TV on DVD Buzz

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the documentary and reality categories.

60 Minutes Closing the Clinic - This release is a segment from the April 5, 2009 episode about a Las Vegas hospital no longer able to afford to provide as many services as it used to.

60 Minutes Dolly - This release is a segment from the April 5, 2009 episode. This segment is about Dolly Parton.

60 Minutes Torture in Iran - This release is a segment from the April 5, 2009 episode about an Iranian being tortured after participating in a political protest.

Decoding the Past: The Templar Code - This release is a History Channel documentary about the Knight’s Templar.

Frost/Nixon: Complete Interviews - This release is a two disc set of the original Frost/Nixon television interviews including a new interview with Frost.

Full Force Nature 2-Disc Set - This is a two disc set containing 12 episodes. It is also being released as two separate one disc volumes.

Gangland: The Complete Season Three - This is the third season of the History Channel series about gangs.

National Geographic: Earth Report State of the Planet 2009 - This is a National Geographic documentary about the state of Planet Earth.

Peter Mattheiessen: No Boundaries - This release is a PBS documentart on Peter Mattheiessen.

Rookies: The Complete Season One - This release is a two disc set with the 16 episodes from the first season of the show.

Seven Deadly Sins - This is a two disc set of the seven part History Channel series about the seven deadly sins.

Seven Signs of the Apocalypse - This release is a History Channel documentary about the Apocalypse.

Shadow Force: The Complete Season One - This release is a two disc set.

UFO Hunters: The Complete Season Two - This release is a four disc set with the 13 episodes from the show’s second season.

Women in the White House - This release contains History Channel documentaries about women in the White House (Presidential mothers and wives).

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the documentary and reality categories.

60 Minutes The Internet is Infected - This segment is from the March 29, 2009 episode of 60 Minutes. It focuses on the Conficker virus.

60 Minutes LeBron - This segment is also from the March 29, 2009 episode. It is a segment about LeBron, but it is not even the original segment as NBA video footage has been replaced as still photos.

60 Minutes Poisoned - This segment from the March 29, 2009 episode is about African lions being poisoned by a pesticide.

Essential Space Collection - This release contains several space themed Discovery Channel documentaries. Included in the set are “73 Worlds and Counting Space Shuttle,” “Countdown to Comeback Black Sky,” “The Race for Space Base Camp Moon Starship Orion,” and “The Future of Space Travel Space Station Live: HD.”

FBI Files Season 2 - This release is a four disc set of the show’s second season. The crime solving cases focused on in this season include sadistic serial killer in Miami, a jealous ex-girlfriend who murders her ex’s family, the “Dixie Mafia” involved in extortion and murder on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and the racially motivated .22 caliber killings in Buffalo.

Life of Ryan: Complete Series - This is a two disc set of the show’s one and only season about the life of a young prodigy skateboarder.

The Spy Factory - This is a PBS documentary about the National Security Agency and 9/11.

Top Gear 10: The Complete Season 10 - This car related BBC program includes crazy stunts and extreme car testing. This season includes amphibious cars.

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the documentary and reality categories.

60 Minutes Mr. Ayers and Mr. Lopez - This March 22, 2009 60 Minutes segment is about a music and mental illness.

60 Minutes President Obama - This March 22, 2009, 60 Minutes segment is an interview with Obama the first two months of his presidency.

Animal Atlas: Animals and Us - Not exactly sure what episodes of the show this release includes, but it sounds like it has three to four episodes of the show.

Animal Atlas: Animal Mysteries - Also, do not know much about this release, but probably three to four episodes of the show.

Backyard Cookin’: Season One - This release is a two disc set with 12 episodes with recipes for backyard barbecue entertaining.

Cook Like a Chef: Season One Volume 1 - This release includes 20 episodes of the cooking show.

Garden Architecture: Season One - This release has the 11 episodes from season 1. The show includes many tips for making outdoor spaces that are good looking and functional.

House of Saddam - This is a two disc release with the four episodes of this mini series that documents the life of Saddam Hussein from peasant to leader of Iraq.

