dvd-related stories
Posted Oct 30th 2009 4:04PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, TV on DVD, Reality-Free
I know I'm dating myself, but I'm really looking forward to watching the second season of
thirtsysomething on DVD.
The first season was released back in August, and I had a blast catching up with great characters like Michael and Melissa Steadman, Elliot Weston and Gary Shepherd. Season two
hits DVD in January, thanks to the good folks at Shout! Factory, known for putting out great sets like the packed
Freaks and Geeks collection and the recent
Transformers "G1" collector's set.
Some people might only think of
thirtysomething as "that '80s show about whiny yuppies," and that's fine. But the Emmy-award winning drama brings back a lot of great memories for me. As I
mentioned before, I used to watch it with my mom, who I'm pretty sure related to Patricia Wettig's frustrated homemaker Nancy Weston and free spirit Melissa Steadman, played by Melanie Mayron. (As for my dad, I'm not ashamed to say that he's more of a Timothy Busfield type!)
Continue reading Thirtysomething season two hits DVD in January
Posted Oct 26th 2009 12:29PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: TV on DVD, Battlestar Galactica, Reality-Free
Leoben, that tricky toaster, was right: All of this
has happened before, and all of it is happening again.
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan retells major events from the first two years of the celebrated sci-fi series through the eyes of the Cylons. It weaves together recycled scenes from the series with new footage to reveal a first-hand account of the Cylon agenda, or "plan."
The result is a film that feels incomplete, episodic and disjointed. It plays less like a movie and largely like a disk full of high quality bonus material. Most of what happens here feels irrelevant to the series -- almost like it was tacked on to the
BSG mythos to satisfy completists and hardcore fans. Still, it's worth watching to see Dean Stockwell carry the film with a fearless performance as the scheming and duplicitous Brother Cavil. The veteran character actor takes center stage in
The Plan, and your enjoyment of the film will rest largely on how much you like, or dislike, Cavil and his major role in the series.
Continue reading DVD Review: Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
Posted Oct 7th 2009 2:29PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Programming, TV on DVD, Video, Documentary
If you haven't checked out Ken Burns' documentary
The National Parks: America's Best Idea on PBS yet, now you can actually buy it. The 12-hour series hit DVD and Blu-ray on Oct. 6, and offers a stunning look at our national parks, including Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, the Everglades, and the Gates of Arctic in Alaska.
When you think about it, it's truly amazing how these natural wonders have become part of our lives, even if we've never been to them. Burns covers 150 years of the parks, starting with the concept in the mid-1800s and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks, Andy Garcia, Sam Waterston and others.
The cool thing about the DVD / Blu-ray sets is that you get three hours of bonus material, including a making-of featurette,
Musical Journeys Through the National Parks,
Contemporary Stories and
Outtakes.
Continue reading Exclusive DVD clip from The National Parks: America's Best Idea
Posted Oct 7th 2009 2:02PM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: TV on DVD, Ask TV Squad, Reality-Free
The "Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column. To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them at
asktvsquad@gmail.com.
This week, I answer questions about online TV shows, a new series called Miami Trauma, and NYPD Blue DVDs.
Continue reading Ask TV Squad: NYPD Blue, Miami Trauma and online shows
Posted Sep 30th 2009 4:00PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Hardware, Reality-Free
Why must Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and that lot constantly develop new technologies in an attempt to break my bank account? First it was things like flat television and high definition. Now, Panasonic is joining the ranks of other television manufacturers to produce a high definition television that can handle both 2D and 3D images. But this time, they're enlisting Hollywood
to help them sell it.
The idea is that Hollywood is producing more 3D films and this technology will enable the sale of 3D DVDs. It could even potentially be the feature to push Blu-ray sales to the level of regular DVDs (assuming it's only on Blu-ray).
Do we really need to be able to watch 3D movies at home? It sounds like one of those things that seem extraneous at first then once you have it in the home you have no idea how you lived without it. 3D television has been talked about for years now. We'll have to see if this is the event that pushes it more to the mainstream.
