Home Theater Forum  ›  Forums  ›  Entertainment and Media  ›  SD DVD - TV Shows and TV Movies  ›  My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1
Forum Nav More Forums | All New Posts | New Thread

My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

#211
Rating: 0
11/3/08 at 7:12am
  • Joined: February 2004
  • Location: Florida
  • Post Count: 2,063

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by jdee28
I guess then where CBS/Paramount goofed in terms of the music replacements was to do it to a show like The Fugitive, which still has a sizeable amount of fans, not to mention respect from critics and other quarters. Had they just confined it to more obscure or niche shows like My Three Sons, they would have gotten probably less than ten percent the negative publicity or criticism they got for doing it to the Fugitive.

John, again I have to say that what you've postulated seems like a very reasonable assumption to me. I think CBS/P can count their lucky stars that apparently no one is going to hold their feet to the fire again with M3S like they did with THE FUGITIVE. It's a shame really, because I feel the show deserved some kind of advocacy, but after over a month it seems like the trail has gone cold and no one in a position of influence is giving it much thought. Too bad.

Gary "I thought this second debacle from CBS/P would have been a perfect chance to really, really hold them accountable and let them know how much we disagreed with this decision - but it takes more than just a few posts on an internet message board to do that, IMHO" O.
"Do not challenge supernatural unless armed with sword of truth"
                                             ...CHARLIE CHAN ON TREASURE ISLAND

Export to Wiki
#212
Rating: 0
11/3/08 at 7:43am
  • Joined: March 2004
  • Post Count: 335

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

I just received disc 2 from Netflix and I watched the Lady Engineer episode. There is this long sequence where Mr. Douglas is searching for this Lady Engineer in the office hallways and the background music is so awful its annoying. I've never even heard the original but it HAS to be better than this!

"Congratulations. You're still in the running towards becoming America's Next Top Model."

Export to Wiki
#213
Rating: 0
11/3/08 at 10:49pm
  • Joined: September 2008
  • Post Count: 79

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Lady Engineer had a fantastic score. Classic west coast jazz, Had to be Bud Shanks group. Mark Heyes pathetic attempt at jazz is a real bad joke. I have seen some pictures of Mark Heyes in his studio. It is a huge room with a movie screen at one end and his mixing console and synthesizer at the the other end. He looks like one of these new age types, wears black, the pony tail and earings, the whole image thing, style over substance. He has the ultimate studio but can't play any music. Just another Hollywood phoney. Ron Komie is the same. I cannot understand how those guys can sit in that studio and listen to the beautiful original music they are getting ready to try and rework and not feel 1 foot tall in the midst of the awesome skills of real musicians like Alexander, DeVol, Rugolo, Morton, etc.
Export to Wiki
#214
Rating: 0
11/3/08 at 11:45pm
  • Joined: September 2008
  • Post Count: 79

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Oh, I was going to mention that I have been watching Ozzie & Harriet on a local station and am hearing some of the same music as M3S.
I also do not believe the Capitol library excuse. I think Paramount simply does not want to pay for the quality shows music. I am disgusted that an idiotic show like The Beverley Hillbillies is released intact while shows with a lot of depth like M3S or the Fugitive are destroyed.
Export to Wiki
#215
Rating: 0
11/4/08 at 10:15am
  • Joined: November 2004
  • Location: The basement of the FBI building
  • Post Count: 12,729

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim B.
I think Paramount simply does not want to pay for the quality shows music.
So Paramount decides which shows are good, they change the music on those shows, anger the fans of those shows and lose sales that they otherwise would have had AND at the same time, they decide to keep the shows that you and they have decided are bad and they keep music intact on those shows? That's not a very good plan.
Export to Wiki
#216
Rating: 0
11/4/08 at 11:20am
  • Joined: April 2004
  • Post Count: 387

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

I want to echo Jim's assessment of the marvelous cool-jazz score on the "Lady Engineer" episode, which so beautifully evokes the era (1960) it was from. It's the highlight of the episode. Knowing that the dvd-set replaced it makes me ill. I've not necessarily been a stickler when it comes to cut scenes, minor music replacements, original aspect ratios, and I even accepted (albeit NOT happily) occasional syndication prints, like on the "Real McCoys" sets. But, wholescale underscore replacement is just hugely unacceptable, to put it mildly. It's akin to colorization. In some ways, it's even worse. I'm just glad I still have my 22-year-old videotape recordings of the 1st-season of "My Three Sons," from back when it appeared on Nick-at-Night.

