Least Likely to Ever See the Light of Day Again (1 Viewer)

[Neil Brock]

I was thinking about this and I believe that black and white sitcoms that only ran for one season are the least likely to ever show up again, either on DVD or broadcast. Of course there are some rare exceptions (New Loretta Young Show, Hey Mulligan, half of I'm Dickens, He's Fenster, Stanley) but I believe there is just not enough interest to warrant anyone doing anything with these types of shows.

My Hero, Pride of the Family, Colonel Humphrey Flack, My Favorite Husband (3 seasons but only 1 filmed), Halls of Ivy, Mayor of the Town, Willy, Dear Phoebe, Professional Father, So This Is Hollywood, His Honor Homer Bell, The Great Gildersleeve, It's Always Jan, Charlie Farrell Show, Those Whiting Girls, Joe and Mabel, The Brothers, Adventures of Hiram Holliday, Hey Jeannie, Blondie, Sally, Date With The Angels, Eve Arden Show, Love That Jill, This is Alice, The Ed Wynn Show, Peck's Bad Girl, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Dennis O'Keefe Show, Love and Marriage, The Betty Hutton Show, The Tab Hunter Show, The Jim Backus Show, My Sister Eileen, The Tom Ewell Show, Peter Loves Mary, Harrigan and Son, Guestward Ho, Bringing Up Buddy, Angel, Fair Exchange, The Nanette Fabray Show, Happy, Holiday Lodge, Mrs. G Goes To College, The New Bob Cummings Show, Father of the Bride, Room for One More, Margie, Ichabod and Me, The Hathaways, Oh Those Bells, It's A Man's World, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Our Man Higgins, Ensign O'Toole, One Happy Family, Don't Call Me Charlie, McKeever and the Colonel, Glynnis, Grindl, Harry's Girls, The New Phil Silvers Show, The Tycoon, Wendy and Me, No Time For Sergeants, Karen, Harris Against The World, Tom, Dick and Mary, Many Happy Returns, Mickey, The Bing Crosby Show, Valentine's Day, Broadside, The Baileys of Balboa, The Cara Williams Show, The Smothers Brothers Show.

Perhaps the only possibility might be if Warner Archive decides to do a few of the ones that they own but I wouldn't think it would be high on their list.

 

[Carabimero]

Seems like I heard something about NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS but couldn't tell you exactly when or where and I am probably only imagining it.

 

[Ron1973]

I know it's been discussed but the longer these sit out the public eye, the less they'll be remembered. I grew up with parents who were products of that era and many times discussed their favorites. There are quite a few on your list I even haven't heard of. Sure, I would blind buy Crosby or Backus just because of the familiarity issue and a few others I see that are recognizable that I would blind buy. The general public isn't going to blind buy these and, as you say, these will probably never see the light of day again.

 

[Neil Brock]

Except for a very few, the majority were never syndicated and haven't been seen anywhere for 50 years or more. I wish it weren't the case, but I can't envision any kind of scenario in which these shows would draw interest. Not to mention the fact that most of them really aren't very good.

 

[Ron1973]

Except for a very few, the majority were never syndicated and haven't been seen anywhere for 50 years or more. I wish it weren't the case, but I can't envision any kind of scenario in which these shows would draw interest. Not to mention the fact that most of them really aren't very good.

They were good way back when MAYBE when your TV choices were a handful of channels. For instance, my dad loved Cisco Kid as a child. He had the chance to catch it on TV sometime back and he complained of how silly the plot was and how as an adult it didn't hold up. I'm afraid it's going to be the same with many other shows of the era, especially the lesser knowns.

 

[Charles Ellis]

Some episodes of the aforementioned shows have come out on DVD via Alpha Entertainment- most likely PD episodes.

Personally, I'd love to see a remastered Norby as it was the first show filmed in color to be shown on the NTSC color broadcasting system invented by RCA over NBC.

 

[Jack P]

Timeless I think *should* have given us a couple Universal sitcom titles when they were in their prime rather than scraping the bottom for every last western, if only to give us a little diversity. I would have given "Broadside" a try since it was technically a "McHale's Navy" spinoff and could have been billed as such in the promotions. "Wendy And Me" I know once had rerun exposure on CBN in the 80s and as a George Burns vehicle would have that selling point (plus there is a Raquel Welch appearance in one episode).

 

[davidHartzog]

Never say never again. You really need a ouija board to figure out what shows get released and why.

 

[Frank Soyke]

From Neil's list the one I'd most like to see is Our Man Higgins. I've never seen even one episode. I'd check out any show with Stanley Holloway (or Sterling Holloway for that matter).