One Garden, Two Looks: Season One - This release contains the 11 episodes that make up this show’s first season. The show is about horticulturist Charlie Dobbin and design consultant Denis Flanagan creating different garden makeovers that go with the personal style of the owners.

The Power of Good - This HBO documentary is about Sir Nicholas George Winton MBE, who saved 669 children from NAZI occupied Czechoslovakia by bringing them to Britain.

Sugar: Season One Volume 1 - This two disc set includes 20 episodes of the show hosted by a pastry chef.

Taste of Life: Season Three - This release is a two disc set with 17 episodes of the culinary travel type show.

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the documentary and reality category.

60 Minutes Alice Waters - This release is from the March 15, 2009 episode. It is about Alice Waters and her views of fresh seasonal food.

60 Minutes The Chairman - This releases is a segment from the March 15, 2009 episode. It is an interview with Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke about the economy.

The Big Energy Gamble - This NOVA program looks at Calfornia’s dramatic and controversial energy program.

Deadliest Catch: Season 4 - This release is of the fourth season of the Discovery Channel show about fishermen in the Bering Sea. The 16 episodes from this season are in this five disk set.

Iditarod: Toughest Race on Earth - This is a two disc set about the Iditarod dog sled race. The bonus features include the Expedition Alaska documentary. This is also being released in Blu-Ray format.

Right Amerca: Feeling Wronged Some Voices From the Campaign Trail - This is a HBO documentary about the conservative Americans and how they feel alienated with Obama becoming President. By the way I think the film maker is Nancy Pelosi’s daughter. This is one of Amazon’s on demand DVD-Rs, which have been known to not work in all DVD players and often only work in play only DVD players (i.e. not computers or DVD recorders).

UFC: The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 Team Mir vs. Team Nogueira - This release contains the whole eighth season along with hours of bonus features.

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the reality and documentary category.

20 Years of BBC Singer of the World in Cardiff - This release contains the performances of all 10 of the competition winners as well as a documentary about the competition.

Armageddon: Exploring the Doomsday Myth - This History Channel documentary looks at doomsday predictions. Episodes included are “Doomsday 2012: The End of Days,” “Mayan Doomsday,” “Doomsday Tech” and “More Doomsday Tech.”

Automobiles: 1955 Chevrolet - This History Channel documentary is about the 1955 Chevrolet.

Automobiles: 1968 Mustang - This is a History Channel documentary about the 1968 Mustang.

Automobiles: 1969 Plymouth Fury - This documentary is about the 1969 Plymouth Fury.

Automobiles: 1975 Firebird - This History Channel documentary is about the 1975 Firebird.

Automobiles: 1985 Buick Grand National - This History Channel documentary is about the 1985 Buick Grand National.

Automobiles: 1988 IROC-Z Camaro - This release is a documentary about the 1988 IROC-Z Camaro.

Automobiles: Honda-NSX - This is a History Channel documentary about the Honda-NSX.

Automobiles: Italian Style Ferrari & Alfa Romeo - This is a History Channel release about Ferrari and Alfa Romeo cars as race cars.

Automobiles: Mercedes-Benz SL - This is a History Channel documentary about the Mercedes-Benz SL.

Automoblies: Sports Cars - This History Channel documentary looks into the history of sports cars from the beginning of automobile history to more recent times.

The Bielski Brothers - This is a History Channel documentary about Jewish Russian brothers that helped save other Jews during World War II.

Evolve - This is a four disc set of 11 episodes of the History Channel series about evolution.

George Bush: A President’s Story - This is an A&E biography of George Bush.

The Great Depression - This release is a four part series about the Great Depression.

Honor Deferred - This is a History Channel documentary about seven African Americans being awarded the Medal of Honor more than fifty years after World War II.

Hunting Hitler - This documentary looks at the attempt to kill Hitler that came the closest to success.

Investigating History: Lincoln Man or Myth - This is one of the many Lincoln documentaries from the History Channel.

