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
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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
Saturday, May 17
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 12)
Friday, May 16
- Lunell (Lopez) - Watch Luenell on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She will also be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:39am.
- Benito Skinner (Overcompensating) - Benito appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) and Jerry O'Connell (We Are Men/Do Not Disturb/Carpoolers/My Secret Identity) - Mayan and Jerry are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Luke Kirby (Étoile) and Gideon Glick (Étoile/The Other Two) - Luke and Gideon talk about Étoile on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
- Stanley Tucci (Central Park) - Stanley talks about his new series Tucci in Italy with GMA co-anchor Michael Strahan on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm. He will also be on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - Howie talks about America's Got Talent on Live with Kelly and Mark (check your local listings) and on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your lcoal listings.
- Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa talks about her latest project Mama I'm a Big Girl Now on Sherri, so check your local listings.
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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)
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