TVSquad

Tom Goes to the Mayor began as a couple short short films on creators Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim's Web site, and even then it was obvious that not everyone was going to be into it. If anything, the fact that so many people either absolutely loved the series or just found it confusing and unfunny is a testament to its success: one doesn't make a show like Tom Goes to the Mayor with the intention of pleasing everyone. You either grok it, or you don't.

If you're a fan of Sherwood Schwartz's classic sitcom The Brady Bunch, you'll be pleased to know that the complete series will be available on DVD on March 27, according to TVShowsOnDVD. There's no details on the set just yet, though apparently the DVDs come wrapped in a brick of pot. Okay, maybe it's not pot, but whatever it is, you'll probably get really messed up if you smoke it.

The Brady Bunch, which aired from 1969 to 1974, was the story of an aesthetically-pleasing woman who raised a trio of three girls who were also pretty. Their hair was gold, not unlike that of their mother. The youngest daughter's hair, in contrast to those of her siblings, was in curls.

Meanwhile, there was a man named Brady, the patriarch of a family consisting of himself and three boys. Together they equaled four men who lived in a house together. Despite this, they were all very much alone.

One day, however, the aforementioned man and woman met each other. Knowing almost preternaturally that it was more than a hunch, they decided to combine the two families into one. That's how they became the Brady Bunch.

And Ann B. Davis as Alice.

First of all, enjoy this nice little Christmas video from comedians Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. It's from their upcoming sketch show, and it's kind of confusing. Not to worry, I'm sure when seen in context it's even more perplexing.

Oh yeah, and the complete series of Tom Goes to the Mayor will be out on DVD in April 0f 2007. Since they're calling it the "Complete Series" I'm going to put two and two together and assume the show is over for good. I am equal parts bummed and thrilled by these two bits of news, though I think two seasons is a pretty good run for a show like TGTTM. Rather than follow the trajectory of so many others before it and use pop culture as a springboard, Tim and Eric satirized small town life and overzealous civic pride in an absurdist style that crawled right into my brain, laid out a sleeping bag and whispered softly to me: "Adam, I'm forever stuck in your head now. Get used to me."

All sadness aside, we still have Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! to look forward to, so no reason to commit suicide yet, Tim and Eric fans.

I was never a fan of the HBO series Six Feet Under. While the show had a unique aesthetic I always felt the creators' attempts at unpredictable storylines and eccentric characters lacked any kind of purity. Every moment of that series felt like a cold, calculated decision, and I could never shake that feeling of manipulation when I watched it. I had exactly the same reaction to creator Alan Ball's American Beauty, another example of something that was pretty to look at but lacked any real substance, like an Easter egg filled with shit.

Nevertheless, despite my aversion to the series and my poetic use of simile to describe it, I know Six Feet Under had its fans, and I thought you'd like to know the complete series will be released on DVD November 14. That's plenty of time to put it on your holiday gift list and to convince your family and loved ones it's worth spending around $280.00 on. My parents were actually fans of the series, and I have fond memories of watching it with them and having them tell me to shut the hell up and stop complaining about it while they were trying to enjoy it. I should really visit home more often, those memories don't make themselves.

Well, I suppose that heading could have been a little more specific, since our ol' pal Flash has been seen in several live-action and animated incarnations since he first debuted on the comic pages in the 1930s. In this case, I'm talking about the animated series from Filmation that aired from 1979 to 1981, which IMDb has listed as The New Animated Adventures of Flash Gordon. I was quite young, so I don't remember this particular cartoon, but apparently it ran for a total of twenty-four episodes, all of which will be included on Flash Gordon - The Complete Series. You know, cause otherwise it would be called Flash Gordon - The Incomplete Series, and nobody would want to buy that. Tom Ruegger, a writer for the series, would later go on to write and produce for Steven Spielberg's Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, and Freakazoid. The DVD set will include a documentary and some audio commentaries. It comes out July 18.

There are two cartoons I remember very fondly and distinctly from my days as a youngster. Both of them ceased production before I was born, but I gobbled them up in reruns. The first was Underdog, and the second was Hong Kong Phooey. So, naturally, I was ecstatic when I found out that all thirty-one episodes of Hong Kong Phooey, a Hanna-Barbera cartoon which featured Scatman Crothers as the voice of an inept crime-fighting dog who knows kung fu, would be coming out on DVD on August 15. Of course, when Phooey wasn't fighting crime he worked as mild-mannered (all super hero alter egos are mild-mannered) janitor Penrod "Penry" Pooch.  The DVD set will also feature a documentary on the making of the series.

Oh yeah, and the complete series of Magilla Gorilla comes out on the same day, but I never watched that.

[via ToonZone]

I consider myself a huge fan of Jim Henson and all of his work, from The Muppets to The Dark Crystal and beyond (but not so much Labyrinth, it was good but not great). However, I could never seem to get into his series The Storyteller, which aired in the late 1980s. The series, about an elderly man who would recite old folktales, was just too slow and monotonous for my young tastes. Perhaps if I watched it now as a learned and mature adult I'd appreciate it more. Anyway, the series is coming out on DVD.

"But wait," you say, "isn't it already out on DVD?"

Yes, actually, it is, but now both DVD sets have been combined into a 2-disc set titled Jim Henson's The Storyteller: The Definitive Collection. So you can either rejoice that the complete series is available as one set, or complain that they didn't just do this in the first place. Either way I'd say you're right on. The set comes out May 23.

[via Muppet News Flash]