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Saturday, December 11, 2010

Digital Digest: The Lucille Ball Specials - Happy Anniversary & Goodbye/What Now, Catherine Curtis and The Honeymooners Christmas Special DVD Reviews

Welcome to this week's edition of Digital Digest, our weekly feature where we bring you news and reviews of some of your favorite shows on home media formats! This week, we have reviews of The Lucille Ball Specials - Happy Anniversary & Goodbye/What Now, Catherine Curtis?, and The Honeymooners Christmas Special. Plus, we have some very exciting news about a classic sitcom coming to DVD for the very first time! Let's get going.

DIGITAL NEWS

They've been hinting around about it for a long time, but now Shout! Factory has officially confirmed it: the black and white TV series Dennis the Menace is finally coming to DVD! According to information that we found at TVShowsOnDVD.com as well as on the Shout! Factory Community forums, the first season of the classic series is being prepared for a DVD release! Dennis and good ol' Mr. Wilson finally enter into the digital era! Few details are known at this time, but this is one release that we are looking forward to!

We've already seen Gilligan's Island completed on DVD, but what about "the rest" of the stories about the seven stranded castaways? Well, Warner Archive (Warner's MOD arm) is going to give us some of the rest, as they have recently indicated that both Gilligan's Island cartoons are in the pipeline! The New Adventures of Gilligan's Island from the 70's and Gilligan's Planet from the 80's will be released sometime next year from Warner Archive. When we have more information on this, we'll be sure to let you know.

It was just two weeks ago that we reviewed the CBS Home Entertainment release of The Fugitive - The Fourth and Final Season, Volume 1, and now, The Fugitive - The Fourth and Final Season, Volume 2 is already scheduled! On February 15, the final installment of the man on the run comes to DVD in a four disc set, at a $39.98 MSRP. We'll have a review of this as soon as we are able to do so!

Finally, before we look ahead at what is coming out on DVD next week, we think it is worth mentioning that Married... With Children - The Complete Series appears to NOT be on the horizon for next week. The studio, Sony, has never confirmed that this release is even on the way (although the pre-order listing on amazon.com would suggest that it is at some point in time) and the release date that was given for it was on a Sunday, as opposed to a Tuesday (a sure sign that it was the wrong release date). But we'll have more on this when we know something more about it.

UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (December 14) isn't a busy day for DVDs, but we do have Shout! Factory's release of Leave it to Beaver - Season Five. The six disc set contains every episode from the fifth season at a $39.97 MSRP. We will have a review of this set soon. Also, it is time to "book 'em" with CBS Home Entertainment's release of Hawaii Five-O - The Tenth Season. The six disc set comes at a $49.98 MSRP. We will be reviewing this set (our first time reviewing the series) next week in Digital Digest. Finally, MPI has two releases for Tuesday at a $14.98, both of which we will be reviewing today. First is The Lucille Ball Specials - Happy Anniversary & Goodbye/What Now, Catherine Curtis?, both specials about love going wrong and divorce for characters played by Lucy. The second is The Honeymooners Christmas Special, which reunites the Kramdens and Nortons once again (this time in the 70s) for Christmas.

BLOG FEATURE REVIEW

This week, we are going to take a look at another DVD of The Lucille Ball Specials. After Here's Lucy left the air in 1974, Lucille Ball began a series of specials for CBS where she played characters similar to her roles in her previous series. We have reviewed some of these specials in the past, and now we have a new double feature from MPI Home Video, containing Happy Anniversary & Goodbye and What Now, Catherine Curtis?, two stories about love and marriage... and divorce.

DVD Review: The Lucille Ball Specials - Happy Anniversary & Goodbye/What Now, Catherine Curtis?
by skees53

The Lucille Ball Specials - Happy Anniversary & Goodbye/What Now, Catherine Curtis? (MPI, $14.98) contains two specials starring Lucille Ball in her post Here's Lucy days. The first special, Happy Anniversary & Goodbye, is a comedy starring Ball as Norma Michaels and Art Carney as her husband, Malcolm. As Norma and Michael approach their 25th anniversary, they realize that their marriage has been a disaster, and decide to seek independence from on another. The second special, What Now, Catherine Curtis? is a drama (a rare format for the "Queen of Comedy") divided into three stories, where a recently divorced Catherine Curtis (Ball) tries to readjust to her new life as a divorcee.

