Big John, Little John has finally been released on DVD in the US. The show was originally scheduled to be released in the fall of 2009, then pushed back to the spring of 2010, and then it was postponed indefinitely.
As mentioned here, I picked up the UK release a few years back and the shows appeared to be uncut and each episode included an opening preview for each episode, as well as a preview of next episode at the end.
The Korg, 70,ooo BC DVD series set release date is December 11, 2012. You can now preorder it from the Warner Archives here. As with other DVDs from the Archives, these are not going to be sold in stores, just online. The DVDs are MOD (made on demand) and are burned on to recordable discs. However, in at least some cases, the first run of sets are pressed, like the recent Shazam! set.
It looks like Korg, 70,000 BC is coming to DVD. This video was just posted on Facebook by the Warner Archives, the same company that released Shazam! last month:
No word on when it will be released, but I am assuming that it should be soon.
Shazam! – The Complete Live Action Series was released on DVD on October 23rd. The set includes every episode of the show, but unfortunately no extras. It does include the three episodes, “The Odd Couple,” “Finders Keepers,” and “Out of Focus,” that guest starred Isis.
The show was released by the Warner Archives, which mean it is not being in sold in stores, but it is available direct and through online retailers like Amazon. It also means that the discs will be MOD, Manufactured on Demand, on DVD-R, instead of the standard, pressed DVDs.
Rumors have been going around for awhile that Shazam! was going to be released on DVD and now they can be confirmed.
The schedule for Comic Con has been released and here’s the relevant information on the Warner Archive Collection panel on Friday, July 13th at 3 PM:
Warner Archive Collection: Shazam!— Join ever-informed, fancentric WAC Podcast hosts George Feltenstein, Matthew Patterson, and DW Ferranti as they give fans a look at the upcoming DVD release of the popular 1970s series Shazam! The series’ own Billy Batson, Michael Gray, will be on hand, and an exclusive, limited-edition Shazam! LEGO figure will be awarded to a lucky number of fans in attendance. WAC panelists will also offer sneak peeks of Gene Roddenberry’s “other” TV series, The Lieutenant, and some highlights of WAC’s wildly entertaining upcoming slate of releases. And don’t be surprised if a few unannounced guests appear with the bold shout of a single word! Room 25ABC
No word on the release date, price, or any extras. Since this is going to be released by the Warner Archives Collection, it probably won’t be available in stores, but it should be available through online retailers like Amazon. Look for more updates in the near future.
While looking something else up on Amazon UK, I saw that Here Comes the Double Deckers is now available on DVD in the UK. Besides all the episodes, the disc includes interviews with cast members Brinsley Forde (Spring) and Michael Audreson (Brains).
My copy is on order and I will try to post a review once I get and also let everyone know if the DVDs can be played on standard US DVD players like the UK release of Big John, Little John was.
The 1976 series, Monster Squad, is coming to DVD in the next few months. For those not familiar with the series, here’s some clips from “The Astologer” episode:
Amazon lists the release date as May 12th, but it looks like the set has been pushed back to June. As of now, there is no word on what, if any, extras will be on the set.
It will be the first Saturday morning show that was produced by D’Angelo-Bulluck-Allen team to be released on DVD in the US. D’Angelo-Bullock-Allen were responsible for several NBC Saturday morning series, including Run, Joe, Run; Westwind; Big John, Little John; McDuff, the Talking Dog; and the Red Hand Gang. The Red Hand Gang was previously released on DVD in the UK last year and is supposed to be released in the US later this year. Hopefully, the other series will be released in the future.
Pre-order the Monster Squad from Amazon:
Krofft DVD news
The Pufnstuf movie, which was released in 1970, the year after the series premiered on NBC, will be debuting on DVD on May 19th. So far, no extras have been announced.
Pre-order the sets from Amazon:
With their Land of the Lost movie coming out this summer, Universal is re-releasing the entire 70s series as a box set on May 19th. The series is being release in two different configurations, a standard version and a deluxe version that comes in a lunch box case. The lunch box is a replica of the original Land of the Lost lunch box from the 1970s. Both series are supposed to include bonus material, but it hasn’t been announced as to whether the content is new or just the same extras that were included on the original release.
Pre-order the sets from Amazon:
The entire series was previously released in both season and series sets by Rhino Home Video. Rhino also released several other Krofft series and compilations on DVD, but they no longer have the rights to the shows. As of now, all of their releases are out of print now, with a few already starting to go for higher, collectors’ prices. So if you want to get some of the other shows, now is the time to get them!
If the Land of the Lost movie and the new DVD release do well, hopefully it will lead to more Krofft releases. As of now, the second season of Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, as well as complete series sets of Far Out Space Nuts, Lost Saucer, the Krofft Supershow and its various segments, and the Krofft Superstar Hour/The Bay City Rollers Show haven’t been released on DVD.