 

[wizard55]

Are there PD vhs releases of these that never were brought to dvd? Trying to figure out which series have surviving prints, and how many and where gets so frustrating. There is a classic tv Christmas set out there ( Beverly Hillbillies on the cover) that I heard had one single episode for a bunch of very obscure shows.

 

[wizard55]

Resurrecting this thread of yours Neil because it fits with the other one and has a nice list of series. When I get some free time over the next week or 2 I'm going to start trying to figure out how many episodes are out there of each of these shows. Help is greatly appreciated however by anyone who wants to tackle a few.

I guess for right now we just need to compile a list that has the name date and network it aired on followed by the known full amount of episodes and the known for amount of episodes that are still out there either on DVD releases or in collectors hands.

 

[LeoA]

Too bad, since there are several up there that I'd love to see like The Bing Crosby Show (Which at first glance wouldn't seem to be an impossibility thanks to the name recognition, but sadly, music rights I suspect are why nobody has tried it).


Some of those with obvious connections to movies that I love, like Room for One More, have caught my eye over the years. Doubt something like that could compare to the Cary Grant and Betsy Drake classic that inspired it, but I'd love to have the chance to see it just the same.

 

[Regulus]

Never say never again. You really need a ouija board to figure out what shows get released and why.

I SECOND this. You don't know how many obscure TV shows I thought would NEVER see a legit release, then, lo and behold, there it is! Case in point Ripcord. In 2009 I stumbled across an episode while cruising through youtube. Even though it was barely watchable I liked what I saw, and knowing it wasn't available sought it out on one of those "Trading" Sites. The set I got was missing 15 episodes, and all the episodes were in grainy black & white. It wasn't much, but hey, I had a copy. Then a few years later I'm looking at the latest news on http://www.tvshowsondvd.com and low and behold, an official release, BOTH SEASONS! My pre-order from "The Big River" was immediate and when I received the legits was more than happy to give the 'boots THE BOOT (Save for ONE episode. It has a documentary about the making this show hosted by its producer, the late Ivan Tors). I was quite surprised when I discovered season two of this little gem of a series was filmed in color. I've seen many other obscure series get released since then. It's part of the fun of this hobby, you never know what you'll see next!

 

[Frank Soyke]

I SECOND this. You don't know how many obscure TV shows I thought would NEVER see a legit release, then, lo and behold, there it is! Case in point Ripcord. In 2009 I stumbled across an episode while cruising through youtube. Even though it was barely watchable I liked what I saw, and knowing it wasn't available sought it out on one of those "Trading" Sites. The set I got was missing 15 episodes, and all the episodes were in grainy black & white. It wasn't much, but hey, I had a copy. Then a few years later I'm looking at the latest news on http://www.tvshowsondvd.com and low and behold, an official release, BOTH SEASONS! My pre-order from "The Big River" was immediate and when I received the legits was more than happy to give the 'boots THE BOOT (Save for ONE episode. It has a documentary about the making this show hosted by its producer, the late Ivan Tors). I was quite surprised when I discovered season two of this little gem of a series was filmed in color. I've seen many other obscure series get released since then. It's part of the fun of this hobby, you never know what you'll see next!

I never imagined in years that My Mother The Car or Good Morning World would ever get a legit DVD release. It's true, you never know!

 

[LouA]

I was thinking about this and I believe that black and white sitcoms that only ran for one season are the least likely to ever show up again, either on DVD or broadcast. Of course there are some rare exceptions (New Loretta Young Show, Hey Mulligan, half of I'm Dickens, He's Fenster, Stanley) but I believe there is just not enough interest to warrant anyone doing anything with these types of shows.

My Hero, Pride of the Family, Colonel Humphrey Flack, My Favorite Husband (3 seasons but only 1 filmed), Halls of Ivy, Mayor of the Town, Willy, Dear Phoebe, Professional Father, So This Is Hollywood, His Honor Homer Bell, The Great Gildersleeve, It's Always Jan, Charlie Farrell Show, Those Whiting Girls, Joe and Mabel, The Brothers, Adventures of Hiram Holliday, Hey Jeannie, Blondie, Sally, Date With The Angels, Eve Arden Show, Love That Jill, This is Alice, The Ed Wynn Show, Peck's Bad Girl, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Dennis O'Keefe Show, Love and Marriage, The Betty Hutton Show, The Tab Hunter Show, The Jim Backus Show, My Sister Eileen, The Tom Ewell Show, Peter Loves Mary, Harrigan and Son, Guestward Ho, Bringing Up Buddy, Angel, Fair Exchange, The Nanette Fabray Show, Happy, Holiday Lodge, Mrs. G Goes To College, The New Bob Cummings Show, Father of the Bride, Room for One More, Margie, Ichabod and Me, The Hathaways, Oh Those Bells, It's A Man's World, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Our Man Higgins, Ensign O'Toole, One Happy Family, Don't Call Me Charlie, McKeever and the Colonel, Glynnis, Grindl, Harry's Girls, The New Phil Silvers Show, The Tycoon, Wendy and Me, No Time For Sergeants, Karen, Harris Against The World, Tom, Dick and Mary, Many Happy Returns, Mickey, The Bing Crosby Show, Valentine's Day, Broadside, The Baileys of Balboa, The Cara Williams Show, The Smothers Brothers Show.

