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This Fall, WE tv will be adding the hit sitcom Will & Grace to its line-up as it moves from Lifetime to WE tv. This isn't an exclusive deal, but Lifetime did lose rights. The deal was made for WE tv a few years back, as we announced. The series will launch with a launch marathon on Sunday, Sept. 22 from 2pm-11pm with an assortment of episodes. Select episodes will encore in late night as well from 11pm-5am. Then Will & Grace will join the regular WE tv line-up the very next day (Monday, Sept. 23, 2013), airing weekdays from 5-8pm ET replacing the evening airings of Roseanne. In addition, Will & Grace will air Tuesday nights in primetime from 8pm-1am with an encore from 1am-5am. Back to Roseanne, that sitcom will still air weekdays from 10am-1pm and on Saturdays from 10am-4pm. The rest of the schedule will remain intact, with CSI: Miami the only other off-network offering, airing Mondays from 8pm-1am (encore 1am-5am) and Sundays from 4pm-11pm (encores 11pm-5am).

Reality series round out the rest of the schedule and in primetime. Encores of Bridezillas air weekdays at 1pm & 2pm leading into repeats of My Fair Wedding at 3pm & 4pm. In primetime, we mentioned CSI Miami Sundays & Mondays and Will & Grace Tuesdays, but Wednesdays will have repeats of Tamar and Vince: Posh & Pregnant and Braxton Family Values from 8pm-5am. On Thursdays, it is a full night of Tamar and Vince: Posh & Pregnant, including new episodes at 9pm. Fridays will have the return of Kendra On Top starring the sexy Kendra Wilkinson at 10pm. New episodes of Bridezillas will lead-in at 9pm. Encores of both series will air throughout the night. And on Saturdays, original series David Tutera Unveiled airs at 9pm. That's all that is notable. Stay with us for continued updates.

Celebrities from film, television and professional sports will honor educators as part of Teach, a new two-hour special that explores America's education system through the eyes, minds and hearts of its most essential resource – teachers, which premieres Friday, Sept. 6 from 8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT on CBS. CBS network stars Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men), Anna Faris (Mom), Allison Janney (Mom) and Jerry O'Connell (We Are Men), along with Paul George (NBA's Indiana Pacers), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (HitRECord on TV!, Don Jon) and Rashida Jones (The Awesomes, Parks and Recreation) will appear on the broadcast, joining previously announced host and narrator Queen Latifah. The special, from Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim (The First Year, Waiting for Superman) and Participant Media, captures the essence of what it means to be a teacher through the lens and extensive footage of a year-in-the-life of four public school teachers.

Teach offers an intense and emotional illustration of how passion, innovation and a toolbox of learned skills drive these educators as they navigate the ups and downs of the 2012-2013 school year. Viewers will go into the public school district classrooms of: Matt Johnson, a 4th grade teacher at McGlone Elementary, Denver; Shelby Harris, 7th grade math teacher at Kuna Middle School, Kuna, Idaho; Joel Laguna, a 10th grade AP World History teacher at Garfield High, Los Angeles; and Lindsay Chinn, a 9th grade algebra teacher at MLK Early College, Denver. Tune in this Friday on CBS.

Welcome to Digital Digest! The fall TV season is now in full swing, but we didn't get summer reruns and now we're continuing with even more news and reviews for you, just as we've done all summer. This week, we've got reviews of CSI: Miami - The Tenth and Final Season and CSI: NY - The Eighth Season. Let's get going!

DVD Review: CSI: NY - The Eighth Season (CBS DVD/Paramount Home Video, $55.98)
by Todd Fuller

In the eighth season of CSI: NY, the team is rocked by a whirlwind of cases that strike all too close to home. Det. Mac Taylor (Oscar nominated and Emmy winning Gary Sinise) grapples with the memory of a personal tragedy. Det. Jo Danville (two-time Emmy winner Sela Ward) has one more chance to bring down a serial rapist who escaped justice. Recently promoted Sgt. Danny Messer (Carmine Giovinazzo) finds himself caught in a shooting incident that could end his career. Yet even as the crimes strike with unrelenting intensity, the brilliant work of Det. Lindsay Monroe-Messer (Anna Belknap), Dr. Sid Hammerback (Robert Joy), lab tech Adam Ross (A.J. Buckley), Det. Dr. Sheldon Hawkes (Hill Harper), and Det. Don Flack (Eddie Cahill), ensures that the evidence will surface... and the guilty will pay.

The 5-disc set contains all 18 action-packed episodes from the eighth (2011-12) season of the gritty crime drama. The attractive packaging has a photo of the stunning Sela Ward and her co-star Gary Sinise. There's an embossed CSI: NY logo in the center of the box. As with the last few seasons, it comes in a clear plastic (Viva) snapcase inside a cardboard box. Both the case and packaging have the same design, which uses the usual black and blue color scheme. There's a montage of nine small episode snapshots on the back of the box and case. A short synopsis of the set, a listing of the special features and the DVD specs are provided. Opening up the snapcase, there is a content locator which lists the episodes and the special features by disc on the inside cover. A blue-tinted photo of a New York City street is used in the background. Discs 1-4 are held in a flip holder in the center of the case. Disc 5 is an embedded holder in the back of the case. The discs have just a plain silver background with the CSI: NY logo on them. Each disc has the episode titles printed on them.

Moving on to the menus, they are stylish and easy to navigate. There are no previews on this release, so it jumps right to the main menus. The main menu opens up with shot of the New York City skyline that leads to a montage of video clips from the show. A nice piano and jazz instrumental cue plays in the background before the sequence loops after about 65 seconds. Options for Episode Selection, Set Up, and the special features are available at the bottom of the screen. Episode titles are listed vertically in blue box on the Episode Selection menu. Deleted scenes for select episodes can be played from this screen. The Set Up menu has a photo of Sheldon holding a flashlight under a bed or couch. You can choose English 5.1, English Stereo or Español audio. English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing are available on all of the episodes. Some special features may not be subtitled. Anna Belknap is featured on the Special Features menu on Disc 5. Chapters are placed at the appropriate places within the episodes.

