ABC is close to giving a pilot order to a modern version of  "Charlie’s Angels." Josh Friedman, who recently adapted the "Terminator" franchise for his Fox series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," is onboard to write and exec produce the new "Angels."

Also involved are original "Charlie’s Angels" producer Leonard Goldberg, who launched the series with Aaron Spelling in 1976, as well as Drew Barrymore, who starred in and produced the 2000 film version and its sequel. Sony Pictures TV is the studio Insiders said that ABC Entertainment Group topper Steve McPherson is particularly high on this project.

Networks of late have found that it’s frequently a challenge to take on iconic franchises — and several recent reboots, such as this fall's "Melrose Place," have fallen short. But ABC is riding high this fall with its adaptation of another such property, "V," which bowed to boffo numbers. And insiders note that most of those other properties had laid dormant for some time, while "Charlie's Angeles" was just recently a strong movie franchise. Plus, there's the part where "Charlie's Angels" will make some noise by finding three new ass-kicking female stars.

Sony is also busy adapting another 1970s Spelling (and Goldberg-produced) property, "Fantasy Island" — but as a reality show, along with Mark Burnett. No U.S. network is attached as of yet to that project, which was announced last month at the Mipcom TV confab.

The original "Charlie’s Angels" ran from 1976-81 and was back in the news this summer following the death of original star Farrah Fawcett. Spelling attempted a revival in 1988, sealing a deal to produce a version called "Angels 88" for Fox. That show never got off the ground, but it eventually led to Spelling’s deal to produce the original "Beverly Hills 90210" (now also enjoying a revival, via the CW).

The franchise then lay dormant until 2000, when the McG-helmed "Charlie’s Angels" feature, starring Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz, was a box office hit. Movie spawned a second edition, "Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle."

It also led to an earlier attempt at a TV series revival, in 2004. That version was written for ABC (again, through Sony) by a pre-"Lost" Carlton Cuse and John Wirth and given a script-plus-penalty order but ultimately didn’t go to pilot.

This time around, a pilot is expected to be greenlit. Friedman, Goldberg and Barrymore will exec produce with Nancy Juvonen. Friedman’s other credits include co-writing the features "War of the Worlds" and "The Black Dahlia." The new "Charlie’s Angels" is expected to be geared toward a new generation while paying homage to the past.

Great news for all Kate Jackson fans. At last, Warner Home Video made it official, announcing that the Scarecrow and Mrs. King - The Complete First Season package is assigned to a mission of infiltrating our personal collection of TV-DVD sets, starting on March 9, 2010.

This coming 4th-of-July marks the third anniversary since fans of Charlie's Angels first saw the third season set of the show released on DVD.

At last, it now appears that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is finally moving forward with Charlie's Angels - The Complete 4th Season, which saw the introduction of Shelley Hack as "fifth angel" Tiffany Welles (a graduate of Boston's police academy), and the final appearances of Farrah Fawcett as "original angel" Jill Munroe. Except for Farrah (credited as "Farrah Fawcett-Majors" at the time, since she was still married to Lee Majors) appearing in the episodes "Fallen Angel," "The Prince and the Angel" and "An Angel's Trail", the makeup of the team this year consisted of Kelly (Jaclyn Smith), Kris (Cheryl Ladd) and Tiffany.

VideoETA, a website produced by home video distributor Ingram Entertainment, has revealed that Charlie's Angels - The Complete 4th Season is coming out from Sony on July 21st. This will be a 6-disc set costing $39.95 SRP, according to their information. The fan site CharliesAngels.com also agrees with that release date (our thanks to the various readers of that website who took the time to e-mail us over the weekend). Sony's announcement date for this title is apparently next Monday (5/11), according to our sources, but if word about further details leaks out prior to then, we'll certainly update you immediately. Stay tuned for that, and package art.

This 1979-80 run of episodes began with a double-length season premiere which crossed over with fellow ABC series The Love Boat (both programs were produced by Aaron Spelling). Just days before the other show had it's own third-season debut, the Angels took an assignment from Charlie aboard the Pacific Princess. Note that "Love Boat Angels" should not be confused with the first-season episode "Angels at Sea"!