The Norman Lear Collection: Sony meatheads reach a new low (1 Viewer)

[FanCollector]

It might even be lazier than we think. I know that the Maude extras were already filmed before the first season of that show was released. They had the material and just didn't put it on the set. That might be true of some of the other extras, too.

 

[Regulus]

I never got off on any of Mr. Lear"s Shows. Just wasn't my kind of Programming. But we all have differant tastes!

 

[Joe*A]

Do studios in general even bother asking what people are interested in? When I saw the news on TVshowsonDVD.com the first thing I thought of was....huh? why? who would buy this set? I wouldn't. I could picture this set at Costco in the next few months stock piled at $19.99 along with other sets that are either public domain or WWII related.

Ranked as one of the worst moves in 2009...so far (there will be more, trust me).

 

[Mr. Ed]

I can't stick my finger any further down my throat then it is. This one's for you Sony!

 

[Jeff Willis]

Except for the early "Jeffersons" with that "Mom-in-Law" I wasn't into the Lear shows either.

 

[TV_Fan]

That's the only way I'd buy this set-if it was $19.99 or lower lol. Sony sucks.

 

[Jack P]

Lear shows for me are hit and miss. I believe the real drawback of much of his work is how he made it more convenient for TV shows to become soapboxes for a specific political agenda and that IMO was not a healthy long-term trend for TV in general where present-day TV has become totally unwatchable from my standpoint because the in-your-face agenda preaching is so blatant compared to shows from the 50s-60s and much of the 70s in other areas where any agendas were secondary compared to the entertainment value.

I like "All In The Family" for the most part but to me it's best episodes are those mined in traditional comedy rather than its agenda preaching (and Meathead with hindsight, often comes across as an arrogant mooch who if he had any sense of tact while being allowed to live rent-free in Archie's home while being allowed to finish his education, would realize the importance of tolerating Archie's stupid rants and keep his mouth shut) and the brilliant way Carroll O'Connor and the rest of the cast could use traditional comic timing to make the show side-splitting hiliarious. But there are some AITF episodes where the agenda preaching is so heavy-handed that they become unwatchable and I just skip over them completely.

 

[MatthewA]

Well said.

I also find that Lear's making Archie a bigot made it easy for the audience to instantly dismiss every other belief he held without considering them. That's what logicians call setting up a straw man. The only reason the Meathead looked smart to anyone is because of who he was debating. Put him against William F. Buckley, or even Alex P. Keaton of "Family Ties" (another straw man set up just to be torn down weekly) and see how smart he looks.

The only show today that handles any "serious" issues with any tact, balance, or concern for not overwhelming the entertainment value is the soon-to-be-gone King of the Hill.

But that's not the reason why this set's sales will be lucky to be in the hundreds. Who wants a big-ticket item of already-released, far-from-demo-quality material?

What's doubly insulting is that they could have held back the Sanford and Son and Good Times complete series sets to include the respective bonuses for these shows, but they didn't. I had heard rumors about Maude having bonus features that for some reason didn't make it to the set (and that wasn't the only show).

Of course they could be honest about his career and show that nobody bats a thousand. Where are the flops?

And notice still no release for Fernwood 2Night (which would be perfect for Shout! Factory).

 

[AnthonyC]

Not to start an argument, but shows like Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best are just as preachy, although less overtly and less controversially because what they were pushing were old, culturally accepted stereotypes of the household.

Now, the question of Lear leading television into a much more liberal direction--that I'll agree on, as well as the fact that in the long run it was not a good thing, even though shows like AITF are great.

 

[Jack P]

I'm not a fan of the 50s sitcoms for the most part. For me "The Dick Van Dyke Show" epitomizes the perfect balance of more sophisticated humor without any kind of soapbox messages.

 

[Joe*A]

The ONLY way I'd buy a set such as this IF and only IF, maybe, it would've been loaded with the BEST OF Norman Lear taking the top 10 favorite episodes from all his creations - then maybe. This way, what exactly do I have? For most of these shows except for All in the Family, which was great from the get go, I believe they didn't comedically mature until later seasons.

 

[MatthewA]

That's one of the great tragedies of TV show DVDs. If someone sees a show for the first time on DVD starting with season 1, and the show doesn't hit its stride until later, you would think the show wasn't very good and wouldn't buy subsequent seasons.

