Shout! Factory has announced the DVD release of WKRP in Cincinnati: The Complete Series on 10/28. The 13-disc set includes all the episodes, plus 2 featurettes (Do My Eyes Say Yes? and A ‘Fish Story’ Story), plus video of the WKRP In Cincinnati: A Paley Center Reunion panel discussion from 2014 featuring cast members Howard Hesseman, Loni Anderson, Tim Reid, Gary Sandy, and Jan Smithers, Executive Producer / Writer Hugh Wilson, director Asaad Kelada, and the director of the show’s pilot, Jay Sandrich, all moderated by rock radio legend Jim Ladd. It also includes nearly all (but not quite all) of the series’ original music. Per the press release: “WKRP in Cincinnati has had a complicated history of music rights restrictions. To make this the most comprehensive DVD release possible, Shout! Factory has done its best to include every scene uncut and with as much original music as possible.”
Image Entertainment is releasing Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/2. This is an HD recorded presentation of the Tony Award-winning stage play.
Disney has announced the Blu-ray Combo, DVD and digital release of Disney’s Planes: Fire & Rescue on 11/4. Extras on the Blu-ray will include the Vitaminamulch: Air Spectacular animated short, 2 deleted scenes, 2 additional shorts (Dipper and Smokejumpers), 2 featurettes (Welcome to Piston Peak! and Air Attack: Firefighters from the Sky), a “CHoPs” TV promo, and Spencer Lee’s Still I Fly music video. There will also be additional bonus features available on select retailer-exclusive SKUs.
Virgil Films is releasing the Money for Nothing: The Story of the Music Video documentary on DVD and digital on 10/7.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set Michael Dowse’s What If for Blu-ray release on 11/25.
Raro Video will release Fernando Di Leo’s Slaughter Hotel, starring Klaus Kinski and Margaret Lee, on Blu-ray on 11/18.
Magnet has set Ragnarok for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/18 as well.
The BBC is releasing The Adventures of Merlin: The Complete Series on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/4.
And Cinedigm will release the animated Nocturna on Blu-ray on 11/4.
Finally, there have been rumors circulating around that 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is discontinuing the release of TV series titles on Blu-ray. We can tell you that this is untrue. However, the studio is choosing which titles to release on Blu-ray carefully. Like it or not, for better or worse, sales and demand are two of the biggest determining factors for any when making that choice. As some of you will recall if you read my TV Star Trek on Blu-ray post from last week, it really does come down to whether or not fans of these shows purchase the sets when the studios release them. If a studio starts releasing a series on Blu-ray and sales aren’t good, they’re unlikely to continue. I’m not defending that, simply stating the facts about how these business decisions get made. Now, there are all kinds of reasons why fans may not choose to buy these releases, many of which are completely reasonable. But that’s really what it boils down to.
Anyway… we’ll leave you with a look at a few more titles newly up for pre-order on Amazon…
Stay tuned…
- Bill Hunt