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"Andy Griffith Season 4" Replacement Discs Reportedly Available (1 Viewer)

David Von Pein

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The fourth-season DVD set of "The Andy Griffith Show" (released on November 22, 2005) contains four full episodes, plus the epilogue of one other, that lack the laugh track on the DVD soundtrack.

These laugh-track omissions were obviously just a plain-&-simple goof-up on Paramount's part. And, evidently, Paramount is now going to make it right by offering up fixed replacement discs for discs 1 and 2 (the only two that are affected within the 5-Disc set), with the laugh tracks put back onto the audio track where they should have been in the first place.

I'd love it if Dave Lambert or Gord could confirm this "replacement disc" info via their excellent TVShowsOnDVD website....because that would be a much more official confirmation of this information than the one item I'm going by currently -- which is the following post at SitcomsOnLine.com:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/...31#post3034331

http://www.tagsrwc.com/crumpbb/messages/9957.html

I would assume that fairly soon the fixed discs will be showing up in new boxed sets purchased online and in B&Ms.

If/When that occurs, it'd be nice to have that fact reported here in this thread.

Thanks.

 

Jesse Skeen

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Hmm, I'd rather watch these WITHOUT the laugh track- it'd be nice if they included that on every show when it was available. Before network bugs and excessive repeated commercials came about, laugh tracks were the most unpleasant element of watching sitcoms.
 

David Von Pein

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I couldn't disagree more. The laugh track, IMO, is part of the overall "soundtrack" and if it was there originally (as it was with the TAGS shows in the '60s), then it had-oughta be included on the DVDs for sure. The shows just seem flat-out weird without the normal laughter in the background (IMHO).

As far as the canned laughter used in the Andy Griffith shows, the laughter was never overwhelming...it was always rather subdued in nature. They never really hit you over the head with it.

The TAGS laugh tracks are unlike the horridly-overdone and obnoxious laugh track I took note of when watching the "unaired pilot" of The Beverly Hillbillies (put out recently by MPI Home Video). That miserable laugh track almost completely ruins the episode in fact.

It's not MPI's fault, of course, because evidently the pilot's producers wanted to really hit the viewer with both barrels in the original pilot, as the fake laughter is just ridiculously loud and overwhelming. (Anybody else notice this fact on the MPI Hillbillies Vol. 1 set?)

The version of the Hillbillies pilot which actually aired has laughter that is much more subdued and restrained and does not block out whole hunks of dialogue (as the unaired version tends to do).

In that Hillbilly case, I'd much rather have no laugh track, period...rather than the wretched thing that resides on that unaired pilot on the DVD. My VHS version of the aired pilot is much better due to this laugh-track snafu.
 

Greg_S_H

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I agree. I don't have TAGS 4 yet, but I want it as it originally aired. As for the Hillbillies, I was really enjoying it until the Sonny Drysdale episodes. He really drags it down for me. Fortunately, it looks like I stopped watching too early, as he was only in three episodes the first year. I've left off after the third of those, so I can start watching it again tonight.
 

John Madia

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I just received my replacement discs today so the offer is legit.

I only watched "Black Day for Mayberry" fully. There didn't seem to be any laugh track from around when the gold truck takes off with Barney inside until the end (which seemed a bit odd with Barney was bouncing around in the gold truck and no laughter) but I never saw the episode other than on DVD so I'm not sure if that's the way it originally aired (there was a laugh track earlier). I watched the beginning of "Opie the Birdman" (Barney with the slingshot), the middle of "Opie's Ill-Gotten Gain" (the preamble of the constitution) and the beginning of "Up in Barney's Room" and everything seemed fine with the laugh track.
 

David Von Pein

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Thanks, John, for the laugh-track update. You got those pretty dang fast too (based on when I think this replacement offer was first introduced by Paramount). It's supposed to take about 6 weeks. Good to know that the studio is making these right (and fast). :emoji_thumbsup:

Can you check one more portion of an episode that I'm nearly certain should have laughter (but doesn't on the originally-released TAGS-#4 set)? ---

That portion being the epilogue of the ep. "The Sermon For Today". The DVD in the boxed set has no laugh track there for that epilogue scene when the preacher comes back to the Taylor house and everybody is sitting around (pooped out) on the front porch. This lack of laughter throughout that scene I am certain is incorrect.