As you would expect from such a recent show, the video and audio quality is outstanding. The episodes are presented in anamorphic widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Surround and Spanish Stereo audio available. CSI: NY has the darkest and grittiest look of the CSI franchise shows. All of the original music appears to be intact. Episodes are presented in their original broadcast order and numbered by the production number. The broadcast and production order were the same this season, except "Kill Screen" was produced before "Flash Pop." Running times are between 40-44 minutes in length. The set has a total running time of approximately 13 hours, 3 minutes. Hopefully we'll see some seasons released on Blu-Ray in the U.S. at some point.

Here is the episode breakdown by disc, including the runtimes:

Disc 1
Episode 801 "Indelible" (44:11)
Episode 802 "Keep It Real" (44:05)
Episode 803 "Cavallino Rampante" (42:14)
Episode 804 "Officer Involved" (44:25)

Disc 2
Episode 805 "Air Apparent" (42:20)
Episode 806 "Get Me Out of Here" (41:02)
Episode 807 "Crushed" (44:14)
Episode 808 "Crossroads" (43:58)

Disc 3
Episode 809 "Means to an End" (44:13)
Episode 810 "Clean Sweep" (44:32)
Episode 811 "Who's There? (43:07)
Episode 812 "Brooklyn 'Til I Die" (43:14)

Disc 4
Episode 813 "The Ripple Effect" (41:43)
Episode 815 "Flash Pop" (44:27)
Episode 814 "Kill Screen" (43:18)

Disc 5
Episode 816 "Sláinte" (44:10)
Episode 817 "Unwrapped" (40:15)
Episode 818 "Near Death" (44:33)

Over 60 minutes of special are included. Four featurettes are included: three on specific episodes and the final one on the entire season. Deleted scenes are available for three episodes. Once again, a gag reel is included for the season. Unfortunately, there are no audio commentaries included for the second consecutive season.

Disc 1
Deleted Scene for "Officer Down" (:53) - Danny and Lindsay make dinner plans.

Honoring Our Heroes (10:43) - The cast and crew reflects on what went into creating flashbacks of the unthinkable tragedy of 9/11 and what it meant to them to film the episode. The focus of this featurette is the season premiere episode, "Indelible." Jamie Ray Newman played Mac's wife in the flashback scenes of 9/11. They show how the flashback shots were done. What a moving speech by Gary Sinise at the end of the episode. Interviews include Sela Ward, Gary Sinise, Co-Executive Producer Trey Callaway, Supervising Producer John Dove, Executive Producer Zachary Reiter, Special Effects Supervisor David Kelsey, Eddie Cahill, Carmine Giovinazzo, Robert Joy, Hill Harper, A.J. Buckley and Anna Belknap.

Disc 2
Deleted Scene for "Air Apparent" (2:16) - Flack talks to the coach about Riley and his brother. Riley and his mother talk to Flack after basketball practice.

A New York Halloween (7:28) - Follow the action and get a 'behind-the-grave' view of all of the ghostly preparations as the cast and crew take on the terrifying task of creating a spook-tacular Halloween episode. The episode was shot on location at the Marble Cemetery and Grant's Tomb in New York. The crypt set is shown. Interviews include Co-Executive Producer Trey Callaway, Eddie Cahill, Carmine Giovinazzo, Hill Harper, Production Designer Vaughan Edwards and Special Effects Supervisor David Kelsey.

Disc 3
Deleted Scenes for "Means to an End" (1:45) - Lindsay talks to Sheldon at the lab. Danny and Jo walk and talk about Amanda Tanner.

Disc 4
Flash to the Past (10:30) - Travel back in time with the cast and crew of CSI: New York as they prepare to film flashback scenes from the 1950s in the episode "Flash Pop." They discuss the idea of the episode. Lee Majors guest stars. Other topics covered include how they did the fake snow, the vintage cars, the morgue set from 1957, the murder weapons and book props, the furnishings of the police department, and the costumes. Interviews include Co-Executive Producer Trey Callaway, Gary Sinise, Anna Belknap, Special Effects Supervisor David Kelsey, Transportation Coordinator Donald Casella, Robert Hartwig, Production Designer Vaughan Edwards, Property Master Leonard Hancock, Set Decorator Cindy Coburn and Costume Designer Elizabeth Palmer.

Disc 5
The Magic 8 (22:44) - Join Executive Producer Zachary Reiter, Co-Executive Producer Trey Callaway, and the cast and crew as they explore their latest season. This is the most comprehensive featurette in the set. Some of the season highlights are mentioned. Megan Dodds plays Mac's love interest. Jo's character and her storylines are discussed. Danny becomes a Sgt. this season. Sid sells a patent and becomes a rich man. Adam gets to go out of the lab more and his past is revisited. Sheldon and Flack's characters are discussed. The dramatic season finale is talked about. Other interviews include Supervising Producer John Dove, Gary Sinise, Sela Ward, Hill Harper, Carmine Giovinazzo, Anna Belknap, Robert Joy, A.J. Buckley and Eddie Cahill.

Gag Reel (3:36) - Some funky music is played in the background while the clips roll.

The eight seasons have really flown by. The series has never really reached the level of popularity as their predecessors in the CSI franchise, but they keep on ticking. They will quietly reach 200 episodes next spring. I wasn't sure how they would do on Friday nights, but they've found a home there. Only 18 episodes were produced this season. Some of the memorable episodes included "Indelible," "Keep It Real," "Cavallino Rampante," "Officer Involved," "Air Apparent," and "Means to an End."

This is another solid release. It seems like CSI and CSI: Miami always have more special features for some reason. They could definitely benefit by adding audio commentaries and more deleted scenes. The Under the Microscope behind-the-scenes video blogs they had for season eight were definitely missed this season. It appears they still did a few for season eight online, but they weren't included on the DVD for some reason.

