DVD Guy

With the success of Samantha Who? and the return of a new season of Lost, it looks like Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is digging up new season-set DVDs of older shows featuring stars Christina Applegate and Matthew Fox!

Both DVD releases are slated for different Tuesdays in late March.


First up is the March 18th release of Married... with Children - The Complete 8th Season. The 3-DVD set will contain 26 half-hour episodes, and you can get more information at TVShowsOnDVD.com. The seventh season (there are eleven total) came to home video this past September.

Then, on March 25th, Sony is planning to release Party of Five - The Complete 3rd Season. This is a huge thing for fans of the show, since the last DVD release was way back in December 2005, and many had given up hope of seeing the rest of the six-season run of the show! But in less than three months we'll all be able to get our hands on a 6-disc set featuring 25 hour-long episodes from the third year. Again, you can get further details at TVShowsOnDVD.

That includes a larger look at the cover art for each one, shown above-right. These pictures are early and subject to change...as is the release info, as the studio hasn't posted their official announcements yet for either one. No worries, though...we've got the beans, and we're spillin' 'em!

Wow, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has just handed out a heckuva great New Years' Eve gift: the long-awaited details, release date and box art for Battlestar Galactica - Season 3 just became available within the past hour!

The street date is March 25th, for the entire season of 20 episodes in a 6-DVD package. One of the episodes, "Unfinished Business", will have an exclusive version on this DVD release, including 25 minutes of never-before-seen footage! That's just part of 15 hours worth of bonus material, which includes Deleted Scenes, Podcasts and Behind-the- Scenes Featurettes. The cost will be $59.98 SRP.

We've got a larger look at the package over at TVShowsOnDVD.com!

Over at TVShowsOnDVD.com (a TVGuide.com website), Gord Lacey and myself never take a break: TV-on-DVD news gets posted every single day!

That includes weekends and holidays, of course, so yesterday we offered up some special news as a Christmas Day gift to everyone. In case you missed them, here are the highlights:


     · Early Edition (Kyle Chandler) DVDs are Planned for Summer 2008

     · Evening Shade (Burt Reynolds) is also coming to DVD this Summer

     · Remastered Season Sets for the Bill Cosby/Robert Culp series I, Spy

     · The 1st Season of Mannix is finally on the way to DVD early this June!



Don't forget to visit TVShowsOnDVD daily for more news, info and reviews, and to vote for which programs you want to buy on DVD.

Is YOUR favorite TV show on DVD?

With Christmas Day in just 10 days, it's difficult to figure out what to get for some people. You might have that teenage daughter of a good friend, or the ten-year-old nephew you just aren't sure what he's into any more. A coworker you want to show appreciation to, but just aren't sure what their hobbies are. That "one more extra" gift for a parent or grandparent to be sure you've gotten them enough somethings to show just how much you care (not that they don't know already, of course).

In the past couple of years, DVD board games have become a big industry, especially those based on game shows. And I've not only collected a fair chunk of these (they're a great way to spend family game night!), but I've found that they make great gifts for folks of all ages, too. And many of them are less than $20-$25.

I'm sure that there's a few I've missed, but below I've collected a list of 17 TV-themed DVD Board Games that are new (or at least, new to me) since last Christmas. You can click on the title and purchase them from Amazon.com (or one of Amazon's "marketplace" sellers), or else you can probably find these in your local department, electronic, toy, or videogame stores. My list includes such popular current primetime TV game shows as Deal or No Deal, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader and The Singing Bee, classics like Jeopardy, Concentration and Press Your Luck, and other TV-show related games based on hot shows for the kids: Hannah Montana, Ben 10, Scooby-Doo (yes, still popular!) and of course games based on both Disney Channel original films High School Musical (both "1" and "2"):


     · 1 vs. 100 DVD Game
     · Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? DVD Game
     · Ben 10 DVD Game
     · Concentration DVD Game
     · Deal or No Deal DVD Game
     · Family Feud 3rd Edition DVD Game
     · Family Feud Movie-Questions DVD Game
     · Hannah Montana DVD Game
     · High School Musical 2 DVD Board Game
     · High School Musical DVD Board Game
     · Jeopardy DVD Game Base System
     · Planet Earth DVD Board Game
     · Press Your Luck DVD Game
     · Scooby-Doo! DVD Board Game
     · Singing Bee DVD Game
     · Wallace & Gromit DVD Game
     · Who Wants to be a Millionaire? DVD Game



Do you not see enough good choices in the above list for everyone on YOUR list? Here are 23 more titles, from previous years, to give you a total of 40 possibilities (and hopefully cover all of your bases!):

     · $100,000 Pyramid DVD Game
     · 24 DVD Board Game
     · Amazing Race DVD Board Game
     · American Chopper DVD Board Game
     · E!'s "Pop!-A-Razzi" Celebrity Trivia DVD Game
     · Family Feud 2nd Edition DVD Game
     · Family Guy DVD Blast!
     · Let's Make A Deal DVD game
     · Lilo & Stitch's Island of Adventures DVD Board Game
     · Match Game DVD Game
     · Name That Tune 80's Edition DVD Board Game
     · Newlywed Game DVD Game
     · Password DVD Game
     · Price Is Right DVD Game
     · Scene It? The DVD Game - Deluxe NBC's "Friends" TV Edition
     · Scene It? The DVD Game - HBO Expansion Pack
     · Scene It? The DVD Game - TV Edition: Deluxe Tin
     · Scene It? The DVD Game - TV Edition: Travel Version
     · Scene It? The DVD Game - Warner TV 50th Ann. Expansion Pack
     · Shout About TV! Volume 1
     · Shout About TV! Volume 2
     · SpongeBob SquarePants: Fact or Fishy? Trivia DVD Board Game
     · Survivor DVD Blast!



I hope this has been helpful! For over 10 years I managed a retail store, so I know how hard it can be to cruise the malls during this time of year looking for the right gift for everyone on your list. Gift cards are a great plan, but you always want to give folks something physical, don't you? So many people love television shows, and giving them a home version of a show they like - or probably like - is usually a can't-miss present! And many of these are great to play solo or with a crowd...and they might be perfect for that New Year's Eve party you're planning, too. Have fun!

Burt Reynolds as B.L. Stryker.

George Peppard as Banacek.

Two tough guys playing classic TV sleuths, and both have new DVD releases coming out in early 2008.

They're part of the TV Guide Presents lineup of classic TV-on-DVD releases!


Arts Alliance America (previously Hart Sharp Video) has released several titles in their series of "TV Guide Presents" DVD packages: the second season of Scott Baio's Charles In Charge (Universal released the first season), the complete run of The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, our own Trapped In TV Guide series from the TV Guide Channel, and the first season of Banacek (starring George Peppard of The A-Team).