Plus, I'm still furious at Paramount for doing all this. I've passed on several of their recent releases, which had been sure-fire purchases for me, owing to my disgust over their "M3S" abomination. In a way, it's even dimmed my enthusiasm for the whole tv-on-dvd trend, and is undoubtedly part of the reason I hardly even post here anymore. Oh, well. There's still a lot of interesting items coming out this month (M Squad, Mr. Peepers, etc.), and maybe they'll re-charge my batteries, hobby-wise.
Export to Wiki
#217
Rating: 0
11/4/08 at 12:00pm
  • Joined: May 2005
  • Post Count: 1,753

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bert Greene
In a way, it's even dimmed my enthusiasm for the whole tv-on-dvd trend, and is undoubtedly part of the reason I hardly even post here anymore. Oh, well. There's still a lot of interesting items coming out this month (M Squad, Mr. Peepers, etc.), and maybe they'll re-charge my batteries, hobby-wise.

Bert, I for one, enjoy your posts and hope you'll continue despite your profound disappointment in this release. I have a suspicion that once you have some of these other vintage releases in hand, we'll be able to look forward to more posts from you.
Export to Wiki
#218
Rating: 0
11/4/08 at 3:24pm
  • Joined: February 2005
  • Post Count: 1,266

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim B.
I am disgusted that an idiotic show like The Beverley Hillbillies is released intact while shows with a lot of depth like M3S or the Fugitive are destroyed.

Now, just a minute! "The Beverly Hillbillies" was actually a very cleverly written show. I would say it had better scripts than "My Three Sons" -- they were certainly funnier.

I think a lot of critics at the time, and some people even today, think that because the characters were stupid (or uneducated and naive ...well, ok, Jethro was stupid), therefore the show was stupid. But the stories and the lines were cleverly written, if you ask me (which, of course, you didn't.)
Export to Wiki
#219
Rating: 0
11/4/08 at 8:14pm
  • Joined: June 2008
  • Location: California
  • Post Count: 701

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

If you watch the Beverly Hillbillies and you're awake at all, the Clampetts (and possibly Miss Hathaway) are the only intelligent people on the show.
Export to Wiki
#220
Rating: 0
11/7/08 at 7:25pm
  • Joined: February 2004
  • Location: Florida
  • Post Count: 2,063

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bert Greene
I've not necessarily been a stickler when it comes to cut scenes, minor music replacements, original aspect ratios, and I even accepted (albeit NOT happily) occasional syndication prints, like on the "Real McCoys" sets. But, wholescale underscore replacement is just hugely unacceptable, to put it mildly. It's akin to colorization. In some ways, it's even worse.

Plus, I'm still furious at Paramount for doing all this. I've passed on several of their recent releases, which had been sure-fire purchases for me, owing to my disgust over their "M3S" abomination. In a way, it's even dimmed my enthusiasm for the whole tv-on-dvd trend, and is undoubtedly part of the reason I hardly even post here anymore. Oh, well. There's still a lot of interesting items coming out this month (M Squad, Mr. Peepers, etc.), and maybe they'll re-charge my batteries, hobby-wise.


Just had to say "amen" to this post from my good buddy, Bert. I feel just like you do on all points, and have definitely scaled back many of my CBS/Paramount purchases. I used to buy almost any series from the 50's through the 70's that they released, and even some from the 80's on up just because I wanted to say "thanks" to them in a tangible way. But no more.

