Random clicking of news and tidbits on current and past television programming in the U.S., as well as what's happening in the TV-on-DVD market. Pop culture on the tube. Reliving our childhood one disc at a time.
Normally the Tuesday before Thanksgiving has very few noteworthy releases due to the impending Black Friday sales. This week, however, there are several exceptions worth adding to your Must Buy list.
Complete Collection Pick-of-the-Week
Breaking Bad - The Complete Series (DVD/BD)
All 62 episodes from the five seasons are presented in a replica money barrel case. Apart from including the explosive final season of the show, this complete series set has many special features geared towards the true Breaking Badfan. An all-new two-hour documentary is included in this set, as well as the alternate ending for the final episode. The only con about this set is the price tag of $199.99 but the studio planned the release carefully, just in time for the holiday season.
The cult classic show from the 1990s releases another DVD set through Shout! Factory. This time it celebrates its 25th anniversary with a limited-edition tin case. As with prior releases, this set features four episodes (films) that include Moon Zero Two, The Day the Earth Froze, The Leech Woman, and Gorgo. If ordered through Shout's website (http://www.shoutfactory.com/), you'll also get a bonus double disc that features the transition of hosts, when Joel passed the torch to Mike, and the films Mitchell and The Brain that Wouldn't Die.
It's New Release Tuesday and Stay Tuned has highlighted the picks of the week from the TV-on-DVD aisle. This week is cable network heavy but let's be honest, cable is where most of the best shows are currently airing. Without further ado, here are our picks this week.
Cable Pick of the Week
The Borgias - The Third Season (Final Season)
The historical-fictional drama revolving around the Italian Borgia dynasty presents its final season of 10 episodes. The unexpected cancellation of the Showtime drama left things unresolved since the creator originally conceived a four-season telling of the crime family.
Cancelled-Too-Soon Pick of the Week
Political Animals - The Complete Series
Political Animals was a political drama originally intended to be just a six-episode mini-series with a rumored full season pick-up. The drama follows Elaine Barrish, a former First Lady and Governor who is now the Secretary of State for the United States (...paging Hillary Clinton). Barrish spends the most of her time dealing with the problems and drama of her complicated family while balancing important State Department issues. It was a shame that the USA Network didn't give the series an opportunity to expand into a full season.
Not-Cancelled-Soon-Enough Pick of the Week
Smash - The Second Season (Final Season)
Smashwas an interesting idea on paper but it was a confusing car wreck of a show during its first year, and by the second season it only got more unwatchable. The show, however, did have a fan base. For those that enjoyed the musical numbers more than the actual plot, it is a definite buy...but wait a few weeks until it is in the discount bin at your local Target.
Sleeper Pick of the Week
Strike Back - The Second Season
Strike Back is a British military intelligence action thriller that follows a team titled Section 20. The season follows the team's efforts searching for four nuclear triggers, a lot of espionage and covert operations, and settling personal agendas. Cinemax co-produced the franchise so exposure to the series is limited, but if you like Homeland with a notch of action then we recommend you pick up this set.
Kid (or Kid-at-Heart) Pick of the Week
Taz-Mania - Season 1, Part 2
Taz-Mania is the 1990s FOX cartoon that follows the life of Taz and his Tazmanian family in Tazmania. Minor characters and second storylines were also included in the episodes, which was typical in Warner Bros. cartoons during that time period. No plot but just zany, wacky fun featuring that Looney Tunes devil.
Comedy Pick of the Week
Community - The Fourth Season
It's Community! 'Nuff said, right? The little comedy that could releases its fourth season and fans will not want to pass on this set. Apart from the zaniness at Greendale Community College, the fourth season marks the final appearances of Chevy Chase and Donald Glover (at least on a full-time basis; Glover will recur for five episodes next season).
