Is the b&w era of TV on DVD slowly coming to an end? (4 Viewers)

[LouA]

If that's true , then it's interesting that Shout Factory is continuing to release these westerns that Timeless specialized in. I understand that the Westerner short lived series is due soon.

I just checked and Timeless still has a web site which is linked to SF. My guess is that they will still uses the Timeless logo for thier occasional vintage release , but I don't know how to explain the DVDs you mention.

 

[GMBurns]

They even have the same dark brown kind of border as TMG always used to have, so they still look like Timeless. I am still a bit nostalgic because of all the great old shows I've purchased from TMG over the years. But if they keep cranking out things like The Loner and The Westerner I can live with the Shout! brand. Timeless may be officially dead, but its' spirit still has a little life left in it.

 

[Silverking]

'The Westerner' has been put back to March I understand.

 

[jperez]

Anyone knows about Trackdown? It was mentioned as upcoming, alongside The Westerner.

 

[Silverking]

Apparently there are 'rights' issues.

 

[BobO'Link]

I just read on tvshowsondvd.com that Daniel Boone S3 "Collector's Edition" is coming January 24th as a WalMart exclusive. It's listed on their site for $14.96 but as "OOS" rather than a pre-order so you can't yet order a copy but I put in a "notify me" for when it *is* in stock. There's a link to the WM product page in the tvshowsondvd.com article.

They need to speed up the schedule! I really want a full set of these repackaged releases for both the improved menu and shelf-friendly package.

 

[Randy Korstick]

I have the first 3 seasons of Daniel Boone. So when they get to Season 4 I will be interested. I was never willing to pay the scalper prices for the later seasons.

 

[BobO'Link]

Daniel Boone - S3 is currently available for pre-order at both Walmart - $14.96 (+ tax & shipping - it doesn't show it available for ship to store yet) and Amazon - $19.99. Both show a January 24th available date.

**EDIT**
NOW with *FREE SHIPPING* and store pickup options at Walmart!

Aside... how do you do a strike through with this new "improved" editor? I tried with the WYSIWYG editor *and* the BB code editor using the "standard" method but it didn't work.

 

[Harry-N]

Try an "s" in a square bracket with a slash-s in a square bracket to turn it off. This of course in BBCode editing.

 

[BobO'Link]

Try an "s" in a square bracket with a slash-s in a square bracket to turn it off. This of course in BBCode editing.

Thanks! All other sites I use require <s> and </s> rather than the square bracket. It never entered my head to try the square one...

 

[Regulus]

The number of TV shows on home video I have purchased recently has decreased significantly, mostly because I have purchased most of the shows that interest me. There are about a dozen "Grail Shows" that I hope will become available. Meantime it's wait and see.

 

[Bert Greene]

The last tv-dvd purchase I made was "Sam Benedict," and it looks like my next purchase won't be until "Death Valley Days" s-3. That will add up to a four-to-five month gap between purchases. Which is BY FAR the longest dry-spell since the beginning of the trend, fifteen years ago. I used to routinely purchase several each month.

I could easily and quickly make a list of a hundred series I'd immediately buy on DVD, but none of them are remotely likely. I really am starting to find myself in a transition period in which I suppose I'll be primarily relying on re-watching things I purchased previously, along with a few intermittent new purchases of movie-dvds. Lately I've been mostly revisiting a lot of old discs of b-movies that I purchased over a decade ago. The tv-dvd trend seems to be all but dead. Pretty depressing.

 

[BobO'Link]

Yeah... most of my TVonDVD purchases now are of programs which originated in the UK and have never seen R1 releases. I recently purchased a BR player for which a "region free" code is available and am now "region free." I've been taking advantage of that to purchase "classic" UK programs.

I *do* have Daniel Boone S3 and Death Valley Days S3 pre-ordered. But for Daniel Boone it's to replace my old Liberation copy with the new, smaller keep case version with a much better menu system. Outside of those two I can't think of a single BW program I don't already own that's available or about to be released. Oh... Wait... a "wide release" version of Father Knows Best S5 is coming out in early April. I still haven't opened my S1 copy of that one so don't know if it'll hold up enough for me today to warrant purchasing more seasons.

 

[Gary OS]

The last tv-dvd purchase I made was "Sam Benedict," and it looks like my next purchase won't be until "Death Valley Days" s-3. That will add up to a four-to-five month gap between purchases. Which is BY FAR the longest dry-spell since the beginning of the trend, fifteen years ago. I used to routinely purchase several each month.

I could easily and quickly make a list of a hundred series I'd immediately buy on DVD, but none of them are remotely likely. I really am starting to find myself in a transition period in which I suppose I'll be primarily relying on re-watching things I purchased previously, along with a few intermittent new purchases of movie-dvds. Lately I've been mostly revisiting a lot of old discs of b-movies that I purchased over a decade ago. The tv-dvd trend seems to be all but dead. Pretty depressing.