Early in 2008 they'll conclude Banacek with the second and final season, and begin the two-season run of B.L. Stryker with a DVD release soon after! Here's the skinny:

     · Banacek - The 2nd Season arrives on January 22nd. The final 8 episodes run 576 minutes. Each episode ran in a 90-minute time slot when first broadcast, and these particular installments included guest stars like Gary Lockwood, Anne Baxter, Jim Davis, Cesar Romero, John Saxon, Harry Carey Jr., Anne Francis, Tim O'Connor, Pamela Hensley, Linda Evans, Dick Van Patten, Jayne Kennedy, Sterling Hayden, Victoria Principal, Pat Harrington Jr. and Gretchen Corbett! Cost is $29.95 list price, but you can pre-order it from Amazon at a terrific discount.

     · B.L. Stryker - The Complete 1st Season is coming in February. The studio shows an official street date of Feb. 26th, even though Amazon's pre-order listing currently shows 2/5 instead (no worries; that will surely be updated soon). Running time is 414 minutes for 5 episodes, which originally were broadcast in a two-hour time slot. The suggested list price is $29.95 (but as before, you can pay less if you pre-purchase it from Amazon using the provided link). Stars Burt Reynolds, Ossie Davis and Rita Moreno are joined by guests which include Abe Vigoda, Kristy Swanson, Helen Shaver, famous model/photographer Bunny Yeager, Deborah Raffin, Ted McGinley, Maureen Stapleton, Jack Gilford, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Neil Patrick Harris and Michael Chiklis.


People often think of Burt Reynolds as mostly a film star, except perhaps for his '90s series Evening Shade. But he's been a regular in a number of shows prior to that, beginning with the 1959 Darren McGavin program Riverboat, then continuing with his long-running role of "Quint" on Gunsmoke, and after that playing the leading roles as police Detectives in Hawk (during the mid-'60s) and Dan August (in the early '70s). And all of that was prior to making it really big in the movies with Fuzz, Deliverance, The Longest Yard, Smokey and the Bandit, Semi-Tough, Hooper and others.

B.L. Stryker was Reynolds' 1989 return to the role of a television detective, with each episode running two hours (including commercials). It was part of ABC's attempt to duplicate the success of the '70s-long run of the "NBC Mystery Movie" lineup (with different "feature length" crime drama shows rotating in the same scheduled slot). B.L. Stryker ran a dozen episodes in all: five during the first season, and seven more in the second.

We'll be glad to see both shows once again, thanks to these DVDs, and we know you will be, too!

Post-series reunion projects are nothing new. As an example, Gilligan's Island famously had several projects following the show's cancellation from prime time, including two different Filmation cartoons (the second took the castaways to outer space!), and several reunion telefilms including one showing them getting rescued and then re-stranded on the SAME island, another where they get rescued again and turn the island into a resort, and a third with evil scientists (Martin Landau & Barbara Bain) threatening the island resort, and the Harlem Globetrotters have to compete against robot basketball players to save the day.

Wow, post-series reunion efforts have come a long way!

Actually, I'm a bit fond of the aforementioned Gilligan productions, in a cheesy, nostalgic kind of way. But these days there are many reasons (including the internet community's watchful eye) for these projects to stick closer to the concepts which made the original franchise popular in the first place.

Not that Gilligan didn't try to stick close to home, in a way. Wacky plots were always a staple of the show, after all. Plus there's always the very real fact that the writers are expected to crank things up a notch somehow, to justify the reunion and to regain the interest of fans who may have wandered off (leading to lower ratings that resulted in the show's cancellation in the first place). It's easy to crank things up when the new project is on the silver screen: Star Trek films (and Firefly's film, Serenity) begin with higher production values including very polished special effects, more detailed models, grittier plots, etc. Sometimes you can simply do something in the theater that you couldn't do on TV, like the Get Smart big-screen effort The Nude Bomb (not that there ended up being much actual nudity in that film, but the whole plot was a tad more suggestive that you could get on the tube back in those days).

Then again, other shows had post-series reunion telefilms that stuck much closer to the heart of what fans were looking for: Gunsmoke, The Rockford Files, Little House on the Prairie, Columbo, Alien Nation, Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, Spenser: For Hire and even The Dukes of Hazzard.

More recently the cable/satellite and DVD markets have opened up new vistas for these post-series reunions. In some cases there are direct-to-DVD features, like last week's fun release of Futurama: Bender's Big Score. There's a great sequence at the beginning where Prof. Farnsworth informs the staff of Planet Express that they've all been fired...for two years now, because they had been canceled by the "morons at the delivery service" that is slyly referred to in the feature as "The Box Network" (note the defective sign that turns the "B" into an "F"). Before anyone has a chance to clean out their desks, though, Farnsworth gets a call saying that they were "back on the air" (he indicates their spaceship) because the "idiots" who had canceled the crew of Planet Express were, themselves, fired. And then beaten up ("and pretty badly, too"). And then...well, find out for yourself! Futurama fans will love the DVD; my entire family enjoyed it together the other day. It's the first of four planned direct-to-DVD Futurama features, inspired by the huge success of the TV-DVDs of the four seasons which aired on Fox. Next up is Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs, and tentative titles for the other two are Bender's Game and The Wild Green Yonder. When all four are complete, they will be "chopped up" into television episodes, to air on Comedy Central as a "fifth season" of the show.

Another recent program to get some direct-to-DVD releases will be Stargate SG-1, which left viewers hanging when the show stopped production after 10 seasons. The arc of stories featuring the aliens known as The Ori was never finished, but fans will get their conclusion with the March 11th DVD release of Stargate SG-1 - The Ark of Truth. And if that's not enough for you, then be prepared for the Fall 2008 release of Stargate SG-1 - Continuum on DVD, featuring the return of a long-running villain: the Goa'uld System Lord Ba'al. He's plotting to use time travel to prevent the SG-1 team from ever being formed, thereby restoring the Goa'uld to their glory. Sure it sounds like a rather familiar plot, but we'll have to see how well they carry it off.

Adrian Paul's role of Highlander Duncan MacLeod continues to get a workout on his quest to be "the one". After the syndicated series ended in '98, Duncan appeared with Conner MacLeod (Christopher Lambert; no relation to this writer) in the 2000 feature film Highlander: Endgame. But things didn't end there for Duncan; he's gotten back together with series characters Methos and Joe Dawson on a new quest: Sci-Fi Channel's airing last September of Highlander: The Source. Originally planned as the fifth theatrical movie, it has instead become the first of three planned new cable films continuing Duncan MacLeod's story. Just the other day it was announced that Highlander: The Source would come to DVD on February 26th.

