There’s nothing of interest to fans of classic television being released today, unless anyone is interested in The Smurfs – Volume 2: Smurfy Tales or Simon & Simon – Season 3 (which at least are a few decades old). There have been a few announcements recently that I’ll pass along. The Judy Garland Show – Volume 2 will be out on September 22nd and The Judy Garland Holiday Special on October 20th, according to TVShowsOnDVD.com. Also on October 20th, Infinity Entertainment will release a collection of The Jerry Lewis Show running 780 minutes. Again, this comes courtesy of TVShowsOnDVD.com; there is no word yet on what will be included.
Finally, on November 24th, The Criterion Collection will release a 3-DVD set titled The Golden Age of Television, consisting of the following live dramas from the 1950s:
Marty (1953)
Patterns (1955)
No Time for Sergeants (1955)
A Wind from the South (1955)
Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956)
Bang the Drum Slowly (1956)
The Comedian (1957)
Days of Wine and Roses (1958)
According to the Criterion website these are the eight shows that made up the PBS series “The Golden Age of Television.” I believe they were broadcast between August of 1981 and March of 1982 with special introductions and interviews that will apparently be included on the Criterion set. Some of these have been released on public domain collections. Will Criterion be remastering the shows, all of which come from kinescopes? That remains to be seen. Either way, this is an impressive collection of award-winning and critically acclaimed dramas.
I first saw those specials on Channel 13 in New York in 1980-’82 (Sonny Fox originally put the “package” together). The kinescopes of the original shows are there, but the commercials and full opening/closing credits were omitted {I know “Marty” [“GOODYEAR TELEVISION PLAYHOUSE”] and “Patterns” [“KRAFT TELEVISION THEATER”] DON’T have the original commercials in their surviving kinescope prints}- probably to use the time meant for commercial breaks to include the reminiscings of those involved with the episodes. This is fine for those who’ve never seen them before, but for those who want to see the original shows AS THEY WERE PRESENTED….I guess I’m a stickler for that.