PF Wilson
22 Mar 2005, 05:18 PM
New TV on DVD Releases for 03/22/05:
*24, Starter Set, Season One, Episodes 1-2
*Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Starter Set, Season One, Episodes 1-2
*Doogie Howser, Season One
*The Flintstones, Season Three (see review below)
*The French Chef
*Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Season One
*Kojak, Season One
*Making The Cut, Best o Season One
*The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Starter Set, Best of Season One
*New Scooby Doo Movies, Best of Season One (see review below)
*Pimp My Ride, The Complete First Season
*The Pretender, Starter Set, Season One Episodes 1 & 2
*Silk Stalkings, Season 2
*Star Wars Clones, Volume One
The Flintstones, Complete Third Season (Warner Home Video)
From 1966, when they left the sir, until about 1995, The Flintstones held the record for the longest running prime-time animated TV series. However, for a many people, The ’Stones are best remembered from their syndication run in the ’70s, as a staple of before and/or after school TV viewing.
Season 3 brings us the more familiar opening theme song, which wasn’t used until the start of the 1962-63 season. You get 28 episodes here, which are of course, uncut. That’s significant, because while the average sit-com loses around two minutes in syndication (for more commercials), The Flintstones was liberally sliced and diced in an effort to move more Frosted Flakes, G.I. Joes, Barbies and Big Wheels. Even if you’ve seen these episodes around a dozen times, or so, there’s a lot that you haven’t seen. The comedy still holds up well, though many of the parodies are sixties-based. It’s comparatively violent when watched along side today’s Simpsons (who took Fred & the gang’s prime-time crown), King of the Hill and Family Guy. However, the overlying theme is good clean fun, and the pranks and gags aren’t meant to make any sort of statements, which can be refreshing. The highlight of the season is the birth of Pebbles (“Dress Rehersal”), along with a spoof of dance crazes (“The Twitch”) and Fred’s decision to take ballet to improve his bowling game (“The Bowling Ballet”).
The extras aren’t very exciting. A mini-documentary on collecting Flintstones memorabilia, a look at the women of Bedrock and assorted trailers. Gravy, really. Slap together a peanut butter sandwich and plunk your self down in front of the TV. Yabba-Dabba-Do!
The Best of The New Scooby Doo Movies, Volume One (Warner Home Video)
After three years of successfully meddling in the plans of many a nefarious villain, Hanna-Barbera felt that Scooby Doo audiences were ready for longer and more flesh-out stories., and so, in the fall of 1972, introduced The New Scooby Doo Movies. Expanded to an hour, the gang was joined by celebrity guests like Don Adams, Dick Van Dyke and Don Knotts.
This set collects 15 of the best episodes from that first season (Sonny and Cher’s appearance got whacked for example) in a 4-disc set. The laugh track is a bit annoying and some times seems high up in the mix, drowning out dialogue in some spots. And one of the series’ biggest mysteries goes unanswered. It always seemed odd to me that Fred and Daphne always headed off in one direction, while Scooby, Shaggy and Velma head in another. Invariably the latter group would run in to the monster, while the other two came back empty handed. Hmmmm.
Extras include a rather poorly animated “roast” of Scooby by other Hanna-Barbera dogs, which is really just a bunch of highlights of Scooby’s misadventures. There’s also a short piece on Velma and Daphne and clips of the Harlem Gobetrotters (who had their own animated series and also guest starred) showing Scooby some basketball tricks.
Certainly a must for fans of the mystery-solving canine, this set too, brings back memories of Saturday mornings in the early ’70s and weekday afternoons in the latter part of that decade.
*24, Starter Set, Season One, Episodes 1-2
*Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Starter Set, Season One, Episodes 1-2
*Doogie Howser, Season One
*The Flintstones, Season Three (see review below)
*The French Chef
*Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Season One
*Kojak, Season One
*Making The Cut, Best o Season One
*The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Starter Set, Best of Season One
*New Scooby Doo Movies, Best of Season One (see review below)
*Pimp My Ride, The Complete First Season
*The Pretender, Starter Set, Season One Episodes 1 & 2
*Silk Stalkings, Season 2
*Star Wars Clones, Volume One
The Flintstones, Complete Third Season (Warner Home Video)
From 1966, when they left the sir, until about 1995, The Flintstones held the record for the longest running prime-time animated TV series. However, for a many people, The ’Stones are best remembered from their syndication run in the ’70s, as a staple of before and/or after school TV viewing.
Season 3 brings us the more familiar opening theme song, which wasn’t used until the start of the 1962-63 season. You get 28 episodes here, which are of course, uncut. That’s significant, because while the average sit-com loses around two minutes in syndication (for more commercials), The Flintstones was liberally sliced and diced in an effort to move more Frosted Flakes, G.I. Joes, Barbies and Big Wheels. Even if you’ve seen these episodes around a dozen times, or so, there’s a lot that you haven’t seen. The comedy still holds up well, though many of the parodies are sixties-based. It’s comparatively violent when watched along side today’s Simpsons (who took Fred & the gang’s prime-time crown), King of the Hill and Family Guy. However, the overlying theme is good clean fun, and the pranks and gags aren’t meant to make any sort of statements, which can be refreshing. The highlight of the season is the birth of Pebbles (“Dress Rehersal”), along with a spoof of dance crazes (“The Twitch”) and Fred’s decision to take ballet to improve his bowling game (“The Bowling Ballet”).
The extras aren’t very exciting. A mini-documentary on collecting Flintstones memorabilia, a look at the women of Bedrock and assorted trailers. Gravy, really. Slap together a peanut butter sandwich and plunk your self down in front of the TV. Yabba-Dabba-Do!
The Best of The New Scooby Doo Movies, Volume One (Warner Home Video)
After three years of successfully meddling in the plans of many a nefarious villain, Hanna-Barbera felt that Scooby Doo audiences were ready for longer and more flesh-out stories., and so, in the fall of 1972, introduced The New Scooby Doo Movies. Expanded to an hour, the gang was joined by celebrity guests like Don Adams, Dick Van Dyke and Don Knotts.
This set collects 15 of the best episodes from that first season (Sonny and Cher’s appearance got whacked for example) in a 4-disc set. The laugh track is a bit annoying and some times seems high up in the mix, drowning out dialogue in some spots. And one of the series’ biggest mysteries goes unanswered. It always seemed odd to me that Fred and Daphne always headed off in one direction, while Scooby, Shaggy and Velma head in another. Invariably the latter group would run in to the monster, while the other two came back empty handed. Hmmmm.
Extras include a rather poorly animated “roast” of Scooby by other Hanna-Barbera dogs, which is really just a bunch of highlights of Scooby’s misadventures. There’s also a short piece on Velma and Daphne and clips of the Harlem Gobetrotters (who had their own animated series and also guest starred) showing Scooby some basketball tricks.
Certainly a must for fans of the mystery-solving canine, this set too, brings back memories of Saturday mornings in the early ’70s and weekday afternoons in the latter part of that decade.