 

[Michael Rogers]

Same here, I'd be willing to pick it up second hand, on the cheap. As for a release which will sell, I don't know what Sony is smoking. Fans of the show have the shows and are not going to pay a premium for the other shows they want just for some bonus material.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Wow if it was'nt for Lear opening the Door for discussing Adult subjects we never would have had the Hill Street Blues of the 80's or NYPD Blue of the 90's, or any of the Adult shows on television today.. wow has times changed.. and If I remember my All in the Family well, Mike was made to look the fool with old Idea notions as much as Archie was.. it was alot more even handed than you give it credit for.. It was making a point for not labeling.. Black..white..Liberal.. Conservative.. Pinko.commie.. sad that 40 years later we did'nt learn a thing.

 

[Jack P]

I've seen the full run of AITF many times over the years and Mike was not made to look just as bad as Archie, except for a handful of episodes where it was acknowledged that he could be personally arrogant and thoughtless, but *never* were Mike's specific political/social views subjected to serious challenge (with the solitary exception of an early episode where we see Mike and Archie's different recollections of two repairmen who come over to fix the refridgerator and Mike wrongly remembers the black repairman as a silly Uncle Tom Stepin Fetchit type easily bullied by Archie, while Archie remembers wrongly a Black Power militant with a knife threatening *him*. Both were ultimately wrong). His views always, according to the Lear dictates of the day had to come out on top over Archie even though with the benefit of hindsight so much of what Mike stood for was out of step with the prevailing mood of the country. In fact, there is one moment in the unreleased S7 that sums this up perfectly where Archie finally after being shown up from Mike shouts after him, "You're gonna get Reagan in 1980!" (this is early 1977 keep in mind).

 

[chas speed]

It all depends on your point of view. There are many who think Mike came off just as bad as Archie. Mike was almost never capable of discussing anything and always seemed to be screaming his lungs out on the show. My own opinion is that both Archie and Mike come off as jerks most of the time.

 

[Michael Rogers]

Although Lear would more often than not give the edge to Michael (Meathead) and he made sure that the character standing up for traditional values (Archie) was too stupid to argue eloquently for his side, Lear, when he was at his best, didn't make the debate one sided.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Timeless Anthology from “…the Most Influential Television Producer of all Time”
– Associated Press, Christopher Graff

Packed With Six Hours of All-New Bonus Content
Including 11 Featurettes and Two Never-Before-Released Pilot Episodes for “All in the Family”

Includes the Complete First Seasons of …
“All in the Family,” “Sanford and Son,” “Maude,”
“The Jeffersons,” “Good Times,” “One Day at a Time”
and “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”

THE NORMAN LEAR COLLECTION


All-New Interviews with Lear and a Legion of Stars Including Bea Arthur, Jimmie Walker, Adrienne Barbeau, Rue McClanahan, Rob Reiner, Bonnie Franklin, Mackenzie Phillips, Louise Lasser and Mary Kay Place

19-DISC DVD COLLECTION DEBUTS JUNE 9




Culver City, Calif. (March 20, 2009) – From legendary producer Norman Lear, known for creating some of the most acclaimed and top-rated television series of all time, comes an all-new Collector’s Set arriving on DVD June 9 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The Norman Lear Collection boasts six hours of newly-produced featurettes and interviews, in addition to the first seasons of seven ground-breaking Emmy® Award-winning shows: “All in the Family,” “Sanford and Son,” “Maude,” “The Jeffersons,” “Good Times,” “One Day at a Time,” and “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” all housed in collectible packaging. This comprehensive set is a bonanza for television fans and will be available for $159.95 SLP.

The collection includes two discs of all-new bonus features including new interviews with Lear, Rob Reiner, Bea Arthur, Adrienne Barbeau, Rue McClanahan, Jimmie Walker, Bonnie Franklin, Mackenzie Phillips, Mary Kay Place and Louise Lasser. The set also includes both never-before-released pilot episodes from “All in the Family” entitled “Those Were The Days,” and the 1971 “lost” pilot, “And Justice For All,” which was originally turned down by ABC, only to be later picked up by CBS.

Fans of classic television will marvel over hours of show-specific featurettes, such as “And Then There’s “Maude”: Television’s First Feminist” featuring intimate interviews with Bea Arthur, Adrienne Barbeau and Rue McClanahan as they reminisce about working together on the series and discuss the significance behind a show that was truly ahead of its time. Also included is The Legacy of a Television Revolutionary, with some of the featured actors talking about how Lear has impacted their lives.

Norman Lear is one of the most well respected, prolific and successful men in the entertainment industry. He has garnered four Emmy Awards® and been inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. He not only has impacted our society through his work in television, but also his philanthropic efforts. As founder of the People for the American Way and the Norman Lear Center at USC’s Annenberg School of Communication, he continues to be a strong voice for First Amendment rights.