Retro Pick of the Week
Fridays - The Best of
Fridays was a sketch comedy show that aired in the early 1980s in attempt to duplicate the success of Saturday Night Live. Featuring a cast of relatively unknown comedians, Larry David and Michael Richards would later become the breakthrough stars with moderate success. Outrageous characters and funny skits were accompanied by special guest stars and musical acts. This set includes the infamous Andy Kaufman episode as well as music from Devo, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Cars, The Clash, and KISS. Thanks to our friends at Shout! Factory we can see why Fridays could also bring the comedy.
Well that just about wraps up our New Release Tuesday. Are you looking forward to a certain release? Share with us your thoughts and picks in the Comment section below.
Keep it locked to Stay Tuned for future updates on anything and everything television.
It's New Release Tuesday and there are very few TV-on-DVD releases this week. We'll briefly list the highlights you can own on DVD.
Kid (or Kid-at-Heart) Pick of the Week
The Angry Beavers - Complete Series
The Angry Beavers was an animated series that aired on Nickelodeon in the late '90s/early 2000s. The episodes typically followed the adventures of two beaver brothers who left their family home for their own place in the forest. All 63 episodes of the four seasons are presented in the complete series set by Shout! Factory.
Kid (or Kid-at-Heart) Pick of the Week - Part 2
Power Rangers - Seasons 4 through 7
Fans of the early Power Rangers series may have already picked up this set when it was exclusively released through Time Life/StarVista last Fall. That release was a bulk set with the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers show included, and at a hefty price. Now Shout! Factory has released this set separately, which includes Power Rangers ZEO, Power Rangers Turbo, Power Rangers in Space, and Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. There is some incentive to hold off purchasing this set, however, now that a definitive 98-disc set covering all 20 years of Power Rangers will be released later this year.
Sci-Fi Blu-ray Pick of the Week
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 4
Paramount continues to convert its DVD library into Blu-ray and offers the next set of the '90s science fiction drama. The appeal of this release is pretty much limited to Trekkies who are converting their old DVD sets with an upgraded, visually crisper set.
Family Pick of the Week
Touched by an Angel - Season 8
Touched by an Angel was a drama about an angel and her supervisor crossing paths with different individuals who needed some help and a little guidance over a specific dilemma. Touted as the female version of Highway to Heaven, this CBS drama is nearing the end of its release on DVD.
Are there any releases you are looking forward to purchasing? We know the variety is very limited this week but join us again next week when we review the latest TV-on-DVD releases.
Keep it locked on Stay Tuned for future updates of anything and everything television.
"This is the theme to Garry's show. The theme to Garry's show. This is the theme to Garry Shandling's show."
It's Garry Shandling's Show ran from 1986 to 1990 on the Showtime network and then picked up by FOX from 1988 to 1990. At the time it was unique for a cable show to be picked up and re-broadcasted on network television but FOX was breaking new ground and marking its place among the main three networks. Considered a sitcom, It's Garry Shandling's Show felt more like a reality show with the frequent use of breaking the fourth wall and Garry interacting with the studio audience. Half the fun of the show was Garry speaking to the camera and poking fun at some random subject. Garry usually began each show with a monologue followed by the cleverly written theme song while Garry, and sometimes cast members, pretended to be look busy over the opening.
The principal cast consisted of Garry's friends and neighbors, Nancy Bancroft and the Schumacher family. Other cast members that dropped by were Garry's mother Ruth, annoying condo association president Leonard Smith, and Nancy's boyfriend/husband Ian McFyfer. Pretty much all of Garry's friends knew he was on a TV show being taped in front of a studio audience, and they worked around it. Whatever shenanigans Garry had lined up each week was almost always poked fun at or parodied. Shandling was a genius in making fun of conventional plot devices. Whether it was particular looks into the camera, spit takes, or cliffhangers, It's Garry Shandling's Show would take the idea and run with it. The video below parodies the ending device for two-part episodes. 'To be Continued' is frequently used in sitcoms but it wasn't typical for this show since every episode resolved the issue within the 24 minutes.
