Barnaby Jones - The Complete Series (2 Viewers)

[pegward]

The second season episode with Leslie Neilson (disc three, episode two, I think) is the first syndicated episode where the cuts were really numerous and choppy and distracted me from the episode. It still runs 46 and change but it seemed there were half a dozen chops, abrupt ones, all in the first 15 minutes. Hopefully this is an exception.

I hate when that happens especially when it affects the story line. I am always amazed at what they think they can edit out and later in the episode you are wondering where that fact came from.

 

[andyjharper]

What I don't understand is how CBS had so many episodes in Season 2 to give VEI that were unedited. The remaining 150 eps only have (at best) a total of five unedited. Were the unedited ones really that bad, didn't exist any more, or they just gave VEI the wrong ones? I wish someone had a defintive answer. The only reponse one user here got from VEI is they just used what CBS gave them. I wish VEI would say wether or not they tried to get the correct episodes or CBS would say why they didn't have them.

 

[Carabimero]

I have today off and plan on watching at least 10 Barnaby Jones episodes. I also plan on playing a new game: whenever someone tries to kill Barnaby , I have to drink a rum and Coke.


I am resigned to having quite a hangover when I return to work tomorrow....

 

[pegward]

I have today off and plan on watching at least 10 Barnaby Jones episodes. I also plan on playing a new game: whenever someone tries to kill Barnaby , I have to drink a rum and Coke.


I am resigned to having quite a hangover when I return to work tomorrow....

Definitely when anyone shoots at Barnaby and misses but Barnaby's shot hits them. I love this show and it has been fun to watch it again.

 

[rjd0309]

new game: whenever someone tries to kill Barnaby , I have to drink a rum and Coke.

Isn't there a similar game of taking a drink whenever a Star Trek redshirt is killed?


My version is the Richard Diamond brain trauma game, taking a drink whenever someone clubs Diamond over the head. ouch!

 

[phenri]

What I don't understand is how CBS had so many episodes in Season 2 to give VEI that were unedited. The remaining 150 eps only have (at best) a total of five unedited. Were the unedited ones really that bad, didn't exist any more, or they just gave VEI the wrong ones? I wish someone had a defintive answer. The only reponse one user here got from VEI is they just used what CBS gave them. I wish VEI would say wether or not they tried to get the correct episodes or CBS would say why they didn't have them.

I think it was mentioned earlier in this thread or another one that this is what CBS had available for VEI without putting in extra work and money to get the remaining un-remastered episodes ready for release. This would require CBS to work with the original masters, which they did not want to do.

Please enjoy what you have without wondering "What if?". It will drive you crazy. The whole situation is out of our hands.

 

[stuartfanning]

Here is a good detailed review:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/70393/barnaby-jones-the-complete-collection/?utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=

 

[andyjharper]

Here is a good detailed review:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/70393/barnaby-jones-the-complete-collection/?utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=

I have to agree with everything in this review. Don't get me wrong, I love the show. I put it on my Christmas list as a joke since I knew the quality was sub-par and I thought $160 was too much to pay for that quality. I was going to buy it eventually. However, someone bought it for me and I'm disappointed that they spent that much money on me given the quality. I'm halfway into the second season. He's already slowing down on the milk drinking which is bumming me out. I guess they thought it was kind of corny. Oh well, I'll try to enjoy the set for what it is. The thing I notice the most when binge-watching is the amount of re-used actors on the show. I think two guys have each been in about three episodes. It's like a revolving door on casting.

 

[Randy Korstick]

While its great that these shows are available vs. not available at all. I agree with the review that VEI is being deceptive by stating that these transfers are the best available instead of putting proper disclaimers about the poor quality of the transfers and the reasons why. All that was needed is something similar to what the reviewer suggested :"While we'd love to create new high-def transfers, the expected revenue doesn't justify the money we'd have to put into it"

You would then have a lot less complaints as people would know up front what they are getting and could make an easier decision about these before spending a lot of money on them.

