Home DVD
Must-Have DVDs: MAY 2010
Written by US Townhall staff   
Tuesday, 27 April 2010 22:09

True Blood Season 2We're back with our latest listings of some of the highlights of May's home video releases on DVD.  There should be something for everyone from among our picks in the genres of music, comedy, romance, drama, classics, animation, and TV-on-DVD.  Happy shopping!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more...
 
DVD Spotlight on: TIMELESS MEDIA GROUP
Written by US Townhall staff   

Arrest & Trial vol. 1Headquartered in Eugene, Oregon, Timeless Media Group is an independent distributor of classic movies and television shows on DVD.  It has recently entered into a licensing and distribution deal with NBC Universal in which it will bring several of the classic television westerns from Universal's vaults back into the public spotlight.  Among the highlights of this deal were the first season of the highly regarded series Wagon Train, which it released in December 2009 and the first season of The Virginian, which will be released in May 2010.

 

For this spotlight feature, we'll take a look at some of the other series being distrbuted by Timeless Media which come from the vaults of old Hollywood.  All of the following series graced the airwaves during the 1950s and 1960s.

 

 

Read more...
 
Must-Have DVDs: MARCH 2010 | Print |  E-mail
Written by US Townhall staff   
Monday, 01 March 2010 00:00

The African Queen gets released in MarchLots of great DVD choices out there for every type of buyer.  Several high-profile movies including some recent Oscar winners and a special surprise: the first-ever official United States release of the Humphrey Bogart / Katharine Hepburn classic, The African Queen on both traditional DVD and Blu-Ray formats!  Let's get right to the list:

 

Read more...
 
DVD Holiday Gift Ideas 2009
Written by US Townhall Staff   
Tuesday, 15 December 2009 01:54

glee road to sectionalsLooking for that last minute stocking stuffer or just a great gift idea for a friend this holiday season?  Look no further as US Townhall digs deep into the DVD vaults of this year's releases and comes up with some nifty suggestions sure to please that hard-to-buy-for person in your life.  What with our picks covering all genres and formats, you may even find a thing or two for yourself! 

Note that prices listed are manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP), and the prices you would expect to pay at retail can be quite significantly lower.  If they're not, shop elsewhere.

 

Read more...
 
"The Lucy Show" Season 1
Written by Scott Katz   
Monday, 26 October 2009 19:25

About two-and-a-half years after her divorce from husband Desi Arnaz in May 1960 and the end of the one hour Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show "I Love Lucy" specials, Lucille Ball returned to television in her second successful weekly sitcom, The Lucy Show, where she played the recently-widowed Lucy Carmichael.  Joining Lucy was her longtime co-star, Vivian Vance, as Vivian Bagley, the first divorced character on an American sitcom. 

Other cast members included Candy Moore and Jimmy Garrett as Lucy's children, Chris and Jerry, and Ralph Hart as Vivian's son, Sherman.  Charles Lane (later of Petticoat Junction) and Dick Martin (later of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) had recurring roles as Mr. Barnsdahl and Harry Conners, respectively.  Also along for the ride were I Love Lucy's regular writers Bob Carroll Jr., Madelyn Martin, Bob Schiller, and Bob Weiskopf.  Because they were still partners at Desilu, Desi Aranz himself was on board as Executive Producer – at least for a while.  Desi is credited as EP for only the first fifteen episodes.  In November of 1962, Desi sold his interest in Desilu to Lucy and left the series and the company entirely. 

CBS DVD and Paramount Home Entertainment have released The Lucy Show: The Official First Season.  They specify "official," because before now, many episodes of the series' later seasons have been released culled from various public domain prints in cheaply made sets.  This package, however, pulls out all the stops and gives what CBS hoped would be a fitting tribute to the first lady of television – something that Lucy's multitude of fans had been clamoring for.  The results do not disappoint.

 

The Lucy Show: The Official First Season (© 2009, CBS)

 

Included in this four-disc box set are the 30 black and white episodes from Season 1 (1962-1963) restored from the original 35 mm negatives.  Naturally, this could never look as good as something filmed recently, but for an almost-50 year old series, the video quality of the episodes looks quite clean and sharp.