It's Garry Shandling's Showwould cross into other shows and genres just for the laughs. One particular episode was when the show entered the universe of the soap opera General Hospital. The story originated with a fight between Garry and his mother over advertising her store on his show. After he refuses, Ruth ends up going to General Hospital to advertise and Garry and pals witness it while watching the afternoon soap. Garry and pals enter the hospital and its the actual hospital with actual characters, not actors playing those characters. Using the typical soap opera music, camera work, and stares, Garry Shandling succeeded in making the audience laugh at the parodies. Aside from its purpose to mock lightheartedly, the show wanted to take advantage of Ian Buchanan's (Ian McFyfer) previous ties to the soap opera and actually had him reprise his role of Duke Lavery and reunite with his GHon-screen love Anna (played by Finola Hughes). Buchanan was really able to display his comedic chops thanks to Garry Shandling and shake off that shroud of soap opera drama. The scene is provided below.
In its four-year run, Garry Shandling was able to find and maintain an audience following. The adult humor on the show was a refreshing change for the television landscape, which was slowly exiting from primetime soap operas and dramas, and bringing the sitcom back on the front burner. The show was also heralded for lining up big named guest stars to pop over to Garry's house for a quick cameo. Rob Reiner and Tom Petty were frequent guest stars of the show, and Garry Shandling was the last show Gilda Radner was on before succumbing to ovarian cancer. Garry even got Jeff Goldblum to wish his little buddy Grant Schumacher a happy birthday.
Garry Shandling has a different sense of humor that attracts a range of audiences. Some get it, others don't. His shows have always been types of mockumentaries, as seen with these clips of It's Garry Shandling's Show and in HBO's The Larry Sanders Show. Garry is able to grab the television entertainment medium, poke holes at it, and slowly open each one wider.
The good people over at Shout! Factory released the complete series set of It's Garry Shandling's Show back in 2009. The release was an instant winner for the company as fans rushed to purchase the sets, at $100 a pop. The complete series set release helped establish Shout! Factory's credibility in the expanding TV-on-DVD market and most likely set the standard on how complete sets should be produced. Additionally, the company became the model of studios releasing complete series sets before individual season sets. Shout! took the risk and found out successfully that fans are willing to shell out the cash in order to get their whole shows on one set. You can purchase the complete series or individual seasons from Shout! Factory's website.
Well that about wraps up our trip down the world of Garry Shandling. If you haven't caught an episode of It's Garry Shandling's Show, we highly recommend that you do. You won't regret it, and most likely, you'll end up watching the next episode...and the next one...and the next one...and the next one.
Keep it locked to Stay Tuned for future updates of anything and everything television.
This week's New Release Tuesday are really slim pickings. We mean really, really, really, really slim. Actually about less than a handful. So without further ado, let's highlight the main ones that fans should pick up today!
Sci-Fi Pick of the Week
Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Volume XXVII
MST3K has always been one of Stay Tuned's little darlings, back when the show was released through Rhino. This release is no exception. Fans who appreciate a good chuckle while watching bad movies will identify with MST3K. Join Mike, Tom Servo, and Crow T. Robot as they sit down through four horrendous movies. This installment includes: The Slime People, Rocket Attack U.S.A., Village of the Giants, and The Deadly Mantis. Shout! Factory has done a wonderful job with the releases of these volumes and they continue that excellence by providing extra features. Interviews with several of the films' actors, a featurette with original cast member Trace Beaulieu, and an introduction with writer/cast member Mary Jo Pehl are just some of the goodies you can find on this set. One more plug for the good people at Shout! Factory; if you purchase the set through their website, you will also receive an bonus DVD of serials: The Phantom Creeps, Undersea Kingdom, and General Hospital (yes, the soap opera). It may cost a little more than other sites but the bonus disc is worth it.
If you are not familiar with the show, don't fret folks. We here at Stay Tuned are happy to give you a sneak peek at one of the episodes on this set. Below is the link for Village of the Giants, which happens to star future screen star Beau Bridges, future director and creator Ron(ny) Howard (yes, he was Opie), and future one-hit wonder Toni Basil (yes, Mickey).
