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Happy Days: The Complete Series: The Ultimate Edition? (1 Viewer)

classictvfan91

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To CBS Home Entertainment:
Can you release a Complete Series Blu-Ray box set of "Happy Days" (1974-1984)?
There are several fans who want to see a Complete Series box set of Happy Days.
All 255 episodes should be digitally restored and remastered (from the original film elements) in high definition (1080p), and they should be unedited.
The original Paramount Television logos should be included at the end of the episodes.
All the 1950s/1960s music that was used in the series should be cleared, so the episodes can be unaltered.
“Rock Around the Clock” should be restored to the opening credits for Season 2.
Garry Marshall wants all the original music to be included in the episodes.
The episodes that originally aired after "Passages" (the final episode) should be included before it in the set.
Bonus features, new and old, should be included in the set, including TV spots (from ABC, syndication, Nick at Nite, TV Land, WGN, Me-TV, and INSP), ABC bumpers, commercials with the cast, a PSA with the cast about leukemia, mistakes in the episodes, new episode introductions from Garry Marshall and the cast, unreleased bloopers, cast interviews (including lengthy excerpts from Tom Bosley, Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross, Pat Morita, and Garry Marshall's interviews with the Archive of American Television), audio/text commentaries, photo galleries, documentaries (including TVography: Happy Days (2001), Entertainment Tonight in TV Land: Secrets of Happy Days (1999), Biography: Happy Days (2003), Henry Winkler Meets William Shakespeare (1977), the Biographies of Henry Winkler (2000) and Ron Howard (1999/2008), and all-new documentaries), text biographies of the cast, reunion specials (1992/2005), lists of music and guest stars in the episodes, production notes (noting inside jokes, pop culture references, and behind-the-scenes information), both versions of the pilot (New Family in Town (1971), and Love and the Happy Days (1972)), episodes of Laverne and Shirley (and the Mork and Mindy pilot) with characters from Happy Days, Henry Winkler's home movies from the series, scripts from the series in .PDF format, memorabilia from the series, and other things should be included.
Easter Eggs (hidden bonus features, appearing as hidden mini-jukeboxes) should be included in the set.
Here are some extra bonus features for this set:
Sitcom: The Adventures of Garry Marshall (1979)
The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (animated series, 1980-1981, 24 episodes)
Joanie Loves Chachi (1982-1983, 17 episodes)
Pyramid: Marion Ross and Erin Moran (February 2004)
TV Land Moguls: The 1970s: Part II (2004, including Garry Marshall and Happy Days)
Moving Image Salutes Ron Howard (2006)
Tom Bosley on Match Game (1975)
The Mike Douglas Show with Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Don Most, and Anson Williams (September 1974)
The Merv Griffin Show with Henry Winkler (July 1975)
Boy Meets World: I Was A Teenage Spy (1996)
Strong Kids, Safe Kids (1984)
Weezer: Buddy Holly (1994)
Behind the Laughs (1998)
Henry Winkler and Ron Howard on Sesame Street
Excerpt from The 70s: The Decade That Changed Television (2000)
An extensive clip of Tom Bosley as "Fiorello" should be included.
Tributes to Tom Bosley from several news shows should be included.
Animated (interactive) menus with the theme song should be included.
Scene selection menus, chapter stops, and a "Play All" option should be included with all the episodes.
English subtitles should be included with the episodes and special features.
The alternate introductions for "Guess Who's Coming to Christmas", one with Arnold (Pat Morita), and the other with Al (Al Molinaro), should
be included.
Both endings for "Shotgun Wedding: Part 1" should be included.
The scene with "The Andy Griffith Show" should be restored to the "My Favorite Orkan" episode.
Both endings for the "My Favorite Orkan" episode should be included.
Both endings for the "Love and Marriage" episode should be included.
A collector's book should be included with the set.
Henry Winkler and Todd Fuller (SitcomsOnline) should be the producers of the set.
Sincerely,
Ian Hayden
A documentary, with clips, on Tom Bosley's career should be included.
Also, this St. Joseph's Aspirin commercial with a clip of Happy Days should be included with "Potsie Quits School":

Tom Bosley and Marion Ross (Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham) appeared in the summer of 1998 in commercials promoting the NBC show, Mad About You. They appeared along with other parents such as Barbara Billingsley (from Leave It To Beaver), Florence Henderson (The Brady Bunch), and Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford (George and Louise Jefferson) (from The Jeffersons) to offer advice to Paul and Jamie Buchman on being new parents. In the Bosley/Ross commercial, they talk about financing a good education with a good catch phrase.
These commercials should be included in the box set.
 

