Canadian TV Shows on DVD - Page 7

Picked up my copy of Wonderland on Tuesday.

Definitely widescreen, not sure about anamorphic.
There are two commentaries(one by Cara Pifko and Bernard Zukerman, the other by a number of lawyers who are consultants to the show), both of which are definitely worth listening to.
The picture seems good.
The sound,though only in 2.0 is extremely good.
The packaging is definitely sturdy, almost reminds me of a small textbook.
It also comes with some unaired promos for the show.

Definitely rate the set 9/10

I second all the above on "This is Wonderland"

- yes, it's anamporphic
- love the case..

Now, one simple question...

WHERE'S SEASON TWO???

(season three airs in Jan I think?)

In terms of This is Wonderland...

I too like the case and the set (my gf is a lawyer and enjoys the show, so I got it for her but have been watching and enjoying it along the way).

However, on the list of episodes I do notice that it lists disc 1 as having 101-104 (why no real names? bah!), disc 2 as having 105-109 (in the order of 105, 107, 108, 109, 106), and disc 3 as having 110-113. Looking at the disc art you see 101-104, 105-108, 109-113. Interestingly enough the disc art (and disc spec in the case) for the third disc lists the commentary for episode 101 there.

And yet, as best I can tell, episodes 101-104 are on disc 1, 105-109 on 2, and 110-113 on disc 3. Oh, and the commentary for episode 101 is on disc 1.

The poor art on the discs seems a bit odd to me. Maybe that's just me though.

And yes, I believe that she is looking forward to the set for season 2 (I know that I am now... )

Thanks, Jim. We've got Tom Green: Inside and Outside the box coming very soon, it's Tom's two seasons from The Comedy Network.

And Wonderland doesn't have titles for their shows, they're just numbered.

ETA: I don't know about Wonderland S2 yet.

i'd gathered that. can still complain though. harder to remember which show was which by 'title' otherwise.

Kerry: i have no idea how much pull you have with the art department, but can you throw the comment out about the art on the current set and the placement of commentary indicators (ie, put 'em _with_ the episode that they're available with).

elsewise, it's a great set, and i quite like the packaging with it.

Morningstar reports Season 3 of The Newsroom is due out before the end of the year.

I picked up The Newsroom season 2, Escape from the Newsroom, both seasons of Corner Gas (a blind buy) and the new Air Farce compilation on my annual trip to Toronto last weekend. Can't wait to have time to watch them.

I'm hoping Corner Gas season 3 doesn't take too long to come out. I'm hooked.

I do wish CBC would start releasing shows. I hate to think that things like The Beachcombers will be left to rot, with no thought towards its preservation, let alone a home video release.

I want to see "This is Wonderland" series 2 SOON.

Just an FYI that the first two seasons of Holmes on Homes are being released on Jan. 17. Both are 2 disc sets, and are listed on Amazon.ca for $20.99.

So would I, and repeating what I probably said earlier in the thread, Boogie's Diner and Radio Free Roscoe season sets. I emailed VSC asking if there were plans for a more complete RFR set, but they haven't responded.

Still holding out for a complete Made in Canada release, and I'd also like to see Twitch City at some point. I don't think that either are very likely though.

Stacy, maybe you're the person whose email keeps bouncing back. We are not doing season sets for RFR. The sales were not good enough on the DVD that we released. Sorry.

Wonderland S2 does not look likely either but Twitch City does.

Were sales of Wonderland S1 not good? Wasn't it just recently released? I imported a copy. Damn fine show!

wonderland s1 came out about 6 months ago i'd guess. i thought that it was a fantastically well done set. unfortunately, there was no visibility or advertising, and i didn't even know that it was out until i saw mention of it on here. then i had to hunt for it in downtown toronto (where the show is filmed and set).

Is this the same outfit that released the compilation discs from THE RACCOONS tv series? If it is, it doesn't surprise me why the the original specials aren't being released.

Three episodes per disc, in no particular order, for $34 per disc. I'm sure their sales must have been just stellar. With the lack of sales, it would be an easy decision not to bother with the TV specials.

Fans would have bought the show if the series had been released in chronological order for a decent price. I would have picked it up for sure, but there was no way I was going to pay 34 bucks for 3 randomly selected episodes. What a bunch of morons.

Okay, thanks for the info, even though it's news I was hoping not to hear. It's was a quality single disc release. It's too bad there won't be more.

This seems to happen for a lot of smaller shows, they get lost in the shuffle. Like any other product, advertising, or at least getting some reviews posted on high profile sites would at least let prospective buyers know the DVDs existed.

I'm glad that Twitch City is still on the DVD radar--there's only thirteen episodes, so a single set would be ideal.