Posted Aug 30th 2009 2:10PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, Reality-Free
I love Andy Richter, but he seems awfully stiff every time I watch him on
The Tonight Show. I prefer to remember the guy from his early days on
Late Night, his short-lived show
Andy Richter Controls the Universe, and his other short-lived show, the hilarious
Andy Barker, P.I.
Like Danny reported
back in May,
Andy Barker, P.I. is finally coming to DVD. Shout! Factory will release the entire series on Nov. 17. The two-disc set will include all six episodes, some with commentary by Richter and producer Conan O'Brien, plus a retrospective feature and a doc about the show's amazing writers, including Jonathan Groff (
How I Met Your Mother), Josh Bycel (
Psych), and Jane Espenson (
Buffy,
BSG). Click through for a better look at the DVD cover art.
Continue reading DVD cover art and release date for Andy Barker, P.I.
Posted Aug 28th 2009 12:02PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: TV on DVD, OpEd, Reality-Free
Straight from the Press Room at Fox, the complete series of
Futurama (Seasons 1 to 4, plus the four movies) is being released October 13 in a collectible Bender head for the low, low price of $169.98 ($199.98 Canadian). Of course, once those new Comedy Central episodes are shown, this won't be the complete series anymore. Don't tell Fox. They need to sell DVDs.
I wish I could justify getting this set, but I already purchased the first four seasons of the show on DVD and this isn't worth getting just for the four direct-to-DVD movies. Dear Fox: please release the four movies in a collectible head of Richard Nixon. Or one of the other characters. Which collectible head would you prefer to have?
The box set is also being released in honor of
Futurama's ten-year anniversary. Can you believe this
Simpsons knock-off is ten years old already? Just kidding.
Family Guy is the
Simpsons knock-off.
Posted Aug 12th 2009 8:03PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Industry, TV on DVD, Stargate, Reality-Free
... At least that's what
Stargate producer Robert C. Cooper is saying. Cooper has written scripts for another
Stargate SG-1 DVD movie and the first
Stargate Atlantis flick, but those projects are on the back burner for now. Cooper and MGM are focusing on the launch of Syfy's
Stargate Universe before those movie scripts go into production. Oh, and the sh*tty economy isn't helping either.
"We're just waiting for the right opportunity. We want to be successful with it. The studio wants to be successful, and we really don't want to proceed with something in the wrong climate, which I think financially it is right now," Cooper told
Sci Fi Wire.
I'm looking forward to
Stargate Universe, but I'd love to see the franchise continue releasing DVD movies every few years.
Stargate: The Ark of Truth and
Stargate: Continuum were great and they sold well on DVD, but projected DVD sales for new projects aren't looking good these days.
Continue reading New SG-1 and Atlantis movies aren't coming anytime soon
Posted Jul 18th 2009 9:02AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, TV on DVD, OpEd
If you ask the average zoologist what makes mysterious creatures like Bigfoot or El Chupacabra so impossible today when once scientifically-dismissed species like the Mountain Gorilla or Giant Squid are now common enough concepts, they'll probably say, "The difference is the gorilla and the squid are real, and Bigfoot isn't."
The scientific dismissal isn't keeping Animal Planet from releasing a new DVD featuring stories of cryptozoological oddities.
Announced this week and set for release this fall (October 6),
Lost Tapes operates under the thesis that, while thousands of new species are discovered and classified each year, there are some creatures that science still refuses to recognize.
Continue reading Mysterious creatures haunt Animal Planet's Lost Tapes DVD
Posted Jul 16th 2009 11:03AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: TV on DVD, Music and Variety, Celebrities, Reality-Free
It's been 40 years since a bunch of dirty hippies enjoyed a few wasted days of sex, drugs and rock n' roll under the delusion that indulging youthful exuberance would change the world. Now, the work from the artists of that era are resurfacing to celebrate the anniversary.
To honor the memory of Flower Power and hating anyone older than 30, Infinity Entertainment Group is releasing
The Mama Cass Television Program on DVD next month.
The show was a one-off, long-lost TV special, taped as a pilot for an ABC variety series that never materialized.
