CULTURE: TV on DVD releases/reviews -- 10/04

[PF Wilson]

The mailbox was a little light this week as far as review copies go. There are bonus reviews after this week's releases though. Also, last week I mentioned how crappy the new TV season was, and maroonblazer replied "what about 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and 'Extras.' However, I meant (most) new fall shows (“Extras” debuted back in July). But thanks for the reply maroonblazer and YES, we could use more of these shows!

in stores October 4th:

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Season 1
• America’s Funniest Home Videos, Home For The Holidays
• The Bob Newhart Show, The Complete 2nd Season
• Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Spike: Love is Hell
• Count Duckula, The Complete 1st Season
• Drawn Together, Season One.
• Farscape, Starburst Edition; Volume Six
• Into The West, mini-series
• Kenny vs. Spenny, Season One
• Kolchak: The Night Stalker
• Postcards From Buster, Buster’s Got The Beat, Buster’s Outdoor Journeys
• SCTV: Network 90: Christmas With SCTV
• Stargate SG-1, Season Eight.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume Nineteen
• The Tom Green Show, Inside and Outside the Box
• A Twist in the Tale, William Shatner’s A Twist in the Tale
• Wild Palms, mini-series
• Various, Christmas Rocks

Beverly Hillbillies, The Ultimate Collection, Volume 1 (MPI)

Like The Andy Griffith Show, this is one TV series from the sixties that has aged rather well. It's coincidental that both shows are from the so-called "rural comedy" genre, because that has little to do with their endurance.

What made this show (and the Griffith show) so great was its simplicity, and the fact that it realized its fish-out-of-water theme so well, for so long. When the show left the air in 1971, it was still drawing respectable numbers, but CBS decided it wanted to go in a new directions eventually rolling out the likes of M*A*S*H, All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show. While these were greats shows, the network missed the fact that simple comedy can still be hysterical.

This set includes the entire first season of The Beverly Hillbillies. The packaging says that you get the unaired pilot, though the liner notes say the pilot was broadcast on September 12, 1962, which TV.com also confirms. Hmmm. Anyway, you also get an interview with Linda Kaye Henning, the daughter of creator Paul Henning, as well as clips of Buddy Ebsen (who played Jed Clampett) and Irene Ryan (Granny) appearing on a couple of variety shows. There are also original CBS promos and commercials starring various cast members.

Of course the main draw is the 26 uncut episodes that follow the Clampett's as they adjust to life in Southern California, after finding oil on their property in the Tennessee mountains. Enjoying the "ce-ment pond" (swimming pool), the fancy eatn' table (the pool table) and dealing with their banker Mr. Drysdale, this is truly a classic American sitcom. So simple, yet such a hoot!

Widow on the Hill/Lies My Mother Told Me (Lifetime/Warner Home Video)

Most Lifetime movies have one of two plots. One is "this guy seemed nice at first, now he's a nut and he's stalking me!" The other is "give me back my baby!" Even though you know this going in, every now and then, you'll surf passed one and get stuck.

Fortunately, someone decided it would be a good idea to stick a couple of these on DVD, and conveniently, these two films don't fall into either of the standard plot molds. Instead, the two tell rags to riches stories “based on true events.”

"Widow on the Hill" stars Natasha Henstridge as a nurse who carrying for a dying woman, ultimately marrying the wealthy widower.

In "Lies My Mother Told Me" Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck) is a con woman on the run with her daughter in tow. Marrying a wealthy dude, that union goes south and her whole life unravels. I guess if you can’t find anybody but a stalker ladies, try finding some rich dude to marry.