TV on DVD heats up in 2003 - 12:03am

In what is fast shaping up to be the year of TV on DVD, it looks just about every even semi-popular TV series will get some sort of DVD release in 2003. Video Store Magazine has new article up (http://www.videostoremag.com/news/html/breaking_article.cfm?sec_id=2&article_ID=3933) with interviews with various big studio players on their plans for upcoming DVD TV releases next year.

“DVD has opened up marketing avenues for all kinds of programming,” said Lori MacPherson, VP of brand marketing for BVHE. “This includes good television product.” Many of the gems earmarked for 2003 include first season collections of Charlie's Angels (just in time for its big-screen sequel), Dawson's Creek (to coincide with the season finale this spring) SWAT and Married With Children from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, and from Buena Vista's Touchstone Television arm, the classics Home Improvement and The Golden Girls.

Already announced sets also due next year include the cult classic Battlestar Galactica from Universal Studios Home Video, along with Dragnet, Emergency, Magnum P.I., Quantum Leap, The Rockford Files and Sliders, plus more MASH, Buffy and X-Files sets from Fox Home Entertainment, and Outer Limits and Stargate SG-1 followups from MGM. Stay tuned for more info in the months ahead...
 
Street date alert - 12:03am
 
Just in from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment are some early 2003 street dates. Debuting on January 14th is the recent theatrical release Joe and Max, plus two thriller favorites from the Columbia catalog, Dead Reckoning and The Devil at 4 O'Clock. Retail is $24.95 each. For lighter family fare, Columbia will also release three new volumes in the Jay Jay the Jet Plane series on the 14th, including Adventures in Learning, Learning Life's Little Lessons, Lessons for all Seasons and Supersonic Pals. Retail is $14.95 a pop. Stay tuned for further details...

X-Men update - 12:03am

Last but not least, an update on Fox Home Entertainment's upcoming new two-disc special edition reissue of the Bryan Singer blockbuster X-Men. Due on February 11th, this set was originally planned to feature a new extended cut of the film, code-named 'X-Men 1.5,' but alas this new version has been dropped along with the numerical tag. Only the 96-minute theatrical cut will be included, and a Fox spokesperson has also indicated that the number of deleted scenes and participants on the audio commentary previously announced have not yet been fully determined and may change as the release draws near. Unfortunately, these specs have already been released to retailers and via the official Fox press website, so beware any preorder information to the contrary. Stay tuned for further details...