Durham County‘s second season will come out July 27, 2010 through Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada.  The TMN/Movie Central series’ second season sees forensic psychiatrist Pen Verrity (Michelle Forbes) join newly-appointed homicide detective Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon) as they solve crimes.

This being Durham County, both characters are weighed down by heavy emotional baggage.  Verrity is coming to terms with the drowning death of her daughter.  Sweeney’s family has pulled apart, due to the aftereffects of his dealings with serial killer Ray Prager.

The second season, like the first, is six episodes long.  Somehow, Anchor Bay has pulled a two-disc set out of this.  Go figure.

The amazon.ca sales rank for Durham County‘s second season is very high.  As of the time I write this, Durham County‘s second season ranks #19 in DVD sales.  Earlier today, it was #15.  Granted, this is amazon.ca and not amazon.com, but I am referring to the mainstream DVD sales chart.  A top 20 ranking there is impressive.

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TVShowsonDVD.com mentions Being Erica‘s second-season set, available on DVD September 14, 2010 through E1 Entertainment.  The three-disc set will contain the standard set of extras – bloopers, deleted scenes, audio commentaries and webisodes.  Of note, the webisodes are termed “Erica’s Weblogs.”

I apologize for not going into as much detail with Being Erica‘s format, like I have with Durham County.  Ostensibly, Erica Strange (Erin Karpluk) continues to delve into her past to find out the points where her life has gone pear-shaped, but the writers are smart enough to skew the format so that it doesn’t grow stale.

Granted, I’m going by what I’ve read, since I don’t watch the show.  Being Erica has a sizable fanbase, helped by its American run on the soon-to-be-shitcanned SOAPnet.  The general consensus is that Being Erica is the only realistic series about a woman in her thirties.  Basically, Being Erica is to older women what the Degrassi franchise is to high school.  Odd how Canada needs compare-and-contrast to succeed overseas, but I don’t pretend to understand cultural attitudes.

Alliance Home Entertainment’s TV-on-DVD schedule is beginning to make me sick.  Among the new titles announced since my last post on this topic, six days ago:

Andromeda: Season 3 (September 14, 2010)
BeastMaster: Season 3 (September 21, 2010)
Earth: Final Conflict: Season 4 (September 28, 2010)
F/X: The Series: Season 1 (September 28, 2010)
Lexx: Season 4 (September 21, 2010)
Mutant X: Season 2 (September 28, 2010)

That’s six titles announced in a week.  The syndicated programming well is being drained faster than The Flash on heroin.

I knew F/X: The Series would soon come out.  To be honest, I tolerate that series more than the others mentioned in this post.  F/X: The Series is a cut-rate Mission: Impossible, but one gets sick of Kevin Sorbo and Daniel Goddard after a while.  Hell, I’m amazed I remember the name Cameron Daddo.

I’m curious to know where Alliance goes from here.  What’s next?  The Crow: Stairway to Heaven?  North of 60?  Night Heat?  Ray Bradbury Theater?  All signs point towards drama, the 1980s, comedies…anything beyond the fare Alliance is currently offering.

Seriously, Alliance, put Night Heat on DVD.  That show has a good reputation and a solid, if aging, fanbase.  Hey, Alliance Home Entertainment thinks TekWar will sell, so why not Night Heat?  That said, I expect The Adventures of Sinbad to come out by November.

I’m not going to link to the previous Alliance Home Entertainment DVD news items anymore, just tags (here and here.)  Here are the three newest Alliance releases, as well as a couple of French-language titles that aren’t being mentioned:

C.A. Conseil d’administration: Season 4 (August 10, 2010)
Les Parent: Season 2 (September 7, 2010)
Mutant X: Season 1 (August 31, 2010)
Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal: Season 3 (September 14, 2010)
The Outer Limits (1995): Season 6 (September 7, 2010)

Today is the first day I’ve been given access to the Alliance media website, which is how I read about C.A. Conseil d’administration and Les Parent.  The French-language shows are important to Canadian television, even if they’re of limited interest to those outside Quebec and Northern Ontario.

I wish Alliance would ease off the syndicated 1990s/2000s fare, though I admit those shows sell.  The Outer Limits and Relic Hunter are the hot sellers, The Outer Limits moreso than Relic Hunter.

I don’t know why The Outer Limits is so popular.  Either Americans are buying the sets, or The Outer Limits is more popular in Canada due to its long run on Global.

