Most disappointing abandoned dvd series (1 Viewer)

[Bob Hug]

Not TV-on-DVD that I am aware, but Mill Creek Entertainment has some 60 DVD boxsets . . . .

Welcome to Mill Creek Entertainment

The largest TV box set that they've done is a 24 DVD TV Westerns set . . . .

Mill Creek Details Page

Certainly, in total, the MPI releases of "Dark Shadows" would exceed 70 DVDs, but I'm unaware if a megaset of that series has ever been put together.

 

[Elena S]

As disappointed as I am about shows that have seemingly been abandoned, it's especially frustrating if the show had two seasons and the studio only released the first one. How ridiculous is that?

As for the poster who asked about Boston Public, we may never see that one on DVD. I fear there is far too much music in many of the episodes that would have to be cleared. The real travesty of this is that the show doesn't air nationally in reruns anymore and can't even be captured off TV. Same for Ally McBeal. And without original music in those two, the shows would be destroyed.

 

[Mary_P]

"Boston Public" is airing Monday through Friday on TV One, which is carried on Comcast's digital tier in my neighborhood. But, yeah, not anywhere on basic cable that I'm aware of.

I'm with you, Elena, about being frustrated by the lack of completion especially on short-run series. How hard would it be to get the second/final season of "Here Come the Brides" out?

 

[Steve...O]

CBS/Paramount is releasing so many shows now that I suspect we'll see their "abandonment rate" increase merely because the market can only support so many releases and I fear they are glutting it big time.

For example, the fan base for shows like Hawaii Five-0, Perry Mason, Cannon, Mannix, Diagnosis Murder, Matlock, Jake and the Fatman, Untouchables, Fugitive, and Streets of San Francisco are probably more alike than not.

Since many of them have split season release, a consumer has to buy a lot of sets to support their favorite shows. Sooner or later some are going to fall through the cracks.

I would prefer that CBS/Paramount pick a batch of shows, release them to their conclusion (assuming sales warrant), and then pick a new batch. This seemed to work well when they were releasing season sets of various classic comedies. Now they have so many properties coming out that it's hard to keep track of them much less afford them.

 

[Gary OS]

I've been concerned about the same thing, Steve. And like you I'd prefer that CBS/Paramount finish some series before starting others. It's difficult for me to believe they will be able to keep this pace up.

Gary "of course they should consult me in making the decisions as to what does and doesn't get first priority" O.

 

[Derek M Germano]

THE NANNY
THE DREW CAREY SHOW
MARY TYLER MOORE
NIGHT COURT
GREEN ACRES
POLTERGEIST: THE LEGACY
GROWING PAINS

 

[Elena S]

Right. I'm on satellite and we don't get it. It's not on our local cable, either, so it's not like I have the option of seeing it if I switch. Fortunately I got most of the eps off WE when they aired it a few years ago. They're probably cut somewhat, but at least I have the bulk of the show.

 

[Jeff*H]

I think a few of you are way off base on CBS/Paramount. Here we have a thread complaining about studios that have ceased putting out a lot of great shows, and then when a studio comes along that takes the opposite approach and puts out TONS of great shows, people still complain?! I don't get it.
Every one of those shows CBS has put out is someone's favorite, and I think it's great there are so many to choose from. I don't think it will matter if they get put out now or in 3 years from now, the fans will support the shows they want to support and those that don't will fall by the wayside, regardless of the timing. CBS/Paramount should be praised for giving the fans so many great shows to choose from! They're not perfect, but at least they're not afraid to put out shows from the 60's and 70's. 90% of the money I spend of TV-DVD shows is going to them, and rightfully so. They've earned it.

 

[Gary OS]

Whoa there, friend. Let's stop the bus and back up just a bit. I'll take heat for anything I say on this forum, but I don't want to take heat from strawman arguments. And what you are saying about my (and Steve O.'s) posts are wrong. I love CBS/Paramount! I absolutely love them and give them as much praise as anyone on these boards. Go back over the last couple of years and look at my posts and you'll see that I'm as big a cheerleader for what CBS/Paramount's TV output as anyone! So let's not create a strawman that you can easily topple down.

All we are saying is that we are worried that at some point CBS might get in overload mode and then we all suffer. We are NOT asking them to produce less, only asking that they focus a tad more on completing series rather than splitting seasons up and then releasing a bunch more new ones. It's a matter of focus, not output. I'd rather see 5 series (just pulling a number out of air) finished off within a couple of years rather than have 20 series put out in that same time span but none of them reach even the halfway point. If the economy takes a dive or sales dry up for any reason at all, then none of us get our series completed. That's the only thing Steve and I are saying. Not that we aren't grateful to CBS/Paramount. We are. It's just that we want to make sure that these great shows that are being released will be finished and not fade out and become abandoned. That's all we are saying. It's not a negative against the studio at all.

Gary "geesh, if anyone knows me they know I give much more love to CBS/Paramount than any other studio by far" O.

 

[Jeff*H]

I stand corrected, Gary, sounds like we both are huge fans of the studio. They are the anti-Sony and anti-Fox rolled into one.

I will say they have a pretty good track record of completing series compared to other studios. A few have fallen by the wayside, but the majority of the shows listed in this thread are not theirs. And I have a feeling they will go back and finish Taxi off before too long.