I shouldn't have been so definitive about RFR. Let me put it this way, anything can happen but it's not likely and I'd say it's pretty much for sure that it's not happening this year. But the fact that the show isn't being shot any longer makes this even more of a long shot.

Can anyone explain to me why none of the "big 3" US networks have never tried out Canadian programs on their primetime schedules? The only one that comes to mind is Due South. As a kid I remember ABC importing The Avengers from the UK with great success. I bet there are hundreds of shows from the 60s-00s from Canada that have never seen the light of day here in the US, and that's a shame. In the 90s I was lucky to watch Avonlea (the US title of Road To Avonlea) on the Disney channel, and Hangin' In in syndication (by coincidence both star actress Lally Cadeau). I also remember seeing Adderly on CBS late-night schedule, pre-Letterman, and also saw Danger Bay on the Disney Channel because I remembered star Donnelly Rhodes from SOAP. Why don't the Canadian production companies make a hard sell for US primetime slots on the major networks?

BTW, on the DVD side, I'd love to see Hangin' In released. More importantly, what about Canada's answer to Dark Shadows, the 1969-70 series Strange Paradise- who has the DVD rights to that one?

I've also wondered why American channels don't import more Canadian programs--even on their modest budgets, most contemporary Canadian TV shows look quite good. A show like Da Vinci's Inquest would translate well, as would Slings and Arrows or Twitch City (the latter two would be perfect on IFC).

Another Canuck TV DVD wish:

The original BW feature-length pilot for Trailer Park Boys. The first four seasons and the Christmas special have been released on DVD, but never this pilot.

"Da Vinci's Inquest" is currently in syndication here. "Slings and Arrows" is on the Sundance Channel. I've seen "Twitch City". It was aired on Bravo last time I saw it. Even "Trailer Park Boys". It's on BBC America (I always thought it was odd that this Canadian series was on a British channel, but either way I haven't seen the series). Besides "Twitch City", I've seen season one of "Slings and Arrows"; I haven't sat down to watch "Da Vinci Inquest" yet.

I agree we should import more Canadian programming, not just TV shows, but more mini-series (I personally like to see the one about the Halifax explosion that was aired on CBC) and more made-for-TV movies. Some more Canadian indie films would be nice (the last one I saw was "The Snow Walker").

Sadly, I keep missing Paul Gross’s TV movie "Murder Most Likely" on Court TV.

These early Nelvana TV specials should be released:

A Cosmic Christmas (1979)

The Devil and Daniel Mouse (1978) -- this one is on the Rock and Rule DVD, but it should be released as part of a box set of TV specials.

Rome-0 and Julie-8 (1979)

Intergalactic Thanksgiving aka Please don't Eat the Planet. (1979)

Easter Fever (1980)

I just can't figure it out.Nelvana releases a box set of "Tin Tin" but they won't release a set consisting of their early cartoons....when they were actually an animation studio. It's bizarre.

It actually took an indie outfit to finally see ROCK and RULE released on disc. It would have never been released if it had been left in Nelvana's hands.

What I'd like to see.

Dr. Zonk and the Zonkins
Coming Up Rosie
This is the Law
Adventures in Rainbow Country
The Forest Rangers
Rocket Robin Hood, with Max the 2000 Year-Old Mouse and Professor Kitzel
The Littlest Hobo

Zunkins, actually. John Candy, Gilda Radner, Fiona Reid and Rosemary Radcliff were in that show, but it only lasted 1 season.

If you're looking for more 70's Canadian kids' fare, I would also nominate "Coming Up Rosie", also starring Candy and Radcliffe and featuring Catherine O'Hara and Dan Ackroyd(!!), not to long before his moving to to SNL.

A couple of DVD's of John Byner's Bizarre were released this past Christmas, in their uncensored HBO versions, and fans of The Hilarious House Of Frightenstein can find a sampler DVD of 4 abridged syndicated US episodes (with laugh track) on Amazon's Canadian and US DVD sites.

BTW fans of the hour-long Canadian edition can now see Frightenstein (starring the late Billy Van, Billy Van, Billy Van, Billy Van, etc.) 3 times a day on Drive-In Classics on pay cable!

Showtime, actually, not HBO.

Would like to see another early Showtime original series, Steambath get a release. Who knows, could happen, given that my hopes weren't too high for Bizarre ever getting a release.

Speaking of HBO, howz about Hardcore TV, which seems to have been forgotten by nearly everybody around.

Fans of "This is Wonderland".

You may want to visit the offical site at www.thisiswonderland.com

there is some lively commentary and pointers in the forums concerning the CBC's STUPID decision to CANCEL the show.

and hopefully, we can see the last couple of seasons released. VSC did such a good job on the first (shame about the advertising or lack thereof) that it would be a nice legacy for the show to see the last couple of seasons.