Re: The Fugitive, Season Two Volume 1 - Reviews
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PAUL MAVIS SAID:
If your point then is to somehow upbraid me for calling myself a "Fugitive fanatic" and not detailing the music cuts, that sounds more to me like a potential pissing contest on a forum... |
Hi Paul,
Yes, you're probably right about that. I was just severely frustrated by the bad news I was reading in this thread yesterday, and some of that frustration spilled over onto you. I sincerely apologize for that.
Your review for Fuge S2, V1 is excellent, providing many interesting insights into Richard Kimble's character (and his character's development). And whether you would have mentioned the awful musical changes in your review or not is of little consequence in the long run...because the end result, as I said in an earlier post, would still have been the same regardless -- Fuge Agony.
Please accept my apologies for being (a little bit) on the curt side.
I've enjoyed your reviews at DVD Talk many times. They are always worth checking out.
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| They didn't make The Fugitive first for "art's sake." They made it to sell soap. |
Well...maybe so. But part of me is inclined to disagree strongly with you on this particular point, Paul.
Martin, Huggins, Janssen (et al) knew they were creating a very good show -- not just something that they hoped would last one season and then disappear. And I think that effort and quality shows through--and right through to the Rugolo music (of course).
They needed to sell some "soap", sure. But the soap didn't make "The Fugitive" the great show it is -- the producers, writers, and actors did that.
Paramount needs to show a bottom-line profit for the products they sell, sure. Everybody's aware of that reality. But stripping away
every single note of underscored music in a show like "The Fugitive" (a show where the music could almost be considered an additional "character" in a sense) is just insane, IMO. A move like that can only cause sales to plummet. How can it
not cause sales to plummet?
It would have been better to release nothing than to do it this way, with only half the show intact (literally). Again--IMO.
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| As I say in my review, the reverse of that is the power the consumer has: if you don't like it, don't buy it. |
But the problem in this particular case is:
Paramount never warned anybody that they were going to rip the music totally out of these episodes.
Sure, they put a small "Some music has been changed" disclaimer on the specs grid on the box, but that exact same thing shows up on both S1 boxes too. What would any potential buyer of S2 think when comparing S1's disclaimer with Season Two's? They'd think, as I did, that only a few snippets (if that) had been changed here and there. But certainly they wouldn't have dreamed that CBS would have the gall to rip out the ENTIRE background score -- and for EVERY episode!
(I'm getting an Excedrin headache again. ... Did you notice that clever "David Janssen" tie-in there? David did
Excedrin commercials in the '70s, remember.)
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| I come down on the side of wanting as many people as possible to see this brilliant show -- even in a compromised format. Is it perfect the way it is? No. |
Can I use my Mona Lisa analogy again? Good, I will. --- It's like plastering Mona with graffiti and then expecting her to look the same as it was before....and expecting people to ACCEPT it as a GOOD thing.
And that's just crazy.
Another analogy would be: It's like removing the ENTIRE music score of "Gone With The Wind", inserting some unknown music in the movie instead.
Again...craziness.
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| You mention The Beatles being supplanted with The Monkees on a CD. That's not an apt comparison at all here. |
In this particular instance, I think it's a valid comparison. But, YMMV. And obviously does.
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| There's more to The Fugitive than just music; you're watching, obviously, pictures, too. You're listening to well-crafted dialogue and watching exciting, moving performances. |
Yes....and the
original music score acts as a key driving force behind those performances. It's as important, in some ways, as David Janssen's patented "twitch".
There's the forceful music we always here when Lt. Gerard enters a room. How can any generic music properly replace that?
I suppose it's not true with all TV shows (or even movies)....but the music heard throughout "The Fugitive" is, as mentioned, almost the same as a "character" in each episode. Allow me to repeat my words that appear in my review for "THE FUGITIVE: S.1, V.1", because they are most fitting here:
"In addition to its always well-written scripts, much of the enjoyment of "The Fugitive" (for me) lies in its instantly-recognizable music, composed by Pete Rugolo. The main title theme plus the wide variety of mood-enhancing musical cues and "bridges" used in each episode evoke singular thoughts and memories of this 1960s TV series. It's impossible to imagine any other music being used for this show. It's utterly perfect for this program." -- DVP; August 2007
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| If I take your argument to its logical conclusion, I could say that nobody should watch vintage TV shows in any format today...other than on an analog signal sent over the airwaves, to be received on your black and white tube-filled TV. No DVDs. No videos. And put the constant commercial breaks back, too. Because that's how The Fugitive was originally shown and viewed by its audience. .... Obviously, I'm exaggerating to make a point, but not by much. |
But regardless of the device through which we watch those programs, the
Pete Rugolo music would still be intact (assuming that Paramount didn't get their hands on the prints first).
So, sorry, Paul....my Mona Lisa analogy still wins today's "Best Analogy" award.
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| If Paramount pulled the music from The Fugitive, it was for a reason -- financial, legal, who knows. I'm not sure they did it just to piss you off; otherwise, why go to all the trouble of restoring the picture? They could have saved even more money, and screwed you over there, too. |
Wouldn't have mattered at this point, because all 15 shows are totally ruined via the removal of the original music. So, you might as well just have a blank screen to look at as we watch these shows on DVD in mutilated form.
I, myself, would have preferred VHS quality PQ, if it meant restoring the original music tracks to each episode. At least then the shows would be complete. A little fuzzy perhaps, but complete.
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| But one thing I've never seen in any of these forums bashing the studios, is anyone commenting on the composers or copyright holders who ask outrageous amounts for licensing fees, thereby assuring themselves of getting kicked off the DVDs? That does happen, and perhaps that happened here. |
Yes, good point. I agree. I don't know squat about this sort of thing regarding "music fees", etc. (except the little I've read at forums like this), but it would seem that many people in the music industry are asking prices for just a few minutes (or even seconds!) of music that would even make people at The Pentagon blush. It's just insane (from what I've read, which, admittedly, is very little on this issue).
But whatever the reason is for CBS/Paramount completely destroying the greatness of the first 15 episodes of "The Fugitive" Season 2, don't expect me to be happy about it.
