The two most recent seasons of the popular TV sitcom The Goldbergs have been released on DVD this week.
The Goldbergs: The Complete Third Season (Sony, 2015-16, three discs, 25 episodes, single-episode audio commentary, bloopers).
The Goldbergs: The Complete Fourth Season (Sony, 2016-17, three discs, 24 episodes, deleted scenes, single-episode audio commentary, bloopers). Loosely based on creator Adam F. Goldbergs childhood, and with a nod to The Wonder Years (1988-93), this sitcom is set in 1980s Pennsylvania and narrated by the unseen adult Adam (Patton Oswalt), whose childhood incarnation throughout the series is the youngest member of the boisterous but loving Goldberg family.
But, to steal a line from Raising Arizona, It aint Ozzie and Harriet. As with nearly all sitcoms today, occasionally there are unnecessary sexual discussions and foul language (the harsher profanities are bleeped). But it must be said the cast is likable and tries hard (Wendi McLendon-Covey and Jeff Garlin are the parents and George Segal is the grandfather). (Season five begins Sept. 27 on ABC.)
Decline and Fall (Acorn, 2017, three episodes, featurettes, photo gallery). In the 1920s, reserved Oxford theology student Paul Pennyfeather (Jack Whitehall) is the victim of a prank that results in expulsion, forcing him to take a position as a teacher at a low-rent Welsh boarding school, run by the eccentric Dr. Fagan (David Suchet). There, he falls in love with a students wealthy American mother (Eva Longoria), unaware of the sordid source of her income. Laced alternately with acid wit and silly pratfalls, this British production is an adaptation of the Evelyn Waugh satire, loosely based on the authors university experiences. (Contains nudity and sexual situations.)
Scorpion: Season Three (CBS/Paramount, 2016-17, six discs, 22 episodes, featurettes, bloopers). Inspired by a true story, this action drama follows eccentric genius Walter OBrien (Elyes Gabel) and his awkward team of eccentrics who work for both government and private enterprises to stop disasters before they happen. In the first episodes this season, the team is hired by the Navy to stop Bulgarian hackers who have taken over military jets from attacking the United States. (Season four begins Sept. 25 on CBS.)
Rake: Series 3 (Acorn, 2014, three discs, eight episodes). It takes a while, but self-destructive Australian attorney Cleaver Greene (Richard Roxburgh) finally gets out of prison, and then he discovers that his reputation is so damaged even criminals decline his representation. Cate Blanchett makes an amusing guest appearance in the third episode of this season. (Contains violence, strong language, nudity, drugs and sex.)
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady (Nickelodeon/Paramount, 2017, four episodes, music video). The 1980s versions of Shredder and Krang transport themselves to present-day New York and team up with Bebop and Rocksteady to take on the Ninja Turtles. (These episodes, from the fifth and final season of this animated series, are being released on DVD two months before they will show up on Nickelodeon.)
P. King Duckling: Seize the Day! (Shout! Kids, 2016, seven episodes). This Chinese-American animated childrens series features the title duck and his friends Wombat and Chumpkins (a pig) as they have adventures around the town of Hilly Hole. The show airs on Disney Junior.
The Goldbergs: The Complete Third Season (Sony, 2015-16, three discs, 25 episodes, single-episode audio commentary, bloopers).
The Goldbergs: The Complete Fourth Season (Sony, 2016-17, three discs, 24 episodes, deleted scenes, single-episode audio commentary, bloopers). Loosely based on creator Adam F. Goldbergs childhood, and with a nod to The Wonder Years (1988-93), this sitcom is set in 1980s Pennsylvania and narrated by the unseen adult Adam (Patton Oswalt), whose childhood incarnation throughout the series is the youngest member of the boisterous but loving Goldberg family.
But, to steal a line from Raising Arizona, It aint Ozzie and Harriet. As with nearly all sitcoms today, occasionally there are unnecessary sexual discussions and foul language (the harsher profanities are bleeped). But it must be said the cast is likable and tries hard (Wendi McLendon-Covey and Jeff Garlin are the parents and George Segal is the grandfather). (Season five begins Sept. 27 on ABC.)
Decline and Fall (Acorn, 2017, three episodes, featurettes, photo gallery). In the 1920s, reserved Oxford theology student Paul Pennyfeather (Jack Whitehall) is the victim of a prank that results in expulsion, forcing him to take a position as a teacher at a low-rent Welsh boarding school, run by the eccentric Dr. Fagan (David Suchet). There, he falls in love with a students wealthy American mother (Eva Longoria), unaware of the sordid source of her income. Laced alternately with acid wit and silly pratfalls, this British production is an adaptation of the Evelyn Waugh satire, loosely based on the authors university experiences. (Contains nudity and sexual situations.)
Scorpion: Season Three (CBS/Paramount, 2016-17, six discs, 22 episodes, featurettes, bloopers). Inspired by a true story, this action drama follows eccentric genius Walter OBrien (Elyes Gabel) and his awkward team of eccentrics who work for both government and private enterprises to stop disasters before they happen. In the first episodes this season, the team is hired by the Navy to stop Bulgarian hackers who have taken over military jets from attacking the United States. (Season four begins Sept. 25 on CBS.)
Rake: Series 3 (Acorn, 2014, three discs, eight episodes). It takes a while, but self-destructive Australian attorney Cleaver Greene (Richard Roxburgh) finally gets out of prison, and then he discovers that his reputation is so damaged even criminals decline his representation. Cate Blanchett makes an amusing guest appearance in the third episode of this season. (Contains violence, strong language, nudity, drugs and sex.)
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady (Nickelodeon/Paramount, 2017, four episodes, music video). The 1980s versions of Shredder and Krang transport themselves to present-day New York and team up with Bebop and Rocksteady to take on the Ninja Turtles. (These episodes, from the fifth and final season of this animated series, are being released on DVD two months before they will show up on Nickelodeon.)
P. King Duckling: Seize the Day! (Shout! Kids, 2016, seven episodes). This Chinese-American animated childrens series features the title duck and his friends Wombat and Chumpkins (a pig) as they have adventures around the town of Hilly Hole. The show airs on Disney Junior.