It's this sort of climate that encourages producers to keep on doing "just one more" for the fans. Ricky Gervais created (and starred in) the U.K. version of The Office, which led to the USA version of the show. Although the British program was quite successful, Gervais and co-creator Stephen Merchant ended it after two seasons (well, in the U.K. they use the word "series" to indicate what we call a "season"). Why so soon? Gervais has been quoted as saying that he feels that his shows shouldn't go on longer than that, because "more would dilute the quality". He's applied that same philosophy to his recent HBO/BBC production Extras, concluding it after two seasons as well. However, he kept having ideas for more, but rather than do a third season, he's decided to instead opt for a Christmas Special they are calling Extras - Extra Special Series Finale. The 80-minute (some sources say 90-minute) production guest stars David Tennant (rumored to be "in costume" as Doctor Who), Clive Owen (Sin City) and singer George Michael, among others. HBO airs it on December 16th (in the U.K. the BBC broadcasts it Christmas Day), and then it comes to DVD on January 15th as part of the Extras - The Complete Series Gift Set.

Yes, we've come a long way since The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island. Or...have we? Tell us what YOU think!

ROSE, CAPTAIN JACK, MARTHA, AND "THE BRIDE": 4 COMPANIONS FOR DOCTOR WHO, ALL TO BE SEEN IN SEASON 4!

PLUS THE 5TH DOCTOR, KYLIE MINOGUE ON THE TITANIC, AGATHA CHRISTIE, THE OOD...AND A YEAR'S BREAK (OF SORTS) AFTER IT ALL?

JUST WHAT'S GOING ON WITH WHO?


Since the return of Doctor Who to television, interest in the franchise here in North America has never been higher. Even compared to back when Tom Baker and his long scarf roamed the cosmos as the Fourth Doctor, during the original run of the show.

Now THAT was a run! From 1963 to 1989, for 26 years Doctor Who was on the air. Guinness shows it as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world, and when you add the 1996 Paul McGann telefilm and the new version of the show into the mix, you're closing in on 30 years of science fiction. Which is about as much as Star Trek in all its incarnations (another huge favorite of mine, incidentally). Both have around 730-ish productions under their belts, depending on whom you ask (and how they count the various productions).

For the original run of Doctor Who, there were usually anywhere from 2 to 6 "episodes" per story, or serial, and over the course of 26 years there were 159 stories made with the first seven Doctors. 66 of those stories are either out on DVD in North America, or already scheduled for release sometime between now and the first of April. Of the 93 serials unrepresented on DVD, many of the early ones may never come out because at the BBC, many years ago, a lot of storage tapes were erased for re-use, despite that a few of them were the only recorded copies of early Doctor Who stories! For the same reason, about a dozen of the 66 "released" are only partially represented on DVD, with some of the episodes in the story but not all of them. Still, we Who fanatics will take everything we can get!

Last Friday, Nov. 23rd, saw the 44th anniversary of Doctor Who's original 1963 debut in the story best known as "An Unearthly Child". Unfortunately, the day prior to that, while many of us folks in the States were busy eating turkey and ham, watching football, and hanging out with family and/or friends, original Who producer Verity Lambert passed away. The 71-year-old (no relation to this writer) helmed the series as the youngest producer at the BBC of that time, and was weeks away from being honored with a lifetime achievement award at the "Women in Film and Television Awards". It's an understatement to say that she'll certainly be missed.

On the other hand, there are bright things on the horizon for the Doctor, and Verity would surely be pleased to know that he's carrying on so well. Just a couple of weeks ago the 5th Doctor (Peter Davison) met the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) in "Time Crash", a Children In Need special written by Steven Moffat, which did huge numbers in the U.K. ratings. Here's to hoping that this, and previous charity specials featuring Doctor Who (including Rowan Atkinson's "Curse of Fatal Death" Comic Relief turn) all make their way to the USA at some point!

The franchise is running strong: the current version of Doctor Who, plus spin-offs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, are all doing nicely. Sarah Jane is apparently a record-breaker over at the Children's BBC ("CBBC") channel in the U.K., where episodes air immediately following their original BBC-1 appearance. I'm still waiting for that program to make a showing in the US (though Canada gets it starting this January), but in the meantime I can be pleased that Torchwood debuts on DVD with its first season set release on Jan. 22nd! That's the same month that the second year of episodes begins to air on BBC-2 and on BBC America (the latter's debut is scheduled for January 26, 9:00pm ET/PT). During the coming season of Torchwood, you'll see Who companion Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) make appearances in 3 episodes, alongside show star John Barrowman (who plays former Who companion Captain Jack Harkness).

Oh, Agyeman will be back on Doctor Who as Martha for the fourth season. But not until the second half! Barrowman has also been quoted as saying he'll show up in "Series Four" (in British terms, a "series" is a season). And, just this past Tuesday it was officially confirmed that Billie Piper's "Rose Tyler" will ALSO appear at some point during the fourth season of the show! Wow. So The Doctor will get 4 companions showing up in Season 4...how cool is that? (Hey, what about Mickey?)

Although Martha will continue to stick around the TARDIS, there's no indication yet that we'll see more of Rose or Captain Jack than short-term appearances (of course, Harkness has his own show to worry about). Who, then, will be the Doctor's new companion for the first half of the season, while Martha is hanging around Harkness' Torchwood?

The BBC has announced that Catherine Tate will reprise her role as Donna Noble, first seen as the title character featured in the 2006 Christmas Special "The Runaway Bride". Donna comes on board as the new companion for all 13 episodes of Doctor Who Series Four...sharing the limelight with Martha after mid-season.

Time to make up another bed on the TARDIS.

The 2007 Christmas Special, "Voyage of the Damned" (which takes the 10th Doctor on board the Titanic), airs in the U.K. on Christmas Day and guest stars Australian singing sensation Kylie Minogue. It picks up, of course, right from the end of the 3rd Season's final scene. The 4th season of Doctor Who will continue to feature great guest stars, including Felicity Kendal (The Good Life [a.k.a. Good Neighbors], Rosemary & Thyme), Tim McInnerny (Blackadder, Spooks [a.k.a. MI-5]), and Fenella Woolgar (Jekyll). The latter will be playing none other than classic mystery writer Agatha Christie! That ought to be a very interesting meeting for The Doctor. Also look for a return of the alien species The Ood, which appeared in the second season episodes "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit". And, after appearances in each of the news show's season for The Daleks, then the Cybermen, and most recently The Master, the producers promise that more classic Doctor Who elements will continue to appear for the fourth year of this incarnation of the program.