Ethan Riley

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Albert71292 said:
And because of licensing fees, this set can be YOURS for the LOW COST of ONLY $2500!!!!
Actually my best estimate is that would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $500-$600, realistically. And they'd have to move several thousand units. This is based on a dvd estimate, not blu-ray, as Ian suggests. If it were blu-ray, they'd have to go back and remaster all 255 eps as well as Joanie and Chachi, so who knows what it would cost.
I think it could happen if there were suddenly a wave of 1970s (1950s?) nostalgia, or if they do their marketing research and look into its sales feasibility. I believe Paramount thinks there's not enough interest, and they're basing that solely on sales of the existing dvds. But a lot of otherwise interested fans didn't buy those dvds, sensing that they were an inferior product. So there we stand.
 

Neil Brock

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The cost if they would have cleared all of the music for season 2 would have been $2.4 million. And that's before Suzi Quatro started showing up and performing. My guess would be around $40 to $50 million to clear all of the episodes music. Then to license out all of the clips, probably another few million. I think $2500 is a very conservative estimate.
 

The Obsolete Man

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Neil Brock said:
The cost if they would have cleared all of the music for season 2 would have been $2.4 million. And that's before Suzi Quatro started showing up and performing. My guess would be around $40 to $50 million to clear all of the episodes music. Then to license out all of the clips, probably another few million. I think $2500 is a very conservative estimate.
Isn't it cheaper to license cover songs?
The music in season 2 was all original, IIRC... or almost all original performances by the original artists. After that, the music was mostly covers by Potsie and the band, or Suzie Quatro, or Joanie and Chachi.
Would the fact that most of the songs were covers have made a difference in licensing fees?
I ask because I vaguely remember something about performance rights being part of the music licensing issue, and I've seen stuff like Sony license out a cover performance of Drift Away for a Dawson's Creek episode instead of keeping the original (and I'd assume higher priced) Dobie Gray version.
I'm not saying it would be cheap to hash out the music licensing issues for a show like Happy Days, just wondering if the whole cover version thing would make the rights a bit cheaper in later seasons.
 

smithb

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One of the insightful posts by Neil. Thanks for quoting Shane or I would have missed it.
Neil, a question regarding the numbers? I'm not doubting because I have no clue, but i'm curious enough to ask. Where did you come by those amounts, or how did you calculate them?
 

Albert_M

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I have a question. Can a company release dvds intact if they don't sell the discs?
What if it became a "club" type set up, where you don't buy the series, you buy some sort of membership to something and it was a "gift"
 

TravisR

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Albert_M said:
I have a question. Can a company release dvds intact if they don't sell the discs?
What if it became a "club" type set up, where you don't buy the series, you buy some sort of membership to something and it was a "gift"
I think the part of the FBI warning at the beginning of DVDs that says "even without monetary gain" covers doing something like that.
 

Radioman970

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I'd always wondered why we couldn't pay for the songs ourselves. I mean, I can pick up songs for less than a buck on amazon.com downloads. Why can't I pay less than a buck per song used on each episode.
(I asked this question before and didn't get an answer so i was thinking I was just ignorant when it comes to music rights... I do work radio but I just play the stuff. lol)
 

Gary OS

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Quote:

Originally Posted by TravisR /t/320065/happy-days-the-complete-series-the-ultimate-edition#post_3919332
I think the part of the FBI warning at the beginning of DVDs that says "even without monetary gain" covers doing something like that.

Well if anyone would know it should be you (considering where you reside and all).


Gary "certainly way too much music to clear in this series" O.
 

classictvfan91

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In June 2010, SitcomsOnline's blog wrote this: "Music rights are now not an issue for this show."
The Season 4 release has all the major music intact and the episodes uncut, so why would there be problems now?
 

DeWilson

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classictvfan91 said:
In June 2010, SitcomsOnline's blog wrote this: "Music rights are now not an issue for this show."
The Season 4 release has all the major music intact and the episodes uncut, so why would there be problems now?
Even if they have no problem clearing the music, there's still the cost of clearing it!!
 

