Lou Grant listing! (1 Viewer)

[Vahan_Nisanain]

CBS does not have the original hour-long masters for the second half of season 2. That's the main reason for the hold-up on DVD.

 

[Kasey]

Back to LOU GRANT, I can't believe people are giving One-Star reviews on Amazon based on ridiculous facts such as: "It's not on Blu-ray", "It's only S1 not a Complete Series". Sheesh, be grateful for small miracles, people!

 

[Tony Bensley]

Back to LOU GRANT, I can't believe people are giving One-Star reviews on Amazon based on ridiculous facts such as: "It's not on Blu-ray", "It's only S1 not a Complete Series". Sheesh, be grateful for small miracles, people!

That IS ridiculous, plus the fact that such reviews are made without having ever given the show a viewing!

CHEERS!

 

[JayHink]

I'm excited for this one. I remember catching a run of episodes in the mid 90s somewhere in syndication (seems like it might have been WGN or TBS or a similar source).

At the time I was a 19-year-old vintage-TV loving journalism student in college.

That was over 20 years ago & I haven't seen the show since.

 

[Dave Lawrence]

I'm excited for this one. I remember catching a run of episodes in the mid 90s somewhere in syndication (seems like it might have been WGN or TBS or a similar source).

At the time I was a 19-year-old vintage-TV loving journalism student in college.

That was over 20 years ago & I haven't seen the show since.

It was A&E. I was a college student at the time too, and it was my first opportunity to watch the series. I haven't seen it since that time either, so I'm glad it's finally getting released.

 

[Harry-N]

Official release date is now set at 5/24/16.

 

[Harry-N]

At least LOU GRANT had a complete first year, having started in the fall and continuing through spring. One of my problems with something like BARNABY JONES was that it's first season was really a half-year. So if the series DOES get stalled, I'll have a full year's worth on DVD.

Harry

 

[Harry-N]

The second season of LOU GRANT has been announced by Shout! Factory for August. Yay!

Keep 'em coming!

Harry

 

[Flashgear]

I just received season 1 of Lou Grant ahead of schedule from Amazon Canada...Shout has done an Outstanding job on this release! The episodes must be newly re-mastered as they look much better than I've ever seen them... sharp, good contrast and natural colors...rest assured, fans of this show...you will be thrilled with this set!

On 5 discs, the 22 episodes are uncut at about 49:30 (right for '77-'78) and each presented with 7 chapter stops therein...audio is also very good...

Shout has included a new 26 minute on camera interview with Ed Asner on disc 5...he's just as sharp as ever, and it's very informative...

So far, I've watched the first two episodes and spot checked the rest of disc 1...It's been so long that I didn't remember Gordon Jump being a regular on this show...and Tim Reid appears in episode 2, that will likely delight WKRP fans...Linda Kelsey has already replaced Rebecca Balding by episode 4...Richard Crenna directs an episode on disc 1, and a young Peter Weller is a guest star, along with Brian Dennehy on another episode...Nancy Marchand was great on this show, wasn't she?

Having watched the new interview with Ed Asner, I am delighted to discover that Jack Bannon was Bea Benaderet's son...and I'd also forgotten that Mason Adams was the voice of Schmuckers Jam...

I watch this show with some sense of melancholy, lamenting the decline of print journalism and newspapers in general...the good and the bad of it, but mostly I grieve the loss of the place of prominence that the daily paper in so many communities used to represent...and the great dumbing down of our times...believe me, I don't always agree with the Liberal Activist political ideology that is often the motive force in the writing behind Lou Grant, (I'm a Conservative in outlook) but I liked the show first run and have mostly liked Ed Asner over these many years...two of my favourite actors are Jack Lemmon and James Garner, so I'm well practiced in separating political activism and entertainment value...just as long as I'm not whacked over the head with repetition...I can appreciate the Liberal viewpoint...even though this show is a fine drama, I've had some good laughs too...witty writing...

I don't collect a whole lot of '70s and '80s TV, but I'd want the whole run of Lou Grant and am happy to hear of season 2 arriving in August...I hope The Defenders season 1 looks this good...

 

[Dave Lawrence]

Thanks for the review!

It's great that you got your set ahead of schedule. I expect to receive mine on Tuesday as scheduled. Good to know that the episodes are all uncut. I've only ever seen them in reruns on A&E in the 90s so this will be my first opportunity to watch the uncut originals.

I agree that Nancy Marchand was great here. The Mrs. Pynchon character could have easily been just a disagreeable management character that Lou and Charlie had to fight every episode, but between the good writing and Marchand's talent, the character was so much more than that. The whole cast is great, but that is usually the case with MTM shows so it's not surprising.

Glad that Season 2 is already in the works (I've got it pre-ordered as well) and I hope the other 3 seasons will also be released. As the series progresses, it's fun to watch the gradual evolution of the business, especially with typewriters giving way to early versions of computers.

From what I've read, Asner's politics ultimately led to the show not getting picked up for a 6th season. But it's probably just as well. The series had a solid 5-year run and didn't end up continuing beyond the point where the writing and entertainment value was still strong.

 

[Flashgear]

Dave, I think Mrs. Pynchon is perhaps my favourite character here...I admired Nancy Marchand's memorable contribution to the SOPRANOS too...I can see why they added Linda Kelsey to the cast early on, as she is a delightful presence...it's Ed Asner's show and he's strong of course, but the entire ensemble is very good...