Happy Anniversary & Goodbye (52:01) was Ball's first special post-Here's Lucy. The comedy begins in Norma and Malcolm's bedroom just before bedtime. An argument is taking place in the bedroom about the lack of romance in the marriage and, well, his lack of performance in the bedroom. It ends with the two deciding to go their separate ways, just shy of their upcoming 25th anniversary. Norma decides to readjust to this new independent lifestyle by improving herself with the help of her friend Fay (Nanette Fabray). Fay has many ideas that just don't seem to work out well for Norma, including hiring a personal trainer (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in one of his very early roles). Meanwhile, Malcolm has teamed up with his associate Greg (Peter Marshall), who tries to make him young and independent as well. But this youth and independence doesn't seem to work for him either. So where will each of them find romance that is up to their speed? The special even includes the Timex sponsorship at the beginning.

In What Now, Catherine Curtis? (51:13), we have three separate (but connected) stories about a recently divorced Catherine Curtis trying to readjust to her new life after divorce. The story is divided into three parts, with the first part featuring nothing but a monologue from a very depressed and upset Catherine talking to herself about what went wrong and why her marriage failed. In the second segment, Catherine finally gets back into the dating game with a widowed carpenter (Art Carney). In the final segment, Catherine has found love again, but this time in another man, Peter (Joseph Bologna), but this time there is a slight problem... an age difference. He is 14 years younger than she is.

Both specials are contained on a single disc in a standard DVD case. The cover art features both titles, with the top picture portraying the cast of Happy Anniversary & Goodbye, and the bottom picture portraying the cast of What Now, Catherine Curtis?. The same artwork is contained on the disc itself. The back of the case features a brief description of each special as well as some photos and a list of special features.

The main menu on the DVD begins with options of which special you want to play. Once you have selected a special, you can choose to Play it (with or without introductions from cast members), go to the Special Features menu, or to turn the subtitles. There are chapters placed at all of the appropriate places in the specials.

As far as the video and audio quality of the DVD, it is far from perfect, but is adequate for the specials. The video does look very old and as if it was not remastered at all, but it is perfectly watchable. The mono audio is clear enough, even if it does have a few pops here and there. English subtitles are available for both features.

The DVD has plenty of special features, beginning with introductions for each special. Happy Anniversary & Goodbye has an introduction (1:59) featuring Peter Marshall and Nanette Fabray. What Now, Catherine Curtis? has an introduction (1:25) featuring Joseph Bologna. The same cast members included in the introductions can be seen again in extended featurettes about the specials, with Happy Anniversary & Goodbye Revisited (19:59) and On the Ball: Joseph Bologna Remembers (13:56), where they all look back at the behind-the-scenes of the specials. These are very interesting to watch. The next special feature has very little to do with the specials, but is very interesting to listen to. It is a radio interview from 1965 that Lucille Ball conducted where she interviewed Mary Tyler Moore (19:18). The interview took place over two days during the fourth season of The Dick Van Dyke Show, and we get a good glimpse at Moore's earliest days of television here. Finally, Outtakes (2:49) is a series of outtakes from Happy Anniversary & Goodbye.

Once again, MPI has put together an excellent DVD for these specials! I really enjoyed both specials, although What Now, Catherine Curtis? was not the typical style of Lucy that we have all become accustomed to. These specials are great paired together, as they are both about the pitfalls of love and marriage. There is quite a bit of sex talk in these specials, which is also something that Lucy fans may not be used to, but it makes them much more interesting. Any Lucille Ball fan will definitely want to own this DVD.

(4.5/5 stars)

To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
Here's Lucy on TV.com

BLOG FEATURE REVIEW

The Honeymooners originally ended in the 50s, but it continued all the way into the late 70s with lost episodes and specials. The last of these specials, The Honeymooners Christmas Special, from 1978 brings the Kramdens and Nortons together for a Christmas that almost doesn't happen due to Ralph putting all of their money into the lottery. Check out our review of this special below.

DVD Review: The Honeymooners Specials - Christmas Special
by skees53

The Honeymooners Specials - Christmas Special (MPI, $14.98) reunites the Kramdens and Nortons for the last of four hour-long specials. This time, it is Christmas for the families, and Ralph's latest get-rich scheme may put the family finances in jeopardy at Christmas, the worst time of the year for that.

The main feature (48:25) begins with the two families preparing for the upcoming Christmas holiday. Ralph is trying to find a way to make money to have a Christmas full of joy, and decides to make an investment. Unfortunately, his "investment" isn't a very wise one, and the idea is to play the lottery. He takes money from his and Alice's life savings, Ed Norton's holiday bonus, and Alice's mother's social security check and puts it in the lottery for a chance to win a million dollars after he sees a "sign" that tells him that he'll get rich from it. Needless to say, the "investment" doesn't pay off as he plans, but luck does strike a bit, and he wins $1500 in the lottery--enough to pay back his losses and gain 12 cents. In the end, Ralph learns a lesson about family and friends and learns from Alice that, despite winning 12 cents, he isn't a winner after all.

