A Writer's Life

Flops on DVD

Could someone explain to me why the studios rush out DVD box sets of massive flops like MY OWN WORST ENEMY...but they still haven't released many beloved series like IT TAKES A THIEF, MAVERICK, HARRY O, POLICE STORY, L.A LAW, THIRTYSOMETHING, MATT HOUSTON, and SPENSER FOR HIRE ? 

(And, on a purely personal note, where is season three of SEAQUEST and seasons four & up of DIAGNOSIS MURDER?) 

Memory Lane

Tonight I went to a cocktail party and screening at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to celebrate the Archive of American Television's DVD release of the classic series STUDIO ONE. The boxed set contains 17 episodes, including the original, TV production of "Twelve Angry Men," which was long thought to be lost until a rare kinescope turned up recently in the estate of a deceased trial lawyer who collected books, movies and ephemera about the law. So much our priceless TV history has been lost through carelessness and stupidity, but that's another story...

You never know who you are going to bump into at these events and, for me, this one became an unexpected opportunity to revisit the start of my career in television. I ran into Bruce Bilson, who directed the first script Bill Rabkin & I ever had produced, an episode of SPENSER FOR HIRE. We chatted for a bit, and then I spotted Leonard Stern walking across the room. He was one of the executive producers of MURPHY'S LAW, a short-lived series starring George Segal that was our first staff job. I was pleased and flattered that Stern not only remembered me and Bill, but also my book "Unsold Television Pilots" (Stern, in addition to being a legendary writer/producer, is also a publisher, one of the partners behind Price Stern Sloan and now Tallfellow Press).

Jack Klugman, a veteran of many live TV productions, was also at the cocktail party (he was there to speak on a panel after the screening). I said hello, reminded him who I was, and thanked him again for guest-starring in one of our best DIAGNOSIS MURDER episodes, "Voices Carry." I liked the episode and his performance in it so much, that I ended up writing a prequel -- the novel "Diagnosis Murder: The Past Tense," which became the most widely acclaimed of the eight novels in the series.  I told him that, too.  He seemed flattered, or maybe he was just being polite.

For a TV nut like me, being able to go to events like this is one of the great things about living in Los Angeles.

The Verdict is In

There's no question about it.  Paul Brownstein is the best producer of DVD boxed sets in the industry and he's proved it once again with PERRY MASON: THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION, which includes twelve episodes (featuring future stars like Ryan O'Neal, Robert Redford, James Coburn, and Burt Reynolds) and is loaded with special features that, on their own, are well worth the purchase price. The extras include the original audition/screen tests for Hamilton Burger and Perry Mason, two Charlie Rose interviews with Raymond Burr, and a late 1950s episode of "Person to Person" in which Burr gives viewers a tour of his L.A. home. As if that wasn't enough, they've also got interviews, featurettes, and the "Perry Mason Returns" TV movie. I wish they'd included an episode of  THE NEW PERRY MASON, starring Monte Markham, for the hell of it.  If you you're a TV geek like me, you're going to love this boxed set.  I also strongly recommend Brownstein's amazing GUNSMOKE, DICK VAN DYKE SHOW and WILD WILD WEST sets.

STINGRAY: THE COMPLETE SERIES, the Steve Cannell series that starred Nick Mancuso, arrived in my mailbox today from Amazon in Canada, which sells it for half as much as Amazon stateside ($22 vs $44!). It's a quirky series that I loved when it aired and that is probably not as good as I remember it, but I'll let you know.

MANNIX Extras

TVShowsonDVD reports that the extras on the  MANNIX first season box set will include clips from "Hardboiled Murder," the DIAGNOSIS MURDER episode that Bill Rabkin & I wrote that brought Joe Mannix out of retirement...

Mannix comes to DVD

Back in November, the Washington Post wrote about MANNIX and efforts by fans to get the iconic private eye show on DVD. Well, I guess the publicity paid off. TVShowsonDVD reports that the first season of MANNIX is coming to DVD in June. But that first year of the show was about an "old school" detective Joe Mannix (Mike Connors) working for a "high-tech" computerized detective agency run by Joseph Campanella. The ratings weren't great so, for year two, it became a straight-forward, old-fashioned, PI show with Joe Mannix on his own, aided only by his secretary (Gail Fisher) and his various friends on the police force. The ratings rebounded and the show ran for seven more years. It was canceled while it was still a hit, making a baffled Connors wonder if then CBS-boss Fred Silverman was simply tired of the show...

