about contributors submissions book series advertising contests Media Center PopMatters Picks
|
|
Test Patterns: TV That Should Be on DVDPopMatters Picks: The Best of TV on DVD[22 October 2007] by PopMatters StaffPopMatters Picks: The Best of TV on DVDAs a wrap up to the five-part Best of TV on DVD feature, we offer this partial wish list, this "where are they now?" wistfulness to some of our favorite forgotten shows that should be on DVD.
PopMatters Picks: The Best of TV on DVDSaturday Night Live, of course. Yes, there are “Best of...” compilations and the like. But what the show really needs is the complete original episodes, just as they aired live (not the syndicated versions), available for everyone. Comment by pilight from where the action is — October 22, 2007 @ 8:20 am I would have to add the deliciously tripped-out MTV series The Sifl and Olly show. Hello, What about The Wonder Years, it was even referenced in this segment yet left out of the list. Or the vast amount of mid-nineties Nickelodeon television shows. Salute Your Shorts anyone? Comment by T.B. from Dayton, Ohio — October 22, 2007 @ 6:03 pm — PopMatters sponsor —Here are some of the ones you left off. 3 South (MTV)- You listed Clone High but 3 South was just as funny (if not moreso).
Doug (Nickelodeon)
Comment by Jason from Illinois — October 23, 2007 @ 2:36 am I would like to see “Scarecrow and Mrs.King” - just for the fun to see it once again from “the other side of iron curtain”, I saw it long long long time ago on german tv. Comment by Jana from Czech Republic — October 23, 2007 @ 3:09 am All 692 episodes of Prisoner cell block H are being released on dvd in australia. 2 dvds of 16 episodes each are released each month, currently up to about episode 400.See the british Prisoner fan website for availability outside aust. Comment by david from australia — October 23, 2007 @ 5:59 am two great shows, and two “coulda’ been” greats!
The Greats:
The Powers that Be....Holland Taylor, and David Hyde Pierce.....there is nothing else to say ...could have been great...."Princess’s, and The Five Mrs. Buchannons.” Trust me! Comment by john samuels from Pittsburgh — October 23, 2007 @ 7:14 am — PopMatters sponsor —One of the best shows ever on TV was left off…
Comment by Jason from FL — October 23, 2007 @ 7:47 am The reason “Cold “case” has yet to be released has to do with the BIG issue facing the release of TV shows on DVD: music licensing. Since that show uses so many hit songs from the past, it would take a lot of dinero for those recordings to be allowed on any DVD release. As for unreleased shows, the 1966-68 “Batman” is at the top of my list. Apparently there’s a rights issue here between Fox, which owns the show, and Warner Brothers, which owns the characters. With “Dallas” and “Dynasty” out, why not the one primetime soap that stated it all: the legendary “PEYTON PLACE”? This was the show that made household names of Mia Farrow and Ryan O’Neal, and had an all-star cast led by Dorothy Malone. It could be sold on DVD the way “Dark Shadows” was by MPI with bimonthly collections of episodes. There’s 514 half hours in the show- half of “Dark Shadows”’ 1225 episodes. Fox is missing a gold mine here. Another pick would be “He & She”, or as I call it “Mad About You ‘67"- a great sitcom years ahead of its time with real-life couple (still together after over 40 years!) Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss as a young married couple in Manhattan with their quirky friends and neighbors. Some of the people who produced/wrote/directed this show went on to other classics like “Mary Tyler Moore” and “The Bob Newhart Show”. May I reccomend the site tvshowsondvd.com? Tere’s an online poll where you can vote on the shows you want released. Comment by Charles from Staten Island, NY — October 23, 2007 @ 8:00 am Ok, I have been anxiously waiting for the animated Spider-man series from the 90’s to come out every time a new Spider-man movie comes out in theaters or is released on DVD. A great animated show that for many Spider-man fans born between 80-88 was the first experience of the Amazing Spider-man. I’ve watched it again, now as an adult and it is one of the few that stands up. It has it’s moments, just like any cartoon, but the essence of Peter Parker is there (unlike other childhood shows, I’m sorry but He-man was pure crap, among others).