Ethan Riley

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Neil Brock said:
The cost if they would have cleared all of the music for season 2 would have been $2.4 million. And that's before Suzi Quatro started showing up and performing. My guess would be around $40 to $50 million to clear all of the episodes music. Then to license out all of the clips, probably another few million. I think $2500 is a very conservative estimate.
I don't think so, Neil.
 

Neil Brock

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Ethan Riley said:
I don't think so, Neil.
It doesn't really matter because A) CBS is never going to release the show with the music intact and B) All of these proposed DVD sets with every extra known to man included are just a fantasy with no basis in the real world.
 

The Obsolete Man

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Neil Brock said:
It doesn't really matter because A) CBS is never going to release the show with the music intact and B) All of these proposed DVD sets with every extra known to man included are just a fantasy with no basis in the real world.
I don't think the OP went far enough.
I'd insist this set be delivered to my door by Henry Winkler, and he would have to jump a shark that is swimming in my pool.
Also, Erin Moran would have to be on the sidelines cheering in her Jefferson High cheerleader outfit.
 

JoeDoakes

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I think classictvfan91's polls (this and others) are fine aspirational statements of what fans ideally would like to see. They also are great resources for potential extras; it's clear he really did some research. Where I have some problems with some internet commentators (not classictvfan91), is when they make statements like, "Do it perfectly or don't do it at all." Very few tv releases ever even approach perfection, and statements like that are stupidly self defeating as they suggest to issuers that fans won't be satisfied unless they spend themselves into bankruptcy. I do not mind reasonable criticisms of releases, and sometimes they produce results (like with the Three Stooges shorts). I also do not mind people choosing how best to maximize their viewing pleasure from their purchasing dollars. Again, I think what classictvfan91 has written is fine and did not cross the line.
 

Ethan Riley

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I don't see why people should be expected to go on the defensive for making wishlists. That's what people on the internet do. Yes, the list of extras is unrealistic but it's also fun to read. And the harm is...? Whatever you think of the OP, it's a lot more positive than thread-crapping.
All these "NEVER gonna happen" types are the same people that said that Ally McBeal would "never happen," or that complete seasons of Saturday Night Live were "never gonna happen." Well they did happen, last time I checked. You never know what Paramount is going to do unless your name happens to be Mr. Paramount and/or you have a crystal ball in working order.
 

Neil Brock

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Well, I think if the proposed impossible sets were done more in the vein of, "here's what I would love to see, even though I know its not likely" as opposed to, "CBS should do this", then it would read a lot differently.
 

DeWilson

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JoeDoakes said:
I think classictvfan91's polls (this and others) are fine aspirational statements of what fans ideally would like to see. They also are great resources for potential extras; it's clear he really did some research..
Let the studios do their own darn research - that's what they have underpaid interns for - but either way, the studios for the most part do sloppy research even WITH a road-map from the fans. There are exceptions when it comes to extras, and those are mostly shows from independent producers released on the indie labels - such as with MY LIVING DOLL, MY FAVORITE MARTIAN and of course the "Gold Standard" of TV Sets THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW (When it come to every possible existing extra, the Only things missing were the Bloopers (Carl's Choice as creator-producer not to use them.) and that skit from THE MARY TYLER MOORE HOUR with Dick and Mary as Rob & Laura!
Where I have some problems with some internet commentators (not classictvfan91), is when they make statements like, "Do it perfectly or don't do it at all." Very few tv releases ever even approach perfection, and statements like that are stupidly self defeating as they suggest to issuers that fans won't be satisfied unless they spend themselves into bankruptcy.
Even without extras, or all possible extras, there are many sets that would be considered perfect based on transfers and completeness of shows. Baring the issues with THE FUGITIVE and any shows with replacement music - CBS HOME VIDEO has a good track record overall. (Sure there were the odd ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW or two-part MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE missing scenes,etc. but that's what was all on hand)
I do not mind reasonable criticisms of releases, and sometimes they produce results (like with the Three Stooges shorts).
Well, The "Extras" box of THE THREE STOOGES complete set is something,too - but it still leaves out one major feature appearance, one minor one and a couple of solo shorts (not existing?) But the cartoons featuring animated spoofs the The Three Stooges is a nice touch - sometimes it's a trade off. As for the shorts - I don't think the last 16 (Joe Besser!) ever looked this good!
Neil Brock said:
Well, I think if the proposed impossible sets were done more in the vein of, "here's what I would love to see, even though I know its not likely" as opposed to, "CBS should do this", then it would read a lot differently.
Agreed,
 

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