Agreed on all points, Bert. The last b/w dvd I bought was all the way back in the summer of last year! There were several b/w series that were released over the last 12 months that I had no interest in (a real rarity, but it does happen), so 2016 was even more grim for me. I don't see the situation improving, so like you I'm just enjoying what I've got. For instance, I watched a few episodes of The Fugitive with the family last night. Always good viewing!


Gary "happy belated new year to everyone here" O.

 

[GMBurns]

The only recent b&w release I've purchased of late is Rifleman season 4, and I don't know of anything upcoming that I'll purchase until Rifleman season 5, although I'll keep my fingers crossed for a surprise or two. Over the last few months I've been "catching up" on a few things I never got around to buying, like Going My Way, Destry, Overland Trail and The Deputy. Even though they've been out a while, they are new to me, and I've been enjoying them quite a bit.

 

[Flashgear]

Glenn, I too have been scooping up the Timeless back catalogue of releases I might have overlooked at the time...so very grateful for their past and prolific output...and, how long will they continue to be available before they're OOP, and only available from rapacious third party sellers? All those you mention are treasured by me, the westerns don't disappoint...Going My Way proved to be a delight also...sweet, funny and often very touching and profound...it looks great too, I think derived from 35mm...I thought Gene Kelly, Leo G. Carroll and Dick York were all very strong here, with good chemistry...I can't imagine any Bewitched fan not wanting this...Guest stars Ralph Meeker, Anne Francis, Eddie Bracken, Harry Morgan, Fred Clark, Steve Brodie, James Dunn, Dan Duryea, Beverly Garland, James Whitmore, Ed Begley, William Demarest, Jane Wyatt, Pat O'Brien, Ray Walston are all memorable... Ellen Burstyn (then McRae) and Richard Long are particularily powerful in the story of a deaf couple dealing with the sudden restoration of the wife's hearing, as indicative of the humor on this show, there are some hilarious references to Vince Edwards, Ben Casey, by a Doctor...James Doohan as a hospital attendent...Ivan Dixon and James Edwards combine in another beautiful early TV examination of the oppressive indignities forced on a black man, and the incipient civil rights movement...Nydia Westman as the housekeeper is a good comic foil for Carroll's Father Fitzgibbon...recurring characters like Argentina Brunetti and Florence Halop add to the charm...it's an entertaining TV pop culture curio take on the pre Vatican 2 Roman Catholic Church...often sacharine Blarney and predictably optimistic in the face of formidable social issues, but often also a genuine and authentic representation of those times...just as the feature film of 1944 was of it's time also...just what I love about it...

In the great Timeless tradition that Shout carries forth, and in hopes for more...really looking forward to February's release of The Westerner...and more of Death Valley Days and Daniel Boone...

 

[mmyers]

The only recent b&w release I've purchased of late is Rifleman season 4, and I don't know of anything upcoming that I'll purchase until Rifleman season 5, although I'll keep my fingers crossed for a surprise or two. Over the last few months I've been "catching up" on a few things I never got around to buying, like Going My Way, Destry, Overland Trail and The Deputy. Even though they've been out a while, they are new to me, and I've been enjoying them quite a bit.

Gary OS-- I remember you mentioning in the past that the old Timeless considered Gray Ghost, Wichita Town and perhaps Hotel de Paree for DVD issue. Do you think there is any realistic chance that Shout Factory will revisit any of those series since we have seen some recent movement on westerns from them? Did they ever consider Man From Blackhawk?

 

[Harry-N]

Gary OS-- I remember you mentioning in the past that the old Timeless considered Gray Ghost, Wichita Town and perhaps Hotel de Paree for DVD issue. Do you think there is any realistic chance that Shout Factory will revisit any of those series since we have seen some recent movement on westerns from them? Did they ever consider Man From Blackhawk?

Just an aside here - I'm a child of the fifties, my mother told me I was going to get square eyeballs from watching too much TV, and I was an avid reader of TV GUIDE listings for many years, so although I may not have *watched* every TV series, I probably ran across their titles in the listings. But I have to say that I have never heard of WICHITA TOWN, HOTEL DE PAREE, or MAN FROM BLACKHAWK.

I *might* have heard of GREY GHOST...

 

[Silverking]

My understanding is that Timeless did consider 'The Gray Ghost' at one time & had traced some prints from Canada , this was about time of the Shout takover & I guess it got kicked into the long grass.

'Wichita Town' was another series they wanted to put out in the very early days & were close to doing so until someone with a 'rights' claim came in at the last minute & jacked up the price to an extent it became uneconomical. I believe SFM now owns the series & I had an email from their president a couple of years back saying they were anxious to release it but the 'rights' were complicated. I imagine the downturn in the DVD market & & rights complications killed it.

To my knowledge 'Hotel De Paree' & 'Man from Blackhawk' have never been on the Timeless agenda.

 

[mmyers]

These were shows that ran on the networks mostly between 1958 and 1960. Earl Holliman played the lead in Hotel de Paree; Joel McCrea did the same in Wichita Town. I remember Gary OS mentioned that he vaguely remembered Hotel de Paree as a candidate for DVD release by the old Timeless. Gray Ghost may have been syndicated.