I know both sides of the story (I worked with Connors and Silverman), but I'm not telling. Maybe Connors will tell you more about it in the interview that comes as one of the DVD extras.

Cobra

TVShowsonDVD.com is reporting that the syndicated series COBRA, which lasted only a season, is coming to DVD  in February, but only up  in Canada, which was where the show was shot. Bill Rabkin & I wrote nine or ten episodes of COBRA,  so I'll be buying one of the boxed sets through Amazon.

Hasselhoffed

My boxed set of the real first season episodes of BAYWATCH arrived from the UK this weekend. I'd forgotten how good the production values were and how truly awful the writing was (and yes, I am talking about my own scripts). The theme song from the first season was Peter Cetera's "Save Me," and the title sequence was carefully cut to match the song. Cetera's song is gone and some awful crap by Kim Carnes has been slapped on in its place.  The problem isn't so much the song, but the fact that the moves in the song don't match the edits in the main title sequence so it feels out-of-sync, like dubbed dialgoue that doesn't follow the movements of the actors' lips. What I don't get is why they couldn't substitute "Save Me" with the "I'll Be There" theme from the syndicated seasons...

Baywatch Confusion

All 22 episodes of the original, first season of BAYWATCH, which aired on NBC, is coming out on DVD on Monday  in England. A first season boxed set of BAYWATCH episodes is also coming out on the same day on these shores... only they are entirely different episodes. Confused? I know I was.

The first season that's coming out on DVD here is actually season two, the first syndicated season of the show. The U.S. boxed set reportedly has two episodes from the real first season, which they are calling "the lost pilot season." If that wasn't bad enough, the episodes in the U.S. are also missing the original score. What were they thinking? The only reason I care at all about this debacle is because I wrote a bunch of first season BAYWATCH episodes on NBC and, as bad as they were, I wouldn't mind having them on DVD... so I had to shell out $65 to get the Brit version which, by the way, will only work on a multi-standard player or on your computer.

Maverick DVD

MAVERICK was an incredible TV series that was way, way ahead of its time. This DVD sampler is nice... but it's no substitute for a feature-packed DVD boxed set produced by someone like Paul Brownstein (who did the amazing GUNSMOKE, WILD WILD WEST and DICK VAN DYKE boxed sets). But if Warner Brothers ever wants to do another MAVERICK sampler, let's see one that includes the "Shady Deal at Sunny Acres" episode from the original MAVERICK, the unsold ABC pilot THE NEW MAVERICK, the pilot from the CBS series YOUNG MAVERICK, and the first and last episodes of the NBC series BRET MAVERICK. Seeing "Shady Deal" and the last episode of BRET MAVERICK (in which Jack Kelly makes a surprise appearance as Bart) would make nice bookends to the entire MAVERICK saga.

Simon and Simon

TVShowsonDVD reports that the first season of SIMON AND SIMON is coming out on DVD in October. I wonder if it will include the original, unaired pilot. Some footage from that pilot was later incorporated into another episode.  That's the kind of stuff that makes the difference between a great DVD set and once that's only okay.  I also wonder if the first season shows will have the original theme which, like the MAGNUM PI theme, was dropped in favor of a new one for the second season.

This is a great time to be alive if you are a TV Geek Like me

TVShowsOnDVD reports that the complete series of the 70s sitcom BRIDGET LOVES BIRNEY is being released on DVD in September for $29.95. Then again, the complete series of ROAR, BOOK OF DANIEL, and COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF are coming out, too... so it's clear this whole TV Shows on DVD business makes no sense at all. But it gives me hope that such forgotten classics as, ahem, SHE-WOLF OF LONDON and MURPHY'S LAW will some day show up on the shelves at Best Buy.

Baywatch coming to DVD

TVShowsonDVD reports that BAYWATCH is coming to DVD...beginning with seasons two and season three. What happened to season one?

