The Christmas shopping season is upon us, so here's a wishlist of mostly TV shows and one movie I'd like to see released on DVD (I'd accept Blu-ray as well). In looking into the background of some of these programs, I've learned many movies' and shows' DVD releases get held up by intellectual property rights and royalties. For example, The Wonder Years has a boatload of late 1960s songs in it, and there would have to be royalty arrangements with whoever owns the rights to those songs. So it's not on DVD and very likely never will be due to the added royalty expenses, despite its popularity when it was originally on TV. Some programs get pushed out with other songs dubbed in place, but I really don't think that would fly for The Wonder Years.
As for some others on this list... I suspect the fan base isn't large enough to justify the production. Some of the TV shows listed here lasted only one season, and sometimes not even that long. There's a reason for that. I'd like to believe there are enough people out there like me who like these enough to buy them, but I'm also a realist and am aware of the economic realities behind the decisions to push products out the door. Being aware doesn't make those realities suck any less.
Ok... enough rambling. Here's the list.
-
Tales From the Darkside, syndicated, 1984-1988 (4 seasons). This was a low-budget horror series in the same vein as The Twilight Zone featuring half-hour stories with twists at the end. It usually aired late at night on weekends and had probably the creepiest intro ever. I've been waiting for this to come out on DVD for years, and I found out seasons one and two are out now... hooray! - Misfits of Science, NBC, 1985-1986 (1 season). Seemingly ordinary people who have superpowers and take part in various adventures and quests — sound familiar? Interestingly enough, Tim Kring, the creator of Heroes, was also a co-creator of Misfits. Courteney Cox, before becoming famous as Monica Geller, played "Glo" on this show, a delinquent teen with telekinetic abilities.
-
The Maxx, MTV, 1995 (1 season). Ah, The Maxx. When MTV was shifting away from being "Music Television" and becoming "just another network that shows crap nobody watches", there was an animated series called Oddities. Each Oddities episode consisted of two mini-shows, each of which took up fifteen minutes of the half-hour block (kind of like Robot Chicken). Of those two, the only one I remember is The Maxx. Wow. Imagine a graduate-level psychology class. Add a giant purple guy with claws for hands and an odd Walter Mitty penchant for shifting between the real world and a place called The Outback. Throw in a freelance social worker, a bald madman named Mr. Gone who is the only one who knows what's going on, and thousands of faceless balls with legs called Isz who are sometimes white and docile, sometimes black and carnivorous. It is as bizarre as it is beautiful. - Herman's Head, Fox, 1991-1994 (3 seasons). This was such a neat show. Ordinary guy Herman has four aspects of his personality who live inside his head, each represented by a different character. So, we get to watch Herman's inner conflicts as played out by these characters as he makes his way through life. I thought it was a neat concept. Also, Yeardley Smith plays a part in this show, and I've always liked her.
- The Tracey Ullman Show, Fox, 1987-1990 (3 seasons). One of the earliest Fox primetime shows, and the show which launched The Simpsons (hence, one could say the Fox network in general). Tracey Ullman is quirky and funny, as is the show, and I'd just love to hear her say, "Go home! Go home!" out on the stage in her bathrobe one more time. My Sunday nights in 1989 and 1990 were spent in the Hirise dorm at WV Tech watching this, Married With Children, The Simpsons, and whatever else was on Fox that night, and usually eating a calzone from Frank's Pizza... warm fuzzy memories from a relatively uncomplicated time. And despite Fox now being a political mouthpiece more than a television network, I'll freely admit it was once innovative, entertaining, and downright enjoyable.
-
Max Headroom, ABC, 1987-1988 (2 seasons). Sometimes a show is just too far ahead of its time. That said, imagine a show set in a world where television has 500 channels, large corporations control everything, advertising is everywhere, and personal privacy is dead. I definitely think that's worth looking at again, considering it all came true. - Journeyman, NBC, 2007 (partial season). This show debuted right after Heroes on Monday nights, making for a solid two-hour block of primetime sci-fi awesomeness. And right when I thought sci-fi was making a comeback on TV, the 2007 Writer's Strike popped up and ruined this show and that prospect. Sure, it was kind of a Quantum Leap ripoff, and sure, the ratings weren't fantastic, but I thought the writing was damned good, the characters were likable, and I really don't think it had a fair shot when paired against long-time runners like CSI: Miami and The Bachelor. The Heroes lead-in was good thinking on NBC's part, but the second season of Heroes was weakened by the Writer's Strike too and didn't help the cause much, unfortunately.
- The Powers of Matthew Star, NBC, 1982-1983 (1 season). Alien prince and his guardian escape their war-torn planet and live on Earth amongst humans. I guess I dug most of the sci-fi TV shows from the 80s. From what I understand, this whole series is floating around on YouTube, so there's no real financial motivation to get behind releasing it on DVD.
- Boston Common, NBC, 1996-1997 (1 season). Just to see Anthony Clark saying, "Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy..." again and dancing around to Bizarre, Inc. — and seeing Martha giggling about it — would make my day. This is another of those warm fuzzy memory shows — us with a newborn, making our way in the world, and giggling at silly shows.
- Electric Dreams, a movie from 1984. An architect buys a home computer system which comes to life when he spills a drink on it. Said computer then proceeds to ruin his life, steal his girlfriend, and generally create havoc. Smells like cheese, but it has a very underrated 80s movie soundtrack: Jeff Lynne, Culture Club, Heaven 17, and Philip Oakley from Human League. Neither the movie nor the soundtrack are available in the US in disc form. Boo! The soundtrack is available as an import, though, and the world is small enough now that import CDs aren't a huge deal.
So there you have my quirky list, one which may never be fulfilled. Then again, two seasons of Tales From the Darkside are out now... so maybe there's hope for some of these after all.