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Donna Reed Show -- review?? (1 Viewer)

Gary OS

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Yep, I was just about to post the link myself. Mr. Mavis does yet another wonderful job reviewing another classic TV series. I'm all over this one. No hesitation at all, especially with Paul's review.


Gary "this is a series I look forward to revisiting after many years of not catching it on TV" O.
 

Elena S

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Well, it does say there are some compression issues and possibly replaced title graphics which may indicate syndicated versions. But he said that nothing noticeable is missing. Overall it sounds like it's in pretty good shape. He didn't mention background music or the possibility of it being replaced. My fear is that many people simply don't remember the original score and wouldn't know if it had been replaced with more generic music. Although I would be very upset if that happens, I will still buy the set because I love the show.

Thanks for the link to the review.
 

Garysb

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I understand. The press release I linked to was from September while the bonus material post was from July and subject to change per the post. It appears per the DVD Talk review that the 1st season will included just a network promo for the show and still photos. unless the screener reviewed was incomplete, I would guess the other bonus material will come in later sets. The show is what is important and in these days of half season sets at full season prices, 37 episodes at a reasonable price is the real bonus. Shows that are apparently uncut and with little or no music replacement is another bonus.
 

Mark-P

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Well, well. Mr. Mavis has confirmed exactly what I was afraid of. Cramming 10 episodes per disc has resulted in some compression issues. Watching these on a giant screen may prove a bit dissappointing for some of us. It seems such a shame to go to all the trouble to do a complete restoration and then skimp out by having the DVDs too compressed to fully benefit from the restoration. My set is en route and I will still enjoy it when it gets here, I'm just glad to have the show in its original form with its original music.
 

Xenia Stathakopoulou

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Hmm, from reading that dvd review on dvd talk , and looking at the screenshots , it seems to me the transfers are way better than the leave it to beaver sets!!! Amazing, when you consider the fact that they crammed ten episodes on most discs, while the beaver sets had a maximum of 7.It seems small studios are making better transfers than the big ones.
 

Tim Tucker

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I seems to remember hearing that B&W compresses better than color. Even so, AAA is pushing the limit of a dual layer DVD.

After reading that review, I may actually buy this now.
 

Xenia Stathakopoulou

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Elena, I havent received mine yet.It shipped to me yesterday from amazon.But, over at sitcoms online.com , in their donna reed boards, there are nothing but positive comments about the set!!!!!!!
 

Mark-P

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Yes Elena, I received mine. It is indeed 10 episodes per dual-layer disc on the first three and 7 epidsodes on the 4th. Extras on the 4th disc include a photo gallery, original promo comercial, and production notes.

The quality is not bad, but I would not concur with some of the reviews that gave really high marks. Viewed on a large screen the picture was just a bit blurry (compared to other 60s shows like Dick Van Dyke) and dirt and scratches were pretty noticible on some episodes. Run times of 25:50 are accurate and original music is intact. I'd say it's worth the investment if you can get it discounted. I paid $22.12 from DeepDiscount.
 

Garysb

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I have the set. I watched some of the shows using a blu-ray player on a 50 inch TV.
I don't think it looks bad at all. It is certainly less blurry then watching Standard
Def station like TVLand on a 50 inch screen. Scratches and dirt are there but they are most visible during the closing credits rather than the show itself. The shows I have watch appear uncut. The only thing I noticed missing was the Screen Gems logo. No Sony logo ether. The theme music cuts off just before where the Screen Gems logo would appear. Since the theme played over the logo the music just stops before the end of the song. Since for whatever reason they can't show the Screen Gems logo I wish the had blacked out the screen to complete the music instead of just cutting it off. On the other hand it is only a couple of seconds and compared to My Three Sons and Season One of Father Knows Best, this is much better.

Does anyone know the history of the ownership of this show. The copywrite on the prints say Todon ( Donna Reed's company) and another company instead of Screen Gems or Columbia. Does anyone know if the show was sold to Columbia Pictures after it ended?
 

Elena S

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Thanks to all who responded.

Background music appears to be original, then? To me that would be the best news of all.
 

Xenia Stathakopoulou

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Point blank, if you like shows like Leave it to beaver, you will most likely enjoy Donna Reed.In my opinion, both are very similar, as far as old family sitcoms go.
 

Joe Lugoff

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Watching old shows like Donna Reed is like traveling to another time, another planet, another dimension -- which, for me, is exactly where I want to be.

I didn't care much for this show when it was new, but it sure is good now.
 

Montytc

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It falls in line with all the great sitcoms of that era. If you like "Father Knows Best", Leave It To Beaver" and the rest, you will like Donna Reed.
 

Professor Echo

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thanks guys! sounds like it's right along my lines as i love those old family shows. even tho i'm young i'm really an old fashioned kind of gal, i guess. although i would never vacuum with my pearls on. ;)
 

pitchman

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Just a "heads up" to those of you interested in buying this. You can get it at a great price (at least I did) during the 25% off DD sale that is going on now. IIRC it was $16.59 shipped. I can't wait to see this program again!
 

Xenia Stathakopoulou

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I got mine in the mail today , and im happy with the picture quality !!! The compression issues noted in the dvd reviews are true, but they only show up for a minute or so in each episodes.Ive only watched the first 2 episodes, so I cant comment if that happens in all of them.I would say the picture quality here, is much better than the leave it to beaver sets.To be exact , this Donna Reed set has alot less grain in the picture than beaver.Its amazing that a small company like Arts Alliance can do a better set than Universal!!!!! Not to mention 10$ cheaper than the beaver sets, and single sided disc to boot!!!!!!!
 

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