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.
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.
Pre-order the set from Amazon.
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.
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.
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.
Pre-order it from Amazon.
