Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 6 is said to be the last in the series. With 385 theatrical shorts, the six volumes now encompass approximately 38 percent of the 1,007 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies released to cinemas between 1930 and 1969.
Going forward, and I know this won’t happen, but I’d love to see a complete collection of the shorts written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones, which for my money are the crème de la crème of the very creamy Looney Tunes canon. I’d also love all-Tashlin, all-Clampett, and all-McKimson sets. All comedy geniuses.
Some of the choices for this final set are curious, to say the least. Why devote the entire third disc to nothing but substandard pre-Porky pre-Daffy pre-Bugs cartoons from the franchise’s first five years when the very first Daffy cartoon, Tex Avery’s “Porky’s Duck Hunt,” apparently never made any of the six volumes! Loads of Bugs and Daffy material remain uncollected too!
On the upside, the set does contain a total of 75 shorts instead of the usual 60, the extra 15 spread across the four discs as “bonus cartoons.”
Disc One: Looney Tunes All Stars
1. Hare Trigger (1945; Freleng)
2. To Duck or Not to Duck (1943; Jones)
3. Birth of a Notion (1946; McKimson)
4. My Little Duckaroo (1954; Jones)
5. Crowing Pains (1947; McKimson)
6. Raw! Raw! Rooster! (1956; McKimson)
7. Heaven Scent (1956; Jones)
8. My Favorite Duck (1942; Jones)
9. Jumpin' Jupiter (1955; Jones)
10. Satan's Waitin' (1954; Freleng)
11. Hook Line and Stinker (1958; Jones)
12. Bear Feat (1949; Jones)
13. Dog Gone South (1950; Jones)
14. A Ham in a Role (1949; McKimson)
15. Often an Orphan (1949; Jones)
Disc Two: Patriotic Pals
1. Herr Meets Hare (1945; Freleng)
2. Russian Rhapsody (1944; Clampett)
3. Daffy the Commando (1943; Freleng)
4. Bosko the Doughboy (1931; Harman)
5. Rookie Revue (1941; Freleng)
6. The Draft Horse (1942; Jones)
7. Wacky Blackout (1942; Clampett)
8. The Ducktators (1942; McCabe)
9. The Weakly Reporter (1944; Jones)
10. Fifth Column Mouse (1943; Freleng)
11. Meet John Doughboy (1941; Clampett)
12. Hollywood Canine Canteen (1946; McKimson)
13. By Word of Mouse (1954; Freleng)
14. Heir Conditioned (1955; Freleng)
15. Yankee Dood it (1956; Freleng)
Disc Three: Bosko, Buddie and Merrie Melodies
1. Congo Jazz (1930; Harman/Ising)
2. Smile Dam Ya, Smile! (1931; Ising)
3. The Booze Hangs High (1930; Harman/Ising)
4. One More Time (1931; Ising)
5. Bosko's Picture Show (1933; Harman)
6. You Don't Know What You're Doin'! (1931; Ising)
7. We're in the Money! (1933; Ising)
8. Ride 'em Bosko (1932; Harman)
9. Shuffle Off to Buffalo (1933; Ising)
10. Bosko in Person (1933; Harman)
11. The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon (1933; Ising)
12. Buddie's Day Out (1933; Palmer)
13. Buddie's Beer Garden (1933; Duvall)
14. Buddie's Circus (1934; King)
15. A Cartoonist's Nightmare (1935; King)
Disc Four: Most Requested Assorted Nuts
1. Horton Hatches the Egg (1942; Clampett)
2. Lights Fantastic (1942; Freleng)
3. Fresh Airedale (1945; Jones)
4. Chow Hound (1951; Jones)
5. The Oily American (1954; McKimson)
6. It's Hummer Time (1950; McKimson)
7. Rocket-Bye Baby (1956; Jones)
8. Goo Goo Goliath (1954; Freleng)
9. Wild Wife (1954; McKimson)
