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Rhino Strikes Again! Too Close for Comfort - 22 minute cut episodes (1 Viewer)

Mark To

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 23, 2004
Messages
570
Once again, just like with Alf, a company has taken a show and used the cut syndication tapes. Too much trouble to go back to the 1-inch (or 2-inch) masters. So they put out the same edited shows you get on TV. Nice going Rhino. I will be calling them tomorrow. It would be nice if some of you did the same and let them know that
1) This is unacceptable
2) You are either returning the product or will now not purchase it
3) You are posting to as many Websites as possible warning people the shows are cut and not to buy it.
4) Letting anyone you know that was interesting in the show to avoid this release.
5) Spreading the word throughout the hobby that Rhino is a company to beware of and to be cautious when purchasing any of their DVD product.
 

Joshua Lane

Second Unit
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Oct 10, 2003
Messages
369
Do you know for certain that Rhino used the syndication cuts? Because 22 minutes an episode is a pretty standard runtime. If it were 20 minutes, then that would make sense. Also, some things to keep in mind before freaking out...

1) Rhino doesn't own the show and had to license it from another company.
2) That company probably provided Rhino with the syndicated versions, so Rhino can only use what they are provided.
3) Finding the originals may take extra time and money that Rhino and/or the licensor didn't have. They may also have been denied the originals from the licensor... it happens sometimes.
 

AndyMcKinney

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21-22 minutes is pretty standard for today, but I think something from around 1983 would be just a little bit longer.

Perhaps they're unedited but time-sped? That, at least, would be better than edited.

Not that I'd be buying this show anyway (I thought it was only okay back in the day, so have no real desire to own it). The two girls do make great eye candy, though (I think Deborah is unfairly underrated compared to Lydia Cornell).
 

Steve Phillips

Screenwriter
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Even though I would never buy this series in a million years, this makes me really mad.

We really need to send a message about this kind of thing. Not by raving profane e-mails; but by polite letters telling the studios why they aren't getting our money.

Those of you who say it is no big deal might care when it happens to YOUR favorite TV show.

Plain and simple; boycot and politely complain, and head straight over to amazon and other sites and post a review that points out the cuts.

Do not accept the typical PR response that they used the best available materials, either.
 

MatthewA

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Best available materials? Did they switch the meanings of "best" and "worst" and not tell me?
 

AndyMcKinney

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If done correctly, then the slight speed increase is barely, if at all, noticeable to the average listener (it's not as bad as PAL speedup). You probably wouldn't notice unless you had the time-compressed version and the original playing side-by-side.

The process has been around for awhile: the BBC's syndication arm once used it on old Doctor Who stories to make them fit into a 90-minute timeslot without editing the story content.
 

Jeff Jacobson

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That's was Lion's Gate's excuse for using the syndicated versions of ALF. It sounds a lot better than, "We just didn't feel like transferring the original uncut episodes because we already had these edited ones sitting around."
 

EricSchulz

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I am not a fan of the show, but are you positive that they are edited? The current issue of Entertainment Weekly (with Elton John on the cover) has an ad on one of the last pages for the set, and quite boldly states that it includes "19 uncut episodes". I just question while they would make this claim if they were edited...
 

Andrew Radke

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Well, why not? Paramount did the same thing with Ren & Stimpy. lol.

I've never had any interest in this show, but it does seem like TV on DVD is taking a turn for the worse in regards to edited episodes. "Alf", "Ren & Stimpy", now music rights issues with "Married...With Children", and now this. It's getting pretty sad if you ask me.
 

Steve Phillips

Screenwriter
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Saying that Rhino released what they were provided with is NOT an excuse.

If Rhino was provided with edited shows, they should have cancelled the set.

If they didn't know they were edited, they need to hire some people to check things before they put them out.

All these people should have a clause right in their contracts before signing that the shows will be uncut or else the deal is null and void.

But no one cares.....it is all about $$$$ and most customers are clueless anyway.

I've said it before.....no one would accept a book being published with 15 % of the pages missing, so why accept edited DVDs?
 

Mark To

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 23, 2004
Messages
570
From the Amazon.com website:



EDITED! CUT! INCOMPLETE! AVOID ! Sigh...., November 5, 2004
Reviewer: S. Phillips (Las Vegas, NV United States) - See all my reviews


Here we go again, another TV series with EDITED versions on DVD. Why should we pay good money for cut shows? The uncut versions are readily available, but someone probably didn't want to spend a few extra dollars to remaster them, so instead they dump the syndication prints on the market and hope the consumer is too dumb to notice.

