October 2014: The Month in Home Media

The Month in Home Media is a monthly column highlighting short-lived or rare television series, specials, miniseries or made-for-TV movies released on DVD or Blu-ray during the previous month, as well as recent additions to streaming services like Warner Archive Instant. The releases discussed in this column are encoded for Region 1 use in the United States and Canada. The Month in Home Media is published on the first Thursday of each month.

Last month was a relatively slow one, with a few Warner Archive releases, 12 more episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and some episodes of a 1958 reality/documentary series called Divorce Hearing all making their way to DVD. Also, Warner Archive Instant added SEARCH and Maya to its streaming service.

DVD/Blu-ray Releases

The Super Globetrotters: The Complete Series (TV Series, Warner Archive, DVD)
This 2-disc set contains all 13 episodes of the Saturday morning cartoon series that ran on NBC from September to December 1979. Warner Archive is releasing this as part of the Hanna–Barbera Classic Collection. This is a manufacture-on-demand release although a has been the case with many Warner Archive sets lately, “initial quantities […] will be traditionally replicated (pressed) in anticipation of high consumer demand.”

The Good Guys: The Complete First Season (TV Series, Fox Home Entertainment, DVD)
Not the 1968-1970 Bob Denver/Herb Edelman sitcom. This FOX comedy/action series only ran for one season so the title of this set is a bit misleading. Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks starred as mismatched detectives with the Dallas Police Department. Low-rated for its entire run, The Good Guys premiered in May 2010 and aired through early August, later returning in late September and ultimately ending its 20-episode run in December of that year. Manufacture-on-demand.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (TV Episodes, Carson Entertainment Group, DVD)
Between June 2013 and May 2014, twelve episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson were released as six 2-episode volumes through The Vault Series. Now, six more volumes and 12 more episodes from the 1970s are available in one collection (Volumes 7-12). Complete details can be found at the official Johnny Carson website.

Divorce Hearing (TV Episodes, Alpha Video, DVD)
Each episode of this 1958 half-hour syndicated reality/documentary series featured two real couples whose marriage was in trouble. Marriage counselor Dr. Paul Popenoe (apparently not a real doctor) worked with them to try to deal with their issues. David L. Wolper produced the series. Most Alpha Video releases include four episodes and presumably this one does as well. Manufacture-on-demand.

Alpha Video has also released The Fantastic Invention of Television, a collection of six documentary short films about television, including Television (1939), Magic on the Air (1941), and The Story of Television (1956). Most of these are available through the Internet Archive or YouTube. Manufacture-on-demand.

Also, Mill Creek Entertainment has re-released Square Pegs on DVD. It originally came out on DVD back in May 2008. You get all 18 episodes for just $9.98. And Shout! Factory (via Timeless Media Group) has released Once Upon a Starry Night, the standalone telefilm based on The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams that originally aired in December 1978, months after the weekly series had come to an end. If you already own the second season on DVD, there’s no reason to purchase this new release.

DVD/Blu-ray News

The 1967 Batgirl presentation short (NOT a pilot for a potential Batgirl TV series) will apparently be included in the Batman: Limited Edition Blu-Ray Complete Television Series set being released on November 11th. It will also likely be included in the Batman: The Complete Television Series DVD set.

Streaming

Warner Archive Instant has added Maya (NBC, 1967-1968) and SEARCH (NBC, 1972-1973) to its streaming service. Maya was released on DVD by Warner Archive in August and SEARCH back in February. Also: Our Family Honor, the September 1985 pilot telefilm to ABC’s short-lived drama series of the same name; Zuma Beach, a 1978 made-for-TV movie starring Suzanne Somers; and World War III, the 1982 NBC miniseries starring Rock Hudson, David Soul, Cathy Lee Crosby, and others. All of these are also available on DVD from Warner Archive.

Hit the comments with any news about upcoming DVD/Blu-ray releases or additions to streaming services.


Related Posts

Become a Patron Today

Are you a fan of obscure television? Please support Television Obscurities on Patreon by becoming a patron today.

5 Replies to “October 2014: The Month in Home Media”

  1. I was thinking Bob Denver’s “Good Guys” and nearly jumped out of my seat. I guess it was too good to be true.

  2. “Zuma Beach” is the bomb! And for all kinds of reasons: the screenplay was co-written by John Carpenter; it’s one of the earliest IMDB credits for both Michael Biehn and Timothy Hutton; it’s the epitome of the Seventies “jiggle movie”; you get to see Suzanne Somers thinking deep thoughts. (Two years later, Somers would publish her book of love poetry, “Touch Me,” featuring the immortal lines “Touch me / I can never be touched enough.”)

    “Zuma Beach,” in short, is a must for trash TV connoisseurs.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.