First season of ‘Alice’ is being released on DVD

The track record of adapting hit films into TV series has been spotty at best. For every small screen success such as CBS’ “MASH,” there have been such turkeys as the recent NBC series “The Firm.” The stars aligned for CBS in 1976 with the sitcom “Alice,” a warmly funny adaptation of Martin Scorsese’s 1974 “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” for which Ellen Burstyn won the Oscar as a widower with a young son who ends up working at a greasy spoon named Mel’s. Warner Archive just released the first season on DVD. Linda Lavin was perfectly cast as Alice, as were Polly Holliday and Beth Howland as waitresses Flo and Vera. Vic Tayback, who played Mel in the film, reprised his role for the series, which continued until 1985.