10. Much Ado About Nutting (1953; Jones)
11. The Hole idea (1955; McKimson)
12. Now Hear This (1962; Jones)
13. Martian Through Georgia (1962; Jones/Levitow)
14. Page Miss Glory (1936; Avery)
15. Norman Normal (1968; Lovy)
EXTRAS:
Disc 1: Looney Tunes All Stars
Commentaries
Hare Trigger Commentary by Greg Ford
Birth of a Notion Commentary by Mark Kausler
My Favorite Duck Commentary by Jerry Beck
Music Only Tracks
Raw! Raw! Rooster
Jumpin' Jupiter
Rabbit Rampage
Boyhood Daze
Looney Tunes Television Specials
Bugs Bunny in King Arthur's Court (1978 WBTV special)
Daffy Duck's Easter Eggcitement (1980 WBTV special)
Commentaries
Herr Meets Herr Commentary by Greg Ford
Russian Rhapsody Commentary by Mark Kausler
The Draft Horse Commentary by Greg Ford
Fifth Column Mouse Commentary by Jerry Beck
Music Only Track
Yankee Dood It
Friz Freleng at MGM
Poultry Pirates (1938 MGM cartoon)
A Day at the Beach (1938 MGM cartoon)
The Captain's Christmas (1938 MGM cartoon)
Seal Skinners (1939 MGM cartoon)
Mama's New Hat (1939 MGM cartoon)
Bonus Cartoons
The Fighting 69 1/2th (1941; Freleng)
Hop and Go (1943; McCabe)
Confusions of a Nutsy Spy (1943; McCabe)
Disc 3: Bosko, Buddy and Merrie Melodies
Commentaries
Shuffle Off to Buffalo Commentary by Historian Jerry Beck
A Cartoonist's Nightmare Commentary by Historian Jerry Beck
The World of Leon Schlesinger
Introduction by Martha Sigall and Jerry Beck
Crying for the Carolines (1930 WB short)
Haunted Gold Title Sequence
Schlesinger Productions Christmas Party with Optional Commentary by Martha Sigall and Jerry Beck
Bonus Cartoons
I Love a Parade (1932; Ising)
I Like Mountain Music (1933; Ising)
Sittin' on a Backyard Fence (1933; Duvall)
How Do I Know It's Sunday (1934; Freleng)
Disc 4: Most Requested Assorted Nuts (One-Shots)
Commentaries
Fresh Airedale Commentary by historian Greg Ford
The Hole Idea Commentary by animator Mark Kausler
Alternate Audio Programs
The Hole Idea Music Only Track
Martian Through Georgia Music Only Track
Punch Trunk Music and Effects Track
Wild Wild World Music Only Track
Bonus Documentary
Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices (70 mins.)
Bonus Cartoons
Sleepy Time Possum (1951; McKimson)
Punch Trunk (1953; Jones)
Wild Wild World (1960; McKimson)
Bartholomew Versus the Wheel (1964; McKimson)
* The original title for the series was “Ian Fleming’s Solo.” The show began life as the brainchild of Fleming, riding the huge crest of James Bond’s popularity following the release of “Dr. No” in 1962.
* Fleming died 39 days before the show premiered on NBC.
* Fleming’s original concept focused on two agents named Napoleon Solo and April Dancer. Dancer wound up not being introduced until late into the second season, played by Mary Ann Mobley. The following September, Dancer, now played by Stefanie Powers, got her own spin-off, “The Girl From Uncle.”
* Leo G. Carroll, who plays the head of UNCLE in “Man” and “Girl,” played the head of the top-secret spy organization in “North By Northwest.” His character, Waverly, is one of the many components of Alan Moore’s graphic novel espionage epic “The League of Extraordniary Gentlemen: Black Dossier.”
* The organization Fleming’s Solo worked for was not called UNCLE; that name was an invention of writer-producer Sam Rolfe (“Have Gun Will Travel”).