Comment by Liz from Atlanta, GA — October 23, 2007 @ 8:29 am I agree with Jason - Ed definitely needs to be on dvd. Comment by Kate from FL — October 23, 2007 @ 8:53 am — PopMatters sponsor —I echo the call for Sifl and Olly to be released on DVD. The fans of this short lived MTV show have been anxiously awaiting a DVD release yet MTV refuses to release the rights to the episodes so that Matt and Liam can put the episodes on DVD. Come on MTV, you know you’d make money, release them already. Also may I add Brimstone. An interesting take on what sentences you to hell and a mans quest for redemption to gain a second chance at life on Earth. Luckily it is making a run on the Sleuth Channel there is yet to be a release made on DVD. Comment by The Dude from Clarksburg, WV — October 23, 2007 @ 9:33 am A few more shows that have been left off this list “The State”, which ran on MTV from 94’ to 95’, and then on CBS for a few weeks. Great classic early 90’s comedy, back when MTV didn’t follow a one-way track of presenting the same tired stuff over and over. This is the series that started the careers of the guys who created Reno 911. Hopefully MTV will have this classic out of the vault soon. “Today’s Special” (Nickelodeon) - Who can forget Jeff the mannequin and Jodie his friend, Muffy the mouse, and Sam the security guard. Great early 80’s children’s show imported from the CBC. Sadly it’s only available on VHS on amazon.com. I also add “Pinwheel” to this list, as it was another great early 80’s nickelodeon tv show. Muppet Babies - Quite popular in the late 80’s and early 90’s, Jim Henson-produced animated show still isn’t available on DVD. Meanwhile, how about the proper version of Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas as it originally aired on tv. That’s not to hard guys, is it. Just don’t cut any scenes out this time. Mr. Belvedere - Awesome 80’s show. I always waited to hear Leon Redbone’s theme song every Friday night this show was on. Yet, it’s still missing from dvd. You Can’t Do That On Television - I want a barf burger. Alanis Morissette, are you listening. Extremely popular in the 80’s and into the 90’s, yet same old song and dance. When will we have this on dvd. Soon? Comment by Bill from Crestview, FL — October 23, 2007 @ 9:45 am I’d scratch Cold Case from the list and add Newhart. Comment by Jeff from Seattle — October 23, 2007 @ 10:46 am I thought what I read about Batman was that the late producer, William Dozier’s family has a rights claim that needs to be resolved before the show is released on DVD. That would be on top of Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, maybe Greenway Productions, etc., etc. which sucks Comment by AirDave from Rochester, MN — October 23, 2007 @ 10:47 am — PopMatters sponsor —Third Watch!!!
Comment by Murph from great white north — October 23, 2007 @ 10:51 am Two suggestions, max: 1) Max Headroom. The cult fave drama series that ran on ABC was ahead of it’s time (by twenty minutes) and offered a smart, snarky sendup of modern culture (especially media) and the problems that come with it. Was damn stylish, too, with a BladeRunner/Brazil/Mad Max art design. Headroom himself was a pop culture icon for a while, still instantly recognizable today. Also introduced the luscious Amanda Pays to many a fan like me. 2) The Maxx. Part of Mtv’s Liquid Television lineup, The Maxx stands out as one of the best comic book adaptaions to date - wickedly funny, at times tender, a joy to behold in its visual artistry. Was available in a truncated VHS, now needs a full DVD release. Comment by Jeff Larsen from Portland — October 23, 2007 @ 11:11 am Add Robert Urich’s “Spenser for Hire”,
Comment by Paul Gordon — October 23, 2007 @ 11:32 am no one mentioned Early Edition? Comment by Samantha — October 23, 2007 @ 12:00 pm — PopMatters sponsor —Going back slightly to Jeff’s post about the Maxx...one show that I’ve been waiting on for ages is Liquid Television. Those “best of” VHS comps won’t cut it. Don’t tell me what my favorites are! Don’t forget to listen to my radio program/podcast “The Drive-in Speakerbox” at thedriveinspeakerbox.blogspot.com for the best in music from film and tv! Comment by The Boom Operator from USA — October 23, 2007 @ 12:15 pm How about Earthworm Jim?! And Freakazoid? And Eek the Cat! And Tiny Toon Adventures?!! These were right up there with Bobby’s World, Animaniacs and The Tick and yet those made it to dvd! I am eagerly awaiting Clone High - so AWESOME! “What’s that you saaaaay?” I want Wesley! and JFK’s sexually explicit suggestions! Comment by Natalie from Oceanside, CA — October 23, 2007 @ 12:27 pm AirDave, it is true about the claim put forth by William Dozier’s daughter Debbie (whose mother, screen legend Joan Fontaine celebrated her 90th birthday yesterday) for points in any future DVD release, but the main problem is between the two studios. A similiar situation is with “The Six Million Dollar Man” and the original “Bionic Woman"- Universal owns the shows, but Disney owns the rights for the novel on which both shows were based. If Fox gets to getting “Dobie Gillis” on DVD, it has to clear with the estate of author Max Shulman, whose stories were the basis for the sitcom. A most confusing set of problems that has the