'Roots: The Next Generations' now on DVD

The sequel to one of TV's best miniseries arrives on DVD Tuesday, along with a wide variety of other programs, both recent and vintage.

TV miniseries

• "Roots: The Next Generations" (Warner, 1979, four double-sided discs, $59.98). This excellent sequel picks up where Alex Haley's "Roots" left off in the post-Civil War South, with Georg Stanford Brown repeating his role as Kunta Kinte's great-grandson (though Ben Vereen's Chicken George is now played by Avon Long, whose take is quite different). The story moves over seven 90-minute episodes from 1882 through the 1970s, when Alex Haley (James Earl Jones) goes to Africa in search of Kunta Kinte's village.

The high-caliber cast includes Henry Fonda, Olivia de Havilland, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Pam Grier, Andy Griffith and Marlon Brando as Nazi leader George Lincoln Rockwell.

Extras: Full frame, featurette (also available in a box set with the first miniseries as "Roots: The Complete Collection," $119.82)

TV variety specials

• "Captain & Tennille in Hawaii" (Retroactive, 1978, $19.99)

• "Captain & Tennille in New Orleans" (Retroactive, 1978, $19.99)

• "Captain & Tennille Songbook" (Retroactive, 1979, $19.99)

• "Captain & Tennille: The Christmas Show" (Retroactive, 1976, $14.98). Fans of singer Toni Tenille and keyboard wiz Daryl Dragon ("Love Will Keep Us Together") will be in heaven with these vintage TV specials, highlighted by plenty of music.

The first two shows, taped in Hawaii and New Orleans, respectively, are fairly typical variety shows of the 1970s, with comedy skits and guest stars (Kenny Rogers, David Soul and Don Knotts in the first; John Byner, Hal Linden and Fats Domino in the second). "Songbook," however, is a departure, with the legendary Ella Fitzgerald and B.B. King joining them (along with Glen Campbell) for a special that's all music all the time.

"The Christmas Show" is the holiday episode of their one-season variety series, with Christmas songs and skits, featuring Don Knotts, Tom Bosley, the Pointer Sisters — and the Tennille Sisters!

Extras: Full frame, audio commentaries (by Tenille and Dragon). (The three specials will be available in a box set on Nov. 6, "Captain & Tennille — The Specials," $49.99.)

TV series