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DVD Pick of the Week: April 24, 2007
I'm extremely excited for April 24, because that's the day one of my most anticipated titles is released. No, it's not WKRP, which is plagued with music-licensing issues. It's the BBC release of Planet Earth. This 11-episode series explores our planet like no other series has done, from the North Pole to the South Pole, it's all covered in this program. They spent $25 million and 2,000 days in the field shooting material for the program, and they did it all using high-definition cameras. Narrated by the legendary David Attenborough (the Discovery Channel version is narrated by Sigourney Weaver), this series is being released on DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD, and all formats are among the top sellers on Amazon (as of now, DVD is No. 1, HD DVD No. 8 and Blu-ray No. 19 — their list is updated hourly). The DVD set also includes a bonus program, "Planet Earth: The Future," and 110 minutes of behind-the-scenes material that isn't available on the higher-priced Blu-ray and HD DVD releases.
The long-awaited WKRP in Cincinnati Season 1 set is also coming next week, but many fans have taken it off their "must-buy" list due to the music-licensing issues that resulted in most of the original songs being replaced. I guess that's looking at the situation negatively; the upside is that Fox released a series they said wouldn't come out at all due to the music, but now fans who just want to see the episodes, no matter the form, can pick up the set and enjoy the series.
MGM is releasing the first season of Flipper — the 1960s version, not the '90s version with Jessica Alba (I'm surprised that isn't out to capitalize on her newfound stardom). The set includes all 30 Season 1 episodes, but the only extra is a trivia game.
I spent last night watching the first four episodes of Kidnapped, Sony's failed series that was cancelled after five episodes, leaving eight unaired episodes for the DVD set. Don't worry about a cliff-hanger ending: We're told the series wraps up in the final episode, titled "Resolution." It's likely the show could find more fans on DVD than it found on TV.... Could it be people are just getting sick of shows that are one continuous story?
Head over to TVShowsOnDVD.com for the complete list of April 24 releases.
Do you agree with my pick? Think it should have been something else? Post a comment and let everyone know what your favorite set is for next week, and why.
Gord
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Apr 18, 2007 12:45 PM
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I watched the first couple of episodes of kidnapped. It was ok. What did you think of it?
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Apr 18, 2007 2:33 PM
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I really wish they had aired the BBC version here in the US. My only complaint about Planet Earth is Sigourney Weaver's flat narration. JMHO. Love Weaver as an actress, but I just don't care for her narration on this show.
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Apr 18, 2007 2:33 PM
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Buffy Freak,
I've heard that complaint from a number of people. We had RA in Canada, but I missed the series when it was broadcast. Now that won't matter because I'll be able to watch it in HD using my Blu-ray player. I can't wait!
Leah_bh,
I've only seen the first 4 episodes, but I'm really enjoying Kidnapped so far. I like knowing that the series will end in episode 13. Honestly, I think the networks should consider more short-run shows instead of these marathon seasons where the premise gets stretched out way too long, and the show ends up being this tangled mess of plotlines that can't be corrected. I admire the Brits because they have short seasons, and they end shows that are popular. American television loves to drive things into the ground, then renew them for another season, or cancel shows that haven't really been given a chance.
Gord
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Apr 18, 2007 5:05 PM
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Wow. Another documentary. Not even American made. American version is changed to make it sound more American. If its British, then let it stay British. Dont go F'n around with voiceovers. It was terrible enough with Mad Max.
My pick for this week is...
NCIS- Season 3
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Apr 18, 2007 5:23 PM
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I can't get in to "Planet Earth" too much, even with an HD TV. Too much of animals hunting each other. 13 episodes of that gets to be a bit much to take.
Now Discovery Atlas is a fantastic production and I can't wait for new episodes of that!
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Apr 18, 2007 5:31 PM
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I like continuing stories like Lost, Heroes, the new series Drive and what Veronica Mars was like but there should be some action adventure suspense mystery shows that are more episodic like Magnum PI, Knight Rider, Hardcastle & McCormick and Probe on TV today. There is more than one way to make a show, just like all of these comedies going the single camera route, some is good, just don't abandon the other formats.
If I buy any TV series released this date, it will be One Day at a Time Season 1. Flipper and Moral Oral interest me though.