(4/5 stars)

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ION Television will air sitcoms in some of their holiday stunts this holiday season! ION has been airing Christmas movies since Thanksgiving weekend, but there will be some non-movie stunts. On Christmas Eve (Saturday, Dec. 24), ION will air a holiday episode marathon of their series starting at 7pm through 3am. Starting it off will be the comedic drama Monk with three holiday episodes from 7pm-10pm. Then at 10pm & 11pm, ION will air two holiday episodes of Psych. At midnight, sitcoms take over with every Christmas episode of George Lopez from 12-2am. And closing the stunt off will be two Christmas episodes of comedy My Name Is Earl from 2-3am, its only sighting on the schedule for the near future.
Then to ring in the new year, what better way to do that then by airing a marathon of sitcom George Lopez all day and night on Sunday, Jan. 1 from 1pm-3am! That's 14 hours of non-stop George Lopez. Shewowwwww! And speaking of George, when the holiday movies are finally over, it will return to a normal schedule and air everyday at 1pm and sometimes at 1:30pm, too. It's the only sitcom on the schedule, so make the most of it, as My Name is Earl is no where to be found regularly. We hope to have the January schedule soon, if anything has even changed.

ION Television has acquired all seven seasons (156 episodes) of the hit crime drama Cold Case, in a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. The series will join the ION Television lineup in Q1 2012, adding to the network's continued focus on building a strong foundation of high-quality syndicated series. As part of the deal, ION is also extending and expanding its rights to the drama Without a Trace, which has performed well for the network over the past season.
Cold Case is a procedural drama about Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris), a dedicated female detective in the Philadelphia homicide squad, who finds her niche when she's assigned to "cold cases" -- crimes that have never been solved. Previously, she used her instinctive understanding of the criminal mind on current murders. Now, she's interrogating witnesses whose lives and circumstances have since changed, making use of today's new science and finding fresh clues to solve cases that were previously unsolvable -- all of which appeals to this smart, driven detective.
Rush's team includes her respected mentor, Lt. John Stillman (John Finn); Det. Scotty Valens (Danny Pino), Rush's confident and strong-willed partner; Det. Will Jeffries (Thom Barry), who's been around long enough to serve as Rush's link to the past; Det. Nick Vera (Jeremy Ratchford), a tough cop who's considered the go-to guy for getting a confession; and, later, Kat Miller (Tracie Thoms), a new member of the team who is eager to prove her worthiness. Rush sees her new assignment as a turning point in her career, when she decides to make it her business to make sure that no victim is ever forgotten. Cold Case aired for seven seasons on the CBS Television Network, concluding in 2010.
Stay with us for exact airtimes and start date for Cold Case on ION Television, as we await the January schedule still (it is not necessarily starting in January, though).


AMC announced that it has entered into a program license agreement for CSI: Miami with CBS Television Distribution. The deal includes the first ten seasons of the franchise, which premiered on CBS beginning in 2002, as well as the next two seasons if produced. CSI: Miami is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and stars David Caruso. The series is a fast-paced drama that follows a South Florida team of forensic investigators who use both cutting-edge scientific methods and old-fashioned police work to solve crimes. CSI: Miami premieres on AMC on Monday, January 2, 2012 at 5pm ET and airs regularly at 5pm, 6pm & 7pm Monday through Friday (with a late night encore from 1am-4am). CSI: Miami will launch on AMC with a marathon on Jan. 2 from 5pm-4am ET.
CSI: Miami has been airing on cable network A&E for a while and the network will continue to air the series in the mornings (usually 7am and 10am). A&E also airs dramas Criminal Minds and The Sopranos. As for AMC, besides their original series, they air Three Stooges and The Rifleman.

Welcome to Digital Digest, where you can get your weekly fill of all things digital in the world of sitcoms! It's a slow week and things are back to normal, but we have some DVD news and more Netflix news for you! Also this week, we have reviews of CSI: Miami - The Ninth Season and a collection of four movies from Stephen J. Cannell, The Greatest American Heroine/Return of Hunter/Jake Lassiter/The Great Pretender. Let's get going!

Netflix has been busy lately with new content. Just last week, as we mentioned, they added The Wonder Years. Since we didn't get an opportunity to really check it out before last week's Digital Digest, we'll talk a little bit more about it now. The episodes have been somewhat edited with a cover version of the theme song (so it isn't the Joe Cocker original) and some music has been replaced, but almost every episode is there. There is one clip show that is missing, but for some reason, that episode IS available for Amazon.com Prime subscribers, which, by the way, added the series as well this week. Also new to Netflix are the series Malcolm in the Middle and Ally McBeal. Hopefully we'll see more Fox series on there in the coming months, particularly classic series!

We aren't done with Netflix, though. They also have made some more new deals this week, including extending a deal with NBC Universal, meaning that 30 Rock and The Office aren't going anywhere anytime soon on the service. It also brings, for the first time ever, the series Parenthood to the service. And a new deal with AMC Networks will bring series such as The Walking Dead and other AMC series to the service over the upcoming years.

In DVD news, Shout! Factory has been very steadily releasing the classic sitcom Dennis the Menace on DVD, and after less than a year, now comes the announcement of the final season already! On January 10, look for Dennis the Menace - The Final Season on DVD. It is great to have the series completed so quickly!

But that isn't all for Shout! Factory. They have another release of another classic series on January 31 with Leave it to Beaver - 20 Timeless Episodes. The two disc set will contain 20 classic episodes of the series.

by skees53

We never really review movies here, because they are often out of the scope of our focus on television. But this week, we make an exception for Mill Creek's release of four movies from the 80s and 90s from Stephen J. Cannell productions. The iconic producer was the creative force behind many popular action drama series of the 80s, including The A-Team, Hunter, 21 Jump Street, and more. In this latest release from Mill Creek, we get to see four movies (well, technically three movies and one failed spinoff pilot) from the iconic producer. We will mainly focus on The Greatest American Heroine and The Return of Hunter in this review. However, the set also includes two other made-for-TV movies produced in the 90s.