Perhaps the only possibility might be if Warner Archive decides to do a few of the ones that they own but I wouldn't think it would be high on their list.




Like your other list , this contains many shows that were favorites of mine when they originally aired . Keep in mind , I was 8 -14 years old at the time . But shows like Father Of The Bride , Baileys Of Balboa, Margie etc. etc. would be worthwhile to see again for nostalgia reasons alone . Incidentally , the TV show with the least chance of ever being seen again is Amos And sandy for obvious reasons

 

[LouA]

I was thinking about this and I believe that black and white sitcoms that only ran for one season are the least likely to ever show up again, either on DVD or broadcast. Of course there are some rare exceptions (New Loretta Young Show, Hey Mulligan, half of I'm Dickens, He's Fenster, Stanley) but I believe there is just not enough interest to warrant anyone doing anything with these types of shows.

My Hero, Pride of the Family, Colonel Humphrey Flack, My Favorite Husband (3 seasons but only 1 filmed), Halls of Ivy, Mayor of the Town, Willy, Dear Phoebe, Professional Father, So This Is Hollywood, His Honor Homer Bell, The Great Gildersleeve, It's Always Jan, Charlie Farrell Show, Those Whiting Girls, Joe and Mabel, The Brothers, Adventures of Hiram Holliday, Hey Jeannie, Blondie, Sally, Date With The Angels, Eve Arden Show, Love That Jill, This is Alice, The Ed Wynn Show, Peck's Bad Girl, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Dennis O'Keefe Show, Love and Marriage, The Betty Hutton Show, The Tab Hunter Show, The Jim Backus Show, My Sister Eileen, The Tom Ewell Show, Peter Loves Mary, Harrigan and Son, Guestward Ho, Bringing Up Buddy, Angel, Fair Exchange, The Nanette Fabray Show, Happy, Holiday Lodge, Mrs. G Goes To College, The New Bob Cummings Show, Father of the Bride, Room for One More, Margie, Ichabod and Me, The Hathaways, Oh Those Bells, It's A Man's World, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Our Man Higgins, Ensign O'Toole, One Happy Family, Don't Call Me Charlie, McKeever and the Colonel, Glynnis, Grindl, Harry's Girls, The New Phil Silvers Show, The Tycoon, Wendy and Me, No Time For Sergeants, Karen, Harris Against The World, Tom, Dick and Mary, Many Happy Returns, Mickey, The Bing Crosby Show, Valentine's Day, Broadside, The Baileys of Balboa, The Cara Williams Show, The Smothers Brothers Show.

Perhaps the only possibility might be if Warner Archive decides to do a few of the ones that they own but I wouldn't think it would be high on their list.




Like your other list , this contains many shows that were favorites of mine when they originally aired . Keep in mind , I was 8 -14 years old at the time . But shows like Father Of The Bride , Baileys Of Balboa, Margie etc. etc. would be worthwhile to see again for nostalgia reasons alone . Incidentally , the TV show with the least chance of ever being seen again is Amos And sandy for obvious reasons

 

[David Rain]

If only the studios would take advantage of modern technology, digitize these old shows & post them for streaming and/or purchase. It would save them the trouble and expense of having to manufacture and advertise physical media like DVD's.

 

[Radioman970]

I wish they'd let us burn our own discs of at least some things. I don't like not actually having the thing I bought. After amazon's thing they did recently, I won't be buying anything else that isn't in my home physical. It's more like a rent than a purchase.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

I wish they'd let us burn our own discs of at least some things. I don't like not actually having the thing I bought. After amazon's thing they did recently, I won't be buying anything else that isn't in my home physical. It's more like a rent than a purchase.

That's why I actually plunked down the cash for the 1968 Tonight Show download recently. The only way I was paying was if it was free of DRM restrictions, and that will remain the only way that anyone is going to get me to pay for any sort of a download. If I want to rent something, I'll go to Redbox.

 

[Radioman970]

I'm learning to appreciate DRM free, games too, like what gog.com does.