If you buy this set, saying it isn't a big deal...let me ask you a question. Would you be upset if you bought a book from Amazon and then found out that 10 to 15 % of the pages had been removed? OF COURSE YOU WOULD! This is no different.

Boycott this and the many other edited TV shows on DVD (the list is growing, sadly) and send polite letters to Rhino Home Video telling them why they aren't getting your money.

AVOID THIS SET!

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

EDITED EPISODES, November 4, 2004
Reviewer: MrCono "mrcono" (New York) - See all my reviews

THIS BOX SET OF "TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT" DOES NOT INCLUDE THE FULL, ORIGINAL BROADCAST VERSIONS OF THE PROGRAM. IT HAS THE SYNDICATED/EDITED VERSION OF THE SHOW. YOU MIGHT AS WELL WAIT UNTIL THE SHOW AIRS ON CABLE. YOU WILL SEE THE SAME VERSION ON THESE DVD DISCS.

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

All Syndication Prints - NO COMPLETE EPISODES, November 4, 2004
Reviewer: Oh Curt (Dominguez Hills, CA) - See all my reviews

Rhino really messed up! Every single episode in this overpriced set is presented in its sliced-n-diced syndication form. Not a complete episode in this collection - NOT A ONE!

Even if you can find a used copy somewhere, you still might not want to shell out the cash. After all, there is nothing on these DVD's that can't be viewed on an afternoon rerun.

The folks at Rhino Home Video should hang their heads in shame!
 

Paul Miller

Supporting Actor
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Mar 9, 2004
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567
The book analogy doesn't really hold up because books are usually condensed when they hit paperbacks. They may not edit the content, but they make the font smaller and they usually use an inferior grade of paper. In DVD terms, that would be like speeding a show up and sacraficing picture quality in the process.

Paul
 

John*P

Second Unit
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May 27, 2004
Messages
417
I had a feeling this was going to happen with Too Close for Comfort. One of the guys from Sitcoms Online recently said in a post on that site that they had received test discs for TCFC and that the episodes included were edited to around 22 minutes. Everyone was hoping the final versions would be uncut, and someone from SO posted that Rhino had advertised that they would indeed be uncut...but apparently that isn't the case. I was going to start a thread on here warning about the possibility of the cut DVDs, but figured that since Rhino announced they would be unedited, I didn't have to. Next time I'll give you guys a heads up.

That being said, those of you who are fans of sitcom DVDs should check out SitcomsOnline.com for TV-DVD reviews to see if sets will be edited or not. (they knew about Alf and Too Close for Comfort before they were in stores) Thank goodness I have zero interest in TCFC, but it still ticks me off...
 

John McM

Second Unit
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Oct 26, 2004
Messages
352
that sucks. Not a fan of TCFC but since the show hasn't been shown widely since the early 90's when it was on TBS, why take advantage of the fans like this?

I wonder if companies like Lion's Gate and Rhino will amend future copies of shows like TCFC and ALF given the unenthusiastic responces from fans when finding out the shows were butchered.
 

Randy Gray

Stunt Coordinator
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Feb 1, 2004
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131
I guess I was lucky that when I visited my local Best Buy this week they didn't have a copy. I would have bought one if they had. Now I won't bother.

Randy
 

Randy A Salas

Screenwriter
Joined
Apr 25, 2002
Messages
1,348


Episodes of shows from that era should be 24 minutes long. In fact, Rhino's advance materials indicated that the set's 19 "uncut" episodes would total 455 minutes, which is right at 24 minutes each. But the new set lists an actual (and correct, for its contents) total time of 420 minutes, which is about 22 minutes each, the shortened time of the episodes on the disc.

I do have the set and can confirm that the episodes are 22 minutes long.
 

Randy*S

Second Unit
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Jun 7, 2004
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Randy
I am a fan of the show, and this really burns me up!

I'd like to remind everyone to do what Steve said and write Lion's Gate and Rhino and tell them politely that you DO want the show on dvd and WHY you are not buying it. Don't just rant about it. Tell them what to fix next time.
If we just complain and whine and not say why we may not get full uncut seasons in the future at all.

BTW, adding new sound effects to my season sets of Transformers is not as bad to me as someone saying on here that Jonny Quest was edited for flaming "PC" reasons!
 

Jeff Jacobson

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Dec 24, 2001
Messages
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It doesn't matter which is "worse", neither of these things should have been done. (Also I don't recall anyone mentioning Jonny Quest in this thread. Did I miss something?)

I only brought up the TF DVDs to show that Rhino has screwed up shows in the past, when they had the original versions available to them.
 

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