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.
Happy Anniversary to The Month in Home Media, which debuted a year ago with a look at home media for September 2013. That was a pretty quiet month and September 2014 isn’t much different. Three recent one season wonders were released on DVD, two from the 2013-2014 season (Hostages and Growing Up Fisher), and one from the 2007-2008 season (Women’s Murder Club).
DVD/Blu-ray Releases
Growing Up Fisher: Season One (TV Series, Universal Home Video, DVD)
This NBC sitcom was given a sneak peek during the 2014 Olympics back in February before premiering in its regular time slot in March. It performed relatively poorly and was pulled in early May, with the last two episodes burned off in June. A total of 13 episodes were produced. J.K. Simmons and Jenna Elfman starred as a recently divorced couple whose children must deal with their father’s blindness and their mother’s wackiness. Manufacture-on-demand.
Hostages: The Complete Series (TV Series, Warner Archive, DVD)
CBS had high hopes for this limited series consisted of 15 episodes about a surgeon scheduled to operate on the President whose family is taken hostage in order to force her to kill him. Toni Collette and Dylan McDermott starred. It ran from September to December 2013 with the final two episodes airing several weeks later in January 2014. Manufacture-on-demand.
Women’s Murder Club: The Complete First Season (TV Series, 20th Century Fox TV Archives, DVD)
ABC broadcast 13 episodes of this police/legal drama during the 2007-2008 season. Angie Harmon, Paula Newsome, Laura Harris, and Aubrey Dollar starred. This is being released through the new 20th Century Fox TV Archives manufacture-on-demand program.
DVD/Blu-ray News
FOX’s recent one season wonder Dads, created by Seth MacFarlane and starring Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi, will be released on DVD on November 12th by Olive Films. The sitcom ran for 19 episodes during the 2013-2014 season (TVShowsOnDVD.com).
Carson Entertainment Group will be released six new volumes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Vault Series in October, both individually and as part of a new 12-volume set containing 24 uncut episodes (with some music replacements) as well as bonus clips from a number of other episodes. However, the six new volumes will only be available individually in limited editions. The Vault Series was introduced in June 2013 and the most recent volume came out this past May (JohnnyCarson.com).
All four episodes of the very short-lived 1981 CBS sitcom Checking In, a spin-off of The Jeffersons starring Marla Gibbs, will be included as an extra in the complete series set of The Jeffersons being released December 9th. Also included is the pilot episode of the 1984 sitcom E/R due to the fact that Sherman Hemsley guest starred in the episode (TVShowsOnDVD.com).
Streaming
Warner Archive Instant has added The Gallant Men (ABC, 1962-1963) to its its streaming service. The complete series of 26 episodes was released on DVD in July 2012. Warner has also added ABC’s 1974 Wonder Woman pilot telefilm, starring Cathy Lee Crosby, which was released on DVD in December 2012.
Hit the comments with any news about upcoming DVD/Blu-ray releases or additions to streaming services.
