Late last year, in November (at Thankgiving, in fact) we took time in the middle of a
report about
Kate & Allie to mention the status, at the time, of
Gimme a Break! DVDs from Canadian studio Visual Entertainment, Inc. (VEI):
Unfortunately, Nell Carter fans won't get a Break just yet. VEI tells us they have no plans right now, and simply have not made a decision on whether or not they will be releasing the further seasons of Gimme A Break. It's not out of the question, but it's not yet on the table, either.
We've had a few e-mails from readers who either requested updates from us, or provided updates they tell us came from VEI's customer service people, so we went to the top at VEI and asked them for a current status on where the classic sitcom is at.
VEI's response is that their current plan is to re-release the first 2 seasons
together for a special low price (CA$29.95 SRP), on
July 22 (more on that in a moment). Then, towards the end of the year, they will consider whether they will continue with future season set releases of the show. While they didn't say directly (and we politely didn't ask), it's probably a no-brainer to figure out that sales of the 2-season bundle will figure *heavily* into their decision-making process. So if you've been holding off on getting the early seasons, because you want to see if the rest will be coming, our advice is: "convince VEI to continue making more sets, by purchasing the ones they've already put out".
And the new bundle will make it easy for you! It stars, of course, Nell Carter in her Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated role, and these episodes include great guest stars like Helen Hunt (
Mad About You), Danny Glover (
Lethal Weapon films, singing sensations "The Pointer Sisters", legendary comedian Don Rickles and Rue McClanahan of
The Golden Girls. Extras on these two sets include 2 episodes from
Kate & Allie, plus a preview episode from the 3rd season of
Gimme A Break!
You can order
Gimme a Break! - Seasons 1 & 2 right now for just CA$22.39 via the Amazon.ca link below. As you probably know, these DVDs will work on any standard DVD player in the USA, too, and are very easily imported by anybody with an Amazon account. Stay tuned, and hopefully near the end of the year we'll have good word for you about getting the show's third season on DVD (and eventually seasons four, five and six, too!).
UPDATE (6/15): Amazon.ca now shows that the bundle for the first two seasons has been delayed to
Sept. 16th. Thanks to reader "Robert " for letting us know.
This is the funny, hip and sometimes poignant portrayal of the Kanisky
family; widowed Police Chief; his three daughters Katie, Julie and
Samantha; and their unflappable housekeeper-turned-surrogate-mother
Nellie Ruth "Nell" Harper, played by Nell Carter.