Kid (or Kid-at-Heart) Pick of the Week
The World's Greatest Super Friends: A Dangerous Fate
Super Friendsreturns with another volume of its cartoons. This time the 1979-1980 (which was considered Season 5) The World's Greatest Super Friendsaired eight episodes, each episode had three different cartoons thus making this set containing 24 episodes. This incarnation reverted back to the original five superheroes (Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman) and the Wonder Twins, with their monkey Gleek. The toon is very dated but the set is a must for any DC Comics fan or Super Friends completist. Below is a taste of what you can find on this set, the episode Universe of Evil.
Well that's it! It was an uneventful New Release Tuesday on the TV-on-DVD market but these suggestions should tide you over until the first Tuesday in August. According to our release schedule, that's the next BIG day. As usual, remember to Stay Tuned for anything and everything television.
We just couldn't let this one pass by and we should have waited because Warner Archive Collection doesn't post its new releases until midday. But better late than never, right?
Retro 'Toon Pick of the Week
Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels - The Complete Series
We here at Stay Tuned have actually been waiting a long time for a Captain Caveman release. Since Warner holds the rights to the Hanna-Barbera library, it was only a matter of time before this series would be released. Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels originally ran from 1977 to 1980, with the first two seasons packaged in with another Hanna-Barbera cartoon and the final season broadcasted as a half-hour program. Basically an adaptation of Scooby-Doo meets Josie and the Pussycats, the premise of the cartoon centered around the Teen Angels (Dee Dee, Brenda, and Taffy) solving mysteries. They happen to come across the ice block that housed the prehistoric Captain Caveman and thawed him out. Working together, the girls drive the van while Cavey walks around grumbling and pulling all sorts of things out of his hair. Oh and somehow he can fly.
Below is an episode featured in the first season, presented in its entirety. And yes, the episodes were only 11 minutes long. You can purchase the set at Warner Archive's website (Warner Archive Collection site).
"Stand in the place where you live. Now face north. Think about direction. Wonder why you haven't before."
Get a Life was a sitcom that ran on Sunday nights during FOX's early broadcasting days, specifically from 1990 to 1992. The show follows the life of Chris Peterson, a 30-year old paperboy who lives in an apartment above his parents' garage. Holding the same job since he was a kid, Chris refuses to accept and live life as an adult. His childish, naive behavior often got him in silly and outlandish situations. For example, falling out of an airplane after mistaking an exit door for the bathroom. In fact, Get a Life was an unconventional comedy with many surreal episodes. What other TV show at the time killed off its main character twelve times?
Chris' parents, Fred and Gladys Peterson, were just as much off-the-wall as their son. Always wearing pajamas, the Peterson parents were always doing some strange activity like polishing their handguns, and always made comments criticizing their son's lifestyle or poking fun at one of his odd quirks. One such oddity was Chris' fear of nudity.
Chris Peterson almost always focused on trying to find direction in his life, and more importantly, trying to find a place where he belongs. Whether it was with a street gang or a group of construction workers, he tried growing up but always ended up being that little boy in a 30-year old's body.
By the show's second season, FOX had pressured the producers to make Chris Peterson more independent. So in a manner to do what the network had asked, and at the same time laugh in its face, the producers had Chris move out from his parents house...and into the garage of ex-cop Gus Borden. Gus, a sociopathic ex-cop fired for peeing on his boss, becomes Chris' foil in the second season. In the full episode below, Chris time travels (see how surreal the show was?) to 1977 in attempts to save Gus' enforcement career. He does, however, run into trouble with disturbing the past and encounters oddities as a result of the journey...such as two-headed zombies.
Get a Life was a ridiculous show that was suitable for FOX and despite it only lasting two seasons, the show was a fan favorite and has retained a cult following in the decades after its demise. Looking back, it could be one of the most underappreciated comedies from the '90s. Chris Elliott did an incredible job in making Chris Peterson a believable character that could be living across the street from your house. The childlike nature, almost innocence, made you feel sorry that he was a 30-year old paperboy. And if the wacky episodes didn't leave its mark, then the show's memorable theme song sure did. R.E.M.'s Stand was etched in the viewers mind as the opening depicted Chris delivering newspapers in his neighborhood. Stand was forever associated with Get a Life and helped place the show on the map.