The Kennedys: An American Family Megaset - This megaset is an eight disc set of History Channel documentaries related to the Kennedys.

Lincoln: The Untold Stories - This is another Lincoln documentary from the History Channel. This one uses the source of William Herndon, who originally talked to over 250 people that knew Lincoln to make a biography, but never actually wrote the biography.

Man, Moment, Machine: Lincoln and the Flying Spying Machine - This is a History Channel documentary release.

Mega Disasters: East Coast Tsunami - This documentary looks at what would happen if a Tsunami hit the east coast of the United States.

Mega Disasters: Earthquake in the Heartland - This documentary is about the historic New Madrid earthquake and looks at the possibility of a future earthquake in the U.S. heartland.

Mega Disasters: The San Francisco Earthquake - This is documentary looks at the historic San Francisco earthquake and why it could happen again.

Mega Disasters: Tornado Alley - This History Channel documentary is about an F-5 tornado hitting Dallas. I believe it is a fictional hypothetical type show about what is expected to happen if such a thing occurred.

Modern Marvels: Desert Tech - This History Channel documentary is about transforming the desert into a place humans can live.

Modern Marvels: Earthmovers The Power to Move Mountains - This documentary is about earthmovers.

Modern Marvels: Ice Breakers - This History Channel documentary looks at ice breakers with a focus on the Great Lakes and the Northwest Passage.

Modern Marvels: Racetrack Tech - This is another release of the Modern Marvels show.

NOVA: Is There Life on Mars? - This PBS documentary is about the latest science related to if there is life on Mars.

Planet Earth, Vol. 3: Great Plains/Jungles/Shallow Seas - This release contains the episodes relating to the “Great Plains,” “Jungles,” and “Shallow Seas.”

Planet Earth, Vol. 4: Seasonal Forests/Ocean Deep - This release contains the “Seasonal Forests” and “Ocean Deep” episodes.

Slave Catchers, Slave Resisters - This History Channel documentary is about slave catchers and slave resisters. It seems the resisters/abolitionists have been portrayed a lot, but the side of the slave catcher is rarely seen, which makes this sound like an unique documentary.

Street Racing: The Need for Speed - This A&E documentary looks at the illegal street racing in Toronto.

Ultimate Collections: World War II - This is a 10 disc set of WWII documentaries from the History Channel. The documentaries include “World War II: The War in Europe,” “World War II: The War in the Pacific,” “Biography: General Douglas MacArthur: Return of a Legend,” “Okinawa: The Final Battle,” “Empires of Industry: War Planes of WWII,” “Nuremberg: Tyranny on Trial,” and “Great Blunders of World War II.”

Urban Legends: The Complete Season One - This release contains 15 episodes of the show along with 45 mini myths as a bonus feature.

Vampire Secrets - This History Channel documentary goes deeper into the past than just Dracula to the vampire folk tales.

World War I: The Great War - This is a four disc set of History Channel documentaries on World War I.

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the documentary/reality category.

60 Minutes Eyewitness - This Amazon on demand DVD release is of a segment from the March 8, 2009, episode of 60 Minutes. This segment is about how eyewitnesses are not always right. It uses an example of a 1984 rape case that sent an innocent man to jail for 11 years until DNA evidence proved his innocence.

60 Minutes Your Bank Has Failed - This is another segment from the March 8, 2009 episode of 60 Minutes. This segment is about what happens when banks fail and how the FDIC steps in.

Best Evidence - This release is of six episodes of Investigation Discovery looking into controversial mysteries. The episodes include “TWA Flight 800,” “Big Foot,” “Chemical Contrails,” “John Wayne’s Death,” “The Roswell Incident,” and “Cattle Mutilations.”

Critter Quest! - This release contains three episodes from the Smithsonian Network. The episodes are “Creepy Crawlers Everywhere,” “Season of Change,” and “The Wild Side of D.C.”

Living With the Wolfman Season 1 - This season is about the Wolfman and his fiancee getting used to the Wolfman’s wolf family.

