New releases announced today, March 14:Army Wives - The Complete 1st Season will be coming out June 10 Home Improvement - The Complete 8th Season will be coming out June 10 Visit TVShowsOnDVD.com for the complete stories on these and other news items.
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Question: In a recent Dispatch, you noted how there was a glut of pretty good comedies on Mondays, and I agree. Why do the networks put all similar programs up against each other on the same night? Not everyone has a DVR, and if we do, not all of us have the capacity to tape and watch other shows simultaneously. Meanwhile, there are certain days (like Tuesdays), when I can find nothing to watch except for stupid newsmagazines or reality programming. Wouldn't it make sense for the networks to counterprogram against what others are offering? Wouldn't it be great to have some of the comedies from Monday or Thursday or some of the serialized dramas from Wednesday taking advantage of the fact that there's nothing similar to watch on Tuesday? Instead of worrying about lead-in programming (which I don't understand in a remote-control world), shouldn't they focus on finding spots where the audience is underserved?
Answer: A fair complaint, but you've sort of answered your own question. Think
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ABC has pulled its Friday-night rebroadcasts of ABC Family's Kyle XY after four low-rated outings, TV Week reports.... TNT has ponied up $17 mil for the cable rights to 300, to premiere in September 2009. Per Variety, TNT believes it can edit out the blood and gore while maintaining the film's integrity.... OurChart.com and FanLib.com have announced a writing contest inviting fans of The L Word to rewrite any scene from Season 1 or 2. The winning submission will air as part of a future episode. Go here for deets.... On DVD August 7: 8 Simple Rules: The Complete First Season and Home Improvement, Season 7.... A survey commissioned by Arm & Hammer Advanced White Toothpaste finds that women most covet the smiles of Halle Berry and Julia Roberts. As for which Hollyhunk they'd like to "share their toothpaste" with, George Clooney edged out Matthew McConaughey.
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Wow, March 15 is loaded with Warner releases! They have ER Season 7, The War at Home Season 1, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Volume 6, Tom and Jerry Tales Volume 2, and Tex Avery's Droopy: The Complete Theatrical Collection, which aired as part of Tom and Jerry. That's five releases on one day!All right, time to get right to it: American Dad Volume 2 is my pick of the week for May 15. I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of this show, but the DVDs are pretty good. I prefer Family Guy over American Dad; I just feel that AD is too similar to FG, and I prefer Peter over Stan. The set includes commentary on every episode, plus three featurettes and "Multi-angle Scene Studies" on selected episodes.Other noteworthy releases coming next week: Banacek Season 1 from Hart Sharp and TV Guide, Frasier Season 9, Home Improvement Season 6, Martin Season 2, The Rockford Files Season 4, and Wings Season 4.
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Question: I'm a 45-year-old mother concerned about today's programming. It seems all there is to watch is blood, murder and sex. Whatever happened to funny family shows? You cannot sit down as a family and watch TV anymore. I'm not sure whom the networks are trying to appeal to, but do they realize that there are still generations of families with kids watching TV at 8 pm? This is a sad state of affairs when I can't even let my 15-year-old sit down with me to watch TV. We're reduced to Nick at Nite! When there is a good show, the networks cancel it. Look at the history: American Dreams, Yes, Dear, all replaced with sex: Two and a Half Men, the CSIs, Grey's Anatomy. And how many nights can they shove Dancing with the Stars down our throats? I'm just disgusted that when I sit down to relax, there's nothing to watch anymore.
Answer: Unfortunately, I can't give you much hope. These days, the networks' idea of "family" programming takes the form of the more benign reality programs, like
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