The DVD is packaged in a standard DVD case with a photo of Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows on the cover. The back of the package has a few snapshots from the special along with a brief description of it. The disc artwork contained inside contains the same photo as the cover art.

The menus on the DVD are fairly basic. On the main menu, we have a snapshot of Alice and Ralph, with the theme song playing in the background. We are given options of Play, Bonus, and Setup. Play immediately takes you to the main feature. Bonus gives you a menu that contains the only special feature. Setup allows you to turn on the English subtitles. Chapters are placed throughout the special.

The video and audio quality on this DVD looks better than any of the previous releases. There really aren't any major problems of note. The video isn't as sharp as it could be, but for the most part, it is fine. The audio is presented in mono and suffers a bit of echo due to the venue in which the special was produced. The DVD contains English subtitles.

The DVD contains only one special feature, but it is a good one at least. Honeymooning: Behind the Scenes (5:28) is essentially just a new interview with Jane Kean (Trixie), where she talks about her experiences of working with Jackie Gleason and Art Carney on The Honeymooners.

This is a great special, and is a little bittersweet since it is the last time we see this cast work together. I think that this one was one of the best of the specials, and is very enjoyable to watch. Fans of The Honeymooners and the work of Jackie Gleason are sure to enjoy this special, but fans of classic comedy in general may be interested in seeing this special as well.

(4/5 stars)

To purchase The Honeymooners Christmas Special, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com DVD Reviews Page
The Honeymooners on TV.com

LOOKING AHEAD

We'll be back next week with a little bit of criminal action with our reviews of C.S.I.: Miami - The Eighth Season and Hawaii Five-O - The Tenth Season. Plus, we'll have more news (who knows, there could be something big) and more in the upcoming weeks. Until then, keep it digital!

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Blog DVD Review: Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the weekly Blog DVD Review! Today we take a look at MPI Home Video's Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie. Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie . See skees53's Blog DVD Review of Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie:

Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie (MPI, $19.98) gives fans of one of the most well-known couples in all of TV history a view of what things were like off-camera. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the stars of the classic TV series I Love Lucy, were married in 1940 and in their twenty years of marriage, they managed to build a TV legacy in a way that few (if any) others could successfully do.
Although the phrase "a home movie" appears in the title, it is a bit misleading. There are many clips from home movies from the private collection of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, although a lot of the documentary is interviews with family, friends, producers, and others that knew the couple most of all. There are also a few interspersed clips of interviews with Lucy and Desi from The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. The documentary starts nearly a century ago, with the childhood of Lucy and Desi. We find out here that both of them came from families that had certain difficulties. We hear quite a bit about Lucy's childhood, but not quite so much about Desi's.
The documentary quickly segues into the married life of Lucy and Desi, where we find out a lot about the movie careers that Lucy and Desi had in the 1940s, basically all of which were through the film studio RKO. And then, we get to the divorce--the first one in 1944, which never actually happened. Lucy decided that she wanted to divorce Desi because he was allegedly cheating on her (although Lucie Arnaz says that he always told her that he wasn't fooling around with other women in the way that other people though). The divorce never came to be, which opened the door to the big thing that was coming in a few years, a little TV series called I Love Lucy.
The year was 1951. Lucy and Desi had their first child, a daughter named Lucie Arnaz (one of the producers of this very documentary) and just a few months later, production of the series I Love Lucy began. But production costs for the series were a little expensive, and neither CBS nor Philip Morris were able to fully fund the series, so Desi Arnaz had an enterprising idea--he and Lucy would help to fund the series provided that he could have the film rights to the series. And so began the well-know TV studio of the 1950s and 1960s, Desilu. Not all went will for them in the 1950s, however. It was discovered that Lucy's hair was not the only red thing about her, and that she was also registered as a Communist in New York. It had the potential to destroy her entire career (as it had done to many other celebrities at the time), but luckily she came away mostly unscathed. As the 50s progress, we see the marriage of Lucy and Desi beginning to go into a slow decline, mostly due to Desi's use of drugs and alcohol, and the documentary takes us all the way to the 1960s, where Lucy takes control of Desilu away from Desi and the divorce proceedings begin. The documentary ends with a brief look into their lives after the divorce, and ends with a home movie from the 80s with Lucy and Desi in a swimming pool with their grandchild, with Desi singing (what else?) Babalu.
The DVD has very basic packaging (as it is only one disc) and very basic menus. They are simple, but functional for what it is worth. There is an option on the menus to turn on English subtitles for those that require them. The video and audio quality of the DVD and the special features is generally pretty impressive, except perhaps for the quality of the game show episodes from the 1950s. Of course, considering that these were never intended to be preserved in the first place, there isn't much to truly complain about with this.
The DVD is not without bonus features, either. We also have more interviews (31:07) on the disc from Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr. (in addition to the interviews featured in the documentary) that reflect upon the lives of their parents in a more candid perspective. There are even outtakes (20:32) from the interviews featured in the documentary! One of my favorite special features happens to be the original commercials (12:50) that are included that came from episodes of The Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz Show (better known these days as The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour). Basically, these are extended commercials for Westinghouse that feature the characters from the series in their roles. I love how these older series integrated the characters into the commercials! These are very fun to watch.
The next two special features are sure to please game show fans. The first is a segment from the game show What's My Line? (9:15) where the celebrity panelists are blindfolded and have to guess the mystery celebrity on stage--which happens to be Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz! Additionally, we have an entire episode of the game show I've Got a Secret (23:48) with a special celebrity panelist for the episode, Lucille Ball. Finally, we have a Photo Gallery which features many photos from the private collection of Lucy and Desi, and we have a promo from MPI (2:03) for an upcoming DVD release (in season form) which many fans may have already heard of: the TV series Here's Lucy!
All in all, it isn't a bad documentary, although it does seem to be drag on a bit too slowly at times. I personally would have found it to be more interesting if it had a greater focus on the TV careers of Lucy and Desi. It seems to focus more upon their film careers and family life. Of course, the most dedicated fans of Lucille Ball are certain to love this, but to the casual fan, a lot of it may seem to be extraneous information. I kind of expected to find more information about the more negative aspects of their lives in the documentary, but it seemed that they skimped on some of the details of these events. That isn't to say that they completely ignore them, though. Fans of the work of Lucy, as well as anybody that is interested in television's golden era will definitely appreciate this DVD.
Reviewed by skees53