 

[maskedmala]

I guess if we're expecting "high-def transfers" the price will be a LOT higher than what VEI is asking (just look at the price CBS were asking for their half seasons sets). After all, if you pay $15000 for a car don't expect to have a Cadillac, you'll have a Cruze for that price.

 

[Carabimero]

Here is a good detailed review:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/70393/barnaby-jones-the-complete-collection/?utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=

I agree pretty much with this review as well. But I also agree that it's common sense that you can't expect 8 remastered seasons (or 7 in this case, since 1 was done) for the price point here. I had hoped for better, but for the price, I got pretty much what I expected.


Mostly what I appreciate about the review is that the ratings were delineated; that is, the reviewer didn't trash the whole set with a one-star review for some chopped episodes and less-than-perfect picture quality.


I rated the set 4-stars on Amazon, but only because I was trying to counterbalance some of the knee-jerk one-star reviews. The show is better than one star, and the low rating could put off potential new audiences who might otherwise check out this show. That's unfortunate.


I'd rate the show a 4, the picture and sound quality a 2 (everyone seems to dismiss season one as part of the set, but it IS part of the set and factors in my rating), and give the set an overall rating of 3 (out of 5).

 

[Harry-N]

I agree pretty much with this review as well. But I also agree that it's common sense that you can't expect 8 remastered seasons (or 7 in this case, since 1 was done) for the price point here.

Yes and no. I'm seeing a price-point of $142 or so on Amazon, give or take some daily fluctuations. And I'm going to compare this series to another 8-season detective show, MANNIX. MANNIX on DVD was completely remastered, contains all segments of all shows, and with a couple of minor exceptions, uniformly looks as good as it ever has.


MANNIX was issued a season at a time, over a good number of years. Each season was reasonably expensive as it hit the market. I tended to pay around $35 for each of those seasons. Add that up and you get around $280 for the complete series.


But, now that they're all finished and all out on the market, you can get a bundle-package on Amazon of the entire MANNIX series for $76, again, give or take daily fluctuations in pricing.


Bottom line is that if they wanted to, CBS could have done the same with BARNABY JONES. I realize that the DVD market for older series has somewhat dried up, that the pricing model for BARNABY JONES' first season probably mirrored MANNIX, only it didn't perform as well. This probably has more to do with the timing of the releases. MANNIX' first season came while DVD's were still a fairly popular item. BARNABY JONES season 1 came a few years later as the world had begun to move on to Blu-ray and streaming.


It's a shame that they didn't start the series releases earlier.


Harry

 

[andyjharper]

I will never understand how people prefer streaming over physical media. I love having the physical media. I don't need an online connection, I can convert them to digital to take it on the go, etc. Also, if the licensing agreements run out and it disappears from Netflix, Hulu, etc. I can still watch it. I see the appeal but physical copies (for me anyway) will win over streaming any day.


[ . . . BARNABY JONES season 1 came a few years later as the world had begun to move on to Blu-ray and streaming.


It's a shame that they didn't start the series releases earlier.]


Harry

 

[andyjharper]

I forgot to comment on this as well. This is the problem. How many younger people (under 30) would be interested in buying older shows like Barnaby Jones, Cannon, etc.? I like Barnaby Jones because it reminds me when I was a little kid and stayed up way past my bedtime to watch re-runs on CBS at midnight. That's why I bought this set . . . nostalgia. People in their 40's or 50's are probably the target since they remember the show and have the money to spend. However, adults that watched it back in the day I would think need to watch their spending and younger people don't even remember the show. They've never seen it since it hasn't been widely available in syndication over the last decade(s). I don't count the Hallmark channel because they cut out all the violence (like it had a lot to begin with).





[ . . . I realize that the DVD market for older series has somewhat dried up . . .


It's a shame that they didn't start the series releases earlier.


