Saturday, May 11, 2013
Digital Digest: Family Ties Season 7 Coming Soon; The Roman Holidays - The Complete Series DVD Review
DIGITAL NEWS
Several months ago, we mentioned that Shout! Factory had obtained the rights to the series Fridays, and would be releasing it on DVD. At the time, though, there was no word on exact plans... but now there is a confirmed release for the series! On August 6, Shout! will release The Best of Fridays, a five disc collection that will include 16 episodes of the series.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
BLOG FEATURE REVIEW
Blog DVD Review: The Roman Holidays - The Complete Series (Warner Archive, $24.95)
The series begins with "Double Date," where Gus heads to the prom (in disguise of a teenager). Somebody in the house is being a bit of a mooch in "The Lion's Share." The family goes to a concert in "Star for a Day," but what they see on stage may not be quite what they expected. Gus and Laurie are forced to do a bit of cross-dressing to save Gus' job in "Switch is Which?" The family takes a little vacation in "Hectic Holiday." In "The Big Split-Up," Hap faces an upset in his romantic life when she thinks that he is dating a beautiful lion (except she doesn't know it is a lion). Gus has to decide whether to go to a bowling tournament or attend his daughter's drum recital on the same night in "Double Dilemma," but his ultimate plan is the set up for the typical disaster in these situations. The family could be losing their freeloading laugh lion in "That's Show Biz." In "Father of the Year," there is a lot at stake when Gus and Mr. Evictus compete against each other for a coveted award. The series ends with a take on the classic Cyrano de Bergerac tale (even though he didn't live until about 1600 years later...) in "Cyrano de Happius."
Disc 1:
1. "Double Date" (22:18)
2. "The Lion's Share" (22:18)
3. "Star for a Day" (22:13)
4. "Hero-Sandwiched" (22:14)
5. "Switch is Which?" (22:12)
6. "Hectic Holiday" (22:07)
7. "The Big Split-Up" (22:08)
8. "Buried Treasure" (22:09)
9. "Double Dilemma" (22:10)
Disc 2:
10. "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Chariot Wash" (22:02)
11. "That's Show Biz" (22:11)
12. "Father of the Year" (22:15)
13. "Cyrano de Happius" (22:10)
The packaging for this set is in a standard Amaray case, with an extra tray inside to hold the extra disc. On the cover, there is a picture of the entire family in a Chariot (being driven by Brutus), and on the back, there is a photo of the family at the zoo. Inside, the two discs have the same photo of the family as seen on the cover. Also, it is important to note that these are true MOD (DVD-R) discs, and not pressed DVDs.
The menus on the set are very basic, but at least they look nice. Each menu has the picture of the family at the zoo, with Brutus playing the guitar. All of the episodes are listed, along with a Play All option. Once you select an episode, it plays immediately. Chapters are placed throughout each episode.
The video and audio quality of the series on DVD is actually pretty decent. I was expecting the worst, since this is one of the more "rare" cartoons in the Hanna-Barbera library, but everything looks and sound pretty clear (aside from the choppy animation, which is almost like an artistic trademark of any Hanna-Barbera cartoon). Unfortunately, there are no subtitles or closed-captioning.
Like most Warner Archive releases, there are no special features.
This really is a fun series, and I enjoyed watching it. However, I can understand why it didn't go over too well. The Flintstones took place in the very distant past and The Jetsons took place in the very distant future, and everything on those series made plenty of sense to people... one had to improvise everything, and the other had all of the technology that they needed. This series, however, takes place somewhere around the middle of those, in the days of the ancient Romans, and it almost requires a bit of history knowledge to really understand that. On top of that, this series was targeted towards kids. But it is important to reiterate that this actually is a good show, and it is just another example of the great work of Hanna-Barbera. As for the DVD set itself, Warner Archive did a fine job with everything, and there are no real complaints. I'm just glad that the program exists, because we probably would have never seen this series otherwise.
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That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Thursday, May 19
Young Sheldon - "A Clogged Pore, a Little Spanish and the Future" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Sheldon struggles to cope with the first signs of puberty. Also, Mary and George Sr. hunt for new jobs, and Georgie and Meemaw take a business trip across the border.
United States of Al - "Chaos / Aashob" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Riley comes clean to Freddy about his relationship with Vanessa, and Cindy grows increasingly possessive of Al.
How We Roll - "The PTQ" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
As Tom and Archie prepare for the pre-tournament qualifier, they lay out strict rules for Tom’s family to follow to ensure Tom keeps his head in the game and qualifies for the World Series of Bowling.
How We Roll - "The Houseguest" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Tom’s mentor and coach, Archie, suffers a heart attack just days before the World Series of Bowling, Tom struggles with whether to stay with him in the hospital or leave to compete in the biggest tournament of his career.
Welcome to Flatch - "No Credit/Bad Credit" / "Ghosted" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
While Shrub thrives at his new job and Kelly gets a role in the car lot's commercial, Father Joe begins to miss having them around; Kelly and Shrub get lost in the woods on her birthday; Cheryl, Mandy, Nadine and Father Joe decide to host a séance.
Atlanta - "Tarrare" (FX, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Yo Tarrare was a real person. Wild. They gotta stop biting these better shows tho. Written by Stefani Robinson; directed by Donald Glover.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 16)
Thursday, May 19
- Alfonso Ribeiro (In the House/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air/Silver Spoons) - Catch Alonso on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - Kenan is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Mike Myers (The Pentaverate) - Mike appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Ricky Gervais (After Life/The Office) - Ricky is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about SuperNature on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Ali Wentworth (Nightcap) - Ali is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 9pm on Bravo.
- Selma Blair (Anger Management/Kath & Kim/Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane) - Selma chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Renee Elise Goldsberry (Girls5eva) - Renee appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Brian Austin Green (Anger Management/Wedding Band/Freddie) - Brian will be on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (February-May)
02/08 - Last Man Standing - The Complete Ninth Season
02/22 - Everybody Hates Chris - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
02/22 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
03/08 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season Eight
03/08 - Brooklyn Nine-Nine - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
03/15 - Head of the Class - The Complete Fourth Season
03/15 - The Proud Family - The Complete Original Series - Anniversary Collection
03/22 - The Honeymooners Specials - The Complete Collection
03/29 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-5 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
03/29 - Young Rock - Season One
04/05 - Up All Night - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
04/26 - The Danny Thomas Show (aka Make Room for Daddy) - The Complete Fourth Season
04/26 - Jackie Gleason TV Treasures - 70th Anniversary Collection (including Honeymooners Rarities)
05/03 - No Activity - Season Three
05/31 - Becker - The Complete Series (2022 Release)
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