Displaying items by tag: Herbie J Pilato

All right, we’ve got a little more announcement news for you today here at The Bits. But first, a new feature...

Our own Michael Coate has just posted a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column celebrating the 60th anniversary of The Dick Van Dyke Show. It features a great Q&A with television historian Herbie J. Pilato, who reflects on the series’ appeal, impact, and legacy six decades after its debut. We hope you all enjoy it!

Now then, let’s get to the announcement news...

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has just announced Wes Anderson’s latest film, The French Dispatch, for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/28, with the Digital release (including 4K) set for 12/14. Audio will be DTS-HD MA. There’s no indication of special features, but you can reasonably imagine that a Criterion special edition is forthcoming next year. The film stars Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Timothée Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Christoph Waltz, Edward Norton, and Jason Schwartzman. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

“The Dick Van Dyke Show is simply superior television with an appeal that remains timeless.” – TV historian Herbie J Pilato

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 60th anniversary of the television broadcast premiere of The Dick Van Dyke Show, the popular situation comedy starring Dick Van Dyke (Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and Mary Tyler Moore (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Ordinary People) as Rob and Laura Petrie.

The award-winning series, which originally aired on CBS from 1961 through 1966, revolved around Rob and his co-workers as the writing staff of a television show and Rob’s home life with wife Laura and son Ritchie.

The series—created by Carl Reiner (2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks, The Jerk, All of Me) and memorably featuring Rose Marie as Sally Rogers, Morey Amsterdam as Buddy Sorrell, Larry Mathews as Ritchie, Richard Deacon as Mel Cooley, and Carl Reiner as Alan Brady—premiered 60 years ago this autumn, and for the occasion The Bits features a Q&A with television historian Herbie J Pilato who reflects on the series appeal, impact and legacy six decades after its debut. [Read on here...]

“The Flintstones was the first animated sitcom in television history. They paved that gravel road and it’s been smooth traveling ever since.” — Steve Cox, author of Mining Bedrock: The Voices Behind Television’s First Animated Sitcom, The Flintstones

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 60th anniversary of the broadcast premiere of The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera’s animated series set in the Stone Age (but inspired by The Honeymooners and mid-20th Century suburban America) that introduced the world to Fred and Wilma Flintstone, Barney and Betty Rubble, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, Dino, Mr. Slate, The Great Gazoo, and a host of other memorable supporting characters.

The popular series (recently released on Blu-ray and reviewed here) originally ran in prime time on ABC from 1960 to 1966 and spawned numerous spin-offs, TV specials, movies and tie-in merchandise. It premiered 60 years ago this autumn, and for the occasion The Bits features a Q&A with a trio of pop culture and animation historians who reflects on the series’ appeal six decades after its debut. [Read on here...]

“The Mary Tyler Moore Show opened the floodgates for the kind of grown-up TV comedies that would thrive in the 1970s, and beyond. Although Mary’s show had little in common with M*A*S*H, All in the Family, or Barney Miller, it’s hard to imagine any of those breakthrough sitcoms getting a green light had The Mary Tyler Moore not proven to the TV networks that it was possible to attract a sizable audience to intelligent, risk-taking television shows — that good TV was, in fact, a viable business model.” — Vince Waldron, author of The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the broadcast premiere of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the Emmy-winning and multi-spinoff-inspiring television series starring Mary Tyler Moore (The Dick Van Dyke Show, Ordinary People) as Mary Richards that ran on CBS from 1970 to 1977.

The series — created by James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News) and Allan Burns (A Little Romance, Just Between Friends) and featuring the memorable supporting cast of Edward Asner as Lou Grant, Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern, Gavin MacLeod as Murray Slaughter, Ted Knight as Ted Baxter, Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, Georgia Engel as Georgette Franklin Baxter, and Betty White as Sue Ann Nivens — premiered 50 years ago, and for the occasion The Bits features a Q&A with a pair of classic television historians who reflect on the series’ appeal, impact and legacy five decades after its debut. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a few interesting news items to report today, but first some more reviews...

Tim has posted his thoughts on Scream Factory’s new The Omen Collection Blu-ray box set and it sounds like it’s pretty fantastic. The title is well worth a look and you’ll find the review here.