Either way, I’m not complaining.  The Outer Limits is one of the few shows Alliance is releasing right now that I actually like.  I can’t believe the whole run of the series will be out before the end of 2010.  I can’t say I foresaw this back in January.

Alliance Home Entertainment is continuing its TV-on-DVD clusterbombing, as mentioned here and here.  The titles being monetized for late June-August 2010:

Andromeda: Season 2 (August 10, 2010)
BeastMaster: Season 2 (August 24, 2010)
Earth: Final Conflict: Season 1 (June 29, 2010) | Season 2 (July 27, 2010)
Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town: Complete Series (August 3, 2010)
Lexx: Season 2 (July 20, 2010) | Season 3 (August 24, 2010)
Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal: Season 2 (August 10, 2010)
TekWar: Complete Series (August 31, 2010)
The Outer Limits (1995): Season 4 (July 6, 2010) | Season 5 (August 3, 2010)
White Fang: Complete Series (August 17, 2010)

Amazon.ca is very spotty with its updates.  Admittedly, I use its affiliates program to drum up sales, which is why pieces like this exist.  The entries are still shambolic.  Items listed “the outer limits ssn 5″ or “Lexx S3″ are not uncommon.  An Amazon offshoot should not be that unprofessional.

TekWar‘s release date has been pushed back three times by now.  It was initially set to come out June 13.  August 3 and August 10 release dates will not be met.  I wonder what’s causing the delays, since it’s been mentioned that this set will not include the made-for-TV films.

One thing Alliance Home Entertainment needs to do is revisit TV-on-DVD sets its predecessor company, Alliance Atlantis, abandoned.  Cold Squad and Traders are two such titles, abandoned after their first seasons.  AA sat too long on Da Vinci’s Inquest, a title Acorn Media has since capitalized on.

I actually can’t believe Alliance Home Entertainment is as active as it is right now.  That’s good.  While the company isn’t perfect, this situation is a lot better than when AHE quietly released the odd Trailer Park Boys season and a few other titles.  I’m in awe that it’s keeping to its clusterbomb title strategy.  I question why shows like White Fang, but the good with the bad.

According to a VSC new release e-mail sent to retailers, The Border‘s third (and final) season will be out on DVD August 10, 2010.  The three-disc set will have an MSRP of $29.98 CDN.  Extras will include “Character Psychology Sessions” and “Behind the Scenes with Graham Abbey.”  The series finale will contain director and cast commentary.

The first two season sets of The Border will have their prices reduced to MSRP $19.99 CDN.  There are no mentions of Blu-Ray releases, at least according to the e-mail.

It should be noted that the release date isn’t final, as there is no formal press release for The Border‘s third-season set.  Hopefully, VSC won’t announce the third-season set a week before it streets, like it did for the second season.

CBC recently cancelled The Border after three seasons, due to less-than-stellar ratings on Thursday nights.  The show even ended on a cliffhanger.

Maybe the director and cast commentaries will reveal the reasons behind the cliffhanger.  The Border‘s days were numbered when it was moved to one of CBC’s worst-performing nights.  Then again, doing poorly on CBC Television doesn’t automatically mean cancellation.  They’re still making Little Mosque on the Prairie, so figure that one out.

As mentioned in the last Canadian TV-on-DVD Roundup, Alliance Films Home Entertainment is unleashing a torrent of its television titles.  The titles being monetized for late June-July 2010:

Andromeda: Season 1 (July 13, 2010)
BeastMaster: Season 1 (July 13, 2010)
Earth: Final Conflict: Season 2 (July 27, 2010)
Emily of New Moon: Season 3 (June 22, 2010) | Season 4 (July 20, 2010)
Lexx: Season 2 (July 20, 2010)
The Outer Limits (1995): Season 4 (July 6, 2010)
PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal: Season 1 (July 13, 2010)
RoboCop: The Series: Season 1 (July 27, 2010)
TekWar: Complete Series (July 13, 2010)

The only shows I’m interested in are The Outer Limits, RoboCop: The Series and maybe TekWar.  No Made in Canada yet?  I’m sure that show is in Alliance Films’ catalogue.  Hell, so is CODCO.  AFHE might want to take hints here.

For those following URBMN, BeastMaster and Andromeda had sets put out by ADV Films.  I’m not sure about the American home entertainment rights to Alliance Films’ shows, as these releases are Canada-only.

