Stalled series? There's Hope!

Re: Stalled series? There's Hope!

I thought I would post this link since we're talking about this. I read about a year ago on Amazon.com that someone asked Robert Picardo the status on "China Beach".

Amazon.com: Mary W. Moura "Marlton"'s review of China Beach

Re: Stalled series? There's Hope!

Chris: thanks for posting that..

If this review is accurate, I like what Robert Picardo was saying there. Basically everytime they think they have it set to get released another issue arises. Which if anything, it atleast sounds like they are trying and one of these days it could happen. That gives me some hope atleast, that it may not be such the lost cause that i thought it was. I have added it back to my want list on TvshowsonDVD.com

Re: Stalled series? There's Hope!

Well, I'd love continuations of-

From SONY:
Here Come The Brides
The Nanny
The Flying Nun
The Partridge Family
Hart To Hart
Fantasy Island
Hazel- Season 2 and following are in color

From UNIVERSAL:
McMillan & Wife
Dragnet
McCloud
Night Gallery

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Continues... Thanks Gord!

For me, the best news to come from this thread is the indication – from FOX itself, no less – that VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA will continue… even if we must wait until 2009 for it to happen.

I wish the same for fans of other stalled series discussed in this thread.

Over in the VOYAGE thread, I drew parallels between the slowed release schedule of VOYAGE with what also appeared to be a slowed release schedule for THE SIMPSONS. My feeling was that if the schedule for THE SIMPSONS was slowing, there must have been a general TV DVD slowdown at FOX, in light of the bad economy, product glut, and other factors. I’m pleased that my (admittedly complete and total) conjecture that FOX was slowing their TV DVD release schedule in general appears to have been accurate. For all we know, this could be a factor for other stalled series as well.

Far more important than that is that HUGE thanks are due to Gord Lacey of tvshowsondvd.com – as it appears that it was he (or David Lambert) who posed the VOYAGE question to FOX. I’ve said in previous posts that it might be meaningful if someone at FOX were to SEE the “eight-hundred-and-something” posts that the VOYAGE thread has amassed, as an indicator of our interest in bring the series to completion.

Well, Gord appears to have made FOX aware of our interest… and maybe that’s why we’ll be having a brighter 2009! Thanks, Gord. Thanks, David! Keep up the great work!

Please forgive any duplication in my posts here and in the VOYAGE thread. But, I want to be certain that Gord and David are aware of my appreciation for the good they do!

Re: Stalled series? There's Hope!

There wasn't a slowdown with the Simpsons. They just held off season 11 to avoid it competing with the movie, which was released on DVD and BD last December.

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If that was all, then why have we still not heard anything about season 11? If they skipped December just because of the movie, then the next place in their regular rotation (Aug & Dec) would be August. Season ten news broke 13 months ago, so if they were to release it in August as we had expected, then they should have announced it by now (all we got was a rumor so far). Not saying it's not being release in August or that it is a stalled series, just that it appears unlikely to make it out in the usual Simpsons summer release pattern.

Re: Stalled series? There's Hope!

Yep.

Re: Stalled series? There's Hope!

considering Dana Delaney's recent comeback thanks to joining Desperate Housewives, there might be a shot for China Beach to come out

Re: Stalled series? There's Hope!

You mean like Mr. Belvedere? That would give me a heart attack, and would give everyone else acid reflux.

The Simpsons Slowdown

Regarding the matter of THE SIMPSONS:

When posting on the VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA thread, I compared the slowdown of VOYAGE releases to what appears to be a similar slowdown for THE SIMPSONS – and theorized a general slowdown at FOX. After all, if THE SIMPSONS releases were being reined in, it would be part of a larger issue and not anything specific to VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.

I reasoned it as follows:

The last regular Season Set release for THE SIMPSONS was Season 10 – on AUGUST 07, 2007, with no announcement of Season 11 until very recently. Even this is not as certain as we would like it to be.

The last regular Season Set release for VOYAGE was Season 3, Volume 2 – on OCTOBER 23, 2007 (over two months later), with no announcement of Season 4, until this week when FOX said Season Four should be coming our way in 2009. Again, not as certain as we would like it to be – but better by far than abandonment.