All in the Family: The Complete First Season
The Bunkers were one of the most beloved families in television history. Starring Carroll O’Connor as Archie, Jean Stapleton as Edith, Rob Reiner as “Meathead,” and Sally Struthers as Gloria, “All in the Family” changed the face of television forever with its January 12, 1971 premiere. The show broke new ground for addressing controversial subjects in realistic ways and for creating unforgettable characters that soon became a part of pop culture. During its eight-year run, the show received an amazing 48 Emmy Award® nominations and took home 20 trophies with multiple wins for all the lead characters, and three wins for Outstanding Comedy Series.


DVD Special Features Include:
· All-New Featurette: Those Were The Days – The Birth of “All in The Family”
From creation, through the first two pilots, to making it onto the CBS schedule as a mid-season replacement. Lots of stories about casting, character development, network reaction to the pilots and how it was finally rejected by ABC only to be picked up by CBS.
· All-New Featurette: The TV Revolution Begins – “All in the Family” is On the Air
From premiere night on CBS through the airing of 13 episodes, ending with a last-minute pick-up for a second season. Lots of stories and talk about essence of the characters, what the actors brought to their roles and the wonderful chemistry between all 4 members of the cast.
· Never-Before-Released Pilot: “Those Were the Days”
· Never-Before-Released “Lost” 1971 Pilot: “And Justice For All”

Sanford & Son: The First Season
An immediate audience and critic favorite when it debuted in 1972, “Sanford and Son” marked an early milestone in urban TV comedy. As the first sitcom featuring an all African-American cast, “Sanford and Son” ushered that perspective into American homes, defying long established barriers and stereotypes. Starring one-of-a kind comedian Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford, a grumpy old junk dealer living with his long-suffering son Lamont (Demond Wilson) in Los Angeles’ Watts, the show earned seven Emmy Award® nominations between 1972 and 1976 and five Golden Globe® nominations including Best TV Show.

DVD Special Features Include:
· All-New Featurette: Everyone Loves a Clown
Norman Lear talks about the creation of the show, the casting of Redd Foxx, selling the show to NBC deep inside CBS, what Redd brought to the role and the casting of Demond Wilson. Norman is the only "voice" in this piece.

Maude: Season 1
Maude, played masterfully by Beatrice Arthur who won the Emmy Award® for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, was first introduced as Edith Bunker’s outspoken, liberal cousin on “All in the Family.” Her spin-off show, “Maude,” set in Tuckahoe, New York, focuses on the character’s daily adventures at home with fourth husband Walter (Bill Macy), divorced daughter Carol (Adrienne Barbeau), and Carol’s son Phillip. Joining in on the fun is housekeeper Florida (Esther Rolle, TV’s “Good Times”), and conservative next-door neighbor Arthur (Conrad Bain, TV’s “Diff’rent Strokes”). Guest stars include Rue McClanahan (TV’s “The Golden Girls”), John Amos (TV’s “Good Times”), and Tom Bosley (TV’s “Happy Days”).

DVD Special Features Include:
· All-New Featurette: And Then There’s “Maude”: Television’s First Feminist
Interviews with Bea Arthur, Adrienne Barbeau and Rue McClanahan reflecting on the series
· All-New Featurette: Everything But Hemorrhoids: “Maude” Speaks to America
Bea Arthur and Norman Lear reminisce about working together

Good Times: Season One
Starring Emmy Award®-winning actress Esther Rolle (TV’s “Summer of my German Soldier”) and Emmy® nominated actor John Amos (TV’s “Roots”), “Good Times” was that rare hit show which struck a chord with audiences of all colors. A spin-off of “Maude,” “Good Times” altered America’s cultural landscape by tackling topical, often controversial issues from a uniquely African American perspective, while still managing to deliver heart-warming laughs. The trailblazing show highlighting the struggles and laughs of a family on the south side of Chicago also made a star of jive-talkin’ comedian Jimmie Walker whose catch phrase “DY-NO-MITE!” became part of ‘70s pop culture.


