November 2018: The Month in Home Media

The Month in Home Media highlights short-lived or rare TV shows released on DVD or Blu-ray in the United States during the previous month.

The first season of acclaimed drama Mr. Novak (NBC, 1963-1965) came out on DVD last month. Also, Alpha Video released more episodes of One Step Beyond (ABC, 1959-1961) and The Count of Monte Cristo (Syndicated, 1956) on DVD.

DVD/Blu-ray Releases

Highlight of the Month: Mr. Novak (Season 1)

James Franciscus starred in this 1963-1965 NBC drama as idealistic high school teacher John Novak. Dean Jagger co-starred as Albert Vane, principal of the fictional Jefferson High School. The show featured a large supporting cast, including Jeanne Bal, Marian Collier, Steve Franken, Vince Howard, and Stephen Roberts. Guest stars during the first season included Ed Asner, Joey Heatherton, Martin Landau, Tony Dow, Beau Bridges, Barbara Barrie, and Frankie Avalon. A total of 30 episodes aired during the 1963-1964 season.

Despite low ratings, Mr. Novak received critical acclaim and support from teachers, and NBC renewed it for a second season. Hopefully, Warner Archive will release Season 2 on DVD in 2019.

Support Television Obscurities by purchasing Mr. Novak (Season 1) on DVD through Amazon.

Other Releases

One Step Beyond, Volume 18 (The Lost Episodes) [Alpha Video]
The Count of Monte Cristo, Volume 10 [Alpha Video]

News

VEI will release one season wonder Dan August (ABC, 1970-1971) on DVD tomorrow. According to several posts at Home Theater Forum, some people have already received the set.

Warner Archive will release the 1973 NBC miniseries The Blue Knight on Blu-ray on December 11th. Based on the Joseph Wambaugh novel of the same name, the miniseries starred William Holden, Lee Remick, Anne Archer, and Sam Elliott. It ran over the course of four consecutive nights from November 11th to November 14th, one hour each night. A short-lived TV show starring George Kennedy aired on CBS for two short seasons from December 1975 to October 1976 (TVShowsOnDVD.com/Facebook).


Hit the comments with reviews of recently released DVD/Blu-ray sets or news about upcoming releases.


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