21 Jump Street & other Stephen J. Cannell shows

[Natasha (candygirl)]

From tvshowsondvd:

Video Business, an industry insider trade magazine, released a report today at their website that has very exciting news for the TV-on-DVD genre. One of the most prolific creators/producers/writers you'll find in television history, Stephen J. Cannell, has signed a deal giving exclusive rights to the properties he owns to Anchor Bay Entertainment for home video release on DVD.

Some of Cannell's series, such as Baretta, The A-Team, The Rockford Files, and Baa Baa Black Sheep, are owned by others. In the case of these examples, it's Universal Studios, and The A-Team - Season 1 was just released yesterday on DVD. Baretta had a pair of releases (a best-of disc and a Season 1 set) in Oct. 2002. The other two are reportedly in-the-works from Universal, now that merger concerns with NBC are mostly behind them. Another series of Cannell's, Wiseguy, is already being distributed by Ventura on behalf of StudioWorks Entertainment.

Of the series that Cannell's company, Cannell Studios, retains the rights to, some have rumored from time-to-time: The Greatest American Hero and 21 Jump Street being among the more recent mentions.

But now we have word that we can expect quite a nice list of his titles in the near future, thanks to Cannell's new deal with Anchor Bay:

Sep. 2004: 21 Jump Street
Oct. 2004: Silk Stalkings
Late 2004 or Early 2005: The Greatest American Hero
Late 2004 or Early 2005: Hunter
Late 2004 or Early 2005: The Commish
Late 2004 or Early 2005: Renegade

Here are selected quotes from the Video Business article:

Stephen J. Cannell has struck an exclusive long-term distribution deal with Anchor Bay Entertainment to release his TV series on DVD, such as 21 Jump Street, The Greatest American Hero and Hunter.

...Anchor Bay will be issuing four to six DVD series sets at once, beginning with 21 Jump Street in mid-September and Silk Stalkings in early October. Two additional series sets from among Hunter, The Commish, Renegade and Greatest American Hero are tentatively slated for the fourth quarter and the other two in early 2005.

As the deal has been on the table and nearly consummated for months, Anchor Bay has already been busy producing bonus features for DVD sets that will include an extensive array of cast and crew interviews, audio commentaries and making-of featurettes. Cannell, who has theatrical film productions in development on many of the series, has been actively involved in the creation of the bonus materials.

(Anchor Bay CEO Ted) Green said Cannell's production company kept the tapes of the series in such good shape that they were able to prepare them for DVD much more quickly than is often the case for some older series.

You can read the complete story from Video Business Editor-In-Chief Scott Hettrick by clicking here (registration required). It has more details about the doings of all the companies involved, so give it a read!

[fnordboy]

YES! Silk Stalkings! (guilty pleasure)

Now... if Silk Stalkings can come out... WHERE THE HELL IS MY FRIDAY THE 13th THE SERIES???!!!!??

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Man, I totally remember the first few seasons of Silk Stalkings - all the guys in my dorm loved watching it hoping to catch a glimpse of someone on basic cable running around in lingerie.



Plus Rob Estes's hot wife was on Melrose Place!

[Nostradamus]

Commish fan here.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

My grandmother loved the Commish too. For some reason, that amused by boyfriend to no end.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

tvshowsondvd just posted the official press release:

Yesterday we posted news about Anchor Bay acquiring shows from the Cannell library, and today we have the official press release, and a bit more information.

To clarify some information from the Video Business article, Silk Stalkings will be coming in September (Sept 28 ) and 21 Jump Street will come in October (date not yet known).

IDT Entertainment's Anchor Bay Entertainment Signs Exclusive Distribution Agreement With Stephen J. Cannell Productions, Inc.

Programs Include 21 Jump Street, Hunter, The Commish and Silk Stalkings

Newark, NJ (June 10, 2004) - IDT Entertainment today announced that through its home video subsidiary, Anchor Bay Entertainment, it has signed an exclusive agreement with Stephen J. Cannell Productions, Inc. to market and distribute hit television programs for the prestigious Cannell library. Featured programs include "21 Jump Street," "The Commish," "Silk Stalkings," "Hunter," "The Greatest American Hero," "Renegade" as well as other well-known Cannell series. IDT Entertainment is a subsidiary of IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT, IDT.C), a multinational carrier, telephone and technology company.

Stephen J. Cannell, founder and Chairman of Stephen J. Cannell Productions, Inc., is well known as one of the television industry's most prolific writers. During his career, Mr. Cannell has created or co-created more than 40 shows and written more than 450 television episodes. In addition, Mr. Cannell has produced or executive produced more than 1,500 television episodes. Cannell currently has in development "The A-Team" feature film at Fox 2000, "The Greatest American Hero" feature film at Disney and "21 Jump Street" at Paramount.

