Saturday, October 26, 2013
Digital Digest: More Alice on DVD; My Mother, The Car Coming to DVD; More Donna Reed Show in the Horizon?
DIGITAL NEWS
Warner Archive is back yet again this week with another new release to please classic sitcom fans! On Tuesday, the studio released another season of Alice, with Alice - The Complete Fourth Season. The three-disc, 26 episode collection is the last one to feature Polly Holiday in the role of Flo (she went off to do her own short-lived spinoff), as well as the first (and only) season to feature Diane Ladd in the role of Belle.
Meanwhile, TGG, which has been working with MGM to release some of their classic series lately, had a pleasant surprise as well this week of a series that many never thought would come to DVD. On November 12 (just a few weeks from now), the studio will release My Mother, The Car - The Series. So, notably missing in the title of this release is the word "complete," and there is a possible reason for this. The five disc set will contain 29 of the 30 episodes, and it appears that one episode, "My Son the Ventriloquist," will NOT be included if the information provided on amazon.com is correct (and we should add that it is entirely possible that the information provided COULD be incorrect, and it may just be complete after all). Oddly enough, this episode is available on Hulu, so we're not quite sure what the problem might be. Still, this is almost the complete series, and considering the reputation that the series has in TV history, it is great that we are even seeing most of the episodes.
Could we see more of The Donna Reed Show on DVD? Right now, the short answer to that question seems to be "no," but there has been some banter on the Home Theater Forum message boards suggesting that the final three seasons of the series could be coming to DVD eventually. The series has had an odd history on DVD, with the first three seasons released by Virgil Films, then the fourth and fifth seasons being released by the much more stable MPI. All of the first five seasons are owned by Donna Reed's estate, but rights for the last three seasons are held by Sony. It seems that one particular member on Home Theater Forum (and we should add, this particular member was the first to bring others the information that MPI was working on the fourth and fifth seasons, several months before anything definitive came to light... so we don't doubt his credibility) has found out through contact with Mary Owen (Donna Reed's daughter) that MPI is supposedly in talks with Sony to release those remaining seasons. To be clear, the same member has indicated that Mary Owen is a bit skeptical herself as to whether or not a deal will be worked out, but it is important to remember that Sony has been known to license almost anything to smaller studios, including even Mill Creek. So we're going to watch this closely, and hopefully something will develop from this!
Warner Home Video (not to be confused with Warner Archive) has mostly given up on older TV series, but not Family Matters, it seems! This week, they announced that Family Matters - The Complete Fourth Season will make it to DVD on February 4. The three disc set will contain all 24 episodes of the fourth season of the classic TGIF series.
Finally, with Perry Mason wrapped up on DVD, fans were left to wonder if the TV films from the late '80s and early '90s would follow... and this week, CBS gave us an answer! On December 31 (before the end of this year), we'll see Perry Mason - Movie Collection, Volume 1. The release will contain six (presumably the first six, but we don't know that yet) of the made-for-TV movies starring Raymond Burr. In total, there were 30 of these films, with the first 26 featuring Burr and the final four made after his death.
UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW
Tuesday (October 29) has little to offer, aside from HBO's release of Family Tree - Season One.
FOLLOW ME
Who to Follow: Gavin MacLeod (Twitter), "Gavin's career spans over fifty years in TV, Film, and Broadway. This is Gavin's official Twitter page."
Claim to Fame: Starting out with small movie roles, MacLeod came to fame in the TV world in his role in McHale's Navy. Of course, his real fame came years later when he was cast as Murray Slaughter in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a role that he held for seven seasons. This was followed up with his role as Captain Stubing, a role for which he earned three Golden Globe nominations. This past week, he released his book, This Is Your Captain Speaking: My Fantastic Voyage Through Hollywood, Faith & Life, which talks about his own life and the ups and downs he has faced, all of which seems to have gone well for him in recent years.
Pick of the Tweets: "It's taken 60 years to have a dream come true! Getting free underwear from @fruitoftheloom is as amazing to me as winning an Oscar." (October 23, 2013)
That's all for this week. Until next time, keep it digital!
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Thursday, December 5
Young Sheldon - "A Party Invitation, Football Grapes and an Earth Chicken" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mary gets Pastor Jeff involved when Sheldon isn’t invited to Billy’s birthday party. Also, George Sr. has “male-bonding time” with Dr. Sturgis.
The Unicorn - "No Pressure" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Wade pretends to be dating Caroline (Betsy Brandt) to avoid being set up on blind dates by Delia. Also, Ben and Michelle throw an anniversary party for themselves, but have issues with the catering.
Mom - "Tuna Florentine and a Clean Handoff" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Christy and the ladies rally around Tammy when she has trouble adjusting to early release from parole. Also, Bonnie is disappointed when her perfect birthday gift for Adam gets a lukewarm response.
Carol's Second Act - "Therapy Dogs" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
As the hospital hosts therapy dogs to help care for their patients, Carol helps Lexie when the emotional burden of being a doctor becomes too “ruff."
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 2)
Thursday, December 5
- Sam Rockwell (F Is for Family) - Catch Sam on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Lizzy Caplan (Party Down/The Class) - Lizzy appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel drops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Anna Faris (Mom) - Anna is a guest on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
- John Lithgow (Trial and Error/Twenty Good Years/3rd Rock from the Sun) - John visits Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor Noah at 11pm.
- Casey Wilson (The Hotwives/Marry Me/Happy Endings), Nico Santos (Superstore) and Chris Hardwick (Guys Like Us) - Casey, Nico and Chris are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
- Jameela Jamil (The Good Place) - Jameela stops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
- Lea Michele (The Mayor) - Lea appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings. She talks about Same Time Next Christmas on ABC's GMA 3: Strahan, Sara & Keke at 1pm.
- Sean Hayes (Will & Grace/The Millers/Sean Saves the World) - Sean appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Iain Armitage (Young Sheldon) - Iain is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Kristin Chenoweth (Trial and Error/Kristin) - Kristin talks about Hallmark Channel's A Christmas Love Story on Home & Family on Hallmark Channel at 10am ET/PT and on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (October/November/December)
10/08 - Leave it to Beaver - The Complete Series
10/08 - Life with Lucy - The Complete Series
10/15 - Mom - The Complete Sixth Season
10/16 - Our Miss Brooks - Season 1 - Volume 1
10/16 - Our Miss Brooks - Season 1 - Volume 2
11/05 - The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang - The Complete Animated Series
11/05 - Laverne & Shirley in the Army (Animated Series) - The DVD Edition
11/05 - Letterkenny - Seasons 1 & 2
11/05 - Step by Step - The Complete Fifth Season (WBShop.com)
11/12 - The Big Bang Theory - The Twelfth and Final Season (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The Big Bang Theory - The Complete Series (Blu-ray Limited Edition)
11/18 - The Guest Book - Season Two
11/19 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Mill Creek)
11/19 - The Kominsky Method - The Complete First Season (Blu-ray)
12/03 - The Simpsons - The Nineteenth Season
12/03 - The Simpsons - Seasons 1-20: Limited Collector's Set
12/10 - Family Guy - Season Seventeen
12/17 - Fuller House - The Complete Fourth Season
More TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts
