Mad Tv Dvd

Here are this week's new DVD releases of old TV favorites (to be released Tuesday).

"Murphy Brown: The Complete First Season" (Warner, 1988-89, not rated, $29.98, four discs). I didn't watch "Murphy Brown" regularly when it was on the air, but my wife and I watched this entire first- season set and loved every minute of it.

Candice Bergen is the self-absorbed celebrity network newswoman who is at the center of the show. In the pilot, she has just returned from the Betty Ford Clinic and has given up smoking, drinking and, in her view, everything that makes life worth living. She's also a fanatic about old Motown music, and most of the episodes here are titled after, and open with, one of those songs.

Also here are Joe Regalbuto as Frank, another reporter and Murphy's best friend; Charles Kimbrough as the uptight anchor of "FYI," the weekly prime-time show they all work on; Grant Shaud as young upstart producer Miles; Faith Ford as another reporter, Corky, who is also a ditsy ex-Miss America; Pat Corley as Phil, the knows- everything bartender next door; and Robert Pastorelli, as Murphy's housepainter, who never finishes his work.

There are highlights galore here, and some well-earned moments of poignancy -- but when it's funny, this show is hysterical. The running gags are particularly good, from the revolving-door secretaries to the things that show up on the dartboard on the back of Murphy's office door (such as "I Heart Orrin Hatch"). And Colleen Dewhurst is great as Murphy's mother in one episode.

Extras: Full frame, 22 episodes, audio commentary (on two episodes by Candice Bergen, creator Diane English), making-of featurette, subtitle options (English, French, Spanish), chapters.

"The Mad About You Collection" (Sony, 1992-99, not rated, $39.95, four discs). Here's a show that started off wonderfully -- a light, gag-filled sitcom about newlyweds, two Manhattan professionals (played with abundant charm by Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt) who put each other first. The big thing here was how much they cared for each other, and it says something about modern TV that it seemed like such a unique concept.

But after a few seasons it went off in strange directions, became too sexual (a sitcom problem from the mid-'90s forward) and forgot what made the show so good in the first place.

There were some great initial seasons, however. But this isn't a first-season collection. These are shows from the entire run of the series, each hand-picked by Reiser and Hunt, and they provide introductions and audio commentaries.

And most of these are very good episodes, including shows with guest stars Carl Reiner (as his "Dick Van Dyke Show" character Alan Brady), Lisa Kudrow, Christie Brinkley, Yoko Ono, Ed Asner, Sid Caesar, Mel Brooks, Bruce Willis, Carol Burnett, Carroll O'Connor, Michael Moore, Lyle Lovett, Tim Conway, Cyndi Lauper and Janeane Garofalo.

Extras: Full frame, 21 episodes, introductions (by Reiser and Hunt) on each episode, audio commentaries on two episodes (by Reiser and Hunt), making-of featurettes, bloopers, TV spots, subtitle options (English, Spanish, Portuguese), chapters.

"Night Court: The Complete First Season" (Warner, 1984, not rated, $29.98, two discs). Harry Anderson stars in this ensemble sitcom as Judge Harry Stone, the unorthodox judge who -- in his courtroom -- listens to old Mel Torme records, does magic tricks and asks pointed questions of the goofballs who parade through his courtroom.

Regulars include John Larroquette as the lascivious assistant district attorney, Richard Moll as towering Bull the bailiff, and Selma Diamond, Paula Kelly, Charlie Robinson, among others. Karen Austin is the court clerk who has a crush on Harry (Markie Post would take over the next season).

There are some funny things here, but I was surprised at how serious some of the episodes are. Still, this is an enjoyable set for fans. And look at the second show, a Christmas episode, to see Michael J. Fox as a runaway teenager picked up with his girlfriend.

Extras: Full frame, 13 episodes, audio commentary (on pilot by creator Reinhold Weege), making-of featurette, subtitle options (English, French, Spanish), chapters.

"Miami Vice: Season One" (Universal, 1984-85, not rated, $59.98, three double-sided discs). It's all glitz and glitter and neon -- and ever so cool -- with flashy colors and flashier music (U2, Glenn Frey, Phil Collins, etc.) in this shoot-'em-up police drama set in Miami. It's style over substance, but it's still pretty entertaining. And like it or not, it's been incredibly influential on cop shows that followed.

Vice cops Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and Rio Tubbs (Phillip Michael Thomas) are the main attraction, battling bad guys, drug dealers and other seamy characters, but the acting honors go to Edward James Olmos as their lieutenant. Also look for young Jimmy Smits (in the pilot), Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames, long before any of them hit it big.

Extras: Full frame, 22 episodes, making-of featurettes, subtitle options (English, Spanish, French), chapters.

"7th Heaven: The Complete Second Season" (Paramount, 1997-98, not rated, $49.99, six discs). This is the second season of this family drama, a cleaner prime-time soap with liberal dollops of comedy that isn't afraid to talk about religion and faith in God. Which is logical since the father (Stephen Collins) is a minister.

Catherine Hicks co-stars as his down-to-Earth wife and they have seven children. There are some serious issues in the mix, but they are generally handled tastefully.

Extras: Full frame, 22 episodes, language options (English, French), optional English subtitles, chapters.

E-mail: hicks@desnews.com

Copyright C 2005 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

Get Skiing &Snowboarding Packages. - Sponsored Link
Ad - View Package Specials &Book Now!