VIDEO: Watch "Mad Men" Pilot

AMC's brilliant Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated drama about chain-smoking and sexually-harassing ad execs of 1960s Madison Avenue and the loving women in their lives is now out on DVD. Make sure you grab a copy because I truly believe television doesn't get any better than this. Or see for yourself and enjoy the pilot episode of the classy and powerful "Mad Men" now online.

The pilot, courtesy of the AMC network, is divided into three parts, with total running time 47 minutes. The DVD released on July 1 contains all 13 episodes of season 1. Season 2 is scheduled to begin Sunday, July 27 at 10/9c on AMC.

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"Dynasty" Season 3 DVD Gaffe

As if Paramount's inexplicable and insulting decision to only release the first part of season 3 of "Dynasty" (12 out of 24 episodes) on June 17, 2008 wasn't enough, they had to add insult to injury by putting a picture of the infamous lily pond catfight on the rear box art.

In the second to last episode of the season, "Dynasty's" central heroine and villain Krystle (Linda Evans) and Alexis (Joan Collins) take out their claws and battle it out in the lily pond behind the luxurious Carrington mansion in one of TV's ultimate soap showdowns.

The scene will however be seen in the next Dynasty release "Season 3: Volume 2" at an undisclosed later date. The incomplete 12-episode DVD collection is expected to be retailed at a very unreasonable $39.99.



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"Dirty Sexy Money" DVD Arrives September 16

Just days before the premiere of season 2 of ABC's ritzy-blitzy "Dirty Sexy Money," a sudsy drama about America's wealthiest family inspired by its predecessors from the greedy 80s, all 10 scandal-filled episodes of season 1 will be released on DVD along with a bunch of special features.

The bonus features will include a VIP set tour titled "Enter the Penthouse" exposing the lavish Manhattan residence of the Darlings built on a Hollywood soundstage; a piece titled "Dressing the Darlings" that peaks into those overstuffed closets filled with overpriced clothes; a feature about making of the show called "Road to Excess"; a profile of transgender actress Candis Cayne, bloppers, deleted scenes and more.

It may have been a very short season for TV's most upscale family, but the 3-DVD box set will nevertheless be stuffed with goodies. Walt Disney Studios has also announced DVD releases for season 1 of "Private Practice" (9 episodes) and "Samantha Who" (15 episodes) also set for September.

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Morgan Fairchild to Guest Star on "Men in Trees"

I am still stuck in early season 1 and have a lot of catching up to do with this quirky ABC show, but I may want to hurry up now that 80s soap queen and former "Flamingo Road" star (remember that one?) Morgan Fairchild is making a special guest appearance in a February sweeps episode of "Men In Trees".

According to TV Guide, Fairchild will play herself as she shows up in Elmo and decides she wants to buy Marin's life rights. Fairchild recently starred in My Network's unwatchable dud "Fashion House." Now for the nostalgic ones among you here's "Flamingo Road" opening credits. All 37 episodes of the 80s soap are now out on DVD.

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"Brothers & Sisters" DVD Launched in L.A.

The show that almost didn't make the cut following a series of behind-the-scenes problems that led to pilot reshoot and extensive cast changes is now out on DVD and about to launch its sophomore year on ABC. "Brothers & Sisters" stars Sally Field, Rob Lowe and Patricia Wettig (among others) were in Los Angeles on Monday night to help celebrate the release.


From the creative minds of Jon Robin Baitz and Greg Berlanti, the sophisticated character drama about a wealthy family of wine producers from Ojai, California ended up becoming one of last season's few freshman hits. But the success seemed very unlikely about a year ago when Berlanti came on board.


Baitz, who conceived the series, admits in an interview with USA Today he was "a confused playwright with no television experience trying to generate drama every week" without any sense of how to produce a weekly series. "I had reached the point when Greg came on where I was not capable of taking the show where it needed to go," he says.




Berlanti immediately narrowed the show's wandering focus on politics, a failing business and a sprawling family in crisis over the sudden death of its patriarch. "When you have a large ensemble show, the audience still needs to know it's about, at its core, two or three people, and not 12 people."



He retooled the series as a mother-daughter drama built around its biggest stars: Field, Calista Flockhart and Rachel Griffiths. He de-emphasized the business intrigue and the overtly political aspects of the show, turning Flockhart's Kitty from a right-wing radio host into an aide — and now fiancée — for a new character, a senator (Rob Lowe). And he added the Berlanti touch of humor to leaven the mood.



"Justin's going to war, Sara's family is falling apart, but there's always a comedic note somewhere," Field says. "He's walking an extremely fine line between dark drama and high comedy, and that's a very difficult thing to do."

