Season 5 of MTM Show. Is This a Gamble

#91

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10/24/09 at 3:33am

Alan_H
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Quote:

Originally Posted by jimmyjet

ted baxter was my least favorite character. i usually dont like those "dumb" parts that tv shows would put in. i think mainly, because they are not believable, in the sense that any real person is like that.

There was an L.A. television station newscaster in the late 60's named George Putnam. He looked like Ted Baxter, sounded like Ted, and, apparently, was just as dumb as Ted.

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#92

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10/24/09 at 9:00am

rcbrad
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All characters and situations are exaggerated for the sake of comedy. I think that the Ted Baxter character was pretty believable, especially when you would compare this character to another character such as Steve Urkel. I guess the Steve Urkel character was more of a nerd, instead of not being too bright like Ted Baxter. Just a few minutes of Urkel (nothing against the actor) was more than enough that I could stand. So annoying and not believable at all. I guess the producers of Family Matters wanted him to play it way over the top.

#93

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10/24/09 at 8:06pm

jimmyjet
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i have been watching episodes of the fugitive. ted knight has been on 2 of them so far. each were serious roles, and his voice was quite different. it took quite awhile before it actually dawned on me that it was him. and then i'd say, "oh my gosh, that is ted baxter - LOL".

i dont like those dumb characters. but usually they dont have major roles. for example, i hated the character of the brother in wonder years. but luckily he wasnt on for very long at any one time.

i never watched the urkel show. i got a glance of it once on youtube, to get a feel for it. the voice itself was so irritating that i couldnt listen to it for more than a minute. from what i have been told, he was a major character, if not THE MAJOR character.

i recall the name of george putnam. he had a pretty big name, but i was just a little kid - so i doubt if would have known how dumb or smart he was. i was into sports though, and even as a little kid, knew that curt gowdy made more mistakes than all the rest of the announcers put together.

#94

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10/24/09 at 9:40pm

chas speed
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This thread has really brought the trolls out of the woodwork

#95

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10/24/09 at 9:41pm

chas speed
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Remember the time Ted walked off the set to complain that the tennis match was going on too long and cutting out the news and they ended up cutting back to an empty studio for 10 minutes? Wait, that was Dan Rather.

#96

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10/25/09 at 8:02am

rcbrad
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Quote:

Originally Posted by chas speed

This thread has really brought the trolls out of the woodwork

Really? I guess the posts must have been deleted.

#97

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11/17/09 at 9:17pm

alphanguy
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I am upset by a few quality issues with the MTM season 5 set. First, most, but not all the episodes have a glaring audio fault at :11 -:16 in the opening credits. And a couple ahve an abbreviated syndicated opening credit. What up with that?

#98

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11/18/09 at 7:47am

Paul_Scott
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I just got in S5 from the DD sale, and watched the first ep the other night.
I still have season 4 in the shrinkwrap so I don't know what the PQ of that one is like, but I immediately noticed how much poorer S5 looks in relation to the first three seasons.
If I had to guess, I would say that the first three (four?) seasons were remastered, and for Season 5 (and beyond?) they just used whatever existing masters were available. I'm seeing a very soft, lower res image replete with the usual moire effects you get with them. In addition, compression doesn't look like it was attended to very well. Very disappointed how much Fox seems to have lowballed this property.

I'm sure we'll get the remaining seasons without too much further waiting, but I'm also sure it will not be with anywhere near the care they put forth in the past.
That's a real shame.
I'll still pick the rest up, but I will definitely not be rushing out to get them. I'll wait until there is an 'offer I can't refuse' sale.
I really wish I'd waited for that on this one

#99

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11/18/09 at 8:11am

Rob_Ray
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Quote:

Originally Posted by alphanguy

I am upset by a few quality issues with the MTM season 5 set. First, most, but not all the episodes have a glaring audio fault at :11 -:16 in the opening credits. And a couple ahve an abbreviated syndicated opening credit. What up with that?

I can't say for sure without going back in time, but I do recall that in the later MTM years, CBS started abbreviating the credits on MTM for a few episodes so it's entirely possible that those abbreviated credits are correct.

#100

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11/18/09 at 10:09am

JohnMor
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Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob_Ray

I can't say for sure without going back in time, but I do recall that in the later MTM years, CBS started abbreviating the credits on MTM for a few episodes so it's entirely possible that those abbreviated credits are correct.

