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
Wednesday, May 25
Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "It Was All A Dream" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
After a much-needed night on the town with his boys and ten too many drinks, Calvin finds himself in a bit of a sticky situation. In a drunken state, he sends sexual text messages to Miranda and invites her over.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Clean Up Your Act" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Cora is fed up with the way the residents have been behaving - not cleaning up after themselves, bickering over the television, leaving the toilet seat up, and foul language.
The Ms. Pat Show - "Don't Eat That S..." (BET, 10:00PM ET/PT)
When Junebug gets swindled by a drug dealer, Denise decides to help him get his money back instead of telling Pat and Terry.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 23)
Wednesday, May 25
- Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy/American Dad!/The Cleveland Show) - Watch Seth on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jay Ellis (Insecure/The Game) - Jay appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jon Hamm (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Jon is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Jay Pharoah (White Famous) - Jay appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri guest hosts The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
- Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Nick is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
- Hayley Orrantia (The Goldbergs) - Hayley talks about The Masked Singer on Reality Check at 4:30pm.
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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