* The Russian UNCLE agent, Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum), was another Rolfe invention and originally a minor character, but grew to co-star status early in the series run.
* Citing compensation concerns, Rolfe left the series after its first season, widely recognized as its best and most popular.
* First-season episodes are easy to identify as they were the only ones shot in black and white.
* William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy both guest-starred in 1.9, “The Project Strigas Affair.”
* Two months before she was cast as Agent 99 in “Get Smart,” Barbara Feldon played an UNCLE agent in 1.25, “The Never-Never Affair.”
* Robert Towne wrote a first-season episode, “The Dove Affair,” the same year he wrote his only “Outer Limits” episode.
* Harlan Ellison wrote two 3rd-season episodes, “The Sort of Do-It-Yourself Dreadful Affair” and “The Pieces of Fate Affair.”
* The United Network Command for Law Enforcement’s evil counterpart was called WASP in the pilot but later became THRUSH – an acronym never explained in the series. (A series of UNCLE novels, however, posited that THRUSH stood for Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity.)
* In the 1983 reunion TV-movie, “The Return of the Man From UNCLE,” George Lazenby played an Aston Martin-driving British secret agent referred to only as “J.B.”
Kat Von D, Mexico-born tattoo artist and towering master-race daughter of German-Argentinean immigrants, stars in “L.A. Ink.” Tattooed or not, she is a very, very hot girl.
It’s not yet Halloween, but the complete-series stocking stuffers are already hitting the market. Knight Rider: The Complete Series is $99.99, which works out out to $25 per 22-episode season. The coolest thing is it comes in a box that plays the theme music as the moving Cylon light strip bounces left and right.
Bonus materials include:
* “The Great ‘80s TV Flashback”: “Documentary about the pop culture impact various programs made on the television landscape during the 80’s decade.”
* The “Knight Rider 2000” TV-movie.
* “Knight Rider: Under The Hood”: Interviews with David Hasselhoff and series creator Glen Larson.
* “Knight of the Phoenix” commentary by Hasselhoff and Larson.
* “Knight Moves”: A look at the series’ car stunts with stunt coordinator Jack Gill.
* “Knight Sounds”: A look at the series’ musical theme with composer Stu Phillips.
* Blueprint and stills gallery.
* KITT owner’s manual.
The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series is $112 for all five seasons, which works out to $22.40 per season. Seasons one through four are sold separately for north of $30.99, so even with the anemic 7-episode fifth season thrown into the mix, it’s still a deal (especially if they throw in the two 1977 pilot movies).
The set boasts six hours of bonus features including:
* introduction and episode commentaries by writer-director-producer Kenneth Johnson;
* “Remembering the Incredible Hulk”;
* “Creating An Iconic Character”;
* “Inside An Episode: Prometheus” photo gallery”;
* “Sneak Peek: A behind-the-scenes look at “The Incredible Hulk’ feature film;.
* Behind The Success: The Story of the Incredible Hulk”;
* Gag reel.
The post-series TV-movies – “The Incredible Hulk Returns” (1988), “The Trial of the Incredible Hulk” (1989) and “The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990) -- are not included on the new Hulk set. The box doesn’t flash and make noise like the new “Knight Rider” set but the word “Hulk” on the box’s cover is very cool and bulgy.
Family Guy: Total World Domination gives you (I think) the first 104 episodes (through the middle of the strike-shortened sixth season) plus the Stewie movie, plus the “Blue Harvest” Star Wars parody and a disc full of season-one “American Dad” episodes for $122.
Fans of “Dexter” may want to get themselves the new Charmed: The Complete Series set. Daniel Cerone, who wrote six key episodes of “Dexter,” including first-season finale, second-season premiere and second-season finale, worked as a writer, producer and/or executive story editor on the final 90 of “Charmed’s” 178 episodes.
is said to be the last in the series. With 385 theatrical shorts, the six volumes now encompass approximately 38 percent of the 1,007 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies released to cinemas between 1930 and 1969.