As mentioned, the first "movie" in this collection is not really a movie, but actually a failed spinoff of The Greatest American Hero. The Greatest American Heroine was actually an episode of the original series that provides a conclusion to the original series along with setting up a new series. In this episode, Ralph (William Katt) is visited by aliens who gave him the suit that gave him the powers that he has, and they want the suit back. The only way to maintain the powers is to hand the suit over to another person. Enter Holly Hathaway (Mary Ellen Stewart), who is poised to become The Greatest American Heroine.

The second movie included is The Return of Hunter. In this movie, the iconic series of the 80s is back, with Hunter (Fred Dryer) returning to Los Angeles just after the murder of his fiancee. But remember, this is Hunter, and he'll stop at nothing to get justice, even when it means going up against a media-hungry serial killer. This movie features also Brian Keith in one of his final roles before his death.

The other two movies on the set aren't exactly TV series related, but we'll briefly mention them. The first is Jake Lassiter, a story about an ex-football player (Gerald McRaney) turned top defense attorney who is hired to defend a surgeon (James B. Sikking) charged with malpractice. But in finding the facts, the case quickly turns into a sordid tale of illicit activity on the bayou in New Orleans. In The Great Pretender, Earl Brattigan (Bruce Greenwold) wins a court battle to get reinstated at his old job at a newspaper, but the new assignment turns out to not be as exciting as the old one... or is it?

The runtimes for the movies are as follows:

The Greatest American Heroine (46:12)

The Return of Hunter (1:28:31)

Jake Lassiter (1:32:01)

The Great Pretender (1:32:56)

The packaging is just a standard DVD case with two trays (no paper sleeves, fortunately!). There are only two discs in the set, with each one containing a single double-sided disc. There is a movie on each side of each disc. On the cover, there are four "covers" from each of the movies, and on the back, there is a brief description of each movie included on the set.

The menus on the set are very plain, and when I say very plain, I mean that literally. Unlike most Mill Creek sets, which usually contain very nice menus, these almost look like they were created with a very basic computer program, and the menus just contain the movie title in a very plain font and options of Play Movie and Select Scene. There are chapters placed throughout each movie.

CBS has FINALLY announced its mid-season 2011 plans! Every other network has announced their mid-season plans already. First order of business is that CSI: Miami will move to 8pm for at least three weeks starting Sunday, Jan. 2. All three airings will be all-new episodes. Its current slot of 10pm will be various series repeats for these three weeks (CSI: Miami on Jan 2, Criminal Minds on Jan. 9 and Undercover Boss on Jan. 16). CBS has the NFL's AFC Championship Game in primetime on Jan. 23 and as of now it is unclear what will air following the game at about 10pm ET. It is also unclear if CSI: Miami air at 8pm on Jan. 30, leading into the new Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie: Lost Valentine from 9-11pm. The Super Bowl is Feb. 6 (on Fox), so CBS will air repeats in primetime and CBS has the Grammy Awards on Feb. 13 from 8-11pm. So, CSI: Miami will likely return to its 10pm timeslot on Sunday, Feb. 20, as The Amazing Race starts its new season at 8pm that night. However, the following week (Feb. 27) will be the Oscars (on ABC), so it seems a new episode of Race at least will air since it premieres the week prior.
CBS will give freshman drama Blue Bloods a four-week run on Wednesdays at 10:00pm beginning Wednesday, Jan. 19 through and including Feb. 9. After these four weeks, it will return to its regular Friday time period of 10:00pm on Feb. 11. CBS will air repeats on Fridays at 10:00pm from Jan. 7-Feb. 4 until Blue Bloods returns on Feb. 11. The Defenders, which currently airs Wednesdays at 10:00pm, relocates to Fridays at 8:00pm effective Feb. 4 through and including March 25. The series will have its last Wednesday airing on Jan. 12. After Blue Bloods' four-week run on Wednesdays at 10 is over, CBS will premiere a new 13 episode series. Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, a spin-off of CBS's Criminal Minds, premieres Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 10:00pm, airing right after the parent series. That is the same night Survivor returns with an all-new season at 8pm. Moving on, CBS premieres new drama Chaos on Fridays at 8pm beginning April 1, the week after The Defenders airs its season finale. The series has a 13 episode order, so it will likely run in the summer as well.
Moving on to sitcom news, CBS will premiere a new sitcom, move a sitcom and end one early. Mad Love, a comedy about a quartet of New Yorkers, two of whom are falling in love while the other two despise each other, premieres Monday, Feb. 21 at8:30pm following How I Met Your Mother. The series has a 13 episode order and will remain in this timeslot for the rest of the season. As a result of this change, Rules of Engagement will move from Mondays at 8:30pm to Thursdays at 8:30pm beginning Feb. 24 and airing after The Big Bang Theory. This means $#*! My Dad Says is off the schedule, but it will complete its on-air order of 17 episodes for the season after its Feb. 17 airing.
Yes, that is a lot to digest. View the CBS Mid-season 2011 press release and schedule for more information.

Antenna TV has announced its first week (Jan. 1-9) episodes and movies. We are very happy to report that every series they will air will start with the first episode and go in order from there. The only exception to not starting from the beginning will be on the Sunday series Showcase '39 which starts with episodes 153 and 154 ("Mr. Kagle & the Baby Sitter" and "Panic") in the 7am hour. That series is very rare as it is, so it doesn't really matter. There will be a few series that will go in production order, like Maude, but most will go in airdate order (such as Three's Company). The network launch marathon weekend of Jan. 1-2 with The Three Stooges and Benny Hill will also be aired in order, with Benny Hill's first 46 episodes airing. They will start both series from the beginning again on their regular Friday and Saturday night airings starting Jan. 7.
As for the films, they will air the movies weekdays from 1am-1pm and on weekends from 3am-7am. A nice mix of films from the '50s to the '90s will air from the Columbia Tri-Star library. Premiere week films are Real Genius (1985), Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), Dick (1999), Blind Date (1987), Mrs. Winterbourne (1996), The Freshman (1990), Born Yesterday (1950), Picnic (1955), Muppets From Space (1999) and Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). That is just for week one (Jan. 3-9), look for more classics to come! We are about 10 days away from the Jan. 1 launch! Check out their website for affiliate information and stay with us for further information!