When will it all end? Who knows? In their official FAQ for the program, the BBC states that the Time Lords used to have 13 "lives" (regenerations), but hint that this limit may no longer apply since The Doctor is the last of the Time Lords, and his people are gone except for him. That opens the door to having many more Doctors left, and many more actors to play them after Tennant goes. This past September the BBC revealed that Tennant will do the 4th season for 2008, star in 3 Doctor Who specials for 2009, and then the 5th Season ("Series Five") would run in 2010. The BBC would not comment if Tennant would return as The Doctor for the fifth season...opening the door for another possible regeneration. Or maybe it's just way to early for anyone to make up his or her minds as to what the future will bring.

Either way, keep 'em coming; you've done brilliantly so far!


DVDs for Doctor Who may be purchased through Amazon.com

TVShowsOnBluRay.com and TVShowsOnHDDVD.com...check 'em out. Both URLs lead you back to TVShowsOnDVD.com...but just as a redirect, because so far there just hasn't been enough TV-related content on high-def disc to warrant doing more than that with those addresses.

So just what is available on Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD for television-related programming? Many of you are getting players for one or the other format (or both!) this holiday season, and may want to know! I've kept a running list as titles get announced and released, and I've got a look at them for you below along with their release dates (including a few items that aren't released yet):

Blu-ray Disc
- 01. 12/19/2006: The Sopranos - Season 6, Part 1
- 02. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - Australia Revealed
- 03. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - Brazil Revealed
- 04. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - China Revealed
- 05. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - Italy Revealed
- 06. 04/24/2007: Planet Earth - The Complete Collection
* 07. 05/29/2007: Weeds - Season 1
* 08. 06/05/2007: Rescue Me - Season 3
* 09. 07/24/2007: Weeds - Season 2
- 10. 09/04/2007: Nip/Tuck - The Complete 4th Season
- 11. 09/18/2007: Smallville - The Complete 6th Season
- 12. 10/02/2007: Galapagos - The Islands that Changed the World
* 13. 10/16/2007: Masters of Horror - Season 1, Volume I
* 14. 10/16/2007: Masters of Horror - Season 1, Volume II
- 15. 10/23/2007: The Sopranos - Season 6, Part 2
* 16. 10/23/2007: The Company - The complete Mini-Series
* 17. 11/13/2007: Masters of Horror - Season 1, Volume III
* 18. 11/13/2007: Prison Break - Season 1
* 19. 12/11/2007: Lost - The Complete 3rd Season: The Unexplored Experience
* 20. 12/11/2007: Masters of Horror - Season 1, Volume IV
* 21. 01/28/2008: Damages - The Complete 1st Season

HD-DVD
* 01. 11/28/2006: Smallville - The Complete 5th Season
- 02. 12/19/2006: The Sopranos - Season 6, Part 1
- 03. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - Australia Revealed
- 04. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - Brazil Revealed
- 05. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - China Revealed
- 06. 01/30/2007: Discovery Atlas - Italy Revealed
- 07. 04/24/2007: Planet Earth - The Complete Collection
* 08. 08/28/2007: Heroes - Season 1
- 09. 09/04/2007: Nip/Tuck - The Complete 4th Season
- 10. 09/18/2007: Smallville - The Complete 6th Season
- 11. 10/02/2007: Galapagos - The Islands that Changed the World
- 12. 10/23/2007: The Sopranos - Season 6, Part 2
* 13. 11/20/2007: Star Trek - Season 1
* 14. 12/04/2007: Battlestar Galactica - Season 1
* 15. 03/25/2008: Star Trek - Season 2

To the left of each title is either a dash indicating that the release is available in both formats, or an asterisk telling you that this item is unique to the format it's listed under. As you can see, Blu-ray's got the edge on HD DVD releases of television programs.

Of course, the lists above only include titles that are compilations of episodic TV shows (a series or mini-series), so you won't find one-shots like High School Musical 2 or direct-to-video releases like Justice League: The New Frontier on them. Nor do theatrical films spun off of TV shows qualify, so titles like Twilight Zone: The Movie and Serenity aren't included, either. And I'm sticking to stuff sold in stores in North America, so overseas releases in hi-def like The Tudors or Robin Hood aren't on these lists, nor anything for the HD-VMD format yet.

There are also a number of shows expected to come to hi-def formats in 2008, of course, but haven't been officially announced yet. Friends rumors have circulated since the beginning. The 2002 incarnation of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe from BCI is looking good for Blu-ray, and could possibly head to HD DVD as well.

Well, what do YOU think? Which titles tickle your fancy? Is there anything you see on one list and wish was on the other format's list? What shows SHOULD be on either of the hi-def formats, but aren't yet?

Hi, everyone. No central theme for today's DVD Guy blog; just a few random thoughts for me to toss out there, and get your reaction. I'd love to hear what you think!

First off, a bit of good news. The Writer's Strike in Hollywood may possibly delay the start of the 4th season for Lost, so we checked in with Disney/Buena Vista to find out if the DVD and hi-def Blu-ray Disc releases of Lost - The Complete 3rd Season are still on track for December 11th. Or, would it get delayed in order to tie in with a possibly-belated fourth season premiere? We got a great reply from the studio's marketing reps: "It’s absolutely hitting stores on 12/11. No changes at all." Wonderful!

Shifting gears: day in and day out across this world wide web, I see people who spend money on an HDTV set, because they want to see HDTV broadcasts from cable, or dish, or even over the air. They want to see their shows they best way possible. But then some of these same people say they don't intend to get a high-def disc format for home video. Not Blu-ray, nor its competitor HD DVD. Not even if the format war ends tomorrow, and prices drop at the same time. They say things like "DVD looks good enough for me". Now, I can understand cost issues, and I can understand holding off due to competing formats and not wanting to accidently choose the side which may end up losing that war and being stuck with an obsolete system. And I can understand not wanting to re-buy your DVD library, except for possibly the titles with the most replay value. But to own an HDTV and intend to never get any high-def home video format? Wouldn't that be a bit like owning a fast car, like a Ferrari, and never ever driving it faster that 55 MPH? What's the point of paying for high-performance equipment if you don't make good use of it, eh?

While I'm griping, let me complain about DVDs (and/or hi-def releases) that have "video games" on them. No, not the cool and fun trivia-type games, I'm talking about the pseudo-arcade games that require some hand-eye coordination to play...but with a remote control. Attention all studios: STOP putting these onto DVD releases. They aren't fun. They're no good. They are, by definition, crappy games. If they weren't, if they were any good, then they wouldn't be free bonus material on a disc. They would be a $40-$60 videogame on a machine labeled Playstation, Nintendo or X-Box. They're just irritating. Lose them, please, and give us some cool extras instead.