Gary "it's just such a shame they went this route" O.
"Do not challenge supernatural unless armed with sword of truth"
                                             ...CHARLIE CHAN ON TREASURE ISLAND

Export to Wiki
#221
Rating: 0
11/7/08 at 7:36pm
  • Joined: January 2005
  • Post Count: 477

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff
Now, just a minute! "The Beverly Hillbillies" was actually a very cleverly written show. I would say it had better scripts than "My Three Sons" -- they were certainly funnier.

I think a lot of critics at the time, and some people even today, think that because the characters were stupid (or uneducated and naive ...well, ok, Jethro was stupid), therefore the show was stupid. But the stories and the lines were cleverly written, if you ask me (which, of course, you didn't.)
The BH was actually very intelligently written and sublimely acted. That's why it remains a classic.
Export to Wiki
#222
Rating: 0
11/7/08 at 10:10pm
  • Joined: October 2001
  • Location: Rensselaer, NY
  • Post Count: 17,667

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by Elena S
The BH was actually very intelligently written and sublimely acted. That's why it remains a classic.

The cast (including the lesser players) was quite accomplished.



But even though we are rushing to the aid of a classic TV show, we digress...

There's Jessie the yodeling cowgirl. Bullseye, he's Woody's horse. Pete the old prospector. And, Woody, the man himself. Of course, it's time for Woody's RoundUp. He's the very best! He's the rootinest, tootinest cowboy in the wild, wild west!

Top Ten Ways to Find Good Deals on DVDs and Blu-ray...
Export to Wiki
#223
Rating: 0
11/8/08 at 7:50am
  • Joined: June 2008
  • Post Count: 31

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

I've been asked to no longer post my reviews on HFT.
Export to Wiki
#224
Rating: 0
11/8/08 at 8:28am
  • Joined: August 2003
  • Location: ...lost in the swirling maze...
  • Post Count: 1,144

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Mavis

Paul, nice review.

As one who watched the show originally all those years ago, this is one show that I can honestly say I don't really recall the music cues for. And your review actually makes me want to view them all over again - even WITH the music substitutions - an idea I hate.

Harry
My DVD Collection

A fugitive moves on, through anguished tunnels of time, down dim streets, into dark corners. And each new day offers fear and frustration, tastes of honey and hemlock. But if there is a hazard, there is also hope. - Closing narration to THE FUGITIVE, "Death Is The Door Prize".
Export to Wiki
#225
Rating: 0
11/8/08 at 10:08am
  • Joined: February 2004
  • Location: Florida
  • Post Count: 2,063

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Mavis


It's another great review, Paul. Thanks for taking time to write it. And to be honest I'm really conflicted. I can completely understand where you are coming from. I really can. There's certainly merit to your point of view. For me it really came down to standing on principle (I just think it's very, very wrong to remove an entire underscore) and the fact that I personally thought the new music wasn't in keeping with the show and was a distraction. But I realize that's a very individualistic assessment, and I can certainly see your point of view.

Gary "still can't support the release though, but that's only my opinion" O.
"Do not challenge supernatural unless armed with sword of truth"
                                             ...CHARLIE CHAN ON TREASURE ISLAND

Export to Wiki
#226
Rating: 0
11/8/08 at 10:15am
  • Joined: February 1999
  • Post Count: 1,778

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Paul,

I really appreciated your review. You state right up front that the music was changed; and you don't back away from the fact later in the review. Instead you provide a reasoned viewpoint as to why the set still deserves to be purchased in spite of the altered music. And I also enjoyed the insight you provided regarding the production of the show. I always wondered how MacMurray managed to juggle a TV series with his movie schedule.

Of course, due to "The Fugitive" I can't even begin to consider purchasing this set. (And Fred MacMurray was one of my favorite actors; so this would otherwise be a "no brainer" purchase.) After CPS/Paramount cut the very soul out of "The Fugitive" (and waited until the second season vol 1 release to do it) I will not under any circumstance purchase a TV series set from them with a substantial amount of the underscores totally replaced.

But thanks for the review: I really did enjoy reading it.