(4.5/5 stars)

To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
I Love Lucy TV.com Page
Here's Lucy TV.com Page

Monday, May 07, 2007

SitcomsOnline.com 2007-08 Upfront Preview: NBC; TV Land June Change

For NBC it will be all about starting the night off with a reality/game show to set up the dramas. NBC's Thursday comedy block is not what it used to be, but it has a cult audience and maybe another one of those shows will be launched this fall. NBC is looking for a drama hit as some of the older series are running out of gas.
Here is the SitcomsOnline.com NBC 2007-08 preview:

New Series Already Picked-Up: None.
New Series We Think That Are Almost Good To Go: Lipstick Jungle (drama), Journeyman (drama), Fort Pit (drama), and The I.T. Crowd (sitcom).
New Series Perhaps Picked-Up for Mid-Season: The Mastersons of Manhattan (sitcom), Life (drama), and Bionic Woman (drama)

OUR FALL 2007 PREDICTION:

Sundays
7:00PM Football Night in America
8:00PM Sunday Night Football

Mondays
8:00PM Deal or No Deal
9:00PM Heroes
10:00PM Journeyman (NEW)

Tuesdays
8:00PM 1 vs. 100
9:00PM Fort Pit (NEW)
10:00PM Law & Order: SVU

Wednesdays
8:00PM Thank God You're Here
9:00PM Medium
10:00PM Lipstick Jungle (NEW)

Thursdays
8:00PM My Name is Earl
8:30PM The I.T. Crowd (NEW)
9:00PM The Office
9:30PM 30 Rock
10:00PM ER