Of course, not every DVD is wonderful in and of itself. With the popularity of hot new actors and actresses - especially the latter - in shows like Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and Heroes (just to name a few), the movie studios are digging up every old film and putting them out on DVD. Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy) has been getting this treatment for a while now. Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives) and Ali Larter (Heroes) are up now, with a couple of Larter's already out and more coming early next year, right alongside at least one with Longoria in it. Sometimes the actress in question isn't even the female lead in the movie! Well, these kinds of tie-ins will go with the territory, I suppose. But where Heigl is concerned, why wouldn't Fox at least repromote excellent series Roswell? Heigl's character was even named "Isabel" in that show, too!

Finally, a recommendation to read an excellent Washington Post article from this past Sunday (free registration required) called "Mannix Was the Man". Post staff writer Neely Tucker does an excellent job of recalling the show from a fun point of view, noting that "Mannix was, by one count, shot 17 times and knocked unconscious another 55 during the show's eight-year run, and how great is that? Could those 'Law & Order' twits take that kind of abuse?" Hilarious. He covers lots of ground, including what became of show stars Mike Connors and Gail Fisher. More to the point, the article bemoans the lack of an official DVD release for the series, which had better ratings in prime time than competing shows which are already out on shiny little discs. There's even a reaction from the studio, but we don't know what to make of it here. Read it for yourself, head to TVShowsOnDVD.com and vote for the show if you would be interested in buying it on DVD (it's already rated decently high in our rankings there), and stay tuned. If it gets announced, I'll report it there promptly! My thanks to reader Sandy Farnham for letting me know about the story at the Post.

I hope you all have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! While the bird's roasting, I'll be posting news every day at TVShowsOnDVD, some of it aimed at our Canadian readers but all of it interesting. Come visit us between food and football and shopping, okay?

On December 18th, two big-screen versions of popular television shows come to home video: DVD and Blu-ray Disc versions of The Simpsons Movie and Underdog. Not long after, on January 13th, Fox debuts the small-screen version of a big-time film franchise: Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles (starring Lena Headey of 300 and Thomas Dekker of Heroes as Sarah and John Conner).

When TV first caught on, it originally caused a huge decline in film box office. So much so that theaters started inventing new technologies to get viewer back in the cinemas: 3-D didn't catch on so much, but widescreen certainly became a standard of the theatrical experience. So much so that TVs are now widescreen, too.

But the TV-to-Theater connection has always been strong. Episodes of I Love Lucy were strung together with new scenes to form a film...one that's been lost for decades, but now can be gotten on the new "complete series" DVD collection. Popular films of yesteryear like Peyton Place spun off into classic television shows. And the Adam West version of Batman may not be on DVD yet, but the film release - featuring the Caped Crusaders against united villians like The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin and Catwoman - has been sitting on fans' shelves for years.

For the boob-tube-to-box-office connection, there seem to be five main categories: 1) Films that spun off into television shows, like M*A*S*H, Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate. 2) Popular TV shows that ended but continued in cinematic forms, like Star Trek, Firefly and the Police Squad/Naked Gun franchise. 3) Some shows were popular enough to have theatrical versions that appeared while the series was still running, like X-Files: Fight The Future, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut or the original animated Transformers: The Movie. 4) Out-and-out film remakes of classic programs, such as the recent big screen versions of Dukes of Hazzard, Mission: Impossible and Fat Albert. 5) Then, of course, are stories that started in a different media, which eventually inspired both television and theatrical versions of the story. These include legends like Robin Hood and comic books like Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and The Hulk. For our purposes, let's leave this last category out.

I've given a handful of examples for each. I can think of a ton more...in fact, I've got a list going! But now it's YOUR turn. Which ones can you think of that fall into the first four categories? What are your favorites? Which ones worked better on the small screen? The big screen? Let's have some fun this weekend and think of the best and worst of these!!

Back on Oct. 19th I posted a DVD Guy blog entry called "Waiting For 5 Free Blu-ray Discs? Here's The Scoop!" Today I've got a new follow-up for you about this.

First of all, you can see (top right of this post) from my screen shot of the status of my own offer, per info at the BVHE Mail In Offer Center site, that it showed as of Oct. 31st my personal order had finally shipped. That had apparently included all 5 titles I had requested on the original form, including Paramount's The Italian Job.

However, when my package arrived on Nov. 5th, The Italian Job wasn't actually in there! It had been substituted with Lionsgate's title Stir of Echoes, starring Kevin Bacon.

Furthermore, 2 of the items (including the substituted Stir) had damage to the plastic disc cases the Blu-rays are held in, plus a third title had a problem with the case's art insert looking like it had gotten wet somehow (possibly before it was inserted into the plastic case?...no way to tell, really).

So...wow. It took a long time to get here, and then it was messed up. My honest-to-God first thought was, "whoa...in my position, I can probably get in touch with these guys and get it fixed up for me, but what's everyone else supposed to do that this happens to?" I next wondered how many others that something like this had seen something similar with their orders

So I got back in touch with the people behind this promotion, and I have to say that they REALLY jumped all over trying to get this fixed up, both in terms of taking care of my personal problem and in terms of getting me the info about what everyone else should do. It did take an extra 24 hours to find the best people to help me, since the main person who would normally handle it was actually out of the country at the time. But the day after I reported this, I got two calls back: one to fix me up, and one to deal with an easy way for all of you to find such help, if necessary.

Here is the official statement provided about all of this:
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The Blu-ray Disc five-disc bundle offer has been extremely popular, and as a result, some customers have experienced delays in receiving their discs. Fortunately, the issue has been resolved and we are now fulfilling all requests within 10 weeks or less. If anyone has questions regarding their order, we encourage them to call the toll-free consumer hotline at 800-598-9671.

Paramount is no longer participating in the Blu-ray Disc five-disc bundle offer, so consumers who had requested one of their titles will be receiving an equivalent replacement title from another participating studio. If anyone has questions regarding their order, we encourage them to call the toll-free consumer hotline at 800-598-9671.
________________________________________

As you can see, the phone number is the same for both above paragraphs. This is a different number than the one I provided to everyone in my previous blog, and the new one goes directly to the 3rd-party company which has been hired to fulfill this offer. Although no phone number was provided on the original offer's "coupon" form, the same phone number as above is now found at the end of the fine print on the form for the current version of this offer.

