Classic TV: The 60s : Shows that really should be on DVD

Shows that really should be on DVD

I wish there was a Television euivalent of Criterion, to release high quality DVDS of great, but almost forgotten TV series.
Here is my list, a bakers Dozen( many of the shows are available on Bootlegs of dubious quality.)
1. Slattery's People. Yes, I know I have beaten this into the ground, but this series was well written, superbly acted, and a continuous series of lessons about the true meaning of Democracy. There are three, count em' THREE episodes available on bootleg. 32, count em' 32 , episodes are in the CBS vaults. The Museum of broadcasting has ONE episode, The ABC archive has three or four, and The Library of Congress has a few. Incredibly, The Paley Center has NONE.
2. The Great Adventure Perhaps the greatest show ever done about American history. Still languishing in the vaults, utterly forgotten by the brain-dead powers that be at CBS
3. He and She
4. The Westerner. This is shown very, very, very rarely on Encore Westerns. Apparently, it was still well remembered enough for Brian Keith to make a cameo appearence as Blassingame in one of those horrific Kenny Rogers Gambler flicks.
5. East Side West Side
6. The Rogues. Briefly rerun on the CBC about twenty years ago.
7. The Richard Boone Show. The best of the "anthology shows". It was rerun in Detroit on Channel 62, eons ago. I was in Virginia at the time.
8. The Name of The Game. In its first two or three seasons, this was brilliant. Weirdly, never released on DVD.
9. Channing. The only show ever set in a high-brow liberal arts college. Never spawned any imitators. Gee, I wonder why?
10 My World and Welcome To It. Best comedy ever. Period.
11. The Trials of O'Brien
12. Profiles in Courage. The SECOND best show ever done about American history. Weirdly, I first saw it in reruns on CANADIAN tv.
13. Saints and Sinners.
Thats my list. Anybody with alternative ideas?


Joseph Anthony Harder

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

Strong list. Certainly better than a majority of the stuff that has been released in the past few years.

I would add the following:

Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare (both shows lasted between 1961-66) and their spin-off shows Breaking Point (1962-63) and The Eleventh Hour (1962-64). I found a few episodes of the short-lived Breaking Point on YouTube and on some archives sites.

The Bold Ones (1969-1973)
The show aired on the Retro Television Network (RTV) as recently as 2010. The four segments were of varying qualities. In my humble opinion, The Senator segment with Hal Holbrook was the best.

The Defenders (1961-65) with E.G. Marshall and Robert Reed.
Not the short-lived 2010-11 series with the same name.

The New Breed (1961-62)
Quinn Martin's first series after "The Untouchables" and before "The Fugitive". Leslie Nielsen way before Airplane! and Police Squad!

The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969-1972)
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1968-1970)
I enjoyed both shows as a kid. Having watch both shows as an adult, considering the years they were produced, both shows still have some nice qualities.

The Felony Squad (1966-69)
and Judd for the Defense (1967-69)

Recent shows of varying quality get released while other shows from before 2000 are stored in the vaults. It's sad that commerce has always been the major priority for companies when releasing anything on DVD or even streamed online.

One more addition:
N.Y.P.D. (1967-69)

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD


Nice suggestions. Silly me, I actually thought a show as good as The Defenders would be on DVD. I simply forgot Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare.The two psychiatry shows are also good suggestions One of the reasons the very good Channing dissapeared, other than the occasional incomprehensible references to Charles Sanders Pierce, Galbraith, and Non-Euclidean geometry, was that it finished THIRD in its time slot (1000 Thursday Night) behind THe Eleventh Hour and The Danny Kaye Show. At least that wasn't as bad as what happened to The Westerner and The Richard Boone Show. The first was crushed by The flintstones; the latter by, God help us, Petticoat Junction.
Joseph Anthony Harder

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

I've always been a little surprised that The Courtship of Eddie's Father *isn't* on DVD, since Bill Bixby is still, posthumously, such a popular performer. And even though the show's premise might sound sappy to a modern audience, it was actually a very nicely done, gentle and deftly light comedy; far less heavy-handed in its execution than I imagine any modern effort to replicate it would possibly be.

And I've always been stunned and puzzled that East Side West Side has never been released. I mean, the phenomenal George C. Scott, at the beginning of his career? Along with powerhouse Cicely Tyson? And the series was excellent; gritty realism in a way that some current tv efforts at 'gritty realism' could stand to take some very good pointers from.