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Apr 18, 2007 5:50 PM
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I have a friend who is anxiously awaiting One Day At A Time ("Hi Codi, happy new year!!!" waving like an idiot), but for me, it's The Odd Couple! I am more than anxious to see the Password (Allan Ludden and Betty White) episode to come out in a future set. I have the audio from that episode (before VCRs), so I have the diolgue memorized ("Eristophanes???"). I saw the syndicated versions on one of the superstations a few years ago and it was butchered mercilessly in syndication!
I wish I could celebrate the release of WKRP, but I'm one of the uberfans who would have paid TOP prices for the original music! When Johnny Fever air-sings along with Van Morrison's "Caravan", I want to hear "Caravan"...not some prefab network-studio gar-bahjj! (The Brady-Bunch-at-the-school-dance wokka-wokka-type music will never cut it for many of us!) Fortunately, I have the originals on videotape, so the good people at Fox can suck on my vast video collection until they feel the pressure to do this series justice (hopefully by the time the full series is released, they will...since season four was the best season, anyway).
Hey Gord, have I told you lately how much I'm enjoying you at tvguide.com! Your addition to this site makes tvguide.com THE main place to come for all things TV/video! 
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Apr 19, 2007 2:37 AM
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if they had paid the righs fees, it would added about 5 bucks per set to dvd's us fans paid for them, (info from a la connection i know in tv)
THE BLAME for all this rights fees crap, belongs at the over paid, lazy fat cats at each studio, who are short sighted,,, and did not make the music rights attached to the same way they are paid for tv viewing ...
example, we are suffering through a bogus theme on married with children on dvd sets... YET on FX we get the real one...
it is time for the lazy fat cats be forward thinkers ... and when negioate stuff, make it all inclusive
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Apr 19, 2007 7:55 PM
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crmlht00,
I don't think your friend could possibly guesstimate what it would cost to license the music for WKRP. To do so would mean contacting all the companies involved and working out a deal with them, as well as knowing how many copies Fox expected to sell.
I also don't know how you'd expect studio executives in 1978 to think ahead and predict that people would want to own the series on DVD in the 2000s, so they should license music for broadcast and home video. Keep in mind VHS had only been around for a few years, and the thought of people buying these shows couldn't have been foreseen.
The good news is that many shows ARE licensing songs for broadcast and home video, though it's done on a show-by-show, and studio-by-studio basis, so we're still seeing some songs replaced on some newer shows.
Gord
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Apr 20, 2007 1:19 AM
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The shame is shows today still do not always secure these rights from the beginning and we get the same treatment.
I do find the lack of forsight debate interesting, the 60's series Prisoner can use a Beatles song because of some thoughts of the future of its promotion but other shows from that time such as Doctor Who were destroyed due to an inability to see the series worth.
WKRP could have been handled better with at least some essential music and I always though it might be easier to replace music with other cheaper but known music from the period but they went to little effort or no effort here. Given the stank about it, I reckon that it would have been better received with some of the music and a higher price up to 15-20 dollars more a set.
Would it be cheaper on the consumer for some music issues if the complete series were released at the same time in the same package?
Perhaps in some music issues, the maker of the DVDs could release a companion CD to improve the value to the consumer or would such a thing cost more money?
I think these music rights holders need to realize that hearing these songs on WKRP, China Beach, Wonder Years, American Dreams and any other such programming serve as advertisement for those songs and can inspire people to seek these things out that are no longer in the mass of public consciousness. For some it will refresh a memory for others it wil be their first exposure.
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Apr 20, 2007 10:19 AM
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It's a Catch-22. If we don't buy the DVDs, the studio will think there is no interest in WKRP and won't license the real music from the original episodes. If we do buy the DVDs, then we are stuck with substandard material and the studio can rake us over the coals for a higher priced edition in the future. So, I am just going to pretend that WKRP never existed. Otherwise it will stress me out!
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Apr 20, 2007 1:32 PM
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i think planet earth looks borning. I would not buy it even though i would look good on my big screen. I just bougght kidnapped on friday. fye was selling it early i belive it not sopose to come out till tuesday.
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Apr 22, 2007 4:57 PM
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