The Ghost and Mrs Muir - coming to DVD in Australia (1 Viewer)

The first 2 seasons of "The Ghost and Mrs Muir" have been announced for 16th April. Very exciting news for fans of this fondly-regarded sitcom.

More info here:
http://www.madman.com.au/series/home/17824

And the cover art:

Day one, both volumes -- if it doesn't sell out.

That show played for years down here, especially in the early years of color television after it was introduced in 1975, playing on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) channels.

Also, pretty funny show, making a star out of Charles Nelson Reilly, among others.

Brian McP said:

Day one, both volumes -- if it doesn't sell out.

That show played for years down here, especially in the early years of color television after it was introduced in 1975, playing on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) channels.

Also, pretty funny show, making a star out of Charles Nelson Reilly, among others.

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Bit of a bizarre release though as it only lasted 2 seasons as it never really caught on in the US. Cancelled in the US after one season by one network (NBC), came back on another network (ABC) for a second season and then was cancelled again. Sounds like it was more popular outside the US, from what you said about its airing in Australia, and from what I can remember it was the same in the UK.

I remember this occasionally in syndication in the 80s. Hope Lange is very pleasant, and the last episode of season one has Harry Nilsson in a guest appearance, singing two songs (presumably uncut on the DVDs).

What are the chances that it will be released here in the USA?
I would hate to buy this PAL version, and then have it released here a year later.
Incidentally, Hope Lange won two emmy awards for best actress for this show--beating out Elizabeth Montgomery for Bewitched.

As I remember, it came on Saturday nights, and I never missed it. I loved this show.

Ron Lee Green said:

What are the chances that it will be released here in the USA?
I would hate to buy this PAL version, and then have it released here a year later.
Incidentally, Hope Lange won two emmy awards for best actress for this show--beating out Elizabeth Montgomery for Bewitched.

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which, with all due respect to Ms. Lange, is pretty astonishing. She won her 2nd Emmy over not just Elizabeth Montgomery but also Marlo Thomas for 'That Girl.'

Ron Lee Green said:

What are the chances that it will be released here in the USA?
I would hate to buy this PAL version, and then have it released here a year later.
Incidentally, Hope Lange won two emmy awards for best actress for this show--beating out Elizabeth Montgomery for Bewitched.

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I think US release unlikely. Hope Lange also was nominated for a Golden Globe for this too.

In hindsight the notion that Ms Lange beat out Montgomery for "Bewitched" is ludicrous. Maybe the fact that Lange was a movie star tilted the voters in her favour??

I don't know if I would say it is an unlikely release here in the USA unless someone has some inside knowlege about this issue. I have a ridiculously large dvd collection. However, I would buy this release. I really liked the show and found it very entertainning and charmng. I have a multi-region dvd player but I really would prefer to have a US release so I think I will wait a while.

I hope that if this series is popular then Madman night consider releasing Nanny and the Professor too.

The show's writing enabled Miss Lange to turn in some fine acting. I don't think Liz ever had much of a chance because Bewitched was far sillier than Ghost. Liz remains the most popular, but Ghost was definitely a wonderful showcase for Hope's range.

THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR and NANNY AND THE PROFESSOR both had a charm that was increasingly rare by the late sixties. And season one of MRS. MUIR was especially refreshing because the emphasis was more on the relationship between the two leads and less on the two kids. When it moved over to ABC for season two, it's obvious that the new network ordered them to place more emphasis on the children in order to attract a younger audience. As a result, just as with later seasons of BEWITCHED and season two of HERE COME THE BRIDES, the uniqueness and romance of the original premise was de-emphasized in an attempt to turn the show into something more familiar and juvenile.

However, I don't mean to knock MRS. MUIR as a TV series in any way. I wish television today offered up things that are as innocent and happy as THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR.

Hope Lange was pretty popular and coming off a decent run in films, and while my memories of TGAMM are dim, I recall it as a pleasant, light entertainment that took a more adult, gentler comedic take on another spiritual sitcom premise. Bewitched, not to offend the faithful, had veered further into the wacky in its later years, stretching the premise to its limits with four seasons already behind it. Not to take anything away from Ms. Montgomery, but sometimes the show would sink to trying to surf Gilligan's Island-like stories (and i like both GI and Bewitched, so don't him me too hard!;^)

Many (if not all) of the episodes from "Ghost and Mrs Muir" are currently on the 'Tube...

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Yesterday, I ordered season 1 and 2 from an australian DVD store on the net. Since there is no plan to get them here in Canada (or US) in NTSC, let it be PAL! Though I hate PAL speedup, I can't wait any longer for watching this very special TV show, close to my heart. I'll let you know about the quality of the masters taken for these releases, if you are interested.

dhammer said:

I don't know if I would say it is an unlikely release here in the USA unless someone has some inside knowlege about this issue. I have a ridiculously large dvd collection. However, I would buy this release. I really liked the show and found it very entertainning and charmng. I have a multi-region dvd player but I really would prefer to have a US release so I think I will wait a while.

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You don't usually need to be multi region for Madman releases as their dvd's are often region free

Not in my experience. I've ordered only twice from them but they have always been R4 sets.

Equally , the Madman releases I have are region free.
Depends who the copyright holder is I expect