TVSquad

Get ready to utter the biggest "At last!" since NBC put the Knight Rider remake out of its long and winding misery.

TV Shows on DVD reported MTV's official announcement earlier this morning that the entire sketch comedy series will hit store shelves on July 14th. That was followed by a trailer release of the DVD on The State's official site. It's going to have full commentary from the cast, four interview features on the troupe's origins and the show's many catchphrases, some unaired sketches and outtakes. It sounds like this five disc set will be chocked full of Stately goodness. You'll want to do a lot more than just dip your balls in it. Please keep those things to yourself.

Founding State member, writer and Role Models director David Wain was nice enough to give us his first interview (via IM, no less). He talked about the work that went in to getting things to this stage, why the announcement first appeared on cast member Joe Lo Truglio's site and what he and the rest of his crew hope to accomplish with their DVD.

TV Shows on DVD has long been my favorite site for finding information on both recent and upcoming DVD releases of television series, and I've linked to it on numerous occasions. After five years of providing quality content, the site has been acquired by TV Guide. In a message on the site, co-founder Gord Lacey explained that not much will change with the site itself, other than some integration between the site and TVGuide.com.

I always thought the site did pretty well on its own, but as Lacey points out, being part of TV Guide will hopefully give the site even more visibility and access to studios, resulting in even better coverage.

If the acquisition helps to raise the profile of TV Shows On DVD, I say "cheers" to my fellow TV-centric blog. It will remain my preferred choice for TV on DVD news and new releases.

Now this could be cool: imagine getting a DVD of an episode of your favorite TV show, say 24 or The Office or Lost, a mere 24 hours after it airs on television?

That's the plan that Amazon has. Their CustomFlix Labs, which is going to make quick DVDs available for special shows like Antiques Roadshow and The Westminster Kennel Dog Show, is looking to create instant DVDs for regular network shows as well. Much like iTunes does.

Is this a good idea? Would you rather buy a DVD or watch it on iTunes?

Every Tuesday morning here on TV Squad , we will highlight the week's TV-on-DVD releases. Some noteworthy releases today, January 3, 2006:

• 1st & Ten - Season 1; Season 2
• Alien Nation - The Complete Series
• All in the Family - The Complete 5th Season
• Gunsmoke - 50th Anniversary Edition - Volume 1; 50th Anniversary Edition - Volume 2; 50th Anniversary Edition Giftset
• Have Gun Will Travel - Season 3
• Hunter - Season 3
• Silk Stalkings - Season 4

Every year around this time, tvshowsondvd.com lists the shows that are going to come out on DVD during the year, or at least the ones that are planned to come out. The list this year is the most impressive yet, with several series that I know many people have been waiting for, including:

• The Wild, Wild West
• Wings
• Kate and Allie
• Star Trek: The Animated Series
• Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea
• Tomorrow (with Tom Snyder)
• The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
• The Flash
• Hawaii Five-0

That's just a partial list. Check out the whole thing here.

[via Lee Goldberg]