Stand-up comedian Bob Newhart had a one-season variety show in the early 1960s, but it was his first TV sitcom in 1972 that kicked his show-biz status up a level, and "The Bob Newhart Show" remains one of the best comedy series of all time.
Now it has finally come to DVD, along with a number of other TV shows (some in stores now and a few others scheduled for release on Tuesday).
"The Bob Newhart Show: The Complete First Season" (Fox, 1972-73, not rated, $29.98, three discs). Psychologist Bob Hartley (Newhart) and his substitute-schoolteacher wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette, whose star also rose with this show) live in a high-rise apartment in Chicago in this very funny sitcom, which boasts great writing and fine comic chemistry among the cast members.
In true sitcom fashion there is an eccentric neighbor, airline navigator Howard (the hilarious Bill Daily), and Bob has several eccentric co-workers and patients — the receptionist (Marcia Wallace), the dentist across the hall (Peter Bonerz), and patients Carlin (Jack Riley) and Mrs. Bakerman (Florida Friebus). And various others who come and go, including Emily's best friend Margaret (Patricia Smith), who was only in this first season.
Highlights here include the first show, in which Emily reveals she is terrified to fly (with Penny Marshall as a stewardess), a pleasure cruise that is anything but, and the pilot episode, which was the ninth episode to air and had a different character (and actor) as the Howard-type role.
Extras: Full frame, 24 episodes, language/subtitle options (English, Spanish), chapters.
"Miracles: The Complete Series" (Shout! 2003, not rated, $49.98, four discs). Often compared to "The X-Files," this one-season show also resembles the new program "Revelations." And sometimes it's more like "The Twilight Zone" — especially the excellent second episode, about a plane that disappears for 64 seconds.
Skeet Ulrich plays a debunker of miracles for the Catholic Church, but in the pilot episode, when he just can't explain how a young boy can heal others — nor why, after an accident, his own dripping blood spells out "God is now here" — he teams up with a former cop who has a bullet lodged in her head (Marisa Ramirez) to work for a paranormal researcher (Angus Macfadyen).
The show is just as goofy as it sounds, but it's also quite compelling, with twists and turns, and a dark edge, as the researchers try to discover the meaning of some mysterious dark "event" that is coming.
Too bad the show never built the audience it deserved. (This DVD set includes seven episodes that never aired on U.S. televison.)
Extras: Full frame, 13 episodes, audio commentaries (on select episodes), deleted scenes, interview with creator Richard Hatem, promos, chapters.
"The Jeffersons: The Complete Third Season" (Sony, 1976-77, not rated, $29.95, three discs). My wife and I are suckers for George and Louise "Weezy" Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford), and this third season has many very funny episodes. Florence (Marla Gibbs) becomes their live-in maid; son Lionel (Damon Evans) marries Jenny (Berlinda Tolbert), the daughter of neighbors Helen and Tom Willis (Roxie Roker, Franklin Cover); and goofy British neighbor Bentley (Paul Benedict) and Mother Jefferson (Zara Cully) are also on hand to stir things up. Nobody did bluster better than Hemsley, and Sanford was perfect as his long-suffering wife.
Extras: Full frame, 24 episodes, trailers, chapters.
"All in the Family: The Complete Fourth Season" (Sony, 1973-74, not rated, $29.95, three discs). The Jeffersons are also prominent in this excellent season of "All in the Family," during which George and Louise prepare to spin off their own show. But bigoted Archie (Carroll O'Connor) and sweet-but-dumb Edith (Jean Stapleton), along with their liberal daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) and even more liberal son-in-law Mike (Rob Reiner), have some new neighbors to torment Archie — the Lorenzos, Frank (Vincent Gardenia), who loves to putter in the kitchen, and Irene (the great Betty Garrett), an expert mechanic.
Extras: Full frame, 24 episodes, trailers, chapters.
"Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Volume One" (Cartoon Network/Warner, 2000, not rated, $29.98, two discs). This snarky show from the folks at Cartoon Network's Adult Swim late-night programming arm is pretty funny and very odd, as a former superhero becomes a down-on-his-luck lawyer.
Extras: Full frame, 13 episodes, audio commentaries (on five episodes), deleted scenes, trailer, featurettes, pencil tests, subtitle options (English, Spanish, French), chapters.
"Space Ghost Coast to Coast: Volume 3" (Cartoon Network/Warner, 1994, not rated, $29.98, two discs). This spoof of late-night talk shows features a cartoon superhero interviewing real celebrities, including Ice-T, Goldie Hawn, Tony Bennett, Pat Boone, Steve Allen, Bobcat Goldthwait, Charlton Heston and more. Strange and off-the-wall, but once you get into it, pretty funny stuff.
Extras: Full frame, 24 episodes, audio commentaries (on five episodes), extended interviews, alternate ending, featurettes, subtitle options (English, Spanish, French), chapters.
"Teen Titans, Volume 2: Switched" (DC Comics/Warner, 2003, not rated, $19.97). These seven episodes of this teen superhero series complement "Volume 1" to complete the first season. The Teen Titans — Robin, Starfire, Rave, Cyborg and Beast Boy — battle Robotic Commandos, the Puppet King and other menacing types.
Extras: Full frame, seven episodes, language and subtitle options (English, Spanish, French), chapters.
"Blue's Room: Beyond Your Wildest Dreams!" (Nick Jr./Paramount, 2005, not rated, $16.99). In addition to the title episode, this disc includes "Play Dates," "Blue's Collection" and "The Wrong Shirt," all designed to help kids use their imaginations, improve their vocabularies, etc.
Extras: Full frame, four episodes, interactive games, music video, "Nicktrition" tips for parents, chapters.
E-mail: hicks@desnews.com