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.
There’s only one release of interest out today: Father Knows Best – Season Five. You won’t find it in stores, though, it can only be purchased online through Shout! Factory’s Shout! Select program. Included are all 38 episodes from the 1958-1959 season. According to TVShowsOnDVD.com the set includes two episodes of Windows on Main Street, which Robert Young starred in after Father Knows Best. Only one season remains and it seems likely that Shout! Factory will release it through the Shout! Select program as well. After that, perhaps all thirteen episodes of Windows on Main Street?
Shout! Factory released the previous four seasons, with Season Four coming out this past March, but apparently sales were too low to continue in the traditional manner. Making the set available for purchase through Shout! Select is a way of getting the episodes to viewers and that’s really all that matters. Perhaps the only drawback is that a certain segment of the DVD buying population may not be aware that Season Five can be purchased at Shout! Factory’s website so if you know any fans of Father Knows Best be sure to let them know. Amazon.com has a placeholder page for the release, which could be confusing, but you can only buy it at Shout! Factory’s website.
Being able to continue to buy the remaining seasons of a favorite series to complete it is important. The only drawback is that at the Shout store, you are required to pay the full suggested retail price, rather than a typical discounted price that you would find at retailers like Amazon.com. I usually take it a step further and buy TV season sets on DVD when they are on sale, which is even below the regular everyday discounted price at Amazon. This way you get two or maybe even three DVD sets for the regular price of one.
Still I am glad that Shout offers the additional seasons in whatever way they can for the sake of TV fans, instead of concentrating on sales numbers when considering releasing additional seasons.
There were actually 34 episodes of “WINDOW ON MAIN STREET” in its only season (co-sponsored on CBS during the 1961-’62 season by Scott Paper Company- they agreed to sponsor whatever series Robert Young appeared in after ‘FATHER KNOWS BEST”- and The Toni Company). Roswell Rogers, who was one of “FATHER KNOWS BEST”‘s key writers, created and primarily wrote “WINDOW ON MAIN STREET” as well. So how could it fail? Simple- viewers were already used to seeing Young as “Jim Anderson” {in repeats} on Wednesday nights, and just didn’t accept his new role as “Cameron Brooks” on Mondays [in essence, he was competing with “himself”, and lost]. At least several episodes of “WINDOW” are included in the new “FKB” box sets…whether all 34 will ever be released on DVD, I don’t know.