Yes, THE SIMPSONS MOVIE was released by FOX on December 18, 2007… but I do not count that as part of the regular TV season run. It appeared in relation to its box office premiere as any film would.

So, a survey of release dates for THE SIMPSONS reveals TWO RELEASES EACH in 2004 (S4 and S5), 2005 (S6 and S7), and 2006 (S8 and S9 – I should know, I got ‘em all!) …BUT only ONE Season release (S10) in 2007!

…And no release YET in 2008 – making the possibility of TWO RELEASES for 2008 less likely by the day.

Surely, THE SIMPSONS, as a DVD release, is more profitable than VOYAGE will ever be… yet there has been only one Season Set released in 2007, and there are at least eight (and counting) more seasons to go -- so there’s no reason for FOX to hold back on them if they can cash in on another release in the first half of 2008. Especially, considering their “two-release-per-year” schedule of 2004-2006.

Given this, I can only imagine that the reason I don’t already have THE SIMPSONS Season 11 is because FOX has slowed its release schedule IN GENERAL in response to the glut of product and other national economic factors. And, I’d like to think that this applies to VOYAGE as well.

I collect both THE SIMPSONS and VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA and, like most of you, would like to have them all released as quickly as possible.

But, given the alternative, I’m pleased enough to work through a general slowdown in FOX’s release schedule… if, indeed, that IS the case!

Re: The Simpsons Slowdown

They didn't release S11 of The Simpsons in December 2007 because they would have been creating their own competition for the video release of the movie. By releasing The Simpsons Movie and S11 at different times, the consumer doesn't have to choose between the movie or the season set and Fox makes as much money as possible.

As for a slowdown, they always say that the hardest part of the releases is getting the commentaries recorded (presumably due to scheduling) so if anything is slowing down releases, it would be that. I think it's safe to assume that The Simpsons is one of Fox's bestsellers so if they're slowing those down then they would have probably stopped releasing everything but 24 and The Family Guy too.

Re: Stalled series? There's Hope!

Controversy's over, here is the "heart attack":

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour DVD news: Rumors for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on DVD | TVShowsOnDVD.com


I think I said somewhere along that way that this mystery item would not be a show from the 50's or 60's. My apologies, as I actually haven't had the pleasure of watching any of the Smothers Brothers shows so far (looking foward to experiencing it finally on this release), and at the time I got the 1975-dated show mixed up in my head with the 1967-dated show. Sorry for the mislead! I would have corrected it earlier, but could not figure out how to do so without tipping my hand.

As for the rest, interesting guesses along the way. Hopefully everyone gets what they want sooner or later!

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I thought the heart-attack involved a show post 70's ... Ahh well the Smothers Brothers does nothing for me.. Zero! But for those that enjoy it, they are probably happy about it. Hopefully one of my shows will be news in the coming months. Dave I see that you goofed up the timeframe of the show. Why I outta!

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Me either, as I find the show one-sided and sanctimonious (and if the network hadn't cancelled them the audience would have eventually grown tired of it), but if it gets more variety shows out, than that's a good thing.

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I guess its like Gord said, a heart attack is not a good thing.

I tried to watch this show again a few years ago when TV Land? ran it. Damn its dated, to the point of not funny. Same is true with Laugh In as well. IMO of course. But for you guys that love the show, enjoy. I bet TL does a wonderful job with it.

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I thought Laugh-In held up better, largely because of the sheer energy its talented ensemble, and the fact it didn't take itself seriously at all; it had the feel of a burlesque show transplanted into the 1960s. Of course it's kitsch and reflective of the pop culture of the time, but that's a huge part of its appeal, to me anyway.


I can't agree with that at all. To me, "bad TV" constitutes the shows with no redeeming values at all. Shows with no entertainment value whatsoever, not even as kitsch. Not mediocre shows you can just turn off and forget about (which often get listed as the worst of all time, but in fact are so inconsequential as to not even be worth that designation), not even shows that are so ridiculously goofy that you can't help but watch, but the utter dregs of the medium. Some are so bad they make you worry about the future of Western Civilization.