"Anchor Bay has become a leading independent of direct to home DVD programming by working with great companies like Stephen J. Cannell Productions," said Jim Courter, IDT's CEO. "By adding classic Cannell dramas to its existing library of children's, horror and fitness hits, Anchor Bay gains a new audience and insures its position as an industry leader."

Anchor Bay Entertainment has scheduled the first Cannell releases for fall 2004.

"I am thrilled to be working with Anchor Bay Entertainment, a company well-known for releasing quality entertainment on DVD," commented Stephen J. Cannell. "Over the years, Anchor Bay has demonstrated what can be accomplished if creativity and care are part of the DVD process. I look forward to a long and creative partnership."

"Stephen J. Cannell's compelling, dramatic television programming will be a hit at retail," said Ted Green, CEO of Anchor Bay Entertainment. " Not only do we see a huge market with original Cannell fans but we also believe programs like "21 Jump Street" with Johnny Depp will find a receptive audience with a whole new generation of younger viewers."

The agreement includes first run broadcast programs notable not only for launching the careers of many major stars but for their ratings success as well.

The young, hip police series "21 Jump Street," debuted in April 1987 on the then-new Fox Broadcasting network. With Johnny Depp, Peter DeLuise, Dustin Nguyen and Holly Robinson in leading roles, the show quickly became the most popular series on Fox.

"The Commish" starred Michael Chiklis as Commissioner Tony Scali and debuted in September 1991 on ABC. The series was based on a real-life police commissioner, Tony Schembri of Rye, New York.

Also debuting in the fall of 1991 was "Silk Stalkings." The show starred Rob Estes as Sgt. Chris Lorenzo, Mitzi Kapture as Sgt. Rita Lee Lance and Ben Vereen as Captain Hutchinson. Based in wealthy Palm Beach, Florida, "Silk Stalkings," was an hour-long police drama that aired its first two seasons on CBS and the next six seasons on USA.

Fred Dryer and Stephanie Kramer starred in the police drama "Hunter" which originally debuted in 1984 on NBC. With a gun named Simon, Hunter was a L.A.P.D. detective with a tough but beautiful partner, Detective Sgt. Dee Dee McCall. The show enjoyed seven years in primetime.

"The Greatest American Hero" starred William Katt as a bumbling superhero. The series began airing in March of 1981 on ABC. Its theme song became a major hit record during that summer and has become a part of the TV-culture's vernacular.

Debuting in 1992, "Renegade" starred Lorenzo Lamas as Reno Raines, a young policeman in Bay City, CA. The show aired on USA Network and also starred its creator, Stephen J. Cannell as Lt. Marshall Donald Dixon.

Stephen J. Cannell Productions, Inc. owns the worldwide distribution rights to more than 1,000 hours of Cannell produced series and TV movies. The company's broadcast hits include "Hunter," "The A-Team," "21 Jump Street," "The Commish," "Wiseguy," "Silk Stalkings" and the hit syndicated show "Renegade".

IDT Entertainment, a division of IDT Corporation, is a vertically integrated entertainment concern that develops, produces and distributes proprietary and licensed entertainment content, with a particular focus on high-quality animation. IDT Entertainment is in the early stages of production on two proprietary CG animated feature films, Gene Roddenberry's Starpoint Academy and a feature yet to be named, directed by Christopher Reeve. IDT Entertainment consists primarily of the following wholly owned or controlled subsidiaries:

Anchor Bay Entertainment is one of the largest independent companies in the home entertainment business and has a significant presence in the children's, horror and fitness genres. Anchor Bay's library consists of over 3,500 owned or licensed titles, including the Thomas the Tank Engine series, the Halloween series and the Crunch fitness series.

Digital Production Solutions, or DPS, is a Computer Generated (CG) animation production company. DPS's proprietary Global Animation Studio platform enables numerous animators at diverse locations to work cooperatively and simultaneously on the same animation project utilizing IDT's telecommunications infrastructure.

DPS Film Roman is a leading third-party provider of television animation services and special effects. Film Roman has been the animation studio for The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and Tripping the Rift, now airing on the Sci-Fi network. Mainframe Entertainment is a leading provider of CG animation for television and direct-to-video products such as the Barbie DVD collection for Mattel, Popeye and Scary Godmother. DKP Effects is a 3-D animation, and special effects production company, well known for its innovative work for movies and television.