Filmation DVD news
In other out of print DVD news, BCI Eclipse, who released several live action(Ark II, Ghost Busters, Isis, and Jason of Star Command) and animated Filmation series over the last few years, is no more. From what I have read, that means that they won’t be making more copies of any of the sets they have released, so your best bet is to get them now before they become collectors’ items like some of the Krofft shows.
If you want the individual series sets,Oldies.com is offering some of them at low costs including Space Academy for $8.95 and Ghost Busters for $7.95.
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Two new animated Saturday morning themed DVDs coming in May
On the same day that the Land of the Lost Box Set is being released (May 26th), Warner Brothers is releasing two compilations of Saturday morning material, one from the 60s and one from the 70s. Most of the material is from the Hanna Barbera library and unfortunately, there are no episodes of the Banana Splits, Danger Island, Korg 70,000 BC, Skatebirds, or Mystery Island on the set. The sets feature a mix of shows that are already on DVD in season or series sets, along with other shows which are making their debut on DVD. Each set will also feature extras highlighting some of the shows on the discs.
Here’s what shows are on the 1960s set: Top Cat, Atom Ant Show (with Precious Pup and the Hillbilly Bears), The Peter Potamus Show (with Breezly & Sneezly and Yippie, Yappee, & Yahooey), The Secret Squirrel Show (with Squiddley Diddly and Winsome Witch), The Flintsones, The Porky Pig Show, The Quick Draw McGraw Show (with Snooper & Blabber and Augie Dogie), The Magilla Gorilla Show (with Punkin Puss and Ricochet Rabbit), The Jetsons, Marine Boy, Space Ghost/Dino Boy Show, Herculoids, and Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles.
Pre-order it from Amazon:
Here’s what series are on the 1970s set: The Jetsons, Hong Kong Phooey, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Speed Buggy, Wheelie and the Chooper Bunch, Yogi’s Gang, Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, Roman Holidays, Josie and the Pussycats, Funky Phantom, the New Scooby Doo Movies, and The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour.
Filmation’s version of Tarzan was one of my favorite Saturday morning shows of the 1970s, so hopefully this will lead to a full series release.
Even though no US Saturday morning tv DVD releases have been announced, there are a couple of 70s live kid themed releases coming out in the upcoming months.
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On October 14th, a two DVD a 1 CD set of episodes and songs from The Magic Garden will be released. For those not familiar with the show, the Magic Garden was a daily kids show featuring the two hosts, Carole and Paula, singing songs and telling stories. It was originally produced in New York in 1972 and then syndicated all over the country, with reruns of the 52 episodes airing in some areas, including New York, through 1984.
As far as I can recall, the show didn’t air in my area (or I was too young to notice it), but I was able to view the few episodes of the series that were released on VHS in 1994. Despite the shows’ age and low budget, I thought it was a fun show. The two hosts were great and the show worked as a nice example of non-network childrens’ tv from the early 1970s.
Here’s a clip from the show:
The DVD set features 10 episodes on two DVDs, with a bonus CD featuring six songs. Unfortunately, it doesn’t contain the opening or closing theme.
Carole and Paula are still performing together in the New York and New Jersey area. Here’s another clip:
Check out their official site for dates, as well as background information on the two hosts and the show.
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Coming out either two weeks later (October 28th) or one month later (November 11th), a two hour DVD, ZOOM – Back to the ’70s, will be released featuring clips from the PBS produced show that ran from 1972 to 1978. The show featured children and young adults performing skits and songs sent in by viewers.
Here’s the first part of the very first episode:
Currently, there is not much information about the release, but the two hour running time suggests that it will not be just a DVD version of the ZOOM – Best of the ’70s VHS tape, which was released in 2000 and ran 40 minutes. If/when any additional information pops up, I’ll post it.
Last night, the Home Theater Forum had their annual DVD online chat with members of Warner Brothers’ Television and Animation Department, someone asked about a release Shazam!, probably the biggest show on the site that hasn’t been released on DVD – here’s the response: “No plans for (it) at this time.”
That doesn’t mean the show will never be released. Later in the chat, someone else asked about some other Filmation series based on DC comic characters and was told “Rest assured our goal is to release the entire dc comics library at some point.”
So there is still some hope it will be released, but don’t look for it on your local retailer’s shelf anytime soon.
Warner Home Video is asking fans to participate in a survey to find out which animated series they would like to see released on DVD.
I know this doesn’t have much to do with live action series, but I’m assuming that fans of the live action Saturday morning shows of the 1970s might be interested in some of the animated shows listed (Filmation’s Tarzan, Super Friends, etc…) from the same time period.
The survey also has a space to leave comments, which might be a good place to request that Warner Brothers release the Banana Splits or Skatebirds, which combined live action segments with animated ones.