Continue reading Mama Cass TV pilot returns on DVD to honor Woodstock
Posted Jul 13th 2009 3:32PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, Contests and Giveaways, Reality-Free
Hot on the heels of
our Mad Men DVD giveaway, we have three copies of another hit show. We've got three copies of
Two and a Half Men: The Complete Fifth Season on DVD for three lucky, random commenters.
To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, July 17 simply telling us why you'd like to own this DVD set
. As always, we'll randomly choose three winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
- To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating why you'd like to own the Two and a Half Men DVD set.
- The comment must be left before July 17, 2009 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
- You may enter only once.
- Three winners will be selected in a random drawing.
- Three winners will receive a Two and a Half Men: The Complete Fifth Season DVD (valued at $44.98).
- Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
Click
here for complete Official Rules.
Posted Jul 13th 2009 12:31PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: TV on DVD, Contests and Giveaways, Reality-Free, Mad Men
We haven't done a giveaway in a while, but we couldn't resist when we were offered this opportunity: We've got three copies of
Mad Men: Season Two on DVD for three lucky, random commenters. The DVD is out in stores starting tomorrow.
To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, July 17 simply telling us why you'd like to own this DVD set
. As always, we'll randomly choose three winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
- To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating why you'd like to own the Mad Men DVD set.
- The comment must be left before July 17, 2009 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
- You may enter only once.
- Three winners will be selected in a random drawing.
- Three winners will receive a Mad Men: Season Two DVD (valued at $49.98).
- Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
Click
here for complete Official Rules.
Posted Jul 13th 2009 8:04AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: TV on DVD, OpEd, Reality-Free
The old R&B dance show
Soul Train seems to be coming back. It's being set up for a VH1 documentary, a BET awards show
and a DVD release.
Given the recent passing of Michael Jackson, it wouldn't surprise me if this project was fast-tracked. Some of the Jackson 5's earliest appearances were on
Soul Train. In fact, there's a website now
dedicated to the show.
I never watched
Soul Train when I was kid. I don't think I was in the correct demographic. But everyone at least
heard of
Soul Train. The show's final episodes aired in 2006 but (at least in my mind) the show is more associated with its beginnings in the 70's. If the show ends up getting fully revived (and not just an awards show), the logical network to show it would be BET.
Now that Time Life is releasing DVD's of the show, it will probably be in a "best of" format (much like their release of
The Muppet Show DVDs) and not complete seasons. But, I could be wrong.
Posted Jul 10th 2009 1:28PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Industry, TV on DVD, Reality-Free, Comic-Con, Dollhouse
Maybe Fox's decision not to air "Epitaph One," the final episode of
Dollhouse's first season, was a good one. Good for Fox, I mean.
The unaired ep, which will show up on the first season DVD/Bu-ray sets and screen at Comic-Con, is bringing a lot of attention to the Joss Whedon show this summer. Judging by the reaction to a
clip released earlier this week, I'm sure Fox won't have any trouble moving those DVDs.
The clip, our first bit of WhedonCrack in months, featured a dazed and confused Dr. Saunders/Whiskey surrounded by a group of armed rebels in what appears to be the future. Is it a dream? Is it a flash forward? We'll have to wait for the DVD to drop July 28 to find out.
Continue reading More on Joss Whedon's 'insane' coda to Dollhouse season one
Posted Jul 9th 2009 3:06PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Industry, Video, Reality-Free, Comic-Con, Dollhouse
It seems like everyone has an opinion about whether or not
Dollhouse will survive its second season on Fox. Our own Brad Trechak is certain the show
will be dead before the end of the year. Io9 has a more
hopeful prognosis for the show's future. They say we might even be in for a surprisingly stable year for the show.
I'm not willing to go that far, but I'm hopeful that season two of
Dollhouse will deliver more of the quirky and engaging storytelling Joss Whedon fans have come to love and expect instead of the dull "case of the week" plots that almost sunk season one. Last May's weird and wonderful game-changing season finale only left me wanting more -- more mythology, more mystery and more witty and subversive dialogue. Whedon is writing and directing the season two opener, now set to premiere Sept. 25. Hopefully, that means he's setting the tone for a more imaginative and interesting season of
Dollhouse.
Continue reading Good omens for Dollhouse season two?
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