The first season of the show, which I worked on as a story editor, aired on NBC (and had a different theme song -- Peter Cetera's "Save Me"). After the show was cancelled, the series was revived in first-run syndication and became the most popular show in the world.

When the series went into reruns, those NBC episodes weren't part of the package (so much for my dreams of big BAYWATCH residuals) and haven't been seen in years. Now those first season shows are being billed as "lost episodes," and instead of being released as a set, will be doled out one or two at a time as "bonus features" on the boxed sets of the nine syndicated seasons (I wonder if they will go the cheap route and replace the Peter Cetera theme with the syndicated series theme to avoid paying for licensing). So the only way to get the complete first season is to buy all the other sets. There's no way in hell I'm going to do that...

TV Ramblings

God,I love "Deadwood." I liked the season premiere so much, I immediately watched it again (or I was desperate to avoid getting back to work on my book). If you ask me, "Deadwood" and "Battlestar Galactica" ...two revisionist "genre" shows...are the best dramas on TV right now. A close third would be the more conventional but brilliantly plotted "Law and Order: SVU."

I ran out of steam writing last night around midnight, but I was still too keyed up to go to bed. So I pulled out the second volume, season one boxed set of THE TIME TUNNEL and looked at a few of the extras. I'm not a fan of THE TIME TUNNEL and probably won't watch the episodes. I bought the set for the two unsold revival pilots that are included -- the unaired, 2002 hour-long THE TIME TUNNEL "reimagining" for Fox (which was flawed but interesting nonetheless) and the 1976 two-hour movie TIME TRAVELERS (which was awful in every way).  The story for TIME TRAVELERS was written by Rod Serling, but I can't imagine that any of his work remained in the execrable final product. There wasn't hint of his intelligence, wit or characterization in the script.

THE TIME TUNNEL has a couple of nice extras but no effort is made to present them in any sort of context or with any kind of flair. The whole set feels perfunctory, slapped together with no imagination, creativity or enthusiasm. Which is, of course, the complete opposite of the DVD sets put together by Paul Brownfield.

It Never Entered My Mind

Paramount has reversed course and the season one DIAGNOSIS MURDER boxed set, to be released in September, will now include "It Never Entered My Mind," the pilot which aired as an spin-off episode of JAKE AND THE FATMAN. In the pilot, Dr. Mark Sloan was a widower without any children. His investigative sidekicks were Kristoff St. John  and Ally Walker (as Dr. Amanda Bentley, a role later played by Cynthia Gibb and Victoria Rowell). But it still looks like the set won't include the TV movies that preceded the weekly series.

The Best

The best producer of boxed sets of TV shows on DVD is Paul Brownstein. No one else comes close. His love of television is obvious in his brilliant work on DVD sets for shows like THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, GUNSMOKE and now THE WILD WILD WEST. The prints are terrific, the menus are clever and vibrant, and he goes out of his way to jam-pack his sets with amazing, rare, and informative supplemental material.  His sets have all the usual stuff... and far, far more.  The GUNSMOKE set, for example, includes behind-the-scenes home movies from Dennis Weaver, appearances from James Arness and Dennis Weaver on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW, an Amanda Blake interview on the MIKE DOUGLAS SHOW, Emmy Award appearances by the cast,  network promos, interviews from The Western Channel, a video of a  GUNSMOKE retrospective held at the Museum of Broadcasting, promos, bloopers, and a huge number of audio commentaries... and I'm only scratching the surface of what's offered. 

This week, I bought his  THE WILD WILD WEST boxed set and, once again, he's done incredible work. The set includes all the usual extras and so much more, like audio tracks from the original scoring sessions for the main title theme with alternate versions and aborted takes (a rare find which is worth the price of the set alone),  the original pilot main title sequence, network promos, and audio interviews with the composer, various writers,  the studio casting exec, special effects person. It's a TV fan's wet dream.

Some savvy studio should put Paul in charge of ALL their TV boxed sets...because he simply does it better than anybody.

Wild DVD for WILD WILD WEST

TVShowsOnDVD reports that the first season boxed set of THE WILD WILD WEST is going to be jam-packed with extras. I can't wait.

