New releases announced today, April 6:
Lost - The Complete 5th Season (DVD & Blu-ray) will be coming out December 8
Matlock - The 3rd Season will be coming out July 7
Petticoat Junction - The Official 2nd Season will be coming out July 7
Reno 911! - The Complete 6th Season will be coming out July 7
Visit TVShowsOnDVD.com for the complete stories on these and other news items.
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New releases announced today, August 13:Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist - The Best Of will be coming out December 9 Petticoat Junction - The Official 1st Season will be coming out December 16 Swingtown - The 1st Season will be coming out December 16 Visit TVShowsOnDVD.com for the complete stories on these and other news items.
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Question: In your recent comments about the Parents Television Council, you made reference to people who wish that all TV looked like Nick at Nite. I understood your point. But it is interesting to note that Nick at Nite does show episodes of All in the Family and Good Times, two series that caused an uproar with groups like the PTC in the '70s, and has in the past run episodes of Maude, another controversial show. In fact, I was watching All in the Family the other night and thought that there was no way a show like that could make it to network TV today. As far as the PTC goes, it's pretty simple: If you don't like it, don't watch it. There is plenty of technology available to parents for blocking channels. For that matter, there is no law saying that one must own a TV. If it offends thee, pluck it out, as someone once said. Don't subject the rest of us to a worldview that sees Petticoat Junction as the zenith of American television.
Answer: Not that there's anything wrong with
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Question: Okey dokey, my dad and I have a bet riding on this one. My father says that Petticoat Junction came before The Beverly Hillbillies and that Kate and Pearl, though both played by the late, great Bea Benaderet, were not related. I, on the other hand, say that the Hillbillies came before Petticoat — and I am pretty darn sure that there was something about Kate and Pearl being distant cousins or something of the sort. Who's right? Thanks!Answer: Looks like it's a draw on this one, Ashley. And since you broke the age-old Televisionary rule and didn't tell me what your bet was (and that's Mr. Okey Dokey to you, by the way), all I can say is it's either a wash and you owe each other nothing, or you should buy something nice for one another.
You're right on the first count: The Beverly Hillbillies
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Question: I was a big Lost in Space fan as a kid. Watching reruns, I realized there was a big difference between the evil Dr. Smith from the first episodes and the funny Dr. Smith who came along later. What was the deal with that?
Answer: Elementary, you lugubrious lump... you pusillanimous pinhead! (Sorry, my inner Smith got the best of me there, Kevin.)
The simple answer is the one behind so many developments on your favorite shows, both old and new: ratings. As the story goes, actor Jonathan Harris, who played the no-good doctor, and the powers-that-be behind the show, one of many from legendary producer Irwin Allen, realized early on that the truly evil Dr. Smith would wear thin in no time. So although the character was merely sinister when the series launched on CBS in September 1965 — it was his sabotage that got
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