TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

Not much to do in the way of pre-planning, but figured I'd go ahead and throw the threads up while I was thinking about it. Anyone want to throw out any personal goals or anything you think could be doable and fun for us as a group?

Also, the list thread is now up!

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

Doesn't seem like it should be time for this one already! This past year has flown by...

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

I’m hoping to get my unwatched list down ny a few seasons

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

Here

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

Got my The Bob Newhart Show The Complete Series box, so I'll be dipping into that amongst other things.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

Now that my brain fog has lifted, I'll get a couple seasons done before the Oscar Challenge begins.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

Something I'm considering doing is knocking out some of the TV specials tucked away as bonus features for movies I have. You know, those glorified infomercials for upcoming movies that made their way into the weeknight prime time lineup in the 90s during re-reruns weeks. I've been auditing my library to see what I have. I'm still working on it and doubt I'll finish anytime soon, but I've started a Letterboxd list. If you're unacquainted with the bonus features content of your library, it might be worth rummaging through the notes to see if you've got anything I've got that may interest you.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

I have a bunch of series to catch up on, like The White Lotus and House of the Dragon. Also need to get back to my Star Trek stuff.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

Got off to a good start - I was already watching Supergirl so kept on with it, finishing S5 yesterday. Overall, the series is not bad but has way too much non story related "character development" stuff. I don't care about *any* of their individual life activities or interests unless it has *some* bearing on the primary story - and very little of it does. Just give me a good superhero story without all the backstory relationships that serve no purpose outside filling up time (the majority of those scenes/asides).

I then started on my new BR of The Monkees, a favorite from waaay back (during the original network airings). Lots of fun with that one...

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

I've been going through the series, ER. I started this month's challenge with finishing season 8. Fans of the show may recognize that the storyline to end that season involved the loss of one of the main characters. I'm sure it pulled on the heartstrings of loyal viewers 20 years ago, and it had the same effect on me decades later.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

Happy 30th anniversary to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine! Being syndicated, it started showing in various markets at various times and on various dates. Here in the Louisville area, it premiered at on Monday, 4 January at 8:00 PM on WDRB-41. I hated everything about it.I went into school the next morning and complained to my friend about everything down to the color orange they used for the font in the credits! I stuck with the show, though, and along the way I realized my problem was really just that it wasn't TNG. Once I got past that childishness and took DS9 for what it was instead of shunning it for not being something else, I it became my favorite TV show of all time.

As for my challenge, I started with the A&E Biography 2-parter Garth Brooks: The Road I'm On on DVD. Been a fan of his since his first NBC special, This Is Garth Brooks! back in '92. I'd heard The Road I'm On was surprisingly candid and frank. I'm not entirely sure I agree with that characterization. There are some raw emotional moments, to be sure, but there were several key subjects that never came up at all. They talk about his success, but without any discussion of how polarizing he was within country music. That's an important part of his legacy, but if you only went by this special you'd have no idea that there was ever a strong backlash against him as a harbinger of doom portending the death of the genre altogether. His sister merited only a single passing reference, despite also being his bass player and also being gay. It's long been understood she was the reason he stood behind the line in "We Shall Be Free" about "when we're all free to love anyone we choose," though here there's only a statement that the line could be interpreted for same-sex or for interracial relationships.

Since then, I've been going through The Muppet Show on Disney+. I'd rather have gone through them in broadcast order, but they present them in production order and I'm too lazy to construct that viewing order manually. I think I fell in love with Sandy Duncan all over again after her episode.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

I didn’t watch any of the Treks on original broadcast and only caught up with TNG/DS9/VOY when they finally came out on DVD. I’ve said that DS9 is my favorite, but doing my franchise watch I’ve gotten kind of stuck in the first season because of many factors. I hope to get back to it this year, though.

I watched ER mostly during the original broadcast, and I remember many great moments. I have the whole thing on Vudu and will do a complete rewatch someday.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

I’ve been on kind of an off and on cartoon kick since last month, or maybe November. So, other than clearing my DVR or interesting things on Dish, I’ve watched the Revenge of Cobra miniseries of GI Joe ​​​​​​, and am now working my way through disc 1 of the complete Voltron collection.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

I liked DS9 as much as anything because it *wasn't* TNG, a series I really didn't like back then and still only marginally like. The station I worked for aired it at 10:30pm on Saturday's. I watched every episode until Worf joined the crew and then dumped it as I felt like they were attempting to increase ratings by making it more like TNG. While that was partially true, it didn't go that direction nearly as much as I expected. Something I only discovered after purchasing the series on disc. I really wish that CBS would spring for HD upgrades of it and give it a proper BR release. It deserves one.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

