Category Archives: episodic

“Marineland Carnival With The Munsters”

children, comedy, episodic, family

Enjoy two hours of genuine laughs when you pop this Munsters DVD in your player. You’ll watch some rare shows and featurettes about a silly family on a TV show.

The series aired in the 1960s and continued with a decade of reruns. Do you remember where the Munsters lived?

Mockingbird Lane is where the Munsters entertained audiences of all ages. Sure, the episodes were spooky in a fun way. Kids and parents could relate to the innocence of being a silly monster family — some family members are not too bright.

For the first time in a long time, long-lost television appearances of the cast—Fred Gwynne (Herman), Yvonne De Carlo (Lily), Al Lewis (Grandpa), Pat Priest (Marilyn) and Butch Patrick (Eddie) are available to be enjoyed again in this historical and hysterical collection.

Marineland Carnival & More Lost Treasures with the Munsters TV Show Cast Members have arrived. The DVD includes the hour-long Marineland Carnival 1965 special starring the Munsters. Next is a 1966 full-color Munsters-themed “episode” with Fred Gwynne as Herman on The Danny Kaye Show.

I found the other rare skits and vintage talk show interviews funny while learning a little about the actors.

An all-new featurette called Munster Memories with Butch Patrick is fascinating. Watch before you watch the episodes if you need to become more familiar with The Munsters.

Also included is the hit music from the New Christy Minstrels. And there are guest appearances by legends Edie Adams and Joey Bishop.

This short is not on the DVD but shows the human side of The Munsters.

“The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” Season 1 & 2

episodic, family, legend, television,

Watch the television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet: Season 1 and 2 as four-DVD sets from MPI Media Group. The collections contain 39 episodes, representing the complete first two seasons, 78 episodes.

The TV series was a long-running sitcom ranked high on some of the top lists of television. MPI Media Group has restored the entire library of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet from the original 35mm picture and sound elements in association with the UCLA Film & Television Archive, which preserves the aspects on behalf of the Nelson family.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet lasted 14 record-breaking seasons, totaling 435 episodes. It aired on ABC-TV from 1952 through 1966 as a positive, wholesome series epitomizing an idyllic American 1950s lifestyle.

Its gentle humor came to the screen through the real-life Nelson family, which included Ozzie and his wife Harriet with their sons, David and Rick. They portrayed themselves in a trendsetting blend of fact-meets-fiction comedy decades before semi-reality-based shows like Seinfeld.

The series humorously chronicled the daily lives of the Nelsons as David and Ricky grew up before millions of weekly viewers. Besides Ozzie Nelson being a real-life bandleader and Harriet Nelson, a singer, the series would help launch the musical career of their younger son, Ricky, who would become a teen idol with such enduring hits as “Travelin’ Man” and “Hello Mary Lou.”

The longest-running live-action sitcom in U.S. television history until It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia surpassed it on December 1, 2021, when the FXX series debuted its 15th season.

Still, Ozzie and Harriet hold the record for most episodes produced, totaling 435. Among its Emmy nominations and many other accolades, TV Guide placed Ozzie Nelson at number 21 on its list of “50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time.” Others on the list include Andy Taylor, Ben Cartwright and Steve Douglas.

And now, for the very first time, in association with the Nelson family, the entire series arrives digitally restored for its 70th Anniversary with complete episodes from the original film negatives for superior picture quality. 

Viewing these restored episodes, I am amazed by the picture and sound quality.  

I watched season one, which contains all 39 complete, fun-filled episodes on four DVDs, starting with the premiere show and other rare adventures not seen on television in decades. The humor seems dated, but it’s clean and trouble-free.

I saw Don DeFore (Hazel) as Ozzie’s neighbor, pal Thorny. Others included guest stars from classic television and films, including Hal Smith (The Andy Griffith Show), Ellen Corby (The Waltons), Janet Waldo (The Jetsons), Joseph Kearns (Dennis the Menace), Frank Nelson (I Love Lucy) and other familiar faces. 

Season two also contains 39 episodes — with more lost moments appearing for the first time since broadcast initially — on four discs and features such guest stars as Frank Cady (Petticoat Junction), John Carradine (The Munsters) and Lurene Tuttle (Psycho).

It’s hard to believe Ozzie and Harriet started visiting us on television in 1952, making this vintage series binge-worthy  

Showtime’s “Billions” Season 5

drama, episodic, television, ,

The fifth season of the machinations of Billions is full of double-crosses, complex and shifting alliances and too many gut punches. Ultimately, the viewers know they’ll get a significant reset in the sixth season at the end of the season.

The most noteworthy plot thread in season 5 was the gradual move of Axelrod or Axe, played by Damian Lewis, and Wendy Roades, played by Maggie Siff, acting on their long, and otherwise unstated desire to be together. When we thought it would happen, the season ended, and it was not the happy ending we hoped to experience. We also know Axe is no longer on the show when season six arrives.

According to the showrunners and Variety, Axe leaving started about three years ago. They knew Wendy and Axe would struggle with love, but it would never flourish. If you remember the season finale, Axe is leaving for Europe, running away. He asks Wendy to join him, and she turns him down.

With an unfulfilled relationship ending, other complex plotlines develop with double-crosses, wordplays, and shifting alliances. Van Halen fans appreciated the character reciting his lyrics from “Antic Punk.”

Since rival billionaire Mike Prince, played by Corey Stoll, outmaneuvers Axe in his constant jousts in the marketplace. Prince comes across as kinder, gentle, and socially more appealing compared to Axe. At the end of the season, Axe is tricked by the marijuana kingpin, played by Janeane Garofalo, who moves both contraband and legal weed, which places Axe in a vulnerable posting of money laundering charges.

Taylor Mason, played by Aisa Kate Dillon, holds the cards as the analytical genius but grapples with her conscience and wealth accumulation. A newcomer, Rian, played by Eva Victor, challenges her idealism. Taylor wants to take down Axe and helps Chuck Rhoades, played by Paul Giamatti, bring criminal charges against him. But, in the end, Taylor feels sorry rather than victorious.

As Billions showrunner and co-creator Brian Koppelman explained to Variety, “The central theme of the show has always been can anybody resist the temptation of that level of money and power? Can anybody remain even close to their true selves when that much money is at hand?”