The people at that number will probably NOT be able to help you if you received a substitute title and it is unwanted. As the fine print indicates, they reserve the right to perform substitutions if they must. My main complaint, though, was that the status screen (shown at the top) essentially "lied" to me and said the originally requested item was shipped, when it wasn't. I am told they are looking into that matter, and hope to revise the application to allow subs to be displayed to the user. If it happens, though, it won't be immediately.

Obviously, there is very little that they could do about Paramount pulling out of the offer. Paramount surely does not want to help promote the Blu-ray format any more, since they now "work for the other side" (HD DVD). Could the BD guys sue Paramount and try to force them to keep their commitments? That's a possibility, of course...but if you were in the shoes of the Blu-ray Disc Association members, would you want to sue Paramount? If you do, then you alienate the studio further and risk the idea that they would never want to return to Blu. Better to keep that option in reserve, obviously. Therefore, there's no way consumers will get Paramount BD titles from the offer like The Italian Job or Babel; you'll get something else instead. Sorry. The folks at that number can't really help you with that.

However, if you received damaged merchandise like I did, then they ought to be able to send you good copies if you call that number and advise them of the problem. My three damaged items have been replaced, and I have sent them back the bad copies. It was handled quickly and without fuss. Of course, your mileage may vary, but I had a very good experience with that.

If you have had any issues with your order being rejected, for instance if they say you sent in the wrong bar code, then you might want to talk to the people at that number and have them assist you in straightening out the matter. They are VERY anxious to make everyone as happy as possible, so there are no hard feelings toward the Blu-ray Disc format.

Long-timers who remember the early days of DVD, and the "5 Free Discs" offer with that format, will feel a sense of deja vu here, as the same sorts of issues cropped up there at first. They were overcome after a bit, but it's always rough in the beginning.

And what about the similar "5 Free Discs" offer for HD DVD? Well, they are having no better luck, and in fact seem to be taking even longer to fulfill their offers than the Blu-ray side. So, if you were one of those 100,000-ish people who just picked up a Toshiba HD-A2 last weekend for under $100 at certain retailers, then I hope you sent in for your free movies quickly. If not, then you're "at the end of the line", guys or gals, and will have to wait a bit longer than the rest of us. Their phone number for status/problems is 1-800-405-7520...in case you need it.

Odds are that you will.

A recent story in trade journal Home Media Magazine was called "Consumers Ready to Embrace HD, If It's Cheaper and a Single Format". It says, "(An) NPD study...found an overwhelming reluctance to buy either a Blu-ray Disc or an HD DVD machine. When asked 'how likely are you to buy a high-definition player in the next six months,' nearly two-thirds of respondents, or 66%, said 'not at all' or 'not likely'...The hesitation, the NPD study revealed, stems from a variety of factors, most notably high player prices (cited as the major deterrent by 72% of respondents)...54% said they intend to hold off buying a player until the format war is resolved."

Does this sound like you, or someone you know?

Since then Sony has introduced a PlayStation 3 (with Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray movie) for $399.99, the lowest-priced Blu-ray Disc player on the market. At the same time, the Toshiba HD-A2 unit has been marked down by many retailers to prices under $200, making it the cheapest HD DVD player right now. AND this past weekend, a couple of retailers temporarily marked it down to $99.99 as a "pre-Black Friday" promotion.

Still, despite the lower costs on HD DVD players, there are far too many complaints from owners that the movies they want aren't in HD DVD format. Last week's release of the Spider-Man Trilogy, this week's Pixar hits Ratatouille and Cars, and next week's Spielberg classic Close Encounters highlight how many titles wanted in hi-def are being made for Blu-ray only. On the other hand, Blu-ray owners are frustrated that they have neither Transformers, Shrek 3 nor The Bourne Trilogy on THEIR format. Obviously both camps are trying to do something about the prices for consumers, but the other complaint - the format war itself - rages on.

Enter New Medium Enterprises. Last month I blogged about NME's new HD VMD system. This is a third format joining the hi-def disc wars, and last time I covered the basics about that format. Since then Gord Lacey (TVShowsOnDVD founder/webmaster) and myself have talked to NME execs Michael Jay Solomon (Chairman of the Board) and Alexandros Potter (Director of U.S. Operations). Solomon's been around the block: he was the co-founder of syndication giant Telepictures Corporation in 1978, and eight years later they bought Lorimar (Dallas, People's Court, Perfect Strangers, etc.). In 1989 Warner Brothers bought out Lorimar-Telepictures, and Solomon became WB's President of International Television for several years. This past August he came on board at NME as their Chairman.

The pair of execs describes NME as a "technology incubator," publicly traded on the OTC, and having been around since 1999. NME purchased the intellectual property that led to HD VMD back in 2004, and they are convinced they have the solution to a single format all studios will support, at prices that the consumer will support. How? The intellectual property they own has led to a process that escaped the folks at Sony and Toshiba. Both had to go to expensive blue laser technology in order to create discs with enough memory room to fit hi-def movies onto a single disc. NME's process allows the same thing, but using the less expensive red laser technology that has been around for years and hence is not only cheaper, but has many times more production lines available than the blue technologies do. "Full High-Definition experience at affordable prices, using current infrastructure" is how the NME execs put it to us.

Room for 1080P resolution using red laser technology? Yep: the secret is in the layers. DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc all do either one or two layers...and that's it. Toshiba and Sony went to blue laser because they were not able to increase the storage capacity on discs using red laser. Oh, Blu-ray and HD DVD have been able to do more than 2 layers, but only in the lab. Neither of them has found a good way to produce 3 or more layers on a mass-market basis, but NME has. They have a bonding process that allows additional layers on any type of optical disc format, to increase the storage capacity at a lower overall cost. This will let them do 3-layer HD VMD discs right now, on a mass-market basis, using any existing DVD production line with minor retrofitting. By March they will be able to do a 4-layer disc, and it is potentially capable of eventually reaching 6 layers on one side of one disc. And it can be applied to blue laser technology later on, when prices of that technology come down. And HD VMDs will always have 3 or more layers, never fewer.

For such a new technology, how many bad discs are yielded for every 100 correctly produced ones? Solomon and Potter told us there are fewer than 10 failures for each group of 100 VMD platters stamped out, and that this 90%+ yield ratio applies to both 3- and 4-layer HD VMD discs. By comparison, it was rumored that "DVD-18s" ("flipper" DVDs that are dual-layered on both sides) had yields as low as 50% at one point (half the produced discs had to simply be thrown out due to failures). Speaking of that, NME told us there are no plans to do any sort of "flipper" HD VMDs at all in North America. However, India will see the same concept as a flipper (with the film split with a breaking point/intermission), but with the film on two separate "DVD-9" (dual-layer, single-sided discs) instead of a single disc. Per NME, this is a cost-saving measure unique to India, and they do not intend this to happen anywhere else. They're conscious that most viewers don't want to get up in the middle of the film and flip/change a disc. They say that's their main motivator in finding a way to add more layers to red laser-compatible discs. And they remind us that "there are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of DVD/red laser manufacturing lines that can make VMDs right now".

