The Mentalist

CHICAGO – This time of year is so rich with Blu-ray and DVD releases of last year’s television seasons that we thought we’d break out the latest ones into their own special edition of What to Watch. Stay tuned for a movie-specific one later in the week that includes “World War Z,” “The East,” “All is Bright,” and more, but this is just for you TV junkies. Pick your faves from the recently-released seasons of television on Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming platforms. Most of these are new to Blu-ray and DVD today, September 17, 2013. If I had to rank them in order of preference, here’s how it would go…

CHICAGO – The new Sunday ABC line-up of “Once Upon a Time,” “Revenge,” and “666 Park Avenue” looked very promising on paper. I think I even called it one of the smartest moves of the season. I was wrong. While the first two sophomore programs had decent ratings on their first night of the ‘12-13 season, “666” is empty, producing the kind of numbers that start the cancellation clock ticking. ABC just can’t win at 9pm on Sunday nights.

CHICAGO – In the most interesting scheduling move of the Fall 2012 TV announcements, CBS is going to move “Two and a Half Men” to Thursday nights following “The Big Bang Theory.”

CHICAGO – America’s #1 TV network showed a sign of their force today by renewing EIGHTEEN programs from their reliable hits to shows that many considered to be on the bubble. The renewals include four comedies, nine dramas, three reality series, and two newsmagazines and include programs that currently air on every night of the week. CBS really is in charge.

CHICAGO – How many combined victims do you think there were on the recently-released season series sets for “Body of Proof: The Complete First Season,” “Castle: The Complete Third Season,” and “The Mentalist: The Complete Third Season.” 24 episodes of “The Mentalist,” 24 episodes of “Castle,” 9 episodes of “Body of Proof,” plus some episodes with multiple murders — that’s a lot of dead people. Find justice for them all with these three strong TV on DVD releases, all recent additions to your local “New Releases” shelf.

CHICAGO – Despite the best efforts of TV veterans Poppy Montgomery (“Without a Trace”) and Dylan Walsh (“Nip/Tuck”), “Unforgettable” is another dull CBS procedural, a show with some decent characters and a relatively-intriguing premise that is undone by weak writing and a silly presentation. CBS is such a juggernaut that anything can become a hit but it’s hard to believe this one will love up to its title for most viewers.

CHICAGO – The DVD Round-Up is back to do some catch-up around the HollywoodChicago.com office of a few titles that either arrived a bit past their fresh-by date or we couldn’t find time to cover with full reviews. We still think you might want to know the details about these releases as you begin your holiday shopping, and so the DVD Round-Up returns. We hope you didn’t miss us too badly.

CHICAGO – The best thing about the third-season premiere of the consistently-entertaining “Castle” may be that they’ve finally taken that stupid “Turner & Hooch” line out of the introduction to the hit mystery show. Other than that, the show pretty much picks up where it left off with two of the most charismatic stars on television often disguising the fact that the writing doesn’t live up to their talents.

CHICAGO – CBS announced their Fall 2010 premiere dates for their new and returning series this week and most of their programming will launch during the same premiere week, which kicks off on Monday, September 20th, 2010.

CHICAGO – CBS announced their fall schedule today. While fans of canceled “Accidentally on Purpose,” “Cold Case,” “Gary Unmarried,” “Numb3rs,” “The Ghost Whisperer,” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine” may disagree, the big TV news of the week is that several of the top network’s biggest shows are moving.