Howdy Doody, the freckle-faced marionette who fronted one of the first network children's programs on TV beginning in 1947, is coming to DVD. Mill Creek Entertainment said Wednesday that it has signed a deal with NBC to release 40 episodes of The Howdy Doody Show in a five-disc boxed set on Nov. 4. Details were sketchy. Although the show was one of the first to be broadcast in color, it ended its run on NBC in 1960 when electronic video recording of color television broadcasts was in a primitive state.