I'm Saving My Money for EMILY'S REASONS WHY NOT

I don't understand the decision-making behind which shows get released on DVD. Take LAW AND ORDER: TRIAL BY JURY for instance. It was a bomb. Viewers soundly rejected it despite massive promotion and two cross-over episodes (with LAW AND ORDER and L&O:SVU). NBC cancelled it without even airing all of the 13 episodes that were produced. And yet, the complete series is coming out on DVD with a sticker price of $59.98. If people weren't willing to watch the show for free, what makes the studio and retailers think people will shell out sixty bucks for it now (especially since they can catch the reruns on CourtTV)?

Coming to a Costco Near You

TVShowsOnDVD posted a long list of TV shows  that are officially, and supposedly coming to DVD in 2006. The titles include such short-lived bombs as  ACTION, SIGNIFICANT OTHERS, THE FLASH, and LIFE WITH LOUIE, and such long-running favorites as HAWAII FIVE-O, STEP BY STEP, GUNSMOKE, GET SMART, CAGNEY AND LACEY,  MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, ARCHIE BUNKER'S PLACE, WILD WILD WEST, HILL STREET BLUES and THE ODD COUPLE and cult favorites like SHE SPIES, ALIEN NATION, VIP, TIME TUNNEL, ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY, ULTRAMAN and STAR TREK : THE ANIMATED SERIES.

Walking Tall

The long wait is finally over. The 1981 TV version of WALKING TALL is coming to DVD in a boxed set that includes all seven episodes of the show,  which starred Bo Svenson as Sheriff Buford Pusser, a role originated on screen by Joe Don Baker. Svenson starred in the two theatrical sequels (Brian Dennehy starred in an earlier, unsold pilot for the series).  This just goes to prove they'll put any TV series on DVD -- unless I wrote and produced it.

The Sentinel

TVShowsOnDVD reports that the first season of THE SENTINEL is coming to DVD (that's the show about the cop with psychic powers) and that the third season boxed set of MURDER SHE WROTE (that's the show about the elderly mystery author with hundreds of relatives, all of whom get murdered) will include the cross-over episode with MAGNUM PI (that's the show about the private eye in Hawaii who lives on an estate owned by a reclusive mystery author).

Brilliance for the Price of a Big Mac and Fries

It's the best deal on DVD -- for $5.99, including shipping, you can get set of three classic episodes of MAVERICK from DeepDiscountDVD. My copy just arrived today. The set includes "Shady Deal at Sunny Acres" (as fresh today as it was 50 years ago), "Pappy," and "Gunshy," the hilarious spoof of GUNSMOKE. MAVERICK was a ground-breaking show in its day and paved the way for  the likes of MOONLIGHTING, THE NIGHT STALKER,  and THE ROCKFORD FILES.

MAVERICK also holds the distinction of being the only show revived three times in three years on three networks. For more about that, there's an excerpt from my book  TELEVISION SERIES REVIVALS on the jump:

MISSING Found on DVD

TVShowsOnDVD reports that the Complete Second Season of MISSING, starring Vivica A. Fox,  will be released on DVD  January 24th (I was one of the writer/producers on the first two seasons).  Lions Gate Television seems to be  skipping right past the first season, which starred Gloria Reuben, and I really don't blame them.

SeaQuest...finally, and other DVD News

TVShowsonDVD reports that the DVD boxed set of the first season of SEAQUEST is going to be loaded with deleted scenes...and will be out in December. Can season three, aka  SEAQUEST 2032, be far behind?

In other DVD news, on the heels of STRONG MEDICINE's cancellation comes word that the first season boxed set is coming to stores on January 10. Perhaps this means that MISSING, aka 1-800-MISSING, will come to DVD some day soon. If people will spend $50 for STRONG MEDICINE, hell, they'll buy anything.

And more details are emerging about the upcoming GUNSMOKE boxed sets, which are going to be packed with extras.

The Way We Were

I remember when the DVD boxed set of UFO came out. I couldn't wait to watch it. Not only that, I couldn't wait to show my friends. Unfortunately, I did both at the same time...bringing the DVD into the office to show them during lunch. What a mistake. The series I thought was so unbelievably cool when I was a kid turned out to be an inane bore. UFO looked slick and Barry Gray's score was still incredible, but everything else sucked -- the  acting was leaden, the writing was terrible, and the direction was limp.  The Onion reports on someone who had the same sad experience when the DVD of  LAND OF THE LOST didn't live up to his childhood memories.

