Every Tuesday I take a look at obscure and/or classic television programs, specials, miniseries or made-for-TV movies being released on DVD. For the record I consider anything broadcast prior to 1980 to be classic or else there wouldn’t be much to discuss. The releases referred to in these posts are encoded for Region 1 use in the United States and Canada.
Last week, on January 26th, The Waltons Movie Collection was released by Warner Bros. Home Video. Although the six made-for-TV movies were originally broadcast between 1982 and 1997, because the series began prior to 1980 I’m including it here. Also last week, Alpha Video released two new public domain sets: George Burns & Gracie Allen Show, Volume 2 and Rocky Jones, Space Ranger – Volume 1.
Out this week from 20th Century Fox is The Mary Tyler Moore Show: The Complete Sixth Season, with all 24 episodes from the 1975-1976 season, the show’s penultimate season. And from Shout! Factory comes Mister Ed: The Complete Second Season, with all 26 episodes from the 1961-1962 season. According to TVShowsOnDVD.com, these episodes are all uncut. Mill Creek has re-released four “best of” game show sets: The Best of All-Star Family Feud Starring Richard Dawson, The Best of Match Game, The Best of Password and The Best of The Price Is Right. All were originally released by BCI.
Finally, although it aired from 1990-1991, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention She-Wolf of London: Complete Series, out today from Universal. I don’t think anyone ever expected to see this short-lived syndicated series on DVD.
To those who browse through Brooks & Marsh’s “Complete Directory to Prime-Time, Cable and Network Shows, 1946-Present”, and look up the “MISTER ED” entry, and wonder “How can it be a ‘second season’ when it began in October 1961?”. Simple- the series’ first season actually began in syndication in January 1961. As the first season of 26 episodes ended, CBS president James {“The Smiling Cobra”} Aubrey was looking for a show to fill the 6:30pm(et) time slot before “LASSIE” on Sunday nights for the fall of ’61. He saw “MISTER ED”, and thought it was PERFECT! He convinced the show’s “silent partner”, George Burns, Filmways (the series’ distributor), and sponsor Studebaker to make the move to his network…and that’s where the second season began. “MISTER ED” stayed in prime-time as long as Aubrey was in charge of the network’s programming, occasionally shifting from early Sunday evenings to 7:30 on Thursdays or Wednesdays. After Aubrey’s departure from the network in February 1965, John A. Schneider, his successor, decided to eliminate as much of Aubrey’s “influence” from the fall schedule as he posssibly could. “MISTER ED”, however, had already been renewed for the fall of ’65….but Schneider took care of that by cutting the order of new sixth season epsiodes to 13, “tucking” them away on Sunday afternoons at 5pm(et) [just before “TED MACK’S ORIGINAL AMATEUR HOUR”], and the series quietly ended in the summer of 1966.
Good to see the sixth season of “MARY TYLER MOORE” finally available on DVD. Fox won’t promote it that much because it isn’t one of “their” shows, and they’re too tight-fisted to spend additional money for “extras” to accompany the box set (but they’ll overspend to promote, say, “24”, “BONES” and “THE SIMPSONS” because they OWN them!). To paraphrase Stan Freberg, Mary’s episodes on DVD these days aren’t released, they “escape”.