But the main question for USA and Canadian consumers is, "where are the films?" Solomon notes that they really haven't done a "full court press" with the studios yet, to sign them up for releases on the VMD format, but expects to begin discussions in the next few weeks. Solomon's been in content distribution for 35 years; he characterizes his relationship with the studio heads as excellent, and he is planning to discuss VMD content with all North American studio heads, both the majors and independents, during the last half of November. He's aware that some studios present themselves as "exclusive" to one of the existing hi-def formats, but he believes that these studios really don't know VMD yet, and when he shows them NME's system, there is a possibility that they will realize that the number of VMD players planned for manufacture will lead to a strong revenue base much faster than with existing HD formats. NME points out that Blu-ray and HD DVD system prices started out hundreds of dollars higher than they are right now, where VMD models started life at an under-$200 consumer cost, and will go down from there. Film titles are expected to cost $19.99 for most, and maybe a few as high as $29.99...compared to a $30-$40 SRP for most HD DVDs and Blu-ray Discs. NME is going to try to get the studios to see the logic of supporting their system at a fraction of the cost of the existing two systems, and hopefully great things will happen after those meetings occur. No guarantees, they say, but they are very hopeful. If the studios agree with this logic, then they should be able to ramp up on any given VMD release faster than implementing a blue-laser technology disc for the same film.

Of course, one independent studio has already signed up for USA releases: Anthem Pictures in Hollywood has a few titles out on VMD disc format, and has worked with NME on a recently-available HD VMD Bundle Box, which includes a player (value of $189.99) with Anthem films Mother Ghost, 8th Plague, Enigma With A Stigma, Cutting Room, Naked Ape (2000) plus an extra bonus title, Refuge of the Last Resort. Cost for this set is $249.99, sold by NME through Amazon.com's marketplace system (which mostly is transparent compared to standard Amazon orders). And there are roughly a dozen other VMD titles in the US (or Canada) to add on to your library. Bollywood content is ramping up and might see some releases in North America, and NME is working on other releases around the world (on a TV-related note, LazyTown was just announced for VMD release in Scandinavian countries and Iceland, with 12 Episodes in each bundle). They have aggressive plans to pursue acquiring the rights to as many TV products as possible...not only American, but also popular Hispanic titles based on Solomon's experience living in 5 Latin American countries and putting shows on the air in that region.

NME's primary goal, though, is to bring the major blockbuster films to the HD VMD format in the USA. Hopefully, NME says, in the weeks to come there will be positive word about that.

While consumers wait to buy HD VMD-format discs, the player can upconvert existing DVDs to look great on the users' new HDTV sets, which is projected to be in half of the American households by next year. Here's an NME quote from our conversation with them: "Not everyone wants to go out and buy a $300 or $400 or $500-600 player in order to upconvert the quality of their DVDs. This is an HD player for less than $200 that gives the option to upconvert in the highest quality possible. We're talking about native upconversion, since we're using the red laser technology, making these people able to watch their DVDs in better quality. People are going out to buy upconverters these days; it's a very very popular product in the marketplace. We actually cater to this, and some upconverters are the same price as our HD player." So it sounds like NME's tactic is to convince people to buy the VMD system now, upconvert their existing DVD library, and then this will be able to play inexpensive hi-def 1080p VMDs early next year (with a few Anthem titles available right now in the USA).

The HD VMD format handles up to 8 audio tracks, plus subtitle tracks. Bonus material is up to each studio, of course, but it won't include HD DVD-style interactivity at the moment, as current models do not have an online component. NME says that interactivity is something they will work on for the future, and add to existing units with firmware updates, but they feel that the market for that is relatively small, and that most mass market consumers want to "throw in their disc and watch their movie in high quality". On the other hand, a next-gen VMD model, to be announced at next CES, will include IPTV (Internet Protocol Television)) connectivity.

The higher-end 777 model ($209.99) includes a memory card reader slot in the front, for the cards normally used in digital cameras and similar devices, plus it sports a USB port for connecting portable devices such as a hard drive or thumb drive. That means it can read PC file formats and play them back on the big screen (something not all the competition does). The formats the VMD system supports include: MPEG2 including HD profile (MPEG files), MPEG4 H.264 (AVI files), VC1 (WMV files), AC3, Dolby (Audio CD files, WAV files) and MP3 (MP3 Files).

We asked NME if they are expecting HD VMD to co-exist with Blu-ray and HD DVD as a companion format, or compete head-to-head with those formats. They responded, "We're looking at a global market; we want to be a global player, and we're for the mass. Just like DVD, we cater to the mass-market because of manufacturability, as well as from pricing. Now, we're talking about global prices, not just dropping prices here in the United States. We have the same price across the board everywhere in the world. This is an affordable solution for people who are going out to buy their new high definition television. They can afford to buy this true HD player, play back their existing DVD library and enjoy high definition at prices comparable to DVD. That is really what we are after. So I don't think we're competing head-to-head with Blu-ray or HD DVD. Their technology is very good, it's a very good technology. However it's not for the mass market today. Not today."

So my buddy Gord also asked them, "To relate it to video games, you're the Nintendo Wii taking on the XBox and the PS3. Right? The Wii has that market: it's got a lower price point, it's using existing technology, and its selling tons of units because of it."

NME's reply? "If you want to make that comparison, yeah. Well...we should be as lucky as to do as well as Nintendo."

James A. Garfield, a U.S. President in the 1800's, was quoted as saying, "a pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck." It sounds like the guys at NME have a ton of pluck. If they have their way, Blu-ray and HD DVD and format wars will soon be a thing of the past, and consumers like you will have the opportunity to get low DVD-style pricing on both players and films, but at 1080p hi-def quality. What's going to happen with those plucky plans? It's up to you, the lucky consumer, of course.

In the TV-on-DVD industry, we often hear the word "complete" a lot: titles of DVD releases of shows, of course, are often named The Complete [fill in the blank] Season or The Complete Series. There are also the people who describe themselves as "completists": they want it all. Often meaning more than just "every episode of a show," because they also want every special episode, clip show retrospective, or post-series telefilm, etc. On DVD in the original network versions, with all the original music intact.

