Mill Creek Entertainment awesomely honors its roots as a distributor of classic "TV Land" fare DVDs with the September 26, 2017 separate releases of the black-and-white and color versions of "Watch Around the Clock." Each release that presents time-slot appropriate shows and films (complete with commercials) for a simulated broadcast day on what can be considered the independent television station WMCE is a vicarious dream come true for those of us to want to program a local station.
The color set (pun intended) is the topic du jour. An upcoming release addresses the black-and-white release.
As the TV listings style grid (complete with episode synopses) states, the color broadcast day starts at 6:00 a.m. with the six-hour block of cartoons known as "Kid's Clubhouse." This starts with a whooping hour of "Popeye" cartoons beginning with the classic "Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor" and includes "A Haul in One" that has him operating a moving company with nemesis Bluto,
We then move onto "Casper," which largely revolves around that friendly ghost trying to make chums but ending up scaring everyone; his adventures include getting involved in a war on the moon, becoming a surrogate father to a duckling, and going to Africa.
The cartoon fun continues with "Gumby," the lesser-known (but hilarious) "Fraidy Cat" about a feline who is on his last life, and other rarities such as "Space Angel" and "Mr. Piper."
The six-hour "Daytime Variety" block of kid-friendly films begins the Max Fleischer animated version of "Gulliver's Travels." We then get "The Borrowers" about wee folk living the house of us "big people."
The special treat of the 1978 reunion film "Rescue From Gilligan's Island" tells the tale of seven no-longer stranded castaways making their way off the titular landmass only to have tremendous difficulties adjusting to being back in "civilization."
This block wraps up with the Aaron Spelling comic Western film "The Over the Hill Gang." This one has Walter Brennan and Edgar Buchanan as a team of retired Texas Rangers trying to oust a corrupt mayor and his gang. A cute cameo by Harlen Carrraher of the sitcom "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" is a highlight.
The six-hours of "Prime-Time Favorites" begins with the classic Western series "The Lone Ranger" and eases into the 1973-74 comic Western "Dusty's Trail" with Bob Denver of "Gilligan" and Forrest Tucker of the Western sitcom "F Troop."
A full hour of "The Lucy Show" aptly begins at 9:00 p.m. This double-feature is from the era of Lucy living in Los Angeles and working with Mr. Mooney at the bank. The first outing has Lucy causing chaos at the filming of a John Wayne movie; she then tries to convince (real-life close friend) Jack Benny to deposit his hoarded vast treasure at the bank.
We then get the classic Western "Bonanza" and finish primetime with '70s detective drama "Mannix."
The already-starred in primetime players in the "Midnight Movie Marathon" are the three classic films "The Last Time I Saw Paris," The Snows of Kilimanjaro," and "The Proud Rebel."
The aforementioned retro commercials greatly enhance this set. Personal favorites include kid-oriented ones for vintage cereals and toys. It also is amusing to see ads for cigarettes and outdated PSAa that include an '80s-era Clint Eastwood relating the evils of crack.
Wait, there's more! The bonus disc of "Holiday TV Classics V2 has 12 Christmas episodes from all-time favorites series and rarities that include "Petticoat Junction," "Ozzie and Harriet," and "The Colgate Comedy Hour" with Abbott and Costello.
The challenge for die-hards is to start watching this set at 6:00 a.m. and keep going until 6:00 a.m. the next day. The rest of us merely can enjoy several large blocks of carefully selected video treats.
Anyone with questions or comment regarding "Clock: Color" is strongly encouraged either to email me or to connect via @tvdvdguy.
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