Harry

 

[shoeshineboy]

I think it was mentioned earlier in this thread or another one that this is what CBS had available for VEI without putting in extra work and money to get the remaining un-remastered episodes ready for release. This would require CBS to work with the original masters, which they did not want to do.Please enjoy what you have without wondering "What if?". It will drive you crazy. The whole situation is out of our hands.

I agree - as fans (and now 'owners') it's really irksome that these things happen but in the end the real answers are likely somewhere in the middle or unanswerable. VEI may be able to elaborate, but they also depend on keeping a good working relationship going with CBS... Or the value to them was in being the only ones interested in outplaying the cost of putting this out and any extra costs to put out a less neutered set wasn't in their interest.

 

[Ron1973]

I agree - as fans (and now 'owners') it's really irksome that these things happen but in the end the real answers are likely somewhere in the middle or unanswerable. VEI may be able to elaborate, but they also depend on keeping a good working relationship going with CBS... Or the value to them was in being the only ones interested in outplaying the cost of putting this out and any extra costs to put out a less neutered set wasn't in their interest.

Now I'm beginning to think I understand what Neil Brock was hinting when he said they would be lucky to not lose their shirts. I don't want to accuse VEI of being less than honest, but too many times companies take the convenient way out. Though it's not DVD related, a case in point is how the music of Hank Williams was treated.


In the 80's, they started releasing "historical" releases that included many of his demos/radio recordings in overdubbed form, proclaiming that was all that was available. Less than 10 years later, all of those recordings, sans 3, mysteriously became available in their unaltered form on a big new box set. So much for those recordings being "lost!" They even admitted in the release that MGM had bought the recordings shortly after Hank's death, meaning they owned the recordings already.


Maybe this isn't the case with Barnaby Jones, but we'll see.

 

[Bryan^H]

I watched the episode "The Day Of The Viper" last night from season 2(with my comfort food-yogurt, and a soda..probably not a good mix). Honestly, after a hard days work It was so relaxing to watch such a great episode.

I'm not joking when I say that experience was worth the price of the entire set for me. And it is just one episode. Barnaby Jones is one of my favorite detective shows ever, and I am thrilled to see what is in store for me for the rest of the series.

 

[Bryan^H]

I agree - as fans (and now 'owners') it's really irksome that these things happen but in the end the real answers are likely somewhere in the middle or unanswerable. VEI may be able to elaborate, but they also depend on keeping a good working relationship going with CBS... Or the value to them was in being the only ones interested in outplaying the cost of putting this out and any extra costs to put out a less neutered set wasn't in their interest.

Crossing my fingers for "The Love Boat" from VEI.

 

[Carabimero]

I will never understand how people prefer streaming over physical media. I love having the physical media. I don't need an online connection, I can convert them to digital to take it on the go, etc. Also, if the licensing agreements run out and it disappears from Netflix, Hulu, etc. I can still watch it. I see the appeal but physical copies (for me anyway) will win over streaming any day.


[ . . . BARNABY JONES season 1 came a few years later as the world had begun to move on to Blu-ray and streaming.


It's a shame that they didn't start the series releases earlier.]


Harry

Younger people seem to want immediate access and don't care so much about picture quality or "owning" it. They don't seem to think about those things. My problem with streaming is that the quality is less than reliable, as is the buffering, to say nothing of the fact that what's available for streaming today may never be seen again tomorrow--and the viewer has no control over any of these things: picture, buffering, or availability.


I'll stick with my discs. Don't have Netflix. Don't plan to get it. Not right for me.

 

[bmasters9]

I jut saw the prices of what the original Season 1 DVD set is going for and it's insane...from 75 bucks on Amazon via a third market seller to 250.00 on Ebay. Just an insane price for a 13-episode first season of any show, let alone this one.

Somewhat like that Batman Animated Series full release that went for $1000 and up, isn't it?!


I think it's inexcusable that these sellers are acting like a 13-episode freshman season of Barnaby Jones is the same as the whole series as far as pricing is concerned.