fans, the actors (who may get some residuals), and the producers (who get a big share of the profits) in the cold. Comment by Charles from Staten Island, NY — October 23, 2007 @ 12:40 pm China Beach is one of my all time favs and truly one of the all time great shows ever produced on the small screen. As with Cold Case, the music licensing issues will most likely keep this one from ever being released on DVD. I keep hoping, though. Comment by Jenn from Houston, TX — October 23, 2007 @ 2:41 pm — PopMatters sponsor —um ya take clone high off ure list or change it to shows that need to be on dvd in the states , its on dvd in canada i have it , its threw teletoon the station that made it up here Comment by justin — October 23, 2007 @ 4:08 pm Clone High you can also get in the states off of Amazon.com Comment by Daniel Nelson — October 23, 2007 @ 5:24 pm I will second Samantha’s mention of EARLY EDITION. I would love to get another chance to see THE ASSOCIATES, from 1979, a short-lived sitcom from the makers of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which starred Martin Short, Joe Regalbuto, and Wilfred Hyde-White in a law firm setting. And I know a few people who would kill to have TENKO on region 1 dvd. Comment by not unpreposterous — October 23, 2007 @ 8:44 pm These two shows are mentioned above, but worth mentioning it again. Ed and Early Edition. Comment by andy — October 23, 2007 @ 9:25 pm — PopMatters sponsor —Some bad news on the Goodies front, the guys did a tour here in Australia recently and a friend of mine went. When asked why the series has never been released in total, only a couple of episodes have been released. The answer was that it would most likely never happen due to Copyright laws to do with a lot of the songs and poetic license taken with many of their skits. Basically it would cost a heap of money to get all the rights for the samples and lyrics which unfortunately has made it, hopefully only currently, impossible for the whole series to be released, only selected episodes as they have done so far. Comment by Shane from Sydney AUS — October 23, 2007 @ 9:36 pm “Cold Case offers something of a novel concept” No it really doesn’t, it was practically carbon copied from a Canadian show called Cold Squad. In fact the creator of Cold Case came to a Network thing in Canada where Cold Squad was being featured as a successful CDN drama series. A series that ended up having 7 season. Miracle of miracles she then came up with a pilot that used the same premise and barely altered characters. I would suspect it’s not being released on DVD because the creators of the original are still considering legal action and dvd sales would give them more money to go after. Comment by TRH — October 23, 2007 @ 10:34 pm I keep hoping for “Remote Control.” I can’t imagine what would be keeping it off DVD unless there was more music than I recall which would render it a licensing issue.
Comment by Redd — October 23, 2007 @ 11:17 pm Robert Wagner as Alexander Munday on “It Takes A Thief.” A no brainer here! “Let me get this straight, you WANT me to steal?” Comment by Joseph J Coppola from N. Massapequa NY — October 23, 2007 @ 11:49 pm — PopMatters sponsor —“ED” really should be on this list. At this point, I don’t even care if they have to change some of the music since I hear that’s the hold-up. I’d rather have DVDs with different music than no DVDs at all, especially since I probably wouldn’t remember half the songs, unless they were really important… Even though season one has been released, I still wish they would release seasons 2 and 3 of “American Dreams.” Again, it’s probably the music that is holding up the release. It’d be easier to notice the differences on it since music was such a huge part of the show, but I’ll take what I can get anyway.. Comment by Lindsey from North Carolina — October 24, 2007 @ 1:35 am How could The Wonder Years not be #1 on this list?! (even though it is legally impossible to happen due to all the great music they used). Comment by David from NYC — November 16, 2007 @ 4:58 pm
|
|
More TV
A few more I’d add to this excellent list:
Then Came Bronson—the last of the classic” on the road” shows, with Michael Parks always ad-libbing with the guest stars, and presenting a model of manhood that eschewed violence without being preachy, that was genuinely open to different ideas. And of course some of those guests stars went on to bigger things—Kurt Russell is wonderfully engaging as an aspiring big league pitcher in one episode, for example.
Nothing Sacred—this unjustly attacked show was one of the best explorations of faith (and lack of it) on TV, offering sharp writing, tackling issues of the day head on (pedophile priests & official church over-up in one unaired episode, for instance). The 15 aired & 5 unaired episodes ought to be made available, along with extensive commentary by cast & writers.
Quark—a delightfully goofy, quirky science-fiction parody with a great Richard Benjamin, much too short-lived.
The Defenders—one of the classics of TV drama, willing to tackle material that very few would tackle in its time (the early 1960s). Besides, Robert Reed should be remembered for more than Mr. Brady.
Any others?
Comment by Tim Lukeman — October 22, 2007 @ 7:50 am