Last week we announced that KTLA in Los Angeles will be airing a preview of Antenna TV on Dec. 18, 19 and 26. And Dec. 18 and 19 was a success with shows like Dennis the Menace, Father Knows Best, Burns & Allen, Sanford & Son, Gidget, Circus Boy, The Monkees and The Three Stooges all getting a preview. We announced that on Sunday, Dec, 26 from 1pm-4pm PT, KTLA would have The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok and The Iron Horse, but KTLA has changed the scheduled a bit. The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin remains in the 1pm hour, but at 2pm it will now be an episode of Here Come the Brides and the 3pm hour will feature back-to-back episodes of The Partridge Family. Fans in L.A. please take note of the change! After this preview airs in Los Angeles, Antenna TV is less than 6 days away from launch on Jan. 1 nationwide!

We're only one week until Christmas and it usually seems like news really slows down this time of the year. But not this time! We have a lot of great news to share with you this week, plus reviews of Hawaii Five-O - The Tenth Season and C.S.I. Miami - The Eighth Season. Let's get started!

DIGITAL NEWS

The "Screen Gems" of the golden age of television are really beginning to shine on DVD, and just last week, we brought you news of Dennis the Menace - Season One. Well, it hardly ends there! Earlier this week, Brian Ward announced on the Shout! Factory Community forum that Father Knows Best - Season Six is now in production. This is the final season of the series, and brings the series to an end. There is no word on exact details of the set yet, except that it will be a Shout! Select title. And speaking of Dennis the Menace, Stu Shostak, one of the producers of that set, has indicated that there will be some nice special features on that set, including newly recorded interviews. Dennis the Menace - Season One is now available to pre-order on Amazon.com

But that isn't all for the Screen Gems series! We've talked about The Donna Reed Show a few times before on here and developments with that series since Virgil Films and the estate of Donna Reed couldn't come to an agreement regarding releasing seasons 4 and beyond. We mentioned that Donna Reed's daughter, Mary Owen, was working on trying to get the fourth season on DVD, and it appears that is becoming a reality now. Mary Owen has announced on a Facebook page devoted to getting season 4 on DVD that the fourth season will in fact be on DVD in time for Mother's Day from MPI! And, additionally, the fifth season will follow at a later date. But there are still three more seasons after that, and what about those? We honestly have no idea. Sony apparently owns the rights to those episodes, so perhaps some studio could license those episodes from them. Only time will tell what will happen with those episodes, and if they ever make it to DVD.

The Screen Gem series, though, are hardly the only classic series worthy of coming to DVD, and of course, one of TV's biggest stars, Lucille Ball, worked through her own studio, and now, we have an official date for The Lucy Show - The Official Fourth Season! According to the CBS Home Entertainment Facebook page, the set will be released on April 26. No word on the content of the DVDs just yet, but hopefully it will be as good as the first three sets that were released.

After all of this talk about 50s and 60s TV, we forge into the 80s, with a follow up on Growing Pains! It has been four years since we saw Jason, Maggie, Mike, Carol, and Ben on DVD and fans had basically given up hope of seeing them again, until a few months ago when Warner announced in a chat that we would be seeing the second season sometime next year. Well, this week, it was announced that Warner Home Video will be releasing Growing Pains - The Complete Second Season on DVD on April 26! This news is even better because this will be a standard release--not a Warner Archive release. Hopefully, we won't have to wait four more years for the third season, and Warner will "show us that smile again" for seasons 3-7.


UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (December 21) is a light day for releases, with the highlight being CBS Home Entertainments release of The Andy Griffith Show - 50th Anniversary: The Best of Mayberry, which brings us 17 of the (truly) best episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, along with the movie Return to Mayberry. You can read our review of the set here. Also on Tuesday, we get the third installment of the Star Wars parodies from Family Guy with It's a Trap (also on Blu-ray), as well as the Laugh it Up Fuzzball Trilogy that contains all three parodies (Blu-ray only). Finally, we go into the future with Futurama - Volume 5 (also on Blu-ray). We have not received these titles for review yet. Of course, you can read our reviews of these DVDs and more at our main reviews page.


BLOG FEATURE REVIEW



Hawaii Five-O - The Tenth Season
by skees53

Hawaii may seem like the perfect place for surfing and fun in the sun, but don't be fooled. Crime occurs all the time in the island state, and Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) and his team of crime fighters will go to any length to stop it in Hawaii Five-O. The popular crime series aired for 12 seasons on CBS, and made enough of an empire in popular culture to even inspire the current CBS crime drama, Hawaii Five-0. Here is our review of the tenth season of the classic series.

Hawaii Five-O - The Tenth Season (CBS Home Entertainment, $49.99) brings 24 more episodes of the 1977-1978 series about a team of detectives fighting crime in Hawaii. Headed by Detective Steve McGarrett, the team responds to only the most serious of crimes and will do anything to bring justice to those who have done wrong. And this team will stop at nothing to get their man, putting themselves at risk in each and every episode. This six disc set contains all of the tenth season episodes on DVD.

