CBS: Rawhide, Taxi, Petticoat Junction, and The Beverly Hillbillies Prepped for Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[JoeDoakes]

Although I am not certain we will see Blu-ray releases of all of these shows, the takeaway for me is that, at least, CBS seems committed to remastering them, which suggests that the chances are very good that we'll see the shows not yet fully released at least make DVD. I only wish that they had said something about Bilko.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

given the obscene prices CBS charges for half seasons of these series I won't buy $130 season sets in blu ray. For most of these series like the early years of Gunsmoke I'm fine with DVD copies, hell they still look better than they ever looked on TV when I was watching them

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Gord/Dave's site included a scan of the print version of the article and it clearly says ""The CBS team is already working on Blu-ray ready versions of..."

That's pretty clear to me - the source article doesn't say what the blu-ray.com article says "Ryan Adams, director of multimedia services for CBS Television Distribution, also confirmed that CBS is preparing Blu-ray releases..."

Big difference between "Blu Ray ready" and "Blu ray releases" which is what Gord/Dave were saying in their article. I'm not saying that blu-ray.com was malicious or deliberately deceptive; honestly I can see how someone not reading carefully could interpret the original article as saying releases were coming but this is something best confirmed with the studio before posting it as fact.

it also means that like Mission Impossible and Hawaii Five O , when these shows are licensed to Netflix or the like they will be streamed in HD

 

[Gary OS]

I only wish that they had said something about Bilko.

Why? We already know what CBS is doing with Sgt Bilko. Unless you are talking about Blu ray.


Gary "I'd like to see the Rawhide and HGWT seasons that were skipped last time around get remastered and released" O.

 

[maskedmala]

Why? We already know what CBS is doing with Sgt Bilko. Unless you are talking about Blu ray. We know what CBS has done with Sgt Bilko in the UK but what about North America

 

[Gary OS]

Why? We already know what CBS is doing with Sgt Bilko. Unless you are talking about Blu ray. We know what CBS has done with Sgt Bilko in the UK but what about North America

Shout.

 

[benbess]

In terms of the argument of whether these shows benefit from HD, I really think there is a case to be made. Even with I Love Lucy, which was a rather low cost show in terms of the "production values," a lot of care went into how it was shot, as seen by the hiring of the legendary Karl Freund of Metropolis fame as DP. The key to these shows are the performances, and in HD they are sometimes even funnier and more dramatic.

And as the 50s went into the 60s, production values on things like Westerns were generally climbing. I think I read once that when Gunsmoke started, as a half hour Western back in 1955, that the baseline production budget of the show was about $40,000 an episode. Even adjusted for inflation, that's small by today's tv standards, and would be something like $340,000. But multiply that by 39 episodes, and it begins to add up. But just a few years later, the hour-long Wagon Train was budgeted at almost $100k an episode. And then the color Western Bonanza went to $120,000 an episode by the early 1960s. And then, NBC gambled on a huge 90-minute color Western The Viriginian, which was said to have an average production budget of almost $300k. Some of those episodes of the Virginian are really like little movies, with custom scores written by composers like Bernard Herrmann, fine cinematography, guest stars like Lee Marvin, Robert Redford, Vera Miles, etc., etc. Too bad this isn't a CBS show, because I wouldn't mind seeing this one on blu-ray.

When it comes down to it, however, the DVDs of shows like The Virginian already look pretty good, and really better than what people saw on their tvs back in the day.

But the bottom line is that they did film these in 35 mm for a reason. It was partially out of habit and because it was just the standard. But also because they wanted their shows to last and look good. Interestingly, when they were ramping up production for the very first season of the Virginian, they did some tests with 16mm cameras and film to see if they could save some money there. But they ditched the idea because they didn't think it looked good enough.

 

[bluelaughaminute]

error

 

[bluelaughaminute]

But the bottom line is that they did film these in 35 mm for a reason. It was partially out of habit and because it was just the standard. But also because they wanted their shows to last and look good. Interestingly, when they were ramping up production for the very first season of the Virginian, they did some tests with 16mm cameras and film to see if they could save some money there. But they ditched the idea because they didn't think it looked good enough.

But they seemed to forget all about that by the late 80's didn't they ?
Isn't Dynasty another in the long line of US shows that transferred to being edited on tape in the late 80's / early 90's ? Like all the Trek spinoffs bar Enterprise .
In which case the affected seasons would need a TNG/ Friends style makeover to make them HD ready . That's a lot more work than would be needed for the older shows that were 100% film from start to finish.
After decades of showing the world how quality tv production was done , the majority of the US tv world made the biggest error it ever could by trying to cut costs and actually shooting on 35mm then throwing all that quality away by editing on tape.
Dumb idea would be an understatement .
Now they have to finally pick up the tab 20 years later and go back to the beginning.
About time they started on The X-Files

 

[maskedmala]

Gary, I think it's only a rumor. There is no confirmation that Shout will release Sgt Bilko in the near future contrary to the UK release planned for July of this year

 

[Jari K]

"...were not designed to be seen in HiDef anyway."What does that mean? If the source material was film (not video etc), then HD is the way to go (well, or even 2K, 4K).The cost of the restoration, the overall condition of the film materials, historical significance, "demand", director's involvement with the restoration project, etc. These are the real questions.

 

[bluelaughaminute]

What is the ownership story of The Phil Silvers Show .
In the 90's it was reported that the BBC had perpetual screening rights to the series ( similar to one they have for the RKO library). But I'm guessing this doesn't cover commercial releases.
I can't even remember the last time the BBC actually showed any.

Bar The Avengers and The Munsters vintage tv that is not in colour seems to be banished from mainstream tv in the UK- even our own series.

 

[Gary OS]

Gary, I think it's only a rumor. There is no confirmation that Shout will release Sgt Bilko in the near future contrary to the UK release planned for July of this year

We shall see.


Gary "things do change from time to time in this business, so until there's an official word I'll say no more" O.

 

[benbess]

Is there a list somewhere of all the shows that CBS currently owns?

 

[Ron1973]

Is there a list somewhere of all the shows that CBS currently owns?

http://syndicationbible.cbstvd.com/whnjs.htm

 

[bluray111]

Is there a list somewhere of all the shows that CBS currently owns?

http://syndicationbible.cbstvd.com/

 

[JoeDoakes]

I was also hoping that CBS would do a high quality remastering of the remaining Bilko seasons.

 

[Gary OS]

I was also hoping that CBS would do a high quality remastering of the remaining Bilko seasons.

Gotcha, Ray. Thanks for clarifying.


Gary "I'm sure of my source, but I can't speak to the quality when it's eventually released" O.

 

[LeoA]

http://syndicationbible.cbstvd.com/

That's not correct, is it? Isn't that just shows that they make available for syndication?

 

[benbess]

HD masters are currently being made of The High Chaparral! I've never seen this show, but I've wanted to. My wife watched it as a kid, and has fond memories of it. This show was in part created by David Dortort, who also helped create Bonanza. It's supposed to be one of the best television Westerns ever made. The show still has quite a following, including a nice fan page with episode guide here:

http://www.thehighchaparral.com/