Most TV shows out on DVD? (1 Viewer)

[Mark Talmadge]

I would have to say that maybe 15% of all television shows have been released. There are a lot of shows that haven't even been released yet let alone in their entirety. A lot of shows have seen one or two sets released before the distribution is canceled.

 

[Hank Dearborn]

When I am home I am transferring my VHS collection to DVD, running 3 or 4 dubs at a time. I am able to transfer, depending on the week and how much I'm working, anywhere from 20 to 100 hours. All of shows that are not on DVD and that I don't think are coming to DVD (or that have DVD releases that are an abortion like WKRP or Alf). I've been at this since 2002 and while there are some show I've done that have come out, like Man from UNCLE, most haven't and I still see myself having a few more years of dubbing to do of shows that will never be released. TV on DVD is great but it just scratches the surface. For every show put out there are at least 10 that won't be. Starting around the late 70s when the networks began doing 4 to 6 episode spring tryouts, there are tons of these little series which did not have enough episodes to ever appear again, either on the air or in a home video format. Many of these shows were actually quite good. The only way the will ever be around again is by people who recorded them.

 

[woztimewarp]

I would like to see Petrocelli put out on DVD.

I think in some point of time most tv shows will be realeaed either by the studios or the indpendents. One of the problems which delay a realeae of a dvd is the transfer from the master to the DVD. This isnt no easy task. To transfer a show on to DVD they must go through frame by frame and clean it up.

If you have a look at the old Doctor Who they only released four a year. They don't have many people working on the Doctor DVD so it is a real painful task to go by frame to clean it up and then do the transfer.

 

[Hank Dearborn]

If we ever got to the point where 5% of the shows that aired in prime time were released, I would consider it a major accomplishment. But "most"? No, not gonna happen. Ever.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

I would doubt that we will ever see 25% of all television shows released to DVD. The home video industry is more interested in abandoning shows after one or two sets are released rather than releasing a complete series set ...

Also, Sony and other are more intent on releasing a new video format every 5-10 years and this doesn't give television shows a chance to ever be completely released to home video.

I would guess that in about 5 years Sony will start developing a new home video format ...

 

[Hank Dearborn]

For arguments sake, lets take a look at the 1966-67 prime time network shows. I'll list the ones that are on DVD and those that are not. For the sake of this list, a show that may be out as a best of or with other seasons but not this one will be listed as not out. So, here goes:

On DVD:

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Rat Patrol
Big Valley (half of it anyway)
Gilligan's Island
Andy Griffith Show
Family Affair
The Monkees
I Dream of Jeannie
Combat
Lost in Space
Green Acres
Gomer Pyle USMC
I Spy
F Troop
Bewitched
That Girl
Daniel Boone
Star Trek
Time Tunnel
Wild Wild West
Hogan's Heroes
Man from UNCLE
Mission Impossible
Get Smart
The Invaders (announced)
The Avengers
The Saint


Not on DVD:

The FBI
Lassie
It's About Time
Ed Sullivan Show
Garry Moore Show
Candid Camera
What's My Line
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
Hey Landlord
Bonanza
Andy Williams Show
Iron Horse
Felony Squad
Peyton Place
Run Buddy Run
Lucy Show
Jean Arthur Show
I've Got a Secret
Roger Miller Show
Road West
Run for you Life
The Rounders
Pruitts of Southhampton
Love on a Rooftop
The Fugitive
Daktari
Red Skelton Hour
Petticoat Junction
Girl from UNCLE
Occasional Wife
Batman
The Monroes
Man Who Never Was
ABC Stage '67
Beverly Hillbillies
Danny Kaye Show
The Virginian
Bob Hope Chrysler Theatre
Tammy Grimes Show
Hawk
Jericho
My Three Sons
The Hero
Dean Martin Show
Green Hornet
Milton Berle Show
Twelve O'Clock High
Tarzan
T.H.E. Cat
Laredo
Shane
Lawrence Welk Show
Hollywood Palace
Jackie Gleason Show
Pistols 'n' Petticoats
Gunsmoke
Flipper
Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Captain Nice
Mr. Terrific
The Dating Game
The Newlywed Game
Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
The Coliseum
Rango
Coronet Blue


As the list shows, there are far more series not available than those that are. Everything from long running, popular shows like Beverly Hillbillies to short-run classics that would be perfect for DVD like Coronet Blue and Captain Nice. We may eventually get a few more of these but nothing ever even approaching 50%.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

That makes the point very well, Hank. And, of course, going back ten years to 1956-57 makes the situation even worse.

 

[Cheetah]

I disagree. Unlike the history of network television, TV on DVD is a relatively recent phenomenon. Over time however I can see both the number of shows on the unreleased list decreasing and the number shows completed increasing.