IDT Entertainment has completed several investments and joint ventures to secure access to brand name characters and content as well as distribution channels for family-friendly content. In July 2003, IDT purchased a minority equity interest in Vanguard Animation and entered into a joint venture with Vanguard to co-produce and co-own future Vanguard properties distributed in theaters, direct-to-video and on television. Vanguard Animation is a CG animated feature film company founded by John Williams, the originating producer of Shrek. Vanguard's initial production, Valiant, is the first in a series of four Vanguard-produced films to be distributed by Disney. IDT Entertainment has an equity interest in Archie Comics Entertainment as well as rights to co-develop and co-produce animated properties based upon selected Archie comics characters as well as Josie and the Pussycats and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. IDT has also entered into a joint venture with the Christian Broadcasting Network to develop and distribute family-friendly programming. IDT Entertainment also owns a minority interest in Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment. In connection with IDT Entertainment's investment in POW!, the companies agreed to co-develop and co-produce a minimum of six animation projects for Direct-to-DVD distribution and broadcast. Recently, IDT Entertainment entered into a multi-faceted development, production, and distribution agreement with Todd McFarlane Productions (TMP) to produce animated programming and merchandise based on Spawn and other TMP original intellectual properties.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

tvshowsondvd has a picture of the 21 Jump Street cover art! The release date is October 26 and is available for order at amazon.

[lance]

YES! Silk Stalkings! (guilty pleasure)

Now... if Silk Stalkings can come out... WHERE THE HELL IS MY FRIDAY THE 13th THE SERIES???!!!!??

My mom is HUGE Silk Stalkings fan. Hmmm, as she has just received a DVD player and she has birthday coming up, not mention Christmas...

Eureka!

Yes, my Christmas shopping plan is starting to come together quite nicely.

Candygirl thanks as always for the updates.

-LanceMan

[whitespy12]

fnordboy wrote:

Now... if Silk Stalkings can come out... WHERE THE HELL IS MY FRIDAY THE 13th THE SERIES???!!!!??

I feel the same way.

(..and yes, i still have no idea how do properly quote other members)

[fnordboy]

fnordboy wrote:

Now... if Silk Stalkings can come out... WHERE THE HELL IS MY FRIDAY THE 13th THE SERIES???!!!!??

I feel the same way.

(..and yes, i still have no idea how do properly quote other members)

Every time there is rumbling of something happening with the Friday the 13th movie series (Freddy vs. Jason, the up coming Friday the 13th box set) I hope that the Friday the 13th TV Series will be announced to cash in on the name. So far no luck


To quote, just hit the "Quote" button near the top of the post that you want to quote from.

[Nothingman]

When I was in junior high, Silk Stalkings was great. We always tuned in for the first few minutes to see the soft porn scene and then switched to something else. Can see why I'd want to own it now though.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

tvshowsondvd has the official press release:

It all begins here, as baby-faced rookie Officer Tom Hanson (Johnny Depp) is assigned to an elite squad of young undercover cops - Judy Hoffs (Holly Robinson Peete), Doug Penhall (Peter DeLuise) and Harry Truman Ioki (Dustin Nguyen) - to infiltrate high schools and fight crime. Frederic Forrest and Steven Williams co-star in this classic first season that also features such guest stars as Jason Priestley, Josh Brolin, David Paymer, Sherilyn Fenn and Blair Underwood in what became Fox's first runaway hit and remains one of the coolest cop shows in TV history!

21 JUMP STREET - SEASON ONE includes all 13 explosive episodes - including the rarely seen two-part premiere - and is now packed with extras that include all-new interviews with stars Holly Robinson Peete, Dustin Nguyen, Steven Williams and series co- creator Stephen J. Cannell and an exclusive audio commentary with star Peter DeLuise.

The extras:

Brand New Interviews With Show Co-Creator Stephen J. Cannell and Stars Holly Robinson Peete, Dustin Nguyen, and Steven Williams
Audio Commentary With Star Peter DeLuise
8-Page Booklet With Liner Notes & Color Photos

tvshowsondvd adds:

As you can see, series star Johnny Depp isn't participating in the extras on this set. We were unable to reach Anchor Bay for comment on this prior to the weekend; the needed people were out of the office. Some of our readers have written in to tell us that Depp doesn't have fond memories of the show, and that's why he's stayed away from this set. We have no idea whether there's any truth to that; put it in the "rumor" column. We DO know that Depp is VERY busy with 5 or 6 films that he's scheduled to act in over the course of the next year or more. Among those roles are a turn as Willie Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and a return to Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 2. It sounds like he's pretty tied up!

[Natasha (candygirl)]

When I was in junior high, Silk Stalkings was great. We always tuned in for the first few minutes to see the soft porn scene and then switched to something else.

Hee, I totally remember doing that too. Lots of girls walking around in lace bustiers and garter belts.

[TomSpeed]

Wasn't Shannon Tweed on Silk Stockings for awhile? She's a former Playboy bunny.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

I think you're thinking of someone else - imdb doesn't list her as a regular or a guest star.