Renovation Nation: Recycle, Reuse and Reclaim - This is a 2 DVD set of the show on the Planet Green channel.

Renovation Nation: Save Water, Save Money - This is another 2 DVD set release of the Planet Green channel show.

The Very Best of Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan - I am not really sure what is on this release other than what is supposedly the best episodes of the Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan and that it has a run time of 109 minutes.

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the reality and documentary category.

60 Minutes Bobby Jindal - This segment from the March 1, 2009, episode is about Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal perhaps being the the person to reinvigorate the Republican party.

60 Minutes The Man Who Knew - This is one of the 12 minute segments from the March 1, 2009 episode. This segment is about Harry Markopolos trying to blow the whistle on Bernie Madoff’s hedge fund fraud only hours after it happened and it going ignored.

60 Minutes The War Next Door - This is another 12 minute segment from the March 1, 2009 episode. This part is about the war between the Mexican government and the drug cartels.

Alzheimer’s Disease: Facing the Facts - This is a PBS documentary about Alzheimer’s disease.

The F Word Series Two - This release is of the second season of the show that has Chef Gordon Ramsay challenging amateur cooks to feed the diners at his new restaurant. This season includes competitions, cross country travels, celebrity cook offs, and easy gourmet dishes you can make at home in minutes. This is an uncensored show. Celebrity guest diners in this season include Nick Knowles, Kathy Burke, Jeremy Clarkson, Janet Street-Porter, and David Walliams.

Frontline: Shtetl - This documentary is about the small town world of Polish Jews and how the Holocaust brought them to an end. It includes looks at stories of Polish rescuers of Jews, Treblinka, and the history of the Polish Jewish relations.

Ghost Hunters: Season 4 Part 2 - This is a four disc collector’s DVD set of the show about the TAPS team looking into paranormal activity from coast to coast. This release includes incidents at a sanitarium, on a haunted United States Navy ship, and a plantation.

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the reality and documentary categories.

60 Minutes The Drinking Age - This a 12 minute segment of the February 22, 2009, episode of 60 Minutes. This segment is about lowering the drinking age to 18. It includes both the for and against side with college presidents being for lowering it and the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) group being against it.

60 Minutes The Mascot - This is a 12 minute segment from the February 22, 2009, episode of 60 Minutes. This segment is about a Jewish boy being used by the Nazis as a sort of Nazi mascot.

60 Minutes Kidnapped in Basra - This is the third 12 minute segment from the February 22, 2009, episode of 60 minutes. This segment is about the CBS News cameraman kidnapped in Basra, Iraq, and his experience as a hostage for three months.

Jesus: The Missing History - This is a Discovery Channel documentary. It includes a special feature called Biblical Mysteries Explained. The documentary itself seems to be mostly about the years missing from the biblical accounts of Jesus’ life.

NOVA: Fractals Hunting the Hidden Dimension - This PBS documentary is about fractal geometry. Honestly, it sounds like one of the more dense documentaries, but I am sure there is an audience that likes this type of thing.

Samantha Brown’s Passport to Great Weekends: Season 1 - This release contains the 18 episodes from the first season of this show about weekend getaways in such locations as D.C., Orlando, New Orleans, a Dude Ranch, Myrtle Beach, Santa Fe, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Cape Cod, Paris, Tuscany, London, Miami, Las Vegas, Cabo, New Hampshire, and Austin.

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the reality and documentary categories.

60 Minutes World of Trouble - This is an Amazon DVD print on demand release of one of the 12 minute segments from the February 15, 2009 episode of 60 Minutes. This segment is about World Savings and the economic crisis ruining them or something like that.

60 Minutes “Buy American” - This is another 12 minute segment from the February 15, 2009, episode. This segment is about the Nucor Steel company lobbing for the buy American clause in the economic stimulus package and the possibility of other countries blocking American goods.

60 Minutes The War in Pakistan - This is also a 12 minute segment from the February 15, 2009 episode.

Body in Numbers - This is a Discovery Channel documentary with a subtitle of Life’s Mysteries Decoded.