The good people at Shout! Factory released the complete series on DVD back in September 2012, and with original music intact! Though the show's taste of humor may turn some viewers off, this set is definitely worth having in your personal library. You can purchase a copy from Shout's website!
This wraps up another Sunday Show Spotlight...remembering the great, and not so great, from Sunday night television. Keep checking back with Stay Tuned for future posts of anything and everything television. Also, visit us on our Facebook page, Stay Tuned: Channel Surfing through the Years!
Well folks, tonight is the preview night that kicks of San Diego Comic Con International 2013 and several studios and companies are already filtering information on goodies to be released during the second half of this year.
The awesome people from Shout! Factory have made a huge announcement that would knock the socks off any Power Rangers fan. Scheduled to be released (tentatively) on December 3 of this year, Power Rangers Legacy: The First 20 Years will available and in that neat-o red helmet packaging at the top of the page. As the title indicates, this set will contain all 20 years of the Power Rangers TV series, from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to Power Rangers Megaforce, on (an astonishing!) 98 discs. Also included will be a 6 DVD set of bonus materials including interviews previously released, brand-new featurettes, and new archived material. You can sign-up for e-mail notifications of when the set will be available for pre-order through Shout! Factory's website (Shout! Factory Power Rangers Legacy Sign-Up!). The limited edition Legacy set will only have 2,000 copies available worldwide.
Details regarding cost of this TV-on-DVD set were not given but it is expected to be in the range of $400 - $500, based on research of similar complete series sets. The announcement, however, has caused some uproar on social media tonight. Fans of the show who shelled out almost $300 for the 7-season box set released last fall through Time Life/StarVista are not too happy with the company's double-dipping strategy. No official response has been given but knowing Shout! Factory's history with releasing products, it's more than likely the company will issue individual sets for seasons 8 through 20.
Power Rangers fans: Sound off about this news? Would you pay whatever the final price will be for this set? Comment below and remember to Stay Tuned for more news from SDCC2013!
New Release Tuesday for July 16, 2013 is jam packed! The shelves are stocked today with a ton of TV-on-DVD releases and Stay Tuned is highlighting those shows that deserve a second look and maybe even a purchase.
Sci-Fi Pick of the Week
Alphas - Season 2
Syfy's science-fiction drama about a group of individuals with superhuman abilities see its second season released on DVD this week. Alphas slowly gained a following thanks in part to its well written storyline and characterization but it wasn't enough to prevent its cancellation earlier this year. This final season ends with an unresolved cliffhanger that will leave many in a lurch.
Superhero Pick of the Week
The Adventures of Superboy - Season 3
After spending years tied up in legal battles, the Superboy series is finally being released through Warner Archive Collection's made-to-order website. WAC has released some excellent TV shows in recent years and even though the episodes are not remastered, the studio has listened to fans' calls and produced season sets. The third season of Superboy was full of dramatic changes. Aside from the title change, the tone and storylines of the series were much darker than the light-hearted and even campy episodes from the shows' previous seasons. This season also features the alternate version of Superboy, a storyline familiar to comic book fans. Superman and, in general, comic book fans will want to scoop up this set. Check out Warner Archive's website (Warner Archive Collection)
Thriller Pick of the Week
Damages - Season 5
The fifth and final season of the FX legal thriller drama wraps up its usual case-of-the-season and featured guest star (this season, Ryan Phillippe). As the show winds down to its end, the tense rivalry that has brewed between Patty and Ellen for almost the entire run of the series finally comes to a shocking end.
Kid (or Kid-at-Heart) Pick of the Week
Hey Dude - Season 5
The fifth and final season of Hey Dude is released today exclusively through Shout! Factory's Shout Select line (Shout! Factory). Nickelodeon's original series continues the adventures at the Bar None Dude Ranch in this final season and ends with the gang trailing off into the sunset. Check out Stay Tuned's previous Throwback Thursday post on the history of Hey Dude (Stay Tuned's TBT - Hey Dude).
