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 Rhoda – Season Four, with all 24 episodes from the 1977-1978 season. But you won’t find this release in stores. The previous three seasons were given traditional releases by Shout! but low sales likely forced the company to shift Season Four to its Shout! Select program, meaning the set will only be available through the Shout! Factory Store (although copies will likely soon pop up on Amazon and eBay as well). Not being able to pick up the set in stores and watch it right away may be frustrating but waiting a few days is a small price to pay for getting the episodes out on DVD.
Also out today, from Warner Home Video, is the 1968 Peanuts special He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown (Deluxe Edition). You can also get this special as part of the Peanuts: 1960’s Collection, but this individual release also includes a 1980 special called “Life is A Circus, Charlie Brown” which I believe has never been issued on DVD before.
I do not understand why ABC doesn’t thoroughly leverage the ‘Charlie Brown’ library to re-air some of these specials like “He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown” and “Life is A Circus, Charlie Brown†that first aired on CBS, all to time period-winning ratings. By my estimation, there are 50+ half-hour ‘Charlie Brown’ specials, most of which have never been repeated after their initial CBS run, and most of which have not made it out to DVD.
There used to be a whole stable of dependable, highly rated animated specials that would be hauled out every year as holiday or seasonal specials: ‘Bugs Bunny’, ‘Dr. Seuss’, ‘Winnie the Pooh’ and ‘Fat Albert’ would be a few. All did superb Nielsens in their day, and I don’t think any of them show up on Boomerang or the other animated specialty networks.
Why? Because ABC/Disney only wants to concentrate on the “evergreens”- the Christmas, Halloween, Easter and Thanksgiving specials. They don’t give a s%*! about the other specials in the “package”; they just want those “Peanuts” specials that “baby-boomers” are familiar with. As for the network’s efforts in trying to generate their own “traditional” animated holiday special—they’ll NEVER match what Charles M. Schulz has already created. Disney can market their newer TV specials to from now to doomsday, but they won’t have one-eighth the “staying power” the “Peanuts” specials have now.