Also, Dennis has turned in his thoughts on The Art of Self-Defense on Blu-ray from Universal and the remake of The Lion King (2019) from Disney also on Blu-ray.

And I’m working on a review of Warner’s The Wizard of Oz in 4K Ultra HD, which looks absolutely fantastic. The title streets on Tuesday and I hope to have my review posted on Monday. So stay tuned for that. [Read on here...]

“The Twilight Zone was an enormously creative television series anchored by one of the true giants of the medium, Mr. Rod Serling, a master storyteller who was given unprecedented control over his work. In terms of quality, no show touches it in consistent quality.” — Steven Jay Rubin, author of The Twilight Zone Encyclopedia

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 60th anniversary of The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling’s classic anthology series which originally ran on CBS from 1959 to 1964.

The Twilight Zone premiered sixty years ago this month and for the occasion The Bits features a Q&A with a quartet of Rod Serling authorities and classic television historians who reflect on the timeless series (and its offspring) six decades after its debut. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a bunch of new disc reviews coming over the next week or so, starting with a couple later today. So be sure to watch for them.

We do have a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate today, celebrating the 50th anniversary of TV’s classic The Brady Bunch. It features a new interview with historian Herbie J. Pilato, and is well worth a read if you’re a fan. You’ll find it here.

Meanwhile, we’ve got a bunch of release news to report today, so let’s get started...

First up, our friends at The Home Theater Forum have revealed that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is going to be releasing Farscape: The Complete Series – 20th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray on 11/19. The set will include all 88 episodes of the series along with 15 hours of extras and – at long last on BD here in the States – the series finale miniseries Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. The aspect ratio is 1.33 for most of the series, but the last season and film are 1.78. Audio will be DTS-HD MA 5.1. Extras will include audio commentary, featurettes and documentaries, director’s cuts, TV promos, etc. We don’t know if this will be a complete carry-over of the previous DVD and BD extras, but we’ll have to wait and see. You can see the cover artwork at left. [Read on here...]

“The Brady Bunch is ’comfort TV’ to the highest degree.” — Classic TV historian Herbie J Pilato

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the premiere of The Brady Bunch, the classic family sitcom which originally ran on ABC from 1969 to 1974 and starred Florence Henderson as Carol/Mom, Robert Reed as Mike/Dad and Ann B. Davis as housekeeper Alice.

The series (and ultimately franchise) — created by Sherwood Schwartz (Gilligan’s Island, It’s About Time) and featuring as the memorable Brady kids Barry Williams (Greg), Maureen McCormick (Marcia), Christopher Knight (Peter), Eve Plumb (Jan), Mike Lookinland (Bobby) and Susan Olsen (Cindy) — premiered 50 years ago this month, and for the occasion The Bits features a Q&A with classic television historian Herbie J Pilato, who offers some recollections and insight into the timeless series. [Read more here...]

“Battlestar Galactica remains in the history of pop-culture as one of the most star-studded, lavishly-produced, special-effects-laden television shows of all time.” – Classic TV historian Herbie J Pilato

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 40th anniversary of the premiere of Battlestar Galactica, Glen A. Larson’s science-fiction television series about the crew of the Galactica and their ongoing battles with the Cylons and quest to locate Earth. Starring Richard Hatch as Apollo, Dirk Benedict as Starbuck, and Lorne Greene as Adama, the series is remembered for its massive production budget and state-of-the-art visual effects.

The supporting cast included Herbert Jefferson, Jr. (Boomer), John Colicos (Baltar), Maren Jensen (Athena), Noah Hathaway (Boxey), Laurette Spang (Cassiopeia), Tony Swartz (Flight Sergeant Jolly), Terry Carter (Colonel Tigh), Anne Lockhart (Lieutenant Sheba), Jane Seymour (Serina), Patrick Macnee (narrator, Count Iblis, and voice of Imperious Leader), and Jonathan Harris (voice of Lucifer). [Read on here...]

“Leave it to Beaver offers the complete package of what a television show should be for yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” — Classic TV historian Herbie J Pilato

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 60th anniversary of the premiere of Leave it to Beaver, the memorable situation comedy which originally ran from 1957 to 1963 and starred Jerry Mathers as the titular character and Tony Dow as brother Wally. [Read more here...]