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.
Out today from Shout! Factory is Adam-12: Season Five. Included are all 24 episodes from the 1972-1973 season. Adam-12 was on the air for a total of seven seasons so only two are left to go before the entire series is out on DVD.That’s the only classic release out today. But last week I forgot to mention the release of Prime Time Crime: The Stephen J. Cannell Collection by Mill Creek Entertainment.
I wrote about this interesting collection back in May. You get a total of 40 episodes from 13 different Cannell programs, including every episode of four short-lived shows: UNSUB (8 Episodes, 1989), Broken Badges (7 Episodes, 1990-1991), Palace Guard (9 Episodes, 1991) and Missing Persons (18 Episodes, 1993-1994). That’s a total of 42 episodes. I doubt very much that any of these shows would have received a standalone release so kudos to Mill Creek for putting this massive collection together. The collection also contains 12 episodes from nine other Cannell shows like The Commish, The Greatest American Hero, 21 Jump Street and Silk Stockings. All for a suggested retail price of $29.98. True, none of these programs fit my definition of “classic” television but the fact that four short-lived programs are being released on DVD is noteworthy.
Speaking of which, another short-lived show from the 1980s is being released today: ABC’s Max Headroom: The Complete Series. Included are all 14 episodes originally broadcast between 1987 and 1988 (including one that never aired on ABC). For an interesting look at how the set and bonus features were put together take a look at this thread over at the official Shout! Factory message board. As I write this the set is ninth bestselling movie/TV DVD at Amazon.com. Hopefully this will prove that there is a market for short-lived television programs, although admittedly Max Headroom is something of an anomaly.
Kudos to Shout! for rescuing “Adam-12” from a long “one and done” status on DVD. I think the chances of its run being completed look excellent. The only disappointment is that Shout! was not able to license the lone episode of the short-lived “The D.A.” that continued a S4 “Adam-12” story.