Cybill Gets Digitalized
September 15, 2008

Cybill, the funny-as-hell sitcom about a fading actress forced to take on character roles if she wants to keep on acting, aired for four seasons on CBS from 1995 to 1998. Long in demand to be issued on DVD, the series is just now making its way to the new release shelf this week. Cybill: The Collector’s Edition, Vol. 1 (First Look), features ten of the series’ most popular episodes, including "The Last Temptation of Cybill," "Educating Zoey," "Bringing Home the Bacon," "Show Me the Minnie," and "Ka-Boom."

I kept bugging [producers] Carsey-Werner but it wasn’t going to happen—it had to do with the original business deal made for the show between the network, CBS, and the production company,” Cybill star Cybill Shepherd told me in a recent interview. “I was going to try to put it out myself, but, of course, they wouldn’t let me do that.”

Ms. Shepherd admits to be “disappointed” that the show isn’t being issued in its entirety one season at a time (at least, at this point), or that there aren’t any newly-produced commentaries or featurettes in the collection, but she’s still ecstatic that the show is finally being digitalized.

“I wanted to do anything I could to get it done,” she told me. “I found myself becoming very emotional while watching them recently. The process of re-dicsovery is a very emotional experience. I broke down into tears, at times.”

According to Ms. Shepherd, the selection process in choosing which installments to include was a fairly democratic one.

“Well, they gave me their list and I gave them mine and we managed to compromise,” Cybill told me. “Valentine’s Day,” one of my favorites episodes, was one that I insisted upon. And it’s included!

Posted by Laurence Lerman on September 15, 2008 | Comments (0)