Fridays
8:00PM Deal or No Deal
9:00PM Friday Night Lights
10:00PM Las Vegas

Saturdays
8:00PM Dateline NBC
9:00PM Drama Repeats
10:00PM Drama Repeats

Comments: So what about Crossing Jordan, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order? I say they will be benched until January after the NFL ends and they will bring them to Sundays for a repeat free season...but maybe one will be a goner. The Apprentice might not be back until next winter either...I wish that would just die already. The Black Donnellys, Studio 60, Kidnapped, Identity, Raines, 20 Good Years, Andy Barker, and Real Wedding Crashers are all (or will be) canceled or ended. I really think NBC will only go with one comedy night once again, as we saw what happened to Wednesdays 8-9pm last year. Scrubs is probably gone from NBC, and on the way to ABC for next winter. There is a good chance that The Office will be an anchor show on Thursdays at 9, but I don't think it will do as well as it did at 8:30, but they have to move it to 9pm to try and launch another similar sitcom, as 30 Rock is not a strong show to anchor an hour. So NBC will be multi-camera sitcom-less in the fall, but I have them picking up The Mastersons of Manhattan for mid-season. Life and Bionic Woman could get orders for mid-season. Maybe another drama called Chuck could get in. NBC only has a total of eight drama projects, so that means maybe 1/2 or more could get picked up. NBC had a dismal season once again, but Heroes was a bright spot, as the high power project Studio 60 was a bust. Friday Night Lights was not a good either, but I see them bringing it back to try again. They can use Deal or No Deal on Fridays again as Sundays will be Football, and have 1 vs. 100 on another night, say Tuesday. Will NBC revamp the schedule they released at upfront once again after releasing it, like it did last year? We shall see.

Remember, next Monday (May 14) is the actual date when we will find out NBC's plans for the 2007-08 season. So, come on back next Monday and we will let you know the details and you can see how much we were right (or wrong). Stay tuned tomorrow for a preview on ABC's upfront.

TV Land has announced that it has changed its late night schedule starting for June. Starting June 4, each weeknight starting at 10pm will have three nightly mini-marathons lasting until 4:30am. Each marathon will consist of four episodes. Mondays will be The Cosby Show, Three's Company & Good Times; Tuesdays will be M*A*S*H, Sanford & Son, & The Jeffersons; Wednesdays will be Sanford & Son, M*A*S*H, & All in the Family; Thursdays will be The Andy Griffith Show, I Love Lucy & Leave it to Beaver; and Fridays will be the Friday Movie, M*A*S*H & Star Trek. Other changes include all Andy Griffith Saturday from 9pm-1:10am with a reairing on Sundays from 7-10pm. So, this means the current 10pm-4:30am line-up will only be on Sundays. The only other change is at 4:30am everynight with The Jeffersons taking over for Sanford & Son. There are no other changes in the daytime and will remain the same as it is now.
What's Happening Now!!, which is airing weekdays at 7am, will get more new episodes starting May 29, but we will let you know when we learn more.
For now click HERE for the list of changes for this nightly marathon changes.

We shall be back with more news, if any.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Chicago's ME-TV Spring Line-Up; TV Land Awards Date Change

ME-TV in Chicago changes its schedule every season. Spring has now sprung and they will change their line-up a bit on Monday. Usually a whole lot changes but this season it isn't as much. This season will be called "Spring into Me." '80s Hawaiian drama Magnum, P.I. joins the line-up every afternoon at 1 p.m., but before it does, ME-TV will have a Hawaii marathon on Sunday featuring Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum, P.I. Also coming to the spring line-up on Monday are the returns of dramas Cagney & Lacey, Charlie's Angels and Eight is Enough to weekdays. Sitcoms Family Ties, Who's the Boss?, Diff'rent Strokes, and The Facts of Life will be off of weekdays, but they will move to Sundays. Webster and Gimme a Break! will remain on the weekday line-up.
Not many changes on Saturdays but the prime-time line-up will now be western themed. Sundays has a sitcom line-up from 1 to 7 p.m. featuring Leave it to Beaver, Dennis the Menace, My Three Sons, Father Knows Best, Partridge Family, Brady Bunch, Diff'rent Strokes, Facts of Life, Eight is Enough, Family Ties, Who's the Boss.
For the full line-up, click HERE.

TV Land has announced that they have changed the date of the TV Land Awards from Wednesday, April 25 to Sunday, April 22. No reason was given, but usually award shows are on Sundays, so maybe that is why they changed the day. This will be the network's fifth award show. This year it will be hosted by Kelly Ripa. More info will come soon on the awards but among the honorees will include a tribute to Lucille Ball and the cast of The Brady Bunch. My guess is Legend Award for Lucy and Pop Culure Award for the Bradys.
Also, don't forget to come back tomorrow afternoon or so for the TV Land Upfront news! Hopefully we have some acquisitions to announce and not just original series news!

SitcomsOnline.com News Blog

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Digital Digest: The Lucille Ball Specials - Happy Anniversary & Goodbye/What Now, Catherine Curtis and The Honeymooners Christmas Special DVD Reviews

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Blog DVD Review: Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie

Monday, May 07, 2007

SitcomsOnline.com 2007-08 Upfront Preview: NBC; TV Land June Change

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Chicago's ME-TV Spring Line-Up; TV Land Awards Date Change

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