First 'New Releases Tuesday' of 2009 brings wish list and news of awesome interviews

January 6, 9:36 AMTV on DVD ExaminerJohn Stahl

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I wanted to start this year's discussion of new releases with my wish list of shows that I would like to see released. I also wanted to share the exciting news that the studio that is releasing the first and second seasons of the 1990s sitcom "Blossom" on January 27 invited me to interview series star Mayim Bialik; I hope to conduct this interview next Monday and incorporate it into a review next Tuesday.

My other exciting news is that Shaun Daily, who started the "nuts" campaign that resulted in a second season of "Jericho," has generously agreed to have me on his Internet-based radio show "TV Talk" on Friday. I expect that we will mention "Jericho," but I asked to also discuss the cancellation of "Stargate" Atlantis," which is having its series finale aired that night. Those of you who listen in will learn that I have a voice that is made for print.

Regular readers will not be surprised that my wish list consists of old sitcoms, cartoons, and children’s programs; they might be surprised that there is no scifi on this list, but I only got into this genre a few years ago and consider most 1970s scifi incredibly cheesy.

Beside the fact that I enjoyed the shows on my list a great deal, I know that many shows that are far worse than them have been released. “Lancelot Link – Secret Chimp,” “Mission Magic,” and the original “George of the Jungle” immediately come to mind.

My top choice is the 1960s fantasy sitcom “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,” which is about a live widow’s love-hate relationship with the ghost of a 19th century sea captain. Being a New Englander, I like the Maine setting of the show. Being a fan of the 1970s version of “Match Game,” I like Muir star Charles Nelson Reilly as the live greedy and cowardly descendant of the sea captain.

Muir ran only for two years, and it seems that buying the rights to it and releasing all 50 episodes as a complete series set would be feasible.

I would also like to see 1972 sitcom “The Paul Lynde Show” released on DVD. I did not remember the show very well but am among Lynde’s huge fan base. The episode list that TV.com provides for the show indicates that it is a lighter and less-extreme version of “All in the Family” in which Lynde’s newly married daughter and her liberal husband move in with Lynde’s character, who is an attorney.

The 1976 children’s show “The Kids from C.A.P.E.R.,” which I truly remembered 32 years later stands for the Civilian Authority for the Protection of Everyone Regardless, was a wonderful Monkeeslike show about a group of energetic young men foiling bad guys to a bubblegum music soundtrack. It also has a very amusing discoesque fashions and styles.

A youtube search regarding this show revealed many surprises. The first was that a few videos, including the opening credits with the catchy theme song, was posted, the second was that someone out there identifies himself or herself as “caperfanatic,” and the third was that people have been looking at and commenting on these videos within days of my discovery. This suggests that a market for the show exists.

Moving onto cartoons, I enjoyed the 1973 Scooby-Dooesque Hanna-Barbera cartoon “Goober and the Ghost Chasers” in which a cowardly dog who had difficulty controlling his ability to turn invisible and his stereotypical human teenage friends investigated reports of paranormal events for articles for “Ghost Chasers” magazine. As Goober would state it, things always became predictably “ridicidicilous.”

Animated versions of all of the kids, except David “Insert your own joke here” Cassidy’s Keith, from “The Partridge Family” in many of the episodes added to the campy fun. The real-life Partridge kids provided the voices for their animated counterparts. Warner Brothers has released several obscure Hanna-Barbera cartoons on DVD and really should add this one to the mix.

Speaking of old Hanna-Barbera cartoons, I own the DVD set of the also Scooby-Dooesque “Josie and the Pussycats,” and would love to see “Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space” released. The title of this 1972 cartoon pretty much says it all.

I do hope that studio executives please grant me at least one wish on this list. They, and the rest of you, are welcome to add comments or questions to this entry or e-mail me at tvdvdguy@gmail.com.