DVD Special Features Include:
· All-New Featurette: Ain’t We Lucky We Got ‘Em: “Good Times”
Norman Lear and Jimmie Walker talk about the show and its impact on black audiences

The Jeffersons: Season One
The most successful spin-off series to “All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons,” Starred Emmy Award® nominee Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford, who took home the Emmy Award® in 1981 for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. The series chronicles the rise of fast-talking dry cleaner king George Jefferson and his no-nonsense wife Louise. With his business booming, scrappy George Jefferson decides it’s time to “move on up” to a deluxe hi-rise apartment on Manhattan’s posh Upper East Side. The talented cast of supporting characters includes the Jeffersons’ sassy maid Florence (Marla Gibbs), acid-tongued matriarch Mother Jefferson (Zara Culley), crazy next-door neighbors, interracial couple Helen and Tom Willis (Roxie Roker and Franklin Cover) and Englishman Harry Bentley (Paul Benedict).

DVD Special Features Include:
· All-New Featurette: Movin’ On Up: “The Jeffersons”
Norman Lear reflects back on The Jeffersons

One Day at a Time: The Complete First Season
“One Day at a Time,” Lear’s popular series about a divorced mother raising two headstrong teenage daughters while trying to maintain a career, debuted mid-season in 1975, and remained a top 20 show in the Nielsen ratings for CBS during most of its run. The series stars Emmy Award®-nominee Bonnie Franklin, two-time Golden Globe® winner Valerie Bertinelli, Mackenzie Phillips, Emmy Award® and Golden Globe® winner Pat Harrington, Jr., and Richard Masur.

DVD Special Features Include:
· All-New Featurette: This is It – The Story of “One Day at A Time”
Interviews with Bonnie Franklin, Mackenzie Phillips and Norman Lear

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman: Volume 1
The broadly-exaggerated spoof of soap opera calamity stars Emmy®-nominee Louise Lasser (Take the Money and Run, Bananas) as the pigtailed, gingham-frocked American housewife from the fictional small town of Fernwood Ohio, along with a talented ensemble featuring Emmy®-winner Mary Kay Place (The Big Chill, TV’s “Big Love”), Dabney Coleman (Nine to Five) and Martin Mull (TV’s “Roseanne”). Ranked by Entertainment Weekly as one of the “100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time” and listed among TV Guide’s “Top 50 Cult Shows in Television History,” “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” is the soap opera to satirize all soap operas, dealing with such hot topics as mass murder, exhibitionism, masturbation, impotence and waxy yellow buildup on linoleum floors.


DVD Special Features Include:
· All-New Featurette: “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”: Inside the Funhouse Mirror Interviews with Norman Lear, Louise Lasser and Mary Kay Place
· All-New Featurette: The Breakdown
Norman Lear speaks about “the best single performance by an individual in the history of television in my mind is Mary Hartman,” (Referring to Louise Lasser as Mary Hartman having a nervous breakdown in The Breakdown)
· “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” – Episode 129
· “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” – Episode 130

Other DVD Special Features Include:
· Introduction by Norman Lear
Norman Says “Don’t Miss This!”
· Featurette: The Legacy of a Television Revolutionary
A collection of sound bites from interviewees about how Norman Lear has impacted their lives

The Norman Lear Collection is not rated. Artwork is available at Welcome to SPHE Connect. Visit Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on the Web at Sony Pictures.

DVD Catalog # 27253
UPC Code: 0-43396-27253-8
Order Date: 5/7/09
SLP: $159.95

*Note: Unless otherwise indicated, the term Emmy Award® winner or nominee denotes that the star was recognized for his or her work for the noted Norman Lear series.

 

[Mr. Ed]

Very Impressive. I am a fan of Norman Lear. Why I even have most the season sets of The Jeffersons and All In The Family. Suddenly I'm standing erect, reaching out in front of me for season 7 and I abruptly learn that not only are my arms getting tired from grasping onto air but I realize, after feeling loose soil movement beneath my feet, that I am standing on the edge of a popular cliff titled The Seasons End Here.

For those interested in Norman Lear history, to which I'm sure is quite interesting, this collection is a steal. However, for the sake of your own sanity, do not....I repeat...DO NOT get hooked on these shows. Or you'll be joining thousands of Norman Lear fans asking, "Hey, where's season 7. I won't even get into season 8. I've probably painted a very noticable target on my back so I gotta make tracks. Exit stage left.

 

[Steve...O]

Putting aside the merit/lack of merit of this release I noticed the extras for AITF don't include any interviews with Jean Stapleton. She's getting up there in years and hasn't been seen in the public eye in some time. Anyone know how she's doing these days?

Although AITF has not held up well for me, I loved "Edith Bunker" and Jean was a delight in this and anything else she did. It's unfortunate that her character was allowed to die eventually...there's something nice about the way television allows a character, especially a beloved character like Edith, to live in perpetuity even when the actor passes on.