Stalled series? There's Hope!

Re: Stalled series? There's Hope!

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea strikes me as being the ultimate "stalled series".

It's utterly absurd that Fox have completely released all of the other Irwin Allen series, one of them is a special deluxe collector's edition no less...but have stopped the remaining one just one season short - 26 episodes!

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What announcement would give me a heart attack? There's several including "The Wonder Years", "Ed", "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place", Season 2 of "The Fall Guy"... all music intact and unedited I would hope. Please, Dave, let it be one of those. I'll take music intact "WKRP" as well.

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Gord, are the studios looking to license any animated series out?

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For any show I would collect...like for instance, Three's Company: Granted, it was special circumstances, since John Ritter unfortunately died while they were starting to put that together, so they just tossed out the six Season 1 shows as a single disc and saved the "extras" for future sets. So they had two "unaired pilots," which chronologically would have fit better with Season 1, but they ended up placing one on the Season 2 set and the other on Season 3. I really don't care where they put them. I'm just glad they're there! I suppose it would depend on how many seasons a show ran, and how many episodes they had, and how it would all fit together. For me personally, I am not too concerned with extras/special features. They are nice to have, but "extra" means just that...something more. I'm not going to skip over a set of a series I like because there aren't any extras. As long as it all gets out there, and the shows are presented as close to complete as possible, that's all I can ask for. As far as "restoring" material, in some cases, depending on how a show was produced and whatever elements are available...there is only so much that can be done. I mean yeah, I'd be ticked if they put a show I like out and use edited syndication cuts just out of convenience, when they could have spent a little more time and found the entire shows. (I was never a major fan of Alf or Cosby to the degree that I was chomping at the bit to see them released -- but if I was, I would certainly have been royally ticked. And you'd think for a show like Cosby, it was popular enough to have the extra effort made to get it right.)


Nothing in life is perfect, and even for something done really well, there is always some way in which it could have been improved. All I can really ask is that they do their homework and do the best possible job to present whatever show it is as close to complete and in its original form as possible.

If I was responsible for putting together sets for the 1966 Batman series, I would want to try and get some good cast interviews in the can by now and have it ready to go. As far as extras, it would be great to have the "in color" tags and the original vintage Fox logos at the end of the show....they wouldn't need to bother with the 1966 movie, since that's already been out on its own. I'd like to see next week previews, promos, the Batgirl pilot film from an official source, ditto for the 1970s equal rights PSA. (I saw that around 1978 -- I never would have guessed that wasn't Adam West!) But I'm just blathering on now with this...

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I have always marveled at those who expect us to have gratitude for substandard presentation.

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It's funny how different everyone's tastes are. I love T.J. Hooker & Charlie's Angels still, just because I love the comedic action which defined the '70's & 80's. But I totally agree with Stan on th two listed above

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Although...I finally went underground for Batman in the last week. So you know how, when you get your car washed, it rains, but when you take an umbrella to work, it doesn't?

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I am involved in a heated debate on the enforcement of copyright law on the After Hours forum. But did you ever notice that the most readily available shows tend to be the least bootlegged?

After Fox took the cheapskate's way out on WKRP in Cincinnati: The "Complete" First Season, The Wonder Years doesn't have a prayer of coming out unmolested. They use a cover of a Beatles song in their credits.

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My hope for the upcoming big announcement that is going to give some us heart attacks is... Room 222 or Alice !!!

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Keep in mind a heart attack is a bad thing - no one said the show was going to be something people want.

"Small Wonder" on DVD - is that heart attack worthy? Possibly, but not because you want to own it.

Gord

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That wouldn't cause a heart attack. That would cause a total cranial combustion, and if you've seen my collection that's saying something.

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Batman isn't a stalled series. it's tied up in legal ugliness.

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Yup, even nostalgia has it's limits. When Punky Brewster was announced for a dvd release, I was like "SWEET, I used to watch that when I was little". Then I seen it in the stores, and thought ummm.....no way I'm buying that!

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Actually, Punky was the one show I thought I would be disillusioned with as an adult, but wasn't. In fact I was pleasantly surprised. The animated version, on the other hand, is a chore to sit through. Lousy animation (even by 1980s Saturday morning standards), all the personality drained from the title character (not to mention an unflattering design), and the most overused "yeeeeeOOOOOWWWWWW!" track in history.

Still, I don't think I have the fortitude to give Small Wonder another try. But is it worse than any other gimmick sitcoms of the era (except ALF, which actually had decent scripts), or those of the 1960s?

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Haha... Gord don't throw cold water on what your partner said now. Your either are hinting it is indeed going to be a show nobody want's (like small wonder) or we are getting to close and you want to keep us guessing by throwing another monkey wrench into the mix.

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BTW.. is there a timeframe that you can give us for the heart-attack inducing announcement whether it is bad or good. June ?? July.. August ?? by the end of the Summer perhaps ?

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I have thought of a show that would give me a heart-attack in a bad way. Webster if that gets released over something on many of our wish lists. I will just have to drop dead.

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Actually, I don't know what show Dave is talking about; I was just having some fun with you guys. He often surprises me with the stuff he digs up.