Comedy Pick of the Week
George Lopez - Season 3
The long-awaited release of the third season of George Lopez's comedy show has finally arrived! After three years since the release of the second season, this latest installment picks up where it left off following the lives of the dysfunctional Lopez family. George Lopez was an instant success on ABC and was one of the few shows to feature an all-Latino cast. Good to see Warner Bros. decided to allow this release.
Sleeper Pick of the Week
Hell on Wheels - Season 2
AMC's western drama revolving around the post-Civil War world sees its second season released on DVD. The season continued to focus on Cullen Bohannon as he forges west during the expansion of the Union Pacific Railroad. Hell on Wheels has become a tucked little gem of a show with a loyal following of post-Civil Warbuffs.
What releases interest you? What would you pick up today, if possible? Share with us below and remember to Stay Tuned for more random bits of everything television.
Stay Tuned is premiering another new feature today: Throwback Thursday! #TBT is nothing new in the social media realm and it celebrates the great music, movies, TV shows, toys, and gadgets (just to name a few items) that marked our childhoods. Are all of them classics? Not necessarily. How about retro? Yes, yes they are and we just love it! Each Thursday we'll highlight a TV show from the past and get those memories jogging.
So without further ado, let's hop in the DeLorean and glide back a few years...
If you grew up in the late '80s/early '90s watching Nickelodeon then you might have come across an episode or commercial for Hey Dude. Nickelodeon had just begun to produce original live-action programming and Hey Dude was one of the earlier shows that broke ground on the kid's network. With the increasing growth of cable television and more youth watching television after school, Nickelodeon took advantage of the opportunity and target that demographic. Years later, shows like Hey Dude were models for the current string of original programming on Nickelodeon, TeenNick, and The N.
The setting of the show was the Bar None Dude Ranch near Tuscon, Arizona. Truth be told that after watching Hey Dude, we all wanted to go work on a dude ranch for the summer. It was like summer camp but with sweet digs and pay...and no boatload of kids. The premise of the show was divorced father Mr. Ernst acquires the dude ranch and moves to Arizona with his son Buddy and a dog that disappears after the first season. No explanation for the dog's whereabouts. She didn't die, she didn't run away...she just gone.
The ranch is staffed with female ranchhand Lucy and summer workers Ted, Danny, Melody, and Brad. Later on in the show Mr. Ernst's nephew Jake and Lucy's ex-boyfriend's son Kyle would join the show's cast.
Episodes of Hey Dude were geared towards a teenage audience and they varied in tone, theme, and storyline. Mostly comedic in nature, episodes usually followed the adventures of the summer staff as they worked on the dude ranch. You know, the normal stuff like leading overnight camping trips, telling ghost stories, competing for employee of the month, learning to swim, getting tied up by playful little kids, and misplacing a camper or two somewhere in the desert. Normal stuff. But Hey Dude also touched upon sensitive topics like cultural misconceptions, alcoholism, physical disabilities, theft and robbery, and the occasional murder (which later would be a misunderstanding). Oh and of course it wouldn't be a teenage show without frequent romances and crushes. Viewers particularly enjoyed the love-hate relationship between cocky senior staff member Ted and snobbish greenie Brad.
Hey Dude was the vehicle that launched the acting careers of David Lascher (Ted) and Christine Taylor (Melody). David Lascher would go on and enjoy long stints on Blossom and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as well as numerous television guest spots. Christine Taylor was more successful with a television and film career. Her breakthrough movie role as Marcia Brady on The Brady Bunch Movie propelled Taylor to stardom where she would film many popular movies with future husband Ben Stiller.