Joseph
---------------

Export to Wiki
#227
Rating: 0
11/8/08 at 10:25am
  • Joined: October 2001
  • Location: Rensselaer, NY
  • Post Count: 17,667

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Nice job, Paul.

Very informative and descriptive. Just what a review should be. Your knowledge on the subject shone through.

There's Jessie the yodeling cowgirl. Bullseye, he's Woody's horse. Pete the old prospector. And, Woody, the man himself. Of course, it's time for Woody's RoundUp. He's the very best! He's the rootinest, tootinest cowboy in the wild, wild west!

Top Ten Ways to Find Good Deals on DVDs and Blu-ray...
Export to Wiki
#228
Rating: 0
11/8/08 at 12:48pm
  • Joined: September 2008
  • Post Count: 79

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

I get tired of reviews for edited and altered TV shows on DVD trying to rationalize that the alterations are not really that bad because hey when originally broadcast we were watching on small crappy CRT TVs with poor reception and 2" tinny speakers so what difference does it make if the music is changed, its much better than it originally sounded. I do not think so. And commercials were only 4 minutes of every half hour. Back in 1960 TV's were nearing the pinnacle of picture quality and sound was as good as it would ever be. Do a little research. 1950-1959
CRT picture tubes are far superior to LCD or plasma in every aspect.In 1960 you could get TV's that came standard with two 21"x 9" woofers and electrostatic tweeters and stereo phono outs to hook up to your home stereo. http://www.tvhistory.tv/1960-GE-Ad.JPG
Think your 3 or 4 thousand dollar Home Theater amp sounds better than a early sixties TV? Think again. TV fidelity has been going downhill ever since solid state came in in the later 60's. I am not against solid state But When op amps and IC's completely replaced FET's that was the end of fidelity.
PictureTrail Gallery
Export to Wiki
#229
Rating: 0
11/8/08 at 1:33pm
  • Joined: June 2008
  • Post Count: 31

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Well, Jim B., if the only thing that ticked you off was the mention of my old TV in my review, I'll take that as a compliment!

The only thing is, I wasn't watching TV in 1960, according to your reference date. I wasn't born until 1965, so the TV set I'm referring to was from around 1972 or so, and I can assure you, Jim - it was indeed cheap and crappy (owing to our being...poor). Other people may have been able to afford the kind of TV set you refer to, back before my time, but not us. And trust me: everything looks and sounds better on my widescreen today, regardless of what you may believe -- if you grew up on my little portable, you'd agree, too!

And I don't think my 3 or 4 thousand dollar Home Theater amp sounds better than an early sixties TV...because I don't have that expensive of an amp today. Again, the whole "poor" thing.

You sound like an expert on this kind of thing, though, Jim B. (as well as rather upset by the whole thing), so I'll take your word for it.
Export to Wiki
#230
Rating: 0
11/8/08 at 2:20pm
  • Joined: September 2008
  • Post Count: 79

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Do not take my comments too personally Paul. Even if you were familiar with the original scores you may not hear the depth and complexity and beauty, many people do not. But you do recognize it in all the other aspects of the show and you will really like volume 2 of this season, the shows just keep getting better, but the music also gets even better so we have been ripped off by Paramount again. There is NO excuse for Paramount not to warn people who would buy this set. They are low life theives and you should realize that.
P.S. I referenced 1960 because that is the year these shows were created and broadcast.
Export to Wiki
#231
Rating: 0
11/8/08 at 4:11pm
  • Joined: February 2004
  • Location: Florida
  • Post Count: 2,063

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Mavis
I wasn't born until 1965...


Not to scare you or anything Paul, but we are the same age.

Gary "I grew up watching smaller portable TVs too" O.
"Do not challenge supernatural unless armed with sword of truth"
                                             ...CHARLIE CHAN ON TREASURE ISLAND

Export to Wiki
#232
Rating: 0
11/8/08 at 6:01pm
  • Joined: August 2003
  • Location: ...lost in the swirling maze...
  • Post Count: 1,144

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

It may be that *some* television equipment in 1960 might have been OK, but having lived through it (I'm from 1951, folks!), I can certainly testify that *most* televisions were far removed from what we have today.

