If I asked you to name the best television series of all time, would The Wonder Years make the cut? If yes, good. If not, you and I need to have a serious talk about the history of television. The Fred Savage and Danica McKellar-starring coming of age tale about a boy growing up in late-’60s, early-’70s America has been one of the most sought-after series since the boom of the home video market. Whatâs kept the series from making its way to our DVD players for so long is, like many series of that time, music rights. Even when the series eventually made it to digital platforms, including Netflix and Amazon, it was without the original music. But it seems today our prayers may have finally been answered.
Starvista Entertainment has announced that it has acquired the home video rights to The Wonder Years and will be releasing the series in its entirety on DVD… with original music: âStarVista Entertainment/Time Life is painstakingly securing the rights for virtually every song in The Wonder Years. From (Joe) Cocker’s theme song, to hundreds of other memorable and classic soul, rock and pop songs… StarVista/Time Life recognizes the necessity to release the series as it was initially broadcast, unedited and untouched from original broadcast masters.â
Whether itâs The Wonder Years or Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, nostalgia-driven DVD releases are all the rage for classic TV these days. But in this case, it sure is nice to know there are some true fans behind the machine and not some corporate entity out for a quick buck. The assurance that steps are being taken to preserve the series as we all once knew it is a great feeling for any TV fan, and thereâs no doubt this will be a super hot item once it hits retailers soon.
Want more Wonder Years awesomeness? Check out Danica McKellarâs Nerdist series Math Bites:
Dead Dog story arc on Ken Wahl’s “Wiseguy”. And of course WKRP!
…and the Whiter Shade of Pale, casket flinging episode of Northern Exposure…. (Well, every episode of Northern Exposure)
Now, if they can do the same with a Quantum Leap episode, and get the rights to “Georgia On My Mind” for that key scene with Al dancing with his wife…
And it was then that I realized I would bit torrent them.
Erm, Kurt, what you have is a nowhere-near-legitimate bootleg collection, made from home video recordings. The PQ sucks by today’s standards.
Erm i’ve had the complete series on dvd for years…….
Cool! That’s great news. Maybe StarVista Entertainment/Time Life could do the same with WKRP in Cincinnati!
Now if they could only do this with WKRP…