‘Man From U.N.C.L.E.’ and ‘Seinfeld’ Take

Top DVD Awards

(Oct. 15, 2008)  The complete-series DVD boxed set of “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” released by Time Life won its category at the fifth annual TV DVD Awards but lost out to “Seinfeld” for top honors as Best of Show as well as Best Complete-Series Set. The 2008 awards ceremony was held Oct. 14 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles.

Time Life’s release of classic TV shows continued to pay off for the label. Last year’s “Get Smart” boxed set won Best of Show, Best 1960s Series and tied with “M*A*S*H” for Best Complete-Series Set. “The Man From U.N.C.L.E. — The Complete Series” took the prize for Best 1950s/1960s Series (those decades as well as the 1970s and 1980s were combined in this year’s categories).

Jeff Peisch, who spearheaded the “U.N.C.L.E.” project for Time Life, and Martin Fisher of DG Entertainment, who produced the set’s bonus features, accepted the award. Time Life sold “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” as an on-line exclusive for the past year. Warner Home Video begins selling the set at retail Oct. 21.

The TV DVD Awards are presented annually by Home Media Magazine in cooperation with TVShowsOnDVD.com, DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group and The Hollywood Reporter.

In addition to Best of Show, the ceremony revealed the winners in 13 categories chosen by consumers in an on-line vote. A blue-ribbon panel of judges, comprised of top DVD critics and journalists, selected four finalists in each of the categories from a field of more than 150 studio submissions of titles released between Oct. 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2008. Winners were determined by an on-line consumer vote conducted at HomeMediaMagazine.com, TVShowsOnDVD.com and TheDigitalBits.com. The judges selected the Best of Show winner from among all entries.

“Seinfeld: The Complete Series” was the only multiple award-winning title of the night. “John Adams” continued its award-season blitz, taking home the Best Mini-series/Made-for-TV Movie trophy for HBO Home Entertainment. The epic mini-series about the founding father won a record 13 Emmys last month.

And, for the first time, the awards recognized the top TV show released on Blu-ray Disc. The honor went to Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s “Heroes: Season 1” boxed set.

Award winners for 2008 included:

Best of Show: Seinfeld: The Complete Series, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment;

Best 2000s Series: Lost: Season 3, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment;

Best 1990s Series: My So-Called Life: The Complete Series, Shout! Factory;

Best 1970s/1980s Series: Sesame Street Old School: Volume 2 (1974-1979), Genius Products;

Best 1950s/1960s Series: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. — The Complete Series, Time Life;

Best Animated TV DVD: Family Guy Presents: Blue Harvest, 20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment;

Best Mini-series/Made-for-TV Movie: John Adams, HBO Home Entertainment;

Best International TV DVD: Torchwood: Season 1, BBC Video;

Best Extras: Twin Peaks: The Gold Box Edition, Paramount Home Entertainment/CBS;

Best Complete-Series Set: Seinfeld: The Complete Series, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.