Author: Robert Greenberger

Growing up, Saturday nights were usually spent with the NBC peacock. Their sitcom lineup during the 1960s included Flipper, Get Smart, Adam-12, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. The latter lasted just a season on the network, moving to ABC for its second and final season. It was the first time I recall learning that the series was based on a film, one I never got to see.

Thankfully, 20^th Century Home Entertainment remedied that this holiday season with the release of the 1947 film, starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison, on Blu-ray.

While the sitcom played it for family friendly yucks, with an over-the-top performance by Charles Nelson Reilly as the ghost’s descendant, the film, written by Philip Dunne, is something far different. It is a story of love and loss, missed opportunities and evokes reminders of the overlooked romance Somewhere in Time. Captain Daniel Gregg (Harrison) is long dead but his spirit remains attached to Gull Cottage, the seaside house where he once resided. Along comes the comely widow Lucy Muir (Tierney), who has defied her in-law’s (Isobel Elsom and Victoria Horne) expectations that she come stay with them after their son has died. She charts her own course, a strong statement for a female lead at a time when women were still seen as subservient to the male’s expectations, and by extension those of his family.

Defying the locals who tell her the cottage is haunted, she takes up residence, much to the spirit’s ire. He then “:haunts” the place to chase her out but she surprises him by demanding he appear before her, which he does and so begins a most unusual relationship. He’s a gruff sea captain, used to women acting in 1947 as they did in his day but she continues to defy expectations and he gradually comes to admire her inner spirit. In turn, he begins to open up to her, dictating his memoirs which Muir has published and it becomes a surprise best seller.

Enter Miles Fairley (George Sanders), a fellow author, with designs on Mrs. Muir, who wants to have a relationship with her but is less than he initially seems. In the end, it leaves you longing for the elusive happy ending and reaching for the tissue box. It’s a shame the film didn’t net the cast any award nominations although the effective photography did get Charles Lang a nod. Bernard Hermann’s score is superb and a real gem. Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz does a superb job with a premise that could have fallen flat.

The film holds up to high definition with a good transfer aided by solid sound. This new edition comes with a commentary by Greg Kimble and Christopher Husted, a duo demonstrating a solid understanding of soundtracks and film effects so we learn a few interesting things. There’s a second commentary by Jeanine Basinger, a film professor and critic, and Kenneth Geist, who has written about Mankiewicz. Rounding out the offering is the Theatrical Trailer.

The Adventures of Superboy found its groove with the third season and a sense of stability was most welcome as the tone was consistent and the stories got stronger thanks to Stan Berkowitz and the increasing influence of DC editors Mike Carlin and Andy Helfer. Gerard Christopher as the title character had truly grown as a performer with time and Stacy Haiduk’s Lana Lang was every bit his match. As a result, things looked promising as production on the fourth season got underway in the summer of 1991.

However, the success of Batman in 1989 and that summer’s sequel, Batman Returns, meant there was fresh demand for super-heroes. DC Comics’ parent, Warner Bros., had already had limited success with The Flash on CBS and was looking to build. They needed Superman but that meant, in a bizarre twist, they filed suit against Alexander and Ilya Salkind to regain control of all elements stemming from the hero. ABC was interested in an adult Superman tale and didn’t want competition from a low-budget first-run syndicated series. So, as production continued, its death warrant was also being composed.

The final season is now available from Warner Archive and you can see what might have been had Lois & Clark not been on the drawing board. There are returning foes, longer stories with more two-parters than before and a sense that the boy was on the verge of becoming a man. Still assigned to the Bureau for Extra-Normal Matters, Clark and Lana are well positioned to stay atop of the bizarre happenings around the world – and beyond.

Berkowitz, accompanied by J.M. DeMatteis, write a hefty percentage of the season and are joined by Christopher himself, penning two episodes. One of them, “Cat and Mouse” gives Clark a promotion but nicely threatens his alter ego when he undergoes a psychiatric evaluation at the hands of perceptive guest star Erin Gray.

Bizarro (Barry Meyers)and Lex Luthor make repeated appearances this season, and Lex even partners with Metallo in “Threesome”, putting all of Smallville at risk. Bill Mumy’s Puck also appears twice in a nice turn but the most entertaining guest stars were found in “Paranoia” as Noel Neill and Jack Larson briefly return to the mythos. Carlin and Helfer wrote a few tales including one introducing the television incarnation of the Kryptonite Kid (David Carr). Fittingly, they also wrote the final two episodes, “Rites of Passage” that tie together several threads from the mythology and set the stage for an unrealized future.

Episodes 74-90 offer up some of the strongest material in this oft-forgotten series, and they’re worth a second look.

Batman in media has often been a victim of budgets and a fickle public’s tastes. His success or failure has also impacted the comic book incarnation. For example, after the camp live-action series crashed in 1968, the comic sales plummeted, freeing editor Julie Schwartz to take things back to the beginning and reinvent the gothic look and feel which evolved into the 1980s’ grim and gritty comics. Similarly, after a successive series of dark, moody and brilliantly execute animated series, it was most definitely time for something fresh.

Along came Batman: The Brave and the Bold, a bright, colorful, action-packed series that was a sheer delight to watch. This was a Caped Crusader who worked well with others, didn’t brood a lot but took his job far more seriously than his costumed companions. He operated in a universe where heroes and villains from across the DC Universe operated, letting animators stick in brilliant cameos and actually reinvent some of the characters most in need of a personality. Among the latter was the bearded blowhard Aquaman, ready to tell a fish story, naming the adventure with an ego-centric flourish.

Warner Archive has done us all a favor by collecting the 26-episode fist season and putting it all on two Blu-ray discs for an affordable price. The premise often involved a pre-credit sequence as the Gotham Guardian finished a case with one hero before moving on to another escapade with another. As with eponymous comic it was based on, some characters reoccurred more than others thanks to their popularity such as Green Arrow, whose rivalry with Batman for gear and gadgets made for nice humor. The current incarnation of Blue Beetle was seen as an amateur in need for tutelage and we could see him grow in confidence across the run.

Clearly the writers, directors, animators, and voice cast had a marvelous time and it came through with every episode. The character designs came from across DC Comics’ decades long run so Black Canary look as Carmine Infantino first drew her in the 1940s while Plastic Man was at his loopiest. It was refreshing to see the JSA heroes fighting as veterans (notably the pugilistic cracks from Wildcat) while long-simmering character bits such as those between Batman and his wards rang true.

A standout episode was the musical “Mayhem of the Music Meister!”, with the incredibly talented Neil Patrick Harris voicing  the title villain. And like so many other installments, this one featured not just one partner but a small army including Green Arrow, Aquaman, and. Black Canary.

Given the Earth-3 villains now running amuck in Forever Evil, it’s fun to see their animated counterparts in the two-parter that closed out the first season — “Deep Cover for Batman!” and “Game Over for Owlman!”.

By some chance you missed this when it aired on the Cartoon Network, or you want a break from the sturm und drang of the current New 52, this is a treat you want.