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"Ugly Betty" DVD Launched in Hollywood

I seriously think the cast of ABC's "Ugly Betty" is the most fabulous cast on prime-time television. Forget about "Grey's Anatomy," "LOST," and "Desperate Housewives" (it hurts me to say the last one). This is the real deal. And all these gorgeous men and women got together at the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles on Monday to help promote the launch of "Ugly Betty: Season 1" on DVD.

UK's trashy tabloid "The Daily Mail" was however more concerned with star America Ferrera's sweat patch, a distraction from her classy ensemble, saying the 23-year old must have forgotten to use a deodorant, and following a similar appearance earlier this year at a charity event in New York, runs the risk of being called "Sweaty Betty."

Anyway. For all you gazillion Christopher Gorham fans out there, I still don't get it. I say Michael Urie who plays Wilhelmina's (Vanessa Williams) deliciously flamboyant assistant Marc (who is finally getting a boyfriend this season!) is way hotter than "Henry," but don't fill my comment column with flame posts over that. To each their own.

Now if you still haven't seen a single episode of ABC's "Ugly Betty," an over-the-top but smart, touching, visually-radiant and irresistible comedy about an ambitious but unfashionable go-getter working at a high-powered New York fashion magazine (what the frak have you been doing all season long?) that do check out season 1, out on DVD ("The Bettyfield Edition") today.

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Dynasty: Season 2 Arrives on DVD

The 2-year wait is finally over as the 2nd season of "Dynasty," the mother of all prime-time soaps, arrives on DVD. It was the year when "Dynasty" became fun to watch marked by the arrival of Joan Collins as one of TV's greatest villains, Alexis Morrell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan.



Originally, when "Dynasty" premiered in January 1981 it was a somewhat tedious drama about class conflict that begins with the lavish wedding of Colorado multimillionaire oilman Blake Carrington and his poor secretary Krystle.

Krystle's entrance into Blake's opulent world was filled with drama as she struggled to gain acceptance of not only his children and friends, but also the help at his luxurious mansion.

Blake was depicted as a ruthless homophobic tyrant who raped his wife when he found her birth control pills, arranged a violent attack on his chauffeur who was sleeping with Blake's nymphomaniac daughter Fallon and accidentally murdered his son Steven's gay lover.

Despite all glitz and glamor, Dynasty lacked luster in the ratings. Nevertheless ABC decided no to pull the plug on the Aaron Spelling-produced series and went ahead with season 2.



The producers hired Joan Collins to portray Blake's ex-wife Alexis who returned home to cause trouble. They also made Blake a more likable character and gave the show an overall lighter tone, focusing on relationships and shenanigans within the mansion.

The changes were effective and "Dynasty" shot up in the ratings, ultimately becoming the #1 show in America by its 5th season, surpassing its predecessor "Dallas."

Some of the highlights of the second season include: Alexis causing Krystle to lose her unborn child with Blake, the introduction of Krystle's niece Sammy Jo played by Heather Locklear, and the studio catfight between Krystle and Alexis, the first of many to come.

"Dynasty: Season 2" is released on DVD on Tuesday, August 14.

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"Flash Gordon" Arrives on DVD

He is sure taking that name literally. Just days after its premiere tomorrow night at 9/8c on The Sci-Fi Channel the pilot episode of the new remake of "Flash Gordon" will be zapping over to DVD for a limited time only.

According to a press release from Genius Products, the 65-minute long pilot episode of the highly-anticipated new genre series starring Eric Johnson ("Smallville") will be available on DVD on Tuesday, August 14.

The DVD's special features include deleted scenes, sneak peak at the rest of the season, storyboards and sketches and a preview of "Tin Man," Sci-Fi Channel's biggest mini-series ever (starring Zooey Deschanel and Richard Dreyfus) premiering in December.

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Complete 'Friends' Out On DVD

A new collector's box set of "Friends: The Complete Series" has been released on DVD today including all 236 episodes from all 10 seasons of NBC's beloved sitcom about a group of inseparable twenty-somethings (eventually thirty-somethings) living in New York City's Greenwich Village.

The show known for its deadpan humor, irony and non-sequitors would also throw in soap opera style season ending cliffhangers taking more serious turns, such as relationship breakups.

"Friends" catapulted its six core members into superstardom and ended in 2004 with a special one-hour episode that attracted 52 million viewers in the US alone and marked the end of an era for its network NBC.

"Babylon 5" New Made-for-DVD Movie

Warner Bros. has announced the start of production of Babylon 5: The Lost Tales, a made-for-video movie targeted towards the Babylon 5 loyal audience and science-fiction fans in general to be released on DVD in 2007.

