Police Story season 2 (1 Viewer)

[longhorncutlass]

Anyone here interested in having Shout! Factory release season 2 of Police Story? I am!! If you've seen the season one DVD, you know how good the show is. Check it out at amazon.com. And if you want more of it, please let Shout! Factory know at their website. Thanks!

 

yes I would

 

[Rick Thompson]

Count me in.

 

[Wvtvguy]

There may be another thread for this but I couldn’t find it. How is the picture quality on seasons 2 & 3? I really enjoy this show.

 

[HubbaBubbaKid]

There may be another thread for this but I couldn’t find it. How is the picture quality on seasons 2 & 3? I really enjoy this show.

Seasons 2 & 3 look to be syndicated prints like what you would see from the H & I channel when it was rerun last year or so. Season 1 looks to have been remastered .

 

[Jack P]

An idiot at Sony destroyed the remastered uncut tapes and kept the old cut syndie prints when it should have been the other way around. That's why S2 and S3 and any future release is going to look that way.

 

[Wvtvguy]

Wow. I had no idea. I bought season 1 when it was released. Blind buy as I’d never seen the show. I love the anthology format and thought there were a lot of solid episodes. I may pick up the other seasons if I see a good deal. That’s really disappointing.

 

[bmasters9]

An idiot at Sony destroyed the remastered uncut tapes and kept the old cut syndie prints when it should have been the other way around. That's why S2 and S3 and any future release is going to look that way.

Why would the full prints be destroyed, leaving only syndie versions?

 

[Jack P]

Because somebody goofed and got rid of the wrong set. It's not that the film elements were destroyed it's just that a good set of uncut tape transfers were destroyed and thus if we wanted this show uncut for the other seasons they'd have to start all over again.

 

[bmasters9]

Because somebody goofed and got rid of the wrong set. It's not that the film elements were destroyed it's just that a good set of uncut tape transfers were destroyed and thus if we wanted this show uncut for the other seasons they'd have to start all over again.

Ah! Lends perspective. Didn't know what you meant.

 

[Neil Brock]

Not the only show I heard it happened with. May have occurred with other shows as well.

 

[Lecagr]

An idiot at Sony destroyed the remastered uncut tapes and kept the old cut syndie prints when it should have been the other way around. That's why S2 and S3 and any future release is going to look that way.

I wonder if maybe this is also why the Barnaby Jones DVD set turned out the way it did. Season 1 is fine but seasons 2-8 have problems with mostly edited/syndicated versions of the episodes and a 46 minute run time.

One of the uncut episodes from season 2, titled Death Leap, looks like it was taken from a 16mm print because the video quality is grainy. Season 4 has one uncut episode, titled Beware The Dog, but the run time is 48 minutes so the episode is speeded up/time compressed. Barnaby Jones has a few two part episodes, those appear to be uncut except for one of them, the uncut two parters all have their act number bumpers, act I, act II, act III, etc.

 

[Brian Himes]

I wonder if maybe this is also why the Barnaby Jones DVD set turned out the way it did. Season 1 is fine but seasons 2-8 have problems with mostly edited/syndicated versions of the episodes and a 46 minute run time.

No, the reason for the Barnaby Jones set has cut episodes is because those are the tapes that CBS provided to VEI for transfer. CBS originally released Season and that is why those episodes are complete and uncut. CBS just didn't give VEI decent masters to use.

 

[Lecagr]

No, the reason for the Barnaby Jones set has cut episodes is because those are the tapes that CBS provided to VEI for transfer. CBS originally released Season and that is why those episodes are complete and uncut. CBS just didn't give VEI decent masters to use.

So it was CBS that dropped the ball regarding Barnaby Jones, that's really a shame. I wonder though if anyone at VEI noticed this and tried to get the uncut episodes from CBS before the DVD's were produced, of if VEI just didn't care and went with what CBS gave them.

The strange thing is, there are a few uncut episodes scattered throughout the set. About half of season 2's episodes are uncut. Season 3 has one uncut episode. Season 4 has one uncut episode although it's been speeded up/time compressed. And most of the two part episodes appear to be uncut also. But the majority of episodes are edited versions that run 46 minutes.

 

[Mr. Handley]

I'm currently wrapping up my viewing of Season 3 of Police Story. Yeah, the prints look a bit rough, but it's still a wonderfully written and acted show. A real 1970s time capsule.

 

[Neil Brock]

I wonder if maybe this is also why the Barnaby Jones DVD set turned out the way it did. Season 1 is fine but seasons 2-8 have problems with mostly edited/syndicated versions of the episodes and a 46 minute run time.

One of the uncut episodes from season 2, titled Death Leap, looks like it was taken from a 16mm print because the video quality is grainy. Season 4 has one uncut episode, titled Beware The Dog, but the run time is 48 minutes so the episode is speeded up/time compressed. Barnaby Jones has a few two part episodes, those appear to be uncut except for one of them, the uncut two parters all have their act number bumpers, act I, act II, act III, etc.

Barnaby Jones never had anything to do with Sony. The show was syndicated by Worldvision. By the time CBS had bought WV in the mid-90s, it was no longer an in demand property. All CBS inherited were cut for syndication tapes and that's what they licensed to VEI. If CBS had continued to release it themselves, they would have maybe remastered it but VEI has neither the finances nor desire to spend the money to do so.

 

[Lecagr]

Barnaby Jones never had anything to do with Sony. The show was syndicated by Worldvision. By the time CBS had bought WV in the mid-90s, it was no longer an in demand property. All CBS inherited were cut for syndication tapes and that's what they licensed to VEI. If CBS had continued to release it themselves, they would have maybe remastered it but VEI has neither the finances nor desire to spend the money to do so.

Thanks Neil for your reply, I figured Barnaby Jones isn't a Sony property but had wondered if tapes of the unedited episodes might have been foolishly discarded as what happened with Police Story. I imagine there isn't much of a chance that the Barnaby Jones DVD's will be reissued with all uncut episodes. On the positive side, at least the Cannon episodes are uncut. Episodes aren't remastered but they are uncut.

 

[bmasters9]

On the positive side, at least the Cannon episodes are uncut. Episodes aren't remastered but they are uncut.

I take it then that you place more emphasis on completeness of episodes than how they look.

 

[Lecagr]

I take it then that you place more emphasis on completeness of episodes than how they look.

Yes that's mostly how it is with me because I have a strong dislike for edited episodes. The Cannon episodes don't actually look bad at all, they aren't remastered and don't have the sharp look to them like the Mannix DVD's, but the episodes are easily watchable and uncut. I've noticed a few videotape glitches in a few episodes but nothing too major.