If I could play genie, I'd make these TV DVDs magically appear

May 9, 11:03 AMTV on DVD ExaminerSteve Marinucci

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  The cover of Mitch Axelrod's book,
   "Beatletoons."

If all it would take was a snap of the fingers, these would be out on DVD:

"The Beatles" Saturday cartoon show --  It ran at the height of the Beatles' fame in 1965. It's also not likely you'll see it released because the Beatles were known to have not really liked it, but it sure would be nostalgic. Paul Frees, whose voice has been heard in characters from Boris Badenov to the "Ghost Host" for Disney's Haunted Mansion, was the voice of John Lennon and George Harrison.  The plots were typical cartoon silliness and not very politically correct by today's standards.  You can read all about the series in Mitch Axelrod's authoritative "Beatletoons, The Real Story Behind The Cartoon Beatles," the best source for information on the series. (P.S. And if you like reading about the Beatles, we recommend the Beatles Examiner. We know him well.)

"Batman" -- The Adam West TV series would be fantastic to have, but certainly the ever changing cast celebrity villains and the negotiation of rights are probably the main holdup from it coming out on DVD. Also fun would be "The Green Hornet," the companion to "Batman," especially because of the involvement of Bruce Lee as Kato. There is a two-DVD set, "Batman - Holy Batmania," filled with interviews, clips and biographies that will have to do in the meantime. This is actually a nice purchase for any Batman fans. (And check out the Batman Examiner for all the latest information on the character.)

"Zorro" -- Actually, the Walt Disney Guy Williams series is available on legit DVD if you belong to Disney's video club. But this would be really a big hit if Disney put it out for the mass market or even added it to the Disney Treasures series. You can, however, pick up many "Zorro" Disney VHS copies in the used market at reasonable prices. Did anyone notice how quickly another Disney folk hero, "Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh", disappeared off the shelves after it came out on Disney Treasures? Let's hope they bring back that one again.

"The Wonder Years" -- Actually, there were two DVDs of this on the budget label Laserlight and they are long, long, long out of print and going for high prices when you can find them. The issue here is music rights. This series, routinely praised by critics for its superb writing and acting, used period music throughout each episode.  "American Dreams" managed to overcome this. It was initially a very expensive DVD set, now it's a bargain, though it's not in the league of "Wonder Years."

"Shindig" and other music variety shows -- Rhino put out a series of videotapes from "Shindig" in the early '90s, but it's never made it to DVD. What a shame. So many of the performances on the show were done live, not lip-synced. And the Beatles made an appearance on the show, that that performance never made it to VHS, though at the time we saw Rhino promos that had scenes from the Beatles' appearance on it. It'd be great if some of those old music shows -- "The Lloyd Thaxton Show," "Shivaree," "Hollywood a-Go-Go," as well as "Shindig," could finally come to DVD.  "American Bandstand" has had a couple of VHS compilations, but nothing in DVD.

"Highway Patrol" -- You can find scattered episodes of this on public-domain DVD collections, but so far, nothing authorized. A shame, too, because Broderick Crawford's larger than life (and that's pretty big) character was really a standout (pun almost intended) in those early days of TV and made the phrase "10-4" popular long before the boon of CB radio. Fans of "The Ed Sullivan Show" will recall that the late Frank Gorshin (who, incidentally played the Riddler on "Batman") did a funny impersonation of Crawford's Dan Matthews character in his comedy act.

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