'Father' is among new releases
TV shows 'Becker,' 'McHale's Navy' also coming to DVD
• "Father Knows Best: Season One" (Shout! 1954-55, b/w, four discs, $34.99). Back when television (and movies, for that matter) cared about providing uplifting material — the kind that, while not completely realistic, gave the audience an ideal to be aspired to — this show was an antidote for the wacky wives and temperamental husbands of "I Love Lucy" and "Make Room for Daddy."
And it ushered in an era of kinder, gentler sitcoms that followed, such as "The Donna Reed Show" and "Leave it to Beaver."
Robert Young, as Jim Anderson, had already starred in the radio version of "Father Knows Best" for five years when he took on the TV show, which features insurance-salesman Jim, his wife Margaret (Jane Wyatt) and their three children, Betty (Elinor Donahue), Bud (Billy Gray) and Kathy (Lauren Chapin).
The title is a bit of a misnomer, as he didn't always know best, and some of this is pretty corny, even by '50s standards (dad calls his daughters "Princess" and "Kitten"). But it's obvious that the members of this suburban family love each other and care about getting it right.
Extras: full frame, 26 episodes, special non-TV episode, pilot for "Window on Main Street" (Young's second series), Young's home movies
• "Becker: The First Season" (CBS/Paramount, 1998-99, three discs, $39.99). In contrast is this more recent series starring post-"Cheers" Ted Danson as the title character, a crass, crude, sarcastic and always surly doctor. This first season is a bit awkward getting out of the gate but eventually finds its humorous footing.
The good supporting cast includes Terry Farrell ("Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"), Shawnee Smith, Hattie Winston and others. Guests in this first season include Dick Van Dyke (as Becker's father), and Bill Cosby, Ray Romano and Kevin James as their respective CBS sitcom characters.
Extras: full frame, 22 episodes
• "McHale's Navy: Season Three" (Shout, 1964-65, b/w, five discs, $44.99). The shiftless con artists led by PT commander Quinton McHale (Ernest Borgnine) during World War II continue their antics without Gavin McLeod ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Love Boat") who left after the second season. But since the best aspect of "McHale" is scene-stealer Tim Conway — who has some very funny moments in this season — who cares?
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