TVSquad

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

I have to admit that I had no idea what The City was when I saw that season one was coming out on DVD this week (an Amazon exclusive). Is it the show Loving became in the late 90s? No, it's the spinoff of The Hills. Oh yes, let me run out and buy two copies of this. One to play until it wears out, and the other to have on my shelf when I can't play the first one anymore.

I have to pick up some of these Super Friends sets at some point. I really loved that show in the 70s. I think these "lost episodes" might be from the 80s.

• 90210 - Season 1
• Adam-12 - Season 3
• Are You Being Served? - Complete Collection

I was a recent convert to watching BBC comedies on PBS. Although I love all the comedies that PBS offers, I was awed by the show Are You Being Served? The show went places with double entendres and physical comedy that you would never see in American television.

I found out that Mollie Sugden, who plays the infamous Mrs. Slocombe, died on the first of July at the age of 86.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Bob Anderson: He was probably best known as playing the young George Bailey in the classic movie It's A Wonderful Life, with the famous scene of Bailey getting boxed in the ear by a drunk pharmacist (the actor really did bloody his ear during rehearsals). Anderson had roles in other movies, including A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A Place in the Sun, and The Bishop's Wife, and had a role in the 50s TV series The Adventures of Spin and Marty. After leaving acting he went on to be a production manager for several movies, including Passenger 57, The Omen IV, Demolition Man, Bonfire of the Vanities, and the TV show The Time Tunnel. Anderson died of cancer at age 75.

I have to admit that I've only seen a few minutes of Are You Being Served?, even though it seems to be on my local PBS station every other day. I don't know, I just never get into some British comedies. Sure, Monty Python and Fawlty Towers are shows I love, but some of the sitcoms I've never really given a chance beyond an episode or two.

But even I know who John Inman was. His face was unmistakable. Inman was one of the stars of the classic British comedy that was set in a department store. He played Mr. Humphries, whose catchphrase was "I'm free." Not sure of the context of that catchphrase, but Inman was voted both the "Funniest Man on Television" and BBC TV's "Personality of the Year" in 1976.

Inman died in London earlier today from complications of Hepatitis A.

[thanks to Jon for the tip]