The season begins with "Up the Rebels," where an Irish terrorist poses as a priest in order to buy bombs in Hawaii to use in his own country. McGarrett is out looking for a missing child (deeply undercover) in "The Cop on the Cover." A rookie cop is framed for corruption in "The Friends of Joey Kalima." In "The Ninth Step," a recovering alcoholic ex-cop turns to McGarrett to make amends. A reporter investigating a sleazy real-estate developer turns up dead in "Shake Hands With the Man in the Moon." What better way to rob a bank in Hawaii than to create a fake tsunami warning? That is what happens in "Tsunami." McGarrett takes a job he'd rather not have in "Tread the King's Shadow."
It could be doctor on doctor murder in "The Big Aloha." It's a big case for the team in "A Short Walk on the Long Shore," but McGarrett may not be able to help due to family business. A philandering congressman is blackmailed in "The Silk Trap." Judging a surfing competition somehow turns into a murder investigation for Danno in "Tall on the Wave." In "When Does the War End?," a Japanese man seeks revenge over his father's treatment in a Japanese internment camp. A man's widow becomes a prime suspect for murder in "A Stranger in the Grave." The season ends with "A Death in the Family," where McGarrett seeks assistance from an organized-crime boss when one of the Five-O team is killed.

The episodes on the set appear to be unedited, with runtimes as follows:

Disc 1:
1. "Up the Rebels" (49:44)
2. "You Don't See Many Pirates These Days" (49:43)
3. "The Cop on the Cover" (49:40)
4. "The Friends of Joey Kalima" (49:22)

Disc 2:
5. "Descent of the Torches" (49:44)
6. "The Ninth Step" (49:44)
7. "Shake Hands with the Man in the Moon" (49:43)
8. "Deadly Doubles" (49:43)

Disc 3:
9. "Deep Cover" (49:45)
10. "Tsunami" (49:16)
11. "East Wind, Ill Wind" (49:48)
12. "Tread the King's Shadow" (49:44)

Disc 4:
13. "The Big Aloha" (49:28)
14. "A Short Walk On the Long Shore" (49:39)
15. "The Silk Trap" (49:44)
16. "Head to Head" (49:39)

Disc 5:
17. "Tall on the Wave" (49:41)
18. "Angel in Blue" (49:45)
19. "When Does a War End?" (49:44)
20. "Invitation to Murder" (49:40)

Disc 6:
21. "Frozen Assets" (49:43)
22. "My Friend, the Enemy" (49:41)
23. "A Stranger in His Grave" (49:42)
24. "A Death in the Family" (49:45)

The DVD is packaged in a Viva pack this time, but it does have a cardboard sleeve that the case pulls out from on the side. The artwork on both of these cases is the same, and most likely, only the initial pressings will have the cardboard sleeve. The cover art has a large photo of McGarrett along with smaller pictures of other members of the team. On the back, there are episode snapshots along with the basic information about the series. There is no disc artwork aside from the series logo on a gray background, like all other CBS Home Entertainment sets. Each disc (six in total) contains four episodes. Inside the case, there is a listing of all of the episodes, along with original airdates and a brief synopsis.

The menus are very nicely done, but also very simple. The main menu has a video montage from the episodes with a large picture of McGarrett on it, and options of Episodes and Subtitles. The famous theme song plays in the background. Subtitles allows you to turn on the English subtitles, and selecting episodes takes you to an all text list of episodes on the disc. There is also a Play All option on this menu.

The episodes on the set have fairly decent video and audio quality, which is to be expected since the series was remastered not too long ago. It does show some aging, but it isn't that bad. The audio is presented in mono, which is surprising, since some other series of this era have been remixed in stereo. Still, it is more than adequate. The episodes contain English subtitles for the hearing impaired.

There are no special features on the set, not even the episode commercials that were included on some of the previous sets. It is too bad, because a series like this could really shine with a lot of new special features.

All in all, this is another great standard set of episodes for the series, although it would be nice to see some special features on future sets. I've gotten into this series quite a bit since purchasing some DVDs of it at Big Lots, so I'm still fairly new to the series, but I am impressed. It is much more interesting and thrilling than other similar crime dramas of the same era. Fans of the series (and there are many out there) are sure to be pleased with this set, but others may want to give the show a chance. It really is a great series, and on that note, I say to you... book 'em Danno!


(4/5 stars)

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CSI: Miami - The Eighth Season
by Todd Fuller

CSI: Miami - The Eighth Season (CBS DVD/Paramount Home Video, $62.99) - The Miami team is taken back to its roots when the division's true origins are finally revealed in the memorable kickoff to this must-own season. And history is made again as the Miami, Las Vegas, and New York teams collaborate for the first time to crack open a crime syndicate. Featuring David Caruso, Emily Procter, Adam Rodriguez, Rex Linn, Jonathan Tigo and Eva La Rue, CSI: Miami's celebrated cast is now joined by Eddie Cibrian and Omar Benson Miller as the newest members of the Miami team. Grab the essential eighth season of this Emmy and People's Choice Award-winning series. Join the team as they defuse a hostage situation and a deadly bacterial outbreak, with new agents and old colleagues joining the fight. And learn just how dark the sun-drenched streets of Miami can get.

This 7-disc set contains all 24 episodes (plus 2 crossover CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and CSI: NY episodes) from the eighth (2009-10) season of the long-running crime drama. The episodes are presented in anamorphic widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Stereo audo (Spanish Stereo is also available). It has a total running time of approximately 17 hours, 13 minutes. The attractive packaging has a photo of David Caruso on the cover driving a boat and wearing his trademark shades. There is an embossed CSI: Miami logo at the top of the box. After using Digipak packaging for previous seasons, they've switched to a cardboard box that holds a clear plastic snapcase. There is a large photo of David Caruso, smaller photos of Adam Rodriguez and Emily Procter, and even smaller photos of Rex Linn, Omar Miller, Eva La Rue, Jonathan Togo and Eddie Cibrian on the back of the box/snapcase. A short synopsis of the set, a listing of the special features and the DVD specs are given. There is a clear plastic snapcase that slides out from the right of the outer cardboard box. The snapcase has the same cover art, photos and information as the cardboard box. Opening up the snapcase, there is a content locator in the front panel which lists the episodes and the special features on the inside cover. Discs 1-6 are held back-to-back in plastic trays, while Disc 7 is an embedded holder in the back of the case. The discs are just silver, with the CSI: Miami logo on them. Unfortunately, they didn't include the Crime Scene: Do Not Cross tape around the packaging for this release.

