TV on DVD Buzz

You can pretty much find every Christmas movie and special on DVD now, so there’s no need to check the TV schedule to figure out when you can watch. They seem to show them all in November anyway, and I’m just not ready then! So I say just buy the DVD and enjoy it anytime. You may decide you have the Christmas spirit in the middle of August, right?

Here are some of my favorites. Share some of yours!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Of all the Christmas specials this was my favorite growing up. It’s hard to imagine Christmas without Rudolph! And he’s really relatively new to the Christmas scene. Did you know Rudolph didn’t really even exist in Christmas lore until 1964?

The Year Without a Santa Claus

Remember the Heat Miser? What a great villain he was. This Rankin-Bass special came out in 1974 and I’m sure I’ve seen it every year since then. But it’s got to me one of my all-time faves!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

This is where we learn that Santa had red hair before he went gray and that he sounds remarkably like Mickey Rooney when he speaks. My son, who is a redhead, is particularly fond of this one which came out in 1970.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Who doesn’t love Charlie Brown? This special from 1965 is a staple in our household. I love to watch the transformation of Charlie Brown’s lonely little Christmas tree every year.

Many of the Rankin-Bass favorites are available on DVD collections now, as Susan at RetroTV mentioned. This is the most affordable way to get all the favorites on DVD. Make sure to look for them at Amazon.com or your favorite retailer.

Tabitha was a spinoff of the beloved 1960’s series Bewitched. The series starred a pre-nose job Lisa Hartman (Knots Landing) as Tabitha Stephens, the daughter of Samantha and Darrin, who is all grown up and living in Los Angeles. The show follows her as she learns to use and control her witchcraft while working at a television station. Her younger brother, Adam (David Ankrum), in classic Darrin Stephens fashion, discourages her from using her witchcraft while Aunt Minerva (Karen Morrow) channels Endora and does just the opposite. Robert Urich stars as Tabitha’s love interest and television personality Paul Thurston and Mel Stewart plays her boss, Marvin Decker.

Although Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York (or Dick Sargent for that matter) didn’t ever show up on the series, a few actors from the original series did reprise their roles. Bernard Fox shows up as Dr. Bombay, and George Tobias and Sandra Gould  guest star as nosy neighbors Abner and Gladys Kravitz. Also guest starring are tv favorites Barry Van Dyke, Fred Willard and Werner “Col. Klink” Klemperer.

The pilot premiered on ABC on May 7, 1977 and the series debuted on September 10 of that same year. The second episode didn’t air until November 12, after which the series continued normally. It failed to perform in the ratings and was cancelled after only 12 episodes. The final episode was shown on January 14, 1978.

The DVD release includes all 12 episode plus the original, unaired pilot which starred Liberty Williams and Bruce Kimmel in the roles of Tabitha and Adam in a somewhat different setting.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Leave It To Beaver, TV Land will be running a 24 hour marathon beginning on October 6th at 8:00PM ET/PT and concluding on Sunday, October 7th at 8:00PM ET/PT. The marathon includes the rarely-seen 1957 pilot entitled “It’s a Small World.” It features Jerry Mathers as the Beaver and Barbara Billingsley as his mom, June, but cast regulars Hugh Beaumont and Tony Dow are missing. Instead you have Max Showalter (remember Grandpa Fred in Sixteen Candles?) as Ward and Paul Sullivan as Wally. Veteran comedic actor Harry Shearer (Spinal Tap, A Mighty Wind, The Simpsons) is seen in one of his very first roles as Frankie, a neighborhood tough guy.

Leave it to Beaver premiered on October 4, 1957 and ran until September 12, 1963. It was one of the first sitcoms to feature a child as a major player. It has become a staple in American households, teaching lessons to generation after generation.

As part of the celebration, TVLand.com has put up a selection of special content including Leave It To Beaver clips, a special photo gallery, and a trivia game. The original 1957 pilot and four bonus episodes chosen by TV Land.com users will also be available to watch online. In addition,  TVLand.com is giving away 100 copies of the Leave it to Beaver, Season 1 DVD. The contest will run through October 17, with winners being announced by October 24. The Season 1 DVD includes all 39 episodes from the first season plus the rarely seen pilot. Visit http://www.tvland.com/sweepstakes/beaver/ for your chance to win.

Season 9 of Seinfeld will release on November 6 and along with it a Complete Series set. Seinfeld, The Complete Series set will contain a new round-table discussion with stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards and creator Larry David, with Jerry Seinfeld as the moderator. Also included will be a 226-page Official Coffee Table Book, which was originally a gift to the cast and crew. It was recreated exclusively for the DVD release and is packed with photos and other materials about the show.

It’s no coincidence that the November 6 street date coincides with Jerry Seinfeld’s new animated feature, Bee Movie. 

Source

TV on DVD, Seinfeld, Complete Series, Bee Movie, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, Michael Richards

Hey everyone! I’ve been away for a few days on a family emergency. I’ve updated about that on my other blog - we could use some thoughts and prayers. I apologize that I haven’t updated. I wanted to quickly pop in and give you a “Fun Friday” video.

Here is the opening title sequence from The Fugitive. Season 1 released this past Tuesday, so you can now own this classic 60’s show:

TV on DVD, The Fugitive, The Fugitive Season 1 DVD, You Tube, Fun Friday

Full House. It’s sappy. It’s sweet. It’s funny. It’ll teach you some life lessons. Go ahead, admit it. It’s your guilty pleasure. When you hear that theme song and see Mary Kate (or is it Ashley?) smiling at you, you MUST sit down and watch. Maybe you’re a Full House junkie and can tell the season by Uncle Jesse’s hairdo or maybe you’re just a casual watcher. It’s hard to resist all the cuteness of this show. My kids love it today just as much as I did “back in the day”.

Now you can own season 7 for yourself and see all the touching moments like this one (when Papouli died - yes I know way too much about this show):

The zaniness of the Tanner household returns to delight viewers again when Warner Home Video releases the seventh season of the top-selling classic Full House on DVD August 7, 2007. Full House: The Complete Seventh Season will include 24 episodes from the show’s seventh season in a four-disc set, and will retail for $29.98 SRP.

TV on DVD, Full House, Mary Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Season 7, You Tube