Sid and Marty Krofft produced "Pink Lady and Jeff," a show where I thought I could at least laugh at how misconceived it was. Nope. It was excruciatingly bad and an absolute chore to watch. The only thing funny was that Larry Hagman turned down SNL but did this turkey. That, to me, is bad TV. I'm not familiar with the stuff like H.R. Pufnstuf, Lidsville, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, etc. to pass judgement on it. They can't be anywhere near as bad. At least with shows like that you can be amused by how the Saturday morning network brass let such obviously drug-influenced imagery onto TV that kids would be watching. Pink Lady and Jeff is a show with a bad conception, and even worse execution. It helped destroy the venerable variety show; if The Brady Bunch Variety Hour couldn't do it, this show sure did.

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Only if you're not old enough to remember the culture of the time. To many boomers it's still entertaining.

Okay, I just read the press release and it's officially weird. They're starting with the 3rd season? And it's a "best of"? Does that mean song performances will be edited out? If that's the case it may not be worth the effort to get the show. If I buy a variety show I want the music intact. Otherwise it's not variety, it's just skits.

Re: The Simpsons Slowdown

I think season 11 and the movie would've both sold even more copies if Fox released them on the same day and places like Best Buy and Target had "buy both, save $10" type specials

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Yea, but i am 44. I remember watching this, and Laugh In, when they were new shows. Smothers Bros. was a favorite of mine, and that i was sad when it was gone. Remember as a kid when you wouldnt understand why it was gone, cause you liked it!
Anyway, you would have to be my age, or older to even know what the hell is going on. I do understand that it can still be enjoyed, it just didnt work for me. And it would be hard to have a "best of" if your gonna limit the seasons used.

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Why would they have a sale like that though? It would just cut into their profits. By waiting, they can maximize their money on both releases.

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with all due respect? Why the hell not? Mama's Family is still very popular in syndication, so I think there's a market for it on DVD if the DVD's were done correctly. And there are other 70's and 80's shows like Growing Pains, Chico And The Man and Alice that either are abandoned or only barely released on a "best of" set that people would want.

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Universal is doing a sale like that just this week with Incredible Hulk. They also did it when they released two Miami Vice seasons at once. Those types of sales are always enticing to fans.

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They're only doing 1950s shows because they haven't been touched at all. The 1970s and 1980s shows have been done, just halfheartedly.

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Over on the Shout! Factory website Brian Ward has confirmed that the Universal fire will eventually impact their future release plans:


Although it is clear that the worst case scenario is that the prints Universal had been supplying (Ironside) and were planning on supplying (future releases) may have gone up in smoke could this be a blessing in disguise "if" Universal uses their insurance proceeds to strike new prints of these series which presumably would be better than the ones stored? For example, although quite acceptable the Ironside prints were timesped and lacked the crispness that CBS/Paramount shows from the same era exhibit.

Yes, I'm a "glass half full" kind of guy

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Depends on the studio's priorities. I'm still stunned over the lost of the 35mm prints used for the rep/revival theater circut!

Seems to me this 'vault' was the working library for the studio overall.

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delete

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I think I've just about given up on completing any of the stalled series in my collection. I only collect the stuff from the '70's & '80's, and everything I've seen for the last few months in terms of news is all new stuff which is on the air now..
Quite dissapointing considering I've been waiting 3-4 years to finish some of these series..

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I feel much the way you do.. While i collect a few current shows (Boston Legal, Galactica, House and a couple others), most of my tv collection is 70's and 80's stuff. It is quite sad that so many probably will not be finished. I keep holding out hope to receive an email as i check my mail everyday. But nothing has been announced in ages for the stalled stuff i am collecting. Yes sad indeed!

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When are we going to hear about other stalled series been given a chance? Anyone with any sort of timeframe??
Thanks

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I know how you feel. I've been waiting a ridiculously long time for some news on a classic tv show I've been collecting. Even Kate & Allie which was said to be coming out has been silent. No news on a release date or anything. Gimme a Break!'s pointless bundle release had a date change and no one even posted news about it. Instead of nurturing what's left of classic tv fans, they are alienating us more.