The menus are stylish and easy to navigate. There is a series of previews (4:28) for some other CBS DVD/Paramount DVD releases and the CSI: Fatal Conspiracy game which you can play or skip. The main menu opens with some police helicopter views of Miami that lead to a montage of video clips from the show. An instrumental cue from the show plays in the background. Options are available for Episode Selection, Set Up, Special Features (on select Discs) and Previews (only on Disc 1). You can choose either English 5.1 Surround or Español audio on the Set Up Menu. Closed captioning is available for all of the episodes, but some of the special features are not rated and may not be closed captioned. As you would expect from such a recent show, the video and audio quality is outstanding. This was the first season they used high definition cameras. Miami has the best scenery of the CSI franchise. There is no disclaimer on the back of the box about any of the episodes possibly being edited. Episodes are presented in their original broadcast order and numbered by the production number. Running times are between 41-43 minutes in length.

Here is the episode breakdown by disc, including the runtimes:

Disc 1
Episode 801 "Out of Time" (43:59)
Episode 802 "Hostile Takeover" (43:39)
Episode 803 "Bolt Action" (43:59)

Disc 2
Episode 804 "In Plane Sight" (43:39)
Episode 805 "Bad Seed" (43:29)
Episode 806 "Dude, Where's My Groom" (43:08)

Disc 3
Episode 807 "Bone Voyage" (43:51)
CSI: NY - Episode 607 "Hammer Down" (41:44)
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Episode 1008 "The Lost Girls" (44:13)
Episode 808 "Point of Impact" (42:09)

Disc 4
Episode 809 "Kill Clause" (43:58)
Episode 810 "Count Me Out" (42:16)
Episode 811 "Delko for the Defense" (43:28)
Episode 812 "Show Stopper" (42:08)

Disc 5
Episode 813 "Die by the Sword" (42:26)
Episode 814 "In the Wind" (43:59)
Episode 815 "Miami, We Have a Problem" (41:09)
Episode 816 "L.A." (43:48)

Disc 6
Episode 817 "Getting Axed" (42:38)
Episode 818 "Dishonor" (43:06)
Episode 819 "Spring Breakdown" (42:18)
Episode 820 "Backfire" (42:37)

Disc 7
Episode 821 "Meltdown" (41:51)
Episode 822 "Mommie Deadest" (42:57)
Episode 823 "Time Bomb" (43:37)
Episode 824 "All Fall Down" (41:25)

A decent number of special features are spread out over the 7 discs. Once again, there are only 2 audio commentaries on this set like last season. They have really cut back on the number of them from previous seasons for all of the CSI franchise shows. No deleted scenes are included on this release. Notably absent from the special features is David Caruso. The 6 featurettes run about 76 minutes total in length. Here is the breakdown by disc:

Disc 1
Audio Commentary by Director Sam Hill, Visual Effects Supervisor Larry Detwiler, Editor James Wilcox and Location Manager Paul Codiga on "Out of Time"

It's Been Reel: Saying Goodbye to Film (8:21) - This featurette includes interviews with Co-Executive Producer Barry O'Brien, Co-Executive Producer Marc Dube, Director/Producer Sam Hill, Producer Don Tardino, Camera Operator Bill Gierhart, Director of Photography Ken Glassing, Digital Imaging Technician Ryan DeGrazzio, Department Head Make-Up Cheri Montesanto, Rex Linn, Jonathan Togo, Department Head Hair Scott Williams, and Omar Benson Miller. They talk about the switch this season to shooting with high definition cameras, how some shots are still shot on film, how the cameras are operated, how the make-up and hair changed with the high definition shooting, the lighting and colors, and the future of high definition.

Blast to the Past (13:00) - This featurette includes interviews with Writer Tamara Jaron, Co-Executive Producer Barry O'Brien, Co-Executive Producer Marc Dube, Director/Producer Sam Hill, Emily Procter, Adam Rodriguez, Rex Linn, Set Decorator Megan Malley Cannon, Director of Photography Ken Glassing, Producer Don Tardino, Visual Effects Supervisor (LOLA) Edson Williams, Department Head Make-Up Cheri Montesanto, and Department Head Hair Scott Williams. They talk about the origins of this flashback episode of how the team got together, the challenge of incorporating all of the characters, capturing the 1997 forensics and science, how the sets were changed with filing cabinets and more paperwork, how they made the actors look younger digitally and with make-up, and how Horatio got his sunglasses.

Disc 2
MDPD Files: Jesse Cardoza & Walter Simmons (12:04) - This featurette includes interviews with Jonathan Togo, Producer Don Tardino, Emily Procter, Eddie Cibrian, Writer Tamara Jaron, Co-Executive Producer Barry O'Brien, Co-Executive Producer Marc Dube, Eva La Rue, Director/Visual Effects Supervisor Larry Detwiler, Omar Benson Miller, and Writer Melissa Scrivner. They talk about the new characters of Walter Simmons (Oman Benson Miller) and Jesse Cardoza (Eddie Cibrian), how the characters were introduced and their backgrounds, and the chemistry of the new characters.

Twist of Eight: Season in Review (16:11) - Jonathan Togo, Producer Don Tardino, Co-Executive Producer Marc Dube, Co-Executive Producer Barry O'Brien, Eva La Rue, Adam Rodriguez, Emily Procter, Rex Linn, and Director Rob Zombie. They talk about keeping the show fresh, the emotional side of Horatio, the relationship between Delko and Calleigh, Natalia's hearing loss, how new characters were added, the groundbreaking episodes of the season, guest stars Pau Gasol, Cheryl Ladd, Anthony Michael Hall, and working with Director Rob Zombie.

