DVD Status Report: TV shows mentioned on "My Three Sons"

A few weeks ago, I caught an amusing episode of "My Three Sons" entitled "TV or not TV." In this installment, vicious arguments over what television programs to watch tear asunder the Douglas household until Uncle Charley, fearing for the safety of all the Sons, takes the drastic step of banning television for a week.

Or, if you like it with less melodrama, Chip and Ernie bicker a bit and cranky Uncle Charley overreacts by pulling the plug on the boob tube.

There are some great TV programs mentioned in this episode, though, as we find out what shows the family likes. We only see actual footage of a handful, but many are mentioned. I thought it would be interesting to look at the DVD status of these TV shows. How many are available? How many are in limbo? Let's go to the videotape, er, the DVD:

*The Jerry O'Dowd Show (starring Jerry O'Dowd): Uncle Charley's favorite show is an unlikely candidate for a comprehensive release, as the O'Dowd estate continues the legal squabbles that keep the longtime comic's television work in the vaults. Even if the disputes are settled, good luck clearing the musical performances (this is a shame considering legendary singer Tiny Tim made his debut here). A single Best Of DVD from 2003, one of questionable legality, is apparently out of print.

*Blast Off: This is one of the success stories on this list, as Paramount got all 3 seasons of the popular sci-fi show out there, although it took 21 sets to do so. In this episode, we see footage of the infamous "black screen" episode, when the producers saved money by creating a story in which the crew of the "Galaxy Queen" become visible when they enter a time warp after, as Ernie explains it, "losing their heterogeneity." This episode is on Season 2 Volume 6.

*Charge! Steve's colleague Dave Welch watches this late at night in a hotel room on their business trip, wryly remarking that it's amazing the show about the Spanish-American War has been on nearly 6 years since the actual war lasted only a few months. Image recently released Charge! The Complete Series! in a deluxe $400 set shaped like a life-size functioning bayonet.

*Teenage Frenzy: Another music rights nightmare. We'll likely never see official releases of this memorable 1960s dancefest, though bootleg copies are plentiful and popular. In this episode, Chip sneaks a peak of an episode starring "Nero and His Firemen," an installment long feared lost until it was unearthed for a 40th Anniversary tribute. In a perfect world, we'd see uncut, full-length episodes of "Teenage Frenzy," complete with original sponsor tags for Dr. Groovy's Feelgood Orange Soda Pop, but this is no perfect world.

*Poochie: Sony continues to sit on this canine family adventure series, but it's thought that it might be on the radar for an eventual release. The first season is in black and white, though, which may be a hold-up. If the rumored "Poochie" film ever comes to fruition, the long-delayed project which would feature Eddie Murphy as Poochie, chances of a DVD skyrocket.

*Kelly's Kids: We see Chip and Ernie watch a bit of this warm family sitcom about a man raising 3 sons. Several volumes are out from Paramount, but with horrible music replacement and high retail prices, which may be inhibiting sales.

*Son of Warpaint: Chip Douglas' favorite TV show is unfortunately part of the Warner Brothers library, which makes the DVD prospects of this lively Western dim, at least for now.

*Nor All Your Tears: Uncle Charley appears to be a fan of this long-running soap opera, which revolutionized the genre with its landmark "addiction to marmalade" storyline, a saga that lasted 3 years. Soap operas aren't widespread on DVD, but maybe the release of "Peyton Place" means a small company might take a shot and get at least some of the 3,400,000 episodes on video.

*Free Agent: The good news is this ultra-cool spy series is complete on DVD from A&E Video. The bad news is each set retails for $595.