As for Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - we should have some news up on the site very soon (or it's up there, depending on when you're reading this).

Gord

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I would buy Webster before I bought anything with Scott Baio in it (I wish they would release it in reverse because I find the later seasons far better). I am glad, however, that Arts America picked up the slack on Charles in Charge, even though I despise it, because it shows commitment, and it gives hope that any previously abandoned shows might be picked up again.

Re: Stalled series? There's Hope!

[quote=Gord Lacey]Actually, I don't know what show Dave is talking about; I was just having some fun with you guys. He often surprises me with the stuff he digs up.

As for Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - we should have some news up on the site very soon (or it's up there, depending on when you're reading this).

THANK YOU GORD! Now you've give me one more reason to visit your site multiple times per day!

Don't see any VOYAGE news yet -- it's 1:15 PM Eastern -- but I'm hoping its the 4th Season announcement that so many of us have been waiting for! ...Be it from FOX, or someone else!

Re: Stalled series? There's Hope!

[quote=Joe Tor1]
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea DVD news: 4th Season DVDs planned | TVShowsOnDVD.com

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I am not sure FOX saying we have not stopped with Voyage and plan to release the rest in 2009 is what alot of folks were looking for. But you take what you can get and that certainly beats the alternative. I would be very greatful if they came out and let it be known they were not done with "The Fall Guy", "Picket Fences" amongst others.

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Yikes.. Nash Bridges was just announced as in the works. Is that the big one?..

... I am happy for those waiting for that. I never watched it much. I don't remember caring for it all to much. But i am always open to giving thing's another chance. So who knows.

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Well, as far as DRAGNET (the 1960s color version) is concerned here's what would make a fan like me happy--

First and foremost, episodes on single-sided discs; using Universal's bare-bones ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS (Seasons 2 and 3) sets as a guide, that would mean an average of 7 or 8 episodes per disc. Thus, the three remaining DRAGNET seasons, barring lengthy bonus material, would each be 4-disc sets.

For me, TV series DVD extras, though welcome, aren't make-or-break, but there are some that would be ideal for this series:

* The 1966 DRAGNET made-for-TV movie (though initially shelved in 1966, probably because the revival series was quickly green-lit, it aired in 1969) --this really should've been in the DRAGNET: SEASON 1 set, as there was easily room for it on the second disc.

* The 1954 color DRAGNET feature film (originally distributed to theaters by Warner Brothers, it long ago became Universal property)

* The Jack Webb/Johnny Carson "Copper Clappers" sketch from THE TONIGHT SHOW. Here it is on Youtube:

YouTube - Johnny Carson and Jack Webb

* An interview and/or audio commentary with Harry Morgan and/or author Michael Hayde (or, if it can be procured, an excerpt from Morgan's ARCHIVE OF AMERICAN TELEVISION interview --here it is on YouTube, the DRAGNET talk begins at 10:10-- YouTube - Archive of American Television Interview with Harry... )

* A non-"public domain" episode or two of the 1950s DRAGNET tv series

* Network promos... here's one:

YouTube - Dragnet Jack Webb Promo (Long Version)

* Jack Webb PSAs, like these:

YouTube - Dragnet Jack Webb Medicare PSA Spot
YouTube - Dragnet Jack Webb Christmas Seals Movie Trailer
YouTube - Seat belt PSA (Ad Council) - Early '70s

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Pete, I got a good chuckle out of your post. The "Dragnet 1967" release was one of the most bizzare DVD releases that I've ever seen in terms of utilizing disc space effectively . . . . seven episodes on side one of disc one, seven episodes on side two of disc one, three episodes on side one of disc two and NOTHING on side two of disc two. Yes, either of the "Dragnet" movies could have been pressed to that second blank side, or maybe even a few episodes from the original 1950s version that are still under copyright. Universal could have, perhaps, gauged some interest in the release of the older version of the show had they included some of these episodes. I view the "Dragnet 1967" release as a classic example of missed opportunities. To be fair, I did enjoy the audio CD with the radio episode (but even there, there was "room" for two half-hour radio episodes).

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I wish they would do more of:

Paramount: Mod Squad and Streets Of Sf
Universal- Baretta,Hardy Boys,Alias Smith and Jones
Sony-Partridge Family and Police Woman
Warner-Welcome Back Kotter

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My stalled list that I'd run out and watch on the first day... and probably seeing a release would give me a heart attack (in the good way)

Picket Fences
The Practice
NYPD Blue
seaQuest (we only need one season, I know it's bad, but I'm a completist)
the Original Law & Order

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I thought of a show that i have written off and removed off my want list. This show would qualify for heart-attack for me and that is "China Beach".

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That would do it for me. Even more so if they were able to secure all of the Motown music.

I thought of "Dark Skies" the other day. I e-mailed Shout! awhile back suggesting this one, but that was before I knew that Sony doesn't license their shows out. Hey, maybe that's the big announcement?

Or "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" that Shout! was hoping to release? I'm not a fan of this series, but that will definitely give people's hearts pumping.

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How sweet would that be.... It is probably a pipedream to get this out though.