DVD

If 20th Century Fox is smart, hopefully they will have the good sense NOT to put this soporific program on DVD (Rupert Murdoch, you have my sympathy!).

According to TVShowsOnDVD.com, 777 people have voted to put this show on DVD. Isn't that enough? Where are the DVDs?

The vote count at TVShowsonDVD.com is now up to 850. Whee!

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Update on the first season DVD release

Bob Newhart Show, The - Box for 1st Season, Possible Delay?, plus a word from Newhart about extras
Posted by David Lambert
1/22/2005

Following up on the announcement a couple of weeks ago for The Bob Newhart Show - The Complete 1st Season, we now have the cover art to show you. We appreciate the heads-up from Tom Woodward at DVDAnswers.com, who helped us bring you the look at the packaging, which you'll find at the bottom.

The set consists of 3 double-sided DVDs for a super-low $29.98 SRP. The only extra on this release is the unaired pilot episode, which was later reworked to become the 9th episode "P-I-L-O-T". In the original version, Carol was absent (Marcia Wallace hadn't been cast yet), the office was different, and there were other things changed when the show was picked up.

As for extras on future DVD releases, trade magazine Video Business has passed along word (registration required) from Bob Newhart himself about his desire to participate and provide supplements:

The three-disc first-season set of the '70s The Bob Newhart Show ($29.98) will debut on May 24 with no bonus features.

Newhart said he is anxious to help produce bonus features such as interviews with he and his costars and crew as well as include gag reels for the second and subsequent season sets of The Bob Newhart Show.

That would be terrific! But in order to get those extras, the first season will have to sell VERY well to convince Fox that there is a fan base out there who wants to pay the cost of those extras. Don't forget that The Mary Tyler Moore Show was released to DVD, with loads of extras and at an appropriate price point for the work that went into them, and sales were so miserable that the studio hasn't released any more DVDs of the property so far. They are eager to avoid the same situation with The Bob Newhart Show, and so they'e testing the waters with a bonus-less first season. The results will determine the future of this show on DVD, so don't delay your purchase!

Finally, we have to take a hard look at that quote above from Video Business: they say "May 24th is the release date. In our previous news, we quoted Fox's announcement as saying the release date was April 12th. We checked with Fox's press/retailer info system to see if the date had changed, and found that the listing is currently hidden from view, which usually means that something is about to change. We'll double-check with the studio next week to be sure of it, but it certainly seems like this title is being pushed back about six weeks. Take it with a grain of salt, though, until we confirm the date. Stay tuned, and we'll let you know for sure. Here's that artwork:

Link to this page:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=2778

All news for this show:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/shownews.cfm?ShowID=1029

"War is not healthy for children and other living things."

Further update: According to the studio via TVShowsOnDVD.com, the release date for Season 1 has been confirmed for April 12.

"War is not healthy for children and other living things."

Only $20.99 at amazon. Spend $4 more and get free shipping, too:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007IO6PA/liquidnwcom-20/103-9562046-1362267?creative=327641&camp=14573&link_code=as1