Did Paramount correct that mistake too? ("Sermon", like two of the other four messed-up eps., is also on Disc 1.)

Footnote --

John: The "Barney Bouncing Around The Gold Truck" scene definitely SHOULD contain some degree of laughter on the soundtrack. Of that, I am positive. However, if I recall correctly, the background music/sound effects during that scene are somewhat noisy. Perhaps the laughter is buried in there, and you simply missed it due to the louder effects which are present.

Plus, there's definitely supposed to be laughter when Barney wobbles (dazed) out of the truck and starts waving the rifle around with Gomer there. And that laughter should easily be noticed. Wonder why they'd "fix" the laughter, except in just a few places? Makes no sense. (Just as it makes no sense, along those same silly lines, to have the as-aired laughter in place for the bulk of the "Sermon" episode...but then have no laughter for the epilogue at all. Weird. And double-weird. :frowning:)

Anyway, John, thanks in advance for any additional "Official TAGS Season-Four Laugh-Track Updates".

Roger and Wilco....
Over-and-out....
Ten-Four....
Out-and-under....

Bye.

:)
 

John Madia

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The only laughter I heard on the epilogue for "The Sermon for Today" was from the cast; none from a laugh track (not even after "Spider bite!"). I re-checked "Black Day for Mayberry" and it seems the laugh track is missing from about the 18 minute mark onward. There's no laughter even when Barney tells Juanita that the real gold truck went through Raleigh.

My disc came DHL'ed in the morning. On the mayberry.com message board people got their's five days earlier than me (although I'm on the east coast).

I'm not sure why some laughter is still omitted since they did bother to go back and correct them. Perhaps it's the source material?
 

David Von Pein

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Thanks, John.

From your comments, Paramount didn't fix the "Sermon" track at all. They probably aren't even aware that particular segment lacks a laugh track on the DVD, though.

So even the fixed discs are still tainted (albeit to a lesser degree).

Why in the world would they turn OFF the laugh tracks for a few minutes of eps., but leave it in in other portions of the shows? And HOW would they even go about messing this up for the DVD release? Why are the laugh tracks even "separate" from the rest of the DVD transfer in the first place? I guess I just don't understand this.

Maybe it's a true mystery that possibly even Bernard P. Fife couldn't sort out.
 

Gary OS

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David, I can confirm as well that "Sermon" is still missing the laugh track from the "looks spidery" scene till the end of the episode. That's really bizarre since the first half of the episode does include the laughtrack.

Gary "got my replacement discs last week, delivered via DHL - great service by Paramount in spite of a couple of glitches" O.
 

David Von Pein

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Thanks Gary.

And, yes, it's bizarre alright....and from what John Madia has said in his posts, it appears more oddities abound even via the supposedly-FIXED discs (what with the "Black Day" episode only having 18 minutes' worth of laughter re-inserted on the replacement disc...with, evidently, the last 7 minutes being laughless still).

Perhaps we're all in The Twilight Andy Zone or somethin'. (They were both CBS series, after all.) :)
 

ScottLloyd

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I started this thread with high hopes to finally purchase season 4 and it's not ending as well as I'd hoped. :frowning:

I've gotta get them eventually and I doubt they'll fix them again so I guess I'll go ahead and get them in the next few months.
 

David Von Pein

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Is Barney holding his shakiest gun in the west (with his one bullet in the barrel) at your head, forcing a purchase of Season 4? ;) :) :D

But seriously....this is a very good DVD set overall, even without the AWOL laugh tracks. It's a must-have if you've got the rest of the "Barney Years" (IMO).
 

Gary OS

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I'll tell you what, I tried to talk my mother into buying seasons 1-6 right now from DDD. With their current sale, you can get all six seasons that are currently out for right at $20 a piece! That's an incredible deal if someone hasn't purchased any of the seasons yet.

Gary "and I have to agree 100% with David's last post - these sets are a must even with the very, very minor laugh track glitches" O.
 

David Von Pein

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BTW .... I received my "replacement" discs for Discs 1 and 2. Took only 9 days to get them. Speedy. :emoji_thumbsup: And, like an earlier poster here, my "fixed" copies are still missing a few small snippets of laugh track....the end of "Black Day" and a few minutes at the end of "Sermon". Odd indeed. But that's what we have to deal with. At least the majority of the laughs are back in place.
 

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