What's even better, however, are the stories.  The premise of the series – two women living together with their children and having to provide for themselves with no men around – allowed Lucy and Vivian to continue to get into the oddest of predicaments.  While never quite hitting the heights of the best of I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show's first season had many classic episodes in its own right and was definitely a worthy successor to Ms. Ball's earlier sitcom.  Standout episodes include "Lucy Waits Up for Chris," "Lucy and the Electric Mattress, "Together for Christmas," "No More Double Dates," and, of course, "Lucy Puts Up a TV Antenna," and "Lucy and Viv Put in a Shower," perhaps the two most famous episodes of the series.

While nothing Lucy or her writers conjured up could top the giddy chaos of Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory or Lucy in the grape vat, Lucy on the trampoline in "Waits Up" and Lucy on stilts in "Electric Mattress" compare favorably with the physical shenanigans she performed on I Love Lucy.  The absence of male counterparts, Ricky and Fred, is felt throughout the season as much of the tension and motivation for those "crazy schemes" are lost, but on the other hand, it is fun to see Lucille and Vivian's remarkable chemistry still at play without "the boys" on hand to act as buzzkill. 

This series allowed Lucy and Vivian to act more independently because they did not have men to answer to.  Comedic situations were also often different than those on I Love Lucy as stories revolved around lack of money, raising kids, and having to do odd jobs around the house such as the aforementioned putting up an antenna on the roof, installing a new shower, or even converting their basement into a rumpus room.  However, the new setup did not completely prevent the writers from self-plagarizing from I Love Lucy, as some bits – such as Lucy playing "hand substitute" in "Lucy the Music Lover," was clearly cribbed from "The Handcuffs" episode of I Love Lucy (the same basic routine would show up again on the Liz Taylor/Richard Burton episode of Here's Lucy).  Similarly, the I Love Lucy episode featuring the get-rich-quick scheme of selling "Aunt Martha's Homemade Salad Dressing" inspired The Lucy Show's "Krazy Krunch Caramel Corn."

Looked at in totality, The Lucy Show is an odd series in that it got steadily worse with each passing season, although you couldn't really tell it by looking at the ratings.  It was a top 10 hit for each of its six seasons, but the quality of the writing took a nosedive after the departure of Carroll, Martin, Schiller, and Weiskopf after the second season.  With Vivian Vance gone after having made a reduced number of appearances in season 3, the series further deteriorated.  When Season 4 began, Lucy moved out to California, dumped her kids off at school and spent the remaining three seasons being browbeaten and screamed at by Gale Gordon's overbearing and unpleasant Mr. Mooney character.  Gordon had joined the series in Season 2, but really did not become a full co-star and comedic foil for Lucy until Season 4.  Further, the tone of the series changed dramatically as each episode featured a guest celebrity and stories and line readings, complete with characters turning to face the audience to deliver the punchline, played out like something out of a (bad) sketch variety show rather than a traditional sitcom.

However, fans of Lucy and good sitcom can rest assured that their purchase of The Lucy Show: The Official First Season is a worthy one and will provide them with hours of first class entertainment.  Extras in this set mirror the treasure trove included in the I Love Lucy sets: cast commercials, original openings and closings complete with sponsor tags, cast biographies, production notes, bloopers, clips from television specials, and much more including new interviews with Lucy's daughter, Lucie Aranz, and actor Jimmy Garrett, who played Lucy's son, Jerry.

Word is that CBS and Paramount are already preparing Season 2 for a DVD release.

 

BOTTOM LINE:

Recommendation: BUY          Click here to compare prices on THE LUCY SHOW SEASON 1

 

 

 

 
«StartPrev123NextEnd»

Page 3 of 3

MORE INTERVIEWS...

  

the-apprentice-logo-thumb UslanMichael-resize-thumb 30-rock-thumb agnes-nixon-thumb BenSpierman-thumb big-brother-logo-thumb bobby-flay-thumb Bridgeboy-logo-thumb
cast of The Apprentice 10

BATMAN film producer MICHAEL USLAN

Sherri Shepherd

Vanessa Minnillo

All My Children creator AGNES NIXON

Bronx Opera's BEN SPIERMAN

cast of Big Brother 12 BOBBY FLAY & STEVE ELLS of America's Next Great Restaurant Cast of the play Bridgeboy
bruce-canwell-thumb chuck-thumb crystal-chappell-thumb dan-kroll-thumb dan-parent-thumb david-lyons-thumb debbie-gibson-tiffany-thumb dede-emerson-thumb
Library of American Comics' BRUCE CANWELL RYAN McPARTLIN & SARAH LANCASTER

