Get Smart! (1 Viewer)

[Sam Favate]

Perhaps someone can ask about this title at the Warner chat tonight.

 

[Steve...O]

I've edited the post above to reflect the fact Warner stated publically tonight they have no rights to Get Smart!

Steve

 

[LanieParker]

Where is Get Smart still airing on tv? I haven't seen an episode an years. This boxset can't get here quick enough.

 

[Steve...O]

This is what Carl Birkmeyer (GetSmart guru) posted on his Yahoo group about Warner's response to Dave Lambert's question when they denied having rights:
"I have no idea of why they would say that they don't have the rights. I can assure you that they do, as I just confirmed it four weeks ago. There are people at TW that are aware of owning the rights and have confirmed it in discussions about DVDs. Leonard Stern also checked his
legal documents and confirmed it. They may not want to publicly talk about it or the person in the chat may not have known that they own the rights. This is one of the reasons why we're having difficulty getting the show on DVD!"
You can find his group here.
Steve

 

[David Lambert]

Carl and I (and Gord) have talked and we're looking into this rights thing. Stay tuned!

 

[Paul Pro]

Well I'm hoping it's Warner's simply because they're way ahead of Paramount when it comes to the special features deparment.

If Paramount releases it it would almost certainly be bare-bones.(ala Charmed)

 

[Charles Ellis]

Well, if Warners holds the rights, they're sitting on top of a gold mine! A Get Smart DVD release would be an instant hit. I only hope that Don Adams is interviewed and gives commentary while he's still around. I've heard that he's had some health problems lately, but I may be mistaken. Such a popular, critically acclaimed, Emmy-winning TV classic must be packaged right for DVD release with due reverence. Warner Bros. can do this right, as shown with the Looney Tunes and Gilligan's Island releases.
BTW, if Leonard Stern says Warner Bros., I believe him!! So why is Warners so inactive on this important matter???

 

[Carlos Garcia]

BTW, if Leonard Stern says Warner Bros., I believe him!! So why is Warners so inactive on this important matter???

A better question would be "Why did WB claim they don't own the rights to Get Smart, during last night's chat?"

 

[Gord Lacey]

Remember that Warner is larger than just Warner Bros Home Video. The show may belong to another part of the company.

Gord

 

[Charles Ellis]

New Line or Castle Rock, perhaps? And are Village Roadshow and Morgan Creek still affiliated with Warner Bros.?

 

[Carlos Garcia]

Sorry to beat a dead horse, but...any new news on the release of this show? It's only (arguably) among the top 5 best TV shows of the 60s. Why the delay? Could they be waiting for Don Adams to die so they won't have to pay residuals (the same way I keep reading Warners/Fox are waiting for Adam West to go before Batman gets released? Before anyone jumps all over me, I don't believe these rumors one bit, you know how these things get started). Seriously though, what's the delay in releasing Get Smart?

 

[Garysb]

I believe Don Adams does or did own a part of the show. I think when the show started he was offered $16,000 per episode or $4,000 plus part ownership. He chose $4,000 plus part ownership. Whether this is true and whether he still owns it I don't know .

 

[Sam Favate]

I'm still hoping our previous information proves correct and the first season will be out sometime between Sept. 2005 and May 2006, which is the 40th anniversary of the first season.

It would be a shame not to do this series right, and by "right," I mean using uncut, restored episodes. Extras are nice, but if the discs have uncut episodes looking better than ever, that's good enough. I'm confident it will happen.

 

[Jeff Willis]

It would be a shame not to do this series right, and by "right," I mean using uncut, restored episodes. Extras are nice, but if the discs have uncut episodes looking better than ever, that's good enough.

That's the quote of the decade as far as I'm concerned
Thanks,
"Say it again, Sam"
That quote goes for all TV/DVD releases!

 

[Steve...O]

I believe Don Adams does or did own a part of the show. I think when the show started he was offered $16,000 per episode or $4,000 plus part ownership. He chose $4,000 plus part ownership. Whether this is true and whether he still owns it I don't know .

From Carl Birkmeyer's list of Get Smart Myths:
"Don Adams is holding up the DVD/VHS release of the series by demanding too much money. Supposedly at some point this "fact" was released by somebody at Columbia House (stories vary as to how this was disseminated). There is absolutely no truth to this. Don does have an ownership interest, but that is a financial interest only. He has
absolutely no say over whether the show is released, no say in its pricing and nobody wants the show out more than Don."
Bottom line is that Don does still own part of the show, he wants it released, and any rumors that he is holding it up are false.
Steve

 

[Nathan Phillips]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned here is that when Get Smart was on cable in the early '90s, there was a Republic Pictures logo at the end. Would that have any bearing on who owns it now? Unless Paramount's deal was just for the syndication rights, I'm still convinced it's their show...

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

Isn't there a Get Smart movie (remake with Steve Carrell) in the works? Perhaps that is holding this up.

One of the few old shows I really really want.

 

[Carlos Garcia]

Maybe they plan to release the DVD of the series when the new movie hits theaters, kind of like what they've done with "Bewitched", "Starsky and Hutch" and many other old shows.

 

[Sam Favate]

Isn't there a Get Smart movie (remake with Steve Carrell) in the works? Perhaps that is holding this up.

Unlikely. The Carrell movie may end up never getting made. It was originally supposed to be in theaters this Christmas, but there isn't even a script yet and no filming has begun -- and Carrell will be filming The Office for NBC, further delaying any movie.

If the studio is waiting on the movie for the DVDs, we may be waiting a long time. It seems more likely a DVD release would precede the movie.

This is just my opinion, but I think that any studio that doesn't seize the TV-on-DVD moment in the next 2 or 3 years will be lost. The momentum the format has won't last forever.

 

[Carlos Garcia]

I'm still wondering why Quincy is out on DVD, but The Odd Couple is not! Studio logic doesn't make sense sometime.