Tuesday, June 21, 2005

TV on DVD - June 21 2005

Couple of things before I get started with frankly very thin week of new DVDs. First I've decided to hold the review of Robson Arms that I had promised until later this week - specifically when the show is on The Comedy Network up here on Thursday. Second, please check out the new addition to the Blogroll The iBall, On Media from rec.arts.tv mainstay Ian J. Ball.

So anyway here's the list:


Bewitched: The Complete First Season
Bewitched: The Complete First Season [B&W]
- I think we all realise that it isn't just a coincidence that the first season of Bewitched is being released the Tuesday before the new Bewitched movie with Nicole Kidman is being released, but really, who cares. Even though the first season doesn't include the delightful Pandora Spocks (who was once seen heading into a motel room with Elizabeth Montgomery's husband William Asher) it does have the Alice Pearce, the original Gladys Kravitz, Marion Lorne as Aunt Clara (the only one of Sam's relatives that Darrin could even remotely tolerate), and Irene Vernon who was the original Louise Tate. As a word of advice, I would of course urge you to buy the Black & White version but it is both interesting and gratifying that Sony Pictures is issuing both versions (and even more gratifying that the B&W version is 5th in the Amazon.ca sales rank, the Colorized version is ranked 28th).

Degrassi - The Next Generation: Season 2
- Never seen it. I never was a
Degrassi fan and I'm unlikely to become one at this late date. Still the series and its predecessors has always been well regarded by critics and of course the teenaged target audience.

Farscape: Season 2, Collection 1 (Starburst Edition)
- Okay, I'm not all that bright, but I'm not sure I get the marketing strategy at play here. There are complete season sets for the four season of the show, there are collection sets of discs for the four seasons where four or five collections give you everything that's in the full season sets, there are packages with two episodes on them, and now there are "Starburst Editions" which somehow give fans something else. It sounds to me as though someone is trying to milk the fans for every dime they can get.

The Outer Limits, Aliens Among Us Collection
The Outer Limits, Death & Beyond Collection
The Outer Limits, Fantastic Androids & Robots Collection
The Outer Limits, Mutation & Transformation Collection
The Outer Limits, DVD Collection

- Okay here's another case of Amazon.ca not having any listing for a set - or rather several sets - that Amazon.com shows as being released today. In fact about the only Canadian source that I can find that has it listed (admittedly I haven't looked all that hard) is Videoflicks.ca - puzzling that. Anyway, these are from the "modern" series of The Outer Limits also known as The New Outer Limits. Produced by Alliance-Atlantis it was a mainstay of both the Showtime cable network in the U.S. and Canwest-Global here in Canada from 1995-2002. As far as I can tell these collections include episodes with a linking theme, while the "DVD Collection" is a box containing the other four.

Oz: The Complete Fifth Season

-Season 5 of HBO's critically acclaimed prison series, which I have to admit that I've never seen despite it being on Showcase here in Canada. I'm afraid it always seemed to grim for my tastes.


Queer Eye for the Red Sox
- Well this at least sounds interesting. Ted, Carson and the rest of the "Fab Five" make-over - or rather try to make-over five members of the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox - Johnny Damon, Kevin Millar, Doug Mirabelli, Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield. I wonder if my brother - who is a
huge Red Sox Fan would be interested in this? I'm guessing not.

Tabitha: The Entire Series
- Another element of the hype machine for the new
Bewitched movie. About the only good thing to come out of this was Lisa Hartman who very quickly went on to bigger and better things. Fortunately so did Robert Urich who had first appeared in SWAT. Worth it only for the Bewitched completist and even then I'm not sure.

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