Those ancient CRT sets with their rounded corners, clunky tuners, and tubes that blew at the most inopportune times, were hardly the match of today's sophistocated display devices.

First, you were lucky if you lived near enough to a station's broadcast tower to receive a relatively clean signal. That meant dealing with antennas and getting them oriented correctly.

Next, getting the signal properly tuned in was a challenge at best. Pictures rolled horizontally and vertically if everything wasn't just so. Many TV's would start their rolling images when they got hot - some rolled *until* they warmed up.

Then there is the sound. Most TV's of the day had crappy speakers, to put it bluntly. An oval 4x6 speaker in a portable black & white set is hardly hi-fi. Those wealthy enough to have a console TV got better speaker systems - BUT, network sound was delivered to affiliates over telephone lines, eliminating most high and low frequencies, and delivering mid-range mush to whatever televisions were receiving them. So even if you had GREAT sound capabilities, the sound that was delivered to it was largely low fidelity. Unless you happened to live in New York or Los Angeles, the source of network broadcasts, the sound you got was really awful.

So I refuse to accept the *greatness* argument about yesterday's television equipment. Today's equipment is far better, delivering much better pictures and sound to the home audience.

Harry
My DVD Collection

A fugitive moves on, through anguished tunnels of time, down dim streets, into dark corners. And each new day offers fear and frustration, tastes of honey and hemlock. But if there is a hazard, there is also hope. - Closing narration to THE FUGITIVE, "Death Is The Door Prize".
Export to Wiki
#233
Rating: 0
11/8/08 at 7:23pm
  • Joined: December 2005
  • Post Count: 521

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Mavis

Good review.

I would always tolerate most deviations from the original material that were necessary to see them on TV or video.

The big problem to get around is the level of changes for both The Fugitive and My Three Sons. Altering all the background music is pretty much altering part of the fabric of the show itself.

I do not know either shows well enough to know the difference but it would still bother me.
Export to Wiki
#234
Rating: 0
11/9/08 at 3:10pm
  • Joined: December 2007
  • Post Count: 62

Re: My Three Sons: Season 1, Vol. 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim B.
I get tired of reviews for edited and altered TV shows on DVD trying to rationalize that the alterations are not really that bad because hey when originally broadcast we were watching on small crappy CRT TVs with poor reception and 2" tinny speakers so what difference does it make if the music is changed, its much better than it originally sounded. I do not think so. And commercials were only 4 minutes of every half hour. Back in 1960 TV's were nearing the pinnacle of picture quality and sound was as good as it would ever be. Do a little research. 1950-1959
CRT picture tubes are far superior to LCD or plasma in every aspect.In 1960 you could get TV's that came standard with two 21"x 9" woofers and electrostatic tweeters and stereo phono outs to hook up to your home stereo. http://www.tvhistory.tv/1960-GE-Ad.JPG
Think your 3 or 4 thousand dollar Home Theater amp sounds better than a early sixties TV? Think again. TV fidelity has been going downhill ever since solid state came in in the later 60's. I am not against solid state But When op amps and IC's completely replaced FET's that was the end of fidelity.
PictureTrail Gallery

Television audio and image quality were mediocre at best in the 60s for most of us, with the possible exception of network control rooms.

Six to eight inch speakers were the norm, high overscan had to be part of television design to compensate for the image shrinking as the set aged, resolution was mediocre at best, and network audio didn't extend much beyond 3 khz. In the United States, network audio didn't begin to enter the high fidelity era until the late 70s, and image quality didn't take a quantum leap forward until the home video era was ushered in around the same time, which eventually brought us much improved monitors with comb filters and video/audio input and output connectors.

I love television programming from the 60s...I grew up during that era...but I don't have warm memories of the equipment being sold for viewing at the time. It had a long way to go.
Export to Wiki
Forum Nav More Forums | All New Posts | New Thread