Just finished S6 of Supergirl. After a rather lackluster/half baked season 5, season 6 was even worse with, perhaps, the worst final episode I've ever seen for a super hero series. Far too many "message" episodes/speaches, far too much relationship junk, Supergirl wasn't even the primary focus/character in this season. She was more "up front" when Benoist was out for maternity leave than the episodes after her return. They even managed to ruin Jon Cryer's Lex Luthor character - one of the best on-screen portrayals of the character I've seen up until this season.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

I have a Roku TV on the way as a late Christmas gift, so looking forward to streaming being even simpler soon. Right now I have been using a Fire Stick, but I've always been a fan of Roku.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

Started watching Alaskan Bush People and its like a car wreck you can't look away from. I like these type of shows (Alaska Last Frontier, Building Alaska etc). They're fodder tv, but fun to watch nonetheless. Also continuing a rewatch of Knots Landing and am on S3. Loved these soaps like Dallas/Falcon Crest/Dynasty. They can be ridiculous, but i enjoy them. Also started a rewatch of Gunsmoke. Probably still my favorite Western. I'm a big OTR fan and its fun to watch the show after listening to it and see the same scripts on TV.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

I really like Benoist in the role but gave up on the show a few seasons ago. I just didn’t care anymore.

I would love to see DS9 in HD but am resigned to never getting it. Maybe if Paramount were convinced that it’d be a big driver for Paramount+, but there was too much talk about not making up their money on TNG. It’s too bad.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

Just finished The Muppet Show. Or, rather, 118/120ths of it. For reasons I haven't looked into, two episodes from the fifth season aren't streaming on Disney+. This was really the first time I ever purposely sat down with that show. I wasn't yet 2 when it concluded. I caught the stray rerun from time to time over the years, but never sought out the show itself. It took me ten days to go through those 118 episodes. At times, it did become a bit of a slog. I tended to like the musical numbers enough to stay interested in the show, but for the most part I was frequently ready for them to be over and get on with the comedy. And the comedy could also feel rote at times. There's also a lot of bits that "haven't aged well," I think is the euphemism. But then, half of the show is older than me. It's probably more noteworthy that as much of it holds up as it does. Top 10 favorite episodes (unranked):

S1E14 Sandy Duncan
S1E19 Vincent Price
S2E10 George Burns
S2E14 Elton John
S3E06 Jean Stapleton
S3E07 Alice Cooper
S4E17 The Stars of Star Wars (Mark Hamill; Anthony Daniels as C-3PO; Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca; Kenny Baker as R2-D2)
S4E18 Christopher Reeve
S4E24 Diana Ross
S5E07 Glenda Jackson

I was not expecting Jean Stapleton and/or Diana Ross to seem to take so much joy from being around the Muppets. They both seemed to have the time of their lives. And Glenda Jackson deserved an Emmy for staying in character throughout her entire episode as a pirate who takes over the Muppet Theater.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

I just finished the first season of Abbott Elementary. Impressive that the star-creator Quinta Brunson is only 33, having made her first impression on Instagram. It’s in the faux-documentary style, and the characters are very funny.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

Alice cooper's episode of The Muppet Show is so much fun; it's one of my favorite episodes too. I also enjoy Harry Belafonte's episode because of the unique Muppets they created for his musical numbers. Rita Moreno won an Emmy for beating up a giant Muppet which is kinda hilarious. I don't remember the Star Wars cast, gotta go back and watch that one.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

Season 2 has been just as good.. and they just got picked up for Season 3. That and Ghosts are the two best comedies on tv I believe.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

I am watching a bunch of episodes of Season 8 of Xfiles... and I was kind of dreading getting to this point.., I didn't watch the show live..but It always seemed this was the point a lot of people jumped ship. Now Doggett isn't close to Mulder in linkability... but I like the whole Scully switching roles from the sceptic to the believer.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

I picked up a new-to-me British mystery series, Rosemary & Thyme, about a pair of amateur gardeners who always manage to get involved in a murder when called in to rework/remodel a garden. One is an ex-cop (as is her husband - divorced - and son - rarely seen) and the other is a Doctor level Master Gardener. It's along the lines of Murder She Wrote in how they stumble into these murder cases, which often involve their work in the garden area(s). Fairly basic but well written, well plotted, easy to solve, well acted, well produced, a generally top notch type British production all around.

In a very coincidental thing, during one of the S3 episodes Rosemary mentions a larch. I laughed. No - it wasn't funny but I recalled the Monty Python sketch in the episode "How to Recognise Different Types of Trees from Quite a Long Way Away" and I pulled that series out to rewatch.

Re: TV on DVD* Challenge Season 13 Discussion Thread
 

I decided to dive into my Roku TV tonight, and started browsing The Roku Channel. Coming across Storage Wars Texas ​​​​​​, I sat down and have watched a couple episodes so far. The second episode had some rare on card, Boba Fett figures, with value totalling in the thousands. Plus, the channel seems to be ad free.