Fans of Hey Dude can currently purchase all four seasons on DVD, and the fifth and final season is scheduled to be released July 16, 2013. Shout! Factory acquired the rights to Hey Dude several years ago and have been non-stop in releasing the seasons. The first three seasons are available to purchase through your preferred shop for DVDs while seasons 4 and 5 are exclusive available through Shout's Shout! Select program. Shout! has done an amazing job bringing many Nickelodeon shows to DVD and the company continues to impress us with ever-increasing library of releases. Click on the link above and check out why we can't get enough of Shout! Factory.
Do you have any memories of Hey Dude? What is your #TBT show? Share with us and keep watching Stay Tuned!
It's Stay Tuned's 1st NEW RELEASE TUESDAY post and there are quite a few notable picks and suggestions from the TV-on-DVD bin this week.
Classic TV-on-DVD Pick of the Week
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis - The Complete Series
Shout! Factory continues to roll out the punches with its releases of complete television series' and offers all four seasons of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, which features the adventures of Dobie Gillis, his beatnik pal Maynard G. Krebs, his main competition Milton Armitage (played by a young Warren Beatty), and many, many of Dobie's loves. Along with 147 episodes, the set also includes some pretty neat exclusive extras.
Airing from 1959 to 1963, Dobie Gillis offers the classic, quality programming of the time featuring the typical Hometown, USA, wholesome nuclear family, and good old-fashioned dating techniques. If you grew up with the classic Nick at Nite channel of yesteryear, then you most likely caught a glimpse of the black-and-white episodes of this show. While this is the typical example of your mom and dad's television show, it really can be enjoyed by the whole family for generations.
Now for a quick plug. I love Shout! Factory. I really do. The guys at Shout! have done outstanding work on DVD releases for the past couple of years, especially with the Shout Select selection found exclusively on their website. Check out the link below and browse Shout! Factory's website and you'll see that they offer more than TV-on-DVD. There are some wonderful variety releases, as well as cult classic and never-before released movies (in particular through the Scream Factory line). Go there. NOW!
The fourth season of The Dick Van Dyke Show was the penultimate season of the show but it never demonstrated weakness in the writing, or laughs, as demonstrated by the continuing work antics of Rob Petrie. As the head writer for The Allen Brady Show, Petrie and co-writers Buddy Sorrell and Sally Rogers keep the jokes coming in attempts to appease the ever-demanding Allan Brady. On the home front, Petrie often finds himself in similarly sticky situations with his ever patient wife Laura and son Richie. Remember Laura getting stuck in a bathtub? No? Well then you need to watch this season to see the how, why, and huh.
The Blu-ray version improves the previously released DVD set in terms of quality and sound. Additionally, new extras have been added to the BR version, so if you are a Dick Van Dyke fan or DVD completist then you will definitely want to purchase this set.
Kid (or Kid-at-Heart) Pick of the Week
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - Season 3
Another offering from Shout! Factory is the third season of the original MMPR show that used to air in the early '90s on FOX weekday afternoons. Shout!, in partnership with StarVista/Time Life, had already released a complete 1st series set. But this release is ideal for those on a budget or who just want to purchase an individual season. This season introduces the Ninja art, as well as the Ninjazords. Again, Shout! released this set so you can expect a great job on transfers. Go and grab this release for your young Power Rangers fan and show him/her how it all got started.
Retro Mini-Series Pick of the Week
North & South (1975)
Based on the Victorian novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, North & South focuses on the industrial age in England and focuses on the issues of class and gender while romance flourishes between the two main characters, each on different sides of the mill workers conflict. BBC has incredible productions and this isn't an exception, though there most likely will be audio and/or image issues due to the age of the film. It is also an opportunity to watch a younger Patrick Stewart before he catapulted into fame on the U.S. front.
Short-Lived Series Pick of the Week
Last Resort - The Complete Series
Last Resort, the short-lived military drama that aired on ABC last fall is being released today on DVD. The show received positive reviews but just couldn't find a steady audience to maintain ratings every week. It also faced stiff competition from CBS' comedy block of The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men. All 13 episodes are presented in this set, and unlike other shows that have been cancelled in their freshman year, Last Resort was able to alter its final episode and provide viewers with some type of closure.
Are you looking forward to any particular release this week?
