Dog City: The Movie, which originally aired as an hour-long 1989 episode of The Jim Henson Hour, will be released on Region 1 DVD on June 8, 2010.  Lionsgate Home Entertainment will release the disc, as part of its arrangement with The Jim Henson Company.

The “movie” is a film noir spoof with lots of bad puns, not all of them dog-related.  Main protagonist Ace Yu is looking for his uncle’s killer, Bugsy Them.  Yeah, it’s that kind of spoof.  Jim Henson won an Emmy for this episode, his first and last as a director.

Dog City: The Movie has been on DVD before, albeit in Region 2 form.  This will be Dog City‘s North American debut.

Both DVD versions of Dog City: The Movie retain appearances by Rowlf the Dog, even though The Walt Disney Company owns Rowlf.  Rowlf is a framing device, so he can’t be avoided.

Special features include a “behind-the-scenes photo gallery, original concept art, ‘and more!’”  It reads like the standard set of extras, not that I’m expecting much more from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.  At least Lionsgate is releasing Henson’s titles, no matter how esoteric they are.

This news is only tangentially related to Canadian television.  Dog City (1992-95), one of Nelvana’s better 1990s shows, is an indirect spinoff of the Dog City special.  I have pondered whether the Dog City series will see release.

As an aside, Amazon.com has the entirety of Dog City on video-on-demand.  There’s a fair swath of Henson-related product on demand.  Truth be known, I’m surprised Dog City has its entire run on VOD.  I don’t remember the show being that popular, but you know, nostalgia.

Dog City: The Movie could spark renewed interest in the Dog City cartoon.  We’re seeing The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley (!) on DVD – one episode, but come on.  If that show can waft to home video, Dog City‘s chances aren’t so bad.

Recently I’ve been re-evaluating what gets included in these Canadian TV-on-DVD Roundups.  I removed all mention of Iron Man: Armored Adventures from the Roundups, as the only sign that the show was Canadian came from Wikipedia, not the world’s most accurate information source.  IM:AA is properly a French/Isle of Man show.  I apologize for the error.

I will still include industrials like Highlander: The Series, Inspector Gadget and Just For Laughs.  Highlander and Gadget were co-productions, while Just For Laughs is a Montreal-based festival with tendrils in Chicago.  I hate including them, but I do include as much proper CanCon as I can.  I’m even wondering whether Fear Itself qualifies for the DVD Roundups.

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Little Mosque on the Prairie‘s second season on DVD September 15, 2009 through Paradox Entertainment Group/E1 Entertainment.  I guess Morningstar Entertainment lost DVD rights for the show.  E1 is a better label, anyway.  The set includes a Dan Redican commentary track, among other random extras.

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Fraggle Rock‘s final season, as well as A Merry Fraggle Holiday (i.e., a Christmas compilation), coming out November 3, 2009 through Lionsgate.  The complete series is being reissued the same day, in proper bookcase format.

Lionsgate is now working directly with The Jim Henson Company.  HIT Entertainment has been freezed out of the picture, and I couldn’t be happier.  Fraggle Rock was treated shabbily by HIT Entertainment at the end, while the Lionsgate/Henson arrangement takes the fans’ complaints into account – better packaging, a stand-alone fourth season set, cheaper prices.  How can you not like that?

I think the Lionsgate/Henson arrangement is going to bear fruit.  Is a Dog City DVD set on the horizon?  Such a thing looks far more likely than it did a year ago.  Make it happen, JHC.

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Gord Lacey reviews Total Drama Island‘s season set.  This is a review of the American DVD set, obnoxious Cartoon Network logo adorning the box art.

Lacey quite likes the show, which I’m surprised by.  Then again, Total Drama Island/Action is one of Cartoon Network’s juggernauts, as well as being omnipresent on Teletoon.  If Fresh TV doesn’t subsume CN within a few years, I’ll be surprised.

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Reviewersblog.com “reviews” of Blood Ties: “The Complete Season One.”  As for the blog, it’s blatant content scraping from Amazon.com, just so you know.

I’m quite surprised this release is selling well, as it currently ranks #1,055 in Amazon.com Movies & TV sales.  It’s not a blockbuster ranking, but the set’s been out for a month and a half.  People are buying Blood Ties.

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Highlander: The Series‘ first-season Blu-ray set pushed back to September 22, 2009…possibly.  The only place to buy it right now is LegendaryHeroes.com.  Hell, buy a sword for yourself while you’re at it.  THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!  MOO! and stimulate your need for crap.

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Oh, I almost forgot, Flashpoint‘s first season on Canadian DVD and Blu-ray October 13, 2009 through Phase 4 Films.  That isn’t important, is it?