I just want to reiterate how great these episodes look and sound...they are in the same league as Warner Archive and CBS/P...worthy of my 55" HDTV...this is a show that also wasn't held hostage to a soundstage...they filmed widely in downtown LA and greater area...somewhat like the fearless busy streetscape shoots of ZIV TV in the '50s...(ZIV was incredible in shooting everywhere in the busy city and I wonder if they had permits half the time, ha, ha)...I've spot checked and watched an episode on disc 5 and have found those episodes to have the teasers leading the opening credits...with those intact, the episode running times are just seconds short of 50 minutes each...and I really appreciate the 7 chapter stops therein...

I'm delighted with the wit of the writing...and love the '70s references...talking about the ERA (not baseball for those that remember)...the smog and epic drought...and Governor Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown up in Sacramento...The more things change...ha, ha...too bad we can't say the same for the Newspaper Biz itself...thank you internet! (groan).

 

[Harry-N]

I'm delighted to hear the initial reports of great quality and full-length episodes. I had a feeling these would be OK after we viewed the first three seasons on Hulu a couple of years ago. For the most part, the episodes were clean and unedited there, but every now and then, one would pop up with what looked like VHS quality - fuzzy pictures and barely intelligible sound.

Harry

 

[Harry-N]

We just got around to watching the second episode called "Hostages". The video quality was a notch below what was there for the pilot, but still quite serviceable. It looked like perhaps it originated from a 16mm syndication print. It looked pretty similar to the same episode on Hulu.com. http://www.hulu.com/watch/708

It's by no means a dealbreaker for me. I'm somewhat used to the idea that some episodes might be a lesser quality when it comes to a Shout Factory licensing. Even the biggest studios seem to have their "compromised" episodes, quality-wise. I'm thinking here of the early DVD set of LOST IN SPACE where episode two was worse than the ones around it. And MANNIX had a couple of episodes where the video quality wasn't up to their standard.

 

[FanCollector]

Season 3 is due out on November 22nd.

 

[Harry-N]

Great news. I've already got S2 on order for later this month, and will grab S3 as soon as I can.

Just an update on video/audio quality, now that I've been through the entire first season:
Only that second episode seemed to be compromised in any way. All of the rest of the episodes looked top-notch, were all there, no editing of any kind. I highly recommend it for anyone who may be on the fence.

The series took a few episodes to find its way. Remember that this was a character from a sitcom, now attempting to be the same character in a dramatic program, and Ed Asner, talented actor that he is, was quick to adapt. From the very first episode, Lou Grant is portrayed as a guy who'd lost his job and was starting a new life in a new town, He had a sort of sad-sack quality about him as he took the bus in from the airport rather than paying an exorbitant (in 1977) taxi fare. But he quickly settles in with his new co-workers, one of whom departs after three episodes. Rebecca Balding leaves the show and is replaced by Linda Kelsey. Other than a few minor characters in the background coming and going, the rest of the cast was stable from the very beginning.

Because Lou Grant had been a comedic character from MARY TYLER MOORE, there are often elements of light comedy associated with the various situations faced in and out of the newsroom. All of the actors are up for the changeovers from drama to comedy, and all get their share of laughs and dramatic situations over the course of the season. By the middle of the first season, the show was firing on all cylinders and began it's march toward the numerous awards it would receive over its run.

I had watched all of the episodes that were on Hulu, just the first three seasons, and the DVDs are far superior in terms of viewing satisfaction. First, there are no commercials, versus the numerous repetitive commercials on Hulu. Second is the superior video quality of the DVDs, obviously sourced from something better than Hulu's source (except that second episode). And third is the hopeful situation where we'll get more than just the first three seasons on DVD from Shout!

Harry

 

[shoeshineboy]

Awesome to see that Season 3 is already announced - before Season 2 is released. The sales numbers must be OK then, I'm assuming. And oh pressed discs, too! Just goes to show you what Red Skelton said (or a number of others attributed to the saying, purportedly for the turnout at Harry Cohn's funeral)... Give the people what they want...

 

[GMBurns]

While I am not interested in any of the newest releases announced (NYPD Blue, Lou Grant, Sisters), this is Shout! at its finest: cranking out a series at an every 3-4 month pace. I've loved that feeling when they've fast-tracked shows that I've wanted (Kojak, Quincy ME). I also know the disappointment of shows that get mercilessly abandoned (Ironside), so here's hoping that all you Lou Grant fans are opening season 5 around May of next year.

 

[FanCollector]

I wonder if they are planning to start any other older shows at Shout. As of November, the only ones they'll have running are NYPD Blue (one season to go), Newhart (two to go), Lou Grant (two to go), and The Defenders, which may or may not continue based on sales and costs. Very happy to see Lou Grant getting fast-tracked, and I'm curious to see what else they may have on the horizon.

 

[Guy Foulard]

Great news about Season Three! I've been cranking through these with my wife, who didn't watch its original run. I'm surprised how well I remember the episodes--they must have made a deep impression on my 13 year-old brain!

 

[Kasey]

I wonder if they are planning to start any other older shows at Shout. As of November, the only ones they'll have running are NYPD Blue (one season to go), Newhart (two to go), Lou Grant (two to go), and The Defenders, which may or may not continue based on sales and costs. Very happy to see Lou Grant getting fast-tracked, and I'm curious to see what else they may have on the horizon.

I do wish they'd finish off the MTM stable and give us PHYLLIS and a Complete Series of RHODA with the stalled S5 and a remastered S1.