NFL Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers Champions - The DVD version of this came out on February 24, 2009. On March 3, 2009 the Blu-Ray version is being released as an Amazon exclusive. This is a highlight reel of the Steelers season leading up and through winning the Super Bowl XLIII. It includes high definition footage of the entire 4th quarter of the Week 14 game vs. the Cowboys.

Ocean Animal Emergency - This is a NOVA documentary about sea animal emergencies and rescuing them.

Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares - This is a two disc set. The special features include production notes and a biography of Gordon Ramsey. I think this is Series 1 of the show, which has been released on DVD before as part of Volume 1 of the show, but that seems to be no longer available.

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the documentary, reality and sports category.

2009 Allstate Sugar Bowl Utah vs. Alabama - This release contains the commercial free version of this college football bowl game.

2009 BCS National Championship Game DVD Florida vs. Oklahoma - This release contains the National Championship game for 2009 for college football in its commercial free entirety. It is also supposed to have some special features. Florida won the game 24-14 winning for the second time in the past three years.

2009 Cotton Bowl DVD Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech - This release is of the Cotton Bowl college football bowl game in its entirety without commercials.

2009 FedEx Orange Bowl Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati - This DVD contains the Orange Bowl college football game.

2009 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Texas vs. Ohio State - This release is of the Tostitoes Fiesta Bowl college football game in 2009.

The f Word Series One - This release is of the BBC show featuring Gordon Ramsey. In this reality show the chef rates other chef’s based on how many customers pay for the food at the end of the day. The customers pay base on how much they liked the food (the f word) and do not pay if it is bad.

Food Paradise - This release is a two disc set of episodes of this Travel Channel show including the best beef, fried food, and pizza joints.

NOVA: Alien from Earth - This release contains the almost hour special originally aired on PBS. This documentary is about an early human form that is also referred to as hobbit.

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the documentary/non-fiction category.

3rd Annual World Salsa Championship - This release is in two volume with each volume being released separately on the same day.

60 Minutes No Peace Deal - This is one of the rip off releases with a segment from the January 25, 2009 episode.

60 Minutes Presents: Obama: All Access Barack Obama’s Road to the White House - This is actually not a rip off 60 Minutes release. Most of the releases seem to be 12 minute segments of the show, but this one is supposed to have a run time of 225 minutes, so not bad for its current Amazon price of $16.99.

60 Minutes - Wine RX - This is another rip off release with just one 12 minute segment from the January 25, 2009 episode.

60 Minutes - “The Winter of Our Hardship” - Yet another on of the rip off releases of a 12 minute segment from the January 25, 2009 episode.

Chihuly in the Hotshop - This is a PBS documentary related to glass making.

The Inauguration of Barack Obama on CNN - This is a two hour disc of the Inauguration. I assume it will be pretty much as they showed it on CNN with nothing added. It is also one of the weird DVD-R Amazon on demand made releases, which I have heard some people have had problems viewing.

Kennedy: The Complete Series - This is a two disc set containing the whole mini series that looked mostly at the presidential years of the Kennedys.

Living with the Mek - This is a two disc set of the show that originally aired on the Travel Channel.

New Detectives Season 1-2 - This is a four disc set containing seasons 1 and 2 of the Discovery Channel series that looked at real life forensics and crime solving. It contains 16 episodes.

Over Arizona - This is the PBS documentary that tells about Arizona while showing footage taken from the air. There are also several other episodes in this series being released the same day including Over Alaska, Over California, Over Florida, and Over New England.

Rona Barrett’s Hollywood: Nothing But the Truth - This includes celebrity interviews done by Rona Barrett in the 1970s.

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the documentary category.

60 Minutes The Price of Oil - This is one of this week’s releases of the January 11, 2009 60 Minutes episode. This one is about the change in oil prices and how Wall Street affects the price of oil more than the Arabians.

60 Minutes The Chairman - This is the other release of one of the segments from the January 11, 2009 episode of 60 Minutes. This episode is about the military changes related to the transition from the Bush to Obama administration and how to pull out of Iraq, as Obama says he will do.