I was pleased to discover, however, that KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER was every bit as good as I remembered it to be... though obviously cheap looking by today's production standards, which is true when watching any old classics (from STAR TREK to THE ROCKFORD FILES, GUNSMOKE to MAN FROM UNCLE).  Mark Evanier, though, can't get past the  el-cheapo production values when he watches HAWAII FIVE-O.

It's great that so many old classics are coming out on DVD...but how many will live up to our fond memories and changed expectations?

Harley on DVD

HARTS OF THE WEST lasted a mere 15 episodes on CBS back in 1993 and it's coming to DVD... for a second time.  Back in 2002, two episodes were released on DVD. Now, to sate the appetite of the legions of HARTS OF THE WEST fans (who I think are called Westies and are holding their annual convention in Deerpark, Washington this year), all 15 episodes are finally being released in a boxed set.

This is good news for my friend Harley Jane Kozak, who was one of the stars and who remains a red hot sex object to diehard Westies and mystery book lovers everywhere.

The Flash in the Pan

Yet another flop TV series I didn't write or produce is being released on DVD. All 22 episodes of the one-season bomb THE FLASH are coming to DVD in a boxed set.

Not that this is related to THE FLASH...but since I'm talking about TV shows on DVD today, I thought I'd mention that  Universal is finally releasing SEAQUEST on DVD. The complete first season, starring Roy Scheider before his face lift,  is being released in December. I'm looking forward to the release of the 13 episodes from Season 3, when the show was retitled SEAQUEST 2032 and starred Michael Ironside (that was the season I worked on).

Can HELLO LARRY Be Far Behind?

After years of letter-writing, praying and dreaming... the long wait is finally over. All 22 episodes of the 1973 flop sitcom LOTSA LUCK, starring Dom DeLuise, are coming out on DVD.

And if you're one of the tens of thousands of people who've been pining for the DVD release of the 1967 flop sitcom GOOD MORNING WORLD, the complete series of 26 episodes starring Ronnie Schell is  also headed to a Best Buy near you. While you're there, don't forget to pick up the complete series sets of THE JOEY BISHOP SHOW,  FAR OUT SPACE NUTS, THAT'S MY MAMA, NED AND STACY, TABITHA and PINK LADY AND JEFF.

Another Show Nobody Wants to See Coming to DVD

MGM is releasing the flop series version of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN on DVD. I think they release shit like this just to make me crazy wondering why shows I worked on like SEAQUEST, MARTIAL LAW, and SPENSER FOR HIRE remain in the vaults (are they any worse than THAT'S MY MAMA, RENEGADE, AIRWOLF or BEASTMASTER? I know what it is...it's me. I'm the reason why they aren't being released).

GUNSMOKE on DVD

TVShowsOnDVD.Com reports that in early January Paramount will release two DVD boxed sets of classic GUNSMOKE episodes. If you've been a reader of this blog, you know I'm a sucker for this show. The sets are packed with extras, including commentaries (by James Arness), bloopers, behind-the-scenes footage, talk show appearances and much more.

Obscure TV on DVD

There's no logic behind the TV shows that are turning up on DVD. Is the world really clamoring for the complete "The Joey Bishop Show," "Dusty's Trail," "The Doris Day Show," "Highlander: The Raven," "Baa Baa Black Sheep," "Beastmaster," "Doc," "That's My Mama," "Guns of Will Sonnet,"  "What's Happening?" and "Earth 2?"

And yet, where are the shows I've done? Where are those lost classics  "She-Wolf of London," "Murphy's Law," "Likely Suspects," "Deadly Games," "Cosby Mysteries," "SeaQuest," "The Highwayman," "Cobra," "Diagnosis Murder," and, of course,  the complete "New Adventures of Flipper" starring the teenage Jessica Alba?

On the other hand, some real gems are coming out... I was thrilled to learn from the folks at TVSquad that all 26 episodes of the classic sitcom "Buffalo Bill" are coming to DVD in September.

Now if they'd only put out "Harry O," "Spenser For Hire," "The Night Stalker,""Search,"  "The Rockford Files," and "Maverick"...