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

I was lucky to have the nostalgia network- later Goodlife network, American Life network and the short lived Trio channel.

here's some gems that i have on DVD-R that SHOULD be on DVD pre-recorderd
N.Y.P.D. - the original was very gritty, violent and no sex scenes.
The Ghost and Mrs Muir - tv series -- aired on FX channel the first year
My Mother the Car -- I have the best quality ever! goofy show off of Trio chann.
The Courtship of Eddy father -- dvd-r off of Goodlife network
Racket Squard -- tv land aired it with Lee Marvin
77 sunset strip/Hawaiian Eye/Surfside Six - nostalgia network standards
12 O'clock high/rat patrol/Combat!/Jericho/Gallent Men -- nostalgia network
Please don't eat the Daisys (tv series)-- need on DVD or DVD-R
Green Hornet - need a better dvd release - I have dvd-r

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

I think you more or less summed up my choices in both your posts. Since you seem to be a big fan of The Westerner, I don't suppose I have to tell you Blassingame's dog was Old Yeller.

But throughout it all, my motto was "Dignity! Always dignity!".

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

I know many will disagree, but I'd like to see the dozen surviving episodes of the game show "The Match Game" (1962–1969) released on DVD (only the pilot is on DVD). I've seen a few episodes and found it charming.





I hope there is a parallel universe with a music group called "Sand, Wind and Fire"

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

The Dating Game with Jim Lange.

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

The Life of Riley...both the original with Jackie Gleason as the lead and also the better Bendix one

Dobie Gillis

Bachelor Father

77 Sunset Strip

Ben Casey

Defenders

The Wonder Years

Captain Terrific

The awful My Mother the Car

It's About Time. also awful

I would also love to see every episode of The Newlywed Game again and would buy it on DVD. The Match Game IS on DVD, to the poster above me here.





Time Machine For Sale! Call two weeks ago for details

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

The version of "Match Game" on DVD in the 1970s version. I was referring (in my post) to the 1960s version, for which only the pilot is on DVD.



I need to reevaluate my life. Do you have a minute?

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD


Captain Terrific

I think you're confusing Mr. Terrific and Captain Nice, probably because they premiered and aired back to back on the same night, although different networks.


Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

The Survivors
The Pursuers

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

77 Sunset Strip -- Great P.I. show
The Lineup -- 50's Cop show
Adventures in Paradise -- Great Adventure series
Ford Television Theatre - top notch 50's Anthology series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars - Another great Anthology series

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

"Laugh-in"-The entire series and not just the "Best of..."

"Rescue 8"

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

Naked City

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD


Hawaiian Eye & Surfside 6


Whats not to love about Troy Donahue in a hawaiian shirt



Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

The Ugliest Girl in Town

One Day at a Time (beyond season 1)

The Carol Burnett Show (intact, full season, not chopped up, complete, not just 3 episodes)

The Hot L Baltimore


+ pilots (for shows that didn't make it past the pilot)
+ most '70's TV movies

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

Great list of shows, but I would suggest that DVD release is horribly outdated and expensive to produce.

Streaming delivery has basically zero cost other than some quick digitizing and then the licensing revenue is instantaneous.

You could then watch the shows at anytime, on any device, in almost any location. If one still insists on OWNING the content for some reason, you can purchase a download version.

Enough of filling homes and landfills with shiny disks. Contact your streaming content providers to license these shows.

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD



WAY OUT and GREAT GHOST TALES

I'll also include DARK INTRUDER, an unsold Pilot for a supernatural series (entitled BLACK CLOAK) that starred Leslie Neilson.

It looks very much like a lost THRILLER episode.


Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

Yes, they're "formulaic," but I'd like to see boxed sets of the Warner Bros' series, like "Maverick," "77 Sunset Strip," "Bourbon Street Beat," "Hawaiian Eye," et al, available.

The same with the Quinn-Martin series; "The Fugitive," "Streets of San Francisco," etc..

Both "Murder, She Wrote," and "Quincy, M.E.," are available ... or coming out, gradually. But, I'd like to see the "Love Boat," series, too. All of those programs featured many of the performers from the classic ages of film and TV. The plots/scripts may not have been stellar, but it was so good to see the familiar faces, again.


Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

"The Story of Peter Grey" - Early 1960s Australian soap opera for which a near-complete run still exists.



George? Oh, for a man his age who's been through as much as he has, he looks terrible

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD


The Patty Duke Show
Gidget
The Name of the Game
The New Mike Hammer
(with Stacy Keach)


I just read somewhere yesterday that the 1966 Batman series is finally going to be released, sometime this year. Yay!




The Playn Jayn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbl5kpWYnUI

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

These are great selections!

I'd add Mister Novak, a truly intelligent, well-written, heartfelt show about an idealistic English teacher in a California high school. Not every episode had a neat & tidy happy ending, and the series dealt with complex social issues most other shows wouldn't touch.

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

Another vote for The Name of the Game

Re: Shows that really should be on DVD

Julia. I love Diahann Carroll.
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