Babylon 5 is a top selling franchise on DVD to date with over $44 million in consumer sales. Launched in February 1993, the award winning series was a top rated show on television with more than 13.7 million viewers in its debut season.

After its original planned five-year run introducing the concept of a five year arc before other TV series began to use multi-season arcs - the show went on to enjoy 9 successful years in syndication and Cable on the Sci-Fi Channel and TNT.

The TV series also spurred the creation of five feature length movies.

"90210" & "Melrose Place" Out On DVD

Late Aaron Spelling's signature dramas "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Melrose Place" that helped rejuvenate his production business in the early 90s and put FOX, the fourth broadcast network in the US , on the map have finally been released on DVD.



Pop culture phenomenona in their hey day, the prime-time soap operas satisified the hunger for teen camp long before "The O.C." and "Lagina Beach" came along, establishing a new genre in scripted television.

Tens of millions of viewers across the world watched as twins Brandon and Brenda Walsh from Minnesota struggled to adjust to rich brats of West Beverly High. And then they indulged in guilty pleasures of seeing Heather Locklear's bitchy vixen ad exec Amanda boss around denizens of a sexually-charged apartment complex in Los Angeles while sporting the shortest skirts on television and snapping cutthroat comeback lines.

To celebrate, the incomplete cast of both shows (Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry and Heather Locklear were absent) got together for a special DVD release event in Hollywood last Friday. Here are some of the images from the event.

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Melrose Place VIDEO
Family Ties finally on DVD
Kidnapped to be released on DVD

"Family Ties" Finally Out On DVD

NBC's classic and beloved Thursday night sitcom "Family Ties" that ran on the Peacock network as part of their Must-See TV line-up from 1982 to 1989 and launched the career of Michael J. Fox is coming to DVD after years of anticipation.

The show starred Michael Gross ('How I Met Your Mother') and Meredith Baxter Birney ('Brothers and Sisters') as liberal parents Elyse and Steven Keaton who grew up as hippie flower children in the 1960s.

Michael J. Fox who played one of their four children, the witty young Republican Alex P. Keaton, literally stole the show. His conservative mindset created political tension and comic relief when it clashed with his clueless sister Mallory's materialism and his hip parents' liberalism.

The DVD will be released in mid February 2007 and will feature all 22 episodes of the first season including a special appearance of Tom Hanks as Elyse Keaton's secretive brother in a two-part episode.

"Kidnapped" To Be Released On DVD

First NBC announced it would wrap the production on its lackluster abduction drama "Kidnapped", then it moved the show to The Death Zone a.k.a. Saturday night and now the show is gone for good following dismal numbers it posted in two weekend airings. Only 5 of the 13 episodes have aired before the network decided to swing the axe. Still, the fans of the show may see how it all ends after all and the studio that produced it may even come out profitable.

Although Sony Pictures Television shelled out 40 million dollars to produce the series, expensive license fees for NBC as well as aggressive international sales are about to recover the costs. Furthermore, all 13 episodes will be released on a special DVD box set in 2007 making the entire project profitable despite the abrupt network cancellation.

Normally, studios see their return on investment only after 4-5 years of production and 80-100 episodes in the can, which is why this business model may not work for all the expensive series that fail to find an audience. As evident in NBC's recent 8pm strategy, the networks will also be more cautious when greenlighting such costly projects.

THAT 70'S DVD

The fifth season of FOX's sitcom "That 70's Show" is out on DVD tomorrow and it is the one where the gang is in their senior year and there's love all around. Jackie (Mila Kunis) is making out with Hyde (Danny Masterson), although she still has hots for Kelso (Ashton Kutcher). Eric (Topher Grace) and Donna (Laura Prepon) have a bigger secret after he gives her a diamond ring. Plus, Fez (Wilder Valderrama) learns he is getting deported. And it all starts with a trip to California.

Also out tomorrow, The 2nd season of "CSI: NY", the 6th season of "Charmed", the 4th season of "Murder She Wrote", the 4th season of "Starsky & Hutch"and the 1st season of HBO's "Big Love".

EVERYBODY HATES DVD

The first season of CW's critically-acclaimed comedy "Everybody Hates Chris" about Chris Rock's early life growing up in Brooklyn (the second season airs Monday nights at 8/7c) is out on DVD tomorrow.

Also out on Tuesday, October 10 are the 5th seasons of "The A-Team" and "Magnum P.I.", the 4th season of NBC's hilarious single-camera sitcom "Scrubs", and the 2nd season of CBS' crime drama "Numb3rs".