On a related note, Gord Lacey of TVShowsonDVD.com has reviewed Relic Hunter‘s first season.  He doesn’t like the video quality and hates the packaging.  Three discs per panel?  Yikes.  Captions and subtitles are also absent.

Thanks to TVShowsonDVD.com for breaking the news on Alliance’s TV-on-DVD slate.  I don’t know how that site can stand all the news it gets.  There’s only so much enthusiasm you can fake for shows like Jon & Kate Plus 8 and Real Housewives of West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.

This is the first Canadian TV-on-DVD Roundup since September 5, 2009.  There are three reasons for this.  One, the TV-on-DVD market is almost dead on its ass.  Two, iTunes and on-demand are sure to take over at some point.  Three, I’ve transitioned to more dedicated news stories.

I don’t plan on continuing the Canadian TV-on-DVD Roundups for too much longer.  They will eventually be replaced by TV-on-Demand Roundups or whichever new trends come down the pike.

I’ve missed out on titles like Wonderful Grand Band due to URBMN’s format shift.  Frankly, Wonderful Grand Band whizzed right past everyone.

Here’s a clip from WGB.  I’ll probably never mention the show on URBMN again, so…here you go.  Mileage may vary depending on how much you like Tommy Sexton.

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Alliance Films Home Entertainment will release a job lot of TV-on-DVD titles this spring and summer.  AFHE is releasing titles originally offered by Koch Vision in the early-to-mid-2000s.

Titles include the following, all Canadian shows or co-productions:

Emily of New Moon: Season 1, Season 2
Lexx: Season 1
Relic Hunter: Season 1, Season 2, Season 3
The Hunger: Season 1, Season 2
The Outer Limits (1995): Season 1, Season 2, Season 3

I’m most interested in The Outer Limits.  It’s uneven, like most anthologies, but the show lasted seven seasons for a reason.  I hope Alliance Films Home Entertainment can continue the series sets, as Koch Vision crapped out after Season 3.

The Hunger is a weird choice, as Koch Vision released the first two seasons less than a year ago.  Seriously, The Hunger is that important that it needs a re-release?

I hope Alliance Films Home Entertainment will bring out more series in the near future.  This is a good time to put out North of 60 season sets.  Not everyone can stand Relic Hunter, you know.

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For the French-speaking Quebecers, Bob Gratton: Ma Vie, My Life has its third season come out on DVD May 18, 2010.

Bob ‘Elvis’ Gratton (Julien Poulin) is a racist, pro-American federalist/Walter Mitty figure.  He’s been an Elvis impersonator, pop star and media magnate.  His creation ties into the late Pierre Falardeau‘s Quebec separatist beliefs.

I list Bob Gratton: Ma Vie, My Life to show that French-speaking Quebec has its own Borat figure.  Hell, Gratton’s been around since 1981.  The man’s a long runner, even after death.

Having said that, I wonder if URBMN readers have ever heard of Gratton.  Well, you have now.  You can’t unremember him, at least not without drinking paint thinner or braining yourself with an I-beam.

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The Best Years‘ second season will come out June 15, 2010 through E1 Entertainment.

The Best Years‘ second season was produced specifically for The N (now TeenNick.)  The late, unlamented E! network aired the second season in April 2009.

Truth be known, I’m surprised The Best Years is out on DVD in its entirety.  The show has a fanbase, but this is Exhibit A of why Canada needs to better schedule its programs.  At least the show hasn’t been off-and-on as much as Paradise Falls…yet.

DECODE Entertainment and Video Service Corp. will release two-DVD sets of The Latest Buzz and Naturally, Sadie.  The sets will street on May 11, 2010, with an MSRP of $14.98 CDN.  Both sets are “producers’ choice” best-ofs.

Naturally, Sadie (2005-07) should be familiar to American audiences, as it aired on Disney Channel for three seasons.  The Latest Buzz (2008- ) aired on Family Room HD until that channel ceased operations January 20, 2009.

The Latest Buzz will air its third season in Canada March 2010, on Family Channel.  Naturally, Sadie aired on Family from 2005-07.

While I’m not fond of compilations, it’s nice to see DECODE Entertainment release its childrens’ titles.  I’ve a hunch Naturally, Sadie will sell the best, considering it was on Disney Channel and is still relatively fresh.  I’m not sure about The Latest Buzz‘s DVD sales prospects.

At least DECODE’s getting the titles out.  Meanwhile, You Can’t Do That on Television gets older and still doesn’t have a DVD set.  There’s something disconcerting about that.