Posted on: Friday, November 26, 2004
'Seinfeld' finally released
By Terry Lawson
Knight Ridder News Service
The long-awaited release of "Seinfeld Seasons 1 & 2" (Columbia-TriStar) and "Season 3" may have unexpected economic ramifications. Both will, of course, immediately join the ranks of the all-time best-selling series sets, but has anyone considered the effect they could have on all those TV stations that survive on dusk-to-dawn repeats? Their programming is rendered instantly redundant.
Advertiser library photo Things are much improved when the series continues with four episodes that begin anew, introducing the far less warm-and-fuzzy "Seinfeld" that audiences grew to love. There were still adjustments to be made, however. In the classic episode "The Revenge," where George (Jason Alexander) quits his job for the first time, we hear the notorious Newman on the phone threatening suicide, but the voice does not belong to Wayne Knight, who would portray him for the rest of the series. For the purist, the set's compilers have included both the originally aired version and the one seen in syndication, with Newman's lines dubbed over by Knight.
Otherwise, these and the 23 episodes collected on "Season 3" are those originally broadcast on NBC. That means they are all a couple of minutes longer than the ones trimmed for syndication. Anyone who plans on collecting the entire series (at least two more seasons will be released next year), may want to bite the bullet and buy the "Seinfeld Gift Set" (list price is $119.95, but it will be discounted in the $80-$90 range).
Other TV favorites
The upcoming holiday means an avalanche of new series boxes, with the most-wanted title probably being "Golden Girls — The Complete First Season" (Buena Vista), compiling the original 25 episodes of the comedy starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Estelle Getty and Rue McClanahan. The sole extra is a featurette in which Joan and Melissa Rivers provide their usually unfunny comic observations of the ladies' TV wardrobes.
"Boy Meets World — The Complete Second Season" (Buena Vista) puts 23 episodes from 1994-95 of the family comedy modeled on "The Wonder Years" on three discs. "Home Improvement — The Complete First Season" (Buena Vista) reminds us that the show that made a star of Tim Allen emerged fully developed in 1991; the consistency of the 24 episodes contained here is undeniable. "The Commish — Season One" (Anchor Bay) could almost be the flip side of star Michael Chiklis' current show, "The Shield": His turn as police commissioner Tony Scali is as easygoing as Vic Mackey is corrupt and intense.
Harry Potter returns
Not that anyone is likely to miss it, but "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (Warner), the best and, at 2 hours and 20 minutes, the shortest of the series, makes its DVD debut in both wide and full-screen versions today.
The movie is accompanied here by the usual magic box of extras, including interviews and all manner of games and activities for the kids.
"The Terminal" (Dreamworks) was a decidedly unsuccessful reteaming of director Steven Spielberg and his friend Tom Hanks, to tell the story of a traveler from Eastern Europe who, because of a bureaucratic problem, finds himself residing in an airport, unable to enter the United States or return home.
The title of the first box is a bit of a joke. As many fans know, "Season 1" is a combination of two different sitcoms: "The Pilot" is the solitary episode of what was called "The Seinfeld Chronicles," which, aside from the primary characters, had little in common with the revamped version that arrived the following season. (It's seen here in two versions. The first is how it was originally broadcast, and the second includes the introduction and the bass guitar riff added after the episode was added to the syndication package.)
From left, Michael Richards as Kramer, Jason Alexander as George Costanza, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes and Jerry Seinfeld as himself made "Seinfeld" an irreplaceable hit on NBC. The first three seasons of the show are out on DVD.