CRYSTAL CHAPPELL

part 1: Guiding Light

part 2: Days of Our Lives

soapcentral.com founder DAN KROLL DAN PARENT of Archie Comics DAVID LYONS of The Cape DEBBIE GIBSON & TIFFANY Author DEDE EMERSON of A Different Kind of Streetwalker
dowling_jpeg-thumb eliana-ujueta-thumb jamal-igle-thumb Jay-Mary-thumb jeremy-irons-thumb jerry-beck-thumb josh-groban-thumb kai-soremekun-thumb
BOB DOWLING of the 3D Entertainment Summit Indie filmmaker ELIANA UJUETA of Beneath the Rock comic book artist JAMAL IGLE Genesis Repertory's JAY MICHAELS, MARY MiCARI, & actors Oscar-winning actor JEREMY IRONS

Animation historian JERRY BECK

1st interview

2nd interview

singer-songwriter JOSH GROBAN

web series producer KAI SOREMEKUN of Chick

1st interview

2nd interview

kathy-bates-thumb kenneth-johnson-thumb kyle-bornheimer-thumb law-and-order-los-angeles-thumb logo-thumb luann-de-lesseps-thumb max-thumb mike-miz-thumb
Oscar-winning actress KATHY BATES of Harry's Law Television producer KENNETH JOHNSON of V, Bionic Woman, Incredible Hulk KYLE BORNHEIMER & HAYES MacARTHUR of Perfect Couples

Terrence Howard, René Balcer

Dick Wolf, Alfred Molina, Alana de la Garza

publisher DAN HERMAN of Hermes Press COUNTESS LuANN de LESSEPS of The Real Housewives of New York City author MAX ALLAN COLLINS of Road to Perdition WWE Champion Mike "The MIz" Mizanin
MillCreeklogo-thumb nick-lachey-thumb niki-taylor-thumb paul-reiser-thumb ricky-gervais-thumb rosie-odonnell-thumb steve-niles-thumb the-event-cast-logo-thumb

JEFF HAYNE of Mill Creek Entertainment

1st interview

2nd interview

singer-actor NICK LACHEY supermodel NIKI TAYLOR talks The Celebrity Apprentice actor PAUL REISER of The Paul Reiser Show actor-producer RICKY GERVAIS of The Office actress-television host ROSIE O'DONNELL comic book writer STEVE NILES

Ian Anthony Dale, Nick Wauters

Jason Ritter, Sarah Roemer, Blair Underwood, Željko Ivanek

thore-jo-thumb tom-brokaw-thumb tom-pelphrey-thumb apothecary-theatre-thumb tori-spelling-thumb
THORE SCHÖLERMANN & JO WEIL of Verbotene Liebe Peabody & Emmy award winning journalist TOM BROKAW Emmy award winning actor TOM PELPHREY of Guiding Light actors from The Apothecary Theatre Company TORI SPELLING & DEAN McDERMOTT of sTORIbook Weddings

 

 

MORE FEATURES... 

 

Reviews & Previews:

Summer 2011 Movie Preview

Fall 2010 Television season

Fra Diavolo

Die Drei Pintos

Romeo and Juliet in Brooklyn

MPI Home Video

Timless Media Group

Boris Karloff's Thriller

Hunter: The Complete Series

Polly and Her Pals

Icons: The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee

Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman

Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern

Spider-Man musical delayed again

Frozen

Dead Space: Aftermath

Altitude

 

 

    

Events:

New York Comic Con

Apprentice 10 kickoff

Farewell to Guiding Light

Farewell to As the World Turns

The Broadway Directory

 

Award Show winners:

Academy Awards

Emmy Awards

Grammy Awards

Tony Awards

American Music Awards

Golden Globe Awards

Screen Actors Guild Awards

American Country Awards

 

    

Television blogs:

American Idol 10

American Idol 9

American Idol 8

Big Brother 12

Big Brother 11

ABC Cancels Both All My Children and One Life to Live

Guiding Light: A Look Back

 

Editorials & Issues:

Scam Alert: Have You Received This E-Mail Job Offer?

Meet the 112th Congress

Brooklyn politicians Kevin Peter Carroll vs. Ralph Perfetto

Before Rosa Parks There Was Lizzie Jennings

Understanding New York State Government

USTownhall RoundTable podcast: The Worlds of Entertainment and Current Events