I no longer consider any given show abandoned when it has been a couple of years since it has seen a new release. Barney Miller is a good example of a show that everyone thought was one and done. I may seem overly optimistic, but I can see a show like The Big Valley continuing on and eventually even being completed, even if the next entry may not be until perhaps a few or several years from now. Any given studio has its priorities at any given moment based on which show will realize the most profit. The profit potential for any given property has a limit and eventually a major studio will see greater gain in focusing on shows it previously “abandoned”, as well as introducing new titles to the market. The studios have only a limited amount of resources to devote to TV on DVD and the market can only consume so many products at any given point in time. Patience is what it required. Changes in technology will not impact the number of shows or seasons released. If anything it will increase the number and frequency.

 

[Hank Dearborn]

You may be right with regards to popular and successful shows. There are still quite a number of shows that were number 1 and had long runs that are still not available. I would say that most of those will come out in some form or another, eventually. As for the many, many 1 or 2 season or less shows, highly unlikely. Especially if they are in black and white, then very unlikely. As for the short-run, spring tryout types of shows, no chance in hell. And, like it or not, there are far more shows in those categories than they are successful, long-running ones. I recently was perusing a list of the shows that MGM has and the list was about 10 pages long. Of those 10 pages of shows, only a very few have come out on DVD and even of those few, most like Flipper, Green Acres and Mr. Ed have been abandoned.

 

[silverking]

I think we have long passed the 'peak' of older 50's & 60's shows being released. There have been very few announcements regarding the issue of these vintage shows recently & I don't see that changing.

As for the assertion that studios will eventually get round to them, it simply isn't going to happen & anything else is wishful thinking. If there is no 'market' now, in a few years time it will be gone altogether , especially for old black & white items like 'Sea Hunt' 'Highway Patrol' etc.

Warner Bros. are a good example, sitting on a trove of old classic shows which they have no intention of releasing. By their own admission it is hard to make the economics 'work' for this sort of material. In 5 or 6 years time the audience who remember this sort of fare & would presumably buy it ,will be mostly gone.

My main hope is that the studios like Paramount finish those shows they have started.

Other than that I think 'old 'tv series will be about as saleable as silent films.

 

[Bob Hug]

Chris, I still have some hope that older series that have been unreleased to date may get a release via licensing to some of the smaller independents. It seems more and more obvious to me that the majors, by and large, are unable to make a significant profit on the older titles due to large corporate overheads, except for some of the truly classic shows that have stood the test of time. But I am encouraged by the independent companies like Shout! Factory, S'more Entertainment, MPI, Image and even the Timeless Media Group who seem to be able to take these older properties and make some money on them. It will be interesting to see what VCI Entertainment does with "Burke's Law," "Honey West" and "Zane Grey Theatre" this year. And, yes, I'm at the point now where I believe the only way that we'll see a legitimate release of "Sea Hunt" or "Highway Patrol" is for MGM to license to one of the above companies . . . . . I just don't see them doing it themselves.

 

[Hank Dearborn]

Unfortunately, I think even less so than silent films. There is still a "film buff" contingent that lobbies for the release and preservation of silent films. How many vintage television buffs are there? Personally, I know 3 of them, other than myself. But there is just no real outcry to see long buried series, especially from the 50s and 60s. All of the great live anthologies from the 50s. How many people are clamoring for them? And what about the ground breaking social dramas of the early sixties such as The Defenders and East Side West Side? Historic and extremely important shows. If they were theatrical equivalents and had been buried in the vaults, people would be up in arms for their release. But for television shows? All is quiet. Even when a network like TNT ran a great series like Mr. Novak, back in the mid 80s, it was filler and ran at 5 in the morning.

In response to your posting, I would gladly settle for old TV being put in the category of silent films. I think it would be an upgrade in their standing.

 

[Brian Himes]

I would have to say that we haven't even scratched the surface as to what could be available on DVD. However, like so many before me has stated, this is going to take time. Since TV on DVD is a fairly new thing, the studios are naturally going to try many different things and shows. Some will work. Some won't. Patience is the key.

I collect shows from the 70s and from my wish list of top 'want to buys' I have only 9 shows that haven't been released (11 if you count the R1 releases for Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman). A few of those are shows that lasted less than 2 seasons and a couple are variety shows that when they do get released they will only be a 'best of' collection.

So for me, at the moment, I pretty satisfied with what is already out there or is coming out soon. I would just like to see the shows that I've started get finished.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Yeah, I'm afraid the Golden Age of vintage TV on DVD is about over now. It's too bad that a lot of my favorites never made it:

Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
The Donna Reed Show
The Second Hundred Years
Room 222


are at the top of my list.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

Not to mention other faves such as The Courtship of Eddie's Father. The longer the studios wait to release these older shows the more likely chance the shows will be lost forever due to age and time.

Also, everyone should be aware the studios will never release a good portion of television shows since you have companies like Sony and Toshiba who try and release a new media format every ten years instead of giving the media formats a chance to absorb the market ...

 

[Ockeghem]

Wow, four excellent shows there. I've been waiting for Room 222 for several years. I loved that one as a child.

 

[Hank Dearborn]

I quit waiting and transferred my USA network records.