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Extras include 2 pilots of 'All in the Family,' interviews with actors
By Rich Heldenfels
Beacon Journal popular culture writer
Published on Sunday, Jun 07, 2009
The major TV work of writer-producer Norman Lear has found its way to DVD, generally in no-frills sets. But it's getting a far more lavish treatment in the enormous The Norman Lear Collection.
From Sony, the 19-disc set in stores Tuesday retails for $159.95 and includes the first seasons of All in the Family, Sanford & Son, Maude, Good Times and The Jeffersons, as well as the first 25 episodes of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. As I said, those have all been on DVD before. The lure of the new set is two discs of extras, including interviews with Lear and various actors discussing the creation and impact of the shows.
The extras also contain two pilots for All in the Family, both starring Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton, and both using essentially the same script as in the first episode made for CBS. But they're of historical note because of differences in title, and in characters (the Bunkers were at one point named the Justices) and because each of the pilots includes different actors playing Gloria and her husband (who isn't named Mike in the pilots). You can see how different the casting chemistry is when the younger couple is played by Candy Azzara and Chip Oliver, or Kelly Jean Peters and Tim McIntire. And how much better the show worked with Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner.
The Shield wrapped up a glorious run on TV this year with a brilliant series finale. The show starred Michael Chiklis as Vic Mackey, a cop with a perverse sense of right and wrong, and as the show moved ever closer to the end, fans wondered how it could conclude in a way that was both dramatically satisfying and just. And the makers met viewer expectations on every level, both in the way they handled Mackey and in their last look at other characters.
You can see the finale — and the rest of the season — in The Shield: Season 7: The Final Act (Sony, 13 episodes, four discs, $59.95). It also includes commentaries on each episode, deleted scenes and featurettes on both the season and the last episode.
Also coming to DVD from TV on Tuesday is Reaper: Season Two (Lionsgate, 13 episodes, four discs, $39.98), the latest go-round by the series about a young man (Bret Harrison) reluctantly working for the Devil (Akron's Ray Wise). The CW did not renew the show for a third season, although there has been talk of more telecasts being made for syndication, and I wouldn't mind that. Though the show was uneven, it was reasonably entertaining, and Wise made a great villain. DVD extras include a making-of segment, deleted scenes and bloopers.
Wise also shows up as a bowling entrepreneur in Strike (Anchor Bay, $26.97), a poor little movie comedy about an actor who becomes a professional bowler. Ross Patterson stars and wrote the script, while Tommy Reid directed. Both are Ohio State alumni and they put some Buckeye flavor in the movie — with football star Eddie George as himself, and a bowling tournament set in Akron (although the Akron lanes are played by a California venue). But this is no Kingpin. The DVD extra is a brief selection of behind-the-scenes footage.
On the movie side, Jack Lemmon's DVD catalog gets a big boost from The Jack Lemmon Film Collection (Columbia, six discs, $59.95), with some performances that have never before been on home video.
The set includes Phfft!, Operation Mad Ball, The Notorious Landlady, Under the Yum Yum Tree and Good Neighbor Sam, spanning 1954 to 1964. A bonus disc includes a look back at Lemmon's career, hosted by his son Chris and featuring interviews with friends and colleagues, as well as a photo gallery and an old Lemmon TV appearance on Ford All-Star Theater.
Watching Blu-ray
As has been noted here more than once, video distributors are working mightily to get people to upgrade from standard DVD to high-definition Blu-ray. And I have mixed feelings about this, because I'm not always convinced that the Blu-ray version is a significant improvement over DVD. In fact, it can be a distraction, when the clarity of picture and sound makes the technological limitations of older material all the more evident.
For instance, I recently watched the new Blu-ray version of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Lionsgate, $29.99), and its computer-generated effects were even more spectacular. But Air Force One (Columbia, $28.95), an action film I also like, felt too old school, with its effects looking tacky when seen more clearly on Blu-ray.
Still, I was a full Blu-ray convert with Generation Kill (HBO Home Entertainment, seven episodes, three disc, $79.98). HBO is releasing it and John Adams ($79.98) on Blu-ray on June 16 as potential Father's Day gifts. While the picture and sound on the previous DVD of Generation Kill were excellent, Blu-ray kicks it up another notch, revealing details and giving new depth to the screen.
Even better, extras included in the DVD version are now more readily accessible via Blu-ray. Generation Kill, about a unit fighting in Iraq, does not pause to explain terminology, and it can take time to sort out the characters. But with Blu-ray you can call up a list of characters' nicknames, accompanied by their photos and real names, as a pop-up while watching the production. A glossary of terms is also available as a pop-up. And they're in service of a very good program.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal, in the HeldenFiles Online blog at http://heldenfels.ohio.com and on Twitter. He can be reached at 330-996-3582 and rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.
The major TV work of writer-producer Norman Lear has found its way to DVD, generally in no-frills sets. But it's getting a far more lavish treatment in the enormous The Norman Lear Collection.
Get the full article here.
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