SHOUT! Factory DVD Request: "Dream On: The Complete Series"

[stevearino]

A letter I recently sent via email to Brian Ward of SHOUT! Factory.

Dear Brian,

I have a proposal for SHOUT! Factory: to make a deal with NBC Universal Television Distribution for SHOUT! Factory to issue a brand-new DVD compilation titled "Dream On: The Complete Series," showcasing all 8 seasons of 120 episodes of the hit '90s sitcom "Dream On" 100% Complete, 100% Uncut, AND 100% Unedited, just the way that each episode originally aired on the HBO Television Network.

Created by John Landis, "Dream On" originally aired on HBO from July 8, 1990 - March 27, 1996 for 8 seasons; the show focused on Martin Tupper (Brian Benben), a recently divorced 32-year-old New York City book editor who shared joint custody with his ex-wife, Judith (Wendie Malick), of their teenage son, Jeremy (Chris Demetral).

Other principal characters included Eddie Charles (Dorien Wilson), Martin's best friend of 25 years, a local New York TV talk-show host who served as Jeremy's adopted Uncle; Toby Pedalbee (Denny Dillon), Martin's secretary at the fictional Whitestone Publishing Company; and Gibby Fiske (Michael McKean), Martin's employer from Seasons 2-8, an Australian immigrant who bought the Company from Lou Whitestone's widow, Marilyn, at the start of the series' 2nd season.

MANY guest stars appeared on "Dream On" over the course of the series' 8 season, 6 year run, including future TV "Friends" Matthew Perry and Courteney Cox in Season 3 (in the respective episodes "To The Moon, Alex!" and "Come and Knock on Our Door"), Salma Hayek in Season 3's "Domestic Bliss," and even a few established stars such as Chuck McCann, William Schallert & Renee Taylor and Paul Dooley, respectively, as Martin's parents in regular roles from Seasons 3-6.

John Landis conceived and created the idea for what eventually became "Dream On" based on the idea of using Black-and-White film clips for his lead character's thoughts, eventually hiring the future Creators of TV's "Friends," Marta Kauffman, David Crane & Kevin Bright (then New York playwrights) to help him pitch the series to execs at Universal Studios Television (where John Landis had a film and TV development deal via Universal Pictures), which greenlit and bought the series, with the HBO Television Network shortly purchasing the Network rights to the show.

For 6 months in 1995, reruns of "Dream On" aired on the FOX Television Network from January 8, 1995 - July 3, 1995, and were later shown in basic cable on Comedy Central in the mid-1990s minus Nudity and Profanity per episode.

Tentatively, SHOUT! Factory shall issue "Dream On: The Complete Series" on DVD on Tuesday, July 8, 2021 at a cost of $59.99 wherever DVDs are sold.

Sincerely,
Steve Arino

As of this writing, Brian hasn't responded to me yet, but does anyone else besides me think this is a great idea?

Feel free to respond, and thanks in advance so much.

[stevearino]

Dear Brian Ward,

I have a proposal for SHOUT! Factory: to make a deal with NBC Universal Television Distribution for SHOUT! Factory to issue and release, for the first time EVER on DVD, "Dream On: The Complete Series," a loving showcase of all 120 episodes of the hit 1990-1996 sitcom "Dream On" 100% Complete, 100% Uncut, AND 100% Unedited, as each episode aired on the HBO Television Network.

Created by John Landis, "Dream On" originally aired on HBO from July 8, 1990 - March 27, 1996 for 8 seasons; the show centered on Martin Tupper (Brian Benben), a recently divorced 32-year-old New York City book editor who shared joint custody with ex-wife Judith (Wendie Malick) of their teenage son Jeremy (Chris Demetral).

At the start of the series, after realizing his marriage to wife Judith was over, Martin--at the suggestion of Eddie Charles (Dorien Wilson), a local TV talk show host who served as Jeremy's adopted uncle and Martin's best friend--began dating again, but despite this, was still in love with Judith.

Other principal characters seen over the course of its 8-season, 6-year run included Toby Pedalbee (Denny Dillon), Martin's Secretary at the Whitestone Publishing Company, and Gibby Fiske (Michael McKean), Martin's Employer, an Australian immigrant who at the start of Season 2 bought the Whitestone Publishing Company from the unseen Lou Whitestone's widow Marilyn.

At the start of its 8th and Final Season in January 1996, Martin and Judith rekindled their romance, culminating in their wedding at the end of the 1-Hour Series Finale (split in 2 parts on HBO) telecast on March 27, 1996 on HBO.

John Landis conceived and created the idea for "Dream On" based on the idea he had of using Black-and-White film clips for his lead character's thought patterns; soon afterwards, he hired the eventual creators of TV's "Friends," Marta Kauffman, David Crane & Kevin Bright, to help him pitch the concept to execs at Universal Television (where John had a development deal with Universal Studios for film and TV projects), which greenlit the show, with HBO airing the series and jointly distributing the series with Universal Television.

After ending its HBO Television Network run, reruns of "Dream On" aired for a short time on Comedy Central in 1996, with reruns also airing for a time on the FOX Television Network for 13 weeks from January 8, 1995 - July 3, 1995 while new episodes aired on the HBO Television Network soon thereafter.

In 2004, Seasons 1 & 2 of "Dream On" became available for the first time ever on DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment; unfortunately for yours truly, the series hasn't been available on DVD since then, with Seasons 3-8 presently unavailable on DVD or anywhere else, including HBO Max.

Tentatively, with SHOUT! Factory's help, all 8 seasons of "Dream On" will indeed become available on DVD with a tentative release date of Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at a cost of ONLY $59.99 wherever DVDs are sold.

Sincerely,
Steve Arino