NOVA: Arctic Dinosaurs - This is a PBS documentary about the warm blooded creatures of the Cretaceous period. It focuses on the dinosaurs that roamed the colder areas of the Earth, i.e. the polar regions. The documentary features computer generated imagery.

NOVA: Columbia - Space Shuttle Disaster - This PBS documentary is about the Columbia disaster in 2003. It looks at the human and design errors relating to the disaster. It includes looking at how it could have been avoided, how some tried to warn their could be a disaster, and how the Columbia crew might have been saved if the warnings had been heeded.

NOVA: Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives - This PBS documentary is about Mark Oliver Everett trying to understand parallel worlds while also unraveling the story of his troubled family and his father, Hugh Everett, a quantum physicist, who he never really knew because he died when Mark was young. Mark Oliver Everett is also known as the lead singer of the EELS.

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the documentary category.

60 Minutes Mind Reading - This is a simple release of a 60 Minutes segment on mind reading with the help of MRI. Way overpriced at $17.95 for a 12 minute segment.

60 Minutes Is it Murder? - Yet, another overpriced 60 Minutes release of just a segment of the show. By the way it is part of the same show as the above segment. Why do not they just release the whole episode? Does anyone really buy these segments? This one is about drunk driving.

60 Minutes The Mad Scientist of Football - Also, from the January 4, 2009 episode this segment is about coach of the Texas Tech University football team.

Abraham Lincoln-His Life & Legacy - This is a four disc set of History Channel documentaries relating to Abraham Lincoln. The included documentaries are Lincoln, Investigating History: Lincoln: Man or Myth, Man, Moment, Machine: Lincoln and the Flying Spying Machine, Conspiracy?: Lincoln Assassination, High Tech Lincoln, Sherman’s March, and The Hunt for John Wilkes Booth.

e2 Transport - This is a PBS documentary about alternative energy being used for transportation. I have seen the e2 Design documentary release and that one was pretty interesting, so I expect this one is just as good. This release is a six chapter series with each chapter being 30 minutes long.

Killing Hitler - This is a documentary drama about a British plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. It was originally aired as a BBC movie.

Meerkat Manor Season 4 - This release contains the episodes from the fourth season of the series that documents the life of a real meerkat family. It is a two disc set.

The Trials of Ted Haggard - This is a HBO documentary about Pastor Ted.

Here is this week’s edition for TV on DVD Releases in the documentary category.

60 Minutes The Road to the White House - This release looks back at the different Obama footage from different 60 Minutes episodes. This particular release seems to be a rare one that is almost a reasonable length at 45 minutes compared to most that are marked as less than 15 minutes. Also, this is a full broadcast edition episode that was done on December 28, 2008, and not just a plain compilation, as it may sound like.

Biography Barack Obama Inaugural Edition DVD - This release is an updated version following his life from the time of his childhood in Hawaii through to him being elected as President of the United States.

Haunted Histories Collection: Dracula, Witches, Voodoo, and Exorcism - This is a five DVD set of History Channel shows. It includes “Bloodlines: The Dracula Family Tree,” “Exorcism: Driving Out the Devil,” “Witch Hunt,” “Exorcising the Devil,” and “Voodoo Secrets.”

Jurassic Fight Club Season One - This is not exactly a normal documentary series, but documentary seems to be the best genre to classify it as. This is a 4 disc set that contains all 12 episodes from season one.

MonsterQuest Season Two - This release contains the 20 episodes from the second season of the show along with some bonus features.

Primal Fear - This is a documentary about human fears.

Secrets of Body Language - This release is a History Channel documentary about human communication through body language.

Simon Schama’s The American Future: A History - This is a BBC documentary about the conflicts of America’s history to bring to context the current issues and the future. It appears it focus on the faith aspect of the history.

The White House: Behind Closed Doors - This History Channel documentary is the first time cameras were invited in to produce a in depth television tour since Jacqueline Kennedy invited cameras inside the White House in 1962.