You are correct. Those abbreviated openings were originally aired during the first network run. In fact, during Season Seven most episodes were aired with them.

Edited by JohnMor - 11/20/09 at 1:55pm

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#101

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11/19/09 at 4:59pm

Rob W
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Quote:i have been watching episodes of the fugitive. ted knight has been on 2 of them so far. each were serious roles, and his voice was quite different. it took quite awhile before it actually dawned on me that it was him. and then i'd say, "oh my gosh, that is ted baxter - LOL".

Wait til you see him as the jail guard at the end of 'Psycho', although he hasn't got a speaking role.

#102

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11/19/09 at 10:21pm

chas speed
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I really don't see how anybody can complain about this set. It's dirt cheap (got mine for 18 bucks), it looks better then most 70's shows on DVD, it's uncut, and it was probably their best season. There are plenty of sets out there to complain about, this isn't one of them.

#103

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11/21/09 at 8:41am

Marty M
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Quote:

Originally Posted by chas speed

I really don't see how anybody can complain about this set. It's dirt cheap (got mine for 18 bucks), it looks better then most 70's shows on DVD, it's uncut, and it was probably their best season. There are plenty of sets out there to complain about, this isn't one of them.

Well said! I am pleased with this set. Yes, I would have liked a few more amenities in the set, but I am just thrilled that it appears we will see the entire series of my favorite sitcom, at last.

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#104

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11/21/09 at 9:33am

Paul_Scott
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I don't need amenities (if you are talking about extras). I just want the best A/V that the source permits.
Unfortunately the 'source' here looks to have been a decades old master. The image is then further compromised by a lackluster compression effort. While most people watching this on a smaller display from a farther viewing distance might not notice a big difference, on a large screen I see a noticeable drop in quality from S3 to S5. My previous enthusiasm for MTM on DVD has been because the main element- the show itself- has been presented in such a stellar fashion. Viewing seasons 1-3 on a front projector, on a 45" tall screen, the PQ was comparable to some of the very best film transfers I've seen...just shy of High Def, and in some cases even better than the lesser Bd discs out there.

What I see on the S5 set is perfunctory, low-balled broadcast quality.
I'm glad some people are happy just to have it, but it's hard for me to get excited over the quality of a no effort release like this.

OTOH, because Fox doesn't have to put any effort into the last two seasons either, it is more likely than ever that they will see a release. The content is important of course, but with plenty of buying choices out there of content I'm interested in, quality of presentation is also going to factor into my purchases and that's why the next two seasons of this show will be getting bumped to the bottom of the list.

#105

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11/21/09 at 11:27am

shoeshineboy
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I'm very pleased with season 5 -- i was only disappointed with the video image on one episode where the darkness level seems to jump (sorry, don't remember the episode name). It is fairly sharp considering time and the typical mishandling these go through over the years.
The price was good value, considering no extras. I'm hoping they are going to put something special together for season 7 -- maybe including the Oprah show, Mike Douglas or Merv Griffin vintage shows, a commentary on the final episode... Hopefully i'm not dreaming but if anyone shares my hopes, let's figure out how we can get that word to Fox.

#106

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11/21/09 at 2:49pm

MatthewA
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Quote:

Originally Posted by shoeshineboy

I'm very pleased with season 5 -- i was only disappointed with the video image on one episode where the darkness level seems to jump (sorry, don't remember the episode name). It is fairly sharp considering time and the typical mishandling these go through over the years.
The price was good value, considering no extras. I'm hoping they are going to put something special together for season 7 -- maybe including the Oprah show, Mike Douglas or Merv Griffin vintage shows, a commentary on the final episode... Hopefully i'm not dreaming but if anyone shares my hopes, let's figure out how we can get that word to Fox.

There's always the Complete Series set...

And then there's Blu-Ray

STOP THE MADNESS! STOP THE BUTCHERING AND ABANDONMENT OF TV SHOWS ON DVD!

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#107

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11/21/09 at 10:47pm

chas speed
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The set looks fine. If you can get angry over this season set you should probably stop buying DVD's of any TV show that was aired before 2009 and save yourself the aggravation.

#108

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Yesterday at 12:55 am

David Rain
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Perhaps we would all have been better off if they'd just released a complete series set to begin with. Imagine the years of hand wringing we would have saved.

I'm hoping in the future when classic series like this are released that they will start with a complete series set. That approach seemed to work fine with Get Smart.

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