New TV Hits Bring Old Shows to DVD... Or Do They?

• Mar 7, 2008 11:14 AM ET
• by The DVD Team

There's no doubt about it: New TV hits can bring old, short-lived shows to DVD.

Just ask Taye Diggs, who's hot enough in Private Practice that his 2006 effort, Day Break, will hit stores at the end of this month. Or Kim Raver: Her old show, Third Watch, was in hugely high demand for a DVD release... but the studio didn't actually pull the trigger on getting it out (early last month) until Raver was cast in the new series Lipstick Jungle.

Christina Applegate is doing well with Samantha Who?, so naturally more season-set releases are getting dug up for Married... with Children (Season 8 hits in a couple of weeks). Ditto for Party of Five, which finally returns to DVD later this month, thanks to Matthew Fox's current hit show, Lost. (Jennifer Love Hewitt's good-enough turn in Ghost Whisperer doesn't hurt there, either!)

This phenomenon is not only limited to cast members, either. With Heroes having hit superpower levels in the ratings, is it any wonder that creator Tim Kring's previous series, Crossing Jordan, is getting a DVD release at long last this coming May?

But then, it's not automatic, either. For some actors and actresses in new hit shows, you can't help but ask: Where's their old stuff? Several examples easily come to mind of recent series that are not yet on DVD, but which featured stars who have lately gone on to bigger and better hit shows!

My personal favorite MIA program on this list is That '80s Show. The short-lived series wasn't exactly a spin-off of the closely named That '70s Show, but it did have a similar concept, and it came from the same production company (Carsey-Werner). Among the show's ensemble cast was one Chyler Leigh, who was unforgettable to fans as mohawk-spiked hair rocker Tuesday. Last season, of course, Leigh joined the cast of Grey's Anatomy as Lexi, Dr. Meredith Grey's younger half-sister, who's interning at Seattle Grace (and annoying the heck out of Mer in the process). Me, I love her new role, but I'd also love to see Leigh's old role again! She was both punkish and charming.

Another vet of That '80s Show is Brittany Daniel, who played Sophie and now costars with Tia Mowry in the CW's Girlfriends spin-off, The Game. So there are two of them in the current spotlight these days! With this double-whammy of new projects by former cast members, can't the 13 episodes of That '80s Show come to DVD anytime soon? Sign me up if they do! Is anyone with me?

Let's look at a few others:

" Speaking of Tia Mowry in The Game, can't we get Sister, Sister, which starred her and her twin, Tamera, on DVD? A rumored release back in 2006 turned out to be just that: a rumor. But the fans are relentless and want this show to come out!

" Not to be confused with the above, Sisters, with Swoosie Kurtz - who is in the new hit Pushing Daisies - is among the most voted-for unreleased titles at TVShowsOnDVD.com. Sela Ward (seen on several episodes of House a couple of seasons ago) also stars in the series. But just where are the DVDs?

" Then there's another Pushing Daisies actress, Kristin Chenoweth, who back in 2001 starred in the short-lived NBC series Kristin. The network aired six episodes, out of the 11 that were shot. It would be interesting to see those unaired episodes on DVD, wouldn't it? Especially with the actress now back in the limelight. And Kristin costarred with another name you probably recognize: Ana Ortiz of Ugly Betty!

" Tony Shalhoub, whose current show, Monk, has earned him Emmys and continues to do well, first came to popular attention in Wings, which has a sixth season coming to DVD at the end of this month. And folks love Neil Patrick Harris (aka Doogie Howser, M.D., which has every episode already on DVD) as Barney on How I Met Your Mother. But what continues to be overlooked is that both Shalhoub and Harris had a very funny turn together in 1999's NBC series Stark Raving Mad, a Fox-produced show created by Steven Levitan ( Back to You), which felt like an updated version of the classic series The Odd Couple. The show's 22-episode run isn't available on DVD yet, and some diehard fans are wondering, "What's the holdup?"

" John Barrowman is so fresh and popular as Captain Jack Harkness in Torchwood that we might forget he was actually around for a while before the Doctor Who spin-off! Back in 1995, he joined Lauren Hutton, Mädchen Amick, Muriel Hemingway, Gerald McRaney and Ron Leibman in Central Park West, another short-run series that is not out on DVD yet for some reason, despite a decent amount of interest in it. The show was created by Darren Star, who also worked on Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Sex and the City (including the upcoming theatrical film) and the current Cashmere Mafia. It seems like now would be the time to bring CPW to DVD, wouldn't it?

What about you? Would you buy any of these shows on DVD? What about Chyler Leigh's other recent series, Reunion (Fox, 2005)? How about The Nine (ABC, 2006), which featured Kim Raver and Chi McBride ( Pushing Daisies)? How about Raver's Lipstick Jungle costar Brook Shields in her old sitcom Suddenly Susan? Or are there other series with stars from some current favorite shows that you'd love to see come to home video? Talk back to us, and tell us what you think! - David Lambert