Obviously this word "complete" can be a tall order, and covers a LOT of ground. I'm afraid I could write up a lot of blogs talking about every aspect of the word as it relates to TV-DVDs. But I'm going to ask my readers today to put everything else aside, so we can examine one very specific area that troubles a lot of people: so-called "banned" material.

When a show is produced these days, it obviously conforms to modern sensibilities and standards, for the most part. Oh, some shows may stretch the envelope and raise some eyebrows (Weeds, Californication and Tell Me You Love Me come up a lot), but generally speaking they're getting the ratings right now, so they are "acceptable", and will be on DVD as aired. Maybe even with extended material "too hot for cable", or whatever.

The further back in time you go, though, the trickier it gets. Especially when you get back to the early days of television, when the sensibilities were different, and the political correctness of the modern day wasn't in place. On the film front, fans of Disney films have fought for years to convince the studio to release Song of the South, but the studio is concerned about protests from the black community if they put it out on DVD. Many fans though, of every race, feel that the movie is a product of its time, and just needs to be represented that way...but still released so they can own it (just like Warner recently released the original Al Jolson version of The Jazz Singer). On another Disney-related front, the studio has taken it on the chin for how they have handled older films that show some of their characters smoking cigarettes. Yes, these are a product of their time, too, but today's parents still worry about their kids seeing this bad role model in a Walt Disney production. Or any other production.

It's easy for any of the studios to get confused, and not know where to draw the line between each side. It's not possible to release multiple versions of the same production in most cases, to try to appeal to both crowds, so they have to pick one or the other for the vast majority of DVD releases. They can try catering to the "PC" audience by leaving out material that shows smoking/drinking/drugs or racial stereotypes. Or they can try catering to the completist crowd - which is probably larger than you might think - and include all material in order to present a true representation of the feature as it was originally produced and shown. The attitude of the consumers who want this material is that you shouldn't try to change history. Rather, show it as it really was, and educate today's viewers about how attitudes and accepted norms have changed.

The latest salvo in this war was fired by Warner Brothers. They're a great studio, and well-liked by the majority of TV-DVD consumers, but they ticked off Tom & Jerry fans with their recent statement that two shorts would not be included on the just-released Tom and Jerry - Spotlight Collection: Volume 3 set. The shorts, "Mouse Cleaning" and "Casanova Cat," were left out (per the statement) due to racial stereotypes. This despite the fact (as the statement acknowledges) that the DVDs were "intended for mature audiences and collectors" and that there is "historical context and artistic value" involved.

What really blows the minds of fans about this, is that the first two volumes in this Tom & Jerry DVD collection each had some "cut shorts" that left out scenes which would fall into this category, and that Warner responded to fan complaints about it by replacing the appropriate discs for free. Fans hope to convince Warner to do something similar for the third volume set.

But where does this leave other Warner-controlled cartoons from that era, or earlier? Warner has this week released the lastest of five "Golden Collection" volumes of The Looney Tunes, and is committed to at least five more annual releases (and could continue beyond that if sales keep up). Bugs Bunny's creators also famously have several "banned" episodes for various racial stereotypes. The most-discussed of the "censored 11" cartoon shorts is probably the 1943 Merrie Melodies effort Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs, directed by Bob Clampett. This installment is considered a "masterpiece" work by many animation historians, and the music track (jazz and swing) is considered among the finest. Yet it has never seen an official home video release on any format, and fans are desperate to see it included among the "Golden Collection" DVD releases at some point...even if it's hidden as an "Easter Egg", or surrounded by text or video statements discussing the historical context of the attitudes during the era in which it was produced. The same for the other ten censored cartoons in this library.

Popeye has six banned shorts as well: three black-and-white cartoons from the World War II era with racial stereotypes that may prove offensive to Japanese, and three color cartoons from the decade that followed the war with racial stereotypes about blacks. Warner went to great lengths to negotiate the rights to release the Popeye cartoons...will they all be included? Should they be?

Another smoking-hot issue is, well, smoking. In 1971 all advertising of cigarettes on television ceased in the US, per the Congress-passed Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act. Until that time, tobacco companies often sponsored popular shows, even weaving their products right into the show itself. CBS/Paramount's DVD releases of I Love Lucy included - as extras - the original opening sequence to the show: stick figure-caricatures of Lucy and Ricky climbing to the top of an enormous pack of Phillip Morris cigarettes, with ropes in hand. Each would toss the rope over their side of the pack. Lucy ably slid down her rope, but then Ricky dove off, prompting Lucy to catch him. After a bow, the figures each tugged their ropes, Venetian-blind-style, changing the face of the cigarette pack to first the starring credits, and then to the title screen. For the sixth season set of the DVDs, the viewer had the option to watch opening credits like these as part of the episode, instead of the famous "heart" opening credits that were introduced later on for syndicated reruns. Fans were enormously pleased that this piece of history was included on what they felt should be a "definitive record" of the program.

MPI's releases of The Beverly Hillbillies also included the Original Cast Sponsor Commercials woven back into the show, following the opening credits, with the stars driving by the names of the sponsors...whoever they were. Even cigarette sponsors. On the other hand, sponsor commercials for The Flintstones of Fred and Barney enjoying a break with some Winston cigarettes can be found on YouTube, but not on the DVDs. Many fans disagree, but other actually agree with the omission, saying they don't want their kids to see cartoon characters puffing it up. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the cigarette commercials from The Flintstones DID make it onto laserdisc, a bit over a decade ago. Go figure.

This wouldn't be a blog without the blogger expressing his own opinion, right? So here goes: I say "Show It As It Was". I don't think we should try to change history. Even as a father, and someone whose family background puts him squarely in the "minority" category by most standards, I don't think we should try to cover up how films previously portrayed Blacks, Asians, Jews, Hispanics, rich people, poor people, men vs. women, or whatever. I've never been there, but I understand there's a saying above the entrance to the library at the University of Colorado: "Who Knows Only His Own Generation Remains Always a Child". Right on the mark, if you ask me.

Now it's YOUR turn! What do you think about this? Should DVDs be "complete" enough to show everything, even the so-called "banned" material like racial stereotypes of the era, and smoking-related scenes woven into the show? Or should tender eyes and ears of the young ones be spared all of this? I've posted a poll to the top right of this blog, where I invite you to vote your conscience: "Show It As It Was!" or "No Smoking" or "Race Over" or "We Don't Need Any Of That Stuff!" are your four choices. I could have broken it down further, but let's keep it simple. Please pick the choice that most closely resembles your opinion on the matter, and then share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment below.