Disc 3
Leaving Las Vegas: Langston Heads East (23:28) - This featurette was also available on the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and CSI: NY releases. It details the triple crossover event. They started out in Miami, moved to New York and finished in Las Vegas. Inteviews include Executive Producer Carol Mendelsohn, Executive Producer Naren Shankar, Executive Producer (CSI: NY) Peter M. Lenkov, Laurence Fishburne, Co-Executive Producer (CSI: Miami) Mark Dube, Director/Producer (CSI: Miami) Sam Hill, David Caruso, Omar Benson Miller, Executive Producer (CSI: Miami) Barry O'Brien, Christian Clemenson, Emily Procter, Executive Producer (CSI: NY) Pam Veasey, Melina Kanakaredes and Gary Sinise.

Bear Necessities (3:17) - This featurette includes interviews with Director/Producer Sam Hill, Bear Trainer Scott Handley, Jonathan Togo, and Omar Benson Miller. They talk about working with the bear and how it cooperated in the episode.

Disc 6
Audio Commentary by Director/Producer Don Tardino, Script Supervisor Claudia Yarmy, Emily Procter and Adam Rodriguez on "Backfire"

Season eight was a season of change. A few characters were brought in that added more humor to the show. Adam Rodriguez missed a number of episode this season while working on other projects. They've tried to keep the show fresh and original. The season eight premiere, "Out of Time," was quite an interesting flashback episode to see how the team was brought together. Other memorable episodes this season included "Bone Voyage" as part of the CSI crossover event, "Show Stopper," "Mommie Deadest," "Time Bomb," and the season finale: "All Fall Down."

This is another very good release. If you've bought the other seasons, you know what to expect with the special features and how the episodes are presented. I'm a big fan of commentaries, so I always hope to see more of them included. This was the first season that was shot in high definition, so it's disappointing that there is no Blu-ray release to go along with the standard DVD. Despite some new characters and innovative episodes, season eight was the lowest rated season of the series. CBS has moved the show to Sunday nights at 10pm. After more than 200 episodes produced, this show is starting to show its age a bit. Viewership has continued to drop on Sunday nights, but I think they probably have at least a few more seasons left.

-- Reviewed by Todd Fuller

(4/5 stars)

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LOOKING AHEAD

Next Saturday is Christmas, but we'll still be here for another edition of Digital Digest regardless. It'll probably be a light news week, but we'll have reviews of some animated DVD sets to bring out the kid in you on Christmas morning. So after you wake up and open your presents, check us out here for the next edition of Digital Digest. Until then, keep it digital!

CBS has ordered a new daytime talk show for October 2010 featuring a panel of well-known news and entertainment personalities who will examine topical events and contemporary issues through the eyes of mothers. The daily, one-hour series will be co-hosted by Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini and Marissa Jaret Winokur.
The co-hosts - moms with children ranging in age from infant to adult - will swap stories, challenge each other on issues and engage the studio audience and viewers at home about events in the headlines and their own homes through the lens of motherhood. Show segments will include guest interviews with entertainers and newsmakers, live remotes from the field and personal home footage shot by the co-hosts themselves.
The show was developed by Gilbert, who also serves as executive producer. The new talk show will replace CBS daytime soap opera As the World Turns, which will end its long run in September.
In other CBS updates, they have pulled the Canadian drama series The Bridge from the schedule after a very low 0.3 18-49 rating this past Saturday. Crime repeats will take over, with Cold Case airing the next few weeks. As a result of this change, CBS will remove Cold Case repeats on Sundays at 10pm with repeats of The Good Wife airing instead for the next three Sundays. Then CBS will start CSI: Miami on Sunday, Aug. 15 as it settles into its new night this fall. Also, CSI: NY will settle into its new Friday at 9pm fall slot starting Aug. 13.

As we first reported, ABC has delayed the return of Shark Tank for a second time. The series was going to return next Thursday (July 29) but now ABC has pulled that because Wipeout is doing so well on Thursdays into summer drama Rookie Blue. However, Wipeout will not be all-new episodes on Thursdays now, so repeats will air on Thursdays for the rest of the summer. Wipeout's last Thursday all-new episode is tonight, but not to fret Wipeout will be all-new on its normal night and time of Tuesdays at 8pm for the rest of the summer still! Originally Shark Tank was set to return on July 15 but ABC added two more all-new Wipeout Thursday airings. So what will happen to Shark Tank? As of this writing, it has not been re-scheduled yet. ABC only has one episode left to air, though. Wife Swap has its season finale on Friday, Aug. 13, so perhaps Shark Tank can air Fridays at 8pm starting Aug. 20 for the last few weeks of summer (with the new episode plus a few repeats)? Sounds possible, so stay with us for info!

Logo announced that it has acquired the off-cable syndication rights to the groundbreaking dramatic series Nip/Tuck in a 4-year licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. This deal marks the premiere for the series in syndication. The agreement includes all 100 episodes spanning the complete seven seasons of the Golden Globe(R) Award-winning and multiple Emmy(R) Award-nominated drama.
Set to premiere this October (2010), Nip/Tuck will run in three-episode stacks on one night during primetime, with a new stack of episodes each week. The series will be presented sequentially. The series aired on FX from 2003-2010, with the series ending this past March. Logo has set a tentative premiere date of Friday, October 8, 2010 for the series.
Nip/Tuck stars Dylan Walsh, Julian McMahon, John Hensley, Roma Maffia, Kelly Carlson and Joely Richardson. Notable guest stars in the series include Alec Baldwin, Bradley Cooper, Portia de Rossi, Rosie O'Donnell, Jennifer Coolidge, Brooke Shields, Oliver Platt and Joan Rivers, among many others.
The series joins other off-network series on the network such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, RENO 911, The L Word, and Queer as Folk. And speaking of Buffy, there will be a Labor Day marathon on Labor Day (Sept. 6) from 10:30am-5:30pm.

And speaking of Fall 2010, on Monday we are starting our annual Fall schedules barrage! We will start it off with TV Land September 2010, though that is not considered their fall line-up, TV Land will re-add two sitcoms that are coming back in new deals, while one sitcom will expire. So we will bring that to you on Monday and hopefully some info on the Fall schedule (which likely starts in October). Tweet us your guesses of what you think the two sitcoms are!