These newly released DVDs of television programs are dominated by nostalgic family fare.
— "The Waltons: The Complete First Season" (Warner, 1972-73, not rated, $49.98, five double-sided discs). Here's a lovely family show like they just don't make anymore, with Richard Thomas in the lead as John-Boy Walton. Actually, the episodes are often ensemble in nature, focusing on various members of the Walton clan — including the parents (Ralph Waite, Michael Learned), the grandparents (Will Geer, Ellen Corby) and each of the seven kids.
John-Boy wants to be a writer, which allows retrospective narration by Earl Hamner, and the show is set during the Depression in rural Virginia, the Blue Ridge Mountain area. And it holds up quite well, with good people who care about each other and life lessons learned in each episode.
One introduces an arrogant young preacher who gets his comeuppance, played by youthful John Ritter, who then shows up in later episodes as the local minister. Other familiar guest players include Sissy Spacek, Billy Barty and Ned Beatty.
Trivia note: The pilot, the Christmas-themed TV movie "The Homecoming" (with only Thomas, Corby and most of the children in the same roles), is not included here but is available on DVD. Also available elsewhere is "Spencer's Mountain," the theatrical film with Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara that was based on the same material.
Extras: Full frame, 24 episodes, etc.
— "The Jetsons: The Complete First Season" (Warner, 1962-63, not rated, $64.92, four discs). I always enjoyed "The Jetsons" more than "The Flintstones," though it was not as popular and had a shorter run. The space-age gimmicks that often misfired and the characters in the 21st century were more appealing to a kid enamored of all things futuristic.
Today, some of the gimmicks seem quaint, especially data-processing cards, huge computer "brains" and reel-to-reel tapes. (Hey, cartoonists can't foresee everything!) But they also invented the treadmill and came up with gadgets that foreshadowed the Internet and cell phones!
The show's charm is intact, with good-natured humor and an appealing cast of characters — George, his wife Jane, their kids Judy and Elroy, Astro the dog and Rosie the Robot. (Note that Astro talks like Scooby-Doo, who would come some years later from the same company, Hanna-Barbera.)
And it's amazing how many things in these shows have been replicated in sci-fi movies over the years (consider the air traffic of "The Fifth Element," the transporters in "Star Trek," etc.). Then there's that jazzy, can't-get-it-out-of-your-head theme song. Unfortunately, as with "The Flintstones," there is also an obnoxious laugh track.
This is a most enjoyable set, with fun bonus features and a surprising number of chuckles. (This set constitutes the entire original series; 51 additional episodes were created in the 1980s.)
Extras: Full frame, 24 episodes, audio commentary on selected episodes, making-of featurette, character bios, etc.
— "Jonny Quest: The Complete First Season" (Warner, 1964-65, not rated, $64.92, four discs). This Hanna-Barbera series played during prime-time television in its first season, then was relegated to Saturday morning TV; it's a more serious cartoon from the makers of "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons."
Quest is a young boy who helps his globe-trotting father get to the bottom of fantastic adventures (a sort of straight-faced "Scooby-Doo"), along with an Indian boy, Jonny's tutor and their dog (who provides comic relief). The drawing style is more realistic than the company's other 'toons, and it was groundbreaking in its day. But today it's strictly a nostalgia piece for fans; the humor is labored, the stories are silly and the dialogue is flat.
Extras: Full frame, making-of featurettes, interactive games, vintage commercial, trailers, etc.
— "Jimmy Timmy Power Hour" (Paramount/Nick, 2004, not rated, $16.99). The highlight here is a special double-length episode that has Timmy Turner of "Fairly Odd Parents!" and "Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius" switching places, which leads to an inventive adventure that has both puzzling over the different animation styles of the two shows — the former drawn in the traditional manner, and the latter computer-animated.
There are also individual episodes of each show to flesh out the disc. From "Jimmy Neutron": "Crime Sheen Investigation," "Sleepless in Retroville" and "Maximum High." From "Odd Parents": "Cosmo Con," "Tim Visible," "The Switch Glitch."
Extras: Full frame, seven episodes, storyboards, DVD-ROM applications, etc.
E-mail: hicks@desnews.com