The Dick Van Dyke Show is my favorite show of all-time, so my ears always perk up when I hear a new DVD of material from Van Dyke is coming.

But this isn't from that show, it's actually footage from other TV shows that Van Dyke was on before The Dick Van Dyke Show started in 1961. Dick Van Dyke: In Rare Form will contain sketches and performances that Van Dyke did on The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom in 1958-59. The names of the routines give a hint at what we'll see: "Babysitting Father," "Mailing A Letter On A Windy Corner," "Daddy's Little Girls," "The Pet Cats," "Sneaking In," and "The Tennis Champ." You can tell they'll include a lot of Van Dyke's pantomime and slapstick skills, and I bet he incorporated some of these sketches into his own show later.

The DVD will be released on March 27 and will cost only around $15.00, so you have no excuse not to get it.

For some reason I never watched Simon & Simon. Oh, I saw the crossover with Magnum, P.I., and it seems like the type of show I'd like, but for some reason I never paid much attention to it in the 80s. I guess I was too busy watching something else at the time, and keeping track of Magnum, Riptide, Moonlighting, and other private eye shows.

But now I can buy the DVDs this September ( and yes, and so can you!). The first season set will have 13 episodes, and since it's Universal the extras will probably be shoddy or non-existent. Still, I love it when these 80s shows come to DVD. I'm still waiting for more.

No, not the new Michael Douglas/Keifer Sutherland/Eva Longoria flick (though there is, oddly, a Desperate Housewives connection).  I'm talking about the 1990s action series The Sentinel, starring Richard Burgi, who is now on Housewives.

Show creators/producers Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo have recorded a special podcast commentary for the pilot episode of the series, much like they recorded a podcast for the series finale of The Flash when that DVD set was released. You can find all the podcasts here.

[via TVshowsondvd.com]