard Karn (Home Improvement) - Tim and Richard talk about Assembly Required and the 30th Anniversary of Home Improvement on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (October-February)
10/13 - The Jetsons - The Complete Series (Diamond Collection)
10/13 - Our Cartoon President - Season Two
10/23 - Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em - The Complete Collection
10/27 - The Flintstones - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/27 - Head of the Class - The Complete Second Season (WBShop.com)
11/10 - Letterkenny - Seasons 5 & 6
11/10 - The Office - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/10 - Schitt's Creek - The Complete Collection
11/17 - Carol's Second Act - The Complete Series
11/17 - Robbie - Season 1
11/24 - Corporate - Season 1
11/26 - Man with a Plan - Season Four
12/01 - The Neighborhood - Season Two
12/15 - Avenue 5 - The Complete First Season
01/22 - Corporate - Season 2
01/22 - Corporate - Season 3
02/02 - Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In - The Complete Series (2021 Retail Release)
02/23 - Betty White's Pet Set - The Complete Series
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