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.
April 2016 was a quiet month. The only DVD release of note was The New Adventures of Gilligan (ABC, 1974-1975) from Shout! Factory. Warner Archive Instant overhauled its collection of TV series and made-for-TV movies without adding any new titles. Also, recent obscurities The Messengers (The CW, 2014-2015) and American Odyssey (NBC, 2015) were added to Netflix.
DVD/Blu-ray Releases
The New Adventures of Gilligan: The Complete Series (TV Series, Warner Archive, DVD)
Technically, this animated spin-off of Gilligan’s Island ran for two seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1975, but those two seasons only produced 24 episodes. With the exception of Tina Louise and Dawn Wells, the original cast reunited for the Saturday morning cartoon. Jane Webb voiced by Ginger and Mary Ann. The cartoon was produced by Filmation. The 3-disc set includes several short bumpers as the only bonus feature. Manufacture-on-demand.
DVD/Blu-ray News
Shout! Factory will release the first season of The Defenders (CBS, 1961-1965) on DVD on July 12th. The 9-disc set will include the 32 episodes from the 1961-1962 season as well as bonus features that have yet to be announced (TVShowsOnDVD.com).
Streaming
Warner Archive Instant dramatically overhauled its collection of TV series available for streaming. Gone are series like Bronk, Logan’s Run, and Sam Benedict. More than two dozen series removed over the course of 2015 are now back, including The Gallant Men, A Man Called Shenandoah, SEARCH, Man from Atlantis, The Lieutenant, Maya, Flo, and Harry O. The selection of made-for-TV movies was likewise refreshed. I don’t believe any new titles were added, however.
Two recent one season wonders were added to Netflix last month: The Messengers (The CW, 2014-2015) and American Odyssey (NBC, 2015).
Finally, 13 episodes of The Great American Dream Machine were added to Hulu last month. The variety series was hosted by Marshall Efron and aired on PBS from 1971 to 1973. Most episodes were released on DVD in September 2015 by S’More Entertainment.
Hit the comments with any news about upcoming DVD/Blu-ray releases or additions to streaming services.
Warner Archive also removed Hondo, Jericho and 77 Sunset Strip. They brought back Surfside Six and Daktari The returnees had been given a rest for about six to ten months apiece. I’d expect all of the removed series to be back within the same time period as well. Hondo and Bronk were consistently on the “Most Popular” list on the site.