Right now I am getting (or going to get) Love Boat, Cannon, Mannix, Hawaii Five-0, Streets of San Francisco, Family Ties, Odd Couple, 90210, Happy Days, Mork and Mindy and several others at the moment that escape me.

 

[Steve...O]

To clarify my earlier comments...I also have enormous respect for CBS/Paramount and consider them the gold standard for releasing classic TV. My DVD dollars go to WHV/Fox for classic theatrical catalog and CBS/paramount for TV.

However I still feel they are running a risk by putting so much out at once especially when DVD sales in general are softening and the American economy is struggling. That is not meant to be a complaint, just an observation. There are releases of theirs that I would love to have but I just can't afford to buy each and every one. (Nor would Mrs Steve O appreciate it if I spent all my time watching DVDs )


I love that signature...hilarious!! If they do consult you please make sure that My Three Sons gets put back on the schedule pronto.

 

[Gary OS]

LOL, Steve. You know that one's going right to the top. And then I'm making sure PERRY MASON, RAWHIDE, THE UNTOUCHABLES, and of course THE FUGITIVE get done via the fast-track treatment. I'll also make sure they pick up and finish HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL.

Gary "then they can get back to many of the other solid titles they have started up" O.

 

[TravisR]

This is nothing more than a guess but I think releasing The Fugitive S2 V1 only four months after S1 V2 indicates that The Fugitive has done pretty well for Paramount so far.

 

[MatthewA]

CBS/Paramount can't glut the market because they're the only one releasing
stuff.

And I second Green Acres.

 

[Karl R]

The Bernie Mac Show
The Bob Newhart Show
The Drew Carey Show
Just Shoot Me
The Larry Sanders Show
Mad About You
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
McCloud
McMillan and Wife
Murphy Brown
My Family (BBC America)
The Nanny
NYPD Blue
Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends
Son of the Beach
Taxi

 

[Dean C]

Just Son of the Beach for me. Why not finish it for goodness sake.

 

[nikkif99uk]

Remembered a few others

American Dreams
227
V.I.P. (not the greatest show in the world lol, but was entertaining)
Strong Medicine
Picket Fences
The Young Riders
Providence
Mad About You
Dharma & Greg
Sigmund & the Sea Monsters
Dream On
White Shadow (season 2 was released in 2006, hoping for final season still)

 

[ClassicTVFan1981]

As for Warner Bros. Entertainment, they need to start prepping up for:
*The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show (as the complete 2-hr series with Plastic Man, Fangface & Fangpuss, Mighty Man & Yukk! and Rickety Rocket)
*Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics (as the complete 2-hr series with Captain Caveman & the Teen Angels, Laff-A-Lympics, and the last 8 episodes of Scooby-Doo '76 and Dynomutt: Dog Wonder, the latest of which was re-titled here as Blue Falcon & Dynomutt)
*Scooby's All-Stars (shortened, 90-minute version of Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, which aired in the 1978-79 season, w/o the Dynomutt segments)
*Yogi's Space Race (as the complete 90-minute series with title segment, The Galaxy Goof-Ups and Buford & the Galloping Ghost)
*The Huckleberry Hound Show (seasons 2-4) (one of his supporting player's spinoffs already has his own complete series out on DVD; he's Yogi Bear)
*The Quick Draw McGraw Show
*The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Show (featuring Wally Gator, Touché Turtle & Dum Dum and Lippy the Lion & Hardy Har Har)
*A re-issue of the already-released The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour (with the 1976 opening and closing credits)
*The World's Greatest Super Friends
*Super Friends (the 1980-82 short subjects and 1983-84 lost episodes)
*Scooby & Scrappy-Doo (season 1, 1979-80)
*The Super Globetrotters
*Space Stars (this 1980-82 NBC series marked the return of three popular 1960s H-B characters: Space Ghost (1966), The Herculoids (1967) and The Jetsons' Astro, in which his segment was called Astro & the Space Mutts)
*The Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape Show (this sole 1975-76 season SatAM effort of H-B's had won them seven Emmys)

~Ben (ClassicTVFan1981)

 

[LCD22]

I agree. Quality control and music replacement is what kept me away from this. Universal should really consider licensing this to Shout.

 

[Hank Dearborn]

Yeah, really. Their only competition is themselves. I'm hard pressed to recall the last DVD set I bought from Fox or Warner. I did get one recently from Sony (Barney Miller) and Universal (The Equalizer) but I can't even remember the last buy I made from the other 2. It's been that long.

As for Paramount, they own the most, release the most and do the best job with the releases. That's because A) They probably have realistic sales expectations and they don't expect every set to sell a half million copies. B) They don't have the transfer division charging the DVD division some astronomical in-house fee just to pump up their own division's bottom line (yes I'm talking to you Warner and Universal). and C) Fortunately for us, they don't have a massive theatrical division that they can live off of like the other companies do, rendering their TV divisions unimportant to them.

Speaking of in-house costs, I learned the other day that Warner had access to perfectly good 35mm prints for Superman